I don't remember it being this hard to get a First Halloween photo of my little pink octopus, but that might have been that I had all the time in the world to devote to one little baby's first costume pictures. And I probably started October 1st so that by the 31st I had the shot I wanted. Oh well. Here's proof that we did dress him up for his first Halloween, and that, at least for his first year, he didn't have to wear a handmedown costume. But that's probably only because Alla was a pink octopus. If only I had chosen the blue one then.

My little Sleeping Beauty. She and I had so much fun trick or treating tonight. And watching Happy Punkin Trolley (Charlie) Brown last night. What a lucky girl to be bathed in all that pink princess silky dress. You'd never know her favorite color is blue.

I love my little punkins.

These aren't even their costumes.

Let's see.

A borrowed cow costume in 12 month size that's much too short. Good thing we have another waiting in the wings. She wore her real costume to school. So I guess it was time to get creative. Meet Ballerina-Fairy-Something-or-Other. She picked out the whole ensemble on her own, top to bottom. Shocking. Perhaps today will be the day I get a 'real' Halloween shot of my two spooks!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. It was a balmy 27 degrees when we took Alla to school this morning. Yes I know we've been through two winters here already, but this is going to take some getting used to.

2. Ron got it in his head this weekend that he was going to work on the garage AGAIN so that he could park his car in there, too. He was very excited this 27-degree morning that his hard work paid off. Halleluiah, two cars in the garage. Fancy that.

3. Something about the garage clean-up inspired other organization projects throughout the house (we must be getting the den ready for winter): the big winter clothes switch-out in all closets, reorganization of bookshelves (books by color - Marie, this is your fault for reminding me that I thought this was a great idea, and Ronald, this is also your fault because you started the book overhaul with the whole garage clean-up), and even one kitchen cupboard got reorganized so that the top shelf is stuff that is safe for me to eat, so I no longer have to read at least those labels before I dive in.

4. Ron also put up a key hook shelf, a mirror, and some art in our teensy entryway (I should take a picture; I'm smitten by this little bit of stuff on the wall), and agreed to a small bench right there beneath it for putting on winter boots. Perfect, I thought, I found a local place a few weeks ago and bookmarked the page. They use wood from old barns, and cut it to the length you want, this will be great. Except. I didn't actually bookmark the page after all and cannot for the life of me find it via Google. Ugh. Back to the drawing board.

5. Let's get back to some vacation pics. Honestly these two had such an amazing time together. They spent literally every waking moment together. Woke up right next to each other, ate together, watched Ariel together, played together, pottied together, went to bed right next to each other. Inseparable.

6. And cute, too.7. Now the driving reason for our trip was the wedding of my oldest and dearest friend, Andrea. 8. Isn't she a gorgeous bride? The wedding was impeccable. Classy, relaxed, full of love. Outdoors at the Long Beach Museum of Art at sunset over the water. I am so glad we got to be there. Best wishes, Andrea + Gene!9. We got Fisher all dolled up to attend his first wedding. Alla got to stay with Kelsea for a few hours. I know Gene was the man of the hour, but seriously, have you ever seen anything so handsome?10.This here is the funniest thing ever and will totally make your day. Go ahead. Click.

Three and a half.

We will return to our regularly scheduled vacation photos in a day or two, but I have to take a break from that in order to point out that someone turned three and a half yesterday.

Alla Rees. Three and a half. And you know this is bigger than just three. Must be why most days you are sleeping way past when Daddy leaves. Fisher and I are sitting at the breakfast table and you're barely strolling, sleepyheaded, out of your room.

I love this age as I've loved every age.

I love that you think everything is real. Like this giant. That you thought was real and might chase us to the parking lot, and from whom we had to run, ducking into stores when it got too near, and making Daddy carry you.I treasure this photo of you on a carousel in August because I think it might just be the last I ever take. You've had a love affair with merry-go-rounds since the tender age of seven months, but, alas, I think it's over. You are now deathly afraid of 99% of all [fun] rides.

You love weekends because Daddy stays home and you get to watch a movie (it's anyone's guess as to which part you like better). This weekend you watched Madagascar for the first (and second and third) time, and now you're repeating things to me from the movie, and it's really all you're talking about. O-kizay.

