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."