Halloween and Thanksgiving

Lots has happened since my last post, so I will do my best to update!

Halloween came and went, and Bekah was a very happy girl, though it was just another day in her world of dressing up that we are currently in!

For about 3 months, Bekah was planning on being "Princess Auroa, Sleeping Beauty" and really did not budge from her early commitment, as some kids do : ).

(The pics are a little out of order:)

Day of Halloween, we went trick or treating with our best buddies, Spiderman ( Colt) and Cinderella ( Lina):

Our dear friends:

Spiderman and Sleeping Beauty

( Bekah insisted on wearing longsleeves under her dress, because the dress was scratchy. . .  worked out for her since the mosquitos were so bad that day!)

Our neighborhood sure knows how to have a good time on Halloween, even the firemen stop by to say hi!

Sweet Courtney, Colt and his grandpa : ).

I had my babysitter Adriene come and watch Benjamin, so I could focus on Bekah, but he still wanted to get dressed up in the costume that Bekah chose for him, Gus! : ) 

I know, it's a really bad/awkward pic, and I should have been more persistant about getting a better shot, but, hey, it's documented and these days, that is hard enough in itself! : )

 ( Please note the pudgy stomach, the key element of the costume. I cut off the bottom of a yellow onsie, and wala, GusGus he was!)

A few days earlier, we went to Poo's ( Jack's)  house for our playgroup's Halloween party! There were even fun crafts to enjoy!

( His baby brother was definitely a Honey Pot, one of the cutest sibling costume duo I have ever seen!)

The playdate consisted of running and hiding in the bathroom as well . . .

as lots of smiles from our friend the cookie monster . . .

and of course, the group pic! I love to get a pre shot of all the mommies "prepping" the kids!

Precious!

With interviewing and the business of life with 2 kids, we didn't get around to carving the pumpkin until the day before, we tried to ignore the fact that it was rotting on the other side, oops!

Bekah and Benjamin didn't mind! Good job daddy!

A pic from halloween day with two of my favorite girls : ).

( And yes, I was one of the few parents that got dressed up, but really, when my princess adoring daughter declares that she is going to be Sleeping Beauty, I could not ignore the fact that I had a Snow White costume begging to be worn ( from my kindergarten teaching days) in my closet! You really should have been there when  I put it on for the first time, she was mesmorized! It was really cute! If I am ever having a bad day, I joked with a friend that all I have to do is put that dress on, and the next thing I know, my sweet girl will be oohing and awing over me, and I'll be feeling better in no time! : )

A bit before Thanksgiving, Bekah had a fun rock star birthday party to go to with all her friends:

Throughout the course of the month, we read lots of Thanksgiving books and since I was not too interested in finding the time to shop for a thanksgiving outfit she may only wear once, I encouraged Bekah to wear her pilgrim outfit ( modified from last year : ) ) that Amy, Rebekah and Meagan made for all the kids last year for our Thanksgiving Feast out at the ranch : ).

Here is my little pilgrim:

I found her like this one day, and I just had to take a picture! Where did she get this idea? It's not like I do this with all my dresses, teehee! She kept looking behind her to make sure the skirt made a complete circle!

The weekend before thanksgiving, the kids and I ( along with sweet Gramommy!) drove to SA early to help throw a baby shower for Mary Pat : ).

Here are the decorations Carla and I made together : ).

Delicious food:

So may people came out to celebrate Mary Pat and Gywneth!

Even Emily and Robyn came in from houston!

The hostesses, Carla, Nancy, Paige and I

We all love Mary Pat and Baby Gwyneth very much!

It was an honor to be a part of this special day for a friend who has taught me SO much about mothering! She is such a loving, fun and intelligent mommy!

After the shower, we all went into Thanksgiving mode and got lots of rest, thanks to the help of the grandparents!

We did make time for our SA friends though.

We all went to Mary Pat's for a playdate : ).

(Mary Pat, Paige, Hannah and Ray)

Best friends, Izzie and Evie

Carla and Andrew:

Bekah's SA buds-

 Izzie, Evie, Hannah, Ray and Andrew

(are you wondering where my kids are? bekah was still napping and Benjamin was getting loved on by one of my friends : ) )

Evie is definitely ready to be a great big sis!

When Christy came in town, we met up with her adorable children as well : ).

It warmed my heart to see Bekah play with Kara and Kate because Christy and I  were their ages when we first started playing together!

Ben loves Ms. Christy already : ).

Christy and I with our boys! : )

This was the first time I had seen Colin since January of last year, way to long to not see this handsome fella!

When we got to my parents house, they had this princess chair for Bekah, but look who we stuck in it!

He was showing off his remarkable stregnth!

Takes a pretty "strong" guy to show his feminine side!

Come Thursday, we were headed to Austin to attend my Aunt Pam's Thanksgiving at her lovely home.

Bekah was sporting the pilgrim attire, but only long enough to take the pics,

for whatever reason, she wasn't feeling it that day, and so, without the apron, collar and hat, she just looked way under dressed and not very coordinated!

( I can't keep up with those bangs of hers! Don't worry, very next day, I had Pam expertly cut them!)

We tried for the family pic, with my anti picture taking girl . . .

and we were done! Benjamin and daddy let me take their picture though!

Late bedtimes, traveling , no naps, and then, requests to get her picture did not provide for a happy pilgrim, but the minute Bekah's sweet (3rd or 4th?) cousins showed up, they knew just what to do to brighten her day!

This is basically how Bekah felt about her Thanksgiving feast:

 ( that I had spent so much time prepping her for! I thought if I made it exciting, she would at least TRY it, but not so much! the only thing she would eat was the turkey and of course, the desserts!)

Benjamin slept his way through the feast with many happy relatives. . .

And wouldn't you know, the main event of Thanksgiving was not the food, but the dressing up that she got to do afterwards with Taylor and Teagan.

I will say, that this tutu was MINE when I was a little girl! Christy and I both have our old duckie recital tutus from when we were in ballet and it is so precious to see our girls running around in them!

Whether we were eating, dressing up, sleeping or talking, we all had such a wonderful time with family!

Teehee! Just looking at this pic gets me SO excited about our upcomming ski trip ( in Feb) with my family and Jeff and Rani. Good times ahead!

Thanks Aunt Pam and Uncle Igor for another memoriable Thanksgiving!

After everyone left, Benjamin got some good cuddle time with Pammie Pie!

And he always makes time for MayMay : )

A common interest between Pam and Bekah are their love of books : ).

The next day, we then said goodbye to the rolling hills of Austin,

and drove to the ranch to be with Zack's family!

Benjamin's first trip to the ranch was quite cold!

So while the others headed out to see all the animals, Benjamin and I stayed warm and cozy inside.

Man, I love holding this guy! : )

Even though it was Benjamin's first thanksgiving, every day since he has been born has been a day of Thankgiving for us, for his health, his family and friends who love him, and for every precious little bit of him!

What a perfect gift from God he is to us!

( teehee, today, we were talking about gifts and I told Bekah she was a gift. That God had given her to daddyand I and how grateful I was for her. Her response, "I'm not a gift, I'm a princess!")

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving! I thank God for everyone of y'all! : )