Happy Halloween!

We really lucked out this year for trick or treat.  The weather was so nice--almost too warm for the kids to wear heavy costumes.  Ms. Vera was adamant on being a witch for Halloween.  But, I already had two costumes in our stash and I wasn't keen on purchasing a costume for her.  Finally, after we tried on both of the costumes, she agreed to be a lion.  I must say that she was pretty cute with her round belly and butt.  The claws and mane were my favorite parts!  Adam did a really good job of painting her nose and whiskers.

Mr. Vince was the cutest little frog!

Our first stop was grandma Otte's house.  Blake wasn't so sure about Vera dressed as a lion.  He was a little afraid of her.  Vera's response, "It's just a costume, Blake.  It's just me."  

Blake was a cute monkey!

Sweet Nora was a little witch.  She sure is cute!

 After making a few other stops, we ended our day at Grammie and Papa's house.  Bailey was dressed as Izzy, and she was excited to see us!

Love this picture!

Vera and I made these spooky treats for Bailey and Blake.  We also sent some to Patty's house for Vera's friends.  I thought they turned out pretty cute.

My First Godchild

Sweet little Nora Louise is my first godchild.  She was baptized in mid-October.  We enjoyed her special day, and also celebrated Mr. Blake's 2nd birthday.

She's such a sweet little girl!

Her brother is just a little ornery!

Double trouble!

Lots of little ones.  It was a bit of a challenge to get this picture.

This is a nice picture of Vin with his great grandma, or Big Grandma, as she's sometimes called by other great grandchildren.

We finally remembered to take a picture of Vin and Nora together.  Vin is 10 weeks older.  Amazing how much of a difference there is at this age!

Cute kiddos!

Lindsey's 30th

We celebrated Lindsey's 30th birthday with a fun surprise party.  We pulled off a good surprise; Lindsey had no idea.  I don't know who had the best costume...everyone was so creative!

Vera thought our costumes were so funny!

Lindsey is so creative and crafty.  Their costumes were so cute!

Mom & dad's costumes gave everyone a laugh! :)

Disney on Ice

At the end of October, Vera, my mom and I went to Disney on Ice at the Nutter Center.  It was so awesome!  I remember going to see Beauty and the Beast on Ice when I was younger, and this show was just as fun.  Thanks to grandma, we had really awesome seats right on the ice.

Thanks to Grandma, Vera got to wear a princess dress just like all of the other little girls there!

When the show started, Mickey and Minnie skated out first, and Vera's face was priceless.  I loved watching her sit on the edge of her seat in amazement with her little hands folded.

She also sang along to the songs she knew.

Beauty and the Beast
"Be Our Guest"

The Little Mermaid was cool, complete with bubbles floating in the air.

"Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go..."

The Sleeping Beauty act had a dragon that breathed fire, and Vera did not like it at all.  In fact, she started crying because she was scared.  Good thing that part didn't last long.

Before the show and at intermission, there were all kinds of vendors selling cool (and expensive!) Disney souvenirs  Vera was beside herself.  "Look mom, Olaf snowcones!  I want a flashlight!  Can I get a boomerang?"  She was very good when we kept telling her we weren't going to buy anything, but it sure didn't stop her from asking!

Like most of the other kids there, her favorite part was the Frozen scenes and songs.

Vera was a very big girl.  Thanks to Grandma for a fun day!

Something Weird Has Happened

I almost hesitate to write about this.  Something very strange has happened in our house.  Adam and I are still in disbelief.  We don't know what happened, but just like the flip of a switch, Vince decided it was time to be happy.  The day I went back to work, things started to change.  Prior to that, he was good, but he still woke up through the night, did plenty of fussing, and required maximum attention at all times.  I also think that we all became so immune to the crying that it didn't bother us anymore.  These days, he smiles, lays on the floor alone, sleeps all night, and interacts with everyone more.  He even falls asleep on car rides.  Previously, we'd dread car rides (of any length) because Vin would scream the entire ride.  He cries now for usual baby things, instead of crying just because.

I don't have anything to attribute this change to.  Maybe it was getting him to a new environment with Patty that made the change.  Maybe it was that I bumped him up to six ounce bottles.  Maybe it was having him baptized and washing the fussiness right out of him.  Maybe I just got tough and refused to wake up through the night to feed him.  I'm really starting to think that it was colic combined with reflux.  People have told me that children with colic sometimes just snap out of it one day and become happy babies.

In any case, the change has been quite welcomed!  I am so grateful that he's good at Patty's house.  It's nice to be able to go places and do things around home without the stress of a fussy little boy.  We knew it would get better.  I would've never guessed it'd take three months.  We love the little guy to pieces.  He brings smiles to our faces and fullness to our hearts!

Vince's Baptism

We had Vin's baptism on Sunday, September 28--the day he turned 3 months!  The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed good food and company while celebrating Vince's special day.

Godparents Mandy & Jeff

4 generations

 The kids had so much fun playing together.  They were all exhausted at the end of the day. There are no pictures of Vera getting run over by the PowerWheels Jeep, but I have to mention it here for memory's sake.  Blake was the driver, Bailey the passenger, and poor Vera just couldn't get out of the way in time.  Thankfully, no one was hurt and Vera recovered well.

The newest, most handsome little Catholic: Vince Michael Pearson