Halloween 2015

After months of preparation and excitement, Halloween has come and gone. But all of our time and energy spent scouring the internet for the perfect costumes paid off, because Taylor and her cousins were a huge hit as the Three Blind Mice! And to make it even better, these outfits were super easy to put together: sweatpants/shirts from Target (with a little quilt stuffing tacked onto the bellies), ears/tails/bow ties from the party store, and cheap gloves & sunglasses from the dollar store. We had planned on the girls wearing matching black shoes, but the rain called for mismatched rain boots and old tennis shoes instead.

Overall, the girls were good sports about wearing their costumes (since they were warm & comfy), but they are toddlers which meant my sister and I spent the majority of the evening gathering discarded sunglasses, gloves, and walking sticks. Note to self: next year plan for a costume with fewer removable accessories.

 

We started our evening off at church where the kids played games and ate entirely too many snacks. Next, we made a brief stop at the school's trunk or treat before heading out to do some door-to-door trick or treating. We were concerned the girls would throw in the towel due to the rain and cool temps, but these little ladies were straight up champs and only complained when they were tired from walking. And who could blame them? This pregnant momma was exhausted by the end of the night as well.

Not long after sundown, we headed back to my parents house so the kids could eat their treats and play inside where it was warm. The sheer joy radiating from Taylor the next morning made the lack of sleep and sugar hangover totally worthwhile. All of the kids had an absolute blast, and I'm so glad they were able to dress up and spend the holiday together.

And if this picture doesn't say it all, they really do love each other to pieces.

21 Week Update

Happy Halloween week! I hope you've all indulged in entirely too many sweets and had your fair share of pumpkin activities! This evening, we'll be heading to my parents house to finish our Halloween costumes and watch some kid-friendly scary movies. And I'm sure Taylor will be more than happy to help me polish off the rest of the Sour Patch Kids in the candy jar.

Size: A banana

Gender: Boy!

Maternity Clothes: Living in tank tops and cardigan sweaters lately. Trying to stretch my pre-baby sweaters over the belly just looks ridiculous, so it's probably best to avoid that section of my closet for the rest of winter.

Sleep: Still not great but I'm learning to live with what I can get. I live for naps on the weekends.

Best Moment of the Week(s): All of the Halloween festivities! We've had our fair share of treats and pumpkin painting to put us in the holiday spirit!

Miss Anything: A friend of ours brought us a case of Yuengling which I haven't had in forever. I'm so sad that I have to wait 5 more months to have one!!

Movement: His movements are growing stronger and more frequent by the day. Our little man is definitely active!

Cravings: Halloween candy - sugary, chocolaty, you name it I'll eat it! Also craving apple juice which means I've had to hone in on Tay's juice box stash on more than one occasion.

Sickness: Just a stuffy nose which I'm sure is allergy related. Our weather has been crazy lately!

Looking Forward To: Trick or treating with my little lady and her cousins this weekend. She is so excited and I can't wait to experience every single moment with her! I also can't wait to share their costumes on the blog next week!

And what would a Halloween week update be without a glimpse of our costumes? You'll have to hold out until next week to see Taylor's real costume, but she did get to wear her Minnie Mouse outfit to her daycare party earlier this week and let me tell you she was SO excited.

And the babe and I went as the Pilsbury Doughboy because hello! anything to allow me to wear sweats to work. #woohoo

Pumpkin Patching

Well, it wouldn't be fall without a trip to the pumpkin patch. This year, we chose Pete's Pumpkin Patch just outside of Rolla, Missouri, a place close to my hometown so that my parents, sister, nieces & nephew could go with us. And you guys, we had the BEST time! This place had so many activities, not just your typical hay wagon and box full of corn. Even my parents got in on the action chasing the kids around and posing for silly pictures. You know what they say, you're only as old as you feel!

First, we visited the animals where Taylor sang to the pigs, refused to hold the bunny, and spoke (mostly gibberish) to the mini horse. I'm not sure why but she is always drawn to the pigs and scared of the horses. Perhaps we need to talk Daddy into a pet pig?!

