Trick or Treat

My sister had her annual Halloween Party on Sunday. We all went over for some food and then trick or treating. Isabella stayed at the house with Nana and Papa and helped hand out candy.

Iris received VIP treatment and got to ride in the wagon. Avery started off in the wagon as well but after about two houses she decided the wagon was just slowing her down so she ran from door to door with the big kids.

Iris had a little trouble keeping up with the big kids but she did pretty good. At the first house she just walked past the man with the candy and walked straight through the door. I had to get her out and explain that we were there to trick-or-treat, not to visit. She caught on pretty quickly. She was afraid of any house with a Jack-O-Lantern and would turn around and run back to the wagon if she saw one. There was also one scary witch that made an impression on her and she talked about that thing for the rest of he night.

Super Woman Jaylen also had trouble keeping up with the big kids so we let these two trick or treat at their own pace. They sat in the wagon and sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star together between houses. It was adorable.

Everyone loves an Uncle Brad....

Halloween Party

Saturday we went to a halloween party to see Iris' friend, Clara. These two had fun decorating bags together. It was Iris' first experience with squeeze glue. It will also be her last for quite some time. After lots of cookies and candy it was hard to keep these two still. They must have ran 50 laps around our table chasing each other and giggling. This is the best picture I could get of Minnie Mouse and my little Owl. Little bunny Isabella got lots of love from Lenna. she even had a bunny tail to complete the look.

Pumpkin Decorating

Thursday afternoon Iris decorated pumpkins (or "punskins" as she likes to call them) while daddy carved our Jack-O-Lantern. Iris didn't quite understand what Brad was doing because she kept telling him that he broke the punskin.

Once is was done we turned off the lights and showed Iris the finished product. Instead of being excited she screamed, "Scary Punskin!" and ran and jumped into my arms. She likes it just fine when the candle is not lit but once it's on she gets very scared. I think this is one of the friendliest looking "Punskins" I have ever seen....

Iris' pumpkin is on the left and Isabella's is on the right.

Friday night I made a Halloween dinner. Iris was not scared of my pumpkin shaped cheeseburger pie. She called it a Halloween pizza but she still wouldn't eat it. It was quite yummy. I'll be making this again next year.

and here's a preview of Isabella's costume....

Halloween Carnival

Iris' school had a Halloween carnival on Thursday. The two's were not allowed to wear costumes so each class made matching T-shirts. Iris' class were bats. She was excited when we walked in the door and said "Ohhh, a Halloween Birthday Party!" Then she immediately became overwhelmed. She just froze and stood there until she found this balloon. Then she became obsessed with the balloon and would not participate in any of the games...

still holding on to that thing...

After about 10 minutes she branched out a bit and played a few games. I could never get any good pictures because she was scared of this big elephant that they had in the corner and kept wanting me to hold her. She was also a little bit stuffy that day. You can always tell when Iris is not feeling well, she gets those droopy eyes and a puffy face. I know these pictures are not great but she really did have a good time once she warmed up a bit.

Picking Pumpkins

We picked out pumpkins on Wednesday. I was suppose to make the girls Halloween dresses but time just got away from me so I decided to try some more shots in their Big Si/Lil Sis shirts. These pictures didn't turn out that great either.

Iris picked out a pumpkin for herself and one for Isabella. Then she rode in the wagon while we looked for a big one to take home and carve....

Spooky Summerville

On Sunday my mom and I took the girls downtown Summerville to see all of the Halloween displays. Iris enjoyed it but she was moody and in need of a nap. It was not her best picture day...

Not all of the displays were cute and family friendly such as these. Iris saw a very scary bloody man with an ax or something in his head and it scared her. She never quite recovered and it was downhill from there...

Although Iris was the one screaming Isabella was the only one that would actually pose for "The Scream" by Van Gogh...

Fall Fun

What was suppose to be a lazy weekend actually turned out to be quite busy. Saturday morning we went to Mt. Pleasant for a car show. Iris is wearing last years kitty cat ears and tail because there is a cat on her t-shirt and I thought it was cute---it is almost Halloween after all and she loved it. I have no idea what kind of car that is behind us but Brad liked it so that's why we are posing in front of it.

Then we went to lunch, took naps and everyone woke up in a good mood.... Silly kitty's....

We took the family back out to the dock to see if we could maybe catch some fish this time. Daddy caught not one, but two big redfish.

Iris finally got to see what a real fish looks like up close and personal. She was a bit hesitant about holding these...

I also caught a trout but I thought I looked fat in the picture so I decided not to post it. I am proud of my trout but not that proud. Isabella enjoyed the scenery from her bouncy seat as usual. Unfortunatley her OFF clip was no match for the no-seeums this time. They ran us off pretty quickly. Iris even tried to get away by boat. (Don't worry, it's tied to the dock)

Isabella is 6 Months!

Happy 6 Month Birthday! Remember I mentioned that you would be seeing the Minnie Mouse dress again, well here it is. It has a little ghost on this side. Hard to see but this is the best shot we could get.

Isabella you are getting to be such a big girl and your smile could literally light up a room. It's is so infectious and when I look down at that adorable smile I completely forget that it is 3:30 a.m., I have been rocking you for an hour and you show no signs of going back to sleep. Yep, you have become a little night owl lately. I asked the Dr. at your 6 month check-up if I should stop feeding you in the middle of the night. I had already decided to stop but only asked so he would say "yes, that's what you should do," and I could stop without a guilty conscinece and tell myself I was only doing it because the Dr. said so but no, he said to give you another month. So you lucked out this time little one. But please please start sleeping through the night. Mommy has not had a full nights sleep in over 6 months and she is TIRED!

