Pre Halloween Fun!

So things are still crazy around here, but I figured I had you all wait long enough.  Here are some of things we have doing this month!

 Jessica and Ava came into town and I was so excited to see them and be able to spend some time with them.  Ava has gotten so big and she is so smiley and adorable!  I can't wait to see them again over Christmas. 

I took Emma out for some fall/holiday photos.  These are just a few of my favorites.  I will do a blog post with more on my photography blog in a couple of days. 

My mom and I took Emma out to Boo at the Zoo.  They gave all the animals pumpkins as a special snack.  Emma had fun watching all of the animals, and a lot of the animals came pretty close to us.  We even got to see the lion play, run and hear her roar!

We have spent all month doing various Halloween Activities.  We have made paper pumpkins, made a Halloween themed sensory box, and reading Halloween books.  This year, we decided instead of carving a pumpkin, we would let Emma paint it.  She had a lot of fun, but I am sure next year we will go back to the traditional carving!!

We have a busy and fun Halloween weekend planned.  Of course, pictures will come soon!!
Hope everyone has a very Happy Halloween!!

Exciting News!

Yes we are still here, and have some exciting news....We have packed up the changing table and the diapers!!  Emma is pretty much completely potty trained!  She is waking up in the morning and from her nap dry, and she is either telling me when she needs to potty, or has developed a "sign" of holding herself when she needs to go.  I am a little gun shy and have her in a pull up when we are out of the house.  She doesn't have a problem using public restrooms, and we haven't had any accidents yet, our problem is the car ride.  Since we are almost always an hour away from where ever we are going, she has a little trouble with this.  It is so sad to hear this little voice say "I have to go pee-pee on the big girl potty" while she is holding herself, and pushing against my seat with her feet.  It always seems to happen when we are about 5/10 minutes away from the place we are going.  She usually has a little accident, some how stops herself, and finishes when we get there. 
Since she has been doing so well, we decided to pack up the changing table today and put it in the attic for now.  While Robert was putting it away, he got down our Halloween Decorations, which Emma has loved playing with.  She is very excited for Halloween to get here so she can wear her "Tinkerbell Princess" dress. 
We have had a busy weekend and started it off with going to the Children's Museum of Phoenix with mom, Shelly, Noah and Scarlett.  It got a little crazy with field trips latter in the morning, but we had a great time!
Yesterday, Emma and I spent the day with Sophia and Jessica shopping.  Speaking of big news, Sophia has some of her own.  You can go HERE to find out what it is!
Our first stop yesterday was Ikea.  They were giving out some sort of pine tree to promote environmental awareness.  I have to tell you, I was amazed at all the comments people made when they were handing them out.  Most people didn't take them, and also made comments to let them know that it was a silly idea since there was no way these were going to grow in Arizona.  What happened to smiling and saying thank you?
We ended the day walking around an outdoor shopping center drinking Ice Teas while the girls played their Ipods (it was way past both girl's nap time, but Jessica and I weren't quite ready to call it a day!)  I am sure it was still 95 degrees out, but it was great to have a glimpse of cooler weather.
After Emma's nap today, we planted her tree.  She wound up giving her tree a "bath", so I don't have high hopes for it, but she enjoyed planting it!

I know I haven't been the best at updating the blog lately, but I can tell you things are going to be crazy around here starting next week.  I am taking school and class photos for Ahwatukee Preschool next week, and have some other photos sessions planned as well.   Jessica and Ava are coming into town for about a week, and I am SO excited to see them.  Plus I am hoping to fit in Boo at the Zoo, a pumpkin patch, the Phoenix Food Allergy Trunk-or-Treat, and then of course Trick-or-Treating!  I promise I will take lots of pictures, and will update as I can!