Happy Halloween!

Mike and I have a tradition of making steak soup every year on Halloween and inviting over friends and neighbors in the afternoon! We love it and it's such a cozy start to the cooler weather!!

Friends, neighbors and cousins stopped by this year . . . even Molly's friend, Brooks. He was the BOY LION and Molly was the GIRL LION this year. As you can tell - Molly still refuses to put on her LION MANE. :) He and Molly met at Gymboree and we just LOVE little Brooks-- he's such a happy laid-back little guy, just a couple weeks younger than Molly.

Molly wanted to show Brooks the squirrels in the backyard. Can their little tails be ANY CUTER?!

Starting to get dark -- we are ready for trick or treaters!!!

The pumpkins are out and ready . . .

Molly loved seeing all the kiddos in their costumes . . .

TRICK OR TREAT!

This is Molly's little friend across the street again, Madelyn. She was a duckie. I know - Molly's FAVORITE thing right now (besides doggies and squirrels). However, i don't think Molly "got it" and instead just wanted to eat the candy wrappers with her.

Hope everyone out there had a safe and fun Halloween!!

Party in the 'Hood

Clark Drive has a fabulous block party every fall. We block off the streets all afternoon/evening and let the kiddos run, play, and eat in the street! We live in an older neighborhood, but are very fortuante that there are still a lot of young families with little ones on our street . . .

This is Molly's friend, Madelyn, who lives across the street. She is almost 8 months old - so just 4 months younger than Molly. They play together often and have even started waving at each from their front doors. Too cute!

This is Molly's friend Xavier who lives just a few doors down. He is about 9 months older than Molly and always wants to touch her and kiss on her. I think he thinks he's her boyfriend. :)

Molly even rode in a red wagon for the very first time with 15 month old Avery . . . she loved it!

Our good friend Kelly from a few blocks away came by to visit with her new little puppy, Winnie. What a SWEET DOG!! He is about 6 months old and they just got him a few weeks ago from the animal shelter. Of course, Molly went CRAZY over him and could not get enough of his kisses and licks.

Molly doing her "doggie face"

Go Big Red!

Molly could tell it was a BIG GAME today (Nebraska played undefeated and much disliked MU) so she put on her cheerleading uniform for the occasion (a hand-me-down from Norah Murnane)!

Checking the score . . .

How's it going so far, dad?

Ha ha! Look at the yardage on the screen. Molly was cracking up!

I think Molly brought good luck! Nebraska: 31 Missouri: 17

Go Big Red!

Halloween Preview!

Introducing . . .

Molly the Lovable Lion

She eats cheddar cheese, banana puffs, milk, and apples.

She is very independent and loves to explore. She LOVES other animals in the kingdom.

Halloween Party at Gymboree!

Molly went to a Halloween Party at Gymboree today with her friends. In case you can't tell - Molly is a LION! She is NOT a fan of the crazy lion mane that came with the costume - so her hair is the lion mane for this year's costume. :)

Digging for balls!

Mike and I wanted to get a photo of her and her little friends in their costumes . . . . Yes, Mike left work and surprised us at the party! Molly is soo lucky to have such a fun daddy!! :)

Marshall = Monkey, Molly = Lion, and Max = Mickey Mouse.

Notice how Molly has her hands on both of them - she loves to touch and hug/kiss other kiddos lately. She's our little love bug, I mean lion. Look how "happy" they all look here. You can tell we stopped them from their fun playing to make them pose for this picture. Come on mom!!

Molly - Cruisin' in the Kitchen

Molly likes to "cruise" around the kitchen these days . . . she usually starts at the oven and cruises in a circle around to the fridge. Sometimes she goes slow and sometimes she goes so fast her hands have to catch up with her little feet! She certainly keeps us laughing lately . . . ;)

Molly - What does a doggie do?

Fall has arrived!

If you haven't heard from us as much lately it's because we are OUTSIDE enjoying this beautiful Indian Summer we are having . . . here are a few photos of the leaves around our neighborhood starting to turn beautiful fall colors. We are literally outside from early morning until the sun goes down these days . . .

Sisters Weekend!

Mike went to Lincoln on Friday for a GUYS weekend and the Nebraska football game!

So . . . my sister, Sarah, and I decided to do a SISTERS weekend with our 2 daughters! I am blessed with quite possibly the coolest sister in the world - and since we live 12 hours apart - we don't get to see each other nearly as often as we would like . . .

And we have "matching" daughters who are just 8 1/2 months apart.

Molly Elizabeth: 11 months. Isabella Marie: 20 months

Checking each other out when we first picked them up from the airport. ;)

Molly was quick to show off her new toys to Isabella and was so excited to have her at our house!

Isabella trying to kiss Molly . . .

We had another fabulous fall weekend here in Kansas City and we spent a lot of time walking to the park!

Molly tried hard to keep up with her big cousin!

Singing songs while they play in the sand!

Saturday morning, we went to the petting zoo . . .

SISTERS - with our girls!

Swingin' at the park . . . what a perfect Saturday afternoon!

Goodbye Sarah & Isabella!

We are sooo happy you came to visit us! It was really hard leaving you at the airport today.

We miss you so much already!