Carving pumpkins on Halloween Eve

Looks like we might be starting a tradition with the Wiltshires...a fun one! The night before Halloween, the Wiltshires came over for pumpkin carving. Madison and Yara played with various tools - poking holes, etc. in the uncarved pumpkins, trying out every spoon or scoop-worthy utensil in the drawer - and helped pull out all the gunk so the daddies could get to work! Dylan and Team Jason and Elijah created two pumpkin masterpieces (Dylan = mummy; Jason/Elijah = man on fire?) while the girls watched a movie in their pjs (well, sort of...that was the idea at least). It was a great prelude to our big Halloween bash the next evening!

Witches, black cats, monsters and more!

I don't know what it is, but I love Halloween! Maybe it is because I am really a kid at heart and the idea of dressing up gets my imagination running wild...or because celebrating Halloween is like having a kick-off party for my favorite season of the year, which includes months of celebrations, TONS of great food and delicious DESSERTS, friends, family, presents!, Christmas lights!, Christmas music!, cozy evenings by the fire, hot chocolate, chili, warm clothes, and sooooo much more! I also really dig caramel apples (just ask all of our party guests who were forced to take five home with them since I made so many) and that could be a reason in and of itself. Just talking about it puts a smile on my face, and as I have learned from my dear sweet Madison, I find myself wanting to shout out "HOORAY" at the top of my lungs but that might get me some stares... :)

Anyway, back on track, as I mentioned, we had a big Halloween bash with a bunch of our friends, both new and old, and their kiddos, complete with a bubble fogger (huge hit with the kids!), strobe light/lightning and thunder sound effect machine, spider webs galore, gooey eyeballs that they kids got to throw all over the garage walls, silly string, candy corn races, pizza and every kind of dessert under the sun. When it got dark, we all went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Madison had trick-or-treating down this year, but the funniest thing was that before she would say, "trick-or-treat", she had to first tell the person that opened the door that, "this is my cousin, Landon". She just loves him so much! Afterwards, the guys played washers and the moms and kiddos had a dance party under the strobe light and fog bubbles. If you know us, then you know no party of ours ends without dancing and some washer playing. Hogue favorites. We had a really great turn-out and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves.

We didn't get any pictures on our camera at all, but do have some that friends have sent. Madison was a witch and her momma and daddy were... Well, you'll see, and if you have questions after seeing the pics, feel free to email me and I'll try to give you the most politically correct explanation. :)

Baby girl loving her new soccer ball...Mommy loving the sight of her and Daddy playing

Oldies (well...new to you!) but goodies

For some reason, I never posted these pictures (I don't think I did, at least..??), but love them! I am definitely slacking...

Afternoon at the lake: Dylan fishes while Madison has a photo shoot

This is her, "I'm done" pose. :)

Dress-up!

Oh Madi!

Just wanted to post a quick update before I head off to court for a big hearing we have this morning. What a week it has been already! Hopefully, if all goes well today, I will be home with Madison the rest of the week though. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, back to the real reason I am posting: MADISON, of course!

At the moment, we are pretty sure she is going through a growth spurt because she is scarfing down everything in sight! The past two nights, she has eaten every bit of food on her plate for dinner (she's a good eater for the most part, but this is not normal) and has asked for more, dessert, bedtime snacks, etc. Her mood the past two mornings has been a bit difficult, that is, until she gets breakfast, and then her whole life changes! Yesterday, as she was eating the cinnamon toast that put a huge smile on her face, she tells me, "God loves toast too! God is in the sky...and at church. And Daddy loves toast too! And Yara loves toast too." Too cute!

A couple of other funny moments:

I worked late last night (getting ready for this darn hearing!) and when I got home, Dylan tells me that Madison referred to him all night as, "Mommy's husband". For those of you who don't know the story behind this, Madison was a bit confused about her daddy's relationship with me - is he MY daddy too? No, he is my husband. Her usual response, "NO, he is MY husband." She must have given in and decided it is ok for him to be her daddy, and my husband. :)

Oh, yes, and if I haven't already bragged enough about how smart we think our Madi-girl is, here's more...

After showing her that I had her "Ariel" movie the other day, she responded, "Where's the wallet?" Where's the wallet? Ahhh...the case! Seriously, how in the world did she just draw that analogy between a wallet that holds daddy's cards and the case that holds her movie?!

Ok, I have more, but gotta run!

Our friend, Tara, bought Madison this shirt for her 1st birthday. I pulled it out the other day and realized it fits pretty good now. So, as I was trying to put together an outfit, Madison grabbed her zebra rain boots and insisted that she wear them. Not to bad, huh? I think we may have a little fashionista on our hands. :)

A heart of gold

I feel like I need to record some sweet moments before they escape my mind against my will (as so many things do these days!).

Just when I think we've lost control of our curious, sometimes stubborn, two year old, she reminds us how incredibly sweet she is and what a huge heart she has inside that little body. Tonight, for instance, as I was trying to get her to sleep, I laid next to her in her bed. (I don't normally do this, but she is sick and really made a fuss each time I even thought about leaving the room, so I caved). As I laid there, I patted her back and sang to her quietly, trying everything to get her to doze off to sleep. After singing 3 or 4 songs, I decided to just close my eyes myself, and just as I did, I felt her little hands rubbing my cheek and then heard her singing "You are my sunshine" to me in a whisper. What a perfect moment - one I just wish I could freeze and hold on to forever. Fortunately, Dylan and I get to experience these sweet little gestures quite often. She has recently made a habit of just stopping in the middle of whatever she is doing to come over and give us a kiss. When she does this, she gets in our face, puts her hands on our cheeks, and makes sure she lays it right on our lips. :) Sometimes she'll do this, then go back to whatever she was doing, and then a second later, turn around and do it all over again. So silly, but soooo cute! Love it!

"I want dentist to clean my teeth"

I don't know about you, but I have never heard that combination of words come out of a child's mouth...until we walked out of the dentist office a couple of weeks ago after Madison's first dentist experience and that is exactly what she said to me. She did so great and seemed to even enjoy it! I have to give the dentist's office and the dentist, herself, a ton of credit because they were fantastic - took so much time with her, explained everything, allowed her to play with the tools before they were used, and really made it a fun experience for her. And yes, I pulled out the camera for this monumental event. ;)

A little nervous at first...

Feeling proud. :)

Little of this, little of that

Some more funny things Madison is saying these days...

The other day I was getting ready in the bathroom and she closed the bathroom doors, then opened them up, peeked in and said, "Mommy, I got an idea". I couldn't believe what I had just heard! It was too cute. Seconds later she opened the doors again, peeked through the crack and said, "I have a question." Little smarty pants.

One night last week at dinner, Madison was standing in the chair as she normally does, so I told her to sit on her bottom so she wouldn't fall and she continued standing. Dylan then told her the same and she looked at him, looked at me, then tilted her head to the side and said, "Nooo guys". I almost choked on my food trying to contain my laugh! What a stinker!

The super sweet side...

She insists on giving Dori (her fish) a kiss every morning. Of course, she does this through the fish bowl. :)

When she isn't putting her babies in time out, she is showering them with kisses and this morning I heard her tell Ariel, "Oh Ariel, I...looove...you".

Now for some cute pictures. She is just too much! :)