Your 6 Month check-up was on Oct. 25th and your stats are as follows:

Weight: 13 lbs. 14oz (11th percentile)

Length: 26 1/4 inches (68th percentile)

Head circumference: 16 1/2 inches (33rd percentile) ** Ok, no one freak out. Yes, her head measured bigger last month but the Dr. said she was the 2nd baby that morning who's head measured smaller than their last visit and he is certain that it is because the nurse wasn't so precise with her measurments last time. I do have to say I remember watching the nurse measure her head and her length at the last visit and thinking to myself, that was a little too quick and sloppy and I didn't think either measurement was quite accurate. Today it was a different nurse and she was VERY meticulous about her measurements and did a much better job.

Accomplishments this month: --You now have 2 bottom teeth that have just cut through. They actually came through on the Disney cruise. I expected you to be super cranky but you were just fine. I wouldn't have even noticed them except for your biting on your spoon. --You've moved to your room upstairs and now sleep in your crib -- Trying new foods such as pears, sweet potataoes, butternut squash, acorn squash and avocados. You have tried bananas and do not like them. I have made all of your baby food except when we were on the cruise. You seem to like the jarred kind just fine though and I do feed you jarred apples. You eat two meals a day. Oatmeal with a fruit in the morning and usually rice cereal with one of the above in the evening. --You started your first constanant sound and it is an "M." You say "Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma" over and over again. --You are getting better at sitting up. You are still not rolling over or sitting up by yourself yet but you get a little closer each week and I think you'll be doing both pretty soon. My mom said you rolled over the other day but I did not see it and you haven't done it since so it doesn't count. You love playing in your exersaucer, watching Iris be silly and watching TV. You also love your Kindermusik class. Here you are in your little "car" while you get pulled around the room. Happy 6 Months Boodles!

Dancing Skeleton

I love these PJ's! I wanted to get them for her last Halloween but they did not come in her size. They glow in the dark too--love it! Of course they look even cuter when paired with a matching tutu....

Iris practicing her ballerina moves....

Disney Cruise, Day 4

On Sunday morning we woke up back in Port Canaveral. We had an early breakfast on the boat and by 8:22a.m. we were pulling out of the parking lot. This is what both girls looked like by 8:30a.m. We barely made it out of the port and they were both sound asleep. Iris slept all the way to Georgia and only woke up because we had to stop and get gas.

It was a good trip. Maybe a little too adventurous for their ages but we still had a lot of fun and look forward to doing it again in a few years when they are older.

Disney cruise, Day 3

By day 3 we had it figured out. We got off the boat at Castaway Cay (Disney's private island) early in the morning for some fun in the sun. The weather was beautiful--sunny but not hot. Iris LOVED the water. It was so beautiful you could see straight to the bottom and these huge bonefish would swim right next to you.

It was a struggle to get Iris out of the water. She spent every second on the beach trying to get us to go back to the water and how could you say "No" to this sweet little thing. If you look closely you'll notice her sunglasses are upside down. That was her preferred way of wearing them all week. While daddy and Iris went back to swim, Isabella played it cool in the shade with mommy and practiced her sitting up skills.

Her two front bottom teeth broke through during the cruise so there was a lot of drooling and munching on those fingers.... After the beach we ate lunch at a big BBQ they had prepared and then it was back to the boat. As I said, Brad and I had it figured out by now and we gave both girls quick baths and then dropped them off at the nursery for their afternoon naps---Brilliant! Then we went to the adults only pool and enjoyed a cool beverage (or two) and some rest and relaxation.

The girls had great naps and everyone was in a good mood for dinner. Iris was very excited when we were all giving the wait staff a round of applause for their service during the cruise.

I'll take this moment to brag. Yes, I know, my family is beautiful, but really what I was talking about were the matching Minnie dresses. I made them and I thought they turned out well. Isabella's is actually reversible so you'll be seeing it again around Halloween. Iris's dress is not because I made hers first and didn't quite have the forethought to make it reversible--I'm still learning. (I did their Minnie Mouse T-shirt and onesie as well--see Day 1)

Isabella is really getting the hang of this sitting up thing...

except when big sister jumps on the bed and knocks her off balance. They were too cute playing on the bed together. Iris thought Isabella was tickling her which made her squirm and laugh which in turn made Isabella laugh and reach for her more. It was adorable to see them interact that way.

We'll be working on sitting "ladylike" though...

Disney Cruise, Day 2

Friday morning we woke up as we were docking in Nassau. We went to Atlantis for a tour of the resort and aquarium. Iris enjoyed the aquarium bit it was a difficult day. Iris was worn out from the previous days excitement and could not get it together. It was a rough tour with a tired whining 2 year old and a baby so we did not get many pictures of Nassau or Atlantis. I was able to get one good one while she was studying this gigantic fish.

After her afternoon nap things got better. She played in the kiddie Splash Zone and then we sent them both to the nursery while mommy and daddy had a nice dinner at the adults only restaurant, Palo. It was a much needed break from the days events. We sent them to the nursery in their pajamas but of course everyone was wide awake when we picked them up. Isabella enjoyed spending the rest of the evening with our growing Minnie Mouse collection... while Iris enjoyed a nightcap with daddy on the verandah...