A Wintry Halloween

Let me tell you, it's an unusual thing to be trick-or-treating while there's snow on the ground -- not that our little bumblebee and ballerina ghost seemed to mind since they knew candy was at stake! Well, I don't think Kate realized what we were getting ready to do, but once she followed Emily to the first house, she definitely caught on quickly (even if she did insist on being carried rather than running like her big sister).








Just like last year, Mom-Mom and Poppy came over to man the house while Daddy and I took the girls trick-or-treating, but this year we also had surprise visits from Uncle Steve and Aunt Erin. After that, Caitie arrived with her friend Hannah from school, which meant it was time for us to get some candy!






It was lots of fun watching Emily run around with her friends from house to house, even if it meant that Kate couldn't keep up with them (which reminded me of trick-or-treating with my little sisters), but we all know she doesn't mind being stuck with me one bit! At the end of the night, we dropped Caitie and Hannah off before hitting the last couple houses on our way home.



We survived the night with barely any meltdowns and zero battles over how much candy they were allowed to eat. It was a very Happy Halloween for us, and we hope it was for you, too!

Alternate Plans

Since our girls had been looking forward to the block-party-that-never-happened, I invited Hadley and Caitie over for a playdate today instead. Fortunately Daddy had the brilliant idea of buying pumpkins to paint just in case the party (that was supposed to include pumpkin painting) was cancelled, so the girls were very excited to make some pretty pumpkins.





I think Kate may have gotten more paint on her hands than on her pumpkin, but what matters is that all three girls had fun with it, right?!

Halloween Treats

At the beginning of the school year, the classroom moms from Emily's class hosted a coffee for all of us moms to go over everything for the school year including volunteering. One thing that needed volunteering was the weekly snack, for which Mrs. M had assigned colors based on the color of the week. Well, by the time the sign-up sheet made its way to me, the only colors left were black and white. I signed up for black thinking I had plenty of time to think about it, when lo and behold the week snuck up on me. I was racking my brain trying to think of something other than Oreos when I came up with this:



Graham crackers with a raisin spider on buttercream icing. Apparently they were a big hit, and those black grapes I managed to find at the last minute at Whole Foods? Barely eaten.

So that was Wednesday. Today we were supposed to have a neighborhood block party, but it was postponed until tomorrow because of the weather, which was just as well with me considering I hadn't had time to make the dessert I promised before tonight (and don't even get me started on the macaroni and cheese). I was waffling between a few ideas when I settled on these:



Candy corn cookies. I figured they'd be easy to store in case the party was cancelled again (and it was), and they were cute and fun for Emily to help me make. In the meantime I'll just keep those other ideas in my back pocket!

Feels Like...Winter?!

Despite the forecast, I was doubtful. Snow? In October? I guess so!

An Overdue Playdate

After not seeing them since Kate's birthday party (I know, we couldn't believe it either), we finally got together with Megan, Brendan, and James today. After a slow start, soon enough they were chasing each other all around the house, shouting "Happy Halloween" like it was a battle cry. We eventually got them to settle down for us but not for long!




It's always been fun to see Emily and Brendan play together, but today we really got to see Kate and James together too. They're closer in age than the older two, and especially since Kate is so tall, it was like they were on the same level.


The cutest was when the other kids had all run out of the room, and James looked at me and said, "Where go?" -- and I realized that in just two months Kate could very well be talking like that too! She's adding more words all the time; have you heard her say Bap-Bap (Pop-Pop) or nana (banana) yet?

Halloween Parade

For an entire year, Emmy has been saying she wanted to be a ghost for Halloween this year. (Literally; she first told us while we were trick-or-treating last year.) I thought at some point her princess obsession would trump that idea, but, no, the ghost persisted. So there we were, a few weeks before Halloween, still insisting on a ghost costume, when I realized that she probably wouldn't do well with the traditional sheet-over-the-head costume. Thus, with a plain white t-shirt, a little black felt, and a lot of white tulle, just in time for her Halloween Parade at preschool, ballerina ghost was created -- and she loved it.






Not surprisingly, a couple of her friends were dressed up as princesses...




...but I bet she was the only ballerina ghost in town!

Happy Birthday, Addison!

The first year always goes by too fast, and tomorrow, our friends Seth and Stephanie will celebrate Addie's first birthday. Today, though, we got to celebrate with them, and Stephanie totally outdid herself preparing for the party. I think the candy table almost stole the spotlight from the birthday girl -- almost. As if anyone or anything could steal her spotlight!





She was so excited for her birthday cupcake. I am always impressed when first birthday-ers manage to eat their cake without any tears since neither of my girls could handle it!





The real fun was outside in the inflatable playground that was filled the whole afternoon with all of Addie's little friends and of course her big sister Logan too.















As always, we were nearly the last to leave which meant we caught Addie as she found her presents, and wouldn't you know that ours was the one that caught her attention? (I'm sure the fact that we were the last to arrive and therefore had our present on the outside of the pile had nothing to do with it!)




After hugs and kisses, we left Addie to enjoy her presents and finish celebrating with her family. Happy Birthday, little miss!