Trick-or-Treat

We had quite an eventful Halloween this year.
Ryann and I went out for our weekly grocery shopping trip right after breakfast. We stopped at my school to pick something up and got a little sidetracked so we were there 30 minutes or so. Then I realized that I had forgotten Scott's newspaper so I stopped at another grocery store. I was feeling lucky so I put $2 in the scratch off machine to get a Bingo card. Ryann pushed a button, giving me the wrong kind. I ended up spending $4 to get what I wanted and didn't win a thing. That'll teach me. I shouldn't waste my money anyway.
When we got home, Ryann and I made pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies. She was very good with the rolling pin and cookie cutter. She went a little overboard with the sprinkles but it was fun. She made sure her daddy tasted one right away. After her nap, we carved her pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern. We had drawn a face on it earlier in the week so we cut the same pattern we had. She scribbled on it a lot during the drawing phase but.....it's her pumpkin. She supervised the carving and gutting of the pumpkin. She didn't care for getting her hands dirty. After that, we roasted the pumpkin seeds. She was hesitant to try them but seemed to like them. Ryann's friend, Andrew, came by to trick-or-treat. He was dressed as a monkey. Ryann thought that was fun. She liked giving him candy. She went trick-or-treating on our street for the first time. She was quiet but didn't seem scared. She said "trick-or-treat" at most houses and "thank you" at all of them. She did have a funny habit of going into the houses as soon as the doors opened. I apologized but everyone seemed to welcome her in because she was so cute. A lot of people here sit in their driveways to give out candy. I think that's kind of funny but I guess it beats answering the door every five minutes all night. We met some new neighbors so that was nice. Ryann and I both enjoyed the outing. As soon as we got home, she and her daddy wanted to eat her candy but she only had a little. I didn't ask how much her daddy had. :0)
We spent the rest of the night playing and giving out candy. Ryann ran to the door with excitement every time a trick-or-treater came. She loves Halloween. We ended the night with a Little Critter Halloween book. I explained to her that we wouldn't be doing it again until next year but I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of the "trick-or-treats."
Overall, it was a fun day. I really enjoy doing things with her now that she's big enough to understand and talk about things. Avery didn't participate this year but next year should be super fun. At least Avery got to show her Halloween spirit on Thursday at daycare. They wore their Halloween stuff on Thursday because they didn't go on Friday this week. I wouldn't have wanted them to miss out on the festive clothes. :0)

Field of Screams

Tonight, we took the girls to the Goodyear Ballpark for a Halloween event. There were all sorts of community agencies and businesses there. They all had candy to pass out so we taught Ryann how to say "Trick-or-Treat" and to say "Thank You" when they give her candy. She's shy so she was talking really quietly but she said it. I think we might try a few houses on our street next week, just to be social. Of course, all the candy goes to her daddy. He graciously agreed to eat it to keep her from eating too much of the good stuff. Tonight, I did let her have a pack of Sweettarts. She was thrilled. We also had our picture taken in "the pumpkin patch." This is our little sweet pea and our kitty cat.

Our Annual Fair Outing

Today we took the girls on an adventure. We took them to the AZ State Fair. It's always interesting but taking two little kids qualifies as an adventure. We busted out the new double stroller today(Scott literally assembled it just before leaving the house).
Ryann saw lots of animals. She especially enjoyed the pigs and bunnies.

Then she got to play with big rubbery Lego blocks.

Then came Mommy's favorite part...funnel cake! I know, I usually don't let my child eat garbage, but it's the fair! I had to share because I couldn't handle all those WW points alone. (Yes, I was able to indulge in 1 fair yummy without breaking my diet.)

Ryann went on her first Merry-Go-Round ride. She LOVED it. She smiled & giggled the whole time. When the ride ended, she had a temper tantrum because she wanted to "ride the horsey." I'm glad she liked it but it was rough pulling her away.

After that, Scott got some fried deliciousness, a fried Whipped Reese's bar. He liked it. By then, Avery was out for the count.

