Happy Halloween!

Last weekend we carved all the pumpkins we had gathered from the pumpkin patch. Van watched me start one of the big ones, but wanted to carve a smaller one herself. She scooped the guts out...

And carved her design. It took her a long time to do because she is such a perfectionist and wanted it to be just right!

Of course, Van thought mine was better, but I tried to tell her I've just had more practice. Van's looked very cool when it was outside and lit up.

Halloween weekend, Nana & Pop Pop came to visit and go trick or treating with us. They came a day early, so they got to spend all day Friday with Holly. She woke up from her nap with a fever, so she spent some time just chillin' out with Pop Pop while he read a book. Poor little thing; look at those cheeks! :(

When I got home from work on Friday, we got all ready to go trick or treating. Holly was feeling better and loved her traditional outfit that I got in Taiwan. The slippers even fit perfectly! Don't ask me how it was that she just stood at attention like this. It just happened.

For those of you who don't know my family, we used to be HUGE into Halloween and had the best haunted house in the town where I grew up. Pop Pop didn't want to miss out on the fun. He brought a had with pigtails for Van to wear, too. The braids remind me of Pipi Longstockings.

Finally, we were ready to head out. I'll tell you, the biggest difference in changing when daylight savings ends was that we were trick or treating in broad daylight.

It took Holly a couple houses to figure out the whole trick or treating process. She was shy about saying trick or treat at first, but got a hang of picking out her candy and putting it in her bucket! She is always great about saying thank you, of course. She was both curious and unsure about this ghost at a friend's house, but got a full sized candy bar out of the deal, so it was worth walking by that ghost!

At first, Van just stood back and observed the tradition, but was persuaded to participate by a neighbor. She ended up with quite a selection of candy bars, too. At Lance's house, she went over to hug their pumpkin in the front yard. Too bad they weren't home when we were trick or treating. I'm sure Holly would have loved to see fireman Lance.

After trick or treating, we went to the high school football game. Holly was fascinated with the little cheerleaders that have been at a "camp" all week with the big cheerleaders. The busy weekend continued with a volleyball tournament all day Saturday and then just relaxing with the family on Sunday.

As a side note, let me tell you how incredibly lucky I am to have such a great kid! Since I was running the volleyball tournament, I had to be there at noon and was there all day long. Holly only took a 1 hour nap (in the bleachers), ate far less than usual, and played or ran around a lot that day. She was such a trouper and I can't believe that she didn't have a meltdown until 9 pm. Fortunately, it was the last game of the last match, so I delegated some tasks and got the heck out of Dodge. The reality is, Holly will grow up around sports, so being ok with hanging out in a gym is a MUST. I am so blessed to have a go-with-the-flow kind of girl!

Here's my observation for the day: Holly loves the book "I Don't Have Your Eyes," by Carrie A. Kitze. As I read each page, she points to the body part that it is talking about. She really cracks me up when we get to the knees because she wiggles her kneecap back and forth (sorry to gross you out, Mom!). This kid loves books of all kinds and will sit still for 30-45 minutes while I read to her. Usually, I lose interest before she does!

Next week will be 1 year since I met Holly and we became a family. We will definitely do something special to celebrate Family Day!