Almost 2 and reminiscing

Addie turns 2 in less than a week and maybe because we have a move coming up (moving date November 14th) or because I'm pregnant, but man am I emotional about Addie turning 2! The other day, Addie and Reese were playing at Fort Ward park, a playground we frequent around here, and because I was looking through my cell phone pics earlier that day, I realized that the girls had played there in the same place exactly a year prior.

So I present to you:

October 30, 2008


Addie had just learned to walk the previous week or so, so she was still doing a lot of sitting back then
And October 30, 2009



And some more pics that Megan took on Tuesday at the same park




How is it possible that our girls are almost 2? I know that other parents have told me that time flies, but...wow...I had no idea :)

Halloween 2009!

So the story of Halloween 2009. As you probably know, Steve and I have been dressing as a theme for Halloween for all but the first of our 10 years together, from Homer and Marge, Mario and Luigi, Tigger and Pooh, Calvin and Hobbes, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, etc. When Addie joined in the festivities last year, we continued the tradition as Yoda, Princess Leia and Han Solo

So since I'm pregnant this year, thinking it would be fun to incorporate the soon to be Silvestro in the costume, I came up with the following: Addie would be a cupcake, Steve would be a baker, and I would be an oven...with a bun in it :). I bought a cute cupcake hat from ebay and embarked on completing the rest of our costumes.

On the morning before I took the above pictures, I made the mistake of showing Addie the album of pictures of all our past Halloweens and she saw us as Calvin and Hobbes. See, though entirely inappropriate for an almost 2-year old, we read Calvin and Hobbes to Addie--she loves the pictures and the silly faces that Calvin makes. The minute she saw that pic...she became convinced she should be Hobbes for Halloween. "Addie! Hobbes! Hall-ween!" "No, Addie, you're going to be a cupcake." "Noooo....HOBBES!" So I spent the good part of a week trying to convince her otherwise, dressing her up in part of her cupcake costume (see above) and telling stories about Addie as a cupcake for Halloween, but the girl is stubborn, and there are a lot of battles in casa Silvestro and this was honestly one I did not want to fight. So a couple of weekends ago we found a cute and reasonably priced tiger costume, and this week I bought some felt and fashioned a stuffed Calvin doll so she wouldn't be just a plain old Tiger.

Before we dressed up for the day, we had some halloween fun at home. Addie's ever-faithful sleep companion Hiccup decided to join in the festivities and dress up too---in the clothes that her second-ever-faithful sleeping companion Oliver sometimes wears.


Addie with Hiccup dressed up as Oliver the doll

We went to a halloween party in the morning with friends from my mom's group, but with the crowds, Addie was in kind of a....mood :)


After nap we went to Addie's friend Wyatt's house to spend time with his fam & Reese's fam, and we hit Wyatt's neighborhood halloween bash.

Here's the official family photo at Wyatt's house


Reese as a Kangaroo and Addie

The dads at the neighborhood bash: Wyatt (also a tiger!) and his Daddy, Reese and her Daddy, and Addie and her Daddy

All in all we had a blast. We weren't home much to get trick or treaters, but we had some candy stashed away. Somehow (probably since we didn't actually go trick or treating--it was raining part of the evening and then it got too late) we got away with not giving Addie any candy, but then this morning, she saw the bowl and since it wasn't close to nap time, she got a mini reeses cup.

Addie's response. "Addie like it!"

Already a good big sister

A few recent conversations with Addie:

Me: Putting Addie's coat on to go outside

Addie: Mommy coat too

Me: I should put a coat on too, huh?

Addie: (putting hand on my belly) Yeah...baby warm

(awwwwww...)

She felt the baby kicking the other morning, which was very exciting. This morning, she was lying on the floor and had her hands on her tummy (she thinks she also has a baby inside her tummy) and we had this conversation:

Addie: Baby kick!

Me: Did your baby kick?

Addie: Yep. Mommy baby kick (pointing at my tummy)

Me: (I lie down next to her and put her hand on my tummy) No kicks, huh? Maybe he's a asleep.

Addie: No sleep. TV.

Me: Who's watching TV?

Addie: Baby!

Apparently, my body is well equipped for media entertainment in there ;)

Keep an eye out for a halloween post soon!

He's already a self-soother!

maybe this one will be a better sleeper than Addie--he already knows how to suck his thumb :)

Random photos

Since many of our blog posts have a theme that we follow, often there are a few shots from the camera that don't make it onto the blog, but I still love them! So here are a few leftover photos from the summer and now the fall, in no particular order or "theme," here they are!


Playing in the sand is a serious job, people

When we first started playing "beans" it was just a big pile of beans in a bowl. Now it has become way more sophisticated

Addie is quite the diva, and our friend and actress Erin has taken Addie under her wing to show her the ropes....mmmmmm.....

MWAH!

Helping mommy cook

Helping mommy update the blog

Just being a cutie-pie

And there's nothing like hanging out with your friends!

Addie and Reese playing under Addie's "fort"

And mudging on the couch


Addie and Maya playing "hats"

Addie sharing a swing with Oliver, Chase is looking on in the background

Addie and Anne holding hands at the playground...can we all say "awwww...."

Last year we hit Cox Farms for some fall-festival-fun. Looking back at the pictures, I can't believe how little Addie was just a year ago! It was right before she started walking, she barely said anything, and had practically no hair. Now she's running, climbing, talking up a storm, and creating general mayhem with that she-mullet of hers. This year I heard about the Pumpkin Playground in Burke, which is a good 20 minute closer than Cox Farms, so....the shorter drive won the coin toss.

We had a lot of fun! We looked at ourselves in funny mirrors

"Drove" tractors

Went down big ol' slides (she liked it better this year, but didn't want a second-go)

Found something she does at every playground--the swing (for someone who has as many fears as Addie, this girl LOVES to be pushed high on the swing)

My silly goof #1
...and #2 :)

If you've been around Addie recently, you know that she knows all her colors, but her favorite color is YELLOW...so she was excited to score the yellow horse on this 3-horse merry-go-round.

We went on a hay-ride! Not much hay, but it was fun!

We sat in a Tee-Pee and heard stories and sang songs with tribal Elder Mama Mary

Dug for treasures in a big old sand pile

And we got to pick out pumpkins to take home! Here are Addie and Daddy picking out the perfect pumpkin.

How's this?

Notice that the pumpkin Addie left with is much more "yittle"--she traded out just as we were leaving.

Gotta love that fall fun :) Definitely will be a family tradition!

Addie's first cooking lesson: Halloween Cookies

Addie's first cooking lesson! Okay, folks, this is how you do it...


First you have your mommy put all the ingredients in a bowl

And you stirrrrrr it up.

Then you take the one halloween-themed cookie cutter they had in all of the party store (which is where your mommy went when your grocery store didn't have any...all the time thinking she should be going to Target but doesn't want to get sidetracked in the toy section) and PRESS it into the dough.


Put it on the tray and have your MOM put it in the hot hot oven for 8 minutes.

Help your mom decorate cookies by eating the sprinkles...


And licking the frosting...

And eating more sprinkles....



Then pass out on couch with Daddy from sugar-coma