Halloween n' stuff

I have greatly neglected our blog over the last few weeks. Time is very tight these days and even when I do have a few spare moments, they have to go to other things like cleaning instead of blogging, but I decided it was time to post something new even if it takes me all day to do it. (Note: This actually took me 2 days to finish...)

The weekend before Halloween, we decided to go to Roloff Farms to pick out our pumpkins. We have never watched the show "Small People, Big World," but everyone around here was so excited that you could go visit them at their pumpkin patch - the only time the public is allowed on their property. It was only a few miles away from our house so we went and picked out a pumpkin for each of us. They were quite picked over and only a few good ones were left, so Chase got a green pumpkin - we figured it was appropriate since he was a bit un-ripe too :)

Amelia looking for the perfect pumpkin

Amelia riding with our loot

The star of the show

Our Halloween was celebrated by attending the ward trunk or treat. Amelia and I carved her pumpkin that morning to get in the Halloween spirit (her pumpkin was the only one that got carved - I told you time was tight). I drew some faces on a piece of paper based on some books Aunt Amber gave her that she loves and let her choose the face she wanted on her pumpkin - Happy, Sad, Scared or Angry. I was hoping she would choose Happy or Scared since those were the cutest, but she wanted Angry. I asked her a few more times to give her a chance to reconsider, but she kept saying Angry, so she got her Angry pumpkin.

Amelia making an Angry face like her pumpkin

Amelia was a fairy for the party. I can't believe she let me put curlers in her hair AND keep them in for 2 hours when she won't keep a hairclip in for 30 seconds. But she did thanks to the spray bottle that kept her busy.

I hadn't planned on being anything, but at the last minute decided to be a black cat, original, I know, but it was easy to do with what I had on hand - a black headband, construction paper, tape and eyeliner. Matt was a hippie - the same as last year - and just like last year, Amelia freaked out when she saw him in his wig - he is seriously unrecognizable. She cried so hard and was grumpy and crying for over an hour afterward even though he only wore the wig for a few seconds. Poor Chase didn't get much of a costume, just a pumpkin hat from the $1 bin at Target.

Matt's costume last year

Chase is still a good baby and a great sleeper, but less than he once was. He has a lot more fussy periods and needs to be held more often, but thanks to the DARLING sling my niece Brittany made for me, I can keep him happy and still make dinner or color with Amelia. Thank you, Brittany!!! (You can buy them here).


Amelia still has her moments of jealously and throws fits, but she's learning to play by herself much better. The other day while I was feeding Chase she started throwing a fit by rolling around on the bed grunting. Still grunting, she got down from the bed saying "go in room" then ran into her bedroom and shut the door. A few seconds later, she came running back into my room with a huge smile and said "I frow a fit, lock in room" then trotted off to the play room singing "I love you, you love me..." So it looks like she's understanding the consequences for her actions and can have fun without me.

She is constantly surprising us with the things she knows. Here are a few examples:

• She is speaking in full sentences: she made a request to watch something on YouTube by saying "Lets watch "True Loves Kiss," I like that part."
  
• She is singing songs and it's so cute to watch her sing: She sings Barney songs, princess songs and many more. I tried to get a clip of her singing the alphabet, but she wouldn't cooperate.
• She is playing pretend: Yesterday she dumped water in her bowl of chips and was stirring it with a spoon. She say "I making dinner!" I asked what she was making and she said "I making eggs - cook on stove?" so I put them on the stove, then she said "cook in oven" so I put them in the oven and set the timer. When the timer went off she said "dinners ready!" She also talks to Cinderella on her cell phone, puts diapers on her animals, wraps a white sheet around herself and says "I getting married!", and licks her drumstick and says she's eating a popsicle.
  
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Some of her favorite things to do are:

• Be "Sad." She runs from room to room whimpering and throwing herself on the floor, couch, bed, whatever, pretending to cry like she sees Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White doing. She also loves to watch these crying scenes over and over on her DVD
  
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Being Sad

• Break crayons and take the paper off. She'll spend over an hour a day snapping crayons in half saying "I broke it, tape off" then taking the paper off. It's nice that it occupies her so much, but the mess afterward is annoying. I find pieces of paper in every room in the house.
• Play with playdough, watch children's songs on YouTube (the most annoying, yet a favorite is here), watch Disney Princess and Barney DVD's, sing and dance in our dance studio (aka empty dining room), experiment with her food instead of eating it, hug and kiss her brother, and sleep (just kidding, this is her LEAST favorite thing to do, just seeing if you were paying attention).

Being a mom is very hard these days, but when I get enough sleep, our days are pretty good. Amelia makes me laugh (and cry), Chase makes my heart melt, and Matt is a great Daddy. I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!