Happy Halloween

I don't know what it is about Halloween, but it is just such a kid-friendly holiday you can't help but go a little crazy about it. We have been doing quite a few things this year so wanted to cover everything. Prepare for a long post. :)

Friends

We got the kids together Wednesday to make sure we got some good pics of our group together, just in case it doesn't work out Sunday evening, plus we were not sure if we would end up bringing Makin to trick or treat. The little guy had been awake for 4 hours straight, and just before picture taking time, zonked out completely for us...so we have a sleeping banana. I just cherish this group of kids and love that Lorelei gets to enjoy Halloween with them. As you can see we made sure to get a "babies" pic. I had to include the one with Leah as she decided Makin looked like a good snack. This is extra humorous to me because the only real food she has eaten so far is a banana! She was thinking she was in for a pretty huge snack. :)

Cute Stuff

Carving Pumpkins

Our fourth year of major pumpkin carving! We have a lot of fun with this activity as it is enjoyable for everyone, and Brad likes being able to use his artistic side just a bit. I think next year we will have to let Lorelei paint one so she can be a bit more involved. She LOVES her pumpkin and really enjoyed pulling the "guts" out to prepare it for getting carved.
As usual, Brad worked very hard on the pumpkins. We started at 8:30 AM on Friday and by the end of the day, he only ended up getting the little pumpkin carved and the two big pumpkins gutted, so we could work on baking the seeds the next day. Then he worked on the "mommy and daddy pumpkins" throughout the day on Saturday.
This year it was a lot of fun to see Lorelei's reaction. She said "oh wow" many times during the start of carving her pumpkin. She also took a big whiff of the guts in the bowl...they definitely have a distinctive smell! :)

Throughout the process she enjoyed playing with the seeds in the bowl...really all she could do since Brad wouldn't let her near the carving tools! :) She stirred the seeds and made "seed soup" but my favorite moment was when Brad all of a sudden realized she had been putting the discard chunks and mixing them with the seeds when he wasn't looking. :)

Just to show how much she loves her pumpkin...today we were talking about where we were going and she likes to find out who all is going along...she was going through the list of the family "Daddy go, May go, Mommy go" and then my favorite "puh puh go?" :) We had to explain that the pumpkin was not going along on our family outing. :)

We always love our jack o lanterns and I'm so happy that Brad enjoys doing it! Just wait till you see them, he's a pro!

A sweet moment during the start of the carving and I'm kicking myself for not writing down exactly what she said but hoping I remembered accurately. She was running around excited about the pumpkins and then stopped to visit Makin in his bouncy seat and said "May! May! Puh! Puh!" (Makin! Makin! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!) So cute!








Finished product. The web started falling apart a bit, but it was originally all in one piece. :)













Lorelei and her beloved pumpkin. I should also note that Brad made it look like her pumpkin shirt, per my request. So cute!

Halloween Day

We got to chat with Grandma and Grandpa on the webcam so they could see their monkey and banana grandkids! :)

More Cute Stuff

Lorelei Monkey

Just helps show how fitting her costume is I suppose...just thought you would like the "bloopers" I got when attempting to get her to look at the camera and smile. :)

Monkey and Banana

So I think Lorelei's look says "Oh my GOSH my mom is taking ANOTHER picture!" and Makin's look says "Ahhh I'm going to get eaten by a monkey!"

Trick Or Treat

Sara got this picture I believe during an attempt to get the whole group and Lorelei just walked right in front of her. :) Such a cute one and totally shows her attitude lately! "I will do what I want, when I want to...so there!" :) Plus her happy spirit of course. :) Love it!

As for trick or treating, it was a lot more fun this year! Lorelei definitely got more into it. Brad opted to stay home with Makin to let him just sleep and eat in his own house rather than walk around in a stroller and mess with the syringe feedings at Melissa's place. Don't think it bothered Dad too much to get in some extra TV time either. ;)

It was fun to be back to just Lorelei and I for just one evening. Of course you can see the best version of yet another group picture attempt. At least they are all sort of looking up. :) Then we got a friends picture which Lorelei refused to be a part of as well. :) OH well!

As for Lorelei's reaction to the whole experience, it was so fun! At the first house, the lady gave her her piece of candy and Lorelei looked at her and her huge bowl like "well, what about the rest of that candy?" But as soon as we got to the next house she had it figured out. As we walked away from each house she then said, "More candy!" There were a few scarey masks she was not a fan of so we definitely had that aspect of it, but for the most part she just had a lot of fun. She also preferred to walk with Mike or Sara much of the time (no surprise of course) but at least I got to take Lily around for a bit as well.
Speaking of Lily, had to include the pic of her using the portable potty in the middle of the street! Ahhh gotta love it. I'm so glad I get to learn from these other two mom's on what to bring with me to trick or treat next year. :)

After listening to Lorelei scream for more candy all the way home (after I let her have ONE piece) we finally got home, let her raid her bucket for one more piece, then bathed her and put her to bed. The next day she wanted a piece of candy in the morning and I explained she could have one after lunch (remember to this girl every bit of eating is considered "snack") so she then immediately told me she was hungry and wanted a bar. Then she ate the bar in about two seconds and with a mouthful of bar then said "Candy!?" Yeah, I just let her have a piece early. :)

We had a fun time and looking forward to next year when Brad and Makin can join us!

Note: Well after getting all of these downloaded I discovered we have 966 pictures in our October 2010 folder. Guess there is a reason my daughter won't look at the camera...