Happy Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Carving:

We finally got around to carving the pumpkins we had brought back from the Black Island Farms a couple weeks ago. Cydney was excited to draw the face and wanted to see what was inside.  I asked if she wanted to help take out the seeds, she was all about it, until she say them.  

  

 Cydney drawing on the face. 

 Nathan losing interest real quick and Cydney not to sure about touching the seeds. Says "It's to slimy!"

 Finished product

 Cydney with her creation

 CDC Fall Festival:

We took the kids to the Child Development Center Fall Festival. There were lots of games, activities, food stands and contests for the kids to take part of.  Cydney was very proud of her Cinderella dress and walked into the building holding up the skirt with her fingers, just like a Princess.  She enjoyed playing all the games, getting some candy and other prizes and seeing friends and teachers dressed up.  

Bean bag toss

 Getting a face painting. She decided she wanted a full face butterfly.

 "It tickles!"

 Checking out the artist's work

 Happy with her face painting

 Trick or Treating:

After work I hurried home to get the kids fed and changed, then headed out to go Trick or Treating.  Cydney was really excited to get out there and collect candy. She kept asking "What do I say?". I would tell her to say "Trick or Treat" when they opened the door, she would almost always do this as soon as I rang the doorbell, instead of waiting for the door to open. Once the door opened she was shy and would barely speak loud enough for them to hear her.  By the end of the night she was getting the hang of it and beginning to speak up. While walking through the neighborhood Cydney would see all the other kids in costume and comment on what they were dressed up as, "look there's a superhero, she's a princess too, and he's SCARY!"

 Ready to go.

 Posing for the camera

 Nathan is not too impressed, he just wants his bottle...

 and to go to sleep. 

Finally got the courage to walk up to a house on her own.

Overall it was a fun night, Cydney really enjoyed herself and asked when she could go again.  The next few days after work she would ask to go Trick or Treating.  

Welcome Fall

The weather has started to cool down and we are welcoming Fall with open arms.  A couple of weekends ago we went to the Dinosaur Park with some new friends from the squadron. Cydney enjoyed walking around to see the dinosaur sculptures spread throughout the park, playing in the sand pit digging for fossils as well as hearing the dinosaurs roar and move. This is now on Cydney list of favorite places to go. 

 We also took the kids to the Circus. Cydney was so excited and happy the whole night. She kept saying, "WOW!! Did you see that!" to Jared and I.  Cydney did not stop talking about it for two days. Now she keeps asking when we can go back to the Circus. 


This weekend we went to Black Island Farms, just a few miles from our house, to see what they had set up for the Fall Harvest Festival.  We spent most of our time watching Cydney run, climb and play on the slides, swings and hay stacks.  We then took a walk through the kiddie corn maze followed by a hay ride out to the Pumpkin Patch to pick our pumpkins to bring home. 

 Nathan is getting big so fast! He has started rolling over, eating rice cereal and is always babbling or squealing his high pitched squeal. This past week he has started trying to get up on all fours and figure out the whole crawling thing.  I don't think I am ready for that :) 

He is a very happy baby and loves to watch Cydney run around and play. He thinks she is hilarious when she is jumping the hopscotch outside.  Baby giggles are one of the best sounds in the world. I love hearing Nathan and Cydney laugh together.  Cydney is an awesome big sister and is already telling Nathan everything he will learn from her when he is bigger. 

Princess Party and turning Three!!

This year for Cydney's Birthday she decided she wanted to have a Princess Party. She is all about the Princesses these days. Loves to play dress up, wear jewelery, play with her princess dolls and watch "Beauty and the Beast" or "Cinderella".  We found a local company who hires out characters for parties and contacted them to hire a Belle. It was arranged for Belle to come to the house for an hour to play with the kids and entertain them with whatever party games or activities I had planned. The girls wanted to play dress up, dolls and have balloon fights with Belle.  It was a success!  Cydney was so happy to see Belle and to be able to play with her and the other little girls.  The smile on Cydney's face was priceless.  Everyone had a great time and Cydney is still talking about Belle coming to play, and wants to know if she can come back again.

It is hard to believe how fast these past three years have gone. To think that three years ago we were adjusting to parenthood, learning how to juggle the needs of a newborn with our own needs, and being completely in love with our new baby girl!  Now we have two children whom we love with all our hearts and who love each other more than I could imagine. They both light up when they are interacting with one another. Cydney is excited for Nathan to get bigger and able to chase her around. 


Cydney has  been living in a different State or Country for each birthday. We are excited to see what the future holds for her. She has learned both mine and Jared's phone numbers, she can name all shapes, colors, letters and numbers. 

She moved up to the Preschool room at the CDC and is doing very well adjusting to the older and bigger kids. Her room is for ages 3 to 5, I was a little anxious about how she would do with the much bigger kids. Her teachers tell me she is doing great, the bigger girls have taken her in and watch out for her from the big boys.  Many times the older girls want to treat her like she is a "baby" and try to do everything for Cydney, who is quick to tell them she can do it herself. 

When I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up and she said "I want to be a Cinderella".  Her favorite color is yellow, she loves to watch Princess movies, work puzzles, read Curious George books and color or paint pictures. 

Cydney brings so much joy and laughter to our home. She is very quick witted, not afraid to stick up for herself, caring and loving to her brother and always quick to lend a hand to anyone she can.