Our Busy, Happy Halloween

This Halloween was a Friday.  A busy, busy Friday.  We babysat a sweet little girl Elliot's age this morning. 

 It was a chaotic 4 hours filled with pottying, accidents, pull-ups, new underwear, stories, tea parties, pretending, and cake making.  

I was pretty tired after a few hours and SO grateful to not be pregnant.  Being pregnant is exhausting.  Anyways, it was a busy, good morning.  

All the kids had a nap and/or "rest" time after lunch, and as soon as everyone was up, we ventured over to Hobby Lobby for some last-minute party supplies I need for 2 showers I'm hosting this weekend.  

When we go out, I take the double-stroller.  Elliot sits in the front, and Lucy sits in the back, holding Oliver in her lap.  We attract a lot of attention.  Lucy gets a choice between holding Oliver in her lap or walking beside me, but she always chooses to hold him.  She is tickled at having this special job.  

Hobby Lobby turned out to be a fairly easy, quick trip.  We ate a quick take-out meal for dinner when we got home, and then it was time for COSTUMES!!!

Lucy and Elliot were looking forward to dressing up as Doc McStuffins and a monkey all. day. long.  Actually for several weeks now.  We even did a "dry run" a week ago.  I let them dress up in their costumes and practice ringing our doorbell and saying trick or treat!!! 

Lucy was a little shy the first couple of houses, but she got her feet under her and started becoming excited about ringing the doorbell of our neighbors.  

 

Elliot kept getting distracted with things like, "noooon!!!" (the moon)...

 

...and acorns that simply could not be left behind.

 

The big kids had a blast tonight.  I think they'd like to wear their costumes everyday for the next several months.  

For my part, I'm left with this lingering question... what do we do with this candy?  In an age where we already are eating far more sugar than we need, how can I possibly justify feeding this stuff to my kids? They already get "potty treats" (read: jelly beans) after each trip to the potty.  

The dentist asked me the other day, "They don't eat much candy, right?"  And I was like, Definitely not.  Ummm... except after every time they go to the bathroom.  Oops.  

However, my guilt about how much candy they eat is assuaged by the fact that Elliot is nearly done with potty training.  

With little ones so close together and in cloth diapers, early potty training is necessary -- or at least very helpful.   

So, back to Halloween! We had a blast with our candy-lovin', costume-lovin' munchkins.  I love these years.  

Some day they'll be asking to go to Halloween parties and wearing costumes we don't love.  But today is not that day.  

 

Today was amazing.  And when that scary day comes, when they're wanting costumes we don't like and wanting to go to parties... God's grace will be sufficient for that day.  One day at a time.

Flying,Sick, Seaweed, and a Visit with Nana

Goodness the week seems long already.  It's only Wednesday!  We must have gotten a lot of mileage out of the weekend or something.



My sister Carrie and I were supposed to leave town yesterday to visit some friends and family in Houston.  As it turned out, the universe was against the plan.  I had initially planned the trip to overlap with Daniel's business trip to Austin, which got cancelled over the weekend.  Then Elliot got sick.  And then he got sicker.  He's ok. 

 

But the little munchkin has had high fevers and has been lethargic, finally resulting in a little scare for me yesterday, which led to a reassuring doctor visit.



Anyways.  I've mentioned these capes before.  My sister makes them with magnetic clasps, and they are awesome.  We took Lucy out for some flying lessons the other day.

 

I've been mildly obsessed with a certain photographer on facebook (link here). Her newborn and child photography is flawless.  I attempted to imitate a common pose I see in her photos the other night.  It didn't work.  It is, as with all things photography, harder than it appeared. 



These are my kids.  I'm not saying I don't love these photos.  But they're just not quite what I was envisioning. 



I'm seriously contemplating taking the plunge and buying a very expensive posing guide published by this photographer.  Just. can't. make. myself. part with the money. yet.



Have I told you how much my children adore roasted seaweed?  They love it.  Thank you, Hongs, for introducing us to this ethnic culinary delight.



Lucy seriously ate through 4 packages the other day.  Well--with some help.

You know how I was telling you that Elliot has been really sick?  I decided to capitalize on that sleepy, cozy sickness and try for a couple sleeping naked baby shots.  In the 2 minutes between making that decision and setting up the blanket for the pictures, the Ibuprofen kicked in, and he went from this:





... to this:



Awesome.  No sleepy, cozy shots for me.



Thank you again, Carrie, for spending the day with us.  When the kids are sick, it's hard to get motivated to do anything around the house.  I really feel the need for 4 additional arms on those days, because 2 arms are needed at almost all times to hold the sick one.



We went to Daniel's parents house 2 nights ago to see his Nana, who is in town from Austin.  It was a great time for Lucy to visit with Nana, whom she hadn't seen in quite a while.



We're on an up-swing with the potty training.  Lucy's expressed slightly more interest these past few days, and it has been so nice.  I'm cautiously optimistic that this might be the final (or one of the final) pushes before she's diaper-free.



Truth be told, I've been having more potty successes with Elliot lately.  Today we made it till 4 PM with no accidents.  I was ecstatic--particularly since his poor, sick gastrointestinal tract has been producing some unpleasant messes.  With those messes going directly into the potty and not needing to be rinsed out of diapers, I feel like I'm on top of the world.



This moment was inevitable.  Finally Lucy's curiosity got the better of her the other night, and she crawled all the way through the doggie door.  Classic.