Halloween Part II

Happy Halloween!  Today we went back to the corn maze, in costume, so that Allie could run around with some of her friends.  We took pictures together, even though my puppy wasn't cooperating. But, since I hardly ever take pictures with her, I thought I would post anyway.

Kara and her little monkey Nixon.

The corn maze did not go as well as the first time we went there earlier this month.  I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.  

Even a crying pumpkin is a cute pumpkin.

We quickly ditched the corn maze and headed over to our favorite play area in a local mall.  It was a lot more fun, trust me.

Tonight Dan took Allie out trick or treating.  They had a blast!

Here is Allie with the pumpkin I used to trick or treat with as a kid. My Aunt Sue made it for me and it is so fun to pass along to Allie. Thanks Aunt Sue.

Checking out the houses trying to figure out which one has the best candy!

The picture quality isn't very good because I didn't change my camera settings, but I thought these photos of my family trick or treating were so sweet. I am so blessed!

Literally running, with her pumpkin out, to get more candy!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Halloween Part I

Last night we decorated pumpkins.  Allie loved it up until the point that Dan showed her the inside of the pumpkin.  That is the point that Allie became scared of "Halloween pumpkins".  (She calls all pumpkins "Halloween pumpkins").  So, she ended up keeping her distance while Dan and I carved.  

First she got to color the pumpkins.

Then the paper.

This is as close as she got to the inside of the pumpkin.

The finished products.

Today Allie my puppy and I went to a Halloween party while Dan went to his basketball game.  We had a blast!

There was an arts and crafts table, so we decorated a pumpkin.  Allie tried to eat the decorations first, but eventually learned what to do!

As usual, Allie loved the balloons!

The host of the party was this little lobster, also known as Ryan.  Allie and I go to Kindermusik with Ryan and his mom and Allie is always VERY concerned about "baby Ryan".  She wants to make sure Ryan has the right instruments and is sure to keep her eye on him.  It is pretty cute and shows me that Allie will be a good big sister someday. SOMEDAY, not anytime soon, SOMEDAY! :) :)

The original playgroup dressed up as a lobster, a puppy, a monkey, and a lion. These boys are Allie's first Canadian friends and she loves them.  

This one is my favorite because Ryan finally got his lobster shoe off and chucked it at the camera!

I also loved these photos where Ryan was pulling Bryson's monkey tail, which of course made Bryson cry because he couldn't walk forward.  Too cute!

There was a giant, spinning pumpkin outside and Bryson and Allie loved watching.  

It was a great party and a very fun weekend. Tomorrow we have another Halloween play group and trick or treating, so I'm sure I'll have a few more photos to post. 

Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy Feet

One of Allie's favorite songs is If You're Happy and You Know It. Other favorite songs include the Thomas the Tank theme song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and a little song I made up about how her mommy, daddy, Bella, Gagu, Poppy, Nana, Boppa, etc. love her.  Her favorite way to sing If You're Happy and You Know It, is when we sing, "if you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet".  She stands in the middle of the room and stomps her feet with extreme intensity.  I absolutely love to watch her!

Here she is in action!

As a result of countless hours singing this song to her throughout the last 21 months, she has started to say "happy feet" whenever she is extremely happy. She says "happy feet" and then starts kicking her feet.  The number one time I hear her say "happy feet" is when we are eating dinner as a family, with Bella sleeping at our feet under the table.  It warms my heart to know that Allie is at her happiest when spending time with her daddy and me and Bella....oh yeah, and eating too.  She has always loved meal time! :)

Here's hoping you have lots of "happy feet" at your house this week too!

Walking

Today Allie and I went for a walk to the park while Dan took Bella to the dog park.  It gets pretty warm by the afternoon, but first thing in the morning it is very chilly. So, we got bundled up and off we went. I'm pretty sure Allie likes nothing more than to go "walking"!

All bundled up and ready to go.

Running!

One of the many things I love about my girl is that she literally stops to smell the flowers whenever she can.  We smell these flowers every day and every day she says, "oh my goodness, pretty!" (Oh my goodness is my current favorite thing that Allie says.) I say it all the time, but watching the world through Allie's eyes gives me such pure joy every day.

I just had to add the photo below.  Allie and I went out to lunch with some of our mom friends after one of our groups last week.  I took a photo because I thought it was funny that we took over the entire restaurant.  It was supposed to be a candid shot, but can you see how my little girl is straining to pose for the camera? She knows what to do when she sees a camera! :)

It has been a crazy week with Dan having the stomach flu and Allie very sick with a respiratory illness. Allie has been sick with respiratory issues before, but I have never been so worried about her as I was this past week.  She got on some very strong antibiotics and is almost better now and Dan is recovered as well.  I'm looking forward to a "normal" week, if such a thing actually exists with a toddler!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Rookie Mistake

I bought this snow suit for Allie last year for the winter.  I guess it is apparent that I am a first time mom and that I had no idea how to go about ordering winter clothing since she is still swimming in this snow suit one year later. Oh well, I'll chalk it up to a rookie mistake. In all fairness, I did get it from Hannah Anderson and the size is 10-24 month, so I guess I thought they ran small?  I don't know, but I do know that Allie has an adorable, warm snow suit to wear this winter that didn't cost us a penny in fiscal year 2011! :)

An added bonus is that her winter boots also still fit her since she has teeny, tiny feet for her age.  It's about that time for winter to rear its ugly head and we are ready in the Mauer household!

Thanksgiving

Monday was Thanksgiving in Canada and we had some friends over for a big turkey dinner. I am happy to report that after 3 phone calls to my mom and one video skype, the turkey turned out perfectly!  :)  It was a great day and I am reminded, yet again, that God has bestowed so many blessings upon my family. I truly have so much to be thankful for in my life.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father..."

                                                                                                                                   James 1:17a

Here are a few photos from Thanksgiving. I was too busy cooking and having fun to take many pictures, but here you go.

Thanks for all the help mom. The turkey was perfect!

Just like last year, Allie loved to play with the centerpiece.

We had another American (and Cargill!) family over for dinner as well as our friend Philippa and her son since her husband is a doctor and had to work that night.

It was a great night and I am so thankful that we have good friends that we could celebrate with.

In other news we've been working on potty training Allie.  Let's just say a good chunk of this week has been spent chasing a naked toddler around the house. Allie has also spent a good chunk of time, pantless, watchingThomas the Train or Cat in the Hat while eating her favorite Dora fruit snacks.  

 We are starting to make some progress, but it isn't a lot of fun.  Wish us luck!