Spooktacular Halloween Party

Saturday was our third annual Halloween party, and Harpy's Halloween debut.  We had such a wonderful time!  Beckett decided he wanted to be Peter Pan sometime this summer, and Treva lovingly made his costume. It was darling. I ordered Harper's Tinkerbell costume to match, and I couldn't wait to get pictures of the two of them together.  The pictures turned out priceless!

On to the party!

Kindermusik Take 1

We went to our first music class tonight. There were 3 other kids and their parents there, plus Harper, Beckett, and me. Harper loved the scarves ("kites") and the balls. Beckett loved spinning in circles and kept sayying, "Look at me, guys!" He also wanted to pass out instruments to everyone ("Here you go! Thanks!") and was fascinated by a little 14-month old girl named Piper. ("She can't talk!") 

After about 15 minutes, he had a very hard time following directions and the teacher, Ms. Terri, revised activities to better match the "energy level" of the room. He is definitely pushing boundaries, and class this late isn't the best time for his full attention. I do think it is really good for them and would like to continue going. This national program is designed for foundational music skills, but also teaches sensory and movement activities. It was fun!

7 Months of Harpiness!

Harper has developed so much over the last month!  She is sitting up very well on her own now, and loves to reach for toys and objects around her on the floor.  (Including her brother and puppy, both of which make her laugh!)  When she giggles at someone, she almost looks shy in her response to them, tucking her chin and turning her head just a tiny bit.  It's the sweetest expression.

She has two teeth now!  Her cute little bottom teeth came through at the same time, and she was so good about it. The only signs we had were lots of chewing and lots of drooling.

She is a happy, sweet girl who loves to cuddle.  She might be able to crawl, but none of us would know because we never put her down.  She is held 99.9% of the time, unless she is in her bouncer, which she loves, or playing with toys on the floor.  In the latter case, most of the time, someone is sitting behind her while she plays.

I love watching her little personality develop!  She lets you know when she is unhappy or wants attention, which is funny because I don't remember Beckett doing that.  At the same time, Beckett never really had much opportunity to have to tell us he was upset because he had our full attention all day and all night, every day and every night.  The little miss has to be a little more assertive. :)  I have noticed, also, that she is much more vocal when Beckett is napping or not in the same room as her.  She just watches him!  It's so cute!

Beckett is starting to respond to Harp a little more now that she can sit up.  He laughs at her and is very helpful and caring, giving her kisses on the head or helping with her paci when asked.  I'm so thankful for them and cannot wait to watch them grow together.  What an amazing gift and blessing!

Here's our little dolly at 7 months old! :)

The Greatest Show on Earth

We spent the day in St. Louis today! The same monster that steals socks decimated our pacifier supply, and the gumdrop kind our little gumdrop takes are only available at Babies 'R Us. So we went to the large one in Hazelwood and got some, along with what I told Beckett were his last package of diapers. (There are 150 in the box. We'll see.)

Way more fun was the Cabela's and all the animals inside! Exciting milestone: sissy is sitting in the double stroller now and she loves it! Today was the first day, and I did not miss lugging the pumpkin seat around with us. She missed its buckles about equally. Look how happy she is! (Okay, so the pictures didn't quite capture her joy, but trust me!)

That catfish looks like a whale!

African Safari, 2 hours from home: (yes, that is a lion with an antelope's jugular in its mouth. Family fun!)

And on to the Rocky Mountains, two aisles over: (Shonn is thrilled with my photojournalism. Clearly...)

We ate and then headed to the Scottrade Center for The. Greatest. Show. On. EARTH! (Pictured below: the greatest dad and son on earth walking to Ringling Brothers: Barnum and Bailey's Built to Amaze Circus.)

Concessions and genuine junk everywhere! (Beckett also very interested in the picture taking.)

Here's a shot of the action! It was very, very...circus-y! We were in the second row, so lots to see! Like elephants:

And tigers: (along with what must be an insane man encouraging them to stop growling and do tricks)

And dancers, lights, trapeze artists, tightrope bicyclists, contortionists, dancing dogs, clowns, and trampoline tumblers!

Both kids were fascinated!

And the greatest hubby on earth loved it, too. Here he is auditioning for a part-time gig with the clowns:

What a fantastic day! 

Windy City Weekend

I had a conference in Chicago for PARCC last weekend, and luckily, Mandy had a conference there, too! So Mom, Dad, and I took the kids with us for a fun family reunion, minus Matthew. We wished he could have been there, too, but we had fun!

Fun at O'Hare! 

Running in circles at the Hyatt:

Valeting the van:

We had fun at the Choo-Choo Burgers place, where they deliver food on a train that rides around the counter. It's been open forever!

Here comes the train!

Sissy loved it, too!

In a mini train car with a train whistle from our waitress: 

We also had a great time at Brookfield Zoo!

Up close to the big bear!

Beckett loved the fish tanks (Shark!):

The tiger and lion both roared for us!

We couldn't miss the playground!

Nice to meet you, Mr. Gorilla:

The highlight of the weekend was spending time together and laughing!

Both kiddos bonded with Aunt Mandy:

And target is always good for a few laughs!

We had such a great time!