October's Last Week

I warned you it was going to be a busy month and it was. The last week of October was filled with a plethora of Fall fun. I could easily have 5 separate posts just about this past week but, for the sake of time and organization, mostly time--I'll stick it all in one. You know, Maggie's birthday is this weekend. Don't fear though...I've got lots of pictures to share!

What better way to kick off Halloween week than with a Fall Party at school? Costumes, cupcakes, games, crafts, oh my, what fun! As the picture obviously notes...Jack loved his cupcake, but not his costume. He shedded it within the first 10 minutes of the party. You see, my poor spider's arms were weighing him down and "bovering" him. Thank goodness Grandma flew in town that night and remedied the costume with her sewing expertise...just in time for our remaining Halloween festivities.

Okay, I just love Mrs. Debbie's class. I could not have found a better match, teacher wise, for Jack. And to top it off...she lets parents plan and come to the holiday parties! Here the kids are in line to play a candy corn relay game--I was in charge of the craft and story--fun, fun! It brought back old teaching day memories *sigh*.

A change of Halloween pace on Saturday early afternoon--we celebrated Wesley Kate's 3rd birthday Mickey Mouse style. And what a precious party it was--awesome job Karen!! Jack just happened to have a Mickey shirt for our upcoming Disney trip--I always love having multi-purpose attire.

And sweet Maggie wore her "Minnie Mouse" dress, as I have always liked to call it, and Minnie Mouse bow. Maggie loved sitting pretty with the other little sisters, as the big bros bounced, jumped and flipped around the gym.

So clearly my kids were not happy with me when I suggested picture time after the party. I just had to get a shot of them together in their Mickey attire. No smiles...but, at least their outfits are cute.

After naps we headed over to Mt. Bethel's Trunk or Treat. Jack needed a little Halloween practice before the big night...geez, it has been a whole year. Very cute event, Jack had a blast with his Grandma and came home with way too much loot.

All was good on the Trick or Treat front. Jack's costume was repaired--not one complaint--and he was working hard for his goodies.

I just love the rare occasion I get a picture with one of my kids and they are smiling. Even if it is the giant "cheese" smile.

Happy Halloween morning! Who needs breakfast?...Just carve a pumpkin. I'm pretty sure Jack is ooohing and ucking over the pumpkin pulp right here.

Out of the 5 pumpkins on our porch (yes, we were conned into going to the Pumpkin Patch 2x this year), Jack HAD to carve this one. It was literally smaller than his head. Thank goodness Grandma was here with her artistic ability to carve the one eyed Jack-O-Lantern face he insisted on. And dear Maggie, she just had to go with the flow. She did, however, sample several pumpkin seeds...oops!

And the big night...it took us forever to get out the door, but we did it and even managed to have a few minutes to spare for some pictures and video. You must see Jack's rendition of "Little Miss Muffet"--we caught it all on tape.

I waited for Halloween night to add the final accessories to Maggie's costume...her curds and whey, naturally! And she played the part beautifully--that spoon spent the night in her mouth.

Big Girl Ansley, as Jack likes to call her, joined us for a little Trick-or-Treating. It was perfect!...with Ansley by Jack's side he ran from door to door while us adults waited at the end of the driveways. Nothing like a super hero girlfriend to make you feel brave!

Maggie opted for the wagon, but enjoyed every minute of watching the big kids run around. She was a PERFECT Little Miss Muffet. Next year, my sweet Mags, next year.

Told you I had lots of pictures to share! Happy Halloween to all! I'll be on the look out for pictures of your little pumpkins!

Costume Sneak-A-Peek

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey,

Along came a spider

who sat down beside her,

and scared Miss Muffet away!

The Best Day

Thursday was the best day. It will definitely go down as one of my favorites.

Thursdays are usually my errand day. Abby comes and keeps Jack and Maggie. Many times Jack has a friend over to play and I am on my way to mark things off of my "to do" list. But, this Thursday we hadn't made any friend plans and Jack had been an angel all week (unlike my teething Maggie), so I invited him to go with me. I warned him that we had many stops to make, which included Target, and after mentioning that, he was in.

