Halloween

Fun wearing the pumpkin hat

We went trick or treating at the mall.


The cutest doggy!

I'm not much a fan of Halloween and my children get scared so easily, that I was hoping to just avoid the day altogether. But Todd convinced me not to be a party pooper. Unfortunately, the exact thing I was worried about happened. We were eating dinner at the food court and half way through our meal a very unwanted guest sat down at the table next to us. It was a boy wearing one of those freaky ghosty masks, the ones with the long stretched out mouths, and when Ethan saw him he was absolutely terrified! He started sobbing and I just held him while he cried and cried. The kid took off his mask but it didn't help at all. Eventually the boy left and Ethan calmed down. We were able to go trick or treating successfully with some very careful guidance as to which way Ethan should look and I know he had fun. He smiled a lot as you can see in the pictures. He was very excited about all his candy. But tonight I laid by him in his bed for 20 minutes extra reassuring him that the mask was gone and he'd never have to see it again. Poor thing, I hope he doesn't have nightmares. He's just like his mom . . . easily scared and very sensitive.

The Latest Photo Shoot Attempt

During photo shoots, this is what I usually get:

Cute pictures of Madeline

Silly pictures of Ethan

But put them together and:

Madeline

Madeline had her nine month check-up today

She is 17 lbs. 4 oz. (25%) That's how much Ethan weighed at 3 1/2 months

and 30 1/4 inches (WAY off the charts) Ethan was that tall at 8 months

She currently is learning the art of bum scooting

She loves feeding herself finger foods

and she loves laughing at her brother

I love you baby!

Sad Day

The grocery store was out of pumpkin! My desire for pumpkin bread continues . . .

Pumpkin Bread

Don't you wish you could have a piece? . . . I do too. I am SO in the mood for pumpkin bread right now. Unfortunately, all I have is the picture too. Next time I go to the store, I am totally buying pumpkin!

The Beautiful Fall

It is breathtaking outside, especially this time of year. Yesterday, my eyes teared up as I drove into town because I was so overwhelmed at the beauty. Giant yellow leaves swirled around my car as I drove past the sparkling lake lined with trees of vibrant fall colors. I’ve lived here, in the Northwest, for almost two years and not a day has gone by that I don’t have to catch my breath when I look at the trees and sky and lake. I went out yesterday in an effort to take pictures of it all and the pictures just didn’t do it justice. I can’t describe it well in words either, but I had to try. It’s just so beautiful here. It’s just so beautiful.

Never a Cuter Fairy Princess

Doggy

Ethan had fun playing in his doggy costume this morning, but I think he spent the whole time in it pretending he was a cat. He was bouncing around the room and with a smile said, "I'm going to be for Christmas a cat today!" Hmmm, I think he meant Halloween! Whatever he meant, he sure looked cute!

Fall Fun

Fun at the pumpkin patch

Cute Halloween Girl

Goodbye Tree

My children woke up from their naps yesterday to the sound of chainsaws. When I went into Ethan’s room, he looked up at me and said with a smile, “Mommy, there are firefighters out there!” I guess they looked like firefighters with their hardhats on, but really it was a crew of tree men cutting down our “hazardous” tree. We were told it was about to fall on our house.

Here is a picture of it leaning toward Madeline's window before they starting cutting

Ethan had SOOO much fun watching it get cut down that he asked, “Can they cut down ALL the trees?!?!?” I'm glad they didn't do that! I LOVE the trees, but this one needed to go. Goodbye tree.

Washing Machine Woes

Todd stayed up with me until almost midnight trying to fix our washing machine. Sadly, it is still broken, but after taking it apart, he figured out what part we need to get. Then he can fix it himself. Who needs to make service calls when a Chemical Engineer is in the house?

Isn't this such a great shot of my dirty laundry?!?

Meanwhile, my poor children have no clean clothes to wear . . .

Hahaha, actually they both just really like playing in diapers (playing just wearing diapers AND playing in piles of diapers). And my friend Jenna was good enough to let me use her washer today too. Thanks!

Some Goods and a Bad

It's sunny, we went to the library, and Ethan got to hold his "princess baby".

But my washing machine decided to break this morning and I haven't done laundry for days, so the pile of dirty clothes is reaching the ceiling!

Seven Random Facts

I was tagged multiple times before I even started a blog. So for all those who tagged me, here are my seven random facts. Maybe they'll help you know what you're getting into by reading my blog.


1. I love to feel safe. It is the most comfortable and one of the more wonderful feelings. Safe. In places and in relationships.

2. I love photography. I have an amazing camera that I really don’t know how to use, but I hope someday to earn the title of photographer.

3. I can’t stand dogs barking. Okay, so I don’t like dogs in general . . . sorry, but it really might be due to the fact that they bark. You would have a hard time finding anything more annoying to me than a dog that won’t stop barking.

4. I love mixing my cereal. I usually put three different kinds in my bowl at once for breakfast. I love the different tastes and textures all mixed together. It’s like a celebration for my taste buds.

5. Chocolate is really good. In fact, I love it. But it isn’t my favorite flavor. More often than not, I would choose spice cake over chocolate. I would pick blackberry ice cream over chocolate ice cream. Oatmeal raisin cookies over chocolate chip and blueberry pie ten thousand times over chocolate cream.

6. I love to dance. I’m not talking about ballet or ballroom, though both are actually quite appealing to me. I’m just talking about turning on some music and grooving to the beat. I can’t help but wiggle just a little when I hear a good song. Back in the day, I was the one in the center of the circle jamming to the overly loud music and loving every minute of it. I’d still be there if I thought I could get away with it.

7. I love to organize things. I find an embarrassingly large amount of pleasure in figuring out the best way to put things away, particularly the toys into their bins. And once I’ve found the best way, I have a hard time letting it be any other way. “That fire truck will fit a lot better honey if you rotate the taxi cab a quarter turn clockwise” . . .