Halloween ROCKS!!!

Princess Ferris!Marie Dakar can't wait to dress up for Halloween so while Mackenson napped (petite domi) she dressed up Ferris as a princess!
A Princess, A Frog and Harry PotterMackenson had a frog sound maker in his pocket that was oh so awesome. Marie's princess dress was perfect from being a flower girl in Molly & Steve's wedding. Marie couldn't remember who I was so at the end of the night called me a dinosaur. Great idea for next year,eh?Marie & Mack tear up the neighborhood having a super time Trick-or-Treating. Our Jack-o-Lantern; Marie brought it home from her field trip to the pumpkin patch.

Slippers are a Big Hit

Last week Mackenson & I were lucky enough to find some slippers for him on the thrift store's "everything you can shove into a bag for a dollar" table. Once I explained that they weren't shoes to Marie and him, they both thought they were the cat's pajamas, the bee's knees, radical and all of that. Of course we haven't had the same luck finding a pair for Marie, even new ones...they just don't make many slippers in her size apparently. Today we struck gold and found a pair and of course they were pink, I mean what other color do they make to fit little girls? I would have bought the green camo slippers that are made "for boys" if they had her size but they didn't (and I looked). Hmm, at least she likes pink ...and that's just fine. I'll let my kids make up their own minds about gender specific marketing. Mackenson can keep on carrying his pink cell phone in his valise (purse) and Marie can wear her striped dark blue shirt to school.

Sunday's Report

Marie has adjusted her bedtime ritual to include Papa in the "___ so sweet and so belle"as I am saying the final good-night and closing her bedroom door. She used to only say "Mama so sweet" etc, mostly because she wants me to say she is sweet and pretty back to her. Now she has expanded this to include Papa. She still blows kisses to Papa out her window at bedtime; one sweet kiss and one special Papa kiss (a raspberry kiss). Mackenson is getting so much better on the tricycle. He still can't reach the pedals but rides Flinstone-style and goes further and further. He used to only ride back in forth a couple of feet in the driveway. The last couple of times he has ventured all the way to the neighbor's driveway with Marie, though of course not as fast. He keeps straight for the most part and got himself over the small bump in the sidewalk all by himself. Dylan was treated to some love and play time by Marie this morning. Dylan was sleeping on my bed and Marie petted her. I showed Marie Dylan's mousey toy and threw it to Dylan. Marie loved how she played so threw the mousey a couple of times. Earlier this week Marie had me take Dylan out of her room at bedtime. Dylan walked in when it was mostly dark and meowed. Marie said, "I don't like Dylan here". Guess I don't have to worry about losing my warm fuzzy bedtime back warmer any time soon.
Mackenson doesn't interact with Dylan much, he is a bit too loud with sudden movements for Dylan's liking. Ferris however is just about perfect and Mackenson often will force a puppy kiss from him. Like he really had to work hard. All Mack has to do is be close to Ferris and pull his nose to his own face and Ferris does the rest. Boy do they both love that. Simon remains aloof to them as he is with young animals of any species. Mackenson will occasionally give him a hug and Maire will follow suit if feeling in the mood to copy. Some nights Simon sits with us for a story on the floor before bed. Then in the morning when Mackenson gets out of his crib Simon comes and gives him a kiss. He would do the same for Marie but she isn't too keen on dog kisses.

You Wanted Photos, You Got It!

As requested, here are some photos of the kids. They are not the most recent ones, but are some of my favorites to date of the little cuties.

Here is Marie in her pretty dress that she wore to Molly and Steve's wedding as a flower girl. She is so beautiful in this photo. Mackenson was having fun in boxes one afternoon. There was a shorter box that he sat in while I pulled him around as he laughed...until Marie saw and tried to pull him, almost tipping him over. Hmm...sounds like something I would have done as a kid.

Footy Jammies, "Come On" and 2 Shirts

Some things that tickled the kids' funny bones this week...Marie has wanted to wear her pink footie jammies the past three nights. I had to sneak it into the laundry and switch to the blue pair. Macky has been wearing his footie jammies too and they are both so so cute in them! But...I did underestimate the more discusting side of footie jammies as a poop trap. Never mind.

Mackenson's new (and favorite) saying is "come on". He calls Papa on his little phone and says "Hi Papa! How are you? Come on, Papa!" He sees a school bus and says "School Bus! Marie Dakar! Come on Marie Dakar!". He gets ready for his nap by walking down the hall to his room, "Come on, Mama". He also started singing in the car when he saw the school bus. The song is Marie and Papa's special song by the Gear Daddies, "Goodbye Marie, good bye Marie, goodbye Marie". He mixed in good bye Papa, goodbye school bus and goodbye Marie Dakar.

Yesterday I dressed Mack in a short sleeve tshirt over a long sleeve tshirt and when Marie came home from school she laughed and laughed. Then she saw that I had two shirts too and wanted two on herself. So we all wore 2 shirts yesterday.

1 Inch and 5 Pounds

Today the kids had their measurements taken in the kitchen. Marie is the same height and gained 5 pounds. Mackenson grew 1 inch and gained a few pounds. Both have outgrown some clothes already and are about out of their shoes! Wow! It must be all that food we feed them.

A Trip to Iowa

Last week Marie, Mackenson, Simon, Ferris and I packed into our VW Golf and headed to Iowa for my sister's wedding. 12 hours in a car with two small kids and two dogs isn't an experience for the faint of heart - that's all I have to say about that. Joe flew from training and met us for the weekend and to come to the wedding. When we got to my parents from the airport (kids stayed with Gramps and Grannie) they both squealed with delight. And I mean squealed. It went on for what seemed like ages. You probably heard them. They both clung to Papa all weekend. Ah, it was great to see him.
Maire and Mack had so much fun helping Gramps pick up walnuts, feed chickens, the duck and baby kittens. Grannie read them a cat story at bedtime and bundled them in cozy sweatshirts and sweatpants.

Molly & Steve's Wedding

Marie was a flower girl in my sister's wedding and absolutely loved wearing her pretty dress. She asked Papa and I constantly "Marie Dakar princess?". Mackenson bonked himself around during the wedding and once smacked his head so hard but only said, "ow?" like he was asking me if it hurt! He must be made of rubber. Both Marie and Mackenson got lots of attention from aunts, uncles and cousins but were happiest to be with Papa since they haven't seen him for about a month. The chicken dance was a hoot, Marie danced by Papa and copied me from across the circle, Mack fell asleep while dancing with Grannie. Of course my sister looked amazing and her and her husband had a beautiful wedding. It was so much fun to be together with everyone in Iowa again.

First dance

Mackenson & Papa are looking sharp