Halloween 2014

Halloween 2014 was a success!!

Even though just 3 hours before 

we were due to set out on our trick-or-treating adventure,

Piper decided that she no longer wanted to be a witch,

but wanted to be an APPLE instead,

all was well in the end. 

With the promise that she could be an apple next year

if she still wants to be,

our little Piper happily adorned her witch costume

so that we could "go play trick-or-treat".

Elliotte still has a cold,

so she was less that trilled about being bundled up,

but once fed, dressed and in Mommy's arms

she was a happy little camper.

Before we set out to do some trick-or-treating,

a few kids came to our door first.

With the first little one,

Piper promptly opened up our door and said,

"Hi. Come on it."

Oh my.

Piper. Piper. Piper.

We joined Sylvie, Caitlin and their mom

to go trick-or-treating, 

which made things so much more fun.

Watching Piper and Sylvie run from house to house,

holding hands

and squealing in delight over their treats

was SO much fun!

We visited about ten or twelve houses

before Piper announced that she was getting really tired.

And thank goodness for that.

I was carrying Elliotte in my arms

and my nineteen pound butterfly

was making my arms ache!!

After arriving home

Piper asked if she would be allowed to eat some of her treats.

I said absolutely

and allowed her to choose one bag of chips,

one little chocolate bar (which she offered to share)

and the little carton of chocolate milk that she received in her bucket.

She was trilled,

but too busy to eat it.

She literally stood in our porch

with her hand on the doorknob...

waiting!

She couldn't get enough of handing out treats to the trick-or-treaters.

She would hold a bag of chips in one hand,

chocolate in the other 

and just stand there holding the doorknob waiting!

She was there for at least forty-five minutes!

She started to get too warm,

so asked me to take off her costume.

I had to reassure her that if she let go of the treats

just long enough for me to pull off her dress,

no trick-or-treaters would miss out.

This was a very serious concern of hers!!

Then there was poop!

Yep!

POOP!

I suggested that we run really fast to her bedroom

to change her diaper

before anymore kids came to our door.

Not happening.

Someone may miss getting her treats.

I offered to bring the diaper bag to the living room

and change her there,

so we would know if someone was coming to the door.

This was acceptable until she really thought about it

and realized that she would have to let go of the doorknob.

I'm sure some of the trick-or-treaters

had to have been able to smell her.

And on top of that,

there was one break where we didn't see any kids for about ten minutes.

Piper didn't sway

or let go of the treats in her hands.

When the next set of kids did arrive,

I gave an extra bar to the first girl that received Piper's 

patiently held treat.

I explained that Piper had been holding on to one little bar

for so long while waiting for kids to knock on the door,

that I'm sure it had to have melted.

Thankfully the girl was older and thought that this was hilarious!

Sigh.

Ten minutes after her regular bedtime

I was finally able to convince her that all of the kids were going to bed too

and no one else would be coming to our door tonight.

She asked if Halloween was over.

I said YES.

She said that she would now like her diaper changed

and that she really enjoyed playing the

"trick-or-treat game".

I love my girlies!! 

xo

xo

Pumpkins..... can I eat them??
This little hungry hippo crawled (dragged herself to be exact)
all the way from the living room into the kitchen
to get her hands on the pumpkins!

My little pumpkins decorating their own pumpkins.

Piper and Elliotte's little pumpkin family.

Elliotte's very first Halloween!
I think she's sweeter than candy!

I asked Piper to make a Wicked Witch face here.
I thought she was doing a great job...
until she told me that there was a tag scratching her side!

I think this little butterfly will need to shed some pounds
before she'll be able to get airborne!

Our little trick-or-treating team.

The big girls had so much fun together.
They giggled and squealed the whole time.

Racing to the next house.

Back at home, someone couldn't wait to dig in to her Halloween loot.
Surprised?

Sharing some treats at Piper and Elliotte's table.

Piper started eating her snack here,
but giving out treats was just too much more exciting.
She finished the little chocolate bar and the chocolate milk,
but abandoned the chips for the door!

Really.
I'm not exaggerating.
She stayed like this for almost an hour. 

I did manage to get her dress and hoodie off,
but somehow we gained one rubber boot??

