Happy Halloween!

The Wizard of Oz characters never looked so cute…

Dorothy demonstrating how to knock on the door before saying “trick-or-treat” (she was REALLY exciting!).

Charlie actually hated his costume (I can’t really blame him – it was way too hot for the beautiful 80 degree weather that we enjoyed today), but we tortured him just long enough to take some pictures and then go trick-or-treating to one house.  Then we packed up the kids and took them to our church’s big Halloween festival.  Charlie lucked out and got to wear Baron’s  much more comfortable scarecrow costume (Baron was already asleep for the night)!  Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our camera to the church, so we didn’t get a picture of Dorothy and the Scarecrow with Jackson was the Tinman; but trust me – they were adorable!

Since we were volunteering at the festival, we decided to be good sports and dress up – I don’t think I’ve worn a real costume since high school!  It was worth it to hear a little boy scream “IT’S SUPERMAN!” as soon as we walked in.  Oh, and for this classic: we ran the duck pond game (kids picked a ducky out of the pond and if it had a red spot on the bottom, they got candy – it was clearly designed for the youngest visitors) and when Damian’s first “customer” found a red spot, she requested a KitKat.  Unfortunately, Superman couldn’t get the bag open.  The sweet little girl asked if he needed help.  Ha!

  It’s hard to believe how much our sweet babies have changed in that just one year:

And how much Ellie has changed in two years:

Frankenstein Baby

Charlie still isn't walking, but he's practicing more and more (on his own terms, of course). I just can't get enough of his Frankenstein-like waddle!

Amazingly, Damian got a first on video -- Charlie standing up on his own:

Pardon our dust

I'm having serious problems with my blog layout/background, so excuse the mess!

Labor Day

We spent Labor Day weekend (yes, Labor Day…the holiday back in September!) at Natalie’s dad’s ranch and we had the most amazing time!  We don’t get to spend nearly enough time with the Greco Family, so it was such a treat to spend a few lazy days with them.  Ellie absolutely adores “Baby Molly” – for weeks afterward, every time we got in the car, she would ask if we were going to Baby Molly’s house.  And the ranch was unbelievable – so, so fun!  The first day, we went swimming – how amazing is this view?

Charlie got right into the swing of things:

Love these guys!

We also fed the fish at the pond…twice.

I love this picture of Damian and Ellie

The girls spent most of the time trying to get in the water:

Natalie was particularly thrilled to see this picture when we got back to the house (she stayed home with a napping Charlie):

The kids were "going” constantly…until we turned on the TV and then Baby Molly and Ellie cuddled up for some down time.

A rare, rare photo of the four of us:

And the four Grecos (yes, there is a little Greco in that belly):

Damian was so intrigued by the cacti – luckily these did not have thorns:

Trying to feed the armadillo:

There was one slightly…uhm…terrifying aspect of the trip.  The most enormous spiders EVER!  Apparently, they’re friendly (or at least not deadly), but it was hard to remember that when we saw one swinging just inches from Ellie’s head.  As a point of reference, that’s Damian’s big hand:

      The kiddos had fun eating meals…and a crazy amount of watermelon…together.

 We plopped the kids in a baby pool several times a day just to de-stickify them.  Charlie’s expression in this picture cracks me up – I’m pretty sure he had just gotten a face full of water!

I found Damian and the girls snuggling in the hammock – they just loved it…until Charlie arrived and then Ellie bailed.

Thank you so, so much for treating us to such a wonderful weekend, Greco Family!  It was such a nice treat to get out of the city and enjoy some relaxing family time – we certainly returned to Dallas refreshed and recharged.      

What a treat!

Damian and I are both really bad about taking pictures of ourselves with the kids, so I was so thrilled when I came across these on the camera (I had completely forgotten taking them):

See? She really was here!

We were so lucky to have Grandma Sue with us for two weeks in September.  Unfortunately, we did an absolutely HORRIBLE job of taking pictures, so here’s the underwhelming photographic evidence of her visit:

We just had so much fun with Sue – I loved having the companionship during the day and the kids loved having the time to bond with Grandma Sue.  Ellie talks about Grandma Sue flying back to England every time she sees an airplane and then usually follows it up with a comment about all of us going to the UK for Christmas – she’s very excited!

Anyway, we’re all missing Grandma Sue and the rest of our British family – can’t wait to see everyone in a couple of months!