I loaded my little man in the car and we were off. I will admit, I wondered how this would work, if I could get everything done, and if Jack would have the patience to let me do it. Let me just say, it did work!

Our first stop was a haircut for Jack--always a favorite task for him. He sat in the Taxi, ate his lollipop, and got down looking as handsome as ever. Our next stop was Target. This was a highly anticipated stop for him. I prefaced our entrance with, "Mommy has to get all these things from the list first and then we will go look at toys". Not a complaint in the world came from his sweet mouth. He happily helped me choose gift bags for upcoming birthday parties, toiletries for Maggie, paper towels, bulletin boards for our new mudroom (which is almost finished--I'll share pics soon), Halloween candy, and even laundry detergent. We talked...a lot. He asked lots of questions about items on the shelf and I enjoyed responding to his curiosity. It was really nice...just me and Jack.

We finally made it to the toy aisle and I let him choose one toy. He was thrilled. He went up and down every aisle, inspected everything, just as a 3 year old would and finally made a choice. It was a Little People Ambulance. I love how my little guy is in no hurry to grow up. When all his friends are in to Super Heroes and Toy Story, my Jack has stayed a true toddler--he still loves Little People. I asked repeatedly, "are you sure this is it?" and without wavering he consistently answered "yes". I am happy to say he has already worn that thing out playing with it every chance he gets. Last minute we threw a stuffed Count Von Count in the cart from Sesame Street. It is one of the only characters he is missing and I couldn't resist--not too mention he had been a perfect shopping buddy. His manners were impeccable and when I told him we could add Count, he exclaimed, "Thank you Mommy, I love it!" with a giant hug around Count's neck. It was worth that one little sentence.

Afterwards we made our way to the beauty supply shop. We needed to get some ringlets for Maggie's Halloween costume bonnet. We both laughed at the silly hair hanging on the wall and he even tried on a few pieces. Again, he inquired about almost everything on the shelves and again, I loved answering him. Jack made best friends with the store clerk (he was that irresistible) and she let him "help" her restock the items he had been inspecting. I couldn't help but tell him over and over again how much I loved him. I don't even think he got tired of hearing it.

Jack and I then walked down to one of our favorite lunch spots. It's his favorite because they have Cheetos--a very rare treat for him. I ordered our lunch and he found a table for 2 and waited patiently for me to come sit with him. When I got there he announced, "Mommy I saved this seat just for you". Obviously, there were only 2 seats and he was in one of them, but oh, how sweet it sounded coming out of his mouth. We ate lunch and talked about all the fun things we had seen and done that day. He was such a gentleman--it might have been one of the nicest lunch dates I have ever had.

After leaving lunch, Jack and I decided to make an impromptu stop at Fresh Market. We both love their Pumpkin Bread which is in season. We loaded up with 3 loaves and a couple other goodies. In the produce section, we both spotted the biggest apples we had ever seen in our lives. For him that doesn't say much, but for me 33 years is a long time. Jack picked out the largest one he could find (it was almost as big as his head) and we headed to the checkout counter. We washed the apple and he chomped on it all the way to our final destination.

Our last stop was ordering food for Maggie's upcoming 1st birthday party. Again, Jack was a jewel. He did get a little antsy in those last few minutes, but it was nothing my iphone couldn't handle.

We both came home with giant smiles on our face and bags in hand. Jack had been perfect all day--and there is no exaggeration in that. We had amusing conversations, held hands everywhere we went, and his manners were top notch. I fell in love with my oldest all over again. It really was the best day!

Before heading upstairs, he set up his Little People ambulance and Count in the living room and told them he would be back to play after his nap. Just as promised he returned after his nap and had plenty of time to enjoy them until dinner. Both toys are still housed in the living room, days later, and he does not allow them in his toy box, I'm assuming for easier access.

