Trick or Treat

Trick-or-treating was a hit! Sophie talked about it all day today. She got a little practice in at the story time at our local library where the kids got to walk through the community center and get treats. Tonight was the real thing, though, and it was great! We bundled Sophie up in multiple layers under her angel/fairy costume because it was really cold today (for the first time in days!). We visited a few neighborhood homes and then headed to church for the big church "Harvest Fest." There were people lined up in the hallways giving out candy, and there was a big carnival in the gym. Sophie and Greg waited in line for 10 minutes to get a helium balloon, which was gracing the ceiling withing 2 minutes of finally getting it. I think Greg was more sad than Sophie. We ended at our friend Lydia's house so the girls could see each other's costumes. They enjoyed comparing loot and greeting a few trick-or-treaters at the door. When asked what her favorite thing of the night was, Sophie replied, "Suckers!" She had two, which she pretty much worked on the whole night. Bedtime (which did not occur until 9 pm!) has never been so difficult!! But it was all worth it!

Party

Greg and I hosted our 10th annual Halloween party this year. We started doing this just after college before we were even married. We've been holding a Connect 4 tournament each year, with prizes awarded for top three winners. Last year we encouraged costume-wearing, and we've given out prizes to the top two "best" costumes voted on by all the guests. We have typically had around 30 people in our tiny house each year, but this year we had only half that. Many regular-attenders had other engagements and weren't able to make it. We missed them all, but the up side was that it increased all of our chances of winning the Connect 4 Tourney or costume contest. Ultimately, Bill (a rookie), Tara, and Todd took 3rd, 2nd and 1st places in Connect 4, winning "The Office" paraphernalia, fancy treats, and a Chipotle giftcard. Greg and I, The Lady's Man and Dora the Explorer, tied for 1st in the costume contest (is it fair for the hosts to win??), only barely beating out little Brayden, the cowboy son of Jeremiah and Kelly. Brayden couldn't stay up late enough to claim his prize, so we'll be sending his DQ giftcard in the mail. Since it was a more intimate group than usual, we didn't have enough people interested in staying around for the scary movie, which is due back on Monday. That means that Greg and I get to watch it alone today. Lucky me.

Over the river and through the woods...

Sophie went for her first overnight trip to Grandma & Grandpa E's house (along with Great Grandma) without mommy and daddy this weekend while we were preparing for and hosting our annual Halloween party. We weren't sure she would leave with them, but we mentioned "Donald's" and getting to trick-or-treat, and then we couldn't get her in the van fast enough! She gave us hugs and kisses, and said, "I love you," while waving goodbye and blowing us kisses. We had been worried that she wouldn't leave without us, but she could have cared less that we weren't coming along. What a big girl! We've missed her, but we've sure gotten a lot done! So far, we've heard that trick-or-treating was a big hit. Sophie loved seeing all the other kids in costumes and pointing out what they were dressed up as. She also busted a move to the music a local DJ was playing. Afterward, she even went on the big potty at Aunt Mary's house. Big stuff!

Halloween happenings

We have been preparing for Halloween around our house. We've been quizzing Sophie on what to say when she knocks on doors (Trick or Treat!) and what she'll get for doing so (CANDY!). I planned a big fun family pumpkin-carving, thinking this would be the first year Sophie would appreciate it. It turned into a big fun pumpkin-carving for Greg. He was sick and couldn't hold Owen, but Owen needed to be fed, so I did that while Greg worked on the pumpkin. Sophie refused to touch it, so Greg did all the work while we watched. Then I roasted and seasoned the pumpkin seeds because I've been wanting to for a few years, and none of us has taken the time to eat any! We have found time to try on Owen's costume, though. Isn't he the cutest tiger??

Pumpkin patch

We went to a pumpkin patch tonight with our friends Todd, Laura and Lydia. This has become our traditional fall activity. We try to get good pumpkin pictures each time, but Sophie was not cooperating this year. She was more interested in riding the "rides." The animals were a big hit though, as always. On the way home, I asked her what her favorite animal was, and she yelled, "Goats!"

Chunky thighs

The only time when chunky thighs are cute. Who would have thought that our 4 pounder would be almost 12 pounds at 3 1/2 months old! Owen's already in size 2 diapers--it took Sophie 5 months to get into that size!

Tidbits

Sophie has been interested in talking on the phone lately...the cell phone. She talked to grandparents on both sides yesterday. The big news of the day was that she got a "poke" (a flu shot) at the doctor's and that she got to pick a Doodlebops sticker. She wants to hold the phone herself, walks around while she talks, and refuses to give it to Mommy for her turn. Aunt Janelle is the big winner, though, with the longest and most in-depth conversations with Sophie on the phone.

