Hope it was happy!!!

We started our Halloween by going to Sophie's friend...Piper's Dora themed birthday party at a park. 

Here's Sophie as Swiper and Channing as a pink pirate sliding down the bouncy. 
  
And here's Sophie with the birthday girl...Piper.  http://www.dropshots.com/davealicesophie#date/2009-10-31/10:27:58  
Sophie's turn at the pinata... 
Happy 4th birthday Piper!  
Dad waited til' Halloween to carve his pumpkin. 
Meeska-mooska Mickey Mouse! Didn't he do a great job?  
  Here we were...peacock mommy, peacock princess and baby peacock out trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.   
And here are the girls checking out their treats afterwards! 
Chowing down... Don't you love the way peacock squats??? They are so super crazy happy right now with their treats.  
Fun times!    AND...earlier this week...  

Here's Lexie at parent-toddler preschool this week celebrating Halloween by dressing up in a costume for class.

 How cute are these little costumed creatures doing art work???  

 During gym-time Peacock Lexie had to adust her wings to get into the little playhouse.   She loves playing peek-a-boo with the shutters. http://www.dropshots.com/davealicesophie#date/2009-10-28/08:54:02 
Isn't this hilarious?  Peacock baby can get around!  I love how she adjusts her headpiece at the end of the video. The moms were so surprised at her balance in this costume.Check her out holding 2 balls and a wipe she wouldn't let go after I wiped the ink off her hands.
 She fluffed out her feathers and went up to the front of the class so she could try being teacher's pet...   Haahahaa! 
  Attempt at a group picture... 
Lexie's friend Emerson and her mommy brought a fun snack to share with the class.  Pumpkin bread, cheese (one shaped like a pumpkin), crackers and mandarin oranges with festive napkins and plates.   Thanks for the yummy snack!   

Aren't these tiny cups so cute?  1 year olds drinking out of teeny tiny cups...adorable!
  Kids went trick-or-treating around the class for non-candy items brought by the mommies... Lexie got lots of goodies (goldfish crackers, decorate a pumpkin art project, a Halloween memory game, harmonica, socks, fruit treats, a silly pumpkin straw, play-doh, orange toothbrush with black bristles and a plastic apple with stickers).  So cool!  Such great treats!     Friday was crazy hair day at school for Sophie.  She wanted to wear her Hannah Montana wig ---so I sprayed sparkles in her hair in case she wanted to take the wig off during art/snack/playground time.   Lexie always gets a kick out of Sophie in her wig.
 The kids were practicing writing the letter "g" in shaving cream on the table when we first got to class in the morning.  Lots of cool and crazy hair-dos! When Lexie and I went to pick Sophie up at school...Sophilicious still had her wig on.  She told me that she even did somersaults with friends in the playground!  I can't believe she kept it on the whole time.  Finally when we were about to leave the school, Sophie took her wig off and one of her classmates (a boy named Lukas)...came up to Sophie and said..."Sophie!!!  I didn't know that was you!!!"  Muhahahaaaa! Sophie's been cracking up about that and telling me to tell this story to everyone!    While Sophie is in preschool...Lexie and I run errands and play together.   She really enjoyed checking out Sophie's "Hannah Montana" make-up/jewelry box (my old make-up brushes, a few Strawberry Shortcake lip balms, and songs written by Sophie...as "Miley.") Look at her so excited about putting lip balm on like a big girl.


  Here she is checking herself out in the mirror. I guess she had to make sure she looked perfect.   She is such a crack up!!! Don't worry.  We put the box back exactly where she found it.  No drama.     
At dance class this week, Sophie's dance teachers and friends all came in costume.  Her teacher Ms. Jana laughed so hard when she saw Sophie and started singing..."Party in the USA."   But that's Miley, right? So confusing! Anyways...everyone looked so adorable and one of her friends told her mom that she didn't think Sophie came to class at first until Ms. Jana did roll-call!  Hahahaha!    


Lexie hangs out in the patio while Sophie dances and usually tries to do what the "big boys" --- aka little brothers of the girls in class are doing while waiting for their sisters.  They bring trains/trucks/cars and roam around making vehicle noises... Lexie brings books, brochures, snacks and little toys...and watches what the boys are doing so she can copy them... This week she brought her Littlest Pet Shop toys and had her seahorse and ladybug skateboard around the table benches and chairs. All the moms just love her.    She may be a wild one but she is really a good girl hanging out back in the patio while Sophie takes her class.
  AND... We got our disc from our photographer this week...so here's some pictures for those of you I didn't get a chance to email a slideshow to earlier... 
  

