Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween friends and family!!   Our little city is nuts for Halloween, so it's been a great day of fun.   Trick or Treaters cleared out all of the candy we bought by 8:00, so we had to turn off all of the lights- much different from the 10 people who came last year!   Thanks to Nana and Grandad for helping pass out candy while we walked around, and to Heissel for coming with us.   The kids got your cards Lee Lee and loved them, thanks to you too!
Colbie- cow, Addison- elephant, Jake- Spiderman of course!

 Jakey and I sitting outside for trick or treaters, getting silly

 My fun team at work: we dressed in camo and had painted Ninja Turtle noses yesterday:

Boo at the Zoo!

We hadn't been up to SF Zoo in a really long time, so we when we heard about the cute "Boo at the Zoo" that they were marketing, we got all of the kids dressed up and went to see the animals.  Colbie and Addison are actually really interested in animals and animal sounds at the moment, so it was adorable watching their excitement throughout the zoo.  Jake was really excited about the Casper the Ghost song show, and insisted on waiting in line to give Casper a high five.

 

 

 

Halloween celebrations have begun!

We've had three straight days of costume dress up, and we can't wait for the real Halloween to arrive this Thursday!   Friday was Jake's school annual Fall festival where all of the kids dress up and play games.  Unlike every other four year old kid, Jake absolutely will not let us get a new costume this year- he is insisting on wearing the Bumblebee Rescuebot costume from last year, and possibly the Spiderman from last year as well.   So....he put it on again, and it actually fit perfectly this year.  I brought Colbie and Addison- both of whom wouldn't let me get the full cupcake costume on them, so here they are without the pink cherry hat that kind of pulls it all together.  The girls had a great time, primarily due to the cupcakes that were offered, of course!

 cupcakes:  of course, Addy stayed perfectly clean and Colbie ended up like this....

 

 Saturday Jakey was requesting some Mama/Jakey time, so after soccer we headed to downtown Menlo Park for their great Halloween festival and trick or treating down Santa Cruz Ave.  Jake turned down nearly every bowl of candy though, as he doesn't really like many kinds...nice for us!

Cousin Amy and Halle meet Jake, Colbie and Addy

My cousin Amy and her daughter Halle are in town visiting for the week, and neither of them had ever met Jake, Colbie or Addison.   We met up with them at a little pumpkin patch in Woodside and had a great time catching up.  It definitely made me a little sad that my kids will rarely meet and see the Fredrikson side of the family, as we're the only ones out here in California.  But Amy and Halle look gorgeous and happy and it's wonderful to have them here for a week!

 

 

 

Long walks...

We had a great day today, filled with lots of family time outdoors.  The girls want nothing to do with the stroller, and want only to hold Jake's hand.  Melts my heart....but boy does it take a lonnngggg time to get anywhere these days!!

Addy & Colbie are 1.5 years old!

We're pretty amazed that little Ms. Addison and Ms. Colbie are already 18 months old today.  They do seem to be picking up a lot of new skills and words these days, especially from big brother Jake.    We don't have our Dr. appointment for a couple of weeks, but here are some pics.

Colbie:  Little Colbie is quite the chatter box these days, pretty much repeating nearly everything that she hears.  She is incredibly adventurous and brave- climbs up on chairs and tables regularly, seems to have little fear exploring new things or places.  She has become a bit shy these days though around new faces, although she always has a smile on her face for those she is familiar with.  She is most definitely a morning person at the moment, and loves to sing and dance already.

Fav food: any meat or fish (crazy!), crackers, cheese, apples, yogurt raisins, and newest discovery is marshmallows
New words: there are too many to list, but here are a few that she uses every day now- airplane, toy, apple, socks, pumpkin, touch, bath, stop, open, up.  She also puts words together, with the most used being "Jake's toy", "Jake's shoes", "Bye Bye Jakey"
Fav activities: jumping, jumping, jumping, puzzles, books, Jake's scooter (much to the dislike of Jake), swings/slides at the park, dancing, spinning around getting dizzy, music
Biggest dislikes: anything in her hair (even though it is constantly in her eyes), diaper changes, being put to bed, large groups of new big people (ok with lots of kids though).
Other: She seems to be left handed,  and loves to eat with her fork and spoon all by herself.  And BOY is she a messy eater!

 

Addison:  Ms. Addy loves to throw balls and is equally adventurous as Colbie with the climbing on chairs/tables/windowsills/etc.  She used to be the shy one, but has become more outgoing recently.  Addy is the tough one of the girls, taking what she wants, when she wants it right now.  She loves to  do anything and everything that Jake is doing.

Fav foods: most veggies, olives, yogurt raisins, pasta, crackers, cheese, apples and oranges
New words:  spider, pumpkin, apple, airplane, stop, car, boat
Fav activities: running, playing catch, puzzles, dancing, climbing, reading, taking anything out of any cabinet, swimming, bath time, playing with cars
Biggest dislikes:  sharing, saying goodbye, getting in the stroller,
Other: Addy seems to be right handed, and definitely doesn't love to get messy very often.  She loves to wash her hands, but also loves to clean up the toy messes that are constantly all over the house (what a fantastic help!)