Halloween

We had a lot of fun this year, even though it was a bit of a whirlwind. We did trunk or treating at a local church Sunday afternoon and the kids were a little timid at first. Once they got into it, they had fun. Halloween was wild because it seems like everyone in the county comes to our subdivision to trick or treat. We started out as a family but in less than an hour Sam was ready to come home, so I brought the little ones home and Marshall took the big two around to the rest of the houses. They had a great time, got tons of candy, and are still bouncing off the walls almost a week later!

The only picture from Halloween night - Rapunzel, Gamecock cheerleader, Optimus Prime (transformer), and Gamecock football player.

The rest of the pictures are from trunk or treating the night before. Lucy's costume is a compilation of lots of things we had on hand because I didn't want to deal with a jacket and her cheerleader uniform wasn't warm enough.

Sweet babies holding hands on the ride there.

Yes, that is a giant piece of mulch in her mouth.

And now she's crying because I took it away!

Nine Months

Well I am almost a week late with this post, but our girl turned nine months old last Friday. She now has 8 teeth. We've started her on finger foods and so far she really likes bananas, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, peas, & cheerios. She still eats about two containers of baby food at each meal along with table food. Our girl likes to eat! She's just mastered the sippy cup, but it has to have a straw. She will only drink out of the others if I tip it back for her and I'm all about independence so a straw cup it is! Sleep is still the same (except when her legs get stuck and wake her up early). We have about two days a week where our mornings are really busy (Sunday is one of those days) and Lucy doesn't get a morning nap. She's generally still quite pleasant to be around as long as there's lots of action around her, and then she falls into a coma for about three hours in the afternoon. She babbles and laughs and shrieks when she's happy and I think it's all pretty cute! She and Sam have started holding hands in the car lately and I have to get a picture because it's one of the cutest things ever! She loves her siblings, her Daddy, and her dog, and we all love her to pieces!

Twirling

Oh, Lucy!

Lucy is definitely turning out to be my easiest baby. She's laid back most of the time. She eats well, she sleeps well. She wakes up happy and plays in her crib. However, we're dealing with a major problem ever since we lowered her crib. She's suddenly waking up early from nights and naps with a piercing cry. When I go in to check on her this is what she looks like most of the time:

Girl gets those chunky thighs stuck in the crib bars and can't get them unstuck!

She's a mover when she sleeps and it only takes one toss of the legs to smoosh her bumper pads down and get those thighs through. The more she wiggles the tighter it gets.

I'm hoping this is a phase and once she gets used to her new lower sleeping quarters she will quit throwing her legs out and hollering for me to come rescue her. I'm not loving the shorter naps and the earlier morning wake ups!

But I sure do love this girl!!

First Field Trip

Jack went on his first Kindergarten field trip yesterday and I got to tag along as a chaperone. They went to the local woods for a nature hike. Despite the drizzly weather, the kids all had a great time! Each kid had a checklist of things to look for and a ziploc bag to hold any treasures they found along the way, but that was optional. At the end of the hike, most of the kids had crinkled or torn checklists and the ziploc bags full of leaves, pine cones, sticks, and acorns. Not my child, though. His paper wasn't even bent, the boxes were colored in neatly, and not a thing went in his bag - didn't want to put anything wet or dirty in with his paper!

No Pants Necessary

Apparently my daughter thinks pants are an unnecessary "accessory" today since her shirt looks a little like a (very short) dress. Yep, she's been playing outside in a shirt and shoes all afternoon!

More puffs, please!

I was up to my elbows in raw chicken the other day when Lucy started fussing for more puffs. I asked Anna to please give her a few. She gave her about five and Lucy was content. Sam then proceeded to melt down because he wanted a turn to give Lucy puffs. I asked Anna to help him since my hands were busy (and full of E. coli!). When I looked up, this is what I saw. Lucy was ecstatic and started shoving handfuls of puffs in her mouth as fast as she could!

So Much Randomness

These are all pictures I've meant to post over the past few weeks but never got around to it so here they are all together in no real order.

One day Sam begged to feed Lucy so I let him give her a couple spoonfuls. He thought he was Mr. Big Shot!

Naked Spidey!

A couple weeks ago we brought the swimming pool inside to store in the attic now that swimming season is over. Well, it didn't actually make it into the attic on day one . . .

or day two . . .

or even on day three!
They had so much fun playing in it that it lived inside our house for about a week. I finally got tired of stepping around it and it finally found it's new home in the attic for the winter.

Sam LOVES to stand on the side of Lucy's crib and talk to her and play peek-a-boo.

Jack wanted to dress as the wolf from Little red Riding Hood for Fairy Tale Friday at school and this is the costume he came up with.

Hunger Awareness Walk

A little background information . . .

A friend of mine has an amazing heart for Christ and for serving. She wanted to serve and give back to the community, but also have her kids involved, so she created Mommy & Me Missions. She organized service projects weekly throughout the summer that parents could do with their kids. It was such a big hit that she's continuing the program throughout the rest of the year. Here's a brief summary in her own words (taken from her fb page):

"Not only does Mommy & Me Missions allow me to serve in a variety of ways but it is a great way to teach my kids all about God's call to each of us to love our neighbors as our selves and to seek to serve rather than to be served.

Our focus and goal is summed up in Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

My prayers is twofold...that my children would see the needs of others and seek to meet those needs ahead of their own and that in doing these good deeds we would daily be a witness to the love of Jesus!!"

Now, move ahead to September 24th, 2011. The kids and I joined up with Mommy & Me Missions and participated in the Hunger Awareness Walk for our local food bank. The kids made a list of who we should ask for donations, and even took money from their own piggy banks in order to raise money for "kids who don't have enough food." Anna was really into this and I enjoyed seeing a whole new side of compassion from her. The morning of the walk it was humid and rainy, but we showed up at 7:30 ready to walk and really enjoyed the whole experience. It certainly got me out of my comfort zone and helped us all put the love of Jesus into action! Thanks again to those who donated to the cause.

Our Leading Man

Last week, Jack's kindergarten class put on a play in their classroom. The teacher assigned parts and we had scripts sent home in order to practice. The kids had been learning about fairy tales for a couple weeks and the play wrapped everything up - it was The Gingerbread Man. All the kids did a wonderful job performing, but I must say, there will always be a special place in my heart for my boy who played his part as the gingerbread man with excellence! He was the star of the show - at least in our eyes!

The kids all took part in painting the scenery and they did a great job!

Our gingerbread man posing after the play with the old lady, the old man, and the fox.