Happy Halloween

Nothing like snow falling outside to remind me of warmer times- like Halloween! Which actually wasn't that much warmer. It was rainy, windy and cold. Emma's witch hat kept blowing off so she finally gave up, and the witch shoes that she was so excited to wear were quickly replaced with cozy rain boots.
Emma really wanted to be a scary witch- dressed all in black with no face make up or fake warts. I made her dress and cape- she picked out the patterns at Jo-Ann Fabrics. We had to search at least 3 stores to find just the right broom. She wanted the broom that was just like the one at school with black stitching and a short handle.

Before Halloween Emma was coming up with ideas for what Mommy and Daddy should be for Halloween. "You should be a hot dog and Daddy should be a hamburger, " giggled Emma. That was probably the funniest idea.
Next she came up with this. "Ha ha, Mummy, " she laughed by accident one day. "Hee hee. I just said Mummy. You should be a mummy for Halloween Mommy. I could put a sign on you that says Here is my Mommy who is a mummy. or my mummy is who my mommy. hee hee." She thought that was quite clever. So I cut an old sheet into a very long strip. Steve helped wind me up and Emma completely approved.
Both girls looked great in their costumes. I made Annika's monster suit as well.  The four of us went to 3 houses all together, including Karen and Tom's across the street. Then Steve took Annika home and had fun watching Susan give out candy. (Apparently that is a whole another story!)

Emma and I headed out into the wind and filled up her sack. I actually scored some candy along the way from sympathetic adults who applauded my self-costuming efforts. I wasn't going to say no! Once we made it almost completely down the street and back up the other side, Emma started asking me to stay at the end of the driveway. She wanted to walk to the doors by herself. I don't know if that was motivated from the growing up part of her or the jealous part. She does like her candy. :)
We had a fun time and Emma enjoyed telling Aunt Susan and Daddy all about it when we got home. Trick-or-treating wasn't over for another 30 minutes or so; Emma loved opening the door and passing out candy. In fact, "no! I want to do it!" was heard until we finally took the hint and stopped opening the door first. :)

Of course sorting and eating the candy was a must!  She still hasn't eating it all yet and it's December! She was so sweet and shared some of her haul with us adults.

 I almost forgot that I surprised the family with a spooky dinner. Then knew that I was making a smitten kitchen dish but they didn't know that it was mummified until I pulled them out of the oven. Emma loved it! Actually we all really enjoyed the meal. (But I let my childish side out when I put them back in the oven under the broiler to crisp the dough strips and burned some of them- so I stomped upstairs and got all whiny. Not my best but I acknowledged that when I came back down. and we could all laugh at silly mommy.)

Visit this link for the awesome, delicious pot pies. I made it vegetarian and didn't miss the meat. I only wish that I had rolled the dough much thinner before cutting the strips so i could have avoided the super thick, somewhat doughy layers that led to my broiling, burning, tantrum episode.  pancetta-white-bean-and-swiss-chard-pot-pies

Up and Running

Well, Annika may not be running but she is finally walking!  She has been mastering the bipedal skills for about 3 weeks now. She loves to come into the kitchen while we are cooking/working and go through the cupboards. The honey stick is a favorite chew toy for those sore gums. She has gotten one molar (the bottom left) and is working on at least one more. And all the while her huge front teeth are still coming in; we assume that they aren't done growing yet because the left top-center tooth is still longer than the right! :)

Annika is loving to read these days and will pick out the books she wants read. She can be quite forceful if you start reading a book she is not interested in. Sometimes Emma will read to her and sometimes Annika will let her. Those moments are precious.
Annika is not really talking yet. We think she might actually mean Daddy when she says dadda, dadda.  Babba, Babba could mean Emma or Mama. But Chloe or doggie is definitely panting noises. Elephant sounds are popular- Annika makes them when she sees elephants or hears us say elephant and she loves to hear us trumpet, too.  She can roar like a lion or tiger and says the most adorable "ow" for cats/kitties. When I ask her to get something like a toy she can and I just about fell over the other day when I asked her to sit so I could put on her boots (that she "asked" me to put on) and she sat.  Her asking consists of holding something and grunting "ahh, ahh, ahh." 
She can do some hand signs like milk, more, please and bread and candy/sweet. Yeah, it isn't good that she will sign candy but not thank you! :0
So that's the update on little A.