Thanks to our wonderful photographer, Alison.

These are some of my favorites. 

Awwwwww....
   Ahhhhhhhh!Watch out for those giant waves!!!
 Can you see the seagull in the background? 
  
 Love love love this one.
  
   
 Girls dancing on the beach in their fluffy puffy tutus!Lexie looks like she's saying..."hey give me some space so I can dance!"  http://photographybyalison.com/

MORE FALL FUN!!! 

It was fun to use Sophie's old peacock costume again. Here's Lexie the peacock. I love this peacock costume because its so bright and fun.  Doesn't remind you of an extravagant Miss Universe outfit? The 3 following pics are of Sophie when she was a 13 month old peacock.   
Here she was getting tips on how to score lots of candy... 

This was one of my favorite pictures and still is.  Sophie and her little gymboree friends were staring at each other in their little costumes wondering why they all look so different that day...  And here was Sophilicious (3 years ago) being saved by Superdad! 
 Introducing Sophie as Hannah Montana...  Sophie is big time into Hannah Montana right now.  Her good friend Olivia introduced it to her before she moved away to Boston and her new little best buddy from school...Channing, the youngest of 3 girls...talks about HM all the time.  Both of them have older sibs so they've been introduced to HM early on and now Sophie's been exposed and is now the biggest fan.   Have you seen the movie?  Its actually pretty good.  It brings my pregnant friend to tears each time she watches it with her daughter.     
Usually we brick-or-treat at Legoland when its dark out but we decided to check it out during the day this time.  Its not as spooky but definitely less crowded.    Sophie went as "Ro"  --- Barbie in the Island Princess Movie...Here she is with Legoman.    Sophie's a great little photographer.  She wanted to take a few pics of me...so I said sure but..."Sophie...make me look good!"    She took this one too.  And the moment...Sophie's been waiting for...brick-or-treating!!!   Check out Lexie barely able to peek out under that peacock head!   She was still great at following Sophie down the trail...  BUT..."NO THANKS" to the apple!  Peacock wants candy!   (She actually likes apples.  I took this when she was trying to adjust her costume.  But it does look like she was saying..."no thanks," right?)LOL  Happy to be free to run around...and climb up on things without her fluffy feathers...Lexie enjoyed a box of raisins while Princess Sophie rode on a rollercoaster with dad.   http://www.dropshots.com/davealicesophie#date/2009-10-24/12:36:46 
 Sophie was excited about seeing a new princess at Legoland that day.  She came back after the rollercoaster telling me to grab the camera and that she was going to meet a new princess with gold hair.  She asked this princess what her name was and she replied..."Lily."  Sophie asked me why all the princesses at Legoland are named Lily?   She's been checking out her Disneyland pictures in our photo albums...comparing the princesses from our various visits and asking me why the same princess looks different.  For example:  Ariel from the visit to Ariel's Grotto 2008 and Ariel from the visit to Ariel's Grotto 2009 are different girls...  I told her that the princess are growing up just like herself and that she looked a little different last year too.  How do I burst her bubble and say that there are lots of different people dressed up as the princesses each time we go to Disneyland?  Should I just flat out tell her the truth now???  I wanted to go on the rollercoaster too so here we are in line waiting for our turn.  I like this picture because she does look like a little princess in her castle.   
Sophie took these 2 pictures too.      ALSO... Sophie and I used Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake & waffle mix to make pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chips Saturday morning.  They were delicious!   

And here's our creepy pumpkin pie we made together.Daddy and Lexie loved it.   Sophie just likes the whip cream we squeeze on top of our pie slices.  
These were pumpkin muffins with milk chocolate and white chocolate chips made by Sophie and me as Lexie watched... And yes...we are pumpkin crazy right now.  Because we likey likey FALL and we likey likey pumpkin stuff!!!  Sophie wanted to throw a Halloween Party so she made invitations for Dave, me and Lexie.  We were told to come in costume. She set up decorations all around the living room...and some crayons, markers, and paper in the middle of the room so we could do an arts & crafts activity. 
This is what we came up with...We traced our feet and turned them into little ghosts... Daddy the vampire made an appearance and took some pics but rushed off due to fantasy football.  
Sophie then decided to try on all her old costumes for fun. Can you believe she can still squeeze into the peacock?  I know ---some pics are repeats from Facebook albums & posts but...I have to keep these xanga posts up for my family and friends near and far that don't facebook...I was just told I haven't updated xanga for awhile and I just realized I didn't post our painted pumpkins here so here they are for those who care...  My spooky pumpkin painters...

