Happy Halloween

There are few things I love more than holiday traditions. We never had many "things" as children, but my parents always provided rich experiences about which I still often fondly reminisce. This is what I want for my own kids, and it's why I was so happy this year to begin one of our own family traditions of pumpkin carving for Halloween. I hope that one day Sophie and Grace will look back on these times spent with their dad and I, making jack-o-lanterns on Halloween day.

My Pooh Bear!

Etsy Goody: My Sweet Prints

My Sweet Prints offers cute and hip prints, perfect for a child's room.  They even have bedtime and morning versions of the trendy bus-stop posters that can be seen in all the design magazines.  And the best part is that all these prints can be customized for your own kids.  Here are a few that I'm considering picking up:

...for obvious reasons:

S is for Sophie, $20

..I like how this one can be changed to reflect your own bedtime routine:

Bedtime Bus Roll, $24

...worth the effort to try and read it!

Customized Eye Chart, $22

...for a French-themed girls' room:

Counting in French Poster, $20

all images via My Sweet Prints

Sisters

My little sister and I, circa mid-1980s

A few days ago, the New York Times published this interesting article about how people who had at least one sister in their lives were, in general, happier.  The writer hypothesized that it was due to women's tendencies to "just talk".  Turns out that "talk", even when it's about nothing in particular, can be very therapeutic.  I can attest that this is very true in my own life.  Every day, I chat with my sister and most of the time it's about absolutely nothing of importance.  But it feels good.  It keeps me grounded.  I am relaxed.  So, I'm absolutely thrilled that I have two little girls of my own.  Hopefully, they will love having a sister as much as I did.

Halloween Parade

Sophie was a princess again today at her school's Halloween parade.  Normally, I'm the type of person that thinks Halloween should be good old SCARY fun, but my little girl wanted to be a princess and hey, it's not about me.  So, high heels and tulle gowns it was.

Air and Scare

 This weekend we attended the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Air and Scare event.  It was sooo crowded and even after we made it inside, there was a long line for everything.  I don't know if we'll go again next year, but it was really cool to see all the other costumes.  That was definitely Sophie's favorite part of the entire outing.

Did I mention that it was crowded?

Star Wars was very popular!  At the Air and Space Museum....go figure!

Sophie enjoyed the activities more than the candy.

Sophie got a picture with her heroes.

Sophie and Bodhi.  Aren't they adorbs?

School Portraits

I can't believe it's that time of year again already.  Another round of school portraits--and guess who had the biggest smiles of her entire school?

Sophie, Age 3

3rd

Happy Birthday to one funny, precocious, silly and exuberant girl!  You are so loved.

Active

This weekend provided much needed relief from my first week back at work.  The weather was perfectly crisp, cool and sunny.  We got out and had a lot of fun, just enjoying the fresh air and each other.  These are the days that make me think, "I love my life!"

Just look at my happy baby!  How could you not love that smile?

And this one...there's no other like her!

I love her spirit!

Dancing up a storm

My girl...she's awesome

She melts me

My angel, Grace

School Party

So, we had a little school celebration for Sophie's birthday on Friday...it was nice, but the school restrictions on food and balloons and candles put a damper on the fun, in my opinion.  I tried to avoid the food allergy problems by bringing in a huge bouquet of balloons (one for each kid, each with it's own individual weighted bottom), and was told that they couldn't have them due to the hazard of choking.  Boooo....

The looks on her classmates faces speak volumes about how fun school parties are.

IKEA love

I know people love to hate on IKEA, but I don't get it.  It's affordable and makes good style available to the masses.  Look at these IKEA-furnished rooms....they're gorgeous!

all images via Livet Hemma

Sophie's 3rd Birthday Party

 Sophie's 3rd Birthday party was tons of fun!  The theme was Batman, which our little girl loves (although now he's battling with the Disney Princesses for her favor).  To make the day fun for the kiddos, we had a Batman moonbounce, face painting, a candy bar, and even a visit from the Dark Knight, himself!

Princess Sophie, herself

Darren and I stayed up until 1am baking and decorating these cupcakes.  They were made with love!

Our facepainter working her magic.  She did a great job!

The kids loved The Batman!

Gracie was an angel, allowing me to do my thing and run the party.

Sophie enjoying her spoils the next day.  Please excuse my bedhead.

Egg Lamp Nightlight

When perusing this nursery makeover on Little Green Notebook, my eye immediately was drawn to the gorgeous sculpture on this dresser. Turns out, it's a nightlight--the kind that projects stars onto the ceiling. I love that it's not too cutesy and the palette of available colors is beautiful. It's exactly what Darren and I were looking to give Sophie for her birthday (especially now that she's afraid of monsters in her room).

image via Little Green Notebook

The olive colored one would be my pick. It's available here for $135.

And here it is, doing its thang at night. Cool, huh?

Clean

Love, love, love this kids' bedroom. It's my latest inspiration for Grace's big girl room.

image via Simply Magnifique