How Big Is Briggs?

So big!!!

Like Her Mama

Staley is my girly-girl.  She loves dresses and skirts and tutus and all things sparkly and glittery.  Many days when choosing her clothes, she informs me that she wants to be "super fancy."  I prefer yoga pants and sweatshirts and jeans.  Rather than super fancy, I prefer super comfy.

On Monday as Staley was getting dressed, she told me that she wanted to surprise me with what she chose to wear.  When she came out, she said, "I picked this so I could look like you."  Instead of her usual dress or skirt, she was wearing her super-soft jeans and a casual top that I had bought for her that she'd never worn.

And although I'm biased, I thought she looked super cute...and comfortable.

Mama!!

Briggs loves his Mama.  He can be a bit of a Mama's boy at times.  And now we have officially determined Briggs' first word:  Mama.  He has said it on multiple occasions, and pretty consistently cries it when he wants to be picked up.  And although Zach was a little reluctant to admit it, he's finally agreed that it's official.

Briggs and his first word!

Halloween

Staley is a planner.  During the summer, Staley decided that she wanted to be the "new" Cinderella (from the movie that came out this year that she hasn't even seen) for the Pumpkin Patch Party at our church and a cat for Halloween.  As a special summer treat, Grammie bought her the new Cinderella dress, and Staley made her cat costume in the middle of July.  Since August, Staley had almost daily been changing her mind about her Halloween costume.  She had no less than 100 different ideas about what she was going to be.  Princesses, animals, superheroes, Barbie movie characters, a ghost, a witch, a horse, a ballerina...  Some days she would change her mind every 5 minutes.  I just smiled, nodded, and figured that when Halloween finally came, she'd have to pick something.  And amazingly, Staley came full circle.

She was the "new" Cinderella for the Pumpkin Patch Party.  And because she loves to 'make' her own costumes, Staley and I made pipe cleaner butterflies to put on her shoes and in her hair, as well as a pipe cleaner bracelet for her wrist.

 

Staley's butterfly shoes

 

And then she was a cat for Halloween.

 

Although Adelie would change her mind to go along with what Staley was planning, she mostly told us that she was going to be a mermaid or Ariel for Halloween.  But when seeing that her cousin, Lila, was going to be Elsa for the Pumpkin Patch Party, Adelie decided that she needed to be Elsa too.  (Oh, the perks of having a rack of dress up clothes to choose from!!)

 

My little Elsa

And because Adelie is generally agreeable, I was able to talk her into being a cat like her sister for Halloween.

 

And Briggs?  Well, he doesn't care.  Initially I was hoping I could talk my girls into being Anna and Elsa so that Briggs could be Olaf.  (How cute would that have been??)  Of course, trying to talk Staley into doing something that isn't her idea is like trying to nail jello to a tree.  So when Staley decided to be the new Cinderella, I decided that Briggs could be a mouse and Adelie could wear her "regular" Cinderella dress.  But Briggs slept through the Pumpkin Patch Party, and then by Halloween, Staley had decided to be a cat.  Cat and mouse still worked, and I was pleased that I could have at least one year where my kids had a cute little coordinated theme.

 

And he was a pretty stinkin' cute mouse!!

 

Once the costumes had been decided upon, then all we had to do was enjoy the Halloween festivities.

 

The week-end before Halloween, Lila and Olivia (aka Elsa and Laura Ingalls Wilder) joined us for our church's Pumpkin Patch Party.  There were games and prizes and crafts and snacks.  The highlight, as always, was the cake walk.

 

On Friday, Staley got to enjoy more time with Lila at their pre-school Halloween party.  More games.  More prizes.  More snacks.  More fun.

 

On Friday evening, the kids dressed up to visit their great-grandparents at the nursing home.  Then we visited a few other relatives around town for some trick-or-treating practice.

 

Posing with Great Grams

 

Spending time with Nana

 

And then, the main event.  All the cousins from my side of the family joined us for dinner and trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.

 

Two cats, a mouse, a zebra, Darth Vader, and Harry Potter.

Adelie was a little concerned about Liam's costume and asked, "Does Darth Vader eat cats?"  Luckily, I think Darth was a little more interested in eating his candy than eating the cats.


 

The past few years, our trick or treating consisted of going to the homes of a few relatives and a few neighbors.  Adelie especially didn't know what to expect.

 

Adelie:  "Is trick or treating a birthday party?"

Zach:  "Well, no.  Trick or treating is something we do on Halloween."

Adelie:  "But is there cake?"

 





Even without cake, the kids LOVED trick-or-treating.  They were so enthusiastic!!  And after we walked around the block, the kids were just as enthusiastic about handing out candy to people who came to our house.

 

Good-bye, Halloween!!  Until next year...

 

And on Sunday morning, the first thing Staley said was, "Do you know what I'm going to be for next Halloween???"  And so it begins.

 



 

 

 







Meow, Meow, Squeak

Translation:  Happy Halloween!!

Family Pictures...Again

I had mentioned that the last time we had family pictures with my side of the family, Staley was 18 months old.  Well, the last time we had family pictures with Zach's family, Staley was only 8 months old.  So 4 years and 2 kids later, it was time for an up-date.

A miraculous big family picture that was good of everyone...even the trees.

Uma and Papa with the grandkids

Zach's sister's beautiful family

4 year old cousins who also happen to be best friends

No family picture day is complete without some less than stellar pictures of my kids together.

And let's keep in mind...

...that these 3 photos...

were the best options she had to choose from.  Ouch.

Luckily, my kids can be more photogenic on an individual basis.

Just wishing I had combed his hair a little better...or at least licked his cowlick down more.

Sweet, sweet smiles...

...from my sweet, sweet girls.

Another family photo shoot in the books.  There were some tears.  Some resistance.  Some attempts at smiles gone wrong.  Some funky hair issues.  But all things considered, I'm calling it a success...and already dreading next year when we have THREE mobile children with their own agendas.  Lord help us!

They Make Me Smile

We had an extra carseat installed in the back of our van for the week-end since we had our nieces staying with us.  On Sunday afternoon, I took Staley and Adelie into Peoria with me to run some errands.  I gave Adelie the option of sitting in the extra carseat that was still installed in the back next to Staley's seat.  Of course, Adelie chose to sit in the back by Staley.  Excitedly, Staley responded, "Yes!  And then we can hold hands the whole way."

And they did.  :)