Flashback to Halloween

I know it's almost Christmas, but I still hadn't gotten around to posting some of our cute pictures and memories from this Halloween. The Nightmare Before Christmas mixed up Halloween with Christmas successfully, so I figured - why can't I? No point until waiting until after the New Year...the pictures aren't getting any newer, but they are too cute not to share. Next year we will have 2 kids to costume! Craziness!

I did already post a few pictures of Lily early on trying out her Rapunzel costume, but here are the pictures from Halloween and trick or treating and with her cute cousins: (Be prepared for an onslaught)

The Ghosts Lily and I made to add to our decorations this year

Isaac's Preschool Carnival:

Isaac as the dashing Pirate Jake, from the popular Disney show.
Little kids were following him around adoringly asking:  "Are you Jake? Are you Jake?!"

Audrey and Lily hiding behind some bushes along a building.

Audrey was pirate Izzy with her bag of pixie dust.

Isaac being a gentleman and returning his friend Ella's shoe.

Trunk or Treat 
We planned to go to our own ward's trunk or treat this year, but Lily was too sad to miss out on going with her cousins! Evie and Auji and her mom and dad dressed up as a bee family, the worker, queen, and honey bees :)

Our ghosts decorated the trunk of the (now former) Squeaky mobile

Lily's hair kept slipping back off her head as we walked around, so
by the end of the evening she just went as an all natural beauty.

Audrey triumphantly displaying her red lollipop. Just the candy she wanted!

Candy faces

The annual family Pumpkin Carving Party:

"Disgusting!"

Evie's less squeamish about gooping around in the guts :)

Decorating cookies is more to Lily's taste.

Aujinay liked the taste too - Love this face!

The kids playing Starfall on Grandma's computer - a favorite thing :)

Aujinay posing with the pumpkins!

Holy muscle shirt, Batman! Isaac looks tough!

Starting to get sleepy...

I think some of us have had enough pictures.

Lily hugging her pumpkin - she picked out the face and actually helped carve it a little this year!

Lily loved her pumpkin

Evie and Isaac getting in on the pumpkin hugs! 

Dazzling smiles

Our Family's pumpkins 2011

Andrew's cool 'Angry birds' pumpkin

Mike's upside down one was our coolest, I think.

The Ghosts spooking up our front entry

Rapunzel, Rapunzel:
Letting down her hair... I fixed Lily's wig up so it wouldn't slip around for Halloween night, but after the trunk or treat slip offs on Saturday - Lily did not want to put her long wig back on. (Of course she waited until after I had it all up and pinned in place before telling me that - after I asked her before even attempting it, too.) So here's our lovely Rapunzel the morning of Halloween.

Halloween morning at preschool:

Auji and Lily

Pirate Audrey

Auji Bee

Princess Lily

Trick or Treat Time!
All the cousins met and Emily and Matt's for dinner and a not so scary Halloween movie before Trick or Treating. Ready to hit the streets! Or, should I say - treats!

Two princesses

One of all of them! Evie and Aujinay decided to wear some different costumes to Trick or Treat.
Evie was Princess Tianna, and Auji wore a goldfish costume Evie wore when she was little.

Audrey and Aujinay were cleaning up! - They looked so cute , and said Trick or Treat so cute
 - they were usually the last ones to the door and they would keep holding out their bags after
they got candy so they got two or three times as much as everyone else!

A lot of the houses in Emily and Matt's neighborhood had their lights out, so we decided to
 go out a little bit more by Grandma's house. We got there just in time to join up with some
of Lily's friends from our neighborhood who were just coming home from a party. 

Auji was cracking everyone up in the goldfish costume, dragging her big bag of candy around behind her.
By the end of the night it was worn full of holes.

Auji and the dancing Frankenstein Lily has been sort of scared of
- Auji was treating it like her lovely baby doll.

That's it, promise! Now I can move on to Christmas with a clear conscience. If I can just clear my throat properly (and really kick this cold) to devour my chocolate truffles Christmas morning - I will be one happy woman! :)

Lily starts with a Y

Lily has been trying to write her name for a while, but when she got to the end she always made me write the Y. One night a week or so ago I got her to practice Y's until she had it down. She drew Y's all over the page. Then she wrote her name out on a drawing... Only this time it started with a Y (2 really) and was a complete mirror image! She wrote it that way several times - Oh no, we've driven her backwards! I won't worry about dyslexia yet, though - she can still write forwards too :)

(Click to enlarge)

Hanging in there

I know I haven't been blogging much lately, but wanted you all to know I'm still living! I am currently suffering from a pretty bad cold, worse because you are limited to what kind of medications you can take when you are pregnant - and I am probably even more paranoid about what's recommended than I need to be. Thank heaven for lotion tissues and Mike. He has been so helpful with Lily the last several days so that I can rest. Lily has been super sweet too. I feel so guilty not giving her as much attention as usual and expect her to be huffy with me, but then she just gives me kisses and tells me she loves me, my sweet girl! At least getting a cold right now means it will (hopefully) be gone by Christmas! I just hate getting yummy treats in my stocking on Christmas Day and not feeling like I can eat them because all the sugar will keep me from getting better. Christmas dinner just doesn't taste as good with a cold in the head either. I just want to feel good and be able to join in Lily's excitement on Christmas Day! I'm praying Mike and Lily don't get sick!

I definitely look pregnant now, and have past the halfway mark! (Sorry, no pictures) We have the ultrasound to find out if the baby is a boy or girl right before Christmas, so I am super excited for that Christmas present! Lily is growing up so fast, there are so many moments where I just have to stand back and look at her and marvel, and remember she is still only 3! We have some fun conversations about the baby. She talks to my tummy and points out things in the room to the baby. I explain that the baby can't see through my tummy, and that it doesn't know what those things are yet, but when he/or/she comes out he/or/she will know her (Lily) because he/or/she will recognize her voice. I'm really looking forward to knowing if the baby is a he or a she, because I just don't like calling a baby "it," and it sure gets tedious saying he/or/she all the time... Lily really wants a sister. (Boys are yucky - except her Dad, and Mikey, and all the other boys in her family when she thinks about it.) Mike thinks it's a girl - he was right about Lily... Just like before - I am holding out to know for sure. I wouldn't want my little baby up in heaven to think I didn't want it because boy or girl I will love it so much!

Less than 2 weeks to Christmas! Hope you all are having a merry month!