Happy Halloween

 Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!

 Just good ol' 2 year old attitude! I love Violet's face!

 Even Parker had a chance to dress-up. Ashton picked this out too!

 Violet as a little bumble bee! With a little added support from big brother, Parker!

 Violet's having a blast! Can't you tell!!

Happy Halloween!! We only made it around one block but that is more than enough candy for Ashton. I was surprised how little people participate in the holiday and even how little trick-or-treaters we got! Maybe next year Ashton will be able to run from door-to-door yelling "trick or treat!" This year he timidly walked up to each door and held up his basket. Maybe it was because one of the 1st houses we hit up had a "scary lady" ie cackling witch!

Violet is crawling!

Oh my goodness! Violet is crawling! Tonight she actually took real crawling steps!! Ashton didn't crawl (for real) until he was at least 9 months old! Oh no!

Cutie Patootie Violet

 Check out Violet's new headband and bow! The poor girl's hair has basically all fallen out and has some impressive peach fuzz in it's place. I don't remember all of Ashton's hair falling out. Poor girl. In the meantime though, she can sport some adorable headbands and bows!

 To my surprise, she can actually sit up! I put her in a sitting position and she stayed!

Mark the Calendar!!

Ashton has gone on the potty all by himself!! Matt and I were in the kitchen while Ashton was playing. Next thing we hear is the bathroom door being opened. So I run into the bathroom and Ashton has taken off his diaper, put his toilet seat on the toilet and was sitting down! I had to turn the seat around so he could actually sit on it but he went pee!! Amazing!!

The Jerseydale Ranch Pumpkin Patch

 We went up into the mountains to find a pumpkin patch. We found one up past Oakhurst, near Mariposa. It wasn't quite the pumpkin patch experience we had in Virginia with the fall weather and all, but this was family owned, quaint, and tucked away in the mountains. There were definitely some HUGE pumpkins!

 Ashton was not in the photogenic mood today. Bummer because I could have gotten some great pictures!

 Weird warty pumpkins! They had so many different varieties!

 Ashton navigating through the hay maze. He did not think it was fun for very long.

 This poor chicken was chased by every kid who wanted to pet it!

 My attempt at getting a picture of the kids together.

 Big squeeze for Violet!

 I love her expressions... like what did you guys do to me?!

 A pretty good family picture!

 One of Ashton's favorites of the farm! The toys of course!

Creativity with Violet

 I found some fun pictures of babies in their cribs and decided to trial the idea with Violet. She kind of participated unwillingly but I think I caught some cute ones!

 If she could talk she would be saying "Why am I in this jail?"

 Happy now that she can see Mommy!

I don't think I ever posted pictures of her room. This is her little corner and a queen sized bed occupies most of the room in case of visitors! That just means they have baby duty in the middle of the night!

Super Secret Vacation to Seattle

 Pike Place - a very cool place where local vendors sell lots of cool things, the freshest most inexpensive flowers I have ever seen, fresh fish heaven, and the best farmer's market I have ever been to!

 Signs say this stuff is hand picked daily! It sure looks like it!

 A top the Space Needle! The highlight of our trip was eating on top of the Space Needle.

 My money shot!

 Times two!

 Feeding the birds!

 Of course, something for Ashton!

 We were so lucky! The sun came out in the middle of the day. Yes we experienced the rain that is Seattle's signature. I don't think we could have asked for a better day!

 We decided to hop on a ferry to visit one of the islands, Bainbridge Island.

The ending to a perfect weekend! I have a great husband who surprised me with a getaway weekend to Seattle. It was truly a great experience where we could spend some time alone without the kids. I sure did miss them though! Thanks Matt! I love you!