Halloween (Part 1)

We had an eventful morning at Eliana's pre-school for their Halloween party.  They sang a couple songs and we had a pot-luck.  The kids all crashed and burned by 10:45.  It was so hilarious watching them sing.  Turn up the volume on the video and notice what Eliana (the pink/purple/green dinosaur) had to say right before "Itsy Bitsy Spider."  So precious. Ethan was a good sport and wore the pumpkin costume (from when Eliana was a baby).  Auntie Amy was a rock star and helped out as usual. She's here so Nate and I can go to Rhode Island for a friends' wedding this weekend (hopefully we get through with the Sandy storm mess). She will be watching Eliana this weekend while we head to the East Coast.  Happy Halloween everyone!! 

Oh, and yes, I made Eliana's costume, but with the help of a friend and her sewing machine. Don't look too closely at the tail the stitching is anything but perfect. But the tail is super fun and hoping she will get some use out of it in dress up or some other fun activity.  

 "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

 Tired Dino

 Smiley Pumpkin

 It is almost impossible to get Eliana to pose and show me her costume...

 Enough of pre-school

 Costume complete with underwear

Ethan is 3 months

Forgive our tardiness, Ethan....we promise we love you, even though we are very late in posting your birth pictures:)  So, here is 3 months and at some point I will get to 1-2 and others, but for now I want to document this before I forget.  Ethan remains a very mellow, happy little guy.  He is content in any environment, some of his favorites are:

*activity gym (the purple disc moves around and he giggles at it)

*ergo rides (aka morning naps since Eliana is on the go!)

*lights (especially in Eliana's reading corner)

*changing table

*napping with Mom and Dad and sleeping in their bed:)

*Eliana's voice

He does not mind the car seat (Eliana hated it!) and is truly a wonderful little boy. When we have time to sit down and play with him, he is so delighted that he spits up in excitement. Total second child. He also does not mind tummy time and in fact, will just lie there and not even try to lift his head up.  I remember Eliana grunting to get her head up.  Their personalities and demeanors are already so different; she the spicy, determined and crazy one.  He the mellow, sweet and easy-going one.  We'll see if these carry through in the coming years.  

Eliana's love for him is growing as well.  She now wants to lie down to do tummy time with him and wants to help when I change his diapers.  The other day I had to give him an emergency shower as he had a huge blow out and after that, Eliana kept saying, "I need a shower because I pooped all over."  She makes me laugh. 

Speaking of bodily functions, Ethan has sporadic ones so we tend to have a lot of big messes as he will go 3-4 days without a BM and then wham!  I'm sure he loves that I'm sharing this with you all.  

Ethan's first camping trip

We lucked out and got reservations at a group site on Salmon Cove, just over Chinook Pass on Hwy 410.  It was perfect, huge, but perfect with 5 picnic tables and right along the American River.

Mori-chan all stuffed

We lucked out and had access to an amazing day hike, Naches Loop Trail, 4.5 miles

Wildflowers were in full bloom; lupine, paintbrush, queen anne's lace and columbine.  We hit the timing just right!

And, the loop had amazing views of Rainier, at 5400 feet elevation, you feel like you could reach out and touch it

Nate carried Elle Belle the whole way on his shoulders (minus some walking on her own)

Ethan slept the whole two hours

Nate and Eliana had an afternoon of fishing for rainbow fish.  They saw salmon and the only way Elle Belle could go was if she wore her glasses the whole time.  She followed the rules and loved it.

S'mores time!

Huge group site!

Right along the American River; not too swift or deep and plenty of beach space to play

Sleeping was interesting...we all ended up on the queen air mattress.  It was cold so the snuggles were good, but the head-to-toe arrangement may make us want to buy one more air mattress next time.

Nate constructed this swing for Eliana and she loved it!