Our Halloween Night

We had a fun Halloween night. When I got home from work, I changed Olivia & Violet into their costumes. It was quite chaotic. They did not particularly want to be changed at that time of day, since it was out of their normal routine. They were squirming all over the place! I felt like I was in a wrestling match. :) I finally managed to get Olivia into her Supergirl costume and Violet into her Wonder Woman costume, but I had clothes strewn all over. Jamie got home from work shortly after that, so we carried the girls to about four of our neighbors' houses to hand out treats to their kids. After that, we went over to Jamie's cousin Kraig's house. Kraig & his wife Nicole fed us pizza (yum!). The girls pigged out. Kraig & Nicole's daughter Athena dressed as Belle from Beauty & the Beast. We took a few pictures and then we loaded up the kids to go trick-or-treating. Athena rode in a wagon and our girls rode in their double stroller. We had quite a crew, so it was a lot of fun to walk around in a group. Kraig's parents Debbie & Al and Nicole's Mom Diane came with us. It was such a beautiful night. The girls didn't collect any candy, but we had fun bringing them up to the door and saying "Happy Halloween" to people. They waved to people a few times, which was cute. Olivia even got to ride on her Papa's shoulders for awhile. She loved it! She was smiling and laughing the whole time. The girls behaved pretty well, even though we had them up about an hour past their normal bedtime.

Olivia & Violet in the Halloween shirts they wore to daycare (thanks Auntie Jill!):

Violet giving Olivia a hug:

Violet (Wonder Woman) & Olivia (Supergirl):

Violet, Athena & Olivia:

Walking to our first trick-or-treating house:

Ringing the doorbell to trick-or-treat:

Papa & Olivia:

Happy Halloween!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

One Step Closer

We have been having so much fun with the girls this week. They both have been in such a good mood all week. On Monday, Olivia began to stand on her own for a few seconds at a time (see video below). We think she will be walking soon. Violet discovered an interest in the stairs the past few days. She has become pretty quick at getting up them, but she still needs help going back down. Tonight I was upstairs in the girls' bedroom getting pajamas, and all of a sudden Violet came crawling in. Go figure!

The girls spent last weekend at Grandma & Grandpa Suchy's house. Jamie went up there to go bow hunting, and by his own generous will he offered to bring them up with him so I could stay home and have a weekend to myself. It was wonderful! Don't get me wrong, I love my family to pieces, but it was nice to have some time to do whatever I wanted to do (which mainly included doing laundry and cleaning). The best part was waking up in the morning and knowing that I could just lay in bed and not have to get up with the girls!!

The girls also received a special package in the mail the other day. Our friends from Germany sent them a traditional German Christmas calendar. Beginning December 1st, we open a flap for each day until Christmas. Behind each door is a special treat. Thank you Esther & family!!

The girls are such a blessing. Jamie & I are both exhausted pretty much every night, but it's worth every second. Their simple smiles make it all worthwhile. I was playing with the girls outside on the swingset this evening, and I was thinking to myself that I just can't remember what life was like before they were born. Olivia has such a zest in her that makes us laugh. She is our spunky girl that will keep our lives interesting. Violet is such a sweetheart and loves to pass out hugs and kisses. Violet's daily daycare report today said "Violet was chasing her friends to give them kisses today!" That's our Violet. It's amazing how they can have different personalities, but you love them both equally just how they are.

Here is a video of Olivia standing. It also shows our bottle collection...prepare to be amazed!