Say-si

Here's a video of Charlie's saying his version of "Gracie."

Lost footage

I knew I was behind on blogging, but I didn't realize just how far behind! According to the blog, Charlie hasn't learned any new tricks in ages, but that's certainly not the case. Here is a video from almost 3 months ago -- the first day Charlie waved!

Another oldie -- Ellie singing during dinner (for the record -- the Sonic cup had water in it!). ;-)

And the sibling bonding/torturing that often occurs during mealtimes:

And Charlie's birthday morning:

And now the videos

Continuing the theme of excess, here are a ton of videos from our trip to Colorado.

Within 24 hours of arriving, Papa had taught Ellie this delightful little phrase:

I actually have no idea how this started, but Ellie loved talking to Papa about THUNDER:

Charlie and Baby Aubrey's first meeting:

Miss Ellie was asleep when the Galyons arrived, so we all decided to go down and see her when she woke up:

The grandkids tenderizing Gaga and Papa's couch:

At Shiny Grandpa and Meme's we walked down the road and visited some horses. I was impressed with how brave Ellie was -- she got closer than I did!

There is just nothing sweeter than a baby's belly laugh!

Or a toddler/preschooler's laugh! Alex cracks me up in this video -- talk about pure joy! Miss Ellie absolutely loved feeding the sheep for the first several days -- she was just fearless! Unfortunately, she might have been too fearless because one of them nipped her and she wouldn't feed them after that, but she still loved gathering apples and branches for others to feed the sheep.

The Chosen One

Well, I guess we know who Charlie loves. He still doesn't say "mama" or "dada" reliably or discriminately, but he says "Gracie." Really, it sounds more like "SAY-si," but it is very clear that he's talking about the pooch. Although I would love for him to say "mama," I think it's really sweet that Gracie is his first real word.

See? We really were there!

Sheesh! Things have been so busy since we got back from Colorado, but I’m finally ready to blog about our fantastic visit.

First, this post may win the award for being the most ridiculously long (or at least having the most ridiculous number of pictures) ever!

Ellie, Charlie and I had such a great time in Colorado! Although we were ready to see Damian/Daddy, we certainly weren’t ready to leave all of our Colorado family or the wonderful Colorado weather – we sort of got used to being outside without sweating!

Charlie checking out the watermelon bathtub at the produce stand on the way to Gaga and Papa’s house:

When we first arrived, we had a few days alone with Gaga and Papa before Jamie, Alex, and Baby Aubrey came over. Although we would have loved to see the Galyons right away, it was nice for Ellie and Charlie to have Gaga and Papa’s undivided attention for a little while. Ellie, in particular, took advantage of the time and became Gaga’s little shadow – whether it was saying “good morning” to the neighbor’s cows…

visiting the tractor before bedtime…

helping Papa pick up rocks…

deadheading flowers…

feeding the sheep…

picking apples to feed to the sheep…

seeing her first rainbow…

hanging out with the locals…

checking out one of Colorado’s “beaches”…

or throwing rocks…

Ellie just wanted to be outside and with Gaga and Papa! Charlie also loved being outside…but not in the grass! He just seemed a bit creeped out by touching it, which meant that he couldn’t/wouldn’t crawl in it, which meant a nice (rare!) break from his constant motion!

The fun just multiplied when the Galyons (minus Eric) arrived. “The girls” (as they were quickly dubbed) were fast friends…and SO cute together! They just cracked each other up and generally loved being together. It was so fun to listen to them playing together – Alex taught Ellie how to pretend to be a cat, which is, of course, a very important skill!

Here they are in the “kitty cage” (part of the awesome fort/playset that Gaga and Papa got in anticipation of the grandkids’ visit):

I wasn’t kidding when I said they were fast friends! This was right after Alex arrived:

At least once a day, the girls would jump (and jump, and jump, and jump!) on Gaga and Papa’s bed. Their big belly laughs could be heard anywhere in the house!

Just recharging their batteries…

I quickly discovered that the girls needed only three things to keep them entertained for hours: a bucket, rocks or water, and Gaga. I can’t even imagine how many hours Ellie spent gathering rocks or flowers or sticks with Gaga – and it was even more fun when Alex was there to help out!

