The power is Strong...

Olivia was harnessing the power of Yoda this Halloween and as her uncle Jeremy says... "The power is strong with this one." We had a great time Trick or Treating with Tim's family today in their neighborhood which is only a few miles from our house. It was nice because the girls had a chance to rest while Kyra was at school, and then they were fully charged to get into their costumes and hit the pavement when she got home. Late in the rummage sale season we found kyra's costume that she wore today which was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She has been planning this outfit for weeks and although she wanted to wear my glittery red platforms, she settled for a pair of red crocks instead. I was pleased that she didn't put up to big of a fight with wearing long sleeves under her dress... there were a few tears but she got over it quickly with the mention of candy.Kaitlynn wore a little costume that Sharron picked up for her this past summer as well. For the past year or so (I guess since she could talk) Bella has been totally in love with Elmo. Elmo this and Elmo that... Elmo Elmo Elmo. Just recently she started to actually sit and watch Sesame Street (which has been great) and boy oh boy this girl loves her Elmo. It is cute to watch her though because she basically knows her numbers and will sing the ABCs for you but when you ask this girl a color--- everything is pink... or as far as she is concerned it should be because its her favorite.
I had Bella wear these super cute glitter dress shoes to go with her Elmo costume. However, the thing I didn't think through- which I must have had a major mom (hahaha Major Tom) brain fart is that she probably would have a hard time walking in them... and she totally did- whoops! So after running to a few houses she ran out of steam pretty quickly. Then it was up to Auntie Karla and Grandma Nana who bore the brunt of the going from door to door with her. Eventually she gave up and wanted to be pushed by her Papa in the stroller in between the driveways and then she would pop out, run to the door and then hop back in her seat. Kyra was running up ahead of everyone which we were okay with because we were all on the same street and she could hit more houses this way. I personally was pooped from the whole weekend and keeping everything organized so honestly I was of absolutely no use to anyone... but I did get some cute pictures :)
In the end we stayed out with Kyra from 4 until 7pm when Trick or Treating was officially done in Green Bay. Andy and Sharon were awesome because they took the two little girls home with them about half way through which meant that Tim, Jeremy and I could stay out with Kyra and makes some serious miles. The little girls love it over at Nana and Papa's anyway so this was a great treat for them too. Karla found us after a bit and visited with the boys and I while Kyra ran every which way and Treated as much as possible. She even got full size candy bars (which I promptly confiscated). All in all it was a super great day (my favorite of the year) and I am counting down the days until we can do it again... 364 to be exact.

Keep on Treating!!!

Today we went trick or treating for the third time in three days... the girls are getting tired now. It definitely did not help that it was freaking freezing outside. It was honestly too cold to bring Oliva out so it was Kaitlynn and Kyra with my mom and myself. We went to Luxemburg Wi which is about 15 minutes from my parents home on the way up to Algoma. Our goal this year was to try and find different towns that were going to have trick or treating on each day of the weekend. And while we have certainly succeeded--- even I am thinking this is getting a little crazy. So I broke the rules and let Bella ride in the front seat on my mother's lap and Kyra sat loose in the back seat while I drove them door to door. If there were a few houses in a row I would have them run between the lawns but that only lasted a little while. The temps were in the 30s and the wind was terrible. I think we only lasted about and hour before we called it quits.Bella had fun pretending to be a puppy though. She would get on all fours and go "woof woof" and then pant with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. She even ran up to fire hydrants and gave them a hug. Although I have to say I am a little relieved that she didn't raise her leg and pretend to take a leak... what a goofball.
Baby Via stayed home with "baba" and took a little snooze. She hasn't really gotten sick yet this fall and I am hoping they can both make it through unscathed... we shall see. I just had to put Olivia in her pumpkin outfit and take a picture even though its just in the yard- look at those cheeks!

