Costume confusion

Ah, Halloween. It has always been one of my favorite holidays, and it's even more fun now with little ones to dress up and parade around the neighborhood. Beth has taken full advantage of all the various costume parties this year, sporting not one, not two, but three different costumes for the season.

She started out as Ariel, the Little Mermaid. We purchased a $25 costume at Target (a bit over-priced, in my book), only to find that it was about 10 inches too long for her. Luckily Nana saved the day, and the costume was shortened to perfection. However, the bottom of the costume is designed to be "mermaid-like", and the narrow opening makes it very, very difficult to walk around in. She wore the costume to cousin Jack's birthday party, and to a Halloween party at Daddy's work, but grew quite tired of shuffling her feet in tiny steps. I refused to buy another outfit for her, so after a few tears, out came the bag of old Halloween costumes, and she decided to be a clown for the next couple of parties.

The clown outfit is quite cute, but the pants are a bit big in the waist, so she quickly realized that spending an entire party holding onto your pants is not much more fun than waddling like a mermaid. Back to the bag again, and this time she found a witch costume that one of Daddy's work friends gave to him a couple of weeks ago. Even though she was a witch last year, this costume is so different that she is thrilled to change characters once again. She plans to wear the witch costume to school, and also out in the neighborhood on Halloween night. I think we've finally found a winner.

Luckily Amy's Tinkerbell costume and Erin's Elmo suit have been perfect fits.

As for me, I plan to stay home this year for the first time, and hand out the candy. Since I can barely waddle to the bus-stop these days, I don't think I'm quite up for the trot around our whole neighborhood. We'll be sure to post some pictures, if we remember to bring out the camera! Happy Halloween to all!

Well, Hello Mrs. Pumpkin!

Not to be outdone by her big sister Beth's preschool pumpkin decorating in years past, Amy made a beautiful pumpkin friend at school yesterday. I think there is more glue than decoration, but she is quite proud of her little lady. Of course, the most difficult part was managing to carry the pumpkin from the school to the car, without losing any prominent facial features. Luckily Amy is significantly more laid-back and calm about this sort of thing, so falling eyeballs weren't quite the disaster that they used to be during Beth's preschool years. We managed to make it home with Mrs. Pumpkin fairly intact, and are now just seeking the perfect name for her. Any suggestions?!

Security

Erin has always been a fairly confident child, and has never needed any type of security blanket or teddy bear for comfort. However, she has recently latched onto one specific doll, and this doll needs to travel everywhere (and I do mean everywhere) with her. Before this, I always thought that it was so cute to see kids with "security" items, since it always seemed to calm them, and just looked adorable.

Beth and Amy never had security items, although they did use pacifiers. So, this is my first experience with this clinging behavior. And I must admit, it's not nearly as cute as I had thought, since it requires my constant awareness of "baby's" location.

Baby has been inadvertently left outside on the swings more than once, resulting in a shrieking panic-attack from Erin in the middle of dinner. That, of course, is followed by Mommy running outside in the pitch dark to search for baby before hysteria hits.

Baby has been left in the shopping cart, at a friend's house, and at the Y, all of which have required me to race back inside in search of the plastic friend.

Baby is also starting to get a bit dirty. Her clothes are attached to her plastic body, so I can't take them off and wash them. I've tried to sneak her away from Erin in order to throw her into the washing machine, but I've been unsuccessful. Now, when I look at baby, I see...well...lots of lurking germs.

And the final complication lies in the fact that, unfortunately, baby does not really belong to Erin at all. It's Amy's doll, and she has been fairly accomodating towards Erin's needs. However, Amy has had a few cranky moments, when she tries to re-claim her doll by grabbing her out of Erin's hands. You can only imagine the chaos that results from that action.

Soon Erin will have a real baby sleeping in her room. I'm not sure that will provide any distraction for her, so I think that her toy baby is here to stay for awhile. But at least I don't think I have to worry about leaving the real baby outside on the swings!

Ten years

Can you remember what you were doing ten years ago? I certainly can! It's been ten years now since Dan and I were married, on a gorgeous Fall morning in October. Ten years certainly have flown by quickly, and we are so grateful for the many blessings we've received over those years. As we await the arrival of baby number 4, we look forward to many more years together.

October is a busy month around here! Besides our anniversary and Amy's birthday, Dan and I also celebrate birthdays. So if you happen to see Dan around tomorrow (the 16th) be sure to wish him a happy birthday! I won't tell you how old he will be tomorrow, since he's actually one year younger than I am!

Sorry for the scarcity of posts lately, but this large baby is wearing me out! I'll try to post more frequently over the next few weeks!

Welcome Baby (no, not ours yet!!)

Congratulations to my brother Tim and sister-in-law Cara. They welcomed baby number 4 on Tuesday evening. Bridget Carol weighed in at 7 pounds 13 ounces, and we are told that Mom and baby are doing well!

Happy Birthday, Amy!

Today we celebrate four years with our blond, curly-haired Amy. Amy, you've always been our most emotional daughter. You cry so easily and quickly, but you're just as quick to laugh and smile. You're the one that always takes notice of the world around you. Your constant questions have prompted me to pay closer attention to everything in life, and I thank you for that. I'm always impressed with your empathy towards others, and your ability to bring smiles to everyone's faces. Thank you for four wonderful years of cuddles and snuggles. Happy Birthday, Amy Margaret!!

A bit mixed up

AMY (singing): "Puff, The magic dragon, lived on Drury Lane!"

Quick quiz: Anyone know which two songs she's mixing together?!! Do you know who really lives on Drury Lane?

Thank goodness for modern medicine

AMY: Mommy, it's a good thing that the doctors told us there's a baby in your tummy. Because if I didn't know that, I'd be getting really worried about you. Your stomach is huge.

Big sisters getting ready

Today we traveled up to the hospital for Beth and Amy's "big sister" class. It was a busy morning, but the girls had so much fun. They got to tour the maternity unit, peek into the baby nursery, listen to a story about new babies, make a "welcome baby" card, and practice holding a baby doll. Amy was very serious about the whole venture, and was very careful to support the doll's head when she was holding it. Their adorable cards are tucked away in the the baby's room (also known as "Erin's room!"). Being on the maternity unit made the baby's birth seem very real. Only six more weeks to go, now!

After the class we met Nana and Erin for lunch in the coffee shop. Nana works at the hospital, so we are looking forward to seeing her there often when the baby arrives!

I'm continuing to grow quite large, and strangers can't believe it when I tell them that I still have six more weeks to go. I'm guessing that the baby will be 9 pounds, 10 ounces. I shouldn't guess a gender, since I am notoriously wrong about that, but I really do think that this one is a boy, since I have felt so different throughout the pregnancy. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers as we enter the home stretch!