Halloween

Costumes were on and off three times today with all our Halloween festivities! First, we went trick or treating at my parents house this morning so grandma and grandpa could see the kiddos in their costumes. My parents live down a dirt road so they really don't get a single trick or treater so it was fun! After lunch and Owen's nap, we headed in to downtown Snohomish where all the stores on First Street were handing out candy.

Here is Owen checking out Maya who was squealing with excitement on our way there!


Owen carried his bag around and went up to the people handing out candy but was really confused!

Maya, on the other hand, was busy checking out her bounty!

Eventually Owen was tired of not being able to walk away (he, for some reason, wanted to go the opposite way we were going!) so I put him in the stroller with a sucker. Here he is getting the sucker then about 10 minutes in to eating his sucker.



We took a pit stop to get a picture of all the kiddos (L to R Addison, Dumbo; Maya, Ariel; Brody, Lion; Sarah, Rapunzel; Owen, prince charming)

We also ran into Elmo! Of course the boys wanted nothing to do with him!

Finally, finished trick or treating, we tried and tried and tried to get all 5 kiddos in a picture!

And here is Owen escaping!

We then went home to eat some pizza then Maya and Chris headed out to our neighbor's houses for some more trick or treating while Owen and I stayed home to hand out candy.

Here is Maya ready to hit the road.

Owen was back in his costume and he helped me watch for trick or treaters.

And...finally Owen had a meltdown. Maya came home and dumped her bounty out. Owen played with it while Maya picked out a piece to eat. Then he had a royal meltdown after we put Maya's candy up.

Climbing Trees

Maya is such a girly girl yet quite the tom boy and I love it! Here she is up in the tree in our backyard. All summer she asked to climb the trees back there and did a little. Today she got higher than I had ever seen her go. I was admittedly nervous!

Carving Pumpkins

Tonight we decided to dig into our pumpkins and try to carve a few. Last year was the first where Maya would actually touch the guts. This year, she was a little afraid at first and kept telling me it was too cold! By the time we were done she was busy trying to bury my hands and having me do the same to her while we sorted out pumpkin seeds to roast. Maya chose Ariel for her pumpkin. It was a little challenging to find a pattern but, as all crazy moms do, I found one on the Internet. I chose a cat/jack-o-lantern/spider scene and Chris did a free hand jack-o-lantern (which has yet to be photographed). Owen wandered around trying to eat pumpkin guts, trying to crawl in the pumpkins and just having a good old time trying to figure out what the heck we were doing.

Three and a Half

Maya is 3 1/2!

[Picture To Come]

Statistics:
Height: 42. 25 inches
Weight: 38.5 lbs
Shoe Size: 9
Dress Size: 5
Pant Size: 5
Bed time: 7:30-8 with no nap; 8:30 with a nap
Wake up: 7:30-7:45

Favorites:
Color: pink and blue
Animal: giraffe
Toy: Baby Quinten & Penny the dalmation
Movie: Tinkerbell ...The Great Fairy Rescue
Princess: Ariel and Tiana
Favorite thing to do with Owen: play downstairs [in the playroom]
Favorite thing to do with daddy: build with blocks
Favorite thing to do with mommy: go outside
Favorite ride at Disneyland: Splash Mountain
Favorite Letter: M
Favorite Song: Belle songs (from Beauty and the Beast)
Here is Maya typing her name: maya

