Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

 

Stella was very indecisive this year as to what she wanted to be for Halloween.  She initially wanted to be Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba, then it changed to Magenta from Blue's Clues, then a fairy, and a clown.  When I was in Pittsburgh, I saw this cute Minnie costume and bought it for her, thinking that once she sees it, she would love it.  Stella still held fast to wanting to be a clown and didn't even want to try on the Minnie costume.  But I still kept the costume in case she changed her mind and sure enough, as the days went by, Stella became eager to dress up as Minnie Mouse.  And therefore, Des had to dress up as Mickey Mouse.  I actually made Des's Mickey Mouse costume.  Des was initially not keen on wearing his hat with the Mickey Mouse ears, but we told him that if he wanted to go trick or treating and get candy, he had to dress up and wear his ears.  The idea of getting candy was a good motivator!  He still refused to wear his white gloves that I made for him, but did let me paint his nose black.

Here is Des checking himself out in the mirror of the bathroom after donning his hat/ears.

  He likes what he sees =:)

We then took some family photos before heading out.

Stella and Des were pros when it came to going up to people's front doors and getting candy.  We were surprised that Des was not shy with these strangers, given his heightened stranger anxiety these days.  He especially loved it if they allowed him to pick out his candy.

 

As the evening progressed and the kids accumulated more and more loot, Des's pumpkin got pretty heavy for him to carry around.  We could tell because he kept switching the pumpkin from one hand to the other as he walked.  But he refused to let any one of us carry it for him, for fear that he would lose his prized loot.  If we asked him whether he wanted any help carrying his pumpkin, he would say very quickly "No, that's my pumpkin".  So Des carried his pumpkin all night all by himself.  But he did allow us to carry him here and there.

Mama's two boys! 

When we got home, Stella and Des were allowed to choose two candies they wanted to eat that night.  Des picked M&M's, his favorite...

...and Stella chose Sweet Tarts and Swedish Fish to eat.

We had a great time trick or treating and Stella and Des are already talking about going trick or treating again tomorrow =;)

Desmond's 2 year Checkup

Des had his 2-year checkup today.  He got a clean bill of health and he is on target with regards to his physical and mental development.  His stats are as follows:

Weight = 28 lbs (50th %)
Height = 34.65 in(55th %)
Head circumference = 19 in (90th %)

While we were in the waiting area, Des was mesmerized by the cool fish tank and all of the sea life inside it.  The fish tank had 2 Nemo fishes, one Dorie fish, a starfish, a small lobster, 1 yellow fish and 1 yellow and black fish.  When we were called back to the exam room, Des was not at all happy to leave the fish tank.  He was even more unhappy when the doctor came in and he kept saying "I'm all done.  I wanna go see the fishies".  Des did stop crying once the doctor finished examining him and then he kept asking me "Who's that?" over and over while pointing at the doctor.  Des also got two shots, which he was not happy about.  To make up for his ouchies, he got a lollipop and a jack-o-lantern bubbles at the checkout desk, being that it was the day before Halloween.

Desmond's 2nd Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Desmond's 2nd birthday today, so that Amamma and Appachen (who flew in late last night) could partake in the festivities.  We decorated the night before with streamers and balloons.

I made him a spider cake as promised.

My sweet little boy loved his spider cake!

xx

We sang Happy Birthday to him.

We cut the cake and Des proceeded eat his piece like so (even though he can use his fork like a pro)...silly boy! 

After the cake, Des opened his gifts, although, it quickly became Stella opening Des's gifts for him.

 Here's Des playing with one of his gifts...Hot Wheels racing car set with tracks, a car carrier, and launchers.

We love you so, so much big boy and we hope that you had a great birthday!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Des!

Today our lil' boy turned 2 years old!  As cliche as it sounds, we can't believe it.  For the record, Mama and Dada don't like our kids growing up one bit.  Why can't we freeze time or be able to go back in time to relive younger days when our kids are grown?

In the morning, the Birthday Boy got a big hug from his sis.

Since Amamma and Appachen were flying in late that evening, we had plans to celebrate his birthday on Sat, the 24th.  But as soon as Des woke up, he told me, "Today is my birthday".  And then he said, "Let me see.  Let me see my birthday, Mama."  I kept asking him what he means by birthday, but he kept saying "let me see my birthday".  I interpreted that to mean that he wanted to see decorations (streamers and balloons) and his cake, all of which I was planning on doing later that evening after Des went to bed so that we could surprise him the next morning.  Needless to say, I felt very bad.  So I improvised and stuck 2 candles on his breakfast waffle, lit them up, and then Stella and I sang Happy Birthday to him.  This made him very happy so I felt a little better about not having any decorations on the actual day of his birthday.

Des staring at his candles, while Stella and I sang to him.

Des blowing out his candles....

...and smiling at the smoke and his candle-blowing out abilities!

Black Pumpkin Cat

Mama decided to do a fun Halloween craft with the kids today...make a black pumpkin cat.  First, Mama let the kids paint their pumpkins with black acrylic paint.  They both did a good job of painting, but one of them was more messy than the other =;)  Guess who?!?!?

While we were waiting for the pumpkins to dry, Des just decided to give his big sis a great big hug and Mama was lucky enough to have the camera handy to capture that sweet moment on film.

We took naps while the pumpkins dried and then in the evening, we glued on the cat's ears, eyes, nose, and whiskers.

And here's the final product.  This little scary kitty is sitting out on our front porch!

Steeler Nation

Dada wanted a picture of all of the kids wearing their Steelers' jersey and so we did a photo shoot at the park on Sunday.  It was such a gorgeous day.  The sunshine and beautiful fall foliage provided a gorgeous backdrop for our pictures.

 Des not sure about getting close to Eli

Des decides that he has had enough and decides to walk off.

After some coaxing, Des begrudgingly agrees to pose for a few more shots.

Early Birthday Celebration

While in Pittsburgh, we had an early birthday party for Des which allowed us to see Dada's side of the family, whom we haven't seen in about a year (last Thanksgiving).  It was really fun having a mini Z-family reunion.  Prior to family arriving, Des and Stella colored with their cousins.

For the past month now, Des has been telling Mama that he wanted a spider cake for his b-day and Mama was going to make it for him at home on his actuall b-day.  But of course, he also wanted a spider cake for the cake we got in Pittsburgh.  The girl at the bakery did a great job because it was such a cute cake. 

Des blew out the candles as soon as Dada lit them before we even had a chance to sing.  So we relit the candles and sang to him.  Des was so cute during the singing...he was quite taken aback with everyone singing (it was pretty loud) and him being the center of attention.  He just sat very still staring at his cake and then would look to either side of his periphery back and forth only moving his eyes, with an expression on his face that looked like he was in preparation for being attacked or something.  And as soon as we were done singing, he blew out his candles in record time like a pro and then swiped the green icing off of the body of the spider. 

 Des had fun opening gifts.

 And Stella had fun playing with his gifts =;)