Our Halloween

Our Halloween was actually pretty good-as in we got a great stash of candy. In past years we've passed out candy would only get a handful of trick-or-treaters, so I just assumed that all the courts around here were like that and that since our neighborhood was composed of a lot of singles and older people that they just didn't get into the Halloween spirit. So we got the kids ready for trick-or-treating expecting to just hit a few houses and that would be exciting enough, but just a block over from us was all the action. I went out with the kids, and Chris stayed home to work and pass out candy (we probably had about 5 groups this year). Jack was a little hesitant at first but then quickly realized what was going on and had a blast. Despite the rain that started to fall, it was hard to get ourselves to stop and come inside. The goings were good, I didn't even take Juliet to all the doors and we still got a ton of candy, and still have some today. I think the reason our specific court doesn't get a lot of action is because of where it is positioned; it is across from some woods and it takes a little bit more effort to walk to from other more concentrated zones, so it just doesn't work with maximizing the flow of candy. But that is fine with me. 

As you can see from the pictures below, Juliet was a pumpkin and Jack was a skeleton, but he really wanted to be a pirate. Maybe next year. Also part of the fun of the candy is playing with it for days afterward. He does pretty well at not eating it without our permission. Juliet on the other hand quickly realized what was inside so we had to keep it away from her. 

The before and after trick-or-treating pictures are reversed below. Sorry. 

Juliet turns 1

 I can't believe this little girls is already one. Her first year seemed to go faster than Jack's. I can't explain how much we have enjoyed having a daughter. Besides her terrible stranger/separation anxiety, she really is a dream child and I have loved every minute of her in our family. She started crawling a about 10.5 months and has taken several steps but has yet to make walking her primary mode of transportation. She's got 8 teeth and can say the words "dada", "doggie", and "book". She sleeps great, has been almost exclusively cloth diapered, loves using her pointer finger to tell us what she wants, still sucks her thumb, and luckily has been a better nurser than Jack.

The day before Juliet's birthday was thanksgiving, so that's when we decided to celebrate since we could share cake with more people. Juliet didn't know what to do with her piece of cake at first, but after I fed her a bite she figured out what to do and seemed to enjoy herself. The cake I made her wasn't really what I was planning on doing but after a friend asked me to make the cake for her son's first birthday (who was born the day after Juliet) I just decided to use some of the colors from the requested Backyardigans cake for Juliet's.

 The day of her actual birthday she even got to have pizza for dinner.

 

 Her hair has grown enough that I can do little pigtails and ponytails! (As long as she holds still enough for me to put them in though.)

 She is in love with all things furry. Everything that has fur is called a "doggie" to her. She loves to bury her face and snuggle anything plush. We we at Aldi and Juliet started whining and pointing at something and so I turn around and see the big teddy bear. Above was her reaction when she got it, and below was her excitement for a real puppy at another friend's first birthday party.

 Juliet saw Santa at our ward Christmas party. She did not scream like I was totally expecting. Jack was AWOL for most of the evening so he didn't get to see the jolly guy. I don't know what happened to Juliet's sock, but that is also a common thing as she is always pulling them off.

 This picture is the best on of Juliet's hat that one of the Senior missionaries made for her. She made Jack's hat as well but it doesn't have his name on it. The kid's have also had fun playing in the leaves. 

 One day for whatever reason Jack was allowed to pick our a snack at aldi as a special treat, he chose cheetos, and Juliet had them all over her face but was really enjoying herself. And now all the rest of the pictures and the video at the end are for the enjoyment of the grandparents who always want to see more pictures.

Jack and his cars

I noticed while looking through pictures that I have several of Jack and his cars. He loves them and plays with them everyday. He would watch the movie Cars everyday if we let him, he can pretty much quote the whole thing and will often quote it while playing. 

 The day he learned that this hard carpet protector is great for riding cars on was monumental.

 He often will not leave the house without a couple cars in hand. Usually he'll as how many he can take, not if he can take any at all.

 Watching Cars, I'm pretty sure.

 And then there was that terrible day where the favorite Lightening McQueen fell down the drainage sewer. Some other boy got a hold of lightening and accidentally dropped him down the drainage grate. We could see him at the bottom, several feet from the surface. Jack took the loss pretty well, it helped that he could come back to the playground and say hello to lighting. Probably a week later we saw some friends at the playground and told them what happened, and then they showed up at church having successfully fished lightening back up. Jack was very grateful. We are now no longer bringing his cars to the playground.

 Who needs a trampoline when you have a couch?

I just liked how all the chess pieces are looking out the window.

Summer water time

We were able to make decent use of our swim suits this summer. A friend invited us to the only splash pad type thing in the area, and it still isn't all that close, but Jack had a great time. 

The next destination was my favorite. It's a sandy beach on the Chesapeake bay with the bay bridge in the background. Jack did not want to get in the water on this trip, but still liked wearing the floaty from a friend.

 We also finally made some good use of our local pool. After school started and when it was still hot was the perfect time to go because we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Jack's favorite part may still be the showers at the end. 

Finally, at home Jack liked to "play" in the sprinkler, although he never grasped the concept of running through the water; he never wanted it to touch him. Jack was happy carrying the sprinkler around the lawn watering the grass and tree. Maybe next year.

I just realized Chris wasn't here for any of these activities, so here is a nice recap for him of all the fun things we get to do without him.