Ward Halloween Party & Pumpkin Carving

The girls seemed excited about finally getting put on their costumes- especially Paige. Claire was over it in no time. I don't think she lasted a half hour. She was teething...again & miserable. Cousin Kaylee was here for a visit & didn't last long either. Paige was terrified by the Bishop who was dressed up like a clown, but of course Claire wasn't afraid. They are SOOOO different! Paige is Ariel- the little mermaid. Hindsight- we should've talked her out of it. Not a huge fan of the costume, but she LOVED it! My Mom came to the rescue with Claire's tinkerbell costume. I found the perfect one at the Disney Store, but they didn't have her size becuase it was recalled.. so frustrating! She found this dress up costume & made some alterations so it would work. I promise to learn how to sew one day- Thanks MOM!

The party started late & the trick or treating portion was REALLY late. I stayed with Paige who was excited about being at the party. She was too tired to trick or treat around the cars. We kept telling her she had to say "trick or treat" to get candy & that she needed to say "thank you". She was totally in the zone. After several failed attempts, we told her we were going to have to leave. So we did..... she had PLENTY of candy and was ready for bed.

Kaylee was dressed up as Minnie Mouse- a little sucker can provide a little extra patience...

Soooo cheesy!

We are having so much fun doing "traditional" holiday things as Paige gets older. We (Mark & I) had this grand idea of carving pumpkins with Paige this year. We waited until the day before Halloween to get pumpkins..... big suprise that I procrastinated. Mark took both girls to find pumpkins after work & give me a break. They went ALL over to finally find them. They were the best ones he could find. Mark found a few websites that had different patterns. Paige of course loved the Ariel one. After seeing how much time that one took, Claire gets the traditional Jack 0'latern face. I was very impressed & he did all the work!

Paige wasn't sure about the pumpkin guts.....

Mornings with Grandma

It may be hard to tell, but both Paige & Claire are cuddled up in my parents bed. They love to climb into their bed in the morning & have Grandma turn on Little Einsteins. They love living with Grandma & Grandpa- everyday is exciting!

Paige's first"REAL" haircut

Paige needed a haircut from a professional. The time had come. The girl who does my hair does a great job & said she cut it. Paige doesn't sit still while I'm cutting, so I have to trim it over & over until it looks straight enough. It had been awhile since the ends had been trimmed & we all remember Paige's "bang up" job she did. Paige was hesitant about leaning back & having her hair washed. Give her a lollipop & her worries are over! As you can see, Claire has the same philosophy.... Paige LOVED being able to look at herself in the mirror the entire time. Had there been a mirror in front of the sink, she may not have needed the sucker. I'll have to try cutting her hair in front of the mirror next time. It was worth every penny to have someone else cut her hair- thank you Jessica!

3 months ago......

Paige's 1st day of School

Claire was teething- her hand was in her mouth & she was drooling ALL day.

Paige handing Aunt Kira her bouquet

With the exception of my last post, it's been awhile since I've blogged. There have been lots of things to blog about, I just haven't found the time to sit down & do it. So as a fellow blogger & good friend said on her blog- "sit back & enjoy" because there is a LOT to catch up on.

To start back in September when life began to change- preschool started, we had a wedding,we moved & news a baby would be coming).

1- Paige started preschool with her Grandma at Mrs. Rogers preschool. She LOVES going to school & learning. She is so social & loves to talk, so it is good for her to be in with other kids her age. My Mom is an awesome teacher & they seem to love spending that time together each week.

2-We moved in with my parents in Moreno Valley! We were anticipated a move to Idaho in December/January & rented out our house to Mark's brother. My parents have been so wonderful, patient, understanding, etc, etc!

3- Matt & Kira got married! Clear back in September Matt & Kira were married in the San Diego Temple. We learned the hard way that having kids at the temple is tricky. My parents were nice enough to bring the girls out to the temple so we could go to the sealing. Claire slept the entire way to San Diego. It was a very long day for them & they didn't make it through the reception (hence no additional pictures). Matt & Kira seemed so happy & continue to LOVE being married! We are so excited for them- Congrats to the happy couple :0)

4- We found out we are expecting baby #3! To find out more, stay tuned for a future post with ultrasound pics revealing what we're having.....

