...On Sharing

We don't eat much candy at our house, and the girls were wide-eyed at the huge haul they were bringing in on Halloween night.

(We only went to 12 or so houses, but the houses are far between and there weren't many kiddos, so everyone seemed to be extra-generous.)

At one point, B looked to me and said, "Mommy, we have so much candy.  I know what we can do for my birthday treat at school.  I can take my candy and each of my classmates can choose one or two pieces."

Her forethought and generosity wowed me.

And then, on Tuesday morning, the girls were going through some of their goodies.  They were talking about the different kinds of candy, what they were looking forward to trying...and which pieces they would give to their daddy.

"Daddy loves Reese's!" my A exclaimed.  "I'm going to give him those!"

Such sweet, thoughtful baby girls!!!

Insect Fascination

Since having kiddos, I have an entirely new appreciation for Halloween.  HOW FUN it is to see the littles in their costumes...I can barely stand the cuteness!!!

I'm really fortunate to date that the girls have been so amicable to my costume suggestions.  And thinking back over the past few years, I realize we had a bit of a fascination with INSECTS!

When they were two, ladybugs:

When they were three, butterflies:

And now, at seven, bumblebees:

(Seeing these pictures, I'm also reminded how much easier it is to get a picture with the girls standing still!!!  Hee hee!!!)

I have to admit that I'm already thinking about next year.  SPIDERS!  They're not insects...but pretty close!  :) :)

To Cap Off October...

Oh, October...where have you gone???  More on that later...but I thought I'd at least cap off this BUSY month with our annual Halloween picture:

This is our EIGHTH family Halloween picture!  I LOVE this tradition!!!

And I snapped a few more shots while the girls were suited up for pictures on Saturday...

Showing off their pumpkins!

 The girls insisted on pollinating the flowers!  B later told me she was just pretending..."because my tongue is not that long and it's not shaped like a straw."  Hee hee!

Hubby was hungry and ready to head to lunch...but he managed to capture a glimmer of sun on our back patio.  So sweet!

And lastly, we ventured outside to light our pumpkins on Saturday night.  The girls were tickled to see their creations come to life!

We're looking forward to trick-or-treating with friends tonight!

(And I'm looking forward to getting back to my blog soon...how I've missed it!)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Wonder Twin Power...ACTIVATE!!!

The girls are young enough that I can still *suggest* a Halloween costume, and they're generally game.  We've done ladybugs and butterflies, and I had decided that bumblebees would be the theme this year.

I'd bought all the materials I needed to make bumblebee costumes (although I'll admit I was a little scared at how I'd pull everything off!).  A couple of weeks before H-Day, though, we got a note that the kids were invited to wear superhero costumes to school on the Friday before Halloween.

My mind started to spin a little bit, thinking about TWO Halloween costumes...but then I had the idea to *suggest* that the girls be superheroes instead of bumblebees.  The girls were up for the switch!

Since the girls could utter a few words, I'd had them performing "Wonder Twin Power...ACTIVATE!"  The Wonder Twins were a natural choice!!!

I asked a friend of a friend to make Wonder Twin shirts for the girls, and I made some [very basic no-sew] capes and masks.  I even made capes for Hubby and me.  (And I was incredibly pleasantly surprised that Hubby was very compliant!  He wore his Super Daddy cape and mask all night without hesitation!)

The girls were SO excited to wear their shirts to school on Friday...and SO VERY excited for Trick-or-Treating on Halloween!

Our dynamic duo!

Our *SUPER* family!

We went trick-or-treating with our BFFs...a Halloween tradition!

The whole gang!

And I LOVE this picture...so much awesomeness!!!

What a happy Halloween it was!!!

Our Annual Family Photo

It started as a fluke. 

The girls' first Halloween, when they were almost 10 months old, we took them out to make pictures on the front porch.  One of our sweet neighbors stopped by too ooh and coo at seeing the most adorable pumpkins.  We asked if she would mind taking a family picture...and the tradition was born.

Since then we don't rely on happenstance, though.  Well ahead of time, we schedule a neighbor or a friend to come to take the snapshot for us.

We're FIVE years running now [which just seems CrAzY!!!], and this is a super-big deal to this mama!

This year I found myself pretty stressed.  The weather forecast was really grim for Halloween day.  I had in mind whom I'd ask to take our picture, but I was worried we'd get rained out.

And then it occurred to me...nobody says a Halloween photo has to be taken precisely on Halloween!

