Happy Halloween!

Visiting a local Pumpkin Patch

The Buchecks hosted their annual Trick or Treating Party and we had a fabulous time, as always!! Alecia's food and decor were to die for!! (haha)

Kids eating dinner before Trick or Treating.

Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of all the kids? Next to impossible.

Karen and me with our very full wine glasses, hoping we wouldn't run out TorT-ing. *sigh* We did. Next year we're taking a bottle with us :)

Elise and Audrey. What a difference from last year!

Our little Pink Poodle.

The whole crew, getting ready to go! We might as well have been an ad for Radio Flyer.

Trick or Treating!

Afterwards, all the kids changed into their jammies... except Elise who wanted to keep her costume on.

Such a fun evening!!! Thanks for having us!!

Hanging Out With My Witches.

The Salas Witches invited Elise and me over for a Witch Luncheon today. We had a blast!

Little Witches playing...

Listening to Witch Melanie read Piggie Pie.

Eating a spooky lunch with her witch buddies Sydnie and Audrey.

Decorating Haunted Houses.

The Bit... errr... Witchy Moms! ;)

Elise-23 Months!

I haven't done a full update on Elise in a while... her little personality has just exploded and I wanted to "jot" some things down before I forget. I'll do a "proper" 2 Year post (whaaa???? How on earth can my baby be almost 2????) in a month, but for now, let me tell you what 'Lisee (as she calls herself) is up to:

• Talking, talking, talking. Oh my gawd, this child is never quiet!! She's like a little parrot, repeating the last words I say. Her vocabulary is enormous and she's speaking in 2 and 3 word "sentences." She speaks very clearly, and has very specific thoughts and ideas. And don't you dare try and cross her, especially if it concerns her baby.
• Baby (her doll.) It is all about Baby in this house. Is Baby okay? She's usually sleeping... Elise likes her babies to sleep... a lot. ;) She lays out a blanket perfectly and then puts Baby on top. Then she puts another blanket on top of Baby, lined up perfectly with the first blanket. Kind of like a Baby Sandwich. If you mess up the blanket, even move it one inch she will flip out and WW III will begin. (Not that I know this. Not that I would ever mess up Baby's blanket just to see Elise's reaction. And if I did do that, I would never ever giggle-snort while watching Elise melt down. Not this mom!)
• Elise can count to ten. She thinks the number after 10 is "yea!" She can also sing her ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She's got the gist of Old MacDonald and likes to fill in the animals and the sounds. She knows every animal and sound that *I* can think of. We are now working on colors and shapes.
• Miss Independent! She likes to walk everywhere we go... including our daily walks around the neighborhood. That doesn't really fly with me. I let her walk to the park, then I put her in the stroller. She tries to go all Garfield on me, but I usually win.
• Loves to give hugs and kisses and has to give Jaws a hug and kiss every night and if she's forgotten, she will insist on going back downstairs before she'll go to sleep. If she gets a "boo-boo" she wants me to kiss it. And then I have to kiss every spot where she's ever gotten a boo-boo. Ever.
• "Pick-up!" Holy cow- this is awesome. Elise is obsessed with picking-up and totally picks up all her toys every night before we go to bed. She also picks up and puts away her bath-toys. Love this! I wonder if it's too early to teach her to put away Mommy's shoes.....? wdyt? ;)
• When Elise gets angry, she pulls her bows out of her hair and then pulls the rubber-bands out and throws them on the ground. And then stares/glares at me. It's her way of getting even, I guess.

Elise is personality+ and we're having a blast with her! Watching her grow has been so fun and I can't wait to see and hear what she comes up with next!

'Tis the Season!

Halloween that is! We have lots of fun Halloween activities planned and we started it off yesterday with a Haunted Trick-or-Treat hosted by the Salas Family! This year Elise is dressing up as a pink poodle!!!

Once we arrived at the party, the costume lasted about 10 minutes.

Elise and Sydnie. Who says cats and dogs can't be friends?? ;)

Elise and I had such a wonderful time. That said, Elise's obsession with all things baby continues. I have never seen an episode of the show "Hoarders" but I can imagine what it would be like. And I picture Elise on that show, surrounded by baby dolls, baby strollers, baby beds, and whatever other baby paraphernalia she could get her paws on. It was all downhill once she found Sadie and Sydnie's baby dolls. She was obsessed. Had to make sure they were okay... were sleeping well.. and that NO one (adult or child) got near them.. or even looked at them. *sigh*

As always, Melanie's decorations were off the charts!

Happy Fall Y'all!

October

We've had a busy October so far. The weather has been awesome and we've been soaking it up!

Play Date at the Zoo

Elise and her bestie, Audrey, eating lunch.

Joined by more friends.

Go big or go home, right? So normal toddlers have a nice little swing where their moms and dads can maybe sit on a bench and give them a little push. Not this house! Elise loves her huge swing and the higher she can soar into the branches, the more she loves it!

And of course Jaws has to get in on the action.

We also flew to Missouri over Columbus Day weekend to visit MiMi and Papa and celebrate MiMi's 60th birthday.

Eating out.

"Helping" MiMi sew.

Visit Uncle Mark at the fire station.

Bucket ride! All we needed was a bungee cord!

Love you MiMi! See you next time!

First Haircut!

I feel like it took forever for Elise's hair to start growing, and of course, the last thing I wanted to do was cut it off. However, it was very uneven, so I took her in for her first haircut; just a little trim. She got to sit in a super cool fire truck and she kept saying, "nee-naw, nee-naw." She was pretty still, and thankfully, the hair dresser was quick.

before

during

AFTER!

Even though it's shorter, it looks much healthier. I'd say the first haircut was a success!!

September Happenings

I blink and September is almost over. What happened to this month??? It blew by for me! We have settled in nicely to our fall/school routine. MOPS has started up again, and I am so thankful for this wonderful organization and the friends I have made. We had our first outing last week- Chuck-e-cheese! That was a first for Elise and me. I can definitely see that Chuck-e-cheese has its place in this world. Elise had a wonderful time running around and playing with her friends.

Elise and Marissa

Elise and Audrey, doing their favorite thing; climbing UP the slide!

Elise is so hit or miss with eating. Some weeks she eats everything in sight. Others, I'm lucky if I can get her to eat a cracker and a piece of cheese. And the things she likes are all over the place as well. She won't touch a sweet mango, but would eat an entire can of black olives if I let her. Tomato sauce makes her gag, but she'll eat anything if dipped in hummus (or hummey as she calls it.)

Finally, Saturday we had a Mom's Day OUT! Ashley, Maggie, Erin, and I all went to see Jersey Boys. It was SO great and was such a fun afternoon :)