Pumpkin patch

As is required Halloween tradition, we visited our local pumpkin patch last weekend so our little pumpkins could pick out some gourds of their own. We of course failed to get a single picture of both girls looking at the camera and smiling, but we did have a great time!

Anna loved the little pumpkins the most...just her size!

They were having a special event on the evening that we went to the patch--"Characters in the Patch". Anna loved seeing all of the characters, and had a great time on the moonwalk and eating dinner at the patch.

We got some good shots of each sister...just none of them both smiling at the camera at the same time! Where's photoshop when you need it??

(Not to worry--Kate wasn't quite as panicked as she appears in this picture...)

Happy Halloween!

This was Anna's most fun Halloween by far! She loved dressing up as a cowgirl (even insisted on wearing her hat most of the time--we assumed she would ditch it 10 minutes into the evening), and had a blast at the multiple festivities that encompassed the last few weeks. (Disclaimer: be prepared for multiple blog postings on Halloween/fall festival activities. I'm far behind on blogging, but am catching up on these pics...)

Last night we had a wonderful time at a Halloween party hosted by one of Anna's friends, Elena. Anna got to go trick-or-treat with a bunch of her friends, and was particularly elated about spending the evening with her "boyfriend" Owen (who she recently has started referring to as her "wife"...maybe we need to work on her vocabulary...). They insisted on holding hands through the majority of the trick-or-treating adventure...just too cute for words. They never quite figured out how to turn around at people's doorways while still holding hands, so often ended up kind of "promenading" back down the walkway. Seriously--these two are too much.

(Kate and Daddy unfortunately missed out on last night's activities because Kate was a bit under the weather...we missed you guys so much! Next year...)

Before embarking on the trick-or-treating, we enjoyed dinner, some playtime, and pinata at Elena's house. This was Anna's first "real" pinata (involving a bat instead of the "safe" pullstrings that many pinatas have now). She was a pro! She didn't quite break it open, but did give it a few solid whacks.

This was as close as we could get to a "group photo". These little ones are quick...

Dressed up? On a see-saw? With Owen? I'm not sure but what this was Anna's perfect moment...

Happy (belated) Birthday, Bucko!

Happy Birthday Bucko (a day late...)!!

Anna and I decided to make an impromptu trip to Spring yesterday evening to surprise my dad at dinner for his birthday. My mom had planned a birthday dinner for him with some of my aunts and uncles, and I decided at the last minute that Anna has gotten so easy to take places that there was no reason that we shouldn't just leave work/school yesterday afternoon and head north! She was excited about our little "adventure" to say the least!

She was such a trooper through the whole thing. Because of our unfortunate timing (and a few wrecks on the freeway), it took us 2 hours to get to Spring. And I of course had nothing to entertain her because the trip was such a last minute decision. But, she had her DVDs for the drive, and then managed to stay entertained throughout dinner with just a highlighter and a piece of paper (and Grammie, Bucko, and great aunts and uncles, of course!) Maybe my strategically packed diaper bag with all the crayons, aquadoodles, stickers, snacks, and toys that normally accompanies us even on trips to the grocery store is beginning to be a bit of overkill?? Yet another example that our little angel is growing up...

Our little monkeys

We enjoyed the fantastic weather that we've been having by spending some time last weekend at the zoo. The girls had a blast! Anna is definitely of an age now to really love looking at all the animals, and it was Kate's "maiden voyage" to the zoo--she was all smiles!

And, Anna's favorite animals were no big surprise...the pink flamingos. She is more and more of a girly girl every day...

Contain yourself

One of Anna's favorite "hiding" places--her ball basket. As seen here, she rarely hides alone...she's usually accompanied by a few stuffed friends, and a blanket or two. Oh, to be the size to fit into a ball bin again...

Lolly

One of Anna's favorite "special treats" these days are lollipops. And, she adorably refers to them as "lollies". Could you say no to this face when she asked you for a "lolly"? Yeah...I didn't think so...

Lil' blue eyes

So, they say that baby's eyes are supposed to "lock" on a color by about 6 months...we're in the 7 day countdown to hope that Kate's stay blue! They were blue at birth, as most babies' are, but so far they've stayed that same color. I think it will be so pretty with her dark hair if they stay that way...

I joke that we have two "baby doll challenged" girls...a blondie with brown eyes and a dark-haired lady with blue eyes. Its so hard to find baby dolls with those combos! Oh, well...add it to the list of "mommy challenges" we'll face over the years...I'm thinking this will be one of the less significant ones!