Halloween 2012

Two posts in one day?! Crazy for me! But I had a few minutes and just had to document our super-fun Halloween this year. I'm really big on firsts and I was so excited that not only was this Graham's first Halloween, but that this would be Amelia and Graham's first Halloween together. Can you say themed costumes? Ha! I have been thinking about this for, no lie, a year now. I found out last October that G was going to be a boy and I immediately started thinking about what he and sister could be for Halloween this year. I know I am a huge nerd, but whatever.

I ran across this fabulous costume and knew that it was perfect for my girl. But if you know me at all, you know that I'm much too thrifty to pay such a hefty pricetag for a dang Halloween costume. As if! So I set out to make my own knock-off, and here you have it:

I was pretty pleased that I created a pretty good knock-off for around 25 bucks total. I love good deals! And what's a good Bo Peep without her sheep? We found this guy roaming around.

I know that I will treasure this photo forever! I thought they looked so precious in these costumes, and leave it to our Graham to just sit there and smile in his costume. No way would our firstborn have tolerated that for one minute, let alone smile the whole time wearing it. That's just how G rolls.

(Thanks to Katie for snapping these photos!)

On Halloween morning, the kids got to trick-or-treat around campus, and Cliff and I were able to join them. Here's Graham and one of his school buddies, Eden. Isn't she a precious poodle?

 And here's Mimi and her BFF, Joy. They had a ball together and held hands everywhere they went. So sweet.

 Brother didn't last very long in his snuggly costume in the stroller.

After school,we went to a pre-trick-or-treating party at some friends' house, and then we made a few stops to see some more friends and Cliff's dad and grandparents. Amelia got WAY too much candy that she is still asking to eat everyday. Come this weekend, it's going to mysteriously disappear.

It was a memorable year for our kiddos first Halloween together, and I'm already looking forward to next year. I don't know how long I will be able to swing themed costumes, but I have ideas for about 10 more years! I'll do it as long as they will let me!

Graham at seven months

Graham will be eight months old in a a few days, so I wanted to highlight some things from his seventh month. Not much has changed from six months, but I still wanted to update for my memories. At seven months Graham:

• hasn't grown much from last month according to his clothes. He is still wearing 9 and 12 months clothes, size two shoe and a size three diaper. I think he's gotten longer this month. PJs are getting hard to snap in the middle and his one-piece outfits are getting snug. I like him better in jeans or khakis and shirts or polos these days. I'm sad to see those Polo rompers go away! He was so precious in those all summer.
• has started babbling this month. No real words, but he does say "da da da" a lot. Just waiting for a "ma-ma" any day.
• has started noticing our dog, Cash more this month. Usually nothing will distract him from his food in the highchair, but he is fascinated with watching Cash out the window.
• has slacked off on his bottles. He usually only has 2-3 6-ounce bottles a day now, but hasn't really embraced the sippy cup yet. He mostly just plays with it. He eats cereal in the mornings and two meals of two jars of baby food a day.
• has started self-feeding with some puffs and yogurt melts. He caught on really quickly and loves to help himself to some little snacks.
• STILL doesn't have any teeth, but I think I finally see one popping through on the bottom this week. He has been uncharacteristically fussy the past few days, so I'm hoping it's the teeth.
• has developed an obsession with cell phones and remotes, like all babies do at some point. He dives for a phone or remote and gets them to his mouth every chance he gets. I think we all know what Santa needs to bring for G! Does anyone have an old cell phone or remote he can have? Babies never seem to like the toy ones as much as the real ones.
• rode in the sitting up portion of the buggy for the first time this month and LOVED it!

And now for some pics. We had a photo shoot with Aunt Katie a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few a bunch of the fabulous photos she took:





My favorite! Does it get any cuter than that drool?






I love that this shows how little he is. Sweet boy.












Of course sister had to jump in for a couple.



And then we got a couple of family shots at the end.

I am in love with all of these pics! I can't wait to get some printed and framed for the house and my office.

A couple of these reminded me of a shoot we did with Lindey for Mimi at around the same age. Check out the comparison:



This is the first time I've actually thought my children have looked alike! I see the same nose and mouth, and maybe even ears too. Let's just be honest- put a tutu and flower on him and it's the same kid, ha! In color they look more different because G's eyes are bright blue and Mimi's are dark brown. I actually just took a color photo that Katie had taken and made it black and white to compare, so I'm sure the color/composition/whathaveyou is not correct.


I also thought these looked kind of similar. We really didn't even plan it. Katie just happened to have a yellow chair.

Still some similarities, but I think G's eyes just make him look so much different than his sister. Look alikes or not, I think they are the sweetest babies I've ever known and I'm so thankful for another sweet month with our Grahamy!