The Facts:
* Maya says please, thank you, excuse me, and you're welcome
* She loves to entertain Owen and always wants him to come play with her
* Gets Owen in trouble by encouraging him to do things she knows he shouldn't.
* Maya can sing all of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid
* She loves to introduce herself, say how old she is then introduce Owen too
* She can write her name though the Y is a little tricky still
* She knows many of her letters and words that start with those letters
* She still sleeps with two nightlights and a fan at night
* On many nights when she hasn't napped...she is restless much of the night....
* BUT if she naps it's not unusual for her to be awake til 9 p.m.
* She pretends that the bath is a water park and 'gets a ticket' every night
* She's great at doing silly things to make Owen laugh
* Maya loves using pens to color and draw.
* Maya can draw 'things' slightly abstract but she's getting features
* She has about a dozen stuffed animal 'friends' on her bed when she sleeps
* Maya still has two blankets she sleeps with...though we were missing one tonight that needs to be located!!
* Maya will call you out if you say words that are not nice (like stupid)
* She LOVES preschool and lunch club with her new friend Aubrey
* She buckles her car seat by herself and even tightens it most of the way
* She likes to use adult conversation cues (sooo.... actually.... I'm Serious)
* She loves to jump off of every stationary piece of furniture in my house
* Maya plays a lot of make believe pretending she is Ariel or Tiana
* She always comes downstairs after she wakes up already dressed
* Maya takes swim lessons with her friend Addison and cousin Sarah
* She LOVES her new big girl dance class (also no with Addison and Sarah)
* She is always asking for milkshakes though I don't think she's had more than 3 or 4 in her life
* Maya tests boundaries constantly
* She learned the art of the knock knock joke over the summer
* She can type her name on my phone and on the computer keyboard
* She likes to do this in conversation " [insert random comment], that's what I said."

Face Painting

Today to continue in our festival themed weekend, we went to the Snohomish Pumpkin Festival. We went around to all the booths to play the games and win prizes (mostly an overwhelming amount of candy...ugh) then we waited to have Maya's face painted as a butterfly. I had to post this because it was the most amazing FREE face painting we have ever had done. This lady was incredible!

YMCA Harvest Festival

Tonight we went to the YMCA Harvest Festival with our friends. Not only did the kids get to wear their costumes, but they had an ever popular bounce house, an ooeey goooey room, goody bag decorating, face painting, snacks and all sorts of games to play and prizes to be won! Here are a few pics from the festival.

Fancy Outfits

Maya came down 'dressed in a fancy outfit ready for the ball'. I giggled at the sparkly pimp hat she chose (a prize we won at the fair).

Meow

Owen only says a handful of words and uses a few signs. This morning he came in to my room where I was putting clothes away and I was asking him to say words (Woof, Meow, mommy..) and after meow he left. I thought he was done but he came back a minute later holding the kitty piece to his puzzle and saying "meow, meow." Cuteness!!

On a side note, he says dada, mommma, meow, woof, hi, byyyy, and something that is a little like book and something that is a little like more. He signs more, eat, drink, milk and we are working on help, water, bath and sleep. At one years old Maya had about 10 words so we never really did signs with her. It's been fun to do because Maya helps me teach them to Owen and then we all know them.

Belly Talk

This morning while eating her oatmeal (dressed in a tiara with earrings, a necklace, bracelet and 'princess shoes), Maya looked at me and said "Can I have a baby in my belly?" EEEK! My answer, as you would suspect, was "Not until your grown up and married." Please?!?!?

What a Bruiser!

Maya wanted me to take her picture with Cally tonight. After I take a picture, she always wants to see it. As I was showing her I realized how many darn bruises she has on her legs again...they were mostly gone last week. That girl is always a walking bruise and everyone notices. In the end, it's the result of playing hard and being a smidge on the clumsy side. I blame those crazy long legs!

Halloween Goodies

Tonight Maya and I made some Halloween cookies. We used store bought sugar cookie dough and icing and made spider webs, a pumpkin made of sprinkles and some other random designs! Maya always love to bake and test out our goodies but who doesn't, right?