Ryann made it all day without a potty accident. That's saying something at the fair. As you can imagine, the bathrooms aren't exactly nice... or clean. Yuck!

At the end of the day, we got Ryann something to remember the day by, a blow-up Dora toy on a stick. She loves her.

Overall, it was a good day. It was hotter than expected in October but we did fine. We had planned on getting a caricature of the kids but they were too hot & tired. Maybe next year. Despite the challenges of taking two little ones, we can call it a success. We'll look forward to next October when we try it again.

Sitting Up

Avery has begun to sit up on her own. She's so cute when she does it. She gets distracted really easily, though, and tends to topple over as she reaches for things. Even when I lay her back in her bouncer or swing, she pulls her head forward as if she's trying to get upright. She's way too busy to be lounging around.

A Walk in the Park

We had a nice morning today before my brother, Chad, headed back east. He was able to spend some time with us before and after his weekend working a race in Vegas. We took the girls to the park for a little while and got some cute pictures. Ryann experienced her first trips down the slide with no diaper. It doesn't seem as cushy. :0) Both girls had fun with Uncle Chuckie. Ryann refers to him as "my Chuckie." We think it's cute.

Celebrating Small Victories

Today was a day to celebrate small victories.

First, I stepped on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh-in and found that I had lost 2.5 pounds. That brings my total to 31 pounds since I started Weight Watchers in June. I'm pretty excited about that. What do I get as a reward? Less food each day. Each time you drop 10 pounds in WW, you lose a point from your daily budget. I'm happy about the progress but that doesn't seem like much of a reward. :0)

The second victory to celebrate is a little progress toward potty training. Ryann has gone 2 days without diapers, except when she sleeps. She has a cute little froggy potty and Ariel undies. However, I have been doing a lot of clean up and laundry. Day 1 was rough but Day 2 brought only 2 accidents. She has proven that she has control when she wants to. I have had to bribe her with TV or trips outside at times. My child is quite stubborn. Where on Earth does she get it from? I'm looking forward to an even better day tomorrow. I am determined to win this potty war whether she likes it or not! (Maybe I know where she gets the stubbornness from.)

Over Achiever

Tonight, we went to church, as we have been on Saturday nights lately. We arrived, unloaded the car and realized that neither of us had brought the baby bag. We normally check her into the nursery but couldn't do it without a bottle or diapers. Rather than scrapping the whole plan, we decided to take Avery to the service and hold out as long as she could. Ryann loves to go play at church so I knew it would be a disaster if we turned around and headed home.

Fortunately, Avery sat through the entire service with us with only a few whimpers toward the end. We were able to avoid the hungry screaming and nasty diaper that we anticipated. Instead, we discovered a wonderful development. As we played with Avery during the service, Scott said, "she has teeth." I thought he was insane. How could I have not noticed one much less more than one. I looked in her mouth and there they were, two brand new teeth growing in side by side on the bottom. Wow! Not only did they sprout seemingly overnight but there are two at the same time! I remember Ryann getting one when she was 6 1/2 months then another a few weeks later. I guess since it was Avery's 5 month birthday, she just went for it. Maybe next week she'll get the rest. Who knows?! I think she's just an over achiever. :0)

Ahhhhh!

That's a big sigh of relief because the quarter has ended at school. I finished my assessments, grades, report cards and parent conferences. After working until 8pm last night, getting to work at 6:15 this morning, teaching and conferencing again today, I can finally relax. I came home early this afternoon and spent the evening with my girls. I missed them a ton yesterday. Unfortunately, I haven't seen much of my husband yet. Scott had the kids at home today because it was suppose to be his day off. When I got home, he headed to work to do a few things. When he got there, he realized there were a ton of things needing his attention so he's still there (It's 8:40pm). Things are really hectic for him at work right now. The Reds are there now in addition to the Indians and they have a lot of other events as well. He's been working long hours. I'm really going to enjoy being home with the kids for 2 weeks but I wish he could have a break too.
Well, I hope to have more time to blog in the next 2 weeks so check back soon!