Jillian was a pretty princess this year for Halloween...which is a major holiday in Hawaii!! :) Especially compared to Alaska where it is usually too cold to want to leave home. Jillian loved her costume and wanted to wear it every moment until the big day. As soon as we got her dressed for the evening (which I waited until the last minute, right before we were about to walk out the door because I didn't want her to get anything on her dress) she decided the dress was itchy and she didn't want to wear it anymore. Ahhhhhhh! Fortunately, we convinced her that she was mistaken, the dress wasn't really that itchy after all.
To prepare, I put Jillian's hair up in hot rollers. We made eye contact in the mirror and she told me "I'm pretty". Oh, I thought that was so cute that she felt pretty doing fun things with her hair....I told her I think she is pretty ALL the time!
A local church sponsored a free Halloween party for the kids...it was massive! They had taken over the community gym and a portion of the parking lot. Outside there were games with prizes, food booths, a climbing rock wall, a couple jump houses (which we did not brave), and a DJ from a local radio station. Inside they had made a life-size Candyland game. It reminded me of a haunted house because it was so dark (Jillian even started crying when we went through the doors into the darkness), but instead of scary stuff there was a path of painted squares on canvas and colored lights and all sorts of things from the game. Along the way, girls were dressed up as game characters handing out candy. Jillian loved it!
Here is Jillian getting a piece of candy from one of the girls. Actually, I think she was supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood...she's not in the game, right?
While staying at the condo Jillian and I met another mom and her 4 year old daughter, Teegan. Monica and Teegan, dressed as a very cute Jasmine, met us at the gym for a fun evening! We arrived at opening time (6 pm) and it was already packed. By the time we left around 7, it was wall-to-wall craziness. I am so glad we went early!
By the time we got home from the gym, the 3 of us had pretty much devoured all of Jillian's candy. So, we decided to trick-or-treat the neighborhood. We walked around and visited our neighbors and replenished her candy stash. :) About half the houses were having big parties. Many families had moved their BBQ grills to the front lanai or driveway and had set up tables for their guests. At the first house we wondered, is this private get together, maybe we should skip this one. Then we learned that they were set up to see the trick-or-treaters. We think that sounds like a great idea for next year. Pull the grill out front and have a party. Want to come party with us? :)
Jillian is potty training now...we started a bit at the condo but have really made progress since we've been here in the house. She does great at home....I still put her in a diaper at night and during trips away from the house. Those will be the next milestones. :) One night, we were all just hanging out at home. Jillian came to find us and told us that her baby was going potty. :) Jeremy and I thought, hmmmmm.....after following Jillian to the bathroom, this is what we saw. I had to get a picture, it was so cute. I don't think my reaction was appropriate though because since then I have thwarted many attempts for toys to "go potty".
I am reading "The Discipline Book" by Dr. and Mrs. Sears. Its really great....it is one of those books where I REALLY agree with some things and REALLY disagree with others, very interesting. Anyway, they write in the book about making a nibble tray for their children. They would take an ice cube tray and fill each section with a different, yummy treat and leave it in the fridge, within reach, for their kids. I tried a variation of this for Jillian....I made her a nibble tray using a chip-n-dip dish. I gave it to her at lunch and put the leftovers on the bottom shelf in the fridge, so that she could help herself throughout the afternoon. Oh and I left the fridge unlocked for her. :) Normally it is locked because she will get in there and eat everything and anything she can get her hands on....like condiments. She loved it! I had her help me make it too. This nibble tray has steamed veggies with a small bit of cheese, chips and salsa, plain noodles, mandarin oranges, goldfish crackers and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into crustless bite-size pieces.