And though this day may sound like nothing to you, it meant EVERYTHING to me. As I went to bed Thursday night with that same smile plastered to my face, I told Clay, "I will always remember today, it was the best day". And if I ever do forget (which I don't think I possibly could), I have it all written down now.

Two Little Pumpkins

We made our annual pumpkin Patch visit this fall. The weather was fabulous. Not too hot (for me anyway), and definitely not too cold. Such a drastic change from last year...October 09 was freezing!

My kids got to wear their festive pumpkin attire. Looks like we will be getting plenty of use out of those suits this year. And I just love that I finally found something to go with Jack's orange shorts. We spent all summer trying to match his tees to those things and nothing worked. And here we are in the Fall and he is finally getting some wear out of them, who knew? If it stays this warm, he might even be able to wear his Turkey shirt with them too. I'm not counting on it though--this weather almost seems to good to be true.

We loaded the car and made the trek to the closest and most decent patch I knew of. We can't venture too far from home with Maggie's nap schedule. Nap jail, anyone? As we were pulling out of the driveway, we heard a thump. Clay and I both looked at each other, what did we just run over? And the answer is...my camera...of all things! Shockingly it still worked--a little crack in the body of the lens, but it is functioning. I'm assuming the case is the only thing that saved it. I have a feeling it's going to be in the repair shop before I know it. I can't bear the thought of being without my camera though--we have way too many events coming up this season. Ugh!

Happily, I got many pics of my kiddos playing in the pumpkins. Maggie didn't let her separation anxiety get the best of her. No, that sweet girl sat in the midst of pumpkin heaven and enjoyed herself. She was very curious about the orange "balls" surrounding her. A few times, she heldup her hand, just wanting a little touch--she always needs a little reminder that Mommy and Daddy are still there and we aren't leaving her.

Jack, well, he was in a mood. One of those "I have better things to do than take pictures kind of moods". It was fine by me, Maggie needed some time in the camera spotlight anyway! We came home with about 30 pictures of Maggie and about 10 of Jack. At least I know it was his choice, so I can't feel guilty. He was too busy enjoying the bounce house and climbing on, over and through pumpkins...such a boy. Love it!

We came home with two beautiful pumpkins for the front porch. And we let the kids choose 2 tiny pumpkins for themselves...Jack opted for a gourd instead. I think it was his way of trying to be difficult, did I say "difficult", I meant different:)...such a 3 year old. Still trying to decide if I "love" that one.

Okay, so I got Jack to pose for one picture. It was well worth the struggle that took place before hand, because look how cute my biggest pumpkin is!

Then it was back to his business of scaling the Pumpkin Patch.

We tried for a family picture, and you can see how well that went. After take 3, we finally gave up.

Getting Maggie to pose was easy--this immobility thing has it's perks sometimes! Not to mention, checking out those pumpkins was serious business for our little Magpie.

She may not be able to crawl, but she sure loves to stand!

This is Maggie's little "are you still there Mommy and Daddy?" move. It usually just takes a tiny touch and she is okay.

Maggie was thrilled with her tiny Pumpkin purchase--a replacement for the lost one from the Fall Festival.

And here is Jack's infamous gourd, which ironically turned out to be "too bumpy" for him. How bad did I want to say, "I told you so"?, but I didn't.

My Maggie:11 Months

Oh dear sweet Maggie, where did the time go? It's true she is really 11 months old today.

The one year birthday party plans are in the works and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Maggie must sense my anxiety because she is taking her precious time growing up. Which honestly, is fine by me. Everyone warned me that #2 would grow up so fast trying to keep up with #1...not my Maggie. She still feels like a baby, I mean she is technically a baby, but she really doesn't feel anywhere near a year old. I like that. I'm soaking in her babyhood every chance I get. I remember how fast it can go and luckily Mag's is taking it slow just for me...did I ever mention how much she loves me? Thanks Magpie!

With that being said, here is an 11 month update on My Maggie...

Eating

This has become an interesting topic around here. Maggie has seemed to develop some preferences in the last couple months...that's my nice way of saying she is becoming a "picky eater". I really don't want to label her with that quite yet, I keep hoping I can break the habit.

