Costumes, Candy & Cake

Princess Elizabeth Grace turns 2!

Elizabeth Grace turned 2!  I can't believe how fast time flies!  She's the spunkiest little princess around!  Since Elizabeth loves the movie Frozen we had a Frozen themed "party".  It's just us 4 so... not so much a party, but it did include pizza cake and presents!  Tia Eva bought Elizabeth a Princess Anna dress to wear on her birthday and she loved it!  After Aaron got out of school, we all went for pizza (one of her favorites) and then home for a yummy Frozen cake and presents!  

Frozen themed confetti cake

Besides her adorable dress, she got a pop up play tent and Anna & Elsa dolls.  Her grandparents Coblentz & tias sent her more Disney princess dolls & her grandparents Weigel sent money for new pjs & clothes!  (Which she totally needs because even though we get awesome hand-me-downs from my friends and cousin, we somehow got totally skipped over for size 3!  And her size 2 pants are getting a little bit too tight!!)  

Jumping right from her birthday celebration into Halloween prep - we went to the pumpkin patch one weekend and spent the day there having fun and picking out way too many pumpkins.  But bonus, they look awesome on my porch and since Aaron didn't want to carve them, I can leave them up through Thanksgiving (assuming they last)!  

Months ago we had asked Aaron what he wanted to be for Halloween and he choose Peter Pan and he wanted us all to go as Pan characters.  So we ordered Peter Pan and Tinkerbell costumes from the Disney Store and Captain Hook and Wendy costumes from Amazon.  You'd be amazed at how hard it is to find a stinkin' Wendy Darling costume!  OMG.  I only found one (literally) and it came in a "one size fits all" so of course I was nervous about ordering it.  Not to mention it didn't even completely look like Wendy's nightgown!  But we didn't want to disappoint the kids so it was what it was, right?  

I even taught him the Peter Pan stance!

Captain Hook!

 Tinkerbell is taking off!

The kids had so much fun.  Aaron got to wear his costume all day at school and was in a Halloween parade which we all went to to watch him!  Then family fun trick or treating!  The kids had so much fun and one of the neighbors even had a band in their garage so at the end of the night we all hung out and danced for a little bit.  Then we let Aaron pick out a few pieces of candy he wanted to keep and the rest went to Josh's work.

And now that it's officially turkey season, we're thinking about our very first Thanksgiving by ourselves.  And beyond that Aaron's birthday and Christmas loom in the back of our minds.  The weather is finally starting to get a bit cooler, especially during the evening but today was the first day I walked outside and it actually felt like Fall.  I'm hoping it cools down for the rest of late autumn before Thanksgiving!  

Hope you all had a ghoulishly fantastic Halloween!  Hugs from the Herrings. 

 

 

Our Vegas Birthday Trip

Happy 1st Birthday!

Well we are back from Vegas and I finally have some time to sit and blog.  Unfortunately when we got back Elizabeth came down with a stomach virus and then Aaron and mama and finally dada.  SO, needless to say we didn't get much done that first week back.  

The trip to Vegas was great though!  We had a wonderful time with both families.  We visited with my dad's tia Conchita who turned 90.  She was so happy to see us.  And though our visit was short (it was hard to fit all 9 of us in her small room) it was emotional I think, for all of us.  For me personally, visiting with her reminded me of my own grandfather (tia Conchita's brother) and when she was playing her guitar and singing to us, I got a bit teary eyed.  I miss my grandpa and thing of him often.  

Coblentz Ladies

We also got to visit Josh's mom and aunts.  His aunt Lillian lives in Vegas so we were lucky to have another place to feel welcome and visit with loved ones.  Lillian and her husband Evan were so welcoming and invited us to their home not only for meals and visits, but they were gracious enough to host Elizabeth's birthday party!  

Elizabeth & Aaron getting their fingers in the cake!

Elizabeth had an owl themed birthday party that was catered by Lillian herself!  The food was super delicious (my favorite was the lamb and middle eastern salad).  The cakes were from Whole Foods (just like Aaron's were) and everything was wonderful.  

