Happy Halloween!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Halloween!! Over the past week, we've enjoyed parties hosted by our housing complex and our church. Last night, Anabelle, the ladybug, had a blast at our ward "Trunk or Treat". Her great friend Aeryn even came along, dressed as a Panda.  As for Livy, we'd lost her mouse costume the other day, so she had to wear Anabelle's old cow costume... though she didn't seem to mind, and just loved the free food and person who dressed up as the bird "Kevin" from the movie "Up". Livy kept chasing them, signing "bird" and saying "tweet tweet". At the end she caught up with the bird and gave it a series of soft, gentle kisses. Maria, with envy said "She's never given ME kisses like that!"

Livy's first steps

A few times each week, I come home early from the lab so that Maria can go work out at the local YMCA. So the other day, Livy was super cranky after Maria left. I was trying to eat dinner and feel the girls, but Livy was going nuts in her seat, so I let her down. Of course, she started throwing a fit when I set her on the floor. After a few seconds I turned around, and to my surprise, Livy was up and walking over to us with a whiny little cry. Anyway, Anabelle and I spent the rest of the evening waiting for Maria to get back and helping Livy practice her walking.

Anabelle at work....

We love Anabelle soo much, but it's bittersweet to see her growing so fast... she's now quick to say "I am four AND A HALF!!" Her current favorites are dinosaurs, navigating pbskids.org and crafts. She especially loves the intersection: Caillou's dinosaur dig game at the pbs site, and making dinosaur crafts...

Livy at work...

We love our little Livy Bear. She's really mellow and is able to entertain herself rather well... So with what does she entertain herself? 

Anything she can get into... no drawer, purse, cupboard, or bathroom is safe from her little hands.... 

Happy Birthday Maria and Livy and Anabelle (sort of)

This past month we celebrated 3 special days... Maria and Livy both had their birthdays (XX years and 1 year) and Anabelle turned 4.5 years. To celebrate these special days, we took a trip to the happiest place on earth.

Anabelle had a blast since she's now 40.5 inches tall... thus, she was barely able to go on even the bigger rollercoasters.

Livy also had a great time despite the fact that she was strapped to my belly almost the whole day:

 Even on many of the rides...

I had a fun time taking Anabelle on rides I went on as a 4-year old:

(* note: I remember that the last ride I went on when I was 4 was Pirates of the Caribbean. While I remember enjoying it that time, I hadn't been on it since. Well, it terrified Anabelle this time, and I even found it disturbing. As I walked out, Maria and I were wondering what possessed my parents back in '84 to think it was a good ride to take a 4-year-old on. However, I should say that Livy loved it... she kept barking at the dogs that were hanging around the pirates.)

Well, except for scaring Anabelle on the Pirates ride, it was a great birthday! Happy birthday girls!

(P.S. Livy's birthday was actually a couple weeks later, so we celebrated again at home, with bit of cheese cake)