Then Gaga put the girls to work “painting” the garage with water and feathers:

Gaga put together a super fun suitcase of dress up clothes for the girls. I’ve never seen Ellie so consumed – she absolutely LOVED looking through White Grandma’s clip-on earrings, and doing ‘spells’ with the fairy wand. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of Ellie all dressed up, but here’s Sweet Alex all gussied up:

Every night, the girls talked to their daddies. Mostly, Ellie just held the phone to her ear and then talked to Alex while Damian carried on a one-sided conversation with her.

Jamie and I were delusional enough to let the girls try to sleep in the same room. We told them they needed to stay in bed and go to sleep. Then we all gathered around the video monitored and laughed until we cried. Alex, being the sweet rule-follower that she is, rolled over and tried to go to sleep. Ellie, on the other hand, just couldn’t help herself – she talked and talked and talked, while Alex became more and more irritated. Gaga, Jamie, and I just died while Alex whisper-yelled “Stop talking! Just go to sleep! YOU’RE GOING TO GET IN TROUBLE!” Once Ellie started jumping and dancing on the bed, we decided it was time to rescue Alex – we didn’t want her to have a nervous breakdown from the stress of being in bed with such a rebel!

Gaga and Papa are so fun! They set up a tent in the basement and the girls thought it was lots of fun to play it. They decided they were princesses and the tent was their castle.

The girls enjoying a movie picnic:

While Alex and Ellie were “the girls,” Charlie and Baby Aubrey were “the babies” and boy did we love lovin’ on them! Charlie was so interested in Baby Aubrey, and she was so brave when Charlie tried to touch her tonsils!

While the girls ran around doing their thing, the babies loved just hanging out on a picnic blanket. Luckily, Charlie’s intense fear/distaste for grass kept him on the blanket – it was awesome!

How sweet is this little girl?!

And I LOVE this picture of Gaga and my little guy:

Neither of the babies slept very well while we were there, but you wouldn’t guess it based on these pictures:

I think Baby Aubrey was dreaming about being a speed skater:

Papa having a very animated conversation with Baby Aubrey:

Charlie loved getting in on the cushion-jumping action with the girls:

After hiding in the air conditioning in Texas for months, we were SO excited to get outside and enjoy some cool Colorado weather.

Lovin’ the swings:

Baby Aubrey was the best little sous chef – she just sat in the middle of the table and smiled away while I cooked:

Charlie at the lake/pond:

While we were in Colorado, Charlie seemed to be hungry constantly so he had milk for the first time…and he was a BIG fan!

In the middle of our trip, we spent a night with Shiny Grandpa and Meme. Although the visit wasn’t nearly long enough, it was so much fun.

Charlie was quickly dubbed “Biker Chuck”

I would be thrilled if this was the only time Charlie “rode” on a motorcycle, but he’s pretty darn cute on the bike!

Ellie was not at all interested in the motorcycles, but she LOVED Shiny Grandpa and Meme’s cat, Big, who Ellie renamed “Tiger.” She wanted to cuddle with him, lay on top of him, put him in a full nelson, etc. And the-cat-formerly-known-as-Big was so patient with Ellie!

We lucked out and got to celebrate Gigi’s birthday while we were in Colorado. We love Gigi so much and just love any time we get to spend with her!

The girls in their back-to-school outfits that Gigi bought for them:

The birthday party/lunch:

Charlie discovered that pizza crust is DELICIOUS!

The excitement was just a bit too much for Baby Aubrey:

Papa was a lifesaver – he kept Ellie entertained throughout the long lunch:

Jamie thinks it looks like Charlie is calling home to tell Daddy about the ridiculous hat/napkin I put on his head:

Charlie’s face cracks me up:

It’s getting harder and harder to get a good picture of any grandparent and all of the grandkids, but here are our attempts with Gaga:

Baby Aubrey did her best to sleep through the whole thing:

And Charlie just tried to escape:

The Galyons headed back a couple days before we left, so we enjoyed a few more days of undivided attention from Gaga and Papa. One of my fondest memories from the trip was a picnic that we had in the park. Ellie thought it was lots of fun to lay down on the sleeping bag with Papa:

After two fabulous weeks in Colorado, we made our way back to Daddy and Dallas. We were stuck in Denver a bit longer than expected, but the kids were so good!

Checking out the planes and trucks:

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. It’s hard to write this entry because it makes me miss everyone in Colorado so much, but I’m so glad we had such a nice, long visit this summer. And maybe next time, it won’t take me two months to post the blog entry! ;-)