Halloween in the Year 2014

A few weeks ago, I suddenly realized that my drive/motivation to accomplish things was back after having a baby.  I'm not sure if its just that 9 month mark, or if it was putting the little man on the bottle, but whatever it was, I'm happy to feel more like my overachieving self again.  So, this year for Halloween, I was able to make everyone's costume.  I think everyone was pretty happy with their choices, and I was pretty happy they were all fairly easy to put together!

But first, we had to spend an evening carving pumpkins!

The girls showing off their handiwork:

Our family of Pumpkins

Here in the lineup, we have a shark (who is obviously disgusted with the feel of grass on his bare feet), Hermione, and two cute little penguins.

After figuring out that he couldn't get away from the grass on his feet, he decided to embrace it and started pulling it out. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

This little guy was probably the cutest shark out there!

I thought his fin turned out pretty sweet.

Aunt Katie was so sweet to make Penguin hats for the girls.  The penguin thing has been going on for quite some time now…not sure how long it has until it's run it's course, but they sure are cute!

Cora, Kannon and Ailee:

 Maryn made a great Hermione.  Her costume was my favorite (and easiest) to put together, thanks to some friends who let us borrow the robes.

And I love to dress up for Halloween, so I threw on my old witch costume. And drew some giant eyebrows on my face. 

Growing

Despite our best efforts, this little guy is growing up.  At least he is being sweet about it! He's still happy and smiley, and loves to snuggle. The best is when we get him up from a nap--usually the person getting him up get a giant hug from him.  Gosh, what was our life like before this little guy?

He got his first hair cut.  That mop of fine, strawberry blond hair was getting way too shaggy for my taste.

He doesn't seem to mind, but I thought it could use a little trimming.  My friend, Jen came over and shared her boy-hair-cutting expertise. 

And Voila!! It's like he's a new man!!

I think he approves.  Or he still doesn't really care and he's just excited that someone is smiling at him!

A few weeks ago, he also got his first tooth.  We had one rough night, but we pulled through and had two pretty new teeth to show for it.

And finally this little guy fulfilled all my dreams and started saying "ma ma."  I know its just babbling, but it makes me feel all mooshy inside.  He's my first kid to say "ma ma" before "da da."  

Another First

This little girl started Preschool this week.

Its a little preschool my friend is holding out of her house for her daughter, Cora and another little friend.  Pretty non-intimidating, and perfect for a three year old!  So far, she's loved it!

Runnin' Just As Fast As We Can

Over the summer, I had signed Kade and the older girls up for the Color Run (a 5K) here in San Antonio.  I have declared myself as a Non-Runner, so I didn't think too much about it.

Until I went to pick up all their stuff.  

I'll put this out there right now…I am not a runner.  My body does not like to run.  It's not opposed to exercise or workouts…those are great, but running?  Nuh uh. 

Anywho, when I got to the store to pick up everyone's packets, all the pictures and pretty colors and fun looking things kinda made me want to join in on the fun.  So I signed myself up, too!

All ready to get our run on:

Some pretty clouds showed up... 

And dumped rain on us for about 20-30 minutes. They had to deflate the finish line so it wouldn't blow away.  I had wondered off with Ailee when the rain hit.  Luckily we were right next to a sponsor's canopy, so we went in to learn a little more about their product.  

The rain finally let up and we were "HAPPY" to get started.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous to get from Point A to Point B without dying.

Kade and Maryn ran ahead, while Ailee was my running buddy.  We had a lot of fun together! We made sure to stop at every color and get a squirt of paint in her hair.  Ailee came out pretty colorful! 

I think the red stuck to her scalp for several days. 

Kade and I got our fair share of color, too!

 Our fellow running buddies, Jen and Jace managed to photo bomb our selfie.

 

We are a colorful family!

We found lots of friends there, too. That was some good, colorful fun!

 Watching the crowd throw paint into the air:

Kaleidoscope Maryn:

And Kaleidoscope Ailee:

A Day of Firsts

School started today.

It is a blessed time of the year.

I truly love my kids--I do.

I love them even more when they don't spend the entire day asking me for snacks. Or pestering me for entertainment.  Or telling me that their sister is doing something they shouldn't be doing.

Here they are, ready for 1st and 4th grade:

My day was nice and quiet {until 3:15 pm…and then it was the opposite of quiet. Chaos--it was chaos.}

Tomorrow will be better.

Also, along the line of Firsts, Ailee lost her first tooth!

As her dentist and dental hygienist, it's a pretty exciting day for her parents!!

She was brave, didn't even cry or wince at the sight of blood, and is happily sleeping over a stack of shiny quarters.