Trick or Treat

The whole gang: Uncle Ryan, Trojan Warrior, Tinkerbell, Dorothy, Glinda, Belle, Rapunzel, Ballerina (formerly Sleeping Beauty) and Cinderella

Bell was originally Sleeping Beauty for Halloween. But last minute she decided she wanted to be a ballerina.Cinderella meets her fairy godmother

"You mean all I have to do it look cute and present this orange ball and people will fill it with goodies?" My first Snickers wrapper... delicious!

The first door. This was the first year the girls went door to door trick or treating. The last two years were too cold and rainy. 70 degree weather is a nice way to break into this tradition.

Baby's first door. She drove in style, with cousin "Dorothy" at the helm.

H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N

70 degree weather... perfect for Halloween
It would have been a crime to not let them play outside

Love this girl!

Trunk or Treat

Our church holds a "Trunk or Treat" where the kids go from trunk to trunk in the parking lot. Much more efficient than running around the neighborhood and safer, too. Lady Cinderella is waiting for her Coach to arrive.
Sleeping Beauty makes her grand entrance. I feel like I'm looking 15 years into the future and seeing her prom picture.

Sleeping Beauty, Glinda the Good Witch, Cinderella, and Belle

Tinker Bell

Anxious to go

Baby G-- just shy of 9 months

Now that Baby has a black belt in crawling, she prefers to stand. Basically she uses her mobility to get her to anything that will help her stand and slowly move from place to place. Iron bars...

Fireplaces...

...Ottomans and more. What is really scary is that she thinks she has enough balance to let go. She doesn't and no matter how many times she gets hurt, she's right back up ready to let go and do it again. If I had this kind of persistence I could do anything!

She also sprouted her first tooth (look closely at her front bottom tooth on the left. It broke surface on Sunday the 19th. It is RAZOR sharp (think shark teeth). She likes to gnaw on my chin or knee and after the tooth came through, her gnawing almost sent me through the roof. Can someone please tell me why she'd rather gnaw on human bone than on the various teething toys she owns that are specifically designed for this type of torture?

The other side of princesses...

The Windy City

We took the commuter train downtown on Saturday to celebrate my niece's 2 year birthday. Bell is in heaven surrounded by her cousins. The birthday girl is cuddled up with mom, looking out the window.
Daddy, Mommy and Baby in front of the Bean at Millenium Park.
The highlight of the day was the fountains at Millenium Park, where there are two huge walls of brick glass, from which water falls. The tricky part is, you're not sure when it's going to fall. The best part are the huge faces that are projected behind the glass bricks. When the faces pucker their mouths up, a spout of water shoots out. Cousin Maile arches her back as the water temperature is chilly!
Lady and Bell running from the fountain
Bell strikes a pose
Lady squeals in cold delight
Happy 2nd Birthday Eva!

My Birthday

We celebrated my birthday in Chicago with my sister and her family and my brother and his wife. Tradition holds that the birthday girl/boy gets to pick the meals of the day. My choice: Eggs benedict and fresh fruit for breakfast and Daddy cooking for me... his choice. True to form, he chose Asian, which I love. We had sushi and Korean food... super yummy. He is an amazing cook. My sister took me shopping while my sister-in-law watched (count them) 8 kids! The family bought me a couple of outfits, head to toe, jewelery, clothes and shoes. My sis picked out gold high heels, and I even agreed. Such a stretch from my normal all black ensemble.
I chose banana splits for desserts. I hadn't had one of these since Ferrell's when I was a kid.
Not a flattering picture of me, but one where there is enough light to see my hair. I had a crazy idea while I was in Boston that I should go dark and color my hair all one color. I had it professionally done, but it just wasn't me. So I had it highlighted for my birthday and had tons of layers put into it because my hair tends to grow out like a mushroom, and that's just not attractive. Thanks to my family for spoiling me for the day.

The Love of her Life

Lady and I were snuggling yesterday and she was giving me lots of kisses all over my face and I said:

Me: Who do you love the most in this world?

Lady: Cinderella

Me: Okay. Who do you love second most in this world?
Lady: Sleeping Beauty

Me: Third?

Lady: Peter Pan (what? how does she know who Peter Pan is? She's never seen the movie or read the book. How does Peter Pan make the list before her mom, dad, or sisters?)

Me: What about me?

Lady: Oh yeah... I love you, Mom.