I love that you go from princess dress up to dirt and worms. And that some princess is still left as your hands get utterly filthy. I think it's yet undecided which makes you happier, but for now it's a nice blend of the two.

We eat dinner together every night: you, me, and Dada. Fisher will join us one day, when he can stay up past 6:30. But for now it's still the three of us, and that's a nice little piece leftover from our days as a family of three.

You are an incredibly slow eater.

We check out like 10-20 library books at a time. Currently we have 4 Doras and 2o other great ones, like The Boy Who Loved Words and Max's Words. I think you might want to start collecting words.

Naps are few and far between. As crushing as I thought that would be, it's actually kind of freeing. Less of a schedule for you is good, since we're back to a pretty strict baby one with your brother. You do quiet time in the playroom, and if you do get tired, you just lay down and take a nap. It's pretty grown-up of you.

And we don't worry anymore if you fall asleep in the car or don't wake up until 8:00. We figure you need the rest, and you're not going to nap anyway. It's nice to let you sleep when you want to sleep. It's freeing.

You, my dear, are beautiful, and smart, and kind and thoughtful. I am one lucky mama. I love that you are still so attached to me, I love that you need me still. I love this age. And you'd think that I'd be bemoaning the fact that it's only six months 'til you're four. But. Six months is a long time when you're heading into winter. Particularly since last year, on your birthday, it was still snowing. So, since I know it's a long six months, I know when four does roll around, we'll all be ready to celebrate.

Part two: the beach.

It was 80 degrees at the beach last Friday so we were there. Umbrella, baby, sand toys, and cute suits. Thank you Wallis for the yummy salad. Could use one of those right about now.

After we washed the sand from every inch of the girls' bodies, they rested and we got ready for an amazing dinner party full of friends (sans Vuosos, of course). Thank you, Katie and Wallis...it was super to have everyone all together. It felt very full. And it wasn't the Buca in my belly.

Look at these two. Joey, nine months. Fisher, almost seven months. Let's all guess what they're thinking. I know Fisher is amazed to discover another little person. I'm taking this picture and remembering holding Mazie at one day old and wondering how it has come to be that she's sitting there holding my baby.

Oh, you guys, move closer. This just reminds me of when we were starting our families and were together with them.

Last one for today, my beautiful friend who has lost SO.MUCH.WEIGHT. and really changed her life because of it, and is such an amazing model of health for her own girls (and boy), and who is so lucky because, can't you see it? Look how much he loves her.

Let's begin.

Honestly if I look over and over these photos and try to resize and edit, you all will never see them. So let's just begin the sharing!

California was wonderful.

I'm going to be honest here and say that we really haven't been able to say that about many of our trips since Alla was born because up until the age of two, she was a really crummy sleeper on vacations, so that meant we were not getting good sleep on vacation, which means it was always anything BUT a vacation.

This, however, was relaxing and enjoyable and worth it. Thank you Laughrey's for taking such good care of us and always making us feel at home in your home. We miss you already.

We headed to Disneyland when we woke up the day after our arrival. It was a hot 85 degree day in Anaheim, but I hated to complain since we need to be storing up as much vitamin D as possible since we're heading into winter here!

We got on the train and headed right for the princesses. So different than last year, when Alla didn't give a rat's behind about anything princess-y. She asked me last year if they had Fiona there. That was the only princess she would have wanted to see.

Not so this year. Bring on the hour-long wait to spend thirty seconds with each of three princesses, and then, if she'd had her way, get back in line to do it again. I wished I would have gotten back in line with her. That's all she wanted to do. And isn't Disneyland all about making dreams come true?

We knew going into this that Alla did not want to ride the rides. Here she's telling Wallis exactly what she does and does not want to do.No carousel, no Snow White, no Mr. Toad's, and especially no Yo-Ho. So it was all about finding things to make it fun for her (after we gave her a hard time about it, of course), or, should I say, finding things to make it worth the $150 for Ron.

So while Disneyland was not the highlight of her trip, it was definitely up there, and here's why:

Princesses.

