Visitors, Pumpkin Patch, Sam's Club, and Happy Halloween!

Grandma J and Uncle Iain came down for a very brief, fun and relaxing weekend visit. In the short amount of time we spent together we were able to talk a lot (mostly about the Mayo brothers), eat a lot, and walk a lot (three of my favorite things, though not necessarily in that order). Lucy and Zoe loved all of the extra attention and we are all excited to see the family again over Thanksgiving.

This was Lucy's second visit to Carolyn's and Zoe's first. Thankfully, this year we were able to make it out there before Halloween day and had a plethora of pumpkins to choose from, unlike last year when the tractor drove us out to the middle of desolate, almost barren ground, only inhabited by pumpkin gut... (reference October 2007 in the archives for the lovely visual)


One of Lucy's many silly faces...


Very easily amused...


Grandma J and Uncle Iain patiently waiting in the twenty minute line to get into the pumpkin patch. That line was so long; ridiculously long, yet we waited and were happy to get in once we caught site of the freshly popped kettle corn.


Monkey see, money do...


Look at ALL those pumpkins!


One of the winners that got to come home with us, and as of 11 PM Halloween night is still sitting on the front porch, uncarved...


Zoe has gotten used to the abuse. Notice the slight smile on Zoe's face as Lucy plants her elbow into the side of her head?


This was a momentous day. Lucy and Zoe sitting together for the first time in a shopping cart at Sam's Club. I know it sounds silly, but it's a pretty big deal to not have to drag at least one stroller (if not the double) into a store along with Charles pushing Lucy in a shopping cart. They really enjoyed sitting next to each other. It's life's little pleasures, right?


Already shopping buddies!


The last couple of years I've purchased candy and waited by the door, ready to hand out all sorts of delicious, sugary, chocolately candy to anyone dressed in costume. No one EVER shows, and I'm always stuck eating all of what I've bought. So this year we decided to stay out, and to deter any kids from stopping we turned off the motion light on the porch. At about 7 o' clock we're driving down our street when we see an entire group of kids and parents (I'm talking at least ten people in total, more than we saw the last two years combined) banging on our front door. The porch light is on, and they're just waiting and waiting. Now we have a dilemma. Do we pull into our drive and make up and excuse like "we were out of candy so we had to run out for more"? Pretty unbelievable. Do we pull in to the driveway and ignore them as we make our way up to the front door? Pretty rude. What, pray tell did we do? We opted for scenario C where we drive by the house and slowly make our way around the block until we know it's clear, run inside, turn the motion light off, and for the rest of the evening pretend not to be home. Yes, we are C-L-A-S-S-Y.

Trick or treating on the square, before the evening's mini drama unfolded. Lucy in butterfly costume was pretty unsure what to think about Minnie Mouse.


Counting her loot...


Zoe was a Monkey. The cutest part of the costume was the tail on her tooshie. Unfortunately, she sat on it the majority of the night.







It is impossible to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time. One out of three ain't bad.


We ran into the Suttons on our way home and they were kind enough to take a family picture for us. Tah Da! And that was our Halloween night.

A Day at the Park

Fall is here! And because this is our favorite time of year we spent the weekend outdoors. Saturday afternoon we putzed around The Legends (as well as taking in the great sale at Banana!), enjoyed two walks around the neighborhood; one in the morning and one after the sun set, and played "Chase Lucy" in the front yard (sidenote: This was the most exciting event of the day for Lucy. NOT the most exciting event of the day for me, as it mimics exercise.).

Sunday we were outdoors again, this time at the park; the weather was GORGEOUS. A day at the park is good, but a day at the park with your sister and best friend is better, and a day at the park with your best buddy followed by a puppy cone (and a large concrete for me) from Sheridan's is the BEST!

Lucy loves to kiss her sister. Aged two to eighty those cheeks begged to be kissed by everyone.


We praise Lucy for being a good big sister, and especially for being a "nice" big sister. Hugging, kissing, sharing, those are all "nice" things. She is so proud of herself and loves the attention she gets. Her new thing is the stroke her sister's head when Zoe is upset. The problem now is she CANNOT keep her hands to herself. She constantly has to be touching or kissing or stroking, and just like anyone else, Zoe enjoys her personal space.


Just like her big sister, Miss Zozo loves the swing. She squeals in delight and kicks those little feet of hers. Her giggle is almost too much for me; it is so sweet.


One of the many things Lucy did not inherit from either Charles or myself is the fact that she LOVES to run (and by run, I mean walk really fast swishing her hips and swinging her arms similar to that of a speed walker). I don't understand how she has the energy for it, considering she still doesn't eat. She must have super glucose reserves.


The slides at this park were a bit on the small side...


