Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a so much fun this year. Alma really got into the spirit of Halloween and talked about it for weeks before. In celebration, we made these cupcakes to take to her daycare and share with her friends. She loved these "men" as she called them. Alma is not big on smiling for pictures but she was so proud of these!

Daddy was out of town again this year thanks to a yearly conference that always takes place on Halloween (Boo!) so we spent the evening with Auntie Amanda and Uncle Chris. It was wonderful to have the extra help and Alma loves hanging out with these guys.

Alma was a ballerina, fairy, princess something. I just bought her a tutu and tiara with a wand and used the wings that Grandma Schmidt gave her. She loved the outfit so we both were happy.

It took her a while to get the hang of trick or treating but once she learned that candy was involved here motivation changed pretty quickly.

She loved the Halloween decorations and folks in Kaneohe go all out. There were so many kids out and so many houses were decorated.

Some houses were a bit more intimidating than others but she was a good sport about it.

Thanks Auntie for all the piggy-back rides...Mommy was just not up to it (plus I had to include a picture with those beautiful Koolaus in the background).

Baby boy was also of course along for the ride. He makes a great pumpkin, huh?

Just catching up....

I thought I would post some pictures of Alma just being Alma since we haven't posted anything in a while. She is growing like crazy. We can't believe how much she is talking and engaging us in conversation. She is sweet, fun, opinionated, strong, and absolutely amazing.

She loves to be in the kitchen doing almost anything. She of course loves to "cook" but she also likes doing the dishes and helping clean up.

Lots of birthdays over the last month which mean fun birthday parties.

There have also been a lot of "firsts" around here lately. This may not seem like much to most folks but Alma fell asleep on the couch the other day completely on her own. Our child has never in her whole 2.5 years ever fallen asleep on her own (except in the car). We were both amazed!

Also her first bowl of cornflakes. Alma has never been a big eater but over the last month or so her appetite has really picked up.

We also were gifted bath crayons for the first time. As you can see we all have enjoyed these! Alma loves making these special bath time creations.

Waimanalo Pumpkin Patch 2013

We headed out to Waimanalo today for the annual pumpkin patch.

This takes place at the Waimanalo Country Farm, a family owned operation that is so much fun for kids. Alma really enjoyed the Petting Zoo.

Especially when it came to telling the animals what to do.

She absolutely loved the "cow ride".

And the "hayride" (with no hay) with Mommy and Daddy.

(not actual tractor from hayride but liked the picture)

But this is also where she started to wind down....

Really fun day with our girl.

Catching Up

We had a very busy summer but are getting back into the groove of work, teaching, etc. We had one of our favorite German house guest for a month in July/August so we had lots of distractions. We thought we would just post a few pictures from our summer to get you all somewhat caught up.

Alma absolutely loved Martin this visit. They play and fought like siblings. I suppose this was good training for her. 

We have been spending a lot of time outside. With no AC it is much cooler outside and Alma really likes getting out and about. 

Alma is also a wonderful assistant. Regardless of what we are doing she wants to be helping - she is surprisingly good with laundry, cooking, cleaning. Lets just hope her interest maintains. 

She also just likes to get into things. Like our clothes, shoes, whatever interest her in the moment. 

We spent a lot of time in the pool this summer. It has been really hot here (more than normal) so we needed quick cool downs a lot. 

Thought I would also share a few of Alma's favorite things right now. Alma carried around these very small toys for about 2 months. She did everything with these in her hand - slept, ate, bathed everything!

Next we have an outdoor buddy of hers. This belongs to one of the neighbors and absolutely loves this. Unfortunately as with anything metal in Hawaii, he will not be with us much longer.

Alma's Cooking Conversation

Too cute not to share....Just love my kitchen side kick.

Alma's Surprise

Alma has a pretty big surprise to share with everyone.

She's going to be a big sister!

I'm about 19 weeks and Baby is due December 10th.

Teja's Birthday Party

We celebrated Teja's birthday day. She's one of the neighborhood kids that Alma runs around with. After being cooped up inside with a cold for five days, Alma was so excited to get out and play with everybody.

Our friend Rina (Teja's Mom) went all out. Spaghetti lunch, awesome cake and so many games. First we had water games which included a baby pool, water guns, and water balloons. After a few tips from Dad, Alma was going after the big kids with a water gun. This kids got great aim!

There was a "eat the M&Ms out of a pile of whipped cream" game.

Which quickly turned into a pie in your face game. There's Ms. Teja, the birthday girl : )

Alma wasn't too crazy about the whipped cream but she gave it a try.

Happy girl!

Then we had eating donuts off a string. Alma got smart and just found out where the donuts were stashed and ate her fair share.

After the big kids raided Alma's baby pool she decided she was done with sharing.

She found her own personal pool.

Not going to share this one.