Sleep Deprivation

I think I need to start a group for parents whose kids wake up at the crack of dawn. Owen has always been a morning kid. Until he was 6 months old, I would snuggle him in to bed with me when he woke up until Maya got up but, as we all know, that's not really a great habit. Then we 'cried it out' and once he was sleeping 10ish hours our rule became, if he woke up before 6:15 he had to stay in his bed til then. It worked okay, but I was often up listening to him talk to himself (he wakes up happy). Once we transitioned to one nap about two months ago he started sleeping until somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30. I thought I hit the jackpot...until 11 days ago. In the past 11 days he has woken up before 6 a.m.on 9 of those! Yikes! A few mornings I have just left him. This morning he happily talked to himself for an entire hour! I suppose in his defense he just cut 4 teeth and has had a minor cold during those 11 days. Sometimes if he starts to cry after the talking he will go right to sleep and sometimes not. This morning at 5:50a.m. I was wondering where the reset button on Owen is. When I tell people about it, I often hear "My kids can't do that because I'm not a morning person." or "Why do you let him get up?" I laugh because obviously I do not want to be up at 5:50 a.m.! I also assume those people have never had an early riser. Trust me, in the past 15 months of the early wake up, I have wondered how to alter his pattern. In the end, I think he's just hard wired. I do admit it was a bit of a shock after Maya. She was always on the longer end of sleeping (i.e. if normal sleeping was from 12-15 hours during a 24 hours period for her age, she would sleep 16 hours). I read all sorts of sleep books when he was 5 and 6 months old while trying to get him in to a more rested sleep pattern (he was taking 3 naps and waking up 2-4 times a night). In the end, he goes down so easily both for his nap and for bed (a 5 minute routine and putting him down awake...he does all the going to sleep without crying himself). He rarely wakes during the night and if he does we only have to go in maybe once every 2 or 3 months. He sleeps about 10-10.5 hours a night and takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and he's a pretty happy guy. Maybe I just need to paint a nice smiley face on my clock so I am distracted by that and not the fact that the first number I'm reading is a 5.

When I grow up...

Today we stayed home from our usual trip to the gym (runny noses and a stomach ache....) and instead I loaded the kidlets up in the stroller and took the dog for a brisk walk. Maya talks nonstop! When we got home and pulled in to the garage, I decided we'd spend a bit of time out there trying to reorganize... While I was trying to take an old shelf down Maya was talking my ear off about all sorts of things. Today this is what she told me:
Maya: "Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to be a fireman. Oh and a doctor too so I can make people feel better."
Me: 'That's great Maya. Those sound like fun careers. Did you know grandpa used to be a fireman? He even got to drive the fire truck!"
Maya: "Ohhhh. I remember, I saw him yesterday driving!" (She thinks everything was yesterday)
Me: "It was actually before you were even born when I was a little girl."
Maya: "Actually, I remember. But it was. Oh and, Mommy?" (She likes to copy words)
Me: "Yes?"
Maya: "I'm going to college too. But not Owen. He's a baby."

I love those 'grown up' conversations she tries to have especially when she hears a word she wants to try to use.

Decorations

We like to decorate for all the holidays. This year it's just our mantle as opposed to our front porch. We did not get many trick or treaters last year which was a bummer but I also realized that most of the kids in the neighborhood are much older than ours. Thus we thought we would stick with something we can enjoy! The 'centerpiece' is a vase filled with all sorts of candy which Maya just wanted to eat the first few days it was up. A few days ago Maya painted a 'Halloween House' we bought at Michaels to add to the mantle. We also made the ghost, bat and 'witch' (she looks a little more like a scarecrow) to hang.

The Farm (pumpkin patch)

We had a blast today spending 4 hours at The Farm with some of our favorite people! When Maya was 6 months old we went with our group of friends (4 couples and 4 kids). Today we went with 5 couples and 9 kids with one on the way! The Farm is awesome and includes a pumpkin patch, tractor hay rides, a kiddie cow train ride, petting farm, indoor hay maze and slide, duck races and kids play area. Of course there are also lots of animals, flowers, apple trees, a beautifully landscaped picnic area and a putting green we have yet to use. It was a gorgeous day...crisp and sunny!

Marathon

Maya came running upstairs wearing her shoes. I asked her why she had them on in the house (we don't allow shoes in the house). She replied "I need to be fast. I'm running a marathon!" Ha! She cracks me up. I just laughed and said "Good reason." Maya definitely did not acquire the running gene from me.

