21 months, Baby Girl!

So I can basically say Riley Grace is "almost two." SNIFF! SNIFF! I know these last three months will fly by even faster than the last 21 have as we have entered the holiday season. Riley is currently loving all the turkeys she finds around the house and will take you on a Turkey Trot to point them out. 

Daddy measured her the other night and we discovered she's 31 inches! She weighs 24 pounds and is wearing size 24 months and 2T clothes. What is the difference between those sizes anyways? I think the length in the arms and legs?

Ri is putting words together a lot now to form sentences and questions. "Where's _______ (Bubba, Daddy, Mama)? "What's that???" (500 times a day). At least Jackson is there to help answer those questions. She is a doll baby, that's for sure. She is the sweetest girl ever--always concerned when she hears a baby cry, and tends to her own doll babies like a little mommy. She even burps them after their bottles! I love seeing her grow...I just wish it didn't happen so fast! 

Riley with her lovey, Cuddle Bear.
He normally stays home but we brought him with us
 to help Shyly Riley turn back into Smiley Riley.

P.S. a little sneak peek of our family photos by the amazing Ashley Perry Photography. She's been capturing us since Jackson was 9 months old. Love her. xo

A Pre-K Halloween Party!

 Fun day today in the Pre-K Land--it was Jackson's class party for Halloween! Another mom and I share the privilege of party planning this year so we brainstormed about a month ago, gathered supplies from other parents and Jackson's amazing teacher, and today we had a boo-tiful time with the four year olds and their siblings! Since I was working this event, I wasn't able to capture any of the crafts we had going on...but I'll include the ideas below so you can use, too!

Cookie station--Riley enjoyed this for 15 minutes. I should do this at home! We had the kids frost pre-made sugar cookies and decorate with Halloween sprinkles. 

Jackson was happy to have Riley in the classroom library with him!

Decorate a bag--the kids stamped and stickered their treat bags.

...which they then used for a Trick-or-Treat around kinder classrooms and the office. 

These friends helped Riley in the line for candy. 

"My bag?! Snack! Can-dee"

Ghost Bananas and Tangerine Jack-o-Lanterns: I drew faces on the tangerines the night before. I loved the idea I saw online, but didn't want to open 30 of these little guys on my own.

The kids LOVED these treats. They also had fun creating ghost faces on their banana halves--and the mini chocolate chips we used helped with their fine motor skills, too!

Creepy Popcorn Hands--Riley and Jackson enjoyed eating the popcorn.

Bat and Pumpkin station--I prepped these pieces so the kids only had to cut a mouth out or draw one for the bat after gluing the pieces on.

There's our office door -- handle on and painted! 

Tootsie Pop Spiders--these are always so cute! 

After the craft and food stations, the kids did their trick-or-treating while the parents set up the snacks. They ate their decorated cookies, banana ghosts, tangerine jack-o-lanterns, and cheese pizza. Oh, and celery and carrots for good measure. Then we had recess inside--Halloween Bingo, Halloween Bean Bag Toss, and Hot Pumpkin  (with Spookley the Square Pumpkin). That story is a MUST read, by the way!

Ms. Diane ended the party with a Halloween story and then some safety tips about trick-or-treating. She's such a great teacher. We are so happy to be in her class! The parents who volunteered today were all so helpful and we couldn't have done this without them as we had several stations and Halloween excitement was brewing. 

Happy Halloween to all of BOO!