Boo!

Can you guess who?

Precious little shepard

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep,
and doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone and they'll come home,
wagging their tails behind them.

An extra special thanks to Mom, Dad, Nana and Aunt Sandi for all of their hard work and dedication in creating Ashley and Riley's costumes.

Here's my lost little sheep
This Little Bo Peep is as darling as a little baby sheep
Thanks for my awesome hook, Grandpa
Dear Lord, please let all of my lost sheep find their way home. Amen.
Smile Riley, we're having f.u.n.

80's never enough

Saturday evening we dressed up in our Halloween best and headed off to sing Happy 80th Birthday to Nana at her surprise costume/birthday shindig. There were witches, goblins, groupies, twinners and even Mouseketeers. I'm still not sure what Nana enjoyed more; getting all those gifts or continuously scaring Ashley with her authentic witch's cackle. Either way it was obvious she was having a great time, which was the purpose of the entire evening.
Happy birthday, Nana! I'm not sure Ashley will ever speak to you again, but I bet you could make her forget with a ride in the swing...

What cute twinnies!
Tell us, Jake, how do you really feel about another girl?
left-to-right
Gypsy Rose Lee (Aunt Sandi), Mouseketeer Melinda (Mom), Wanda the Wacky Witch (Nana) and Gabi the Groupie (Aunt Deb)
Nana scaring the pants off of Ashley
Why? BECAUSE WE LIKE YOU!
This isn't just my main mode of transportation, it's great for cleaning too
Great job on the cakes Aunt Deb
A midget witch, a twinner and a frog (cousin Ty) - sounds like the start to a great fairy tale
Aunt Sandi and her dirty old man
Haaaaaappy birthday
Now these are some teeth!
Mommy is taking those Twilight books a little too far
Hanging with Auntie A and her Korntucky Cutie - thanks for coming Ray
I'm just as cute coming as I am going
The family that haunts together, stays together. Happy birthday Nana!

I do

Saturday evening, after spending the afternoon taking Ashley to Where the Wild Things Are, we were excited to join our friends Nicole and Naas as they became husband and wife. Keeping true to her Walt Disney World employee roots, Nicole decorated the wedding in red, black, yellow and Mickey. Ashley was delighted to point out every single Mickey and Minnie Mouse ("A mouse! A mouse!") she saw, and was even more thrilled when she was handed her very own Mickey Mouse coloring book and crayons. Ashley lasted a few minutes into the ceremony, but page after page of Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto were just too much for her ("A mouse! A duck! A dog! A mouse! A mouse!"). Jake packed her, along with her goods, up and stepped into the foyer where a kind woman offered up the church's nursery as a safe (and loud) place for Ashley to play while we watched the ceremony.
It was a lovely ceremony and we say congratulations to Nicole and Naas!

A mouse! A mouse!
Creating my masterpiece
Daddy's forced smile - but Mommy says he was still the cutest guy there
Mm! Lemon cupcakes
Gooood stuff

Which witch is which?

One of the many great things about my parents is that they save everything. And I mean *everything*. So imagine how excited I was when they pulled out the Halloween boxes this year and sitting there was my very first costume. It's hard to imagine me wearing this when I was just 364 days old, walking (aka wobbling) all around, begging for candy. I wish I had the pictures to share so you could see it for yourself; gosh was I cute! But not as cute as this:

My broom isn't this hard to climb on
One whimsical witch
I'll put a spell on you
Abracadabra

Punkin pickin

As if Ashley weren't already spoiled enough, her Nana and Grandpa grew her a very special pumpkin. It won't magically morph into a royal coach, but she's never been one for glass slippers anyhow.

Presenting one gorgeous gourd
"Iss Sashley's!"
(roughly translates to: It's Ashley's!)
I'm never putting it down
Tractor chick
Plowing princess
Cultivating queen
Nothing beats puddle jumping
Mm! Graham crackers with homemade frosting, my fave
What's that? I got a little on my face?
Hm? I wonder where I get my blue eyes from?

Showered with gifts of love

As promised - pictures from Saturday.
Thanks to a lot of hard work by my loving and awesome sister and sister-in -laws, I was able to enjoy a wonderfully fun baby shower on Saturday. As always I was overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family. They had so many well wishes and beautifully packaged gifts for EB2 and even a few for Ashley, too. It's apparent our children will never go without! From adorable little sleepers, preppy outfits, books, toys and essentials, EB2 has a lot of cute and adorable goodies waiting for her.
Thank you to everyone who attended/sent gifts/well wishes/helped us celebrate the soon-to-be arrival of our 2nd edition. Your love and support amaze us and warm our hearts.

Auntie Barbara came all the way from Down Under to party
Thanks for my new chair Aunt Angie, Aunt Katie and Aunt Lindsay - it's the perfect midget size
They even bought one for my little sister so I wouldn't have to share (Aunt Katie is taking it for a test drive!) and the "I'm a Big Sister" book that I can read to her
Mm cake! Thanks for creating such a masterpiece, Mom
This is my piece - where's yours? Big Sisters Club picture with Auntie A
Party like a rock star, Momma
Squeeeeeeze me
Vegimite from Auntie Barbara - vomit!
...thinking to self...Oh boy. We're gonna have another teeny tiny one very soon. Gulp.
A book titled "Wide Awake Jake" - very fun Angie, Katie & Lindsay
Thanks for keeping the gifts coming, Lindsay
"Where the Wild Things Are" - one of my faves to bring home from the library as a little girl
EB2's first velor jumpsuit - maybe we'll call her Beyonce or EB2 From the Block
WARNING: Shawna do not view the following picture. :)
Sniiiiiiiiiiiiiff! Isn't pink Johnson's & Johnson's baby lotion the best?
"On the Night You Were Born" - such a great story, guaranteed to make you tear up because 'you are the one and only ever you'
Friends and family even brought me presents - I'm so spoiled
Who knew I had such crafty and talented family and friends - check out the adorable onsies they decorated for EB2
Jackson didn't believe me that Vegimite tastes like dead and decaying insects that rolled in poo so he took a taste for himself. All I can say is TOLD YA SO, JAX!
I'll provide the musical entertainment
Little sister got some cute new shoes - I bet she won't mind sharing with me
Another picture of The Big Sisters Club (thanks for my awesome ducky PJs Grandma!)
Katie's always camera ready
I love my family
This picture isn't from the party, but the day after. Ashley took off, quiet as a mouse, and before we knew it she was busy at work, at (on) the desk. When we finally caught on to what she was doing, she looked at us like "What? Can't you see I'm busy?"