Halloween Festivities

We had a lot of fun celebrating an early Halloween this year. We started the week at the Magic House, where the kids got to dress up and go trick-or-treating while they played. We also enjoyed the free donuts, juice and milk!

Darth Vader found construction to be a fulfilling diversion.

And the alligator found lots of good places to explore.

Even the cute baby enjoyed herself.

Later on in the week, our town had trick-or-treating at all the shops along and surrounding main street, so we all headed out to join the fun. This time, Batman and a small bumblebee joined Darth Vader.

We had a blast!

Finally, on Friday night, we got to go "trunk-or-treating" at the church activity. This time, Batman decided to don a small cape I made him, enabling him to fly.

And of course he was singing his own theme song the whole night, ala Adam West.

Princess Leia was there too, and impudently said to Darth Vader,

"We are part of a diplomatic mission to Alderon,"

to which he retorted, "You are a part of the rebel alliance. Take her away!"

Luckily, she had a strange 70's man there to protect her.

Oh, and this pirate was also pretty fun.

Happy Halloween!

New Family Pictures

Back Breaking Work

I had every intention of finishing Nora's room by now. I was motivated, and it was happening. But then I ran into a little bump when my back totally gave out while I was cutting up some cardboard on the floor. I was making these pelmet boxes after a particularly exhausting morning holding Nora. My lower back was in so much pain, that I was completely immobile for the rest of the day and had to call Paul to come home early. I found a chiropractor that afternoon, and so now I'm on the mend and I'm at least able to walk around. And I'm of course a lot more careful now! It's funny the little things (like backs!) we take for granted sometimes.

And here's a little sneak peek. It's coming along! I wanted to replace our old recalled crib with another white one, but I'm glad I didn't. I really like this one in the room. The new color on the walls is "Chinchilla" from Ace's white collection.

Happy Birthday, Peter!

My little boy is two years old today, and it’s not at all weird for me like I think it should be. I guess I’ve been saying Peter is almost two for so long, I feel like it’s about time it’s official. He definitely hit two early, if you know what I mean, but is generally still a sweet, delightful boy.

So here are some things I want to always remember about his second birthday.

He and Benjamin came into our room this morning, Benjamin giddy with excitement and Peter oblivious to what was going on. Paul said “Happy birthday, Peter!” to which Peter replied, “FIRE!” Every time we would ask him what he wanted for his birthday, he’d say candles.

For his birthday cake, I wanted to use raspberries because he loves them so much and they're such a rare treat around here. Then I whipped up some heavy cream for the frosting and used chocolate chips and grasshopper cookies for the details. He loves bugs, and especially ladybugs, so that's what I made him.

Ironically, when the candles came out, Peter started crying and running away from the cake. We had to coerce him to come stand by his cake by “showing” his new monster truck and dump truck the cool ladybug cake and handing him a shovel to dig in. He got into it before long, and was laughing and laughing at the whipped cream beard he had given himself.

We had to intervene when his exuberance led to spitting on the cake.

He wasn’t sure what to do with the first present we gave to him. He started playing with the tissue paper, and we had to show him that there was something even better (better than tissue paper?! yeah right...) inside.

When he finally had it unwrapped, he was beaming. Then, totally unprompted, he came over to me and gave me a tender hug. It was a really heart warming moment.

He’s just like that though, he doesn’t expect much and is delighted by the smallest things. He really is the perfect middle child for our family. We sure love our Peter Julian!

Two Years

The past two years seem like a blur. It's really sad, but Peter's babyhood already seems like a distant memory for me. It's amazing how transformative those first two years are!

Newborn Peter

One Year Old Peter

Two Year Old Peter

Happy birthday, Peter!

Peter's 2 Year Old stats: He weighs 29 lbs. 11 oz. (70%), and is 35" (65%) tall. I think that means he'll be about 5'10" when he reaches adulthood.

Baby Steps

Yesterday, I finally tackled Nora's room. I wanted to paint it a nice neutral color (it used to be bright yellow), but that was waiting on one thing: the big gaping hole in the wall behind the shower where we had the leaking issue a few months ago. Well we finally patched the hole, and I painted the room. The hole still needs another coat of mud, which is why it's still not painted, but it will be easy to finish once that's done. Baby steps. I also have a bunch of other little projects I'm working on to go in here. Hopefully things should start coming together soon, so stay tuned!

And the main reason why I was able to be so productive yesterday? Paul and Patrick and Abby took the boys to the pumpkin patch, so it was just me and Nora at home. They had a great time, and so did I.

Best. Picture. Ever. The boys really really really love their Auntie Abby and Uncle Patrick.

Oh, and another success of the day was this find. A friend of mine is moving to Colorado and was having a free garage sale. She was getting rid of this Monet reproduction. It's a really nice textured canvas in a gorgeous frame. And now, the giant map that's been hanging over our bed with 3M strips can officially come down! I also got a few decorations for Halloween and Christmas, some earrings, some movies, a bundt pan, and a few other odds and ends. Free garage sales are the best!

Three Months

Nora is three months old- officially out of her "fourth trimester."

I suppose she has filled out a little since she was eight weeks old.

She still loves her hands, and all but refuses a pacifier now.

Her eyes continue to lighten, and are a beautiful blue.

She is a bright, observant little girl, and loves to be a part of the action.

She enjoys her Bumbo seat, but only if we directly interact with her.

She enjoys looking and smiling at herself in the mirror more than I remember either of my boys did.

When I stand her up on a new texture, she gets really excited and bounces her legs.

She also loves to kick at bath time.

Nora usually sleeps through the night, but will sometimes wake up to eat around 4 am.

She's starting to roll over from her tummy to her back.

It's amazing how fast she's growing up!

27 Candles

I turned 27 this last Friday! At least for now, I really enjoy getting older. It makes me feel slightly more legitimate, being a mother of three. Silly, I know. My Mom was 27 when she had me, which means she's double my age this year.

For my birthday, Paul and I went out for Indian food while Patrick and Abby watched ALL THREE kids. It was amazing. Then we all had a barbecue and cookie dough ice cream cake the next day. Many thanks to everyone who called, sent a note, or sent a gift! I am a lucky girl!

Q & A

Question:

What happens when you try to take pictures of your three little kids?

Answer: A whole lot of this.

Question:

What happens when you try to capture your baby's cute babbling?

Answer: Lots of staring at the camera and clamming up. This took a while to capture!

Latest Obsessions

So Benjamin's interest in all things Star Wars has lately turned into an obsession. On the way to school yesterday he informed me that when he grows up to be a daddy, he's going to build a Star Wars Museum. He watches the first half hour of Episode V almost every day and reads/recites the introduction nearly word for word. And then he acts out everything Luke Skywalker does as he's watching (stumbling across the ice planet of Hoth, hanging upside-down as he trains with Yoda, etc.). And of course he's already gotten his costume for Halloween this year- he's going to be Darth Vader (doesn't Nora make a great Darth Vader?).

Perhaps the reason I entertain his obsessions is because I have a few of my own. We recently moved the two boys into Peter's room, which of course required some redecorating. :) We repainted the room a nice pale blue. We also moved the little table and chair set in there, and I figured it was a great time to refinish the set (It used to be royal blue with rusty tan legs and fake wood top). I spray painted it gray...

...then painted an Imperial Walker on the top.

I kind of like how the bedroom is turning out.

And I think they really enjoy it too. The Star Wars poster is Benjamin's favorite part of the room.

I found an extra long twin comforter for $14 at Target and just cut it in half for the two beds.

I also covered the bottom half of the (formerly scalloped) valence with fabric.

Now on to Nora's new room! :)