Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween today.  The day started off with a preschool parade.  It was fun to see all the kids dressed up, but trying to keep them organized was like herding cats.  I especially loved all the kids holding hands as they walked down the block.  Vita dressed up like a black cat.


There were a couple attempts to take a group shot.


Anabelle went to school dressed as a skeleton.  Today was a big day for Anabelle, as she is starting to transition out of the baby room and into the toddler room at school.


Grandma Victoria came over dressed as a witch, and joined Ernie and Vita for some trick-or-treating in downtown Santa Cruz in the afternoon.


Anabelle and I stayed home, and had a little photo shoot in her other costume... a bee.






Vita came back from trick-or-treating with LOTS of candy, and she was excited to join up with her friend Maddie for more trick-or-treating in her neighborhood.


One last photo and Victoria, Vita and I headed out for the evening, while Ernie stayed home with Anabelle.


At Maddie's house, we met up with more friends.  Vita looks like she is wearing scary Halloween teeth, but really she has a mouth full of crackers.  Somehow, I didn't get a photo of Vita and Maddie together, but here's Vita with some of Maddie's friends.


Vita was so cute saying "Trick or Treat" in her tiny little girl voice.


We trick or treated until past Vita's usual bedtime, and headed back home with a VERY FULL bucket of candy.

ONE

Anabelle turned ONE today!


On Friday, the day before Anabelle's birthday, I took the day off work to have a day to spend alone with Anabelle, on her last day as a baby.  We had so much fun, and in between games of chase, and catch and peek-a-boo we played with balloons and started to put up some birthday decorations.  Anabelle loved this birthday balloon bouquet, and she almost couldn't believe she had the whole thing to herself, and didn't have to share it with her big sister... at least not for a few hours.


It was fun to watch the sun project the colors of the butterfly onto the wall, the couch, and on Anabelle.


On Saturday morning, Anabelle put on her first birthday outfit, and we had some snuggle time on the couch with a bottle.


We opened cards and gifts slowly and intermittently throughout the day so each item could be enjoyed, rather than opening everything at once at the end of the day.  Anabelle had fun opening her cards and gifts all by herself.


These hand puppets were a hit.  Anabelle picked each one right up and hugged them all!


Even the chickens had a present for Anabelle.  They started laying eggs today!  Thanks, ladies!


After nap, Anabelle put on her second outfit of the day, which is the same dress Vita wore on her first birthday.


Grandma Victoria came over for some birthday fun, too.


Soon enough, it was time for cake...


Ernie and Vita sang and carried the birthday cupcake over to the birthday girl.


I don't know if she was more interested in the cupcake or the fire.


After cake we finished unwrapping gifts, including this barn I picked up second hand, which BOTH girls seem to enjoy.




Since Anabelle is so very musical, we also got her a "band in a bucket" with a tambourine, harmonica, kazoo, maracas, etc.  She loved it, and we all made lots and lots of noise together.


Anabelle found a way to make music with each item in the box.


I can't believe my BABY is a YEAR OLD already... but there's no time to waste reflecting on how quickly the time passes, because Halloween is coming up on Monday!

No Stopping Us Now

I'm going to attempt to make up for posting so infrequently with a huge post with lots of pictures...

There's no stopping us now, we're on the move.  For months, Anabelle would "walk" around the house with this walker toy for balance.  She loved the mobility, and was so happy to be able to get around while upright.

She was always on the go.


Now, Anabelle doesn't need the walker anymore.  She's been taking steps for about a month, but she is now officially walking, and if I thought she was on the go before, there's really no stopping her now.  I have lots of video, from first teetering steps to her slightly more confident current stride, and I promise I will post some videos some time soon.

So much is going on with Anabelle developmentally.  She is capable of concentrating for longer periods of time.


She sometimes mimics words, and uses "mama" and "dada" a lot.  She waves goodbye and sometimes says "bye bye".  Also, now that she is walking, her climbing and reaching, and hanging from window sills (and general ability to cause havoc) is also improving by leaps and bounds.

We recently had a visit with Grandpa Bob, who was in town to go camping with Ernie (during a rain storm... bad timing).


The kids got lots of new goodies, including the new dress on Anabelle in the picture below.


Ernie's sister Jennifer and cousin Dan were also in town, so most of the group met up for a trip to Ano Nuevo.  Somehow, we didn't get any pictures of Jenn and Dan with the kids, but it was a fun little visit, and we even went to see the Monarch butterflies while they were here for their annual visit.


At night, Vita and Bob watched Vita's favorite movie: How To Train Your Dragon.


The next weekend, we met up with my sister at the San Francisco Zoo.


Adventurer Vita is checking out the giraffes with her binoculars.


Posing for pictures with the baby elephant statue.


We found a little maze out of hay bales and stopped for a snack, some play time... and a big photo shoot.  Here are a bunch of pictures we took.






We got to see the grizzly bear up close while he was resting.



There were big spiders, too.


And Vita even met this strange creature... is it a bull?  I'm not sure, but it was friendly.


Anabelle was a good sport about being pushed in the stroller most of the day (yes, we got another stroller).

Generally speaking, Anabelle has been a good sport about most things, and is a happy girl.



We also tried to do another photo shoot at home... and although these pictures are pretty cute, we didn't get a picture where both girls are actually looking at the camera and smiling, so we're determined to try this again soon.




We're getting really excited about upcoming events, including Anabelle's birthday, and Halloween.  Recently, Vita's preschool had a fun field trip where the kids got to take a real train up into the redwoods to a pumpkin patch.  They picked a pumpkin, and took the train back.  They even got ice cream!  Grandma Victoria attended with Vita, and took these cute pictures.

Next week:  Anabelle's First Birthday and Halloween!