Halloween Night

Halloween night started out with the Trunk o'Treat at the church.
Bella was very excited to wear all of her Ariel costume. She kept practing her part. "I am Ariel, I like to swim and swim. Trick or treat." Don't ask me where she got the idea to have a part, but she has been practicing it in the mirror every chance she gets.
Poor little kitty is not very happy about her costume. Bella called her the" under the sea kitty." At least someone understands her mom's need for a theme for everything possible.
June fell asleep at the trunk o' treat once she realized how warm her costume was. She wasn't so happy once we got her home. The doorbell kept waking her up, but she finally slept in her swing for a while.

After the trunk o treat, Dad and Bella headed out into the neighborhood. She lasted for about an hour. Her favorite treat was a full size package of licorice. Check out her haul, I can remember walking forever as a kid at Halloween and not getting nearly as much. It was a pretty fun holiday all the way around!

Halloween Morning

Halloween morning started out with a great surprise from Dad, pumpkin pancakes! After, we met Bret's family down at Gateway.

The kids had a great time playing at Discovery Gateway. Bella was extremely proud of the mask she made. She also had her face painted. The girl wanted to paint a pumpkin on her, but she held firm, and even left until the girl agreed to paint a butterfly(and it had to be pink!)

Little bug just hung out with all the kids, being a cutie!

Carving Pumpkins

Bret has taught me the importance of carving pumpkins. I never remember doing it as a kid, even though I know we carved them. I am sure I was gagging at the smell and wouldn't help.

Bella had some specific requests, Bret carved her a crown and I did the Ariel. We each did a face too. My favorite pumpkin (of all time) is the great big face that Bret carved. I think it turned out perfect!

Preschool Halloween Party

The Halloween preschool party was great. It was fun to see all the kids in costume. Bella was very excited to put her costume on and show every one. Of course, she was afraid of the witches brew once again, even though I explain multiple times it was only root beer. She wasn't having any of it and refused to stay in the room with it.

It is hard to keep your crown on when you are a witch riding around on a broom!

Bella with her teacher, Miss Tammy and Kaysha, dressed as Sharpay!

Happy #4 Bella!

Happy Birthday #4 to Bella. Can you believe how old she is getting? Bella was so excited about the presents she had received the day before from her party, that she kept walking by the others that appeared overnight. It took her about 10 minutes over by them before she noticed they were there to be opened.
She was very excited to open up the vanity she has been wanting for so long!

After helping Dad put it together, she couldn't wait to try it out. She was very happy to dress up and do her make-up all morning!

She put on a fashion show of the costumes she received as gifts.

Ariel in an "out of the sea" dress.

A cheerleader!

Jasmine, she couldn't wait to show Dad, she is his favorite you know.

A rose fairy princess, just like Angelina. Bella had a great birthday. We loved to celebrate with her.

I love you my little girl, you bring so much joy and fun into our lives. Don't keep getting so big too fast.

Matchy Matchy!

I was so excited to get these little matching outfits for my girls! I thought they were perfect for Bella's birthday! What you can't see, Bella has chihuahua panties and June has chihuahua socks!

Chinese PJ's

Bella received this little outfit from Grandma Pattie and Grandpa Boyd for her birthday. She calls it her Chinese p.j.'s or Japanese jammies. She loves them. She couldn't wait to put them on and rarely takes them off. And check out her great accessories from her cousin Lily! After her party, Lily came over and played dress up for a little while. These girls looked too cute to resist!

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

For Bella's birthday party, she wanted to go with her cousins to see the Beverly Hills Chihuahua. The kids loved the show! The parents, not so much, but thanks for being good sports, especially Grandma Pattie and Grandpa Boyd for hanging in there. And to Grandma Chris who stayed behind and watched the babies. Afterwards, we went to Uncle Jared's Cold Stone for ice cream.
Bella had a great time with her cousins and I hope they did too. (We are missing Melia here!)

I have a picture of her with the twins every year and I love it! It is so fun to see them growing up together! (Anyone who knows my family can certainly tell they all take after my side!)

My Birthday

I had a great birthday. Bret surprised me with a pink Ipod (or Ipop as Bella calls it.) I have wanted one for a while and was so excited, it is such a fun little toy! We went to lunch as a family and then over to Gardner Village to check out the witches. It was fun just to be together as a family, even if it was a little crowded. Bella had her birthday money from Grandpa DeYoung burning a hole in her pocket so she had her face painted like a butterfly (of course) and then spent the rest on as much lipstick as she could get! It was a great birthday. Thank you Bret for being such a great husband and making every day together wonderful. I love you!

Happy Birthday Julie and Belle!

Julies 35th Birthday is on Friday the 24th. Many people don't realize the sacrifice Julie has made by sharing her birthday month with Belle. At least now we only celebrate for a weekend. Julie spends all year making our families days special, I hope that she gets at least one special day on her birthday. Happy Birthday Julie!


Belle is turning 4 on Sunday. I'm sure it will be much easier to tell people she is 4 rather than 3 and 3/4. We will be celebrating chihuahua style. I was hoping that a Chihuahua was a burrito or something, however, the movie will be fun. Happy Birthday Belle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7tleFb6TlI

Preschool Birthday

We celebrated Bella's birthday at preschool. She was very excited to bring the treat and wear a crown. But what she couldn't wait for was show and tell. She has been wanting to bring sister since she was born and I finally let her. She was so proud to show her off to all her preschool friends. (I didn't get any pictures as I was too scared to actually let her hold the baby up for the kids to see!)

Pineapple PJ's

How are these for the cutest pajamas ever? Aunt Jen gave them to the girls. At first Bella was not impressed, being that she only likes nightgowns, but once she realized she and June could be the same, she has loved them ever since. I love the way the hug the rolls on June's legs. Thanks Jen!

Tubbers

Genevieve loves her tub! She likes to just chill in the water. Mom helps her float on her back and she just closes her eyes and relaxes. It is especially fun when Mom and Bella are in the tub with her! There is a good reason we call her the Tub O' Lub! What a cutie!

Patch

We went and picked our pumpkins today. I think I have the cutest little pumpkins in the patch! Dad helped Belle pick out pumpkins for June and himself. Bella found the only one without a stem for herself. Mom picked the biggest pumpkin she could find. And June, slept through the whole thing until Mom woke her up to take a picture.


The whole time I couldn't help remembering the first time we took Belle to the patch. (There is a great patch by our house with tons of pumpkins.) It was just before her first birthday. She loved her pumpkin and kept hugging and giving it kisses. She played with it for days after. These kids grow up too fast!

Fire Station

Bella's preschool had a field trip to the fire station. I'm not sure what happened, but as soon as the program started, the fireman took out a giant fake match and Bella freaked. She ran out of the room, scared to death. There was no convincing her to go back in and watch. I did manage to get her to take a picture with her friends on the truck. These are all little girls who live in our neighborhood.

Halloween Shirt

Bella saw this shirt on her friend Kaysha and has been talking about it ever since. We finally found one for her and she wears it every chance she gets!

Haunted House

Mom thought it would be a great idea to make a gingerbread Haunted House. Let me just say this is harder than it looks. It didn't turn out quite like the one on the box, but at least we gave it a good try!