The Halloween that will never end!

Halloween can be a really fun time of year and as a kid I just LOVED it. Now, as a parent I have to say this holiday can get really old! But the kids still get a kick out of it all so I guess it's still worth it.

There was a group of moms waiting for the preschool Halloween parade to get started and I put Hazel down on the floor to hang out and free up my camera hands. I started to take her picture and this is the face I got. All the moms started laughing. Hazel loved it.

Pepper with her teacher, Mrs. Yonders and some of the other kids in her class.

Here's a video of the preschoolers parading around:

Just playing like a big girl with all the toys to herself while Pepper stayed at school for a pizza party.

Pepper's Halloween prizes.

Cody and I just never got around to carving pumpkins before Halloween, so on Sunday afternoon we finally sat down with the kids to carve away. Morgan and Pepper picked special stencils out and were very excited to use them. I was not so excited once I started using them.

Pepper was very excited to start on her princess pumpkin.

Hazel was also excited about the whole pumpkin experience.

Love the way her belly sticks out.

This is serious work.

Having some issues with the sticky pumpkin seeds.

The kids designs were so intricate that we had to take a break and have dinner. Then we kept going.

Pepper's Ariel pumpkin.

Morgan's Ironman pumpkin.

Hazel/Cody's spooky pumpkin.

Cody discovered that the pumpkins cast a pretty sweet image on the side of our house.

On Halloween, the actual holiday not the 15 other days we celebrated....anywhoo, our ward had a Halloween carnival and Trunk or Treat. We invited Morgan's friend, Sarah, to join us. Great fun was had by all.

Hazel the elephant, Sarah as Yoshi, Morgan as Captain America and Pepper as Wonder Woman.

Squishy face elephant.

An older gentleman in our ward does these balloon shapes/animals and does such a fantastic job. They are always the biggest hit of the party.

Apparently this is supposed to be a pink pig balloon animal. I have my doubts but Pepper was in love.

I love Jenn and Josh's costumes. Too fun.

Everyone loved the way this awesome costume pushes Hazel's cheeks out. I love it too.

Pepper really loved having her favorite babysitter painting butterflies on her cheeks...I swear.

This little girl just cracks me up. I'm so glad she joined us. Morgan had a blast running through the Haunted Hallway with her over and over again.

Emily and Jenn, two of our favorite people looking quite cute as Raggedy Annie.

So that was our Halloween. The kids loved it and I'm glad we have a whole year till we have to do it again:)

Witch Hazel Turns 1

Our Hazel Basil turned 1 year old on Sunday, October 21st.

Cody had been out of town a lot the week and weekends prior but we were finally all together again for dinner that evening. Because we were going to celebrate her birthday the coming Saturday, we didn't really do anything special that day. Hazel didn't seem to mind. She was really happy with the two oreos we gave her for dessert. Here are some funny pictures of our birthday girl.

Her dirty pirate face.

Here's a video of her enjoying her cookie and "talking" to Cody:

Hazel's "picture face" just kills me. I love this little lady!

This girl loves to be fed. Such a princess.

On Saturday afternoon, October 27th, we had a birthday/Halloween party for our little Hazel. I will get to the party in a moment but wanted to write a bit about our baby girl before I begin. Hazel has brought such joy to our family that I was thrilled to have a celebration of a year of Hazely (Pepper's nickname for her.) It is amazing to me how you can have such a strong singular bond with each one of your children. I love my conversations with Morgan, my cuddles with Pepper and my sweet "moments" with Hazel. I keep trying to think of another word for her but joy is all that comes to mind. She smiles often, loves to babble and play, and squeals with delight whenever Morgan, Pepper or Daddy are around. She loves to cuddle and will hug or rest her head on not just mine but a lot of people's shoulders. Hazel has a very relaxed demeanor most of the time but gets very screechy if you take to long to start feeding her or get distracted while feeding her. I have to feed her during most meal prayers or no one would ever hear the prayer. True to form with our kids, I am thankful everyday for this familial trend, Hazel is a champion sleeper. She takes two long naps everyday,2 to 3 hrs each, schedule permitting. But goes with the flow if the morning nap needs to be missed and takes an even longer afternoon nap. She sleeps through the night, hardly ever making even a peep. I would not say she is the best traveler in the world, she was not my favorite on the road trip, but for the most part is usually easy to take along wherever we go. 12 months can be a tricky age because they are on the move but not independent enough to let them do much on their own. They are not in nursery yet but do not want to sit still. Despite those inconveniences, I love this age because there are new discoveries and milestones everyday. It is even more fun this time around because Pepper and Morgan get so excited about every new little thing that Hazel does. Joy, pure joy!
Now, on to the party. The pictures are all out of order or random but hopefully you'll get the gist. It was a fun party and it was great to celebrate with our wonderful friends here in Akron.