Tricks with AJ and Anna

This year we were able to go trick or treating with AJ and Anna again in Sherwood (I think that's where we were) near Appleton Wi. We found a super cute neighborhood that is just big enough for us to get through in the few hours they host treating on the Saturday before Halloween. It is a total adventure for us and it is nice to just walk around and catch up.Olivia wore a little lion costume today which is fitting seeing how much she growls all the time. She had so much fun trying to walk on the grass. Her favorite part though was when she came up to the curb. She has learned at home that in order to go down a step she has to be facing backwards. So that's what she did here. She would walk all the way up to the curb, turn around, get down on her belly and feel backwards with her foot until she got the street. She must have done this like a million times! The incline in the driveways got her too- she didn't quite understand those but after a while she discovered that she had to tackle those face on instead of at an angle if she ever wanted to get up the hills.Have I told you how luck I am to have such an awesome sister in law? Well I think Anna gets the award because even though she wanted to visit with everyone, she ran around with Kyra just to make her happy. I could tell that Kyra was getting frustrated with how slow the girls were in the candy department. So Anna offered to run with her ahead of us so that she could see a few more houses. Well it turns out that after two hours I think they got every house in the whole neighborhood and Kyra was thourally pleased. She was smiles from ear to ear (which doesn't happen all that ofter anymore) Thank you Auntie Anna- you're the best!While Bella had fun going door to door trick or treating- she had a bit of a sugar dump towards the end of the day. I wasn't all that surprised seeing it was well past her nap time but I figured the sugar would keep her going right? Bad bad idea because our little Pegasus fell right to the ground in a temper tantrum (one of her first full blown) and wouldn't move. Her chubby legs were tired and her little feet hurt so uncle AJ carried her the rest of the way! What a great Godfather. After a long and hard day of begging for candy, we all went out to a diner along the highway on the way home. The food was horrible but we were all so hungry it really didn't matter. The funny thing is that the staff was pretty bad too- but that didn't matter either because we were all so happy to just be together - that's the way family should be - but I suppose it helps that I don't see AJ all the time, cause honestly I think we still drive each other nuts ;)

Sweet Street

Day one of trick or treating and we are off to a great start. Today I took the three girls to an indoor Halloween extravaganza of sorts. The nice part is that is eases the girls back into the swing of things with trick or treating (mainly their manners) and there are tons of fun games and events for them to participate in. Olivia is just the right size to fit in the Halloween costumes that Bella wore as an itty bitty... which is good because each of the girls have a bajillion costumes to wear this weekend! One of the very first things we did was get the girls hair colored. Kyra has always loved doing this and was totally excited to share it this year with Bella. The girls are definitely getting along a little better lately and I think Kyra likes the fact that Katie can tell her things instead of just crying like Via. Kyra has a very hard time with Olivia. I think in part because she is nervous that she is going to hurt her (ever since the hospital stay) and that she can not figure out why Via is crying... or screeching for that matter ;)This was also the only time that the girls were going to be able to go without jackets or super heavy costumes so I told Kyra if she wanted bare legs- this was it. And boy oh boy did she capitalize. Miss Kyra Jean is stuck somewhere between wanting to be a teenager and still being a little girl. I find it hard at times because I never know which way to go with her. But I am learning . Tonight she will be staying at Tim's parents which is something she loves to do. It is time spent with family but not necessarily with her little sisters. I have to give her credit because she is a good sport going along with everything. Although I am sure I will overcompensate with Kyra's candy consumption this weekend. After a stroll through the haunted forest he girls had fun participating in the musical show that one of the local kids performers was putting on. At one point they were even able to go up on stage with him! I haven't really been able to see Kaitlynn sit still like that and concentrate so much for such a long time- I think we may be ready for story time!!!

apple picking with nana and papa

A few weeks ago we went apple picking with Tim's parents. We also jumped into the pumpkin patch to see what we could find (I like the really ugly ones). This was the first time that Via had done anything like this outside of cherry picking over the summer. She just kept grabbing apples and when they would come off the trees she would do her little "O" face which is super cute. Bella was on a mission to try all the apple she possibly could. When she got to one where there was a spot on it she would say "This one yucky" and put it back on the ground for the chippies. I tried to teach her which ones were good and to leave the others behind but you could tell she was just not quite getting it. Kyra on the other hand is a total pro- this girl was in the Zone today. She was very particular about finding which type of tree we were picking apples from and making sure we could all distinguish the difference between them. Personally this was difficult for me because I don't even like apples (crazy so I have been told) - but I go along because it is important to my family and i love all the pictures we get. Sharon and Andy are always so generous and let us each pick out a pumpkin to take home. This year they even bought us apples and carmel dip for snacking -which made Timmy a very happy boy. All of us loved the wagon ride that takes you all the way from the parking lot to the pumpkin patch and through the apple trees in between... I think that may be my favorite part of the whole day and just the smell of the apples in the store (it reminds me of being a kid)
Kyra has always liked to peek through the trees at the orchard. This year with the new truck we actually let her ride in the back of the bed while Tim drove through the trees. She was smiling ear to ear and laughing out loud- out loud I tell you! I have to remember that she is still a little girl. I tried so hard to be a parent for her I think I may have gone over to the "evil stepmother" zone... which she assures me is not true but I am having a hard time adjusting to a preteen and two itty bittys. I can totally remember when I was Kyra's favorite person in the whole wide world... she called me "my Trina" and now all she does is roll her eyes at me when i tell her to make her bed... I just need to breathe I think- then maybe my eye will stop twitching.
Bella on the other hand is turning out to be an amazing helper- too good maybe. The other day I was folding laundry and she wanted to help. I figured this was a good a time as any to start so I told her to hand Mommy the clothes and that I would then fold them. Well it should be no surprise that Miss Kaitlynn Bella is just like her momma and is incredibly impatient. She got way ahead of me and when I told her to slow down she would just tell me that I need to go faster... this one will be trouble I think :)
Via spent most of her time at the orchard trying things out. She was totally amazed that the apples in her hand could go through the holes in the fence. And then she would drop them and didn't like the fact that they had to stay on the other side and she could not pick them up off the ground.

