Princess Belle and Baby Belle

This Halloween marked the end of me being able to pick out a costume for Emilia without asking her opinion.  It was a good run of 3 Halloweens that I got to choose what cute little get up she would wear.  Her first Halloween, she was a kitty and a puppy; her second Halloween, she was the cutest elephant on the block; and last year, she was a beautiful little Dorothy. 

Well this year, I thought it would be fun to put to use her endless wardrobe of fancy things and dress her up as Fancy Nancy.  I gathered everything we would need to make her "fancy"...a tutu, a feather boa, glitter shoes, a tiara, jewels...  I got her to put it all on and no sooner was it on and she wanted it off.  When that was a bust, I thought we could dress her up as Cinderella, but that wasn't "special" for Halloween because she's had that dress since her birthday.  So, I had to dig deep...  What should she be? 

I for SURE wanted the girls costumes to compliment each other.  So, after a girl in my office offered to lend me her daughters former Halloween costume - a strawberry - for Olivia, I looked for a Strawberry Shortcake costume for Emilia.  But the more I thought of it, the more I worried that she wouldn't be excited about that costume either considering I don't even think she watches that cartoon.  So, I decided to look for the costume I KNEW would be a hit...  The beautiful Belle. 

Emilia wakes up in the morning begging to watch Beauty and the Beast.  She acts out Belle's dramatic faces throughout dinner.  She asks Jeff to play the beast turned prince and dance with her.  She sees women with dark hair and tells me she likes them because "she looks like Belle."  She LOVES Belle.  So, there it was.  The perfect Halloween costume.  I found a cute Belle costume online and picked up some new gold glitter shoes to complete the look.  She was going to look beautiful and most importantly, FEEL beautiful.  Mission accomplished!  And for Olivia...the Disney Store had a SUPER sweet little ruffly Belle dress for babies - I couldn't resist.  AND she also got to put the super cute strawberry costume to use for the party at daycare.  If her big sis got to wear 2 costumes on her first Halloween...so did she :)



The sweetest strawberry on the block.



Daycare

Despite how Emilia looks in the pics to follow, she was not feeling good at all.  At.  All.  Let's just say, her pumpkin pail held more than candy after a Halloween party on Friday night.  She was a trooper though.  Despite how yucky she felt all weekend, she still wanted to get dressed up, get her hair curled (her FAVORITE part) and go collect some candy!  Here are my beautiful Belles...all dolled up!

My two beautiful Belle's



All bundled up for Trick or Treating



Bundled up for a chilly Halloween.

 

Trick or Treat!



Enjoying a treat while handing out candy at home.

 

Grandma and Grandpa were part of the fun this year!

 

Me and my girls :)



Baby Belle

Christmas 2009

Christmas this year was filled with lots of excitement...

Traveling the night before Christmas Eve to beat the storm only to lose Jeff's wedding ring in the snow while trying to clear the snow from the headlights. We were given our first Christmas gift before Christmas...it was FOUND 45 minutes after we gave up looking by the deputy who stopped to help us look. Christmas miracle!

Having a whole day safe and warm at the hotel with my parents with lots of time for playing in the pool, sliding down "Lily" and relaxing by the fire...

Family pictures all dressed up before church...

Christmas Eve all cozy and warm with family at Auntie Ginger and Uncle Jeff's... The fun of Emilia knowing just who Santa is and watching her reaction to a PERSONAL message from him!

Emilia experiencing a tradition I have had for most of my growing up years...waking up in a hotel room on Christmas morning to the stocking and gifts Santa brought!

Celebrating Jesus' Birthday with Nonna's traditional red velvet cake...

The excitement of new creations from Papa's workshop...

Finding time to enjoy all of the snow that the storm brought and building a fort!

The fun and relaxation of our Christmas after Christmas at home in Marshfield with my parents...

Knowing that next year will be two times the joy and two more cheeks to be kissing...

Thanksgiving

We love Thanksgiving...it's a time to come together with family, have good food and laughs, enjoy the last bit of mild weather fall has to offer and not worry about the chaos that comes with preparing and hauling presents all over. This year, like every year, have a LOT to be thankful for... Each other, our health and our family's health, warm homes to visit, jobs and a new baby on the way. So many blessings!!!

It was a big year for Emilia at my Nonno and Nonna's house... She found the chick egg filled with M&M's that lives in the closet :) This little chick has been around through the whole childhood of me and my cousins. It's fun too watch Emilia light up at the site of it.

Jeff was REALLY full after our feast...and his vision needed a little help...

On Saturday morning, we headed to Alexandria for a Pearson family gathering. It was going to be our first meeting of Mike and Karen's beautiful new baby girl, Ella Grace. To say that Emilia LOVED Ella would be a HUGE understatement. She couldn't get enough of her and barely wanted to let anyone else hold her. She shushed her when she fussed, patted her back and gave her lots of baby talk. It was SO fun to see the "sister-in-training"!

Emilia was pretty smitten with Ella's big brother too..."her cousin Ben":) Jeff and I caught the two of them playing quietly by themselves in the bedroom. Ben was playing with some shark teeth, holding them up to his face and acting scary while Emilia watched, wide eyed.

Here's a video of them being their cute little toddler selves :)

It was hard to slow down the all the kids for a picture, but somehow, we made it happen! Here they all are, rounded up on steps.