The goodie bags for the party.
Cody found this idea online and I thought it was so fun.

The cupcakes and cookies for the party.

The party begins.

Ben and Emily Wright, Lesli and Adam Smith

Hugo as a lion. His costume was a huge hit!

Kids playing a bean bag toss game.

Everyone enjoying pumpkin soup and homemade rolls.

The Wrights getting ready to take Elsie on her first Trick or Treat.

Pepper, Hugo and Porter stopping by our friendly neighbor, Deb.

The hanging Batman moved and said things. Some of the kids were a little wary but braved it to raid the candy bucket.

Hazel the Elephant was excited to be outside smiling at everyone.

Most of the group braving the elements in search of candy.

Avi and Pepper walking arm in arm.

Wonder Woman was very excited to tell everyone who she was and that her brother was Captain America.

After trick or treating, we returned home for cupcakes and ice cream. I wondered how Hazel would react to everyone singing to her and having a lit candle put in front of her. Hazel responded in true perfect baby form:

Also, true to form, Hazel enjoyed her cupcake once Cody started feeding it to her.

Her camera face/smile just cracks me up. Everyone says we've trained her but she does this all on her own.

Avi, Jen, Ava and Pepper enjoying their goodies.

Porter and Hugo taking it easy. Hugo and Hazel are only 6 mos apart. I predict they will be fast friends by next birthday.

Little Elsie was on the verge of walking in this picture and is now on her way. They grow so quickly at this stage; every day is a new development.

Chubby cheeks and a dirty face. This is a happy birthday girl.

We found Pepper and Lafe all snuggled next to each other on the stairs sharing candy. Too cute. His older brother, Addison and sister, Ellie are supervising.

After our friends left and the birthday girl got a bath all to herself, Morgan and Pepper took a moment to sort through their loot. They were quite pleased with their haul.

This is serious work.

Hazel enjoys bath time, despite the fact she is usually sandwiched in between Morgan and Pepper and keeps getting water dumped on her head. She never fusses about the water or when we take her out. Trying to get her dressed can be a bit of a challenge but luckily we are expert baby dressers at this point.

Hazel really enjoying a nice long bath all to herself.

Is there anything better than clean kids dressed in warm, fuzzy pajamas?!
Hazel opening her presents, with a little too much help from Pepper and Morgan.
Christmas morning should be fun with these three.

Ellie made the Frankenstein gift bag.

Trying to do her squishy face look with a binky just doesn't come off quite right.

Kami made this amazing blue tutu for Hazel. Works as a killer headpiece as well.

We have a Smucker's calendar in our bathroom and I've been looking at this delicious pumpkin soup recipe served in a pumpkin bowl all month long. I thought it would be a fun dish to serve at the party. Cody made it on Saturday morning and it was the big hit of the party. It was scrumptious and fun and I'm so glad I noticed it on the calendar.

I forgot to take a pic before the party so this was the leftover shot.

You top it with sour cream and chives. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
(I feel like I can sing its praises since Cody made it. He's such a great cook!)

Since the theme of the party was Witch Hazel, I found these fun cups for the kids to drink out of.
Thanks, Gramma Goodier for helping out with the party planning once again.

The bean bag game's holes were pretty tiny so it was kind of hard for the little ones but at least they had fun trying.

Kami sent me some more shots of the party from her camera.

Katherine and her three kids had to head home to trick or treat in their neighborhood but we were glad we got to party with them for a little while.

I just can't get enough of this elephant costume! It is my all time favorite and I'm so glad that each of our children has had a chance to wear it no matter the different ages. We are so grateful for Grandma Adams' talents and generostiy with the Halloween costumes every year! The kids love to brag that their grandma made/gave them their costumes each year.
(I finally made it into a shot, too. I really need to be better about getting in front of the camera every now and then. I want my kids to know that I was once a young mom, heehee!)

This is a better group shot.
 Lesli was nice enough to stay home and hand out candy for us this year.

I mainly walked Hazel up to each door because everyone got such a kick out of her costume and super big smile. Getting to eat all of her candy was only a small bonus.

I love this shot of everyone excitedly walking and because it looks like Porter and Pepper are having a great conversation.
Porter and Kami are the nursery leaders and Pepper just loves having them as her "teachers" at church.

I tried to keep things a little more low key for this party because the month of October is crazy enough for us. I do so love putting on a production...I mean, throwing a party, heehee. I am very grateful that Cody loves to entertain as much as I do and puts up with my craziness. In the end it all works out and is always all worth it to have fun celebrating one of our beautiful children with our great friends.
Yay, for Hazel!