Halloween festivities

As for most families, Halloween was a multi-day event, and it was fun! We headed back to Pasadena to hang out with some old friends and behold some great creativity in the way of costumes...


A nerd with his cool 50's date...


Lauren's costume parade at school...

Kate always makes herself right at home in Lauren's classroom--that's her on the rug in the polka-dot jacket...Lauren's teacher was the tooth-fairy--perfect for a kindergarten class.



Ready for the trunk or treat--our clown, train conductor and witch..it's REALLY hard to get a decent picture...

At the trunk or treat---what is that around his ankle you ask? Why that's his diaper that somehow managed to slide out his overalls and down out of his pants...Andy was the one who got him dressed...not sure how this happened! But the cultural hall was getting a good laugh out of this scene!




We had some friends over for Halloween dinner and trick of treating...I've decided that it's really fun to go out as a group, and hopefully we'll make this a tradition...


Becky and Joseph dressed as Shaggy and Daphne from Scooby-Doo...very creative! My kids loved it too--they are very into the old cartoons these days--scooby-doo, tom and jerry, and the latest--looney tunes with bugs bunny, daffy duck, etc...


Kate actually did pretty well with NOT eating all the candy upon entry into her bucket--at home was a different scene...here she was hiding out with her candy stashed behind the drapes...

Stand alone photos

These pictures belong to no group--just random pictures of the kids...

Charlie has fallen asleep basically propped up several times recently...I took a cute video of it, but never seem to post them--not sure this is comfortable, but that doesn't seem to deter him!


The toddler bike seat has a new occupant! He got a helmet for his birthday, and he loves it. Carrying my kids around on the back of a bike always makes me think of my good friend Shelley, who used to ride over to my house with Anthon on the back of her bike--not a short distance!


Mad that daddy left them inside while he went to mow the lawn in the dark--can't say that I particularly like the time change--it brings the kids inside far too early!

Had to document this--I successfully coaxed the girls into wearing something that matches on a Sunday morning--and I don't even remember any fights or tears. Girls and clothes are a tough match for a tired mom of 3--I've given up with Kate...I absolutely don't care what she wears anymore--it's freezing cold in the morning now, and yet she insists on skirts and tank tops and flip flops. I don't care--"fine" I say--she's usually pretty miserable when we step out to walk Lauren to school. But her memory is short and her willpower is long, so she usually forgets how cold the previous morning was as she picks out her clothes the next day...


Enjoying the dark backyard at like 4:45--dang time-change...

Lauren's first college team t-shirt day

And to add to the long list of issues that plaque my kids--Lauren's newly discovered allergies. This was the day I had to pick her up from school---the allergy testing revealed all kinds of inconvenient allergies--dust-mites, pollen, trees, weeds, cats, horses, green peas, mold, etc...so fun...poor girl.

Pumpkin Carving

I wonder if Charlie will mind down the road of we make pumpkin carving part of his birthday tradition. It seems sort of convenient seeing as his birthday his 2 days before Halloween. This year, we heard no complaints. The kids loved it...can't believe I didn't take a picture of the final product on the front porch--I love the feel of lit jack-o-lanterns on my own front porch. Every year I have the best intentions to collect all the seeds and bake them, but it becomes so messy, and the kids seem to mix them with dirt, and then they all get dumped...thus the empty bowl that Kate is holding. These aren't the best pics--the shadows are abundant in our backyard in the afternoon...

One last party

We had a dual birthday dinner for me and Charlie at my parents' house...more presents and a better cake from Patticakes...thanks from both of us!

Birthday glutton

After we'd had cake, opened presents, carved the pumpkins, watched Charlie walk around eating a chunk of raw pumpkin...this was the result--a very happy birthday boy...totally reclined in his chair being hand-fed by his sister!

Happy 1st Birthday

Charlie turned 1 on October 29th--don't know how I could love this boy more. Seriously. He's in a great stage--happy, mostly predictable, cute, excited to see his sisters. He says mama and dada, gestures with his hands for whatever he wants, and is turning out to be a blankie-baby. My girls each have a stuffed lovie that they can't live with out. For Charlie, it seems to be any 1 of 4 or 5 blankets...if he wants it, don't try to get it away from him!

Birthday lunch--home made minestrone soup...guess I thought this was picture worthy...

On his actual birthday, the 29th, we basically had cake and ice cream for dinner because Andy had a meeting that night...I took advantage of the free Albertsons cake for a first birthday.





Charlie's granuloma on his face is now totally gone--hip hip hooray! In contrast to the bright red spot in these pictures, now it's a small, barely-visible scar, which I'm sure will fade as the weeks continue...We were sick of looking at it, and we're glad that the second laser worked...


Good thing he has 2 sisters to help him open presents...


We are so blessed to have Charlie in our family--happy 1st year!

First haircut

Seems kind of silly to be posting these pictures now, seeing as Charlie is about to get his second haircut in the next few days. Nonetheless, it's worth mentioning...on Oct 21st I strapped on my brave hands and attempted Charlie's first real haircut (not counting the simple snip to cut off some long hairs in the middle of his head months ago). I've been known to say that there's nothing worse than a little boy at Church with too-short pants, or a boy who's obviously had his mom cut his hair, and not for the good...but, I think it turned out OK...it really was just to cut off the wings on the sides--it's all since grown out and he's needing another trim this week...we'll see if I attempt it again...

Snipets

As everybody says, I don't have enough time to do all the things that need to be done. I'm not even referring to the things I want to do...those are so far on the back burner that I can't even remember them anymore. But just the essentials--not enough time. We've been busy...with 3 kids we have spent a lot of time at the doctor recently. Here's a little of what we've been up to...

Andy's dad came down for a quick weekend to ordain Andy to be a High Priest...it was a nice to have him here...

A comment on this outfit...this shirt that Lauren is wearing is size 12-18 months...it has never left the girls' closet in 5 years and alternates between a dress and a shirt, depending on who's drawer it's in...It was supposed to be in Kate's drawer as a shirt, but she has plenty of clothes right now so I switched it to Lauren's and she wears it happily. And the pants--yes they are supposed to be pants, size 3T---I pulled them out of the tupperware for Kate to wear this winter, she being 3, but Lauren loved them and insisted they fit her, and once she put them on, they looked so cute as crop pants that they, too, went into her drawer.

Hard to believe how much Lauren has learned in less than 2 months of Kinder...she does her homework every day, and is reading and writing...

Charlie has become the annoying baby brother...into all their things. He's still my favorite, so it doesn't bother me, and I don't care that it bothers them :)

Kate got a bike for her birthday and LOVES it, and since this picture Lauren has finally ditched the training wheels...now Charlie can ride on the back of Andy's bike, and the girls ride their own...now I need a bike!

Why it's fun to have 2 girls--I walked in on "Beauty Salon" in the bathroom one night...

La Fetra pumpkin patch at Lauren's school...she loved picking out her own pumpkin. Kate also got a pumpkin at school...


We've had a little of this...Lauren missed her first day of school due to illness...not sure if it's harder on mom or child...this same week I got my first call from the school nurse asking me to come pick her up because she was having such a severe allergic reaction to something..she's been breaking out in hives the past few months, and it reached it's peak this week, with half her body red and welted, so we trekked to Pasadena for her pediatrician, and now she's got an appt with the allergist next week to see what's going on...it's something outside, like the grass...I haven't exactly told her what the allergist is going to do...she's not gonna like the idea of all those skin tests...