Halloween 2011

This was a really fun Halloween! Both kids "got it" and had a great time. They were pumped for the holiday from the day we started breaking out the Halloween decorations! Jake was a dirt bike rider and Mia was a black cat. We made the rounds with the cousins and grandparents, and then went trick or treating with the neighborhood, which has come to be tradition. The kids were happy with their bags of loot and couldn't wait to get home to eat their candy! Though Jake enjoyed passing out the candy to kids who knocked on our door as much as he liked the actual trick-or-treating. They were both a little shy about the whole thing when we got started but warmed up quickly. Mia cracked me up.....a few times, she realized that she forgot to say "thank you" and would run back up, knock on the door again, say thank you (which is one of the words she doesn't say very clearly), and then run away again....I'm pretty sure the kind neighbors had no idea what was going on. Her little voice was pretty cute saying "frick or freat". When I was putting Jake to bed, he let me know that he was disappointed that Brian and I didn't dress up......hoping he forgets about that by next year, but we'll see. And of course, we can't forget about Charlie....he wore one of Bailey's old outfits....I bet we wouldn't be able to tell them apart in pictures!

Family Pumpkin Patch Day

We had our family visit to the pumpkin patch. Both kids rode a pony, which was a first for Jake. They fed the animals, and of course, picked out some pumpkins!

Goofy Girl

She makes me laugh.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Jake is in his last year of preschool (sigh.). So this was his last pumpkin patch field trip :( Here are some pics of him with his class, and with his best buddy, Mason. We've been going to the pumpkin patch for 3 years and this was the first time he participated in the class picture.

Apple Season!

We've been in our house for 10 years now and one of my favorite things that I will always miss (if we EVER move!) is our apple tree. It's really fun now that the kids can enjoy it too. Here they are picking the apples and then making applesauce. This year I let them each have a cutting board and a butter knife to cut up the peeled apples. Wish I would have thought about that sooner.....I swear they sat quietly for 30+ minutes doing this project. Though I think Mia ate most of hers. They had fun and it was yummy! It's been a kick seeing Charlie eat the apples this year.....we swore that Bailey used to eat about 20/day during apple season!

Mia Mia

I loved this summer outfit and these pictures show Mia's personality :) She's getting so big! Mia is almost 2 1/2 years now and so full of spunk! She is talking in sentences that most everyone can understand now, just learned to start pushing a scooter, and can be as sassy as she is sweet. She adores her puppy.....and the rest of the family, but "Charlie Boy" as she calls him, is her favorite! She has started going to "Tot Drop" 1 day/week, which is a drop-in preschool. She will sometimes cry for just a minute....but she loves "cool" and her teachers. She has recently taking a liking to princesses and all things girly, which is lots of fun.