On a side note, Chris took the kids to the elementary school down the street from us about a month ago to play. They ran into a family while they were there who were also playing in the field. Maya joined in on the fun of running around playing soccer with a ball that had been left on the field from school. Chris said she was easily keeping pace with the little boy who was in 2nd grade. The dad of the boy asked how old she was and was surprised to hear she's only almost 3 1/2. His response? "She's got wheels!" Maybe she is a runner!

Open doors

Owen has discovered how to open doors...he is mostly interested in the bathroom door. Eeeek! Today Maya went in to use the bathroom and I walked upstairs to find Owen in there playing with his toothbrush (though he thankfully wasn't in the sink). After telling her she needed to remember to close the door so Owen doesn't come in she informed me that he opened it all by himself. Admittedly, I didn't believe her (bad mommy!). However, shortly after I witnessed it myself. He truly has taken my baby proofing on as his personal mission to conquer. Not really sure how to keep him out yet not deny Maya access.

wet.....

Last night I got peed on...doesn't seem like much of a story, does it?

About once a week Maya has trouble sleeping. Sometimes her room is too stuffy and sometimes she's overly tired. Usually we know an hour after bedtime when she's crying but not really awake. Last night she woke up twice between 8 and 10 p.m. She was so out of it at 10 that Chris brought her in to our room where we were reading. Usually the light wakes her up enough to reorient herself and then she goes back to sleep. Not very often do we need to bring her in our room, but last night we did. She fell asleep within 5 minutes so it wasn't a big deal though man, is she a snorer! Anyway, when we were ready to go to sleep we contemplated bringing her back to her bed (our general rule in our house) but decided to let her sleep awhile. I woke up at 3:11 and realized she had been asleep in our bed for about 5 hours and (not remembering it was Friday night) decided to return her to her bed before Chris' alarm went off. I got out of bed only to realize I was soaked from my arm pit to my knee...um, did I wet the bed? The I immediately thought the cat peed on me...seems logical with all our cat issues right now. However, I reached over and realized...it was Maya. She's only had 3 other accidents I can think of at night so I was a little surprised. I took her back to her bed and changed her (half asleep) then woke Chris up so we could change out our bedding. Of course, I was laughing about it mostly because I was so confused...gross!

The Little Mermaid

As we were driving to swim lessons Maya was sitting in the back of the car saying: "Alan Menken, Jodi Benson, Howard Ashman, Pat Carroll....". I, confused, asked Chris what she was talking about. Then it dawned on me; we were listening to the soundtrack from The Little Mermaid and the opening title song was playing. Whenever we watch movies Maya requires we read her the names on the screen. I'm really not sure why but it makes me giggle when she asks. It's slightly amusing to try to read all the names before they leave the screen. Anyway, turns out Maya has memorized some of them from the Little Mermaid that are onscreen during the title song.

Dancing Princess

I took a few more pictures at Maya's dance class that I wanted to share. Miss Sara has 14 kids in her class (13 girls and 1 boy) all between 3 1/2 and 5 years old. What a brave soul! Here are a couple cute pictures from today. Her friend Addison has joined the class(she's in a purple leo) so she has two friends in the class as well as a 'new' friend from preschool I noticed today. By the way, she was paired up with the boy today and I thought it was super cute! I love when parents sign their little boys up for classes like this!

Halloween Decorations

Here is mine and Maya's most recent BIG craft project. We have an octagon shaped window above our front door that we have decorated as a jack o lantern the past two Halloweens. This year Maya helped me paint the cardboard, decide on a face and even cut the eyes, nose and mouth out.

sinking in...

Owen has learned how to get in to the bathroom sink (from Maya's step stool) and man is he fast! As soon as he hears Maya's bathroom door open he is moving as fast as his little legs will take him. Mostly he likes to stand on the stool and 'brush' his teeth with his Cars toothbrush. Generally he holds it under the water, sucks on it, holds it under the water, sucks on it and so forth (though I take a minute to get a few really brushes in). Today I went down to the basement to switch out laundry loads and heard the water turn on in the bathroom upstairs. I thought it was Maya, but it wasn't...it was Mr. Owen. On a side note, the fact he kept turning the water on scared me a bit and made me double check the temperature of our water heater!