We had scheduled Miss Jenny to come hang out with the girls on Wednesday afternoon, and I'd planned to meet Daddy for an early dinner.  Mid-day, I emailed Hubby and asked him to come home instead.  The girls were TICKLED to dress up that afternoon, and Miss Jenny was the perfect photographer.

I'm loving our 2013 family photo!!!

And you know I cannot resist a good comparison photo opportunity!!!

2009

2010

2011

2012

This is one of my favorite traditions, for sure!  Happy Fall, Y'all!

Super Stuff on a Monday / Tuesday

Even though I'm late to note it, I'm so thankful for another week full of notable notes!

1)      The girls have [FINALLY!] started asking, “How are you?” on the phone.  It’s so stinkin’ adorable to listen to them…another element in such an “adult”-sounding conversation.

2)      The girls and I agreed we’d put up our snow-related books the end of this past week.  (Little did we know it was March 2^nd that we’d finally get SNOW!)  I told them we’d read “Frosty the Snowman” one last time on Thursday night.  I sat down with them on either side…but instead they read to ME!  They recited almost every single line, word for word, in almost-perfect unison.  It was the best present ever!

3)      On Saturday, we finally had a little bit of snow…on a day when my girlies weren’t fighting the sniffles.  It wasn’t nearly enough for a snowman, but the girlies and I still enjoyed a peaceful walk through the neighborhood, and some good snow-stompin’ when we got home.  And the girls were seriously excited for some homemade hot chocolate after our romp in the snow.

4)      The girls were talking (at random) about Halloween.  I asked if they’d thought about what they want to be.  B said, “A kitty cat,” which is not a huge surprise.  Baby A said, “A pudu!”  We’d just looked up a series of animals out of a new book (“Hug Time”) and she’s brought up the pudu several times.  It is some kinda cute, and I’m sure she’d make an adorable pudu…HA!  Now if only Old Navy will stock that costume…

5)      On a related note, B showed me her drawing pad one morning.  “Look, Mommy!  I drew a giraffe and a baobab tree!”  I love seeing how the girls incorporate new knowledge into their playtime.

6)      The girls and I had to pick up something at the toy store on Sunday, and they asked if they could look around.  We rarely “browse” in any kind of store, so I decided that would be OK.  They did such a great job looking at things, but not asking to buy anything!  In the seasonal aisle, we spotted the cutest spotted ladybug Frisbee…a soft one that felt like the girls just might be able to use.  I couldn’t resist…and we’ve already had so much (indoor) fun with it.  The girls have seen their daddy and me play Frisbee several times (we’re pretty competitive!), and they can’t wait to join in the fun.  I’ve been impressed with their “form” – relative to throwing in our den – and their incessant giggles just top it off.  I can’t wait to get outside with them!!!

7)      After a week of unseasonably cold weather, Monday was relatively mild.  We had a fantastic walk through the neighborhood, on which we saw a record 12 DOGS.  I love-love-love how the girlies delight in seeing the neighbors’ pets…they coo and make the sweetest gestures.

8)      I had to run to the post office on Monday afternoon, and the girls were golden.  Not only did they wait patiently while I had to fill out a form and address and envelope, but they were polite and conversational with the ladies behind the counter.  It certainly doesn’t always happen that way…but it’s nice when it does!!!

9)      I finally remembered to write down something that makes me chuckle without fail…when the girls play hide-and-seek, they always count in Serbian.  When A gets to 14, she always interjects “turtle” into the middle of the word...too cute!!!  And both girls call their Uncle Vladimir, “Gladimir”…HA!

10)   And a couple of my favorite quotes of the week…

A: "Mommy, seven is more than six." Yes, you're right. Having seven cookies is more than having six cookies. "Yes, but you would never give me seven cookies."  She’s got it!!!

B, to A: "Sissy, you need to eat like a Galapagos turtle!" We had been reading that Galapagos turtles eat very slowly...in contrast to Baby A, who sometimes seems to be practicing for an "all you can eat" contest. ;)   

Super Stuff on a Monday

What made our week super-fabulous?  So much stuff!  I’m bullet-pointing as best I can to get it all in!

1)      We had such a fun Halloween, all the way around.  The girls loved their pumpkin party at school, and they were ecstatic to get a little treat bag from their teachers.  We had a great time with M&C on Wednesday morning, and they really got into the festivities on Wednesday afternoon.  And perhaps best of all, they were content to come inside and snuggle by the fireplace for a few minutes before going to bed (on time!) Wednesday night.  Bliss!

