Dear Santa...

The magic of Christmas would be nothing without a proper letter to Santa. 

There is something so charming about a letter to Santa that's only asking for two things.

We added the appropriate postage...

And sent it on it's way to the North Pole.

I have a really good feeling that my sweet girl is going to get everything she asked for.  And then some.

Decking our Halls

I am of the opinion that childhood should be magical whenever possible.  There should never be a doubt that Santa Claus is real, there is gold at the end of every rainbow, and pixie dust can be found, if only you look hard enough.  And there is no time of year that holds more magic than Christmas.

We began our yuletide preparation with - what else? - the tree.  Well, trees, actually.  I scored an adorable 2 ft. tree at Target for Ava's room, and let her have her pick of tiny decorations. 

Lila hung out and supervised.

Here's the uber-fabulous finished product:

Jealous?  You should be.

A few days later it was time to tackle the big tree.  Step 1: hit the tree farm.

"Hey Lady, get that branch off!" 
Yes, she said that.  Repeatedly.

Step 2: Bring that tree home and make it beautiful.

 

For the Lundstrom household, the magic of Christmas has officially begun.  

Front Yard Follies

It all starts when she points to the sidewalk and tells you to take a seat.  She issues a hearty, "Ladies and Gentlemen!", and then begins what I think is The Greatest Show on Earth.  It's a one-woman show with singing, dancing, audience participation, props - and I wouldn't miss a minute of it.  Here are a few visual highlights from last week's performance.

Halloweek

Nope, that title is no typo.  Since I was a kid, Halloween has gone from a single night of costume wearing and candy procurement, into a celebration the length of which is beginning to rival Hanukah.  We kicked off the festivities in downtown Littleton the Saturday before the Big Day, Ava making use of her favorite mode of transportation (her dad) to gather treats from the local merchants.

Yes, she was dressed as a princess.  If you're surprised by this choice, then you clearly have not been paying attention.

And the girl was good.  She zeroed in on whoever was holding the bucket of goodies, flashed a megawatt smile, and offered up her most polite "thank you" to each and every one.  She was a hit. 

Lila got in on the dress-up action too, but since she was covered in a blanket for the entire outing, all the good pictures were taken on the couch.

Sunday found us - same costumes, washed of the previous day's lollipop stains just in time - at Boo at the Zoo, Tuesday was Ava's Halloween party at school, and Wednesday was, of course, the day we had all been waiting for. 



"Oh yeah, I'm wearing this dress.  Now give me all your candy."

Lila got her game face  - and her mouse ears - on to help me hand out candy while Andy and Ava patrolled the neighborhood.

We'll be swimming in Halloween candy until Christmas, and the sugar high may last until Easter, but I'm loving that Halloween is a whole week now; think I can get away with doing this for our birthdays?

Pumpkin Decorating: Lady's Choice

When we were kids, pumpkin decorating was pretty straightforward.  You grabbed the nearest knife, hoped it was sharp, and hacked away at your pumpkin hoping to create something that resembled the face of a jack-o-lantern.  Now there are patterns, kits, characters - the possibilities are endless.  With 3 pumpkins to work with we had some choices to make, and once I hit the Halloween isle choice #1 became pretty obvious: jewels!

I spent 10 minutes following Ava around the front yard, bejeweled pumpkin in hand, while she decided where to put it.  After repeatedly explaining why the middle of the driveway was a bad idea, it eventually came to rest at the base of one of our trees.  We admire it every time we leave the house.

Lila supervised.

And Ava appreciated her input.

Choice #2 didn't require a trip to the store at all.  Paints, brushes, and glitter from the art bucket, and this creation was born:

The paint eventually became nothing more than a place to stick more glitter, which I think was a brilliant choice; everything is better with glitter.

Incidentally, our entire house is now covered in a fine layer of pink glitter that, unless we happen to eventually sell to a Las Vegas show act, is unlikely to increase the resale value.

Stay tuned for Choice #3. 

Fall is in the air...

It seems to happen overnight.  All of a sudden everything tastes better with a cup of hot chocolate, and the need to immediately bake anything that will make your house smell like warm apples and cinnamon is almost overwhelming.  You walk outside and the leaves have started to turn from green to gold, and blanket the ground practically daring you not to run outside and do this:

And the fashions?  I defy you to resist any time of year that necessitates a child looking like this...

How badly do you want to kiss those cheeks right now?

I'm sure you know by now that we will seize any excuse for an outing, and the yearly local pumpkin festival has quickly become one of our faves.  No matter how many hay bales you put in a parking lot, it just doesn't make a convincing "pumpkin patch". So I love that just a few miles from our house we can actually wander through a field and pull our pumpkins right off their vines.  It's muddy, and uneven, and almost impossible to pull our little wagon through - exactly what a pumpkin patch should be.  Throw in a few cheesy carnival games, a pony ride, and some tents selling cozy handmade hats and sweaters, and you have the perfect way to spend a chilly fall morning.

Ava was pretty sure the perfect pumpkin was that way.

We have a winner.  Just gotta kick a little of this dirt off.

And this is what happens when the "perfect" day turns colder than expected, and mom didn't bring along coats for anyone.  Look up "sad face" in Wikipedia; the picture should look something like this:

Somehow Lila slept through the whole thing.

Let the pumpkin carving begin! 

Saturday Night Fever

Saturday was Lucas' 1st birthday party.  Ollie, Brady and Ava decided to show him how to shake it up, preschool style.

I love that halfway through Ava seems to remember that she left something under the ottoman.

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Ava was born to be a big sister.  She's a natural leader, and doles out all the love needed to make Baby Sister her loyal subject.  One of her favorite games right now is to have me set Lila up in the perfect spot to watch her while she paints.  So every few days, Ava paints...

And Lila watches.

Fabulous.

And since I know I've been remiss the last few posts about sharing Lila pics, here's a bonus one just for fun.  Enjoy.