Gearing up for Halloween

Ellis modeling her Garden Gnome costume

Daddy was gone for 10 days, so the girls and I were on our own.  We stayed busy with lots of dress-up.

Cutest costume ever!

This is what Leyton did one day instead of napping.  She is wearing 3 skirts and she wore that shirt on her head all day.. even to a party and bouncy house at our neighbors

Beautiful stinker

Ellis loves to empty out her drawers too.  And I let her.  It keeps her entertained.

The girls opening LC's birthday gifts from Aunt Sonya and Uncle Ben

When Daddy got home, we dressed him up too

Saturday we hit up the Bates Nut Farm pumpkin patch.... though it is much more like the fair than a little pumpkin patch.  Here we are posing with Diamond and Razor.  Leyton wanted to ride the horse drawn coach (wagon) like a princess.  She did NOT want to ride the ponies.

After the coach ride we went to find a pumpkin

There were several to choose from

Ellis thinks this one is comfy

These are called "Big Mac" pumpkins

Choosing a pumpkin is very serious business

We took lots of pictures of the girls together.  This is the best one.

We had lots of fun.  We will probably return next year.  Mommy will be sure to remember that just because it is 65 and cloudy at the beach it can be 85 and sunny inland.

A few other things to note.  Ellis can walk.  She walked from her room to her sister's room without falling down today.  Also, I never posted her stats from her 1 year check up.  She weighed 22lbs and 6 oz which is what she weighted at 9 months.  She is now down to the 84th percentile.  She didn't gain weight, but she got taller -31.25 inches which is the 99th percentile.  She is still wearing all the same clothes she wore at 9 months (size 12-18 months).  Such a cute and sweet girl.

Happy 3rd Birthday Leyton Lee!

Leyton's New Wheels

She rode her scooter all the way to soccer practice and all the way home.  And she got many compliments on her stylish outfit as well.  Never a dull moment!

Vegas Baby

Recently we all boarded a plane for a couple of nights in Las Vegas.  It sounded like much more fun in our heads.  Poppy and BB were there because BB had a conference and we had some airline tickets we needed to use before they expired.

The good news is the girls did PERFECT on the quick flight.  Ellis fell asleep and Leyton entertained herself nicely.  The bad news is... Vegas is gross.  I was excited to see inside all the casinos, until I discovered that smoking is allowed.  My eyes burned as soon as I walked in the door.  Not to mention I had two babies with me, who I felt like I was giving cancer to.  Ugh.  Walking the strip is no better.  There are weirdos dressed up and people handing out cards with things that I don't want my kids seeing.  So that left us in our hotel room most of the time, which was pretty nice.  We stayed at the Paris, and our room overlooked the famous Bellagio fountain, which you can see in the video.  And while Ellis took her nap each day, Ryan and Leyton enjoyed the pool beside the Eiffel Tower.  Other than that though, we were all happy to go home.  The nights where especially long.  The girls kept waking each other up, and then there was the extremely loud music from the concert outside until 4am. Oh well.  Been there, done that.  No need to ever go back, with or without kids.

Another party!?

While downloading these pictures, it occurred to me that one day Leyton may read this post and be a little annoyed.  Her sister got a bouncy house and 22 kids over for her party... and Leyton got cupcakes and two friends.  All I can say is Oh well, Leyton.  Life isn't fair.  Deal with it :-)

Last week we found out that Daddy had to leave for almost two weeks, meaning he would miss Leyton's birthday.  Poppy and BB were also visiting, so we decided to bake some cupcakes, have a couple of kids over, and party that night (two weeks early).  The grandparents had already supplied her with plenty of presents to open, so Leyton was 100% on board when she woke from her nap to find that she was partying that night.  She wanted to wear her 'party dress' as seen below, which is the most normal outift she has worn in weeks.

Here she is opening The Little Mermaid on DVD.  Thanks Grammy and Papa!!

Rainbow Dash from Poppy and BB

Our guests were Aaron Jacob and Sophia

They got to decorate their cupcakes before eating them.  Except Leyton.  She dove right in.

I did not serve Coke.  That was Poppy's.

Sophia created a masterpiece.

Aaron Jacob loaded the icing and then licked it right off

And this little monkey ate the whole thing and asked for more!

So there you have it.  No elaborate party for Leyton this year.  I'm a little sad because I love seeing all her friends in costume.  But parties are so much work and I just couldn't do it without Ryan or grandparents.  Next year, and for many years to come, we will be having a combo party for the girls.. complete with bouncy house of course.
Soon I will post pictures of LC riding her new scooter that Poppy and BB got her.  It took her about 30 seconds to figure it out and now you should see that kid go!  We go outside and ride it every day.  And Ellis is walking more and more and getting into more and more stuff.  I've been napping several times a week now, which I haven't needed in a long time.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again... kids are EXHAUSTING!  

Pajama Party!

Here are a few shots from Ellis' pajama-themed birthday party.  It was a hit.  And there were A LOT of kids there.  I counted 22 kids, plus at least as many adults.  Whew.  Next year and probably every year following, we will be combining the girls parties.  It was fun, but it was also a LOT of work.

She smiled and clapped while everyone sang to her

And very deliberately ate all of her pumpkin muffin with whipped cream

This is how we entertained 22 kids (and a few adults)..

This party-goer especially loved the Ariel bouncy house

Later we dove into presents

Leyton was a big help unwrapping and showing Ellis how to play with everything

But all good things (like bouncy houses) most come to an end...

(sidenote: all these pictures where taken the same day.  Leyton is wearing 3 different costumes.  Scroll back up and see if you can find all three!)