2)      Baby A’s recap of handing out candy: “Mommy, some kids couldn’t talk, so I talked for them.”  If a kid didn’t say “Thank you!” she very innocently volunteered it for them.

3)      My sweet Baby B’s tender heart…she started tearing up when her daddy said (very nonchalantly) that he would get rid of our jack-o-lanterns the day after Halloween.

4)      Baby A’s prowess at using scissors and tape.  She’s occupied herself for up to an hour on several days, cutting out shapes or pictures from magazines, and then taping them onto a blank page.  She’s such a hard worker!

5)      Baby A was such a great helper during nap time one day this week.  She stuck by me through folding two loads of laundry, and then she made countless trips upstairs to put away socks, washcloths, towels, tshirts…anything she could reach.  Daddy was upstairs, and he said she had such a “business” look on her face.  HA!

6)      Finding Baby B napping one afternoon with her pillow on top of her.  She was so cute…and then she was so proud of being a “turtle” after I woke her up!

7)      B organized the alphabet magnets (from two full sets = 52 tiles) in order one morning.  I think I heard her sing the ABC Song 26 times…but she persisted and did an amazing job!

8)      Hearing the girls jump up and down, chanting over and over, “Hip-hop dancers!  Hip-hop dancers!”  They were giggling hysterically…and so was I!  [I can only surmise they got that from our “ABC’s of NYC” book, where “H” is hip-hop dancer.]

9)      We had our family pictures on Saturday.  The girls did so well…and they even had fun!  I cannot wait to see the smiles on their faces.

10)   Happening upon a marathon during our Sunday morning walk through our neighborhood.  We had such fun stopping to cheer on the runners, and B even got to yell into a megaphone.

11)   We let the girls watch the last couple of minutes of the Alabama game on Sunday morning.  Baby B clapped at all the right times, and she even told Aunt GG on the phone about Alabama’s touchdown!  Mama was so proud!!!

12)   The girls have been golden not to get up until their clock turned green, but they’ve been awake a good 30 minutes “early” since the time change.  This morning B was laughing like mad and talking complete nonsense.  Baby A, who probably wanted to enjoy her “extra” hour, kept insisting, “Sissy, that’s not a word!”

13)   The very first thing the girls said when I went into their room this morning: “Muffins!  Muffins!  I smell muffins!”  And correct they were!  They were so excited with their home-baked treat.

So thankful for another great week with my sweet baby girls!!!

Our Halloween Fun

Our Halloween fun wasn't just about posing for our annual family photo, of course!  We kicked off the day with a play date with our sweet friends M&C.  

First, there was toilet paper ghost bowling...

 

Look at the concentration on C's face as he let the ball fly!

And then we made some crafts...

Our paper plate spiderweb...

...and these toilet paper roll bats.

And then it was time for lunch!

Owl-shaped sandwich and spider-stuffed eggs...

An awesome veggie tray skeleton!

It got very quiet when lunch was served...guess they were hungry!

Our little goblins, gobbling up their goodies!

A big smile from M!

And owl s'mores for dessert.

 And of course a group picture to cap off the day!

C, A, B, M

After a glorious nap (at least for one of my beauties), the girls were SO excited to get dressed in their butterfly costumes and head out to visit with some neighbors.

Nose kiss following our family photo...I love that little look on A's face!!!

Checking out the bushes for a good place to light.

Butterflies had better watch out for spiderwebs!

Posing with Mommy.

Up the walk to Mrs. N's house.

We don't exactly go trick-or-treating...rather we make a three-block loop to see a handful of friends.  We delivered a few hand-made goody boxes (raisin boxes decorated to look like jack-o-lanterns...and of course I forgot to get a picture), and we got to show off our little ladies.  :)  :)

When we got back home, I had a couple of bags of candy for the girls to hand out.  This was their first time to do so, and they loved it!  They told every child, "Happy Halloween!"  [I had to laugh at what A said over dinner.  "And some of the kids couldn't talk, so I talked for them, Mommy."  After her Halloween well-wishes, if a child didn't say, "Trick or treat!", or later, "Thank you," Baby A would volunteer it for them in a sing-song voice...HA!]

The candy didn't last long, though...as both girls wanted to put a piece in each kid's bag (so two pieces for every kid).  That's OK...it was getting chilly by that time, even with our jackets on under our costumes!

Right as we ran out of candy and were heading inside, we saw our sweet friends M&A and their big brother J.  That was a great bookend to our big day.

J, M, A, B, A

It was such a great day, all the way around...an awesome mix of friends and fun...made even better by how much the girls were able to understand and enjoy this year. 

Until next year!