So, a lot happened back in September. This at least gets me started where I left off and explains why there has been a lack of blogging!

Soakin' Cute

Paige loves to talk and is always coming up with something entertaining. So I won't forget, I wanted to include a few of her sayings.....

Soakin': adjective used to describe anything in excess.
Example- You would say "soaking wet" if you were really wet (which is where she learned this). After her first time on Splash Mountain, she was wet. After two more times, she was soaking wet- along with my parents who went with her. Now, anything can be soakin'- It is soakin' hot, I'm soakin' angry, or this is soakin' good.
I'm not sure whether or not this new word will catch on with others, but we use it in our family & have to laugh. Paige is so soakin' cute!

Little Lord 'tivity: a nativity or creche
Paige refers to the baby Jesus of any nativity as "the little Lord Jesus" (from Away in a Manger). When Grandma got the fisherprice natvity set to play with , she dubbed it the little Lord 'tivity. We tried to correct her only at first because it is SO sweet.

Old McDonalds: most refer to the restaurant as McDonalds
We have only ever called it McDonalds, but she has always referred to it as Old McDonalds. Again, no point in correcting her- it makes us smile

Last one- this is a quick tribute to Mark. He was brave enough to take Paige to Old Navy for a last minute whim..... If you saw the Old Navy ad last week, they were giving away 4 movie tickets with a purchase of $20. If you do the math, that's a great deal! Saturday morning I was reading the ads in the paper from the day before & thought "why not"? The ad stated tickets were limited to the first 50-200 people. I assumed that few people would have seen the ad & I'd be in luck- always the optimist! This is even after I attempted the black Friday sale at Walmart and struck out at 5:00am. Josh agreed to come with me & then Mark volunteered too. My Mom watched Claire & Paige came with us. To our surprise, we ALL got tickets eventhough we didn't go early to stand in line & showed up just after they had opened. See what happens when you read the paper :0)
So... back to the Paige story- Mark and Paige were standing in line to check out. An older lady in front of them was talking with Mark & Paige. The lady mentioned to Paige what beautiful, brown eyes she had. Paige responded with "I got my beautiful brown eyes from my dad" in her nice Paige voice (loud). The lady looked at Mark (who was already embarrassed) and said "oh yes you did". Then to Mark's dismay- several other ladies in front of them turned around to see what Paige was talking about. I wish I could've been there to see & hear it!

Happiest place on earth & it wasn't crowded!!!

I went to Disneyland with my sister & parents last week. We had all been in the mood to go. It was not crowded- at all. It was a little hot, especially later in the afternoon. We had so much fun. You can tell how not- crowded it is in the picture with Paige in front of the castle (she's soaking wet). There are usually tons of people in front of the castle- so I took advantage of a kodak moment. Paige is tall enough for Splash Mountain & she had a blast. She got to go on it 3 times in a row- no line! It's been a long time since I've been on it, but I forgot how wet you get. Thanks for to my parents & sister for another fun adventure at the magic kingdom!

It's officially over!

I'm so cute.... watch what I can do

Here I go- the secret is in my toes... I grip the railing like a monkey

Then I just pull myself up & I'm homefree!

Our world is over as we know it... Claire has really figured out how to climb out of her crib. She had done this three times (I watched the last two & then decided I wanted to get proof). She just smiles as if she is SO cute, and not doing anything out of the ordinary. She won't be 15 months old until the end of this month & we are already trying to figure out what to do. Although she knows how to get out, she doesn't try when it's time for bed at night, or if she's really tired when it's time to take a nap. She has only climbed out in protest when she doesn't want to take a nap, but I think she needs one. I'm not sure what we'll do yet. I'll keep you posted.