New things.

We are trying a few new things at our house!


Stella in the Johnny Jump Up. She likes it and maybe it will help strengthen her legs--she is what my mom calls a 'floppy' baby, just like aunt Becka was.


Stella's new do. Her hair fits into a piggy tail but it is still pretty sparse.


Still trying to roll over! Will it ever happen? I guess it makes me worry less that she isn't rolling over in her sleep . . . although Presley slept on her stomach starting at about 3 months.

Impressions.

No, not the funny kind. Back on the last day of August I took the girls to get their hand and foot prints taken at the local craft fair (Swiss Days). Stella cried because the clay was cold. Presley couldn't wait for the sucker once she was done. I couldn't wait the nearly 2 months it took to get the prints back!




Now the impressions are up in the girl's rooms! Pretty cute if I do say so myself. I had seen the company at Swiss Days last year and was happy to see them here again this year. Maybe Roxy needs her prints done too!

Gear.

We all know Chris is a "gear" kinda guy. Now Presley is too! On Monday night--after hearing the prediction for snow--we headed to the outlets for winter coats, hats, and mittens.




We found some really good deals at the new Columbia outlet. $100 toddler coats (who can spend that much?) for $37.50! Cute hats too. Any idea for affordable boots?


I think we need to get Stella some winter bundlers that actually FIT her--Presley's old stuff is still just too big. I need to post a pic of my favorite winter gear--my furry hat Paul and Ali gave me last Christmas. This year I need some new boots--any suggenstions?

Snow Day.

This was yesterday . . .


I was hoping the landscaping crew was 'crazy' for putting up the snow markers so early. But . . .



This was early this morning (6:30 AM when Presley woke up)! And it is coming down even harder now!

Teething.

Can both of my girls be teething at the SAME time???


This is Presley's new 2 year old molar coming in on the bottom. No signs of any others yet. Stella has 2 little bottom teeth swelling up but not yet poking through. So far not too much complaining from either girl!

Portrait.

This is our family portrait for 2008--Krista took it, of course and we couldn't have picked a better day. For example if we we had picked today we would have had to suffer through rain, snow, and long lines at the polls.


Rather than struggle with a 2.5 year while finding a new "cool" location, we decided to stick close to home (mom's back yard) and again we couldn't have asked for a better spot. My sister has a theory about taking pics and it has been pretty true for us--her theory is that the first picture you take usually is the best.

Remind me next time to put a bow in Stella's hair.

Trick-or-Treat!

Normally we go to a friend's house for Halloween fun, but this year the drive and timing was just not going to work with two little ones. So, we did the church sponsored "trunk-or-treat". We ate warm chili to keep out the cooling, raining, breezy night and got LOTS of candy.


Daddy and Presley ready to get candy. Chris is a baseball player for the Oakland A's--yes he also is a Raiders fan.


Presley wondering if all the candy in her bucket is hers to keep--and EAT!


Stella helping mom hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. There were really some cute costumes on P's friends last night (ketchup & mustard, superhero complete with super-undies, pretty princess, and so many more).


Me and my girls. Unfortunately I didn't fit into my stand-by cheerleader costume from high school this year. I need to come up with another stand-by. I am already planning for next year!

Costumes!

So, I am not sure how I ended up with a copy of the photos Krista took (just the Halloween ones), but I did. Here are my corrected versions of Krista's photos of the girls in their costumes.



Thanks Krista, they are of course darling! If you wanted to send me better corrected images to post they are 0031 and 0045--thanks!

Halloween Day.

This will be a first of several Halloween inspired posts--I love the holiday for the candy, the dressing up, and the change of seasons.

This morning we started the day with dressing up for music class with Miss Kristi. Stella has the same lady bug costume and will wear it trick-or-treating. For now Stella is a mummy (complete with gauze bow, not pictured)--Presley thinks Stella is a mommy.


Presley was a little unsure about wearing her costume and seeing all the other kids in their costumes. By the time we finished class and wandered through the grocery store to purchase candy for tonight's festivities, I had a tough time getting her out of her costume for her nap--she is even sleeping with her new pet spider-ring.

Spooky Train.

Yesterday my friend Shauni invited all of us to a "Spooky Train" ride that a local family has set up in their yard every Halloween. We had no idea what to expect but when we got there you could tell this was no small event! The train runs through several properties and is a permanent fixture (during Christmas they have the Polar Express version running) and the event has quite a large staff of dressed up kids.



The whole experience was fun for me but a little too spooky for Presley. Thank goodness Shauni's husband Jeremy was there and held Presley while the train made its way through the tunnels and spooky scenery (Stella was in my arms--I should have left her with Chris). Good thing it was still light outside!