. . . priceless.

Tonight before going to bed, little Richie gave me a big hug and said, "Mom, I love you so much for all the fun things we do, so I want to give you something." I asked him what he was going to give me, and he thought about it for a while before he answered, "Uhmm, six dollars."

Revenge may be sweet, but sometimes Sophia isn't.

Remember when Richie bit Sophia?

Well, she finally got him back, but much worse.

He was trying to give her a hug and she REALLY wanted her space. When it happened he screamed in pain and came running to me and told on her. I had told him to leave her alone, but he is obsessive about giving her hugs and kisses. I hope he has learned a lesson, but I have a feeling this is not the last of this kind of injury.

Playtime at the Park

This morning we went to a park and played with some friends. It was a beautiful, crisp morning and the kids had lots of fun playing while we moms visited. We finished the day down by the lake feeding the ducks and geese. The kids have colds, Dad is getting over the flu, and we have been stuck in the house all week, so it was great to get out. We had a really fun morning.

Home Made Goodness

Today I made bread, and I don't think it turned out as well as Great Grandma Call's--I just couldn't remember all the tricks she taught me--but as little Richie was eating a slice I asked him, "Do you like my bread?" and he said, "It's awesome!"

That's good enough for me.

Halloween, Halloween!

We had a busy, fun Halloween weekend. It started on Friday morning with Richie's preschool Halloween party. He was beyond excited to finally wear his Spiderman costume and see what all his friends were wearing. In the last hour of school the parents were invited for a costume parade and some Halloween songs they have been practicing. I love seeing Richie at his school and to see how much he enjoys it.

Sophia enjoyed playing in the leaves outside the school, and other kids joined in the fun too.

Friday night we went to our ward Halloween party. There was food, crafts, and games. Richie and Sophia would have played the little bowling game all night if I would have let them. At the end of the party there was trick-or-treating in some of the class rooms of the church and it got the kids really excited about the real thing.
Saturday we took Dad to Hoboken for his show and a costume parade. We were going to walk the parade with him, but ended up not staying. It was nice to get to spend some time with him, since he would be in Hoboken all day.

Ready for TRICK-OR-TREATING!

Watch out! Here comes Spiderman!

We went to our friends house in Spotswood and went trick-or-treating in their neighborhood with them and some other friends from church. It was so much fun! Richie really got into it and was the first one at the door and off to the next house before half of our group was even to the house. He loved that he was with his friends and that he was getting so much CANDY!
Sophia was so cute! She was pretty slow, and we were always very last to the door, but she knew just what to do. She would hold out her pumpkin and say "Thank you," after she got her candy. People loved her little costume. At one house the lady giving out candy even called her whole family out to see her. She walked the whole way, and we walked a lot. We were two houses away from our destination when she decided she was done; she pulled out a lollipop from her pumpkin, sat down on the grass and started eating.
Trick-or-treating was great. It was 72 degrees out, but it was overcast and rainy, so it still felt like Halloween and I was glad we weren't freezing. Afterward, we went back to our friends house and had home made gumbo for dinner and the kids played. It was a great night. We missed Dad a lot, but we had a pretty good day.

Happy Birthday Sophia!

Yesterday was Sophia's second birthday!

Our baby girl is turning into such a sassy little lady and we are so happy that she is part of our family. Even though some days she gives new meaning to "the terrible twos", she is also very loving, fun and happy, and she is constantly doing things that make us laugh.

We love you sweet Sophia!

It was a very low key day, I spent a lot of time decorating the cake, and we let her open presents throughout the day. She got books from Grandma Gail, play dough, crayons and drawing paper, and a toy barn and farm animals.

Whenever I said "Happy birthday Sophia," she responded, "Happy dappy, Mom!"

I decorated a Tinkerbell cake for her this year.

She blew out the candles all by herself.

And had the first bite of cake.

"MMMM, frosting!"

Even though we gave Richie some gifts so he wouldn't feel left out . . .

. . . this is how he felt most of the day.

He was pretty jealous of all the attention Sophia got, and he had a difficult day. It is hard not to feel any mommy guilt about that, but I suppose he is going to have to learn that he can't always be the center of attention. It was a good day and we were happy to celebrate our little girl. Next year I think we will try to make the day even more fun and special, somehow.

BOO!

Richie was very excited about carving his pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.

He practiced a bunch of faces for his pumpkin and eventually decided on the angry face (top left corner).

Sophia also practiced her funny face.

She really wanted to get in on the action.

He loves his jack-o-lantern and asks to hold it all the time.

Isn't he good at making that face?

Richie learned all about pumpkins last week in school and on Friday when Dad brought him home he said, "Richie, tell Mom what you learned about pumpkins today."

And he said, "They have beta-carotene and that's good for your eyes." So he knows that pumpkins are not just for carving at Halloween, he is going to the nutrition sciences preschool after all.