Halloween Festivities!

 Tuesday after Ethan's school was his Halloween costume party.  It was a lot of fun and very nicely planned!

Ethan's Preschool Class

Nora had fun too!

Today, while Nora napped, Ethan and I decided to carve his pumpkin.  We don't get too elaborate when Daddy's not here to deliver.  So, Ethan told me what shapes he wanted the eyes, nose and mouth to be :).

Carving away! (He didn't really do any cutting...just posing)   And, yes, the pumpkin has a rotten side .

Diamond Eyes, Circle Nose, and Smiley Face with Teeth

And now for trick or treating!  Tonight, we decided that Jared and Ethan would take the neighborhood walk while Nora and I stayed inside (and warm) to hand out candy.  After they walked the loop, we loaded up and headed over to the old neighborhood to see the Neighbors and the Maxey's.  It was a good Halloween night for us!

Fireman with his Firetruck

He was ready to go!

Our sweet little peacock

Trying to get some candy for herself

Ready to head out and get some candy!

The Peacock and I.  I won this Halloween skirt that sings Monster Mash :)

Firefighter Jared and the Bumblebee Max (who also went trick or treating)

One of the local Fire Stations has a Halloween  Safe House.  They have  trick or treating, games, a haunted house (we did not enter this), and look at the fire trucks and gear up close. 

Then we met up with Braden at the Neighbors for a fun evening

Hope everyone else had a great Halloween!

Nora's 12 Month Stats

Nora had her 12 month well child visit yesterday morning.  She is a healthy, growing girl.  And got 3 vaccines, boo!

She was a happy girl, waiting her turn

 A few things about Nora at 1 year!

She weighs 21 lbs. 10 oz (60%) and is 29 1/4 in tall (70%)
She is cruising like a pro all over the furniture
Stood on her own for the first time last night!
Is fully weaned, as of this morning
Loves to drink her milk from a sippy cup (thank goodness)
Talks all the time, however, it is a language we do not understand.  Her favorite word is Dada.  Ask her to say 'Mama' and you'll see :).
Still stuck on 7 teeth (we have been for 2 months)
Loves to climb (see below)
Favorite foods: cheese, yogurt, Life cereal, graham crackers, chicken (some days), lasagna
Becoming a Daddy's girl, I'm afraid...

Just waiting...

Pinwheels and Polka Dots

The theme for Nora's 1st Birthday Party was Pinwheels and Polka Dots.  I had so much fun planning, creating and decorating.  I am not going to pretend to have any original ideas, I was inspired mostly by this site! And found other inspiration from various other places online.
The menu included: Chicken Salad Sandwiches (from Produce Plus, in Salem), Turkey Pinwheels, Veggie Platter, Caramel Apple Bar (my favorite!), Popcorn from Del's, Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treat Balls and Strawberry or Vanilla Cupcakes topped with Starburst Pinwheels :).

The 'Smash' Cake

Nora's Hand Made Pinwheel Bib

The Birthday Girl enjoyed her lunch and was about to fall asleep in her chair, so we thought it was time for cake!  She was a fan :).

After Nora demolished her cake, it was time for Birthday Boy #1 to have his cake!  I made a cake exactly like Nora's for Jared, but instead of pink polka dots, he got black.  He is 30, after all!

Yes, there really are 30 candles on there :)

 

He decided he could 'smash' his too.  I was standing too close :)

Birthday boy #2...Thanks for celebrating with us!

Alex's Birthday was yesterday (a day after Nora and Jared's)

Then it was present time!
Nora wasn't too into her presents- but that's okay.  Someday she will be!

I made a photo display with photos from every month of the last year

A big thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us!

A few of the party guests!

The 4 of us!

I had A LOT of help pulling this together.  Thanks to Birthday boy #1, he did a lot of the food prep.  Also, Libby and Abby came up early to help get things put together.  Thanks to my mama from bringing the veggies and chicken salad sandwiches.  I could not have done it without all the help!

Nora's 1st Year

Thirty & One

Today is the birthday for two very special people to me!  Jared turned the big 3-0 today and Nora turned 1!  I can't believe how fast this past year has gone.  Jared took today off from work to hang out with the family (and help me get things in order for the party tomorrow).  We started the day off with some birthday waffles!

Then we moved on to presents.  Ethan was an eager helper!

She was getting the hang of pulling the paper off!

Opening the gift Ethan picked out for her (Cinderella and Prince Charming Little People)

Now for a few things about Nora at 1:
She crawls really fast!

She can cruise the furniture and walk by pushing things around, but is not standing on her own or trying to walk yet

She still has 7 teeth

She has transitioned to whole milk in a sippy cup very well!

She is basically eating all table food, and loves to feed herself

She waves, blows kisses, claps and dances (usually all on command)

Birthday Girl with her balloons!

Smiley girl

The 1 picture I got with her headband on before she ripped it off

Enjoying the birthday lasagna made by Libby!

Happy Birthday to Jared and Nora.  I love you both more than words can say!

Photo Friday...Week 8

We spent Sunday afternoon playing in the backyard.  All 5 of us (Max is the 5th) played, ran, crawled, slid and swung until there was dirt/mud all over.  It was such a beautiful day!

Nora loved the slide

'Catching them at the bottom of the slide'

Boo at the Zoo

Last night was the Tate and Lyle night of Boo at the Zoo.  We went last year too.  We had a good time, as expected, and Ethan made his way through all 10 trick or treat stations.  We also rode the train and the carousel.  Ethan was a fireman with his own firetruck and Nora was a peacock (even if she sat on her feathers the whole time and wouldn't leave her headband on).

Ready to Trick or Treat!

Heading to the next treat station

Ethan and Daddy riding the carousel

Nora and Me on the carousel

Daddy with our little Peacock

I'll try to get some better pictures of their costumes on Halloween :).

Pumpkin Painting

Since Ethan has been into painting lately, we decided that he would paint his pumpkin this year.  He was really excited about it.  He started off by painting a face.  The usual eyes, nose, mouth and then we moved on to hair and cheeks...pretty soon the whole thing was multi-colored.  Nora even painted too.  I painted her hand to try to make a hand print on the pumpkin...it didn't work, but oh well :).

Just getting started!

No time to look up. This is serious stuff.

Nora isn't too sure about this

Trying the hand print

Showing off their completed pumpkins