Halloween 2013

We had a very fun first this week - Livi's first field trip!  The Tadpoles headed to Waterman's Family Farm and I was very excited to be able to go along.  Nine preschoolers with two teachers and five parents are pretty good odds, right?  Of course, the first snow fall of the year the night before was an added surprise.  Nothing like having to brush snow off your favorite pumpkin before taking it home!

And what trip to the pumpkin patch is complete without a hayride?  Livi certainly loved it! I think most of the hay even stayed in the wagon.

An added bonus at the pumpkin patch was the train ride.  The kids thought it was great!  Although it was cold out, the kids (and the adults) had a great time.  I only wish I could've crawled into Livi's cot with her for nap time afterwards. That much fun is very tiring!

The next day was the start of my fall break - yeah!  Since my birthday fell during parent/teacher conferences and Josh and Livi were in a minor fender bender (thankfully no one was hurt!) we delayed celebrating a bit.  Livi and Josh took me on a shopping spree that included one of my favorite stores - Kate Spade!  Livi helped me pick out a cute pink purse/bag for work and was very eager to help pay for it.

 

 

After a fun day of shopping, there was no rest for the weary.  Livi and I headed north to Grammy and Grampy's house, while Grampy came to our house to help Josh finish up the new windows before the weather gets really cold.  Doing what we Banks girls do best, we headed for dinner and shopping at the mall.  Grammy bought Livi a cute (and warm!) winter coat and hat.  I think Livi may still need a little practice putting it on though (although she apparently has no trouble slipping my shoes on)!

After spending a few days at Grammy and Grampy's house, we drove home and quickly stopped at our house for a quick change into Livi's Halloween costume so we could meet the Galyen family at ZooBoo.  We lucked out with fairly mild weather and very cooperative kids!  Although, the last picture in this bunch cracks me up.  By this point, Olivia was done having her picture taken and was starting to get hungry and tired.  Way to pose for the camera, Livi!

Livi has also finally taking a liking to the carousel (the jury was out for quite a while on this!).  She was very excited to ride the "monkey".  She also went for a wagon ride with her friend, Spencer.  While it would make his mommy and I very happy if he does indeed turn out to be her prince charming, I think for now Daddy is still the man who hung the moon!

Due to some very nasty storms, trick-or-treating was postponed until November 1st this year (have to love Halloween in Indiana!).  But, that didn't stop the Halloween parade at preschool! And it gave me another opportunity to practice my Cinderella hairstyling technique.  (Thanks to Debbie Smith for sharing this pic!)

Finally, the big night for trick-or-treating arrived (although Livi loved each and every opportunity to dress us as Cinderella!).  She happily and proudly beamed on the front porch as she posed for pics before she and Josh headed out for candy.  The "Em in Ems" were her favorite.

Since I was on candy patrol, I was very excited to see this princess ringing the doorbell.  She even humored me by yelling, "Trick or treat!"

When it was all said and done, Livi got quite a haul (Josh and I may have sampled a few pieces just to make sure it was safe).  She also had some Cinderella earrings she insisted she needed at the store but took them off pretty quickly at home (can't say I blame her!).  And what does a princess eat for dinner?  Why macaroni and cheese with chicken of course!


I had so many favorite moments this week, but this one really takes the cake. Olivia and her classmates sing this song before meals at preschool. She has been singing this song on and off for the last few weeks, but it was so hard to catch it on video. She sings it with such pride, happiness, and joy. It's moments like these that make the guilt that sometimes go along with being a mom who works outside the home (trust me when I say ALL moms work!) a little bit less.

2 Years, Month 6, Weeks 2-3

Papa and Grandma are in the house!   Whenever they are in town one thing's for sure - spoiling will ensue (not that you hear any complaints from any one here!)!  Plus, the cookies they baked were delicious! Or as Livi would say, "Actually, they are very yummy!"

The main reason Papa and Grandma were in town was to attend the annual "Walk to End Alzheimer's".  This is a cause that's near and dear to our hearts as we lost one very special lady to this awful disease and we have another suffering from Parkinson's related dementia.  It's never too early to learn about raising awareness and helping others, so we raised money and participated in the walk through downtown Indy. 

Uh oh...Papa forgot his hat!  Looks like Livi will be cheering on the Hawks this week!

Time for another Daddy-Daughter Day!  It was Fall Break at UIndy, so Josh got to have a day off.  He and Livi made the most of the day by starting with breakfast at the Original Pancake House followed by burning off all that sugar at Jump N Play.  I was even lucky enough to get to have lunch with the dynamic duo!

I think we have a Martha Stewart in the making.  She loves to prepare meals to share in her kitchen and now she has upped her presentation skills.  She found a scrap of wrapping paper and used it as a place mat when she set her table.  Gorgeous!

The following weekend we headed north to attend a wedding of dear friends of the family.  We always love a reason to get dressed up, but were extra excited to be there with Papa and Grandma and Uncle Drew and Aunt Lisa.  The wedding and reception were gorgeous and Livi had so much fun dancing with Papa and running around checking everything out.

Time for a selfie!  While we were waiting for our dinner to be served, Livi and I attempted to take a picture of ourselves.  Of course she wanted to be the one to push the button.  I think she did a pretty good job!

The next day we got to have one more visit with Uncle Drew.  He's pretty good at playing with Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears!  Grandma and Livi also baked me a birthday cake.  It was very tasty!

2 Years, 5 months, Week 4 - 2 Years, 6 Months, Week 1

Fall is definitely in the air now!  It's that super time fun time of the year in Indiana when you have to dress in layers because it will be 50 degrees in the morning and 75 degrees in the afternoon.  Lucky for Livi, she just got a big box of new fashions from Grammy from the Gap and Old Navy!  Of course, maracas are in style no matter what the temperature!

We had a special visitor come to see us...Auntie Christi!  We were so glad to see her!  She came bearing many gifts including a Cinderella doll.  How did she know how popular Cinderella has become at our house?  She must have Auntie ESP (or two little girls of her own!). 

Daddy and Grampy continue their work on replacing the windows.  Livi and I are also helping by staying out of the way!  We are having lots of fun with our girls' day(s) out.  Gymboree, shopping and lunch have become our Saturday routine and we love it!  She melted my heart when she gave me a big hug and said, "I proud of you."

I'm singing in the rain!  Just singing in the rain!  I think Gene Kelly has a new fan in Miss Olivia.  We showed her a clip from "Singing in the Rain" after she was walking around outside with my umbrella and she loved it!  She keeps asking for the "Singing Rain" song.

Livi has decided she would like to dress up like Cinderella for Halloween.  We found her a dress and also some jewelry.  She was so excited when she put on the jewelry.  She took one look in the mirror and said, "I look stylish!"

It was homecoming at UIndy.  Every week, Olivia asks if we can go to the football game and we were happy there was finally a home game again.  I think she just likes eating in the Greyhound Club and running on the track!  Sometimes it's a little surreal to think that it wasn't that long ago (Okay, it really was a long time ago.  It just doesn't seem like it was that long ago!) that I was a UIndy student cheering on the Hounds and now I'm chasing my daughter around on campus.

Unfortunately, there was a lightening delay about half way through the game and we had to seek shelter in the ARC.  Although, I think Livi actually liked the delay as she had a blast checking out the indoor track and field facilities!

After about 30 minutes, it was back out to the field.  Livi shouted her favorite line, "Go Hounds!" right on cue!

Check out these long locks!  I can't believe how quickly her hair has grown!  Long hair and eyelashes, natural highlights...no wonder her Daddy is worried about her teenage years.