Lillian and Evan were also kind enough to treat Josh, my sisters and I along with Josh's mom Tina and aunt Polly to a limo tour of the strip and downtown Vegas.  No stripper pole, but it was still awesome!  I joked that the driver probably thought we were the tamest group ever but it was fun!

And for one night Josh and I were able to sneak out on our own to walk and explore the strip, have dinner at The Venetian and visit one of my favorite places in Vegas - The Bellagio Conservatory!  They had a beautiful Fall theme with pumpkins, a scarecrow, talking trees and all sorts of autumn flora.  It was lovely.  The Venetian and Bellagio are my absolute favorites.  Though I super love the check-in lobby at Paris.

We also took Aaron to the Shark Reef at The Mandalay Bay.  He thought it was so awesome.  It was actually a really great, although small, aquarium.  All in all, the trip was great.  I only wish we had more time to spend with each of the families.  

When we got back, it was time to get ready for Halloween but like I said, my poor bubba came down with a stomach virus the day after we got back.  I literally went shopping the on the eve of Halloween for costumes with Aaron.  We came back with a minion and Agnes (the little girl with the stuffed unicorn who says "IT'S SO FLUFFY!!") costume for Aaron and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth seemed to be on the mend, but at the end of the night she ended up getting sick again.  Poor bubbas!!  

Minion Dave & Agnes

Thankfully now everyone is back to being healthy and we're back to our normal routines.  Today I took Elizabeth in for her 1 year check up and she is 24 lbs (95th percentile) and 32 inches long (100th percentile!).  She's definitely keeping up with her brother in that respect!  

Next up is Thanksgiving and it's just right around the corner!!  I can't believe it.  We're getting so close to the holidays and Aaron's birthday --- it's all going by too fast.

I'm trying to enjoy it while I can!  Happy 1st Birthday Elizabeth.  We all love you!

 

 

Pocoyo Boo! - Our Review

Pocoyo Boo! - Our Review

This month Aaron and I got a fun Halloween themed Pocoyo dvd from NCircle Entertainment: Pocoyo Boo!

I know I've said it before but Aaron just loves Pocoyo!  And even though this is a Halloween themed dvd, it's not scary (like some other ones I've seen) so it's perfect for your younger or sensitive kids.  

This dvd has seven (yes, seven!) cartoons with Pocoyo and his friends.  They explore new games by scaring each other (BOO!), play with friendly aliens on their planet, enjoy a monster party, solve mysteries and engage in pretend play with each other.  

Aaron's favorite episode was the first, titled Boo!, in which Pocoyo goes around scaring all his friends by hiding and then jumping out and saying.... you guess it... BOO!  Aaron squealed and laughed every time Pocoyo scared someone.  He thought the episode was just hilarious!

The dvd runs 50 minutes, includes Spanish language and is perfect for all ages.  Aaron and I give it a very spooky two thumbs up!

The SRP is $6.99 and the dvd can be found at retailers near you and at Amazon.com.  

 
 

Happy October!

Elizabeth Grace 11 months

Elizabeth Grace loves giving herself kisses in the mirror

Elizabeth Grace is 11 months old and officially in her birthday month!  I can't believe she's going to be a year old soon!  The time has gone by so quickly with her it's unbelievable.  Elizabeth weighs 24 lbs and is just getting into 18 month clothing.  She still only has 8 teeth - 4 on top and 4 on bottom.  She crawls, she stands and she walks while holding onto furniture.  

Elizabeth has recently added grandpa to her vocabulary and is almost saying "reloj" ("watch" en Espanol).  She can give high-five and she actually talks to her dad on the phone.  I mean, literally, I put Josh on the phone with her and as soon as he starts talking she smiles big and says "dada!", babbles some and then tries to lick the phone!  Haha - I think she's trying to give him kisses.    