A little bonus pic that we took of the three cousins dressed up
before we left Nova Scotia.
xo xo xo

Eight Month Comparison

Now that I finally have our Newfoundland photos

behind us,

I still have two trips to Nova Scotia

to catch up on.

Those photos will have to wait until next week.

This week is too exciting.

Tomorrow is Halloween!!!!

AND it's time for an EIGHT month comparison

between my two princesses.

(I'm actually three days late.)

Here we go. 

Comparing my little girl

to my big girl

when she was my little girl.

xo

xo

Piper Cee when she was 8 months old.

And Miss Elliotte Paige at 8 months old.

They may look similar,
but they are still such opposite babies.
Piper wouldn't eat anything
and Elliotte will eat everything.
(Even this ball!)

Exciting Times

You'd never know it from these photos,

but Piper and Jack 

(and Elliotte too)

had an absolutely fabulously fun visit together.

I don't know what we were thinking,

but our cameras were almost nonexistent 

during this visit.

We missed photos of the two big kids

sharing a snack in the wagon together,

singing 'the wheels on the bus' at the top of their lungs

as we walked home from picking Jack up at daycare.

We missed photos of movie night

when they sat on the couch together,

sharing snacks and watching Cars.

We missed photos of Piper hugging Jack so hard,

they they toppled over onto the grass

and Jack was screaming (literally)

to be rescued.

Okay.

So maybe I'm glad that we missed photos of that one.

We spent the rest of the week 

teaching Piper that she cannot hug too tightly.

With the photos to prove it,

or without,

we really did have a wonderful visit in Cole Harbour

with the Martins!

xo

xo

Breakfast with the littles.

Jack and Elliotte beyond thrilled to see eachother. Right?!

Each little one opening a present from Daddy (aka Uncle Mark)
who was so happy to see his girls after an entire month!

Fantastic Frequent Flyers

Flying to Newfoundland 

wasn't much of a worry to me,

since I had the help of Cindy and Phil.

Flying back from Newfoundland was much more of a concern,

because I'd never flown with both girls by myself before.

Turns out I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Both girls were rockstars!

When the flight attendant came around with our snacks

(Piper's favorite part about flying)

he asked Piper what she would like.

She happily accepted a packet of cookies

and a small glass of orange juice. 

She was so excited and happy with her snack,

that she looked up at the flight attendant

and exclaimed her thanks.

He smiled at her and told her that he was so impressed with her manners

that he wanted to give her a special treat.

He then handed over a full-sized box of smarties. 

My big girl was stunned into silence.

(A rare occasion!)

A full box of candy coated chocolate just for her.

She reacted as if someone had just handed her 

a cheque for one million dollars.

Ha!

Needless to say,

no matter how proud her mother was of her,

she did not get to eat that box of chocolate on the plane.

(I'm not that brave. 

Not even while on Ativan.)

We saved our treat and shared it with Jack 

once we arrived in Halifax.

I'm so proud of my tiny travelers.

xo

xo

Getting settled in our seats.
(Elliotte was still mastering staying in the sitting position!)

Piper checking out the buttons on her armrest,
while Elliotte has discovered her seatbelt.

Both girls notice the little televisions.

And now Miss E discovers the little buttons on her armrest.
There are lots of things to keep little ones occupied on a plane!

Newfoundland Mis-Mash

I am falling FAR behind on my blog

due to the month break I took while in Newfoundland.

Being a month behind on photos isn't that big of a deal,

except for the fact that Elliotte is changing SO much

from month to month.

I'm now going to post the rest of the Newfoundland photos

that I put aside for the blog,

then will post some from our week long stay in Nova Scotia,

then some from our short time back at home

and THEN some more from our visit BACK to Nova Scotia.

Piper, Elliotte and I just got back to PEI again last night,

so hopefully by the end of the week, 

everything will be back to normal 

and I'll be close to having the girls' blog up to date!

Both girls are doing great.

Elliotte still isn't sleeping and seems to have a little cold,

but hopefully it will pass quickly

and we'll have our prefect little baby back to normal.

Piper is as busy as ever.

You'd think she'd be just as used to packing and unpacking suitcases,

as what her Mommy and Daddy are,

but she hasn't quite got the hang of it yet.

When leaving Newfoundland,

she went into my mother's room,

took a Harliquin Romance novel from my mother's bookcase,

placed in her carry-on 

and announced that she was taking it to read on the plane. 

