trick-or-treat 2010

As if it were a complete surprise, Natalie walked away from each door, 

gave her bucket a quick glance, and proclaimed,  

"I got a treat!"  

before hurrying off to the next house. 

I honestly think she was expecting some tricks!

Natalie's costume was a gift from Grammy.  It has been worn just about every day since September.  She calls it her "Frog Princess dress" and answers to "Tiana" when wearing it.   There's even a stuffed animal frog tucked under her arm.  To up the princess-ness, I painted her nails {for the first time} and put on some blue eye shadow and roll-on sparkles.  She insisted on a pony tail "in the back of my head" just like Tiana, which was no simple feat because of the length of her hair.  I talked her into two ponies - one on top, one in the back - with a couple barrettes to hold back the sides and a tiara, of course!

The pea costume worked out great!  {Thanks to my neighbor Laura for handing it down to us!}  While this costume does fit my PEAnut, the bunting-style is meant for a much younger baby so I cut it all along the back seam.  I found a green sleeper to keep her covered and warm.   Charlotte is forward-facing in my new {awesome} Pikkolo carrier with her arms through the sleeves.  And the Cindy Lou Who hat, just makes the outfit!

Of course, the little sister, my little PEAnut,

already has her sights set on ... 

being the princess!

good news, bad news ... it's been too long!

Good News: NHV is still sleeping at 8:20 am.

Not-so-great News: CJV has been awake since 6:30 am, which in turns means I have been awake since 6:30 am.

Bad News:  I didn't go to bed until 1:00 am.  It's my own fault, but still ... this mama is tired!

Back to the Good News: I've already showered, made scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast, played with and fed CJV, caught up on Facebook, cleaned two (out of three) toilets, took out all the trash, and folded a load of laundry.

More Good News: The SUN is actually shining today!  It's been too many days since I've seen those pretty rays!

Really Good News: Only 2 more days until Halloween weekend!  And that deserves a sneak peak of the girls in their costumes ... 

Rootin' Tootin' Halloween

Tammy, my friend and neighbor - and mom to one of NHV's best buddies, Owen - hosted a fantastic Halloween Par-tay for toddler and parents. She's one of those people who make entertaining look easy - I am so envious! Her dessert display was so gorgeous; I hope she posts pics on her blog for you to see. Anyway, it was just so nice to have a place to go, let the kiddos play, and then trick-or-treat in a mob of two year olds! Good times, I tell ya, good times!

On the walk down the street - to Tammy, Owen, and Scott's house, we prepped NHV for all the fun she could expect in the coming evening ... friends, playing, candy, knocking on doors to say, "Trick-or-Treat," ... all the good stuff!  Figuring we should kick-off the festivities at their door, we knocked and readied Natalie to say her cutest, "trick-or-treat."  Big, bad scary Scott opened the door ... dressed in this normal clothes - NOT a costume or a mask or anything -- illicited this reaction for my daughter's first Trick-or-Treat experience ....

And, no, that was definitely NOT happiness to see you.  She cried harder than the last time she got a shot at the doctor's office!  It was hilarious and awful to see her so upset ... so daddy started snapping photos while I did my best to console her.  Thankfully she recovered quickly once inside.  The toddlers had a plethora of toys at their disposal as well as a bouncy house in the garage.  The dads, bottles of beer-in-hand, monitored that chaos while the mommies took the opportunity to visit ... and compare pregnancy notes.

After coaxing a few bites of pizza into the younger bellies, we headed out for trick-or-treating in the 'hood.  What a blast!  It was so cute to watch our little mob of toddlers - nine in all - making their way to the porches.  The various costumes - from Frankenstein to Wonder Woman - inspired quite the response from the candy-givers.  I especially loved seeing N and her buddy O in their coordinating cowboy/cowgirl costumes.  (Owen's wig cracks me up!)

A little about Natalie's costume ... because it's very special.  That little cowgirl shirt was mine.  It was a gift from my Grandma Tex, a nickname bestowed on her because she was born in Texas.  I wore it for my second Halloween.  My sister wore it, and her daughter wore it.  Someday, BGV 2.0 will wear it, too.  Precious, right?

The rest of the costume (the original skirt was lost) was pieced together during my mom's recent visit to the NW.  We found the hat at the Halloween store for $2.50.  The skirt was on clearance at Children's Place for $3.99 - and will be more again and again.  The tights and boots are from Target - and will be staple pieces in her fall wardrobe.  Cute, nostalgic, and thrifty ... how about that!?

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Oh, and I threw together "costumes" for me and CPV, too.  I wore a clipart oven on my baby bump, and my baby-daddy wore a chef's hat and went as my baker.  Get it?  Bun in the oven ... baker?!

Happy Halloween

No "lion" we had a great Halloween! And Natalie made the cutest, sweetest little lioness :) Thanks to my wonderful SILs for the hand-me-down costume! I got all "super crafty" - which means I dug the hot glue gun out of the drawer - and added little pink bows - one to each ear and another on the tail.

She started out the day indulging me when I asked, "Natalie, what does a lion say?" But her adorable "ooooaaaaarrr" quickly faded ... sometimes she doesn't like to show-off her skillz, and that's all right. But I bet she'll be roaring all day tomorrow ... now that the costume is put away!