Elizabeth is a big people watcher.  She loves to stare and study people.  Trust me, she will check you out and up and down and sideways!  Elizabeth claps and yells "yeeeeeah!" and if I'm watching a show with an audience (like Ellen) she claps whenever the audience does!  It's so cute.  I can't believe she'll be ONE YEAR OLD!!!!  

But get this - she's going to have a super one year birthday party in, of all places, Las Vegas!  Two families, three birthdays and two mini reunions means a super awesome fun family time!  We can't wait!

Coolest kid in preschool.

Aaron has started public preschool.  Every day there is a morning struggle to get the slowest turtle ready for school and out the door.  But no matter how much of a struggle it is to get out the door, it's the same struggle to get him out of the classroom at the end of the day.  

The first day of school we had a meeting with his teacher and she told us he was already holding hands with some girl!  So we asked Aaron if he had a girlfriend and he said yes!  Josh and I were cracking up!  He told his dad secretly that they were probably going to get married.  Since then, sadly, they have broken up and he is currently back on the market.  :)  It doesn't surprise me since before preschool he said he wanted to marry Pocahontas and have five children.  And he's going to support his family by being a veterinarian.  That's not surprising either since he loves animals and won't even eat meat sometimes because of it.  Unless it's bacon, of course.  

We have been struggling with Aaron's listening and attention skills.  I think there has been a lot of changes in his short life and there are more to come.  These changes I think took a larger toll on him than we anticipated and one of them is not being the only child (and grandchild) anymore.  Not getting the same attention is hard on him.  We are trying our best but if any of you have any tips, please send them our way! 

But the kiddos are well and we're all looking forward to our trip, our visit with Grandma Tina, Elizabeth's birthday and Halloween!!!!  Aaron wants to be a mummy but the jury is still out on Elizabeth.  I was thinking a black cat.......

What's your October going to be like?

 

Nesting & Resting

Check out my awesome DMB Shirt!

Well the it's finally here!  My resting & nesting period.  I'm officially off work at 37 weeks and now I get to worry about all the things I have to get done before baby gets here while I lay in bed with my feet up.  LOL!  Not really --- I have a list of things I get to supervise Josh doing!  But honestly, since I'm home now I will be doing what I can while I have some quiet time to finish organizing and cleaning both of the kids rooms.  

We had told Aaron that because we painted Baby Girl's room, we'd paint his too and we let him pick out the color.  His favorite color is green, so we took him to Home Depot to pick out a shade of green (that we approved of) and Josh has successfully painted Aarons' room after a Pinterest room I saw that incorporated green and navy (which was my color choice for Aaron).  There are only a few touch ups left for Josh to do (the walls are textured so some of the paint from the lines bled) and then we can move the furniture back in.  Once everything is back, I promise to take pictures of both finished rooms!  

Aaron has started school part time and he's still getting used to this new venture.  He's hesitant at drop off, but I'm assured by everyone at the school that once I'm gone, he warms up.  When I pick him up he seems to be just fine, though happy to see me.  Yesterday was picture day - his very first!  The idea of it just makes me smile!  I hope he smiled in the picture!  

Fall has finally arrived in Sacramento and I'm so grateful that it did because I wasn't looking forward to having Baby Girl in 100 degree weather.  But that also means in addition to my baby nesting, I have to weed through Aaron's closet and toys and get take inventory of what's left and what we need.  I can already tell you he'll be needing pants, shoes and a new sweatshirt or two.  He does NOT need more toys!

I'm also looking forward to decorating for Fall and I hope that we can get a few Halloween decorations up too.  I think Aaron wants to be a Minion for Halloween but the actual costume is super lame.  I would be better off trying to make one if I thought I could find the items.  Anyone in Sac know how to knit?  As for Baby Girl, if she gets here before Halloween, I've got a purrrfect outfit for her from the Gap.  

I feel like we have so much to do and I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed but I just remind myself that as long as we have the basics, we really don't need the other things.  We do need your good thoughts, prayers, mojo or whatever else you feel like sending us for a healthy baby and uncomplicated delivery!  

