Happy Halloween/ 11 months

Helen and Ella getting ready for their 11 month birthday

Ella and Helen playing

Alex is happy that his sisters are leaving him alone for the moment

Grandma gave new Halloween books to the kids - here's Helen touching the furry black cat

Grandma reading to her grandchildren

We took the kids with us when I had to get my hair cut this week. Helen wanted to be near me the whole time so she came with me to get my hair washed

Ella was not feeling well and was happy to stay in the stroller and not contaminate everyone

Grandma and Helen once Helen was willing to let me out of her sight

Ella wanted to check out the scene from the chair

Happy Halloween! Helen was a butterfly

Count Alex was a vampire (I tried to explain to him that vampires don't generally smile but he did not quite get it)

The butterfly in retreat

It was really hard to get the three of them to sit still all at the same time

Ready to go trick or treating! (Finally Alex is practicing his menacing look)

Even vampires need a break from their capes every now and then

Our beautiful butterfly

Ella was a ballerina - and she was on the move

Alex and Ella getting ready to go trick or treating

Once again our plans for this weekend got changed at the last minute. We were planning to go to Panama City Beach for the weekend and watch several of our good friends race in Ironman Florida (I've done the race once and Cecil has done it three times so it has a special place in our hearts - it is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. It is a huge undertaking so we wanted to be there to give our support for our friends). Early in the week Ella started getting the sniffles and it got worse as the week went on. I took her to the doctor on Thursday and it looked to be a bad cold. We decided not to try to travel with one sick kid and most likely another two on the way. Sure enough, by Saturday, Alex and Helen were sneezing and had runny noses too. Three babies are a blessing but when they are all three sick at the same time, it is hard to remember that!

Less than one month to go until their first birthday. I keep thinking back to a year ago at this time and what life was like then. Cecil was already in Kansas at Ft. Riley and my friend Chace had moved in with me to keep an eye on me. I was pretty much homebound except for going to the doctor. I was 7 months pregnant but measured like I was ready to pop at any moment. Last Halloween I managed to sit on the front porch and hand out candy for about half an hour before I was too tired to sit any longer. And even though it was about 70 degrees outside, I was sweating and needed my nice cool climate controlled house. Cecil and I thought how fun it would be to paint a big pumpkin on my belly and plant me on the front porch for Halloween. But when the day actually rolled around, just the thought of getting the paint from the store was exhausting. I'm pretty sure I was in bed by 8:00 on Halloween last year :)

This year we took the kids around the neighborhood for their first Halloween. I think they all were adorable but there is something about Alex in that cape that puts me over the top. The kids were a little disappointed that more people did not give out Cheerios, but they certainly got a lot of attention on the couple of streets we went down. Next year will be even more fun when we can teach them how to say trick or treat.