"Minnie" Moments of Halloween Fun

As the days and years go by it is sometimes hard to find the time to slow down and realize just how quickly life is passing by.  It seems like within the blink of an eye my little girl that has grown from a tiny seven pound baby, to now a healthy toddler with strong opinions and ideas of her own.

This was our third year dressing up for Halloween.  For our baby’s first Halloween she was dressed up as a sweet strawberry.  She was only a couple months old, so she had no idea what was going on; however she did decide that the puffy strawberry costume was not something she liked.  For Miss A’s second Halloween she dressed as a cute black cat.  It was a very simple, easy costume.  It was also the last costume that I had complete control over picking. 

This year, Anderson decided what she wanted to be.  It was no surprise for JC and me.  She chose Minnie Mouse as her costume.

 The Sunday before Halloween we headed out to our first Halloween event, “BOO at the Zoo.”  The annual event, held at Scovill Zoo in Decatur, is our favorite way to kick off the fun holiday.  We decided to go on a Sunday afternoon, rather than an evening, hoping that the crowd wouldn’t be too big yet.  Once we unloaded from the car, our very stubborn toddler decided she wasn’t in the mood to put on her costume; thus beginning the negotiations, and finally the threat of going home.  In a quick turn of events, she put on her costume and headed in to see all of her animal friends, and to ride the carousel and train (her favorite).  The past two summers we’ve purchased a zoo pass and visited the animals a couple times a month.  “BOO at the Zoo” is a fun way for all of us to bid farewell to a summer season.  Anderson’s favorite animal is the wolf, Tilly.  She made sure to blow kisses, and tell the wolf “love you,” before leaving.

Halloween night we got ready for our trick or treat fun with a Halloween themed meal of mummy fingers and brains (pigs in a blanket and macaroni and cheese).  Then our girl, who had grown very fond of wearing her costume, excitedly transformed into Minnie Mouse!  We headed out with her new personalized Halloween pumpkin treat bag to gather our tasty treats.

Anderson would knock on most of the doors we went to, and say “treat.”  Teaching manners is a big deal at our house, so we made sure Anderson told each person “thank you” before moving on to another house.  She really got into the whole process of the event by the end of the night and did not want to go home.

 

Once home we passed out some candy to other kids at our house, while Anderson snuck tootsie rolls (her favorite) out of our candy basket.  We enjoyed seeing some neighbors dressed up, and visiting others.

Passing out Halloween candy.

After turning our light off, all of us indulging in way to much candy, and stayed up way to late.  A happy little girl finally went to bed after reading a last Halloween book for the season, “Room on the Broom.”  

Looking back on past Halloween seasons it’s amazing to realize that we've now shared three Halloween holidays with our little girl.  Even though that makes me sad to watch her grow up so quickly, it is also so much fun to be able to share these new experiences with her and watch the excitement she has for each new event.

Falling Short with our Fall Bucket List

Where did Fall go?  It seems like yesterday I was mourning the closing of the pool and the end of Summer.  Now Halloween has passed us and with that, all of the fun Fall activities.

Fall is always a busy time for our family.  It is also one of my favorite seasons (a close second to summer).  In Central Illinois there are so many festivals, orchards and other activities to celebrate the leaves falling, temperatures dropping and all things pumpkin.

Every Fall season I have a mental list of all of the activities I want our family to do, and places I want to visit.  Usually we are able to make a decent dent in that list; however this year we fell far short of accomplishing even half of the bucket list items.

The few places that we were able to visit, Curtis Orchard in Champaign and the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, were great as always.  

This year was Anderson’s first visit to Curtis Orchard, but JC and I's second visit.  We visited Curtis Orchard a few years back.  You can read about our trip, as a couple, here.  She enjoyed playing on all of the playground equipment, and really enjoyed her first ride on a pony.  We also got to explore the pumpkin patch and pick out a few pumpkins to paint.  Since we were at an apple orchard, we had to take home some apple doughnuts.  Those were a big hit with our sweet little toddler, who also has a very sweet tooth.             

Before heading home we tried to take a picture in the oversized rocking chair.  Our very stubborn two-year-old is not a fan of having her picture taken, so this was the best we could get.

The Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur is always a fun time.  JC and I have been visiting the patch every year for the past 10 years now.  We had our first date at the pumpkin patch, so it is an annual visit for us.  Over the past 10 years The Great Pumpkin Patch has gotten even more animals, attractions and people!  There was a huge crowd when we went searching for our pumpkins on Columbus Day weekend, but we were still able to explore the mazes, pumpkin patches and even check out the little old school house.  You can read about  pre-baby fun at The Great Pumpkin Patch here, a trip to the patch with our dog, Wrigley, here, and our first visit with Miss A.