Too many tastes of Jack's honey nut cheerios and sneak licks of Jack's popsicles may have attributed to this little dilemma. I have banned any sweets from her chair or mouth to see if I can remedy the situation. It's certainly not awful, but it has the potential to be.

I have found that she is definitely a meat eater (unlike her brother). She loves chicken, pork, veggie burgers, fish, even seasoned up. That's nice. She devours grapes and will eat almost any fruit I put in front of her, except for mango. A big fan of apples and sugar free applesauce. Applesauce has actually been my ally in getting green veggies down her throat--I just have to hide them in a spoonful. Other than green veggies, I can get her to eat pretty much every other vegetable without disguising it, a little coaxing maybe, but no disguise...beets (yuck), lima beans (yuck again), corn, sweet potatoes, carrots, and even tomatoes. Of her green veggies, she prefers asparagus...we found this out recently when we were out to dinner. Since then, I steam some and keep it in the fridge like there is no tomorrow.

If she doesn't like something you will know right away. She puts it in her mouth, swishes it around for about half a second, and then pulls it out with a look of disgust. I just keep handing it back to her and eventually she eats it.

What has completely surprised me is her strong will towards using a fork. If she sees me eating with one, she whimpers and reaches out her hand until I giver her a kiddie one. Great, yes, she's using utensils, however, I am the one piercing the food on the fork, she eats it off the fork, and then so kindly hands me the fork so I will replenish it. It makes for a loooong meal. I will give her credit though, she lately has been trying to pierce the food herself, unfortunately, she hasn't been so lucky. We will get there.

It's hard for me to believe that it is almost time to wean her off of a bottle. As great as she is with her sippy cup, she doesn't seem ready. I'm confident she will do fine, I just feel like she is still a wee one. Oh well, I've got a month to start that process--a lot can change in a month.

Activity

I could easily cover this section in one sentence...Maggie's favorite activity is being attached to Mommy. But, I won't. I'll giver her more credit than that.

She does like to play, as long as Mommy is within arms reach. One of her favorite activities is sitting on her nursery floor reading soft books with me. She looks through the basket, she chooses one and hands it right over to me, as if to say, "read this one". Without fail, her first choice is always "My Piggy Book". It's a pink plush book in the shape of a pig head. She loves when the piggy eats his cookie and the sound effects that come from Mommy. I can always get a giggle and a smile.

Her other favorite activity is playing ball. I kid you not, this baby could sit on the floor for an hour throwing the ball back and forth with me or Daddy. Daddy claims, "she is our athlete". That obviously remains to be seen, but there is no doubt about it--she is a ball lover.

Mag's still loves her walks. We have varied our modes of transportation by adding the wagon, next up the push car. I try to avoid the stroller because I feel like she is in it enough as it is. Her favorite part of the walk is watching Cosby trot along beside us. Speaking of, she has become very adamant about holding his leash--thank goodness he is an easy dog to walk.

Of course, she is very fond of gym and music classes. That might be putting it lightly--she almost lives for Wednesdays and Fridays. Gym class is where she shows the most motivation to crawl. She is entranced by the babies and will do almost anything to get near them. And music class, well, she just loves music, so it is a perfect fit for her. She bobs her head to the beat, loves to dance, and is an avid drum player. She wears a smile for almost the entire 45 minutes (unless Mommy has to get up to return an instrument).

So, I'm guessing you have figured out she has separation anxiety. I am really not use to this--but we are trying to manage. I won't lie, it's frustrating and flattering all at the same time. It has really peaked here in the past month--perfect timing for her 1st birthday party, huh?

As for crawling, we are still not there yet. I never thought I would be saying/writing that at 11 months, but here I am. I will admit, I do have a little anxiety about the whole thing. But, like I've always said, my sweet girl is on "Maggie Time" and is in no rush to grow up. I can excitingly report that, finally, in the last week or two, she has shown an earnest interest in moving--and that is actually progress around here. She has pulled up, only to fall down seconds later and she even got on all fours today. She rocked back and forth and then plummeted to her belly. She was not happy about it. We will see what the next month holds...

