Trick or Treat!

We officially have our own trick or treaters.  The girls have learned the art of trick or treating and love it.  Today we took them down to University Village to participate in their annual trick or treating event.  There were a few moments when the crowds grew large or Madi was a little nervous of a witch, but overall it was a success.  And they were so excited about all their loot when we got in the car.  Emma went through at least 5 lollipops and more in just the 1 mile drive up the hill.  

Ready to trick or treat. My little ladybug My little bumble bee Daddy’s girl

Friday the girls got to wear their costumes to school.  It was fun to see all the kids dressed up.

On our way to school.

Each year our neighbors on 31st hang gigantic pumpkins from the tree in their front yard.  Last year the girls didn’t really get it, but this year they thought it was pretty cool. 

Family Photos

It has been over 2 years since we have had a good family picture taken.  The girls were 5 weeks old in the first one.  Saturday we headed down to Magnuson Park and met Leyna to have some pictures done.  It was beautiful out and she did a great job. We had fun.     

Pumpkin Prowl

Friday night we met the Boyers at the zoo for their annual Pumpkin Prowl.  It is a great fundraiser for the zoo.  They line the paths with carved pumpkins and have different companies set up tents for trick or treating.  The girls wore their costumes and practiced the art of trick or treating.  It was really cute to see them pick up on the idea.  My little bumble bee. Trick or Treat Emma and Boys, J and B Madi would go near this guy, but Emma happily sat for a pic. As we were on our way out, I was able to get them candy out of their hands and offer them veggie booty.  I think it was the thrill of getting to eat out of the bag.  I just happened to have two almost empty bags in the pantry. Family photo All four kiddos on out way out. 

Despite the rain, it was a great experience.

Tattoo Artists

Anyone looking for a good tattoo artist?  I have two for you, they work great together.

Friday afternoon I gave the girls a large piece of paper, a couple sheet of stickers and a handful of crayons.  They were pretty entertained for a while but then got up from their table and ran into Daddy’s office.  They headed straight for his pen drawer and pulled out a couple highlighters.  I figured why not… They were having a great time coloring with the markers so I decided to give them two of my smelly markers.  They are bright and smelly and are fun to color with, even for me.  The girls did a great job keeping the markers on the paper/table but then they started getting careless. Once they saw the markers on their hands and shirt, they took off with the idea.  I have a very hard time drawing the line between toddler exploration and discipline.  I figured the marker couldn’t cause too much harm even though we were scheduled to have family pictures Saturday morning (thankfully they were rained out.)

Today I bought the girls the Crayola Color Wonders paper and markers.  They are the ones that only make color on the special paper.  It’s a win-win for all of us.  No more mess for mommy, and lots of coloring for the goos. 

  

A morning on the farm

This morning we got up and headed north to Snohomish county to a wonderful little farm called Swan Trail.  It was beautiful property with a large pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, hay maze, corn maze, hay rides, and play area.  We started by checking out the animals.  Emma loved the kittens.  Madi finally warmed up to them after a little while.  To be honest, Madi had to warm up to everything and it didn’t always happen.  Her farm experience was a little different then Emma’s.  After checking out the animals, we played in the play area and went through the hay maze, then headed out on our pumpkin hunt. 

Emma petting the kitties.  Thankfully I am allergic so there will be no kitties coming home. 

Kitty’s nose.  One moment in which Goo was smiling.

Emma had fun driving the tractor.

This is the other moment of happiness for Madi, driving the car. 

Jumping off the hay stack.

Emma flying down the slide at the end of the hay maze.  Madi wasn’t too excited about going next, even on my lap. 

Just one of many tantrums. 

Enjoying the ride with her pumpkins.

Stage Diving

About a week ago, Madi insisted it was time to dance. Daddy was sitting with the girls quietly on the couch reading a story when Madi started yelling "dance, dance!" So daddy turned on their favorite-Pearl Jam. The girls climbed up on the ottoman and started jumping so we decided to move it closer to the couch so there was a little more space for them to jump. This then turned into them jumping from the ottoman to the couch in what looks like their first attempt at stage diving.

I’m a Big Girl Now!

Emma has really been showing us how grown up she is lately.  With Daddy standing near by she somehow managed to grab a new carton of milk behind his back.  She took the milk over to the cup drawer, pulled out a milk cup, opened the milk and attempted to pour it.  Well, it doesn’t look like any made it into the cup but instead all over the floor in which case she grabbed a towel out of the towel drawer and began cleaning it up.  When daddy realized what had occurred, this is what we saw.  Too funny.

Last night she had a cup of water that she had set on the floor.  Papi came running by and knocked it over so she went to the towel drawer and got a towel to clean it up.  Such a good little helper. 

Madi has also been showing her independence lately.  One day after naps, I stayed upstairs to change Emma.  When I came down, this is what I found Madi doing… Helping herself to a snack.

From upstairs to down she managed to strip off her clothes, go to the pantry, retrieve the bag of Cheerios, take it to the table and filled up her cup.  This really only took seconds, or the amount of time it took me to change Emma’s diaper.  They are fast.

Needless to say, the pantry has a new lock and the milk is no longer in reach. 

Other happenings… We have taken a couple trips to the zoo and found that there was a wing we had never seen before.  I am not sure how I managed to completely look past the Northern Trail. It was like I knew it was there but wasn’t sure where it really was, so we just skipped it.  So we finally checked it out and saw the brown bears, the otters, some elk, a wolf, a mountain goat and a couple bald eagles.  It is a really cool little corner of the zoo. We also finally saw the kangaroos, emus and snow leopards.  The girls love the otters. 

The baby gorilla was showing off for us too.  He came up to the glass and was dancing around.  I couldn’t get the girls to get close enough to get them in a picture though. 

We also took a trip to the Puyallup Fair.  The girls enjoyed looking at the animals and walking around.  Emma took part in riding the carousel, playing the drums in the African Safari, and trying cotton candy.  Madi was pretty content just hanging in the stroller.  Peeking in on the baby pigs.

Not completely sure of what is going on, but riding anyway. 

Playing the drums.

Happily hanging in the stroller with her pencil and book.

Mmmm, cotton candy.

School has also been going great!  They have now been in school for two weeks and are loving it.  I am too; as Friday I officially dropped them off and left.  On Tuesdays, I stay and help out in the classrooms, then on Fridays they are dropped off and our buddy mom stays and helps out.  Last Friday I was really nervous about leaving them. I wasn’t sure how Madi would handle it.  I wasn’t too worried about Emma as she seems to adapt pretty well and doesn’t mind other moms helping her or holding her.  I decided to leave them at free play time and then returned for circle time and snack.  When I returned, they didn’t see me so I decided to stay out of sight and observe.  I sat and watched them do circle time, wash hands and have snack all with their buddy and his mom.  They were doing great and didn’t need me at all.  So this Friday, I took them to school, got them settled with toys and said goodbye.  They did awesome and were so cute when they finally saw me at pick up.  I now have 2 hours to myself on Friday mornings.  It is the strangest feeling.