Oh, my little girl and her Daddy. For any mother or parent, this is one of the sweetest things to witness. Zoe is growing so fast. I cannot wrap my mind around how quickly these last six and a half months have passed.


Sometimes being home with my two rug rats can be a little stressful, but as fast as time passes I'm realizing that it won't always be like this. My girls and their sweet little faces and tiny voices. Right now I'm just trying to be present in the all of the little moments; simple things like taking the extra time to really savor the smell of the back of my their heads as they sit in my lap and lean against me, or close my eyes, relishing the full weight of their embrace in one of their selfless hugs, trying so hard to burn their images into my brain of how absolutely perfect they are and how they've profoundly shaped who I am and what I believe in. I know that it will come all too soon, them longing for more independence and wanting to grow up. But before that time comes I'll just enjoy them as they are.

A Respite from Blogging...

We had an incredibly full September. Funny enough I can't really think of too many specifics, but I do remember we all caught the dreaded summer cold. We also started the basement remodel, as well as putting in new (and safe!) stairs. We've been living in utter chaos the last four weeks and it doesn't look like there is an end in sight, but I am grateful for the slow home improvements and look forward to all the the newly acquired living space.

I lost my camera for most of the month, only to find it a week ago, so there aren't too many pictures. The first few posted are the older set and the last few the newer set. I couldn't tell you the exact dates, but they were taken sometime last month. I only mention this because it seems overnight Lucy has grown into such a big girl. She looks so much more mature in the last half of the pictures. It's probably just a mom-thing. Who knows?

My little ladies after our afternoon walk. At least one of them napped that day.


Lucy, my girly-girl, got into my makeup drawer. I laughed so hard when I saw her. I couldn't believe she knew how to correctly apply mascara, for the most part anyway....


Daddy and his girls.


Zoe is still a very happy girl. My only complaint is that she, like her sister has decided that naps aren't necessary. I am lucky if she naps for at least an hour a day. Seriously, based solely on the fact that neither of my children seem to need or even enjoy sleep, I believe they must have been switched at birth.


Baby girl turned six months old last month. Her last well baby visit went fine, but I am disappointed to announce that she is no longer in the 99% for height and weight. She is now in the 98%, weighing in at 20 # and length-wise is twenty-something inches (I can't remember off the top of my head). Poor baby is just wasting away.


Lucy loves her Daddy. Lucy loves rough-housing. She especially loves rough-housing with her Daddy. With me, not so much. There's a bit of tomboy in her.


Zoe recently moved into her big girl seat. As much as I missed the convenience of having the infant carrier, I don't miss the backache lugging that thing around. Those are heavy enough. Add a little beefcake like Zoe, and you spell trouble for the lower back. She made the transition beautifully, without complaint. It must be the extra padding (on the car seat, not her).


April and Alisha came to visit. We've seen them more than this once, but this is the only time we've had it photographically documented. We've been loving their work and school schedules because we get to see them more often.


Lucy and her BFFs.


Who is this grown up little girl? Her two year stats put her in the 95% for height and 30% for weight. She definitely does not get that from my side of the family. She is so tall, well for now anyway. As I recall Auntie Vadsana was always the tallest girl in her class until the fifth grade when she stopped growing and everyone else started...


Lucy was very impressed with Alisha's athletic prowess. She even gave her the "WOW!" and "WHOA!" every time she tossed or kicked the ball. Lucy is the kind of friend you want to have when you're having a bad day. There are always lots of hugs, clapping, back-patting, and words of encouragement. She says and does these thing without a stitch of reservation or censorship. If anything two-year olds are sincere.


I'm sure others might think (or know for that matter) that I'm quite the dork. I love, when I can, to dress the girls in anything matching. I saw these adorable matching house slipper and couldn't resist. It's silly, but it's worth it. Also, Lucy is demonstrating one of the new things she does. She loves to tickle, and comes at you with both hands in a door knob-opening, twisting motion, all the while laughing and saying, "tiko-tiko-tiko". It doesn't ever tickle, but it is pretty funny. So, we laugh anyway. Notice she's tickling Zoe's skull. She doesn't have it down to a science yet...


This is her other new thing. Dora the Explorer. She has only been newly exposed because her Grandma J got her the Big Sister DVD for her birthday. I cannot put into words how much this girl loves Dora. I love Dora. Yeah she's kind of annoying and she's got a football-shaped noggin, but those Nickolodean people are onto something. Lucy's vocabulary exploded after watching the show a couple times. And is demonstrated below, her dancing skills are quite something else too. This is Lucy at the end of the show when Dora and Boots sing the "We Did It" song. If In Living Color were still on, this would be the next Fly Girl. She's got some pretty sweet moves.