Sleeping

This is an easy one--she is a Sleeper with a capital "S". Thanks to God, Babywise, and my diligent routine ( I have to give myself a little credit).

Maggie takes her morning nap at 9:30 and usually wakes at 11:30, unless I grab her a bit early. Her afternoon nap is from 1:30 until 4:30ish. And then she is back to bed at 7:30. Her morning wake up time is around 8:00...yes, I have been blessed.

She dives right into her crib, sound machine buzzing, her pippo (pink hippo lovey) in her hand, and a thumb in her mouth. A little kiss and she is off to snoozeville. So crazy that her separation anxiety doesn't effect her sleep or me leaving her nursery--I better not jinx myself.

So 31 more days and she is officially a 1 year old. Honestly, it's so hard to believe. I can say with confidence, that I have soaked in her baby months with every piece of my being. I hold her tight, snuggle her close, and love on her every chance I get. She is so yummy! And might I add...beautiful too! I think that's okay, since I am her Mommy.

We love you Magpie with all our hearts! Next month we get to celebrate just you and won't that be glorious!

Halloween Anticipation

I could not resist sharing...

We spent the entire afternoon (which luckily was only about 40 minutes) outside waiting for the Fed Ex truck. You see, Jack's Halloween costume was on it's way....all the way from the West coast straight from Grandma's very own sewing machine.

It's here, been tried on, got admired in the mirror, and now it is patiently awaiting a Halloween festivity to wear it to.

Fall Is In The Air

I try to like Fall, I really do. It's a lot like Spring (minus the pollen) and I love Spring. I think the one thing that gets me about Fall is knowing that Winter is right around the corner. I'm not going to try to lie...I despise Winter. I despise it with every piece of my being. I hate being cold--just about more than anything. If it weren't for that one little tidbit, I think I could love this time of year as much as I love Spring.

Regardless of my feelings on the season...it's here. Fall that is. And since the day it landed on the calender, it has felt like Fall around the Cibula house...BUSY! I really can't believe how busy this time of the year is. Fall Festivals, Halloween, costume parties, pumpkin patch visits, Thanksgiving, and now, sweet Maggie's birthday. Whew! I think the addition of Maggie's Birthday, just might give Fall a new likeness in my book.

We've already started our season with a bang...the annual Fall Festival at Jack's school. The weather was awesome! So much better than last year when we almost froze our tails off in three layers of clothes. Jack was fully entertained with bounce houses, slides, games, and pony rides. That was the easy part. However, I didn't know what Maggie would think. I assumed she would be content, because if I'm around she usually is. However, she never ceases to amaze me...this girl loved it! Wide eyes, smiles, and giggles consumed her. I can only imagine how much fun Mag's will be when she can actually enjoy events for herself. Again, how were we so blessed? What a little piece of heaven we have.

The Fall Festival was just the start of our busy season, our calendar for October and November are already filled. It's nuts! There is never a shortage of blog material this time of year. So hold onto yer' hats, if I can find the time this Fall season, this blog is going to be buzzin'.

Maggie found this pumpkin the minute we arrived at the Fall Festival and she immediately became attached. She did not let go the entire time (well, until we lost it). She is so easily entertained--I'm thinking she may have thought it was a ball. You know how she loves balls.

Family train ride...finally Maggie got the chance to participate in something! And Jack, well, he loved the blue lollipop the conductor gave him. It's got to be blue...not always easy to find.

Slam Dunk Jack!...with Daddy's help of course. Ever since Jack started soccer, he has been claiming that sports are his "favowite"....love it!

And we found something to take that lost pumpkins place...a pumpkin balloon. This girl could not get enough of it!

And I know you are going to ask me where I got Jack & Maggie's precious pumpkin outfits. So if you don't already use her it's... www.scribbles4squirts.com Love her! She clothes my kids year round!