Even though our Fall bucket list check list didn’t end up having many checks on it this year, we were lucky enough to get to spend time with family, celebrate friends on their wedding days, and celebrate a sixth wedding anniversary for JC and me, as well as experiencing some adult fun in Decatur through some work/fun events JC took part in.  I’ll share the rest of our Halloween fun, and the Fall adult fun events soon. 

What is your favorite Fall activity or event?  

It's the Little Things ...

It’s the little things in life that make the journey special and memorable.  For a two year old, the little things are big things, making it fairly easy to please them.

To make our little 2 year old birthday girl’s day special we kept it pretty simple, with a toddler requested breakfast of French toast.  For a little something special we added a candle to kick off her celebrations, and give her a extra practice blowing out her candles after singing the “happy birthday” song.  Eating breakfast together was extra special for me because a morning meal together is rare during the week.  Anderson is usually still snoozing when I head for work in the morning.

Even though we weren’t able to spend the whole day with Anderson, we sent her off with some sweet treats to share with her friends at daycare.  Miss A helped me decorate the cupcakes, and really enjoyed the leftover icing.

Another little, but big thing, was being able to spend time together as a family of three during the evening.  JC usually works until close to seven every evening, so he took some time off to celebrate our special girl.  She had a surprise visit from both Mom and Dad at daycare, before heading to the pool to soak up the last few days of pool fun.  Miss A got to jump off the diving board, shoot water guns at her Dad, stomp ants (which are a huge nuisance to her), and swim!

A favorite meal (cheese tortellini), more birthday cake and candle fun, and more presents topped off the day.  Anderson loved her new pink convertible; however it’s operating as more of a bumper car at the moment until she gets the hang of driving. 

Anderson’s special day, celebrating her two years of life, wasn’t anything especially extraordinary, but it was filled with many of the things she loves, many of the people she loves, doing things she loves – which makes it a great day!

Growing up as the Weatherman's kid

Before she was even born, Anderson’s upcoming arrival was televised.  Our pregnancy announcement was shared on social media and as a “picture of the day” segment. 

A day after she made her arrival into the world her beautiful little face filled up the screen as her birth announcement was part of the news.

When she turned one month old, Miss A made her first in-person appearance on the air when we made an impromptu visit to see Daddy at the station.

Her first birthday was celebrated with a special wish on air with the WAND cast, and just a few short months later she showed off her black cat costume on Halloween to the viewers.

In Anderson’s nearly two years of life she has made more television appearances while visiting her Dad at work then most people do in their lives.  On one hand that is pretty neat for her to have such unique and fun experiences as she grows up; however having a Dad as a weatherman is not always sunshine and blue sky's. 

Most nights Anderson and I spend a good portion of the evening alone.  I love my one-on-one time with my little lady, but a Chief Meteorologist's schedule is not ideal for family life.  When most people are getting off work to spend the evening with their family the Chief Meteorologist job is just beginning.  Anderson and I share dinner together alone most nights; however she does love to turn on the news to catch a glimpse of her Dad sharing the forecast.  She will smile and squeal "Dada" during the weather segment.

When severe weather hits, Miss A and I are on our own, again.  Growing up in the Midwest I'm used to our unusual weather, but on a few occasions it would have been nice to have some support dealing with scary weather, a toddler and a high-maintenance dog. 

 

Like any parent living in today’s world, we love to share pictures of Miss A.  With JC’s job he has many more “likes” than the average person does – over 16,000.  In general the comments on posted pictures are always very nice and supportive, but in the beginning there were a few nasty ones, which usually involved her unusual name.  Even though those comments were hurtful, we learned to brush off the negativity.

The "local celebrity" status really comes to play when we hit the grocery store.  Many people will recognize JC, comment on the weather and Miss A.  Their well-wishes and comments about our toddler are always nice.  JC works really hard to please his audience, and we rarely encounter rude people. 
 

As Anderson gets older and starts to notice the stares while we eat, the whispers of “that’s the weatherman” as people walk by, or even the pictures that are requested while grocery shopping, I hope she learns to adapt and accept the unique life we have.  I hope she appreciates the hard work her Dad does to be able to be as well-known and liked as he is.  It’s not always an easy life we lead, sometimes living under the microscope in public and surviving on our own during severe weather, but it’s normal for us and we wouldn’t change it.