Artist-in-training...
Sophie's theme was Barbie and the Three Musketeers...this year.  Can you tell which one is Barbie?Didn't she do a great job???  Sophie suggested that I paint my pumpkin a "Twilight" theme. This is for all you Twilight fans...      We still have to get Dave to carve his pumpkin so we'll post a picture of his later with some more pics of Halloween events and activities to come... 
 
  Here are our girls at Sophie's school Fall Festival... 
Sophie got her nails done at one of the booths...   Pinkalicious!
Sophie asked for a pumpkin on one cheek and a ladybug on the other cheek at the face painting booth.  
 Lexie wanted a ladybug on her hand and sat so still while the lady painted her a little ladybug.  Lexie loves ladybugs.   
Here's Sophie with her favorite teacher...Ms. Kim.  
http://www.dropshots.com/davealicesophie#date/2009-10-17/11:20:28 
 
These are the pumpkins Sophie and Lexie decorated at the pumpkin decorating booth.Aren't they cute?  And we got to celebrate Sophie's friend Kylie's 4th birthday at CPK.  The little ones made their own pizzas and had a tour of the kitchen!Aren't they adorable in their little aprons?   Sophie with the birthday girl...Happy Birthday Kylie!We had a great time! And sorry to Abby for missing your party (same time~same day).  Still hoping to see your party pics! 
Sophie mashed all her toppings in but it sure did taste good.   
And since its still October...I'm still celebrating my birthday...kinda sorta...Auntie Yvonne, Amanda, and Jalen took me and the girls out for my birthday today. She offered a fancy brunch at one of my favorite places but b/c of all our kids...I thought Ruby's would be perfect and the most kid-friendly.  And they have the perfect sized little soft serve cones, fries and diet cherry coke!!! Thanks so much!!!  Its always nice to be loved...  Finally...today Sophie and I were flipping through a toystore catalog we got in the mail today and we spotted Lexie on page 3!!! 

 You can get Lexie on a box (and a cute tummy-time mat) for your friends with newborn girls for Christmas!     
What a deal, right???

Busy Birthday Week with Aunt Grace...

Sophie was so excited that Aunt Grace was able to come down to hang out and celebrate her 4th birthday this past week.   
Sophie wanted to play dress up so she got into her new Barbie and the Three Musketeers costume that she picked out at TRU when Aunt Grace took her birthday shopping.  Lexie wanted to put on the dress Sophie took off.    We brought "Princess Sophie" cupcakes to church on Sunday to share with Sophie's bible study friends. They loved eating Sophie cupcakes and thought it was funny having "Sophie in their belly."Thanks Amanda for the singing princess balloon! 
  After church we went to the SD Zoo.
 Don't these snakes look ferocious?
 
 Lexie loved pointing out all the different animals on our bus tour.
 Lexie's favorite animal...(the elephants) have a brand new space.  You should check out their new home.
 
These bear cubs put on a show by wrestling with each other before heading into their little cave.
 
   Here's a few pics from playground time at Lexie's 2nd day of school.

  We got to take Lexie's first school art projects home and hang them on our front door.  Our neighbors love Sophie's art projects.  Now Lexie can be proud of herself by displaying her art work too.  

 Aunt Grace loved watching Sophie in dance class. Since Thursday morning was Sophie's actual birthday...we took birthday cupcakes to share with her dancemates after class. 
 
Next stop was baby Emma's 1st birthday party.Here are the 2 birthday girls together.    I now know 4 people with Sept. 17th as their birthday.   Lexie was excited to celebrate her best friend Emma's birthday. 
 It seemed quiet upstairs so when I went up to Olivia's room to check on the "big girls" they were helping each other put on princess dresses.There were princess dresses, shoes, tiaras, accessories, books, and dolls everywhere!!!  As you will see in these pics...I think Sophie had about 7 different wardrobe changes during this party...
 
Here they are pretending to be Sleeping Beauty. 
Then it was time to get ready for lunch.   There were a lot of cooks in this kitchen. 
Sophie totally looks like a tan Snow White here getting a cake ready. Lexie loved what Ms. Amy and Mr. Chad prepared.  I think she had 3-4 servings...
 Ms. Amy and Mr. Chad were so sweet to put a candle in a whoopie cookie-cake so we could sing happy birthday to Sophie too.
 Emma was really good at opening her presents.
 Lexie recognized these boots...Hopefully the girls can wear them and squeak around together...
 I think Emma likes her new boots! Lexie ate up the little mini m&m's in her goodie bag and then fell fast asleep on our way home. Look at her messy mouth. 
 