Bella's Adventures

Fall is definitely happening now in Wisconsin... there is no denying it. Which then reminds me of the fact that soon the girls will be inside for the next 6 months or so... and in turn makes me shudder a little ;) For the most part the bambinos get along but do they make a mess -sheesh! So I am trying diligently to get out as much as possible before the snow starts to fly. Very close to us is a nature preserve that has many paths through the woods. So Bella, my mom and I decided to go out exploring and see what we could find. As it turns out, there are many more trails than we knew and we put on some pretty hefty miles- which I guess in the long run is a good thing right? Katie loved feeding the ducks as well. Here is Northern Wisconsin the Canadian Goose is a protected species. In other areas though not so far away there is an actual hunting season for geese so I have to brush up on my different types. All I know is that along the entire road before you turn into the Wildlife Sanctuary there are signs posted that if you hurt a Canadian Goose it is a 500 to 1,000 dollar fine - you better believe I was watching out for these guys. Bella had so much fun though deciding which birds she was going to feed. At first she was all timid with the corn but by the end she was grabbing huge handfuls and whipping them like there was no tomorrow. She was walking around honking too just like the birds. One of them actually hissed at her and she said "don't you sass me." What a cutie!

Exploring her world

Little Olivia has been enjoying all the new found treasures in her life. It is so fun to watch her discover something new and then you can honestly see her trying to figure out how it works! It has been such a treat to watch her grow up these last few months by leaps and bounds :) Olivia is bound to do something amazing. This I have decided because the girl has no gear whatsoever. She will take the little red kiddy chairs in the living room, push them to the ottomans, climbs up on the chair, then the ottoman and then she climbs onto the entertainment center. Then she looks at you like... I am super cute- but now how do i get down? Her other favorite thing to do is to use that same red chair and climb up onto the play table- for real Via? She reminds me so much of her Uncle AJ its ridiculous... but no stitches yet ;) My little monkey (as seen literally by her cute little jammies) loves loves loves crackers. The funniest part is that she always needs to have two - one in each hand. If you try to give her only one she kind of turns her head to the side and looks at you like "really... I only get one?" And then your heart melts and I give in every time. I am still waiting for her to start talking. Now don't get me wrong- this girl can communicate! But she shrieks and squeals at such a pitch that it makes your ears ache... I am working on that. I am just so glad that all still have her in our lives with those little blue eyes (I think she may keep them) and those three little teeth (two on the bottom and only one on top).
little monkey

Headstart on Halloween!!!

Well its October- and you know what that means: Halloween is almost on its way!!! And in this family ---- its a very big deal. We have been going through the incredible costume supply that my mother and I have amassed over the summer and were trying to get some ideas together for the girls, namely Kyra. There were a few incomplete possibilities so this gave us a reason to hit the Halloween Supply stores- YES! We brought all the girls to the store and they had such a blast :) It was great to watch the little girls look around and a first they were unsure with alot of the decorations but I just kept trying to smile so they didn't get scared. Kyra is still afraid of the moving zombies and things but I guess I cant blame her for that- they are pretty creepy. Speaking of creepy... here is a shot of Olivia holding a huge bottle of Vampire Blood- somehow she makes this cute :)
Kaitlynn had fun trying on all of the different masks and being spooky. The trick was not to let her see the faces before she put them on because then she got freaked out! This was my favorite one- a Chucky mask! (which is a weird way is somewhat fitting for her)