Halloween 2016

There's been much anticipation for the holiday this year. We made it back to our favorite pumpkin patch this year with Grandmom and Grandpa.



The girls checked out the hay bale maze,



and posed for some fun pictures,









including the annual shot we get at the measuring stick





(click HERE for last year's pictures, to see how they measure up!)



before we got to the most important part: pumpkin selection! It did not take them long.



And then they both wanted to ride all the way back WITH their pumpkins in the wagon. When both they and the pumpkins are larger than they have been in years past, it gets a little cozy.



Fortunately they are nothing, if not determined!



We scored a couple of small gourds, too, and called it a day.



We got to work, gutting and carving this past weekend:





Some of us were annoyed we weren't allowed to use the carving knife, and improvised with a pen.



With artistic results!



The final product was quite effective!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy birthday to this special guy!



To celebrate this year, we had some friends and family over. It was a houseful of kids, with lots of screeching and running and laughing.







We didn't even have a chance to take many pictures, but there was football cake and brownies, a trip to the park, and even chili for dinner.







We all had a great time! And fortunately the Broncos were kind enough to win to seal the deal, on Monday night.



We love you (and the Broncos!), daddy!

Seven Years Old (and 32 Months)

Sabine turned seven on Wednesday.



She has suddenly seemed much older in the last month or so. She's more composed, more articulate, and more compassionate. She's full-on reading now, no more spelling things in front of her. (As some of us have learned the hard way!) We had her parent-teacher conference, and her teacher seems to just love her, and having her in class. Sabine's got solid math and reading skills, not to mention social and emotional skills! She's working on using lower case letters when she's writing, and addition and subtraction in math. They are learning about rocks in science, her favorite electives are PE and music (followed closely by library), and she loves playing with her friends at recess. She's also still enjoying swim lessons, and loves her swim coach, who is unfortunately going to have knee surgery in November and have to take several weeks off. We are going to have to find something else to do in the meantime.

On her birthday morning, Sabine got to open a few presents, including a few accessories to go with her birthday/Halloween "southern belle" dress.



Then we had to whisk her off to get a flu shot. Happy birthday, kid! Fortunately, we at least got to go downtown to daddy's office to the flu shot clinic there, which was pretty special. Then we took Sabine in to school a little late, where she got her birthday award in the front office before heading off to class.



As soon as she got home from school, we had to race off to swim class. So I didn't have a chance to get a picture of the girls in their matching polka dot dresses (that Aspen picked out as a present for Sabine's birthday) but I at least got a picture of the inevitable dress-up that happened later!

Both of them have grown over an inch since July, according to our wall chart!



Aspen is holding a new Elsa baby doll, that Sabine bought for her with a gift card she got for her birthday. I think that about sums up the way she loves and dotes on her sister. (And the feeling is still very mutual!)

Speaking of! Aspen is growing, too. Her limbs look longer and leaner than ever. The baby look is fading fast. She recently announced that she wants a big girl bed, so that's probably going to happen soon. Although she's definitely not ready to give up her pacifier, and is happy to call herself a baby if it gets her her beloved paci at bedtime. I am suspicious her two-year molars are finally coming up, she's chewing on anything and everything these days.



Aspen is also more articulate than ever, and wakes up talking and doesn't stop until she goes to bed. Despite having a large vocabulary, she's developed these funny sounds, "DeeDee!"/"DeetDeet!" is the sound she makes when she's particularly happy about something, and "BAAH!"/"BA-BA!" is what she says when she's mad or disgusted. (Like if anyone attempts to help her brush her teeth.)

Birthday with Family

Yeseterday we had a lovely celebration for Sabine's birthday with Nana, Aunt Dani, and the cousins. Sabine got some lovely presents,





including several new Barbies



and her first watch, Shopkins-themed, no less!

And even some "Farty Putty" which all the kids found hilarious, but especially the younger two!



Then there were some delicious cupcakes and ice cream, which everyone devoured!



Frosting is always the best part.



It was a really special day; thank you, family!

7th Birthday Tea Party

Our big girl is turning seven! Sabine had a fancy tea party at our house with a couple of close friends (and their dolls) this weekend, and it went off smashingly! We got the table ready the night before:



Sabine's gift this year was a fancy (and most importantly, poofy!) ball gown with a hoop skirt. I think the inspiration came from her current favorite movie, The King and I. In any case, we found a dress she loved, and it will work as a Halloween costume, too! But first, it served as the centerpiece for the tea party. She got lots of compliments on her dress, and was thrilled.

As her friends arrived, they settled in to making hats for their dolls, and fascinators for themselves.





Then they headed outside to play a couple of games while the glue dried on the hats. First, a balancing game, where they tried to keep teacups on their heads.







As tea cups fell, the girls headed up to watch and cheer from the porch. Sabine came in second, behind her dear friend S, who happens to be a couple years older, and a dancer, so not entirely surprising she was quite good at balancing! But we ended up having to make her and Sabine almost run before their teacups fell off!

Next was a bean bag toss. Sabine helped me make some bean bags earlier in the week, so each girl had their own, unique one to toss.









As the game progressed, they had to stand farther and farther back. They all managed to get their bean bags in at least once, with the winner getting it in three times.

Then inside for the main event, the tea party! There was lots of toasting and giggling.











Then, for dessert, was a very thematic cake!



Almost too pretty to eat. Almost. (It was delicious.)

Then Sabine opened her presents, just as parents started to arrive to pick up, and got a very thoughtful and generous array of gifts from her friends.













Everyone seemed to have a great time; it was a really fun day!