Sunday, October 31, 2010

HaPPy hAllOWeEn

Dear Whit,
These are for you.  My fun-loving, dress-up-fanatic, Halloween-partying sister-in-law.  It's late.  My eyes are glazing over and the mascara in my right lashes is clumping in the most annoying ways.  I have just encountered 2 error messages trying to upload photos and have now invented a few choice adjectives for blogger that I shouldn't type here.  I have pumpkin shaped cookies that need to go in the cookie jar for the night and cream cheese frosting that never made it on them to go in the fridge to be pulled out tomorrow to go on the pumpkin shaped cookies tomorrow.  I need a drink because my throat is still a little scratchy from a 2-week cold that lingers and R just turned out all the lights downstairs.  Save the one lamp next to the couch that will see me safely across the room and up the stairs to my bed.  Aaahhh, my bed.  I may not even take off my clumpy mascara.  Let it flake off onto my white pillowcase tonight.  I don't think I care.  I'll know for sure when I make it up the stairs and into my bathroom and come face to face with my eye-make-up-remover.  I might end up caring then.  But Whit, these photos are for you.  A peek at your nieces and nephew in their Halloween glory.  I'm so sad you couldn't see them in person with you in your Halloween glory, all of us tromping up and down the streets in my neighborhood trick-or-treating...big and little kids alike.  Miss you.  Enjoy the pics.




complete halloween coverage coming soon...after I make it to my bed and stay there for at least a few hours

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

just for kids

This party is just for kids.  Just 67 kids to be exact!  All in their Halloween best.  Pirates and princesses and Super Mario Bros. and skeletons and knights alike come to the Spooky Sproul's for an afternoon of fun and games.  It's a sight to see...a backyard full of characters bobbing for apples, tossing spiders, catching flying candy, and munching on the scariest goodies this side of Halloweentown!

the whole gang


hooray for halloween

hooray for our awesome party hostesses...Nicole and Kate

food fare

costume fare

watching and waiting

for Kate and Amber the friendly witch to make candy fly

       bobbing                          bobbing                          casualty                          one lost tooth!

thanks to our local police officers for helping to ensure a safe party!

See you next year kiddos!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Toys Will Be Toys

The costumes are starting to come together.
I'll give you 3 guesses what my crew is going to be for Halloween this year.

Landen's vest fitting
Nope.  Not the Lone Ranger.

This goes on Abbey.
But, she will not be a lady matador.

Contraband cowboy boots.  Way too big for the boy, but he loves them...so wear them he will!

Guesses??
As Layne would say, we are going "Toy Story Free!"
Landen will be sporting Woody.  What more fun could you have in a costume.  A cowboy hat, popping guns, and dad's cowboy boots.

Abbey is going to be Jessie.  Sassy, super chatty, ear-to-ear grinning.  I know.  We couldn't have made a better match.  No acting needed for this character!  Abbey is super detail-oriented, so I'll be working overtime to make sure everything is in place.  She has watched the movie twice and continually brings me the DVD jacket to show me exactly what her outfit should look like.

Layne is...Layne is...I'm working on this one.  There aren't that many choices for girl characters from the movie.  We thought Little Bo Peep would be super cute, but it is not coming together.  I even had a friend lend me some pioneer outfits and a bonnet that we were sure could work, but all are way too big for her.  I tried to re-fasion an older dress of Abbey's, but my skills are seriously lacking.  She will be a toy.  It will be a surprise.  For all of us.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Goalie

It's a tough job.  But, it was Abbey's turn to do it.  
special gloves 
guarding the goal
This is the first year of goalies, so it was a little tricky getting the hang of it.  She had a few good saves and really liked playing that position, so it was a success!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Really Spooky

This, I did all by myself.  My first dry ice experiment.  Set up at the YM/YW fall activity.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Ice Cream Party