Keep us in your thoughts!  We'll keep you all updated! 

HOWLOWEEN

Halloween?  Make that, HOWLoween!  This year October turned out to be a busy month for us and we never got around to the pumpkin patch.  Then, a few days before Halloween Aaron caught a cold and of course, gave it to me.  (Side note: if anyone in the house gets sick, I WILL CATCH IT).  So, not only did we not do our usually October family fun, but we didn't even get around to decorating or costume shopping before Aaron and I were down in the dumps. 

Josh was running around on the Eve of Halloween searching for a suitable costume.  What makes it even more sad was that this was the first year that Aaron actually knew what he wanted to be for Halloween and we just couldn't find it!  Chubbs wanted to be a pumpkin.  He'd been saying it all month.  "Dadda, I'm gonna be a pumpkin and you're gonna be yeeh-yok" (aka yogurt for all you non-Aaron speakers).  But apparently, pumpkin costumes in a size 4 toddler are hard to find, especially the day before Halloween!  SO, I sent Josh to Gymboree (I called ahead to make sure they had costumes in his size) and his choices were Zoo Keeper or Werewolf.  Ok, so the obvious choice is Werewolf.  I mean, who the heck wants to be a zoo keeper for a Halloween?  And what kind of costume is that anyway -- khaki shorts and shirt with a badge?  WOW.  Big whoop.  So Josh brought the Werewolf costume home, I showed it to Aaron and he seemed pretty excited about it so we tried it on and he loved it!  He was all smiles!  Phew.  Saved on that one!

We decided to spend Halloween at my parents' house because they live in a neighborhood with lots of families and plus, they had at least some decorations out.  I wasn't even sure Aaron would go trick or treating since he'd never gone before and he doesn't even really know what candy is.  The past 2 years (Year 1: Chubby Skeleton, Year 2: Pirate) we had gone to the zoo's Halloween event.  But we taught him how to say trick or treat, dressed him in his costume and then I asked if he wanted to go trick or treating to the "Halloween houses" and he said YES!  (Thanks to books that his tia Bea & tio Sonny gave him and to a few cartoons, he already understood the basic concept of the holiday).  So off we went on Aaron's first trick or treating adventure!

I have to say, he kind of loved it.  He tried to go into the first house because he thought there was more to see in there.  He loved all the decorations and loved saying "trick or treat" to everyone.  Chatterbox that he is (wonder where he gets that from?  READ: Josh), he wanted to talk to every single person at every house we stopped at.  "Trick or treat!  I'm going to the Halloween houses!" or "You have a cat!" or "We are walking to the houses and saying trick or treat!" or "You are a witch!".  Haha!  What a ham.  We only did a handful of houses because it's a lot of walking for such a little guy and that werewolf hood was HOT!  So eventually we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's were tia Eva and Grandma Yvette were  handing out candy.  Aaron did one last trick or treat at their house and got 2 new Cars toys from his dad (Sarge & Filmore).  Then we dumped all the candy he collected in our bowl to hand out to others!  Recycling candy! 

For the remainder of the night, Aaron helped me hand out candy to the rest of the kids by running to the door and saying "Happy Halloween!" to all the trick or treaters!   All in all, I think it was a great night even though we didn't prepare as much as we would have.  I think we all enjoyed the night, and, we all enjoyed each other.  What more could you ask for?

Happy Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Pirate Baby & Pirate Daddy

Happy Halloween from the notorious pirate family -- The Herrings!  AAARGH!

Happy October

This is my favorite photo of the day.

Well, we made it!  We made it to Sacramento and into our new apartment!  We've almost fully settled in.  Aaron has his own room!!  How exciting is that?!  (Trust me, it's exciting!)  We even got to enjoy almost 3 extra weeks of summer.  But I think Fall is finally moving in, and I'm a-ok with that.

