2011 Halloween..err...Reformation Day?

So there was one point in our marriage, before we had kids, when we pondered if we would participate in dressing them up for Halloween. The holiday, if you look around, is super creepy. (Imagine you just came from another country and showed up in America on Halloween. Weird, right? What's with the skeletons in the trees and the tombstones?) Anyway, that discussion lasted up until our first born's first October 31st.

Then I thought, "How can I, as her loving mother, pass up this rare opportunity to dress her up in any humiliating costume I choose?"

Those years are limited, yes?

Therefore, I give you the costume that started it all...

Pink M&M!


"Thanks, Mom. I'm super comfortable. No. Really. Please, can I wear it everyday from now on?"

"Think of it as quality rehearsal dinner footage honey!"



Fast forward to 2011...

Shelby clearly guided this year's outfit selection.

She wanted to be...

wait for it...

sit down if you shock easy...

a princess.

Therefore, Wyatt was going to be a knight or a dragon. Since weather in Houston is a little unpredictable, he could very easily have passed out from a combination of a sugar high and heat stroke in a dragon costume. (Plus I got the knight costume on super sale three days before Halloween).

Henceforth I give thee...

My Lady Shelby



and Sir Wyatt!


As you can see Wyatt has already begun his pre-game sugar high. (It's important to start slow or the following sugar rush can be dangerous.)



May my bucket be like the loaves and the fishes...





Shelby clearly admiring her mother's mighty skills with the iron-on letters.




One more of the whole gang. I had to include the foam sword that Shelby was bopped and whacked with while we waited for dusk.


What they were thinking:
Shelby: I hope my beads are shiny and straight. These shoes are pinching my toes, but beauty is pain, right? Glad I found my matching tiara.

Wyatt: CANDY!SWORD!CANDY!SWORD!



A trip to our favorite Mema in the whole world!!!


***************


Where is Walker you ask?





"Boohoo! Mom doesn't love me enough to embarrass me too!"


Actually Walker went to bed or, at least, that was the plan. The constant doorbell meant I had to go upstairs and rock down a VERY stimulated baby. That kid's eyes were darting around the room like he was on some sort of sympathy sugar high.

***************

I'm sorry did you not get enough pink M&M?

Completely understandable.

Hard Workin' Men..

...or why everything takes 10xs longer than it used to.


Seriously though, how cute it the daddy worship going on here?

When does that leave?

Junior high?


Until then, I'll just enjoy the unfiltered adoration of my son for his daddy.

Thoughts of Walker...

Uhhhhhhh-pparently when mom doesn't buckle me in my neck disappears.




I find it very concerning.




But as I ponder the brevity of life...




It's too short to sweat the small stuff!

Cousins!

how you wish they were...



reality...



actually the cousins were great fun! i wish, wish, wish they were closer by but it sure makes for a fun reunion when they all get together.

Picture Time!

So ignore all that copyright mumbo jumbo. I totally bought the overpriced photos with the fake apples so I have no guilt posting the pictures.


Behold! Wyatt's first school photo that does not resemble a mug shot!



Shelby developed a "new" camera smile for these pics. She's clearly having trouble generating the same level of enthusiasm as her brother holding the fake apple. I mean who likes Red Delicious anyway?? Much less a fake one.

Walker's Chit Chat

I'm 99% he just said "I love you."

Princess Slippers

If you want to see us at our best (and by best I mean worst) start hanging out at the local Target after naptime. There are some days when the kids wake up early and mommy watches the hand on the clock move backward.

That's when I decide it's time to get X, Y, or Z at Target (which of course also has A, B and C that you forgot about until you walk in the door). My children have been well-trained by our many trips.

They fully understand:

A. when I say we are just looking, we are just LOOKING at the princess/truck aisle (most of the time). They are surprisingly content with getting to push every button on every display and walking away empty handed.
B. If they are good Mommy will magnanimously split her pretzel M&Ms three ways.
C. One child must ride "like a monkey" on either side b/c the Target carts tip easier than, say, the HEB carts.
D. The Starbucks at the entrance holds the magic elixir to boost Mommy's mood for the rest of the evening. And don't ask for a sip b/c she won't give you any.

On our most recent evening trip, I was looking for a pair of flip-flops, yet we left with princess slippers instead. Normally, I would say "no" to what I would deem wasteful but these are actually her second pair. Her first pair had grown a little ratty, and her toes were curling in the ends; yet, every evening she shoves her feet into the decrepit pair of slippers and climbs into bed.

Scary future fact about Shelby: She loves clothes & shoes as much as she loves toys.



We are currently retooling the "camera" smile...