Ice cream, soda pop, chocolate cake...all for our fabulous 2 year old!  The party began the moment our table for 11 beat a path around the line of waiting customers, and stepped inside.  The waiters and waitresses were singing, beating a drum, and delivering mountains of ice cream sundaes all around the restaurant!  The rest of our evening was a kid's dream:  balloon swords and balloon hats, singing, dancing, french fries, mac n' cheese, the happy birthday rap song, candles, birthday cake!

   the guest of honor

other silly guests...Landen, Blake, Gavin & Abbey

birthday girl in her balloon crown                              happy birthday rap

desserts

make a wish

Turning 2

If you ask Layne how old she is, she answers "good."  We laugh.  Then, we prod her again, and she might say "Laynie."  Or, she'll say "three."  We laugh again.  Then we hold up 2 fingers and say, "Two.  You are two."  She repeats, "I'n two."  We keep working on the questions to try to help her distinguish her name, how old she is and how she's doing.  But Landen knows, if you want a giggle, ask any of the above to see which answer she comes up with.  She always plays along with the multiple choice quiz, and she never fails to mix up the answers, to our amusement!
2 years ago

This silly toddler talks up a storm...she has a million words, speaks full sentences, and correctly uses all kinds of phrases coined by Landen and Abbey.  I get "alright Mom" "be right back" and "Mom, where are you?" 25 times a day.  

Her favorite song is "Twinkle Little Star."  She sings the first line pretty clearly, then starts getting mixed up.  She also started singing "Follow the Prophet."  I stared in amazement when I finally figured out what she was belting out in the middle of Target.  The tune was familiar, but the words were a little mumbled.  Then the aha moment...follow the prophet.  Wow.  

She still eats.  And eats.  She is a scavenger.  She unwraps a candy bar faster than Royal.  I usually don't see her in action.  I only see the chipmunk cheeks filled and chewing, so she might actually chew through the wrapper.  Her stats fit.  95% height...85% weight.  My first little chunk.  I love it.

She loves to sit and have Abbey read to her.  She loves to watch cartoons with Landen.  Her favorite is "Phineas and Ferb" which she can actually request by name.  At least we can understand her.  She still loves to snuggle up.  She loves that person to person contact.  A cuddle with dad.  Hanging on mom's leg.  Sitting on Abbey's lap.  Squishing into Landen's chair with him.

She is my buddy.  We drive carpool.  We talk in the car after dropping the big kids off.  We bake cookies together.  She loves to pour in the ingredients while standing on a chair next to the counter.  

We shop together, which is always a racket.  Last week in Target, her hot dog slid right out of the bun and landed on the main aisle.  Of course I didn't see it.  We turned into the cereal aisle when Layne started shouting, "Where my hot dog go?!  Where my hot dog go?!"  I started looking all around, and then had to laugh as her voice got louder and louder.  It was nowhere.  I backed out of the aisle just a little and saw it lying on the ground...in the middle of all the Target traffic.  I paused for a minute trying to figure out how to retrieve it without too much embarrassment, which was impossible with the screaming toddler.  I looked at her, and looked back up to see a floor cleaning crew wheeling away and the hot dog gone.  Whew.  The shouts didn't stop, so we headed over to the food counter for a new one.  It's always a racket.

She is the happiest little toddler.  She smiles, laughs and goes along for the ride.  I can't believe that 2 years have gone by.  And yet, I can't remember this house without her.  I know, it wasn't near as fun.  I'm so grateful for this little girl.  I'm so thrilled to be her mom.  I am a good one.  Just in case you were wondering after the Target incident.  There really is nothing wrong with Target hot dogs.  Layne will tell you.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Soccer Shots

It's October and we have watched a good chunk of the soccer season roll right past us.  Abbey loves every minute of it.  It's a great team...a great group of girls...a great coach...a great neon orange/pink color to dress in every game!  She is learning tons and getting some soccer ball action during the games...foot to ball contact is what we are cheering for!

Electric Orcas attack!  Abbey, center, with her game face on.

A pow-wow with Coach Jeff

Our fierce #5 on the move

Half-time snack with Coach Tom