Halloween 2012

We had a really fun Halloween this year! Parties, parades, Trunk or Treat, and trick-or-treating in an Anaheim neighborhood - there was a lot going on!

On to the costumes:

 

 Sophie the Dog

 

Bat Sam

Dooneese and Lawrence Welk

from The Lawrence Welk Show

 

And poor Mary didn't have a costume this year.

She just hung out in her pajamas.

 

I hope your Halloween was great too!

Mary's First Birthday

Our Mary Louise turned one last week! She's still best known for her petite frame, so I decided to have a "mini" party for her.

We set up at the park. We're having beautiful evening weather that we wanted to take advantage of, plus Mary has tons of cousins who need room to run around - so it was perfect!

As part of the mini theme, we had all miniature food: sliders (condiments served with doll spoons & knives), lil' smokies cooked like hotdogs and served on mini homemade hotdog buns, pasta salad with mini bowtie pasta & tiny pepperonis, deviled quail eggs, shrimp, a veggie platter of baby carrots, grape tomatoes, mini cucumber slices, and small (Kettle Cooked) potato chips, mini dill pickles, mini oreos, baby goldfish crackers, mini M&Ms, and mini cupcakes.

 

I also made her a little bunting banner, blew up water balloons, and printed wallet-sized pictures of her that I put in 2-inch frames. 

And per tradition, here is the official 1st birthday cake destroying sequence:

 

That's a girl that knows what she wants.

Happy Birthday Little Miss Mary!

(See Sophie's & Sam's if you want)

Sophie Turned 6

Sophie turned 6 on Sunday. 

We were not going have a party for her this year, since we did a big one last year, but on Wednesday after school, we decided that a small "cousins" party the next day would be a good idea.










So we headed to the store to pick out a craft for them to do together, and that is where Sophie's Paint Party was born.

Sophie picked out some ceramic animals to paint as well as some new nail polish. Their paint party consisted of face painting (courtesy of Cathy), painting animals, getting their fingernails and toenails painted, and painting canvases. 

Not unlike her 3rd birthday, where she requested apple pie, several months ago, she asked if she could have cinnamon rolls for her birthday this year instead of cake. So cinnamon rolls it was. Sunday morning, we celebrated her actual birthday with cinnamon rolls at Grandma's house.

Picture Pages Picture Pages

2012 (Age 5)

I love school pictures. So much. 

And now, as a parent, I totally get why they used to have a parent volunteer walking through the line combing kids' hair on their way to the portrait chair. 

They must not do that anymore :)

 

2010 (Age 3)                                     2011 (Age 4)

A New 'Do and a New Trick

Sam's hair got the chop. He wanted it to look "like Grace's dad", so this is what we came up with.

An Miss Mary thinks she's big. 

You can't make her stand. She has to do it on her own. But I always catch her practicing.

This Boy Turned 3

  Yep. This one.

 And just like his 2nd birthday, he loved every second of his special day.

We celebrated by taking the family to one of the big pools and just playing. Sam got some cars and some Little People and he was one happy kid.

Looking handsome.

 

Big sis helping with the packaging.

First glimpse.

"These are all MINE Widdow Peopow???"

 Happy boy.

Then the next day we ate cake with my family after Sunday dinner (at my parents' house while they were out of town).

 

We love our Sam.

We're so glad he's a part of our family.

1st Day of School 2012

It's Kindergarten time! Sophie is beyond excited. She has been counting the days on the calender since preschool let out last May. ("Mom! Only 46 more days til Kindergarten starts!")

Today was finally the big day. She got to wear her new school clothes, pack a lunch in her new lunch box, and carry her big new back pack.

 

















We got to school, dropped her back pack off at the door, and she ran off into the sand to play, never looking back.

 Two Sophies, a little nervous before school

Lucky for you though, I stuck around for a couple more minutes to capture some photos.

 

See how she's grown in a year here.