Sophilicious also got to enjoy a mini Barbie cake with daddy after dinner.It was just the perfect size after all the cupcakes/cakes we've been eating... BTW --- check out the big yellow circle in our backyard.  We deflated our intex pool and now it looks like aliens have landed in our backyard.   Nice. I have to admit though...the splashing...the smiling...the swimming, pretending to be a shamu trainer makes the yellow patch of grass worth it!
  And on Thursday night...Sophie got to meet up with Aunt Liz who was in town for business.  We drove 5 minutes over to her hotel and hung out for a bit!


 Sophie thought it was so cool to hang out with Aunt Liz at her hotel.

   Sophie's preschool class made her a special birthday book with pictures and messages on Friday.  She got to wear this special crown all day long.  Here she is blinking next to one of her new best friends, Channing.  They share the same birthday.  So, Channing got her special crown and book on Wednesday and Sophie got hers on Friday.   Thanks Aunt Rachel for the fun birthday outfit! 
 
 Lexie is such a crack up.  Here she is checking out the world in 3-D again.
 Sophie was really excited about getting a special birthday sundae from the diner.And of course Lexie wanted to dive in.    ~ THE PARTY ~  Sophie has been so excited about her mermaid and pirates themed birthday party at the aquarium for quite some time.She woke up early and said she was going to wear her special Barbie and the Three Musketeers mask/crown to her party.  Here she is with her first guest, Cassie!  Lexie's little friend Emerson got to come too since big sisters are buddies! 
The kids got busy decorating their mermaid princess crowns and pirate scarves. Lexie of course wanted in on the action... Next up was face/hand painting...I jumped in to help do the simple stuff...like hearts...flowers...and smiling blowfish... But I did try to copy Sophie's Mermaid princess design on Ella...  Cute, right? Ella wanted to know if we would do nails too.    Love her!
 Here we are with the always beautiful...Auntie Angie!Gotta give a shout out for always helping me wrap things up in the end!  Thanks Auntie Angie and Uncle Dean!
  Then the mermaids and pirates were off on a scavenger hunt to find a treasure chest.
   They found clues all around the aquarium in tiny little treasure chests leading them to all sorts of sea creatures...learning little facts about them...



Here they are in my favorite room at the aquarium. 
It was fun watching them pretend to swim through the blue rooms... 
Did you know sharks lay their eggs in what is called a mermaid's purse? And they never close their eyes.   
 
I had to take this picture because Lexie just loves...loves...loves looking at group pictures.She will carry it around for days studying it like she's studying for an exam.
 Even Lex found one treasure chest clue.
 
We had to ask this "sea witch" to give us back our treasure. YEAH!!!!  The mermaids and pirates got their treasure chest!!!
They marched back to our special room to find out what was inside the treasure chest and ate mermaid and pirate food. 
No sushi for lunch here... But wooden sushi is ok!    Yummy!   Just one more slice this week...
 We love you Princess Sophie!  I think Sophie made a lot of wishes and blew out a lot of candles this past week because she scored!  She is turning our home into Barbie World. But its her birthday and her wishes, right???  Cassie's mom told Dave that Barbies need their own room.   Muhahahaa!   Don't you agree?  This house is getting pretty crowded. 
  
She set this up and asked me to take her picture with her cape on...cape off...mask on...mask off..etc..etc...  She wants to mail her pic to Barbie magazine!?!     Thanks everyone for coming to Sophie's birthday party to celebrate her special day!  And thanks friends and family ---near and far for all your birthday wishes and super fun gifts!  Sophie had such a blast turning 4 and Lexie is having a blast with all of Sophie's new goodies too!  Lexie's favorite new toys are the Barbie cruiser and laptop.  So far she hasn't tried to ride the car...    AND... previously... 
 Since Sophie's friend Amanda couldn't celebrate at the aquarium since she was a flower girl on party day...we planned a special playdate at Legoland together instead... Can you believe pumpkins are coming out already?  I love FALL!     Both Sophie and Lexie loved baby Abby in her cool shades.  Sophie said Abby looked like a rock star. Sophie and Amanda were holding hands and walking around together all day.  It was very sweet. Jalen was happy to follow the big girls around and...
hang out...  
Of course we had to stop by and say hello to the lego elephant.    
 I still can't believe Sophie is already 4. I remember taking pictures of her in this car when she was Lexie's age.
 I was busy talking to Auntie Yvonne so I'm not quite sure if Lexie made this mess... 

 That's not a guilty face, right?  FINALLY... THANKS Aunt Grace for coming down to help out and play with the girls.  We really appreciated having you here to celebrate Sophie turning 4. 

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Sophie!

I love you Sophilicious!Can't believe you are 4 already!