Next up, a few trips down the slide (for everyone but the pregnant lady) followed by lots of running around and climbing through tunnels and over stacks of hay bales. Taylor is totally an outdoor girl so this was right up her alley. Her favorite activity was climbing halfway through the tunnels (just to the point where we couldn't reach her) and then sitting. Super fun for her but not so much for the other kids who wanted to go all the way through to the other side.

On our way to the train, Taylor spotted a wooden truck sitting in the middle of the field and she instantly fell in love. She spent a solid 30 minutes rotating from the driver's seat to the flatbed, making one of us get in to play with her with every rotation. And that picture of her and my mom just cracks me up because they were obviously having a very serious conversation.

Next, we rode the train, played on the tire swings, and got in a few games of tic-tac-toe. Eventually, the girls spotted the bounce house and it was all down hill from there. Kids go absolutely bananas for inflatable bounce houses. While the little ones bounced away, the older girls decided to tackle the rock climbing wall. Even Uncle Jake got in on the action challenging Natalie to a race, but unfortunately for him she weighs next to nothing and is exceptionally strong. The 6' giant lost to a 10 year old girl which means she has bragging rights forever.

After finishing all of the other activities, we jumped on the hay wagon and headed out to the patch to pick some pumpkins. The little girls were hilarious trying to pick up the pumpkins on their own but quickly learned that two is better than one and made it a joint effort. I just love these little ladies and their goofy personalities!

The kids were exhausted and nap time was long overdue, so we paid for our pumpkins, grabbed a few bags of kettle corn, and hit the road. It's safe to say that our pumpkin patch trip was definitely a success! And with the wide variety of the activities for all of the kids to enjoy, I'm sure we'll be visiting Pete's again next year.

20 Week Update

20 weeks already, can you believe it? I don't know if it's because our schedule has been jam-packed since the moment we found out or because I spend the majority of my time trying to keep up with a toddler, but this pregnancy is absolutely flying by! With a flurry of holidays on the horizon, I'm sure the weeks will continue to fly by and it'll be baby day before we know it! Guess we better start making some actual progress on things like the nursery, a name, and pulling things out of storage. We're officially on the downhill slope and it feels oh so good!

Size: A mango (but feels more like a bowling ball)

Gender: Boy! Can't wait to see our little guy in action this Friday at our 20 week ultrasound. I've also been doing more than my fair share of online shopping lately, scooping up all kinds of things for our little one!

Maternity Clothes: I've been taking full advantage of the end of fall sales and beefing up my winter wardrobe with both maternity and non-maternity pieces. Let me just say that leggings, scarves, and cardigans are a pregnant lady's dream! It's so nice to finally feel comfortable in my clothes again!

Sleep: Sleep had been better until these crazy 80 temps returned (is it really mid-October?!) as did night time hot flashes. Add in a stuffy nose, multiple trips to the bathroom, and constant turning from side to side and you get a night full of mini naps.

Best Moment of the Week(s): Hitting the halfway point and our 20 week ultrasound at the end of the week. We've decided to take big sis along so she can see her bwov-ver for herself!

Miss Anything: I literally stood in the wine section and drooled over a bottle of Muscato yesterday. And I'm salivating now just thinking about it...

Movement: Homeboy is so much lower than I ever remember Taylor being which means that it constantly feels like he's river dancing on my bladder. I love every single movement though and cannot wait for Jake and Taylor to be able to feel soon!

Cravings: Jake and I made a trip to Party City after a lunch date last week to pick up Taylor's Halloween costume (hint: she and her twin cousins are dressing up as a threesome this year) and on my way back to work I devoured a jumbo Laffy Taffy like I was 5 years old. But honestly, it was so freaking good. I am in candy heaven lately.

Sickness: Other than a stuffy/runny nose (which I'm blaming on allergies), things are good. I've felt so much better over the last week, maybe it's the weather or maybe I'm finally hitting that second trimester stride.

Looking Forward To: Seeing little man on Friday and having family photos taken on Saturday. Fingers crossed that the weather stays nice so we can get some great images. Can't wait to share our updated family photos soon!