First some smiles and funny faces...

Then a big group hug :)

On Sunday, we headed into town to visit Grandma Beth. She is doing just great recovering from a broken leg and knee surgery (again...SO THANKFUL!). Emilia found fun in it all as well...getting rides up and down the hallway on Grandma's walker from Papa.

Our holiday's always involve lots of traveling, which can be pretty tiring, but we're always happy to arrive at our destinations. Family is what makes the holiday special :) Plus, we always manage to get some fun videos of the miss in the car :) Here she is talking about being "sassy."

I do have to admit that we're quickly breaking down and feeling like a portable DVD player to occupy Emilia may be a MUST! Especially since it gets dark at 5pm and reading books or coloring are no longer options... Maybe Santa will come through...

Happy Halloween!

The official Halloween festivities started out with Halloween party day at Cathy's on Friday. We got the kids treat bags together on Thursday night...pretzels, airheads, a toothbrush and toothpaste!

I woke Emilia up on Friday morning wearing my witch hat and asking her if she was excited for party day at daycare. She, of course, was excited :) We turned on some Barney music and she "marched" while still laying down in bed and then got up so we could transform her into the most beautiful little Dorothy. All of the kids went to daycare in costume for a morning of fun :) We took some pics of our little Dorothy in her costume for the first of three times over the weekend.

We have this same picture of her from last year! You can see it here.

My beautiful little Dorothy :)

There's no place like home...

Group shot at Cathy's! For some reason...Emilia is always crying in these group shots! When I asked why she was crying in the picture, she told me, "I didn't want to get my picture taken...I went, 'Boo hoo...' like that..."

Our Halloween day started out with a fun party at Tommy's house with all the kids in costume and all kinds of fun activities to keep them busy...decorating cookies and a scrapbook page, painting pumpkins and snacking on yummy treats were among the favorites :)

That night, it was officially Halloween and time for Trick or Treating! We had plans to pull Emilia and her neighborhood friend Emma in the wagon for trick or treating, but Emma came down with a fever and a runny nose, so we took on the neighborhood as just the 3 of us :)

Dorothy on the little brick road!

Halloween night! All dressed up and ready to go!

Bundled up and ready for some treats!

A quick stop at Emma's for some giggles and a cute pic of the girls :)

Trick or treating with Daddy. She wasn't quite brave enough to approach the houses on her own...and she insisted on being picked up after we knocked on the doors.

Emilia did great! A little hesitant, but that's okay. Knocking on doors for candy isn't something she does everyday! She was exceptionally brave seeing the "scary guys" in costumes like Darth Vader and the Scream mask. Here's a video of her reflecting on the "scary guys" and helping Daddy answer the door for Trick of Treaters :)

After trick or treating, we headed home to eat some dinner and watch a little Gopher football before heading over to the Bickett's new house. When we got there, they filled her basket with LOTS of Skittles, much to her delight...and of course what better treat than some fun with Farley to finish off the night!?!

4th of July Weekend

We spent our 4th of July weekend the way that we love...up on the Range with my family, enjoying traditional festivities and togetherness :) Shortly after getting to the cabin on Friday morning, Jeff and my Dad headed out to scuba dive by the golf course on a mission to come back with golf balls. Growing up, one of my FAVORITE things to do was head out in the canoe and go across the lake to scoop up those little gems. We never did anything with the balls - it was just so exciting to spot them on the bottom of the lake and scoop them up - like a mini treasure hunt. Well - let's just say, underwater is the place to BE when it comes to finding golf balls...check out this load!!

We thought this was going to be Emilia's year to really get into everything that is the "Fourth"...the fireworks, the parade, the candy...but it looks like "3" may be her year...not "2". She had a suit case full of red, white and blue, ready to look the part of a real 4th of July enthusiast. We decided to let her stay up late on Friday so we could watch the Eveleth fireworks. A quick family pic before we headed out to watch the fireworks. After the first firework went off, we realized, Emilia did NOT love the loud, bright "colors" and instead laid on Jeff's shoulder with her eyes tightly closed until it was over.

The next morning was the parade! We fueled her up with breakfast, handed her a little flag to wave and a bucket to collect candy, then took our spots for the parade. Once the parade started and the loud sirens starting blaring, she wanted "up-ie" and resorted back to her "Charleston legs" that would curl up when we attempted to stand her up on the ground. It was our job to collect "yummy's" for her tin as there was NO WAY she was going to participate.

After the parade, we headed up to the Elk's to cool off after the parade. Emilia enjoyed a blue raspberry sucker while the rest of us enjoyed a refreshment or two :) We got a 4 generation picture before heading back to the cabin for the BBQ and Bocce Ball Tournament. Emilia got a nap in and spent the rest of the day convincing anyone who would listen to give her a "yummy" and push her in the swing.

Sunday, we had a low key day with a birthday breakfast in the morning for my Grandpa and some sandbox and bubble time with Emilia, my Grandma and Auntie Amy :) I live for these moments.

We had a great time and are reminded how blessed we are that Emilia is able to know and love all 4 of my grandparents. It's so amazing to see the love they have for each other and nothing is sweeter then seeing her recognize just who they all are...Nonna, Nonno, Great Grampa and Great Gramma!