Thanksgiving snow

We had snow before Thanksgiving this year! Since school was cancelled for 2-1/2 days and roads weren't safe for driving, we had an extended Thanksgiving week break! It was VERY cold - in the teens and twenties for most of the week, but on Thanksgiving morning it snowed 2 inches of perfect wet snow just in time to make snowmen! By this afternoon we're expecting rain and we should be back to normal by the weekend! What a nice way to welcome the holiday season!

Day 2: too cold to play!

Day 4 (Thanksgiving): perfect for making snowmen!

Snow Angel:

Halloween Party at A Place To Grow

Daycare had a Halloween party on the Friday before Halloween - the kids all dressed up and then we played a few games. The kids wrapped the parents up like mummies and then they went outside for a "trick-or-treat" game. The festivities ended with Halloween snacks and then early dismissal! Here are a few photos of the fun afternoon:

Meliah & Izzy

Izzy & Cameron

Izzy acting like a mummy!

Attempting a group photo

Trick-or-treat game outside (Izzy has removed her costume at this point!)

Pumpkins!

For as long as I can remember, my Mom & Dad have purchased sugar pumpkins and cooked them up for pumpkin pie. It became something I enjoyed and I'm teaching Izzy to like it too!! She helped me with pumpkins a few times this season - we cleaned them, emptied the seeds, roasted the seeds, boiled the pumpkin, and then pureed it using a food mill. Izzy was very good at getting the seeds out for me and she LOVES to help turn the food mill. The first time we made chocolate chip pumpkin bread and the second time we made pumpkin pie! I think we have a pumpkin fan in the making!

Pumpkin Patch

We headed out to Fall City Farms to pick pumpkins in mid-October with friends Mitch & Khaisy and Chris & Pauline. Of course the kids came along too - Sienna and Sebastian! Izzy and Sienna had a ball jumping between the hay bales, balancing on a log, and then going through a hay maze. All the while baby Sebastian cuddled and looked cute. Come next year he'll be running through the field with the girls! It was a beautiful day - cold in the morning but they warm in the afternoon sun! A few photos (notice that Gerald was the photographer & didn't make it into any of the photos :-()...

Apple Pie

This photo is out of order - it's actually from 2 weekends ago. Izzy & I were home working on potty training for the weekend, so Kristi & Heather came over to spend time with us since we didn't want to leave the house. I showed Kristi & Heather how to make apple pies. This is a darling photo of them with their pies ... they did a great job!

Gathering leaves

It was a crisp fall afternoon today so it was perfect for gathering fall leaves and treasures. Izzy & I walked around the neighborhood and found a bucket full of treats - we'll make crafts with them tomorrow!

Build-A-Monkey

Izzy has been working on potty training for about 2 weeks now - and that's all it took for her to master it! After the original bribery of M&M's started getting out of control, we promised her that we would collect stars and at the end of it she could go to the Build-A-Bear store to build a new friend in celebration of her success. She picked a monkey - and we named her Georgia (Curious George's sister ... of course!). It was so much fun - and she really loves her new friend. Hey ... it's cheaper than diapers!!

Heading into the store

Floppy monkey


Izzy pushed the foot pedal to stuff her monkey and bring her to life


Auntie Kristi helped Izzy put on big girl panties - just like Izzy!


Izzy's new friend, Georgia the Monkey!

Pasha's 3rd Birthday Party

Pasha turned 3 the first week of October and he was kind enough to invite Izzy to celebrated with him for a train birthday party! We headed over to Country Village in Bothell for train cookie decorating, a train ride, and of course a train cake! It was Izzy & the boys... and she loved it!!! Happy birthday Pasha!!