Happy Halloween

Well it is that time of year again, Halloween. This year we actually got to go 'Trick-or-Treating' on Halloween. Last year it was moved so it didn't interfere with Fantasy Fest. Grace still fit in one of the clown costumes and so she was a clown this year. She finally has the hang of 'Trick-or-Treating' too. She was a bit leery at first, approaching strangers and asking for candy. After the first few houses she was hooked. She even remembered to say Thank You. She asked to wear her hat for quite a few homes. She had a great time, even though she kept getting frustrated that she wasn't able to eat the candy right away. She isn't a fan of delayed gratification. She loved getting all sorts of candy, especially suckers.

Brandon introduced her to Pixy Sticks this year. It is always a bad idea to give a toddler flavored sugar. As I type, it is almost 10:00 pm and she still is awake in bed. Thanks Brandon...

Chairs!

We've been waiting for the chairs to be refinished to match her red chrome and Formica table. After a long wait, the upholstery place finally finished them right. Grace loves sitting at her new table! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Where Gabbie Go?

Brandon, Grace and I were going over old photos and videos when we ran across a video of Grace from October 2009. She was chasing Gabbie. After that Grace decided to look for Gabbie and ask "Where Gabbie go?" We tried to explain that Gabbie was in retirement at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but she still kept asking "where Gabbie go?"

Halloween Time Again!

It is that time of the year again. The time that the base we live on puts on a family friendly Halloween event, complete with pumpkin decorating, food, games and a bounce house for the kids.

We started out this day by going to the MARC House to get our pumpkin from their "Pumpkin Patch." This is my first year going to the MARC House to get pumpkins. The proceeds from the sale go to support the MARC House. The MARC House supports citizens with developmental disabilities. They have a year round nursery that you can purchase beautiful plants and trees from. We've purchased a mango tree in the past from them and it is still doing well. The MARC House did a good job of having games for everyone to play, as well as having a large choice of beautiful pumpkins to chose from. Grace loved the bean bag toss and picking up the small pumpkins.

After we picked our three perfect pumpkins we went home and got ready for the Halloween Family event. We brought our pumpkins to the event so we could decorate them. We enjoyed some snacks and candy. I just about had to drag Grace out of the bounce house. She has finally gotten the hang of it and LOVES it!

Looking forward to next year. Grace will really know what it is all about by that time.

Zoo - Take Two

We went to the Monroe County Sheriffs Department petting zoo again today. This time Grace had the pleasure of being there with Sophia. She had a great time seeing the animals with her friend. The girls had a great time chasing the peacocks, petting the pony, playing with the tortoise and even looking at the ferret. Grace wasn't too sure about the baby alligator. I'm glad that Tanya and Sophia were able to go to the petting zoo with us today, it made it a lot more fun.

(Really, you want me to hold this?)

(Are you sure about this?)

(I hate this, but I am trying to smile and pretend I like it)

(Monkey See, Monkey Do)

Back Seat Driver

Grace was in fine form this morning. She decided that clothing was entirely overrated. She finally did agree to put on a diaper since she refused to use the big girl potty. After a while she decided that she did want shoes on. When Sophia came over and wanted to play Grace was at least partially dressed. They girls splashed in a puddle, threw the coconut pumpkins and ended the morning play time by pushing each other in the push car. They did a great job of sharing the duty of pushing. First Sophia pushed Grace and on the walk back Grace pushed Sophia. They both had a great time.

"Pumpkin" Painting

We can't really have pumpkins down here in Key West due to the heat. The pumpkins rot before you really get a chance to carve them. In an effort to be more festive I came up with the idea of creating our own pumpkins out of fallen coconuts. I spray painted pumpkins orange and painted faces on them. I let Grace paint her own "pumpkin" so we could display it. She had a great time painting the pumpkin, her legs, her hands and the concrete. Brandon even came out and helped Grace paint on her pumpkin. She loved having her daddy help her. Even though it was messy, she had fun and she washes easily.

Umm... Not Sure.

Brandon and I drug out all the Halloween boxes so we could decorate the house for Halloween. Of course one of the boxes contained all of our Halloween costumes. Grace LOVED playing with the different masks. She ran around the house pushing the laundry basket, wearing her diaper, shoes and a "Doy Dory" shirt. She had a fit when I tried to take the mask off. I'm not really sure what was going through her head to wear that outfit, a mask and push a laundry basket, but oh well. She was cute.

Fire Safety Week

October 3rd through October 9th is Fire Safety Week. In order to educate children in a fun way, many of our local fire departments as well as other businesses in the area put on a fire safety kids event here on base. Grace at first wasn't too sure about the noise and commotion, but once she saw the other children enjoying themselves, she ws ready to go play. She liked the fire trucks and enjoyed sitting behind the wheel.

She didn't really care too much for the ambulance, I guess because she didn't get to pretend that she was driving.

We managed to snap a few photos of Grace "being a fire fighter"

And even pretending that she was the fire. Of course all these photos were brought to you by MnM's. That is how we got Grace to stand still long enough to snap a photo.