Happy Halloween!

Halloween is finally fun again! Having a child who can participate in all of the festivities is so much fun. We actually went trick-or-treating this year, which is something neither of us have done in many, many years. Last year, we dressed up Bella as a bumble bee and visited with a few neighbors but we didn't go trick-or-treating. When we were finished visiting our neighbors, we sat in our driveway with Bella and handed out candy. It was a perfect 1st Halloween for Bella


We dressed Bella in her lady bug costume (a.k.a "buggy") and went to Beef O' Brady's for dinner. The restaurant was running a special in that kids in costume ate for free. You can't beat a free meal for your child! We even tried a new location and ended up loving it, which is awesome because this location is much closer to our house. Bella had a blast and enjoyed the attention she received from the waitresses and other customers. And a funny little story, when given the choice between fruit and broccoli, Bella chose broccoli! I love my healthy girl!


After dinner, we headed back home to meet up with some friends of ours. We took pictures and handed out glow sticks, so we'd easily be able to see our kids when it got dark. Those glow sticks came in handy because we were separated from our friends a few times and the glow sticks made it so easy to find them! We live in a pretty large subdivision, but only went around our block. We even hit up the really cool neighbors who have a pop corn machine and a really spooking looking house. Despite not trick-or-treating at all 200 houses in our subdivision and Bella not taking all the candy that was offered, Bella had quite a bag of candy by the time we were finished. And being the mean mother that I am, Bella's candy has been confiscated and will be taken to work by Ian. I guess I'm not that mean of a mother, because I let Bella have a lollipop. 


After trick-or-treating, loaded up the car and headed to Grandma Ruth's house. She offered to keep Bella for a few days, so we could get some things accomplished around the house (i.e. organizing and clearing out the bedroom that will be the new nursery). I know it doesn't sound much like a vacation, but it needs to be done and it needs to be done before my dad arrives in 3 weeks. We have an ultrasound scheduled and we should know the gender by then, so my dad will be helping us paint the room! There is such much to be excited and thankful about in November... our big gender reveal, Pop arriving for a 10-day visit and Thanksgiving!

Enjoying dinner before trick-or-treating.

Lady Bug Bella and her friend Reese as Minnie Mouse.

Love this girl!

Bella and her daddy, making their way around the neighborhood.

Bella carried her candy bag the entire time.

It was a great Halloween to say the least. The weather was fabulous, the company was good and the smile on that little lady bug's face all evening long was priceless! Can't wait until next Halloween, when we will have two little ones to take trick-or-treating! Happy Halloween, y'all!

Halloween Play Date

Bella and I have been participating in a weekly play group with a small group of friends. We have 10 (well, I guess now 11 with the birth of little Tanner on Monday) kids and 10 moms. Most of the time we have about 8, due to two moms returning to work. t's a small enough group that we've gotten really close over the past year. Bella knows her little friends and she enjoys playing with them. I enjoy chatting with the moms and having adult conversations... even if it's intermixed with conversations with toddlers. We meet each Thursday, around the same time and we rotate the hosting responsibilities. If no one is in the mood to host, we sometimes even meet at the zoo or aquarium. I like knowing that one day a week we meet with our friends and play for a few hours. 


This week was our turn to host and so I hosted a Halloween themed play date. I made treat bags for each of the kids and personalized a mini-pumpkin for each kid. The kids even dressed up in their Halloween costumes, which was super cute. We managed to take a few pictures, which is a rarity for a group of 18-month-olds.

Bella, Logan, Gia, Layla, Luke, Connor and Lily.

Uh oh, and the melt downs begin...

My little lady bug.

Last year Bella dressed up as a bumble bee and this year we decided to stick with the bug theme and Bella dressed up as a lady bug. She refers to herself as "Buggy" when in costume and actually enjoyed wearing the dress, tights and shoes. She did not enjoy wearing the antennae, but I cannot blame her. I tried to take her out of her costume several times and she refused. By the way... how cute is she?!? 

It was a fun play date (as usual) and it wore my little lady bug out, as she took a marathon 4-hour nap! I also napped, but only took a little power nap for an hour. I really do think I enjoy nap time more so than Bella. What am I going to do in April, with two on two different schedules?!? I better rest up now because come April, I am going to be one tired mama...  but the sleep deprivation is definitely worth it though!

Love always, 

Ian, Kim, Bella & Baby #2

P.S. Our play group is growing, slowly but surely. My friend Sarah H. gave birth to a daughter, Tanner Lillian, on Monday. I am expecting, as are 3 (yes, 3!) other moms in the group. I'm due first, with another due a week after me, another due 2-weeks after me and another due a month after me! It's crazy to think that our group of 10 has recently grown to 11 and in another 7-months will grow to 15 little ones! 

Happy Fall Y'all!

It looks as if cooler temperatures have graced us in the Tampa Bay area! With highs Sunday and today in the low 80's and lows in 60's, it's finally feeling like fall around here. Unfortunately today, it's supposed to get a bit warmer than yesterday, but in the meantime, I have the sliding glass door open and we're the 60 degree weather this morning.

This is type of weather is the reason I moved to Florida. During the summer it's pretty brutal, but I think my friends and family in Maryland suffered more this summer with the excessive heat and humidity, just not for as long. The 90 degree temperatures of September made for some super uncomfortable days, but those days are all but forgotten with the arrival of cooler temperatures and less humidity. October through April is my favorite time of year in Florida. The sunny days and warm temperatures are a reminder of how lucky we have it here. I'm excited to do more things outside and actually enjoy being outside! I'm especially excited for the Pumpkin Festival at Hunsader Farms! We went last year and had a blast, even though Bella was only 6-months-old. This year should be even better because Bella will be 18-months-old and actually able to see and do things.

It's even beginning to look like fall at our house. On Sunday we put out a few decorations for fall and Halloween. A few pumpkins (faux) on the porch and several ghosts and a witch in our trees and it's feeling kind of spooky around here. We don't go all out for Halloween decorations, but it's fun to put a few things out to make it festive. We've purchased real pumpkins in the past, but they don't usually survive. The warmer temperatures and humidity aren't kind to pumpkins and it usually ends up being a giant mess when it's all said and done. Maybe when Bella is older (and can clean up the mess) we will carve pumpkins, but in the meantime, we will celebrate with our faux pumpkins.

By 10am, I'll probably close the sliding glass door and crank up the a/c, but while it's still cool outside, I'm going to go and enjoy the nice breeze that's blowing through our family room. Happy fall y'all!

Love always,
Ian, Kim & Bella