Halloween 2010

My favorite thing about Halloween in Arizona is that nobody has to wear a coat over their costume. It's perfectly pleasant outside. I remember freezing every year in Washington as a kid. I could barely feel my toes when I got home. This year I made the costumes. I ran out of time and didn't get a top made for Ava's witch costume. I shouldn't have spent a big chunk of the afternoon figuring out how to sew her felt hat and velvet flower embellishment, because she wore it for a total of two seconds. Oh well. It was my first time sewing a tutu and leggings. Tutus are much harder than they look. No wonder everyone just ties strips of tulle on elastic. The boys play "pirates" every day, so I figured their costumes could double as dress-up clothes.

Ava's Tea Party

One of my biggest fears in life was that I would never have a daughter. I wanted one so badly. Since the day I saw her kicking around in the ultrasound, I have been the happiest girl in the world. I love my boys dearly, but there is something special about having a girl. Right after I brought her home from the hospital I was stung by a scorpion. My immediate thought was, "I finally had a girl, and now I am going to die. I knew this was too good to be true."

I have always loved all things feminine. Some of my happiest childhood memories are smelling the soaps and lotions that my dad brought me from Crabtree and Evelyn after business trips, and flipping through the pages of Victoria magazine that my grandma always got me a subscription for. I have been dreaming of planning the perfect tea party my whole life. I knew that Ava's first birthday would be my first chance to have one. I was hoping to pull off something 'a la Marie Antoinette' complete with a vintage vibe and glittery butterflies.

But alas Ava's first birthday came and went, and nary a thought was put towards planning a party. Life has been too busy. Last night I decided I would regret not planning a pretty party to celebrate one of the happiest years of my life, so I ran to the dollar store to buy some pink tablecloths. Then I ran to Costco and bought flowers. I woke up this morning, polished my thrift store silver, and pulled out my dusty tea cups. Then I pulled out my cookbook and picked three recipes at random. I only had to run to the store for eggs. We just invited family. Partly because last minute text message invitations violate etiquette, but also because I didn't want to force people to eat our dairy-free, gluten-free food.

The Menu: chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, banana cupcakes with maple vanilla frosting, chocolate chip scones with fresh raspberries, chocolate covered strawberries, and meringues. Hot apple cider, sparkling lemonade, Martinelli, and San Pellegrino to drink.

Happy Birthday to my sweet, beautiful little girl. We love you to pieces.

(more pics on flickr)

crazy hair day

Yesterday was crazy hair day at preschool. Max was so excited. I had to snap a few pictures while he was eating lunch because we were running late and didn't have time for a photo shoot. In fact, I did his hair while he was eating. The reason for the delay? As I was getting Max ready for preschool I realized that it was "black" day and after a quick inventory of his wardrobe I discovered he does not own any black clothes. We made a mad dash to Walmart, came home, whipped up lunch (from scratch like always), and barely got him there on time. Preschool is so crazy that I can't even imagine how my life will change when he goes to real school.

Max has reminded me several times that he has to wear his Halloween costume to preschool on Thursday. He loves preschool. But he loves just about everything these days. He is so happy all the time. Last night at my birthday dinner-date I was lamenting to J-P about how miserable my birthday was last year (three-day-old baby, scorpion sting, husband across the country, and multiple meltdowns by Max).

That led to a conversation about the dramatic changes we have seen in Max over the last year. We are so grateful for the inspiration we have received to help him, and thrilled with the positive results of our interventions. Thrilled, gleeful, bursting with happiness that Max is doing so well. He is incredibly social, his creative play has exploded through the roof, his vocabulary is fantastic, he can recognize/write the entire alphabet, and all of the behaviors that previously worried me are gone (insert huge sigh of relief here).

sunday pics

The lighting is perfect when we get home from church, so I will have to start taking more Sunday pictures. Here is today's sampling. The only child that will stay put (the grass is too itchy to crawl in). She's a mighty sweet thing.

eleven months

How is my sweet little lady almost a year old already? So hard to believe. At eleven months she is: babbling a ton --uh-oh, dat (that), bu-rah (brother), ep (yep). She is the absolute sweetest thing in the world...most of the time. On the rare occasion that she doesn't get what she wants, she is the most dramatic little eleven-month-old I have ever seen. Drama with a capital "D". I'm not sure if she has a strong personality, or if it's just a girl thing. I'm guessing she has a strong personality because she can tackle her brothers to the ground. They are scared of her. She is definitely my most fearless child.

She can stand alone for about 20 seconds, and has taken one step but she always falls after that. She gets very excited about standing alone. She lets go of the couch and starts clapping and smiling, and then the excitement usually makes her lose her balance. Her favorite thing to do is give her brothers and daddy hugs before she goes to bed. She squeezes them, rests her head on their shoulder, and says "ooohhhhhhhh". Cutest thing ever.