Oh to be a kid again

 What do you do when it's rainy?  You jump in puddles of course.  However, you probably shouldn't do it when it's cold outside.  Oh well, we did it anyways and loved every minute.  Andrew saw Anna jumping and of course had to join in.  Unfortunately, his shoes were not waterproof at the time so we only lasted about two minutes before going inside to change.  This picture below is also a good reason why we went inside very quickly.  Andrew fell smack dab in the middle of that puddle and got soaked.  It did not even phase him.  I'm glad I don't have to be a kid again, but I am glad I get to experience the things kids experience through my two little ones.  I love being their Mom. 

 Andrew is behind Anna in this picture.  She totally eclipsed him.  Haha!

 I made these little dessert cups for a YW activity.  Aren't they cute? 

 Anna is learning karate through the Wii.  OK, not really, but she thinks its funny when her Daddy plays with her. 

 Don't forget the little man!

Little Moments

"Enjoy the little things in life

For one day you'll look back

And realize they were the big things."

I read this quote a few weeks ago, and it has just really stuck with me.  Anna isn't even three yet, and I already feel like my time is running out.  I know that sounds dumb, let me explain.  Next year she'll start preschool and I'll never have her at home with me all day long like I do now.  I no longer think that Mom's who cry on their kid's first day of kindergarten are over exaggerating.  I get it now.  I know I still have Anna for 15 years at home with me, I just hope that I remember to enjoy the little things now. 

So, I took this advice to heart and have been trying to live more in the moment of things.  A couple of weeks ago, we had the most beautiful day of the season.  It was just gorgeous outside, so Anna wanted to have a picnic.  No surprise there.  I agreed and it turned out to be one of the best afternoons we've had in a long time.  There was nothing special about it in particular, just the three of us enjoying one another.  I had this overwhelming sense of love for both of my children.  I could just feel a great spirit from each of them.  It made me feel so grateful that I get to be their mom.  

One little thing that I hope I never forget is how much Anna loves to help Andrew.  She is always encouraging him and loves to call him "little bubba".  It's sweet.

 I hope I always remember how fun loving both of my kids are.  They seem to love everything about life, (minus a few things like eating dinner and sharing).  Every day seems like a grand adventure to them.  It's great being able to explore life through their eyes. 

 Anna has a very funny side to her.  She is always keeping us laughing.  Even her expressions alone can make us crack up. 

 Anna is not the world's best eater.  We have to do a song and dance for every bite at dinner.  It's a constant struggle.  She does like to drink the juice from her pineapples.  *And I hope I never forget that.

Basically, I'm just feeling really happy to be Mom to these two great kids.  Here's to enjoying the little moments.  ;-)

Shiny Red Bike

 Anna loves to ride her bike outside.  She's come so far with it.  When we first bought it, she couldn't even pedal.  Now, she's a champ and can ride all around the apartment complex.  It's fun to see her so happy.  I know our days of being outside in the sunshine are coming to an end very soon, so we're trying to take every advantage of it before the cold strikes. 

Just a few more pics

Just a few more pictures of Halloween activities.  This is from our Halloween party in the park.  Good times.

Trick-or-Treat

 Happy Halloween to everyone yesterday!  And Happy November today!  We had a great Halloween-filled weekend.  Holidays are just ten times better when you have kids that are old enough to know what's going on.  It was a great weekend together.  Anna wanted to paint the pumpkin before we carved it because she remembered loving it last year.  Once it dried, we carved it out and toasted up our seeds. Mmm!  They were really good.
This picture below if very indicative of the kid's mood for taking pictures.  Anna kept telling me, "Don't take even ONE picture Mom!!"  And she meant it.

 It was UNBELIEVABLY hard to get the kids to pose for a costume picture.  So, we're just making do with what we have.  Anna was Cinderella and Andrew was a dinosaur.  They looked darling!

 This is how excited Anna was to do trunk or treat.

 And this is how excited Andrew was....  Um, not at all.

 Andrew and his bud, Adam, are six months apart and just love each other.  This is how they strolled through trunk-or-treat, in style!

 I tried making ghost mashed potatoes.  Yea, they didn't really work.  Good effort, right?

 I also tried making Jack-o-lantern pancakes.  They didn't really work either.  Hmm, maybe next year.

 Can you tell that she was just dying to get her picture taken?  At least I'll remember what her shoes looked like.

 This was taken on Halloween night right before we went trick-or-treating.  Anna loved when kids knocked on our door for candy.  She thought it was just the best thing!  As soon as a trick-or-treater left, she would quickly get candy ready for the next one and then wait by the door.

 Andrew on the other hand wanted nothing to do with any of it.  I think he just wanted to go to bed.

 Nice.

 Trick-or-treating was more fun than I even thought it would be, (and I was pretty excited to go).  Anna LOVED it.  She got the hang of it pretty quickly too.  What's not to love right?  Happy Halloween everyone!