(Insert amused head shake from her mother here!)

Then tonight as I was unpacking her bag,

I asked her to take her socks and put them in her sock drawer.

She skipped off with her arms full,

seemingly happy to help. 

I didn't think twice about this,

until I walked out into our front porch 

and found all of the socks.

Sigh.

xo

xo

Elliotte bounced in her Jolly Jumper for the first time.

Our beautiful bouncing baby.

We went to Chaz and Kristina's wedding.
I thought Piper would be most excited about seeing the princess (bride).
Nope.
She was more interested in seeing Uncle "Sill" Phil.

Big kisses for Uncle Sill.

My girls with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Sill.

Washing dishes with Nanny Gandy.

Silly girl watching her big sister wash the dishes with Nanny Gandy.

I have a feeling she'll still be licking her tongue out at Piper in years to come,
when Piper has to wash the dishes and she doesn't. 

Skyping with Daddy on his birthday.
We bought a frozen brownie mousse cake for him before we left PEI
and hid it in the bottom of our freezer.
His girls were very excited to tell him to go and find it
so that he could blow out his candle on his birthday!

Daddy and Piper blowing out candles together,
yet in different provinces.
Isn't technology great sometimes?

Group shot at a Lynch-Andrews family dinner with lots of little ones.

I'm not sure what the game was here,
but Piper must have walked Uncle "Sill" along Poppy Lynch's rock wall
at least fifty times... 

... and then launched herself into his arms at the end.

I think there is a reason that this little one
was more interested in seeing Uncle Sill than the princess at the wedding.
;-)

Scissor Sisters

Finally.

Two and a half years after needing a haircut,
Piper actually had one.

Elliotte too!

My mother's very good friend, Debbie,
(who happens to be a hair dresser)
took one look at Piper's newborn photos
and said "I need to make a house call"!

So true!

So we have been saving her very first haircut for Debbie.

Unfortunately Debbie's schedule is incredibly hectic,
as her styling competitions take her all over the world,
so we've never been able to make an appointment work
during our infrequent trips to Newfoundland.

And then Elliotte came along.
And she equally needed a haircut
by the time she left the hospital!

So Finally!

On September 25th.

Both of my girls finally finally finally 
got their first haircuts!

Thank you Debbie!

xo
xo

Just in case you forgot about Piper's little afro!

Losing her first locks! 

Sitting in an antique high chair.
At least I think it's antique.
It was used when my father as a baby,
so that must make it antique, right?
Haha.
Love you dad! 

Proud of herself and her new do! 

Another little person enjoyed the 'pampering' of another sort as well! 

Elliotte started to squirm by this point.
We thought she was getting tired of sitting still...

Until we took off the cape and discovered the real reason for her squirms.
Poop explosion!

Kevin's Pumpkin

I feel like no matter where we go,

my girls are always treated extra special.

We've been approached by bakery workers at the grocery store,

who have given Piper cookies.

I can't tell you how many balloons she has been given 

at various places.

The ladies at the post office 

love to hide candy, chocolate and stickers 

in our post office box

for when Piper helps to collet the mail.

There is a lady that sits behind my parents at church.

We have only ever been able to attend church with my parents a few times,

but when we do,

that lady always has a package of Welch's fruit snacks in her purse

and is eager to share them with Miss P.

And stickers.

Goodness.

Always stickers.

Everywhere we go people give us stickers!!

It's lovely!

And it just continues.

A few days before we left Newfoundland,

my parents' neighbor decided that Piper was to have the pumpkin

that he had grown in his backyard.

Is was the first he had ever grown 

and had taken her into his yard to let her see it.

Of course, she loved it.

(What doesn't she love and get excited about?)

And so Kevin told us that the pumpkin belonged to Piper.

The only thing he wanted in return

was a photo of her carving it.

Not a problem for this photo crazy momma!

Both Piper and I

(and Elliotte too)

were happy to oblige!

Thank you Kevin!

xo
xo

Piper with the prized pumpkin!

Taking off the top of the pumpkin
and checking out the guts!

Both girls loving the pumpkin guts!

Piper practicing her grumpy face and Elliotte as pleasant as usual!

Poking out the mouth.
(She was a much bigger help this year than last year!)

Giving him 'teeth' with her fingers!

With the finished product lit up in the dark!!!