Today, while Greg is away setting up his deer stand, we needed something to do, so we headed to the mall to hang out. We did a little shopping and then we read books at the big bookstore. We probably did that for almost an hour! It's so great that Sophie loves to read! And Owen was his usual cooperative self.

Quesadillas

Sophie helped Daddy make supper last night on the George Foreman grill (Greg likes to call it the quesadilla-maker because that's what we use it for mostly!). She ate as much cheese as she put on the tortillas, so Greg had to grate some more. Thankfully, she likes to eat the fruit of her labor. With salsa.

Puddles!

We've been having pretty cool and dreary weather lately. It's too cool in the morning to go outside with Owen, and in the evenings, it's generally too wet and too dark for Greg to take Sophie out after supper for very long. We're already feeling that winter-time panic of what to fill our evenings with inside the house each evening. Tonight wasn't too cool yet, so I asked Sophie if she wanted to get outside and go for a ride in the stroller, but she said no. I asked if she wanted to go for a walk with me, and she said no. I told her she could wear her rubber boots and walk in puddles, and she said OK! We only made it half-way down the block, but we hit several puddles along the way.

Green Stuff

Sophie woke up a bit cranky from her nap today and was not excited to eat the supper I'd made (the homemade Pasta Fagioli--who wouldn't want that?!) when I described it as noodle soup. She kept saying, "I want something else!" I offered to keep some of the cooked noodles out for her before putting them in the soup, and she was happy to have those with sauce on them. But then she asked to see what I was making, and after seeing it said, "Have some of that." Alrighty then! So, I dished some up for her. She dug into it, excited about the beans (kidney beans!). Then she stopped and looked at a spoonful and asked, "What's this green stuff?" I told her it was celery, a very tiny piece of celery. "I don't like it," she said. I told her she had to at least try it first. "Take it out," she whined. I offered to take all the "green stuff" out if she still didn't like it after trying just one bite. Eventually, she tasted the one tiny piece of green stuff, and after that she didn't have a problem with it. In fact, she ate three bowls of my Pasta Fagioli, green stuff included. We recently had difficulty getting her to eat something with green peppers in it and another dish with flecks of spinach in it was untouchable. How do children innately know that there is something wrong with eating green stuff??

Little Friends

Sophie had her little friend Lydia over to play today. Lydia's family lives near by, and we are so thankful that they do! The moms, dads and kids all enjoy each other's company, which can sometimes be rare to find. We've lost two other special friends/families like that to moves down south recently, so we're hoping Lydia won't be going anywhere any time soon!

The girls had a fruit snack tea party today. They made me pretzels in the kitchen, and they were good at helping each other clean up the toys. They were not so good at sharing them, necessarily, but that's the age they're at. Owen was very cooperative and slept in his swing most of the morning, which meant that I had my hands free (and toddler distracted!) enough to do some prep-work for supper tonight. Yesterday was a difficult day, so we got canned tomato soup for supper. Tonight we're having homemade Pasta Fagioli! I'm guessing Greg will want Sophie to have little friends over to play more often!

Rough couple days

It's been a rough couple of days at our house. I had surgery on Friday to get my tubes tied. Sorry if that's TMI (too much information) for some of you! When I got home, Sophie had a fever and was looking as bad as I felt. We were quite a pair! Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa were around to take care of us invalids as well as feeding/caring for Greg and Owen! Saturday was a better day, but we had a rough night again when Sophie woke up with a fever again and wouldn't go back to sleep. She ended up in bed with us, awake, for at least 3 hours before finally falling asleep practically on top of me. While awake, she was whispering the alphabet, consoling her doll Lilly ("Shhh. It's okay Lilly," while she patted her back), rubbing my back, doing my hair, and generally flopping around a lot. It was a rough night! But it could have been worse--Owen could have joined us. The highlights of our long weekend were having Grandma and Grandpa here to play (Sophie especially liked playing upstairs with them or in their van in the driveway!), receiving Halloween presents from Florida, and watching more movies than normally allowed. Beauty and the Beast, pronounced "Cutie and the Beast" by Sophie, was the favorite movie of the weekend. Sophie kept wanting to wear her yellow "Belle" dress, which is her dress from Cassie and Gerrit's wedding, while she watched. We are hoping Monday will find us all much better rested and in better shape than we have been the last few days! We also hope to be getting out of the house soon and watching fewer movies!