Country Music, Mullets and Formal Wear .. One Doesn't Belong

Being the wife of a "local celebrity" brings with it opportunities to take part in some interesting and very nice events.  Most of these events are organized as fundraising banquets, which require patrons to dust off their formal dresses and black ties.  So when we were asked to attend a Heartland Heroes Banquet for the Red Cross recently I set out my long black dress in preparation.  

Whiskers and Tails, 2014

On the night of the event we were dressed to the 9s; however for some reason I had an intuition that I could possibly be over dressed.  That was a worry for me.   Being slightly overdressed is no big deal, but I would not be slightly overdressed.  Most people don't wear long, black formal dresses every day.

We pulled up to the venue and waited for a second as we watched another couple walk in.  They were dressed in professional wear, not formal wear.  

"Take me home to change," I told JC.  He had already been informed that if I was overdressed I was planning on going home to change.  He was a good sport, too.  He turned the car around for take two of clothes for the night without too many complaints.

After arriving at the venue for the second time I was very thankful I had changed.  Most of the people at the event were actually wearing jeans, so I was still a little overdressed in black pants and a blazer.  I would have stuck out like a sore thumb in a long black dress.

In hindsight we should have realized that our professional, and formal, wear was going to be a little over-the-top at this event.  The event was honoring local heroes for their acts of courage during dangerous situations, followed up by 90s country singer Joe Diffie.  The concert, in such an intimate setting, was actually really good.  I learned Joe Diffie had many more popular songs that I knew than I realized.  Plus, he was a really fun guy.

Overall, the Heartland Heros Banquet turned out to be a fun night and a nice change from other events we've attended.  Plus I also learned a couple lessons: 1.) don't trust your husband to find out the dress code of an event and 2.) when a 90s country singer, with a mullet is part of the evening, formal wear is probably the wrong choice.

Preparing for Memories in Mexico

After months of dreaming about walking through soft sand and relaxing by the pool, we decided to take the plunge and book a trip to Mexico.  Cozumel, Mexico to be exact.  It is a small island just off the coast of the Rivera Maya area in Mexico, which is an area we have enjoyed visiting.  This will be our fourth time to Mexico, but our toddlers first time traveling abroad. 

So far, when we've shared our vacation plans many people are surprised to learn that no, we are not leaving Anderson behind.  

A couple Saturday’s ago we stood in line behind two families slowly going through the process of getting their own passports.  On that particular morning, we may have been slightly regretting the decision to take on a trip to another country.

Miss A was wonderful, being a lot more patient than I was (but those who know me well know that being patient is something I struggle with on a daily basis).  When it was finally Anderson’s turn to get her passport she was not happy with getting her picture taken.  She screamed, and did not want to cooperate.  Finally we got a picture decent enough to pass off as her semi-happy look for the passport requirement.

Despite the passport drama, and likely many more meltdowns during our beach vacation, I couldn't be more excited to grab the sunscreen, swimmies and head across the border with our toddler. 

Anderson on her first beach vacation this summer.

 Traveling is something JC and I love doing.  It is probably my favorite hobby, and where some of my most cherished memories and experiences have been created.  With that in mind, I want to create wonderful travel memories with my favorite little girl.

An article I read recently sums it up pretty well: “The older the children get, the more you realize how precious time is.  Take as many family vacations as possible.  They make lasting memories of real quality time spent together.”

A Christmas Season of Change

This Christmas was definitely a season of change for our family.  It was very exciting time, full of new traditions.

With JC’s work schedule we were stuck at home on Christmas Eve.  He spent most of the afternoon and evening at work; however he was able to come home for a short break for dinner.  Anderson and I spent some quality time together during our hours alone.  We popped some popcorn, watched Home Alone and played with her toys. 

When JC got home we were able to do a very quick version of a new Christmas Eve tradition.  We ate soup, let Anderson open her first gift (jammies, a new Christmas ornament and new “Twas the Night Before Christmas” book), and took a quick drive through the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. 

The Christmas light viewing was probably my favorite part of the night.  Anderson normally is not a fan of riding in the car, but she seemed to enjoy it on Christmas Eve.  We listened to Christmas tunes and claps of her hands along with squeals of delight when she saw Santa aglow in a yard. 

Later that night, we laid out cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and the reindeer.  She grabbed a handful of cookies to put on Santa’s plate, but we quickly scaled that down to three.  

Once she was fast asleep, and JC was home from work again, the two of us went to work wrapping and assembling toys in Santa’s workshop.  He was busy putting together an 80 step play kitchen, while I wrapped all of Anderson’s gifts.  We enjoyed spending a couple hours together preparing an awesome Christmas for our girl, while watching the “Christmas Story” marathon.  We don’t get a lot of alone time, or sometimes time together in general, so this was a fun tradition I know we will continue on Christmas Eve night, just like my parents did for me years ago.

