Happy Halloween!

The first Halloween trick-or-treating excursion was a success! The twins had so much fun, and it was so enjoyable as parents to watch this big milestone! We have been talking about our "kitty cat" and "monkey" costumes for several weeks now, so today was finally the big day.

This morning we visited Redmond Town Center to shop around... with costumes on, of course! The kids got lots of compliments and attention, so they started to figure out that this was a very good thing. Then add in a bit of free candy, and what could be better!? Tonight we visited about 20 houses in our neighborhood, and all of our neighbors loved seeing Drew and Hailey. Hailey was very insistent on holding the candy bag, and kept saying "I carry candy." Drew, of course, said hi to the neighbors quickly, and then was down the driveway ready for the next house. Ha! We have so many great friends on our street, so it was a great evening. Happy Halloween!

Smiles from Greta

Sweet little Greta is now 3.5 months old. She is growing so quickly, and is so strong. She can sit up on her own, and is babbling a ton. She is one smiley precious girl, and we love it! Drew and Hailey have grown so attached to her, as they talk about her constantly, and always give her hugs. Here are a few pics from today....

The world's muddiest pumpkin patch

Today goes down in the history books as one of the worst outings with the kids yet! Oh, it wasn't that terrible.... but let's just say we found the MUDDIEST pumpkin patch ever!

I wanted to take the kids to a farm that has a "Farm Tots" hour that includes a hayride, activities, etc. Well, first, my GPS unit got me headed to the wrong location... and then I found a construction site that blocked the road for exactly 15 minutes (yes!, that long!). So, alas, we were too late to do the Farm Tots hour, and so we just explored the other activities on our own.

We have had a lot of rain lately, and so there was mud everywhere that was about 6 inches deep. The pictures below are in the only places in the farm where we could even stand. Andrew does not like being dirty at all, so he was not happy! I had Greta in the baby sling, and I was crossing my fingers that I wouldn't slip and fall into a big mud puddle. We did manage to visit all of the farm animals, climb on the hay bales, and hug a few pumpkins. Hailey lhas such an adventuresome spirit, and she loved it; the mud didn't slow her down at all.

I ended the event with the classic 'Mom move' of making my kids take off all of their clothes before they got in the car. At least they aren't old enough to remember that... but they loved riding home in the car seats naked!



"Mom... I do NOT like mud"


This was about 30 seconds after we got out of the car... it got much worse after that!



"What the heck is a gourd??"

I am bound and determined to turn Hailey into a horse-lover like I am!

On the Train...

This past weekend we took the kids on a train ride on the Snoqualmie Railroad. It is a vintage train that goes through beautiful woods, and past a huge waterfall. With the fall colors, it was lovely. The kids loved it!

"Mommy.... Clean up!!"

This is what happens when you leave a 2-year old with a box of cereal. Hailey was begging to "read the box" while she was snacking on them for breakfast. Then I heard this noise... Uh-oh. When it was all done, she looked at me and said "Mommy! Clean up!!"

Greta turns 3 months old

Today is Greta's three month birthday! I have to say that she is the most delightful and EASY baby. I love her more and more every day, and I am so grateful for her sweet disposition. The twins adore her more each day, too, giving her kisses and hugs often. We are so grateful that God put her in our family. Here is a short video showing her these days...

Oh, also, she had her check-in with the pediatrician the other day. She is now over 13 pounds and 24 inches long. This puts her in the 90th percentile for both height and weight - she is much bigger than average. And the doc thinks she is going to be a tall girl. Those are the Erickson genes at work!

Hailey on the ferry

In September, we took a day to head to the beach... and we rode the ferry to get there. The kids loved it. Here is a montage of videos of Hailey running everywhere on the ferry!



p.s. You can view this video in full screen by clicking on the icon in the lower right hand corner of the video once the video begins playing

Piano Practice

Greg created this video of the kids in August, but I never posted it. I watched this last night and it literally brought tears to my eyes because I feel like my kids are growing up so fast! They are so precious and I cannot believe how grown up they seem at times!

Let's hope that they can play piano like daddy someday....

A ray of sunshine

Yesterday there was a lovely ray of sunshine falling in our sunroom. I snapped these cute pics of the kids... Have I mentioned lately how much I love being a stay-at-home mom? I am so in love with my three kids... I am so lucky that I am able to stay home with them!

Scotland

Well, I am happy to say that I survived. What? you ask? Greg just spent a week in Scotland for work.. and yes, I was on my own with three kids. Whew! We made it. We actually had a delightful week, full of activities and lots of fun. We had a few days of rain, and enjoyed a lot of down time in the house, reading books, baking muffins, and playing with our toys. Greta is actually the easiest of the three kids, and she was so great for sleeping 10+ hours each night.

Greg had a wonderful time in Edinbourgh, and enjoyed the time with his coworkers. He saw some great sites, visited a Scotch Whiskey factory to learn how it is made (something he might need to do someday?), and did some rock climbing, too. He also did some fantastic shopping and brought back these cute soccer jerseys for the kids. Good job, daddy!

Oh, and I just snapped these two pics of Drew, because I think these new pajamas of his are hilarious. I found these at the Carter's outlet for $10, and I snatched them up. If you know Drew, you know his unquenchable addiction to CARS. So, I think he might be a racecar driver someday.. and here is his outfit!

Where's the baby?

Hailey is really into her baby dolls this week. She carries them everywhere, and says "Mommy, play dolls... sit down... right here... riiiiiight now." She is very tender with them, and burps them, sings songs to them, gives them bottles, etc. She will be a good mommy someday.

This morning, while she was waiting for me to play dolls with her, she decided that Greta might be a better playmate. This is how I found them!! I think she thinks that Greta is just one of her dolls!