CORA'S 1st HALLOWEEN

Cora had her first Halloween last week! As much as I had hoped that it would a magical event, she had other ideas. I had grand plans to get everyone dressed up and trick-or-treat at the neighbor's houses, she thought it would be a good night to go to bed at 6:15 PM.

my pumpkin / cousins / irvin / andrew's jack-o-lantern

So while I spent far too much time working on and stressing about her chicken costume (and our themed accompanying costumes*), I might have been better suited to stick with the $5 hot dog costume I bought on a Facebook swap group. I totally could have been mustard and Andrew would rock the hot dog vendor outfit. I guess you live and you learn... babies just don't appreciate Halloween as much as they should.

we like to sing a song about cat pants, it goes like this...
"cat pants... ch,ch,ch,ch,ch. cat pants... ch,ch,ch,ch,ch." 

Either way, Andrew and I spent the evening enjoying some fall brews, carving pumpkins, watching The Shining, and handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Bonus: Irvin dressed up like a lion and the kids loved it. So, I guess it wasn't the worst Halloween ever!

*which we didn't even get a picture of, and I might make us get dressed up just for the photo opp because I made her chicken pants, damnit!

LITTLE PUMPKIN

This last weekend, Cora experienced her first trip to the pumpkin patch! Vala's Pumpkin Patch is a popular October destination, and we were excited to share this with her.

Although Cora isn't old enough to really experience all that this place has to offer, I think she still enjoyed herself. Cora loved looking at all of the animals and sleeping. Andrew and I enjoyed a delicious piece of triple berry pie and the beautiful weather. It will be fun to see how her (and our) experience changes as she grows!

Thanks to our friends Matt and Jenny for asking us to tag along!

MUSTACHES FOR KIDS

Andrew practiced the whole month of April

Well, he is at it again! Do you remember when he initially grew a mustache for Steve and Amber's wedding? I don't know if it will be that epic, but it will be worth it.

mustache throwback

This year, Andrew is participating in Mustaches for Kids. Mustaches for Kids is a local nonprofit that recruits male growers in the month of May to grow mustaches and raise money for a local children's charity. This year, that charity is Youth Emergency Services!

I'm really excited to have Andrew jump on this bandwagon, and I'm even more excited that YES is the Charity Partner of the Year! It's really a win for everyone.

If you want to support Andrew's face, follow this link - http://bit.ly/YESMustaches - to make your donation. A gift of any amount gets his that much closer to the coveted Selleck Society (he gets a fancy button, ok?)

MAY 2016 UPDATE

baby bump / irvin / erin in a box / LNA meeting

Reading: The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz. I have to say that when I initially started reading this, I was very skeptical. I felt like the book was a cheat because it wasn't written by Stieg Larsson. Additionally, the book was hard to start. Lots of foreign names, new characters, etc... I'm now 3/4 of the way through, and I really am enjoying it. As it goes on, it feels more and more like it fits in with the series. 

I also halfway finished Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee before I had to move on. I was dreading reading it because the story is so slow to progress. Lee passed away while I was in the middle of it, and I will finish because I feel a sense of obligation. I don't think it will be one of my favorites unfortunately... 

Watching: 11.22.63 on Hulu was fantastic! I didn't think I would actually get into it, but it really was engaging. We are now flipping between Master of None and Last Man on Earth (I don't even know how/why we started that one). Of course we are all caught up on Girls, and anxiously await Sundays for Game of Thrones. YAS!

Listening to: The Lumineers recently came out with a new album, and it's been on repeat. We also have gotten addicted to Chris Stapleton - so good! Now if only we could find reasonably priced tickets to his sold out show on July 1. 

Thinking about: When is this baby going to finally come?!? Yesterday was my due date, and I'm getting very impatient. This baby is taking up all of my insides and it has become very hard to sleep, walk, eat, and breathe (you know, the essentials to maintain life). 

Loving: Working on the house! Andrew and I have been in baby prep mode which did wonders for the nursery. We even got a new dining room light fixture and are working on improvements to the windows. 

Looking forward to: Summer. Andrew and I will be on family leave for most of it. I can't wait to meet the little person we made and enjoying the warmer weather as a family. 

Making me happy: Sunshine! It has been so dreary the last few weeks (thanks, April), and I love the sunshine and warmth that May has brought so far.