On Christmas morning we woke up and Anderson explored what Santa had left her.  She was a little overwhelmed with the whole process.  She wanted to play with whatever toy was opened, and definitely did not care about any clothes in the mix.  But we still had tons of fun opening gifts and sharing this experience with her.  Even our dog, Wrigley, was in heaven with his gifts from Santa.  He didn’t try to destroy any of Anderson’s toys for at least a couple hours.

We hosted Christmas lunch/dinner for some of our family.  Thankfully nothing was burnt, or tasted too terrible to eat.  But I definitely have a new found appreciation for all of the people who do the holiday cooking on Christmas.  It’s a big job to unwrap gifts, try to clean up so people can have a place to sit, and get a nice meal together in a few hours.

The rest of Christmas weekend was spent celebrating the holiday with the rest of our families.  I’m thankful that we were able to spend time with everyone.  I know this will be a memorable holiday as it included many new, fun traditions.

Holiday Happenings: Lunch and Train Ride with Santa

Train rides + Santa = lots of holiday fun … and a train car full of screaming kids after reaching their hour long limit of holiday fun.

Since this is the first holiday season that Miss A is able to really enjoy the holiday activities, we decided to start a new tradition – taking part in the “Lunch/Train Ride with Santa” in Monticello.

This is a hugely popular event, and I was lucky enough to scoop up tickets after finding out when an extra time slot was added.  At the time, I was a little unsure if it would be an age-appropriate activity for our then almost one year old; however I knew her Dad would enjoy the train ride and visit with Santa so went ahead with purchasing the tickets.

Historic Monticello Train Depot.

On the day of our adventure we joined the crowd of people at the historic train depot to wait for the “Polar Express Train.”  We found our train car, hopped on and listened to Christmas carols while we waited for our departure.  Anderson loved looking out the window and waving at everyone.

 

 

 

Once we left the depot we slowly made our way through rural Piatt County.  Santa visited our group first.  Anderson wasn’t so sure of the jolly old man, and refused to sit on his lap.  She did give Santa a high five and blew him a kiss as he left.  Since there were no tears in this encounter I chalked it up as a success.

 

 

 

After about a half hour traveling slowly east, our train reversed directions and headed back to the depot.  Along with the ride and Santa meeting, everyone got a sack lunch.  Anderson loved the chips included in the lunch.  It may have been the highlight of her adventure.  After about 45 minutes on the hot train our toddler, along with the majority of all of the other toddlers on the train, were ready for a new adventure.

Overall, I thought the “Lunch/Train Ride with Santa” was really well organized and a fun Christmas event to do together as a family. 

Balancing Work and a Sick Baby

I’m pretty lucky when it comes to the job department.  My agency I work for is very understanding when it comes to employees dealing with family obligations and emergencies.  This is extremely important to me as being the wife of a weatherman doesn’t allow for flexibility with schedules very often.  When the weather is crazy, or no one else is around to work, sometimes there’s no way to get out of work, even for a family situation.

Even though my company is very family centered, the work I do is very time sensitive.  Certain times of the year it is also hard for me to take time off.  Things had worked out without any problems until this fall.

Anderson had just started going to daycare.  About a month into our daycare experience she came home with a temperature.  Then later that night I noticed little red marks on certain parts of her body.  After doing some research online we figured out she had hand, foot and mouth disease, which was later confirmed when we also learned another kid at daycare had gone home the day before with the same illness. 

 

On a normal work day I would have been able to stay home and take care of our baby; however a very important state meeting was taking place.  JC and I had been asked to speak at this meeting on media and prevention.  It was even a paid gig (for JC).  There was no way to get out of the work commitment without making a very bad impression with colleagues.  Plus I had been preparing for the presentation for a month now.  Did I want to squander a career opportunity?

Thankfully, we were able to find a compromise called Mimi, who came to watch Anderson for a few hours during our speaking engagement. 

Before this Fall I had never had to make a choice between family and work.  Of course as a mother I wanted to be with my daughter.  I will always put her before anything or anyone else.  But as a professional, who’s worked hard to advance in my career field, I didn’t want to give up on the opportunity to present at a state-wide conference.    

Working mothers and parents in general, truly have such a balancing act to conquer between work and family.  Our hearts tell us to do one thing for our families, but our minds know what we have to do to provide for our family, and fulfill our career ambitions. 