Meeting up with the Stahrs in line for the princesses.

Going there with Kelsea.

Lunch at the kids' table.

Watching Mary Poppins sing and dance with Bert.

Seeing Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Winnie the Pooh ride.

Tom Sawyer Island.

Strawberry ice cream.

Amazingly, she did NOT take a nap on the way home! Fisher, however, was a super baby and slept from lunchtime til we left the park three hours later.

Stay tuned for our beach day. It was so warm that we actually went to the beach and the girls played in the waves. Or, should I say, Alla got pummeled by a wave and then she and Kelsea played in the sand.

While we were gone.

This little guy turned seven months old. Good thing, though, 'cause he got the official lifeguard tower treatment.

At seven months, he's 20 pounds 6 ounces.

He loves food. Loves.

Which is really too bad, cause in his seventh month we learned of his milk/wheat/peanut allergies, so we have to be really careful what we give him. And what we give ME.

He's so mellow.

He slept like a champ on our vacation; I couldn't have been happier. I can't believe how different these kids are, even this early on.

He's super excited about cell phones. Like giddy.

And we're giddy about him. Love you, little man.

It's Kelsea Day!

Yep that's what she's been counting sleeps for: Kelsea Day, and it's finally here! So check back in a week for photos from our visit.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Ron did the big garage clean-up this weekend, and I'm loving day two of parking my car (what? a vehicle IN the garage?) in there.

2. Especially since it was 40 this morning.

3. Fisher loves bananas, pumpkin, cereal, and is pretty fond of zucchini, avocado, and sweet potato. OK, so far he hasn't met a food he doesn't like.

4. This is way different than Alla. We got gagging pretty much from day one. And still do.

5. I'm supposed to be watching Private Practice right now.

6. Or making FREE signs for the trunk I've been carting around since junior high, and the bike that was replaced by the Julius Cruiser.

7. A few weeks ago, we had one last hot, 85-degree weather kind of day. And I'm so glad that on a whim, I packed up the kids and drove five minutes to do this:

8. Where was Fisher? On my hip. I decided it was time to go when my arm was just about to fall off.9. Yes she does own a bathing suit, but, as I mentioned in #7, it was a whim. I was smart enough to bring a towel since I'm not naive enough to think that she wasn't going to fully immerse herself in that giant body of warm water on a hot day, suit or no suit.

10. I'd really like to visually share with you what she did with said towel, but it's probably not suitable (no pun intended) for the world wide web. So I'll just tell you that she didn't exactly wrap it around her. She spread it out in the sun, and warmed her nakey buns there on the grassy edge of the lake. And that was a lovely, lovely end to a fine summer.

A different kind of leaf-scene.

Mostly I would guess that our fall leaf-type photos all contain little girls wearing sweatshirts and shivering. Yesterday, however, the weather was amazingly warm, and she frolicked barefoot with her buddies in their leaf pile (our tree is just barely starting to turn). I love that there's so much movement in this scene. And that she still has her bandaid on from her flu shot. She about lost it last night when Ron tried to take it off. No, she wants it on til it falls off.

While Daddy cleaned out the garage (yay my car's in there on this rainy Monday!), Fisher sat nearby on a blanket and we tried to interest him more in the toys than the grass.

Weekend in photos.

Here's how it looked in photographs.

Fisher's first wagon ride. We quickly realized he should be on the other side.
Love that she still adores Baby Rolla.Webcam with Nana + Pappi in Rhode Island. Love the wonder of technology. Carter finally got a caterpillar. Now their caterpillars can be friends.

My Sunday five miles.

Weekend mornings = movies. This weekend was Nemo, both days.

We quickly realized that the kitchen floor is not the easiest place to feed a baby. But it was fun while it lasted.
Both kids love to talk to Daddy on the phone.

Meeting up with friends for a park playdate. And goodness, when you don't see them for awhile, suddenly these kids who you knew in diapers are suddenly looking ready for college.


And that is it, my friends. All 168 Week in the Life photos are ready for pick up at Target, and I believe Target is as good a place as any to get an album for them and start adding words to all the lovely images of our regular, normal, everyday LIFE.