Dedicated to PopPop

This post is dedicated to my dad, also known as PopPop around here. He loved Halloween when we were growing up and made some of our costumes along with my grandmother and he loved dressing up too. I have wonderful memories of Halloween and wish my dad lived closer as I know he would have loved trick or treating with the girls tonight. We started out tonight by having Mummy Dogs for dinner and then we had a great time trick or treating. Ellie was so much fun and kept us laughing the whole time as she could not wait to ring the "dingbells" at each house and get some more candy. She got to dress up as a little ladybug and Quinn used Ellie's old butterfly costume, which was a little large but still worked for the time we needed. We went to a couple friends' houses nearby so Ellie would feel comfortable and then went to some houses in our own neighborhood. Ellie would have loved to stay out there longer and visit more houses. Next year we know we will have to go to quite a few more than we did this year! Ben said he thinks we had the cutest girls out there and I would have to agree! :)

Mummy Dogs

Trick or Treating at Seth's House

Ellie and her buddy Seth

Fall Decor

This year I added a few things to my fall decor. I made a new wreath for our door and new decorations for our mantle. I also let Ellie's crafts add to the fall decor and be the centerpiece for our dining room table. I love this season and I am excited at how all our decorations have turned out. We have a few more to make for Thanksgiving and are having a great time making them.

Pumpkin Carving 2012

We had our 7th annual pumpkin carving with The Cook Family this past Friday and again had some very creative pumpkins and a great time hanging out. We started carving pumpkins together when the four of us were married less than a year in the garage of The Cook's house and now have 3 kids between us and our carving time has increased in number of participants. Ellie and their little girl Laine, who is almost 10 months old, stayed up with us while little Quinny slept upstairs. We had a great time and can't wait until next year!

Sweet Baby Laine

Ben's

Andy's

Emily's

Katie's

Sisterly Guidance

Sometimes Ellie likes to volunteer to help her sister learn new skills. Here she is teaching Quinny how to eat her puffs. She is so loving to Quinn sometimes it hurts her little heart when Quinn needs to try and learn things on her own.

Great GrannyFranny and Aunt Paula

My GrannyFranny came through town with my Aunt Paula last week and Granny stopped and stayed with us for the night. It was her first time to meet Quinn and see Ellie since she was less than a year old. We had a great time going to the park and Ellie took right to her. Quinn is going through her stranger anxiety so she was not as friendly. The next day we met back up with Aunt Paula and my cousin's little girl Abby, who is only a few months older than Ellie. The girls got to play and we got to visit. Aunt Paula was quite a hit with Ellie. After seeing her briefly she now calls "Pawla" (as she says it) on her phone. There is something about people in my family. I say they put off a certain vibe and it draws kids in. My dad has always been able to connect with kids and now I notice the same trait in my brother. As soon as Aunt Paula (who is my dad's sister) came in the house she must have put out the vibe because Ellie was drawn to her. It is so funny to watch! We had a great time and wish the visits could occur more frequently!

My new dress from Granny!

32 years

Ben turned 32 on October 23rd. He had to work of course, but the girls and I, mainly me, made him a yellow cake with chocolate icing from scratch. It is one of his favorite combinations and it turned out great. We got him a couple gifts and Ellie picked the out the card from her and the card from Quinn, which she was very excited about. We went shopping but I ended up not finding what I wanted and ordered it online instead, which I realized was better as Ellie is beginning to give secrets away so we are going to watch out when we are buying gifts for people :) We loved celebrating the main man in our lives! He treats us girls pretty good and is a perfect balance for me and the girls. They are extremely blessed to have him as their father and I can't even describe how the Lord has given me the perfect partner in every way. I am looking forward to spending all of his next 32 years with him and watching and experiencing what the Lord does in his life.

"Open my card next!"

Making a Wish

 

Half a Year

Quinny has hit 6 months old. She is half way to the big 1. She is a baby with a joyful personality. She giggles and smiles constantly and loves to play with Ellie. She loves to eat and grab whatever she can get her hands on. She has developed some stranger anxiety and loves her Mommy, which is different from Ellie, who never really had stranger anxiety that much. She is very observant and loves to see everything that is going on around her. She is a baby that makes having 2 a little easier. She draws attention with her piercing blue eyes wherever we go and it is very common for me to be looking at something in a store and turn around and her eyes have drawn a crowd. We love everything about this little girl and can't imagine what life was like without her.

Her stats:

She is a very tiny little doll baby as many say. She is tipping the scales at 11 lbs. 3 oz. (not even on the graphs at the 0 percentile) and her height is 24 inches (again not even on the graphs at the 0 percentile). We have an amazing doctor who never lets a thing bother him. Ellie was also small so he is in no way concerned with Quinn's weight or height and she is hitting all the other milestones developmentally. We just have tiny babies! Tiny has it's benefits as clothes last a lot longer around here! :)