Finding the balance between focusing on my career and being a Mommy is something I’m not sure I will ever find.  I just try to cherish moments at home with my daughter, and enjoy the high points in my career, like being honored to present at a state-wide conference with my husband.

Fall Traditions

HFall is one of my favorite times of the year.  Every time these months roll around we always have a few places that we try to visit to enjoy the season.  Due to a very busy Fall filled with lots of work obligations, wedding events and life, we had to pack pretty much all of our Fall activities into one weekend.

The Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur is always on our Fall bucket list.  I've talked about it here and here.  This place has a special memory for JC and I.  It was the place of our first date 10 years ago now.  I had never been to the pumpkin patch before, so I thought it was a fun, unusual date.  We had been talking and hanging out for a couple months before our first date.  This location totally fit us.  We walked around the patch, ventured out into the fields to find a pumpkin, carved the pumpkin at home and had take-out pizza.  Pretty much sums up our relationship then and now.  Super romantic, right?!

This years’ experience at The Great Pumpkin Patch was probably my favorite because Anderson can really enjoy the sights, tastes and sounds.  She had just woken up from a nap before entering the patch.  Our groggy baby took in the patch from the comforts of her wagon for a little while.  Then she decided she wanted to get out and explore.  We walked through the corn maze, checked out all the animals, had some yummy corndogs and pumpkin ice cream and finally picked out four pumpkins; one for all of us to carve, and another for her to carry around.

 

 

After spending a few hours relaxing at home that day Anderson got dressed up in her Halloween costume, a black cat.  This is probably one of the last years I will be able to pick out a Halloween costume for Anderson, so I spent a lot of time thinking about what she should be.  I tried to pick something that represents her, and all the things she likes.  After debate, I decided on the black cat because it was easy, we can use parts of the outfit again, and she loves animals.  Since she’s not a fan of anything on her head, I opted for just a black headband we already had.  I assumed the cat ears would be a battle that wasn’t worth fighting.  Miss A surprised us all though.  When we went out for our annual Boo at the Zoo trip at Scovill Zoo that evening she kept the headband on her head the majority of the night.  I think she was too busy checking out the animals that she loves, the hundreds of people that were at the Zoo and dancing to the jams.

Also included in our Fall extravaganza weekend was pumpkin carving, which Anderson really liked.  We let her help take the “guts” out of the pumpkin out.  Instead of being grossed out by the squishy, smelly stuff she decided to taste it and find pumpkin seeds to put in her mouth (which were quickly taken out by Mom and Dad).  We gave her a spoon and she went to town scooping out the insides, and occasionally tasting what was on her spoon.  The pumpkin insides had already been scooped out, and this job kept her occupied for at least 10 minutes (which is like a lifetime in toddler time).

Our pumpkins didn’t turn out as great as we’d hoped, but we had a wonderful weekend experiencing some of our favorite Fall activities with our favorite little girl.

A First Birthday Sail-abration

I never knew a year could go by so quickly.  It seems like yesterday when we first met our sweet little girl.  Now, over a year later, she is her own person with a big personality.

To celebrate Anderson’s life we wanted to make her first birthday something to remember that also reflected things she loves.  Since we discovered we have a little fish on our hands through swim lessons and days on the beach, we decided to plan a nautical themed birthday party.

For months leading up to the big party I was scouring Pinterest, Etsy and making notes for creating this nautical themed party.  Thanks to these very helpful sites, I think I actually spent more time browsing “first birthday” party ideas than I did for some of my wedding planning.

But it paid off, with a really cute theme and lots of fun decorations to celebrate the life of our special girl.  With my love for planning, I tend to want to be in control of all party details.  But, with working a full time job and being busy with life obligations, I knew that I needed help on some projects.  We enlisted some crafy family members to help with a few of the decorations.  Needless to say, we have some very talented DIY ladies in our family.  The pictures below don't do justice to the cute decorations and details of Anderson's Sail-abration.  It's just not possible to be a Mommy, party planner, host and photographer all in one day.  The pictures are quick snapshots between dressing the birthday girl, cleaning and organizing.

"Anderson" name banner and "I am 1" high chair banner, courtesy of Mimi and the MJHS teachers.

Welcome sign, courtesy of Aunt Dani.

My attempt at a DIY personalized "A" wreath.

On a recent family vacation we visited Captain Anderson's Marina for dinner. Of course, we had to buy some momento to bring home for her nautical themed party -- and it definitely wasn't going to be the fish and sharks caught on the deep sea diving boats at the marina. Her birthday invitