Happy Halloween From the Lewis'

I was so excited when our Bunko group did a couples costume theme this month! Both Casey and I are big fans of Halloween, so it was great fun for us. And to answer your question, no we did not get our costumes from The Office, but I am excited to see how Pam's and Jim's costumes turned out.

Miss Maddie had been really excited about Halloween this year. She LOVED all the spooky decorations, the Halloween books from the library and daily themed crafts. Seriously, everyday she would ask to make Halloween decorations. In the very beginning of Halloween mania, she decided she wanted to be Belle. So me, being the over-excited mother, raced to Joann's to buy all the necessary items to make her a Belle dress. A few weeks later she changed her mind and wanted to be Backpack (from Dora). Then it was Buzz, then a happy witch, then a cuckoo (mystery)...everyday it was something new, but never Belle. Then Halloween arrives. We were so excited to go to our church's block party and see all the cute kids in their costumes and play fun games. Casey and I tagteamed Maddie and wrestled her Belle dress on her. Really, we wrestled her down. She went CUH-RAZY. Crying, screaming, tearing at her dress. We caved, took off the dress, and gave her the stink eye for about an hour for making us miss the block party. In steps Grandma who was able to get her in the dress and in smiles for trunk or treating.

After that, the night was pretty smooth. She was so sweet as she stepped up to each trunk and very quietly said, "trick or treat...thank you." I love this girl. But I think the highlight for Maddie was handing out candy to the trick or treaters. Each time the doorbell rang, she would squeal and dash to the door. I think we had a pretty great October and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Fall Farm Fotos

We made our 2nd annual trip to Mother Nature Farm this year; this time in daylight...waaay more fun. Maddie was in fine form; easily provoked into hearty laughter with each new task. She loved feeding animals, loved the hay maze, loved the playhouse, loved decorating her pumpkin and EVEN loved taking pictures. My favorite part: the 5 day old piglets. I could never raise a piglet to later slaughter or sale for slaughter. They are ADORABLE! I think the whole family had a great time watching the excitement of Maddie. Happy Fall!

Playmates

Maddie is so lucky to leave close to all her cousins (all three of them). She especially loves playing with Nikolas, who she strives very hard to be like. Maddie can tumble with the best of them, and loves to wrestle and roll with her cousin. Poor Raheem sometimes has to endure her fits of excitement; he's a good sport and even attempts to play back, but is usually a little rough with his nipping when he's excited. Maddie is such a good blend of girlie girl and tomboy. She loves her princess gear and fancy shoes, but she also loves Batman and rough housing. I hope she keeps a good balance throughout life; there's much to be enjoyed on both sides.

Girls Night Out

This past weekend 7 friends and I packed into a Honda Pilot and drove 1 and a half hours to escape reality for about 20 hours. We enjoyed eating out, eating in, playing games, chatting and laughing the night away. We woke far too early for mother's trying to escape reality. I was the last riser at an awful 7:30 am. But that just meant we got to enjoy the cool morning and beautiful view for that much longer. I love great friends and enjoyed my time away from mothering duties, even for a short time. I'm sure any longer and I would have wished to be home sooner to my family.

Happy birthday Bekah! Farewell Jill! It was a great night!

Maddie

We took an evening trip to the park and I realized how much my daughter has grown. We haven't been to the park much this summer; I think it has something to do with the blazing heat. So my memory of park trips are from the beginning of the year, when Maddie was just a little thing. She has lost any hesitation for fully enjoying the playground equipment. She thinks she can crawl up any climbing apparatus, without Mom's assistance of course. She loves to hang from monkey bars, and is always yelling "a big one!" when I'm pushing her on the swings.

She is very much into books; which I love! She will sit in her bedroom and "read" through them one by one. She has become more independent in her playing and can entertain herself without Mom. Too many times she says, "No Mom. No following!"

She's the cutest little singer, especially when she doesn't realize I'm listening. I'm amazed at how much she recalls from my singing to her at night. She has picked up on a few of my key phrases as well, "Just a minute!" (which I say way too often to her). And the other day we were at Fiesta Mall, she was in the ice cream truck, I was ordering my hot dog from her when she asked, "Do you want a Diet Dr. Pepper?" Um, too many drive through McDonald's trips for Mom. I'm surprised she didn't ask me if I wanted light ice.

She is so funny about naming herself and her parents after movie characters. Among her alter egos are Nemo, McQueen, Hogarth, Birthday Bear, Gus, Pablo, Boots...I can't keep track of them all. But the amazing thing is, she can! Plus all of our corresponding names. By us I mean me, Casey and Raheem. She sometimes includes other family members as well.

When did my daughter outgrow her toddler-ness!?

The Art of Racing in the Rain

This is a story told through the perspective of Enzo, a dog. When choosing this book, I thought, "Oh it's from a dog's perspective, there won't be any language or bad scenes, dogs won't think that way." Nope, still had the language. But despite that aspect, I still ended up enjoying it. I cried on several occasions, fretted on many others and had a few giggles here and there (but very few.)
Enzo's owner, Denny, is a race car driver, and Enzo shares his love for the "sport." It's the story of Denny's struggles with his wife and daughter, and Enzo's readiness to become a human. If you're looking for a happy, uplifting, cheerful book; this isn't what you're looking for.

Naptime

There are two bad words in our house: "dinnertime" and "naptime." Lately Maddie has been beyond stubborn when it comes to her naps, and she has learned she can climb out of her crib, so my attempts are pretty fruitless. I usually resort to lying with her on the couch until she falls asleep, but today she wouldn't even do that. I put on a movie for myself and continued to ask her to come lay down by me. She would smile, then retreat to play under her table. She sang made up songs. I heard words here and there about things she had done recently. She played with her fork like it was a doll. She tried to eat popcorn kernels she found on the floor. She asked for her McQueen pillow and eventually...fell asleep. I love this stubborn girl.