We moved into my old neighborhood and we live 2 minutes from mom & dad in one direction and 5 minutes from Eva in another.  And Natalie lives just short car trip away in San Francisco.  Aaron is enjoying having so much time with family and he calls Eva "tia" (aunt) and he calls grandpa Howard "papa".  So far he's still calling grandma Yvette "momma" too, but I just think he doesn't have the GR down yet which is why he calls my dad "papa".  


Our new apartment complex has a pool, a mini golf area, a playground for kids, an exercise room and a billiard table.  Aaron has been to the playground a few times (he loves the slide) and to the pool with his dadda twice, which he loves!  He's gonna be one of those fearless kids that just walks right off the step - I can just tell!  Gotta keep our eyes on that kid!


Today, we all went to a pumpkin patch and Aaron had so much fun!  He got to see farm animals, ride a pony, go through a maze, pick a pumpkin and go in a bouncy pen.  He was in heaven.  Josh and I are still trying to figure out what we're gonna dress him as for Halloween, but we're leaning toward something from Yo Gabba Gabba!, Dora the Explorer, or Go, Diego, Go!  Those are the 3 cartoons he's really into now.  Josh wants Aaron to go as Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba! just so he can dress as DJ Lance Rock!  Haha!

Josh is still on the hunt for a job and I'm not looking for one myself, but if it comes down to it, I will probably look for something in the State.  I am trying to get used to being back in California.  I'm so glad we moved at the beginning of Fall so that I didn't have to last a whole summer here, not that I'll be able to skip it next year!  And I'm getting my barrings back - getting to know Sacramento again.  It's strange because some of it is exactly the same.  Exactly.  Yet plenty has changed.  Once we get to know the city better, we'll probably decide which area we like best and try to move there.  You never know what the future holds!


The important thing is that Aaron is wonderful, healthy, smart and has plenty of people who love him.  We are all lucky for that.  Next week is his grandma Yvette's birthday and it ends in a ZERO.  We will all be celebrating with her.  

So happy October, happy birthdays, happy National Coming Out Day, happy Breast Cancer Awareness month, happy Fall and any other occasion that deserves a "happy" in front of it!

I hope you're all happy!  We are!

Aaron's First Pumpkin Carving

There are just way too many cute pictures of the pumpkin carving to post, but I love this first one so here it is! I had Josh carve a pumpkin for Aaron last weekend (all the pics are posted on my Flickr site) and Aaron was VERY interested in the pumpkin guts, of course. I think it was probably most fun for me because it's so fun to watch him experience new things and to learn about new things. Plus, he was half naked and half naked babies are always adorable!

In development news, Aaron started army crawling his way around instead of just rolling. And he can actually get on all fours and rock back and fourth, but no actual crawling on his hands and knees. And unfortunately, he's figured out how to open the dog cage. Yay! for being smart, boo! for getting in trouble. He's a little stinker already. He'll do something he knows he shouldn't be doing -- for example I have the stack of magazines on the bottom shelf of a side table and he always goes for them because he likes to tear them up. Well, we tell him "NO" when he does that and we move him away from the magazines. But he'll get back over there and touch the magazines with one hand and hold it there while he looks back at me! Then I say "no Aaron, those are mommies" and he takes his hand off, then immediately puts it back and looks at me again but with this little smile in his eyes. YEAH - a little trouble maker already! Geesh - what am I in for?

Anywho, his mistake of a haircut is looking a little better and most people are nice about it, saying they like it (psha, right!). Other than that, he's doing well! My Chubbas!

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Prowl! (A picture post)

Aaron being very patient, waiting for me to put his costume on.

Costume on, check out his new trick or treat bag.

Welcome to the Woodland Zoo's Pumpkin Prowl!

Josh & Aaron checking out some cool pumpkins.


Aaron checking out the little witches on my headband instead of looking at the pumpkins!


Family photo. Notice Josh & Aaron look spent. Not me - I love Halloween!


Aaron at home on the floor getting all his new found energy out before bed time!


I just had to mention the cool Vans I have. They match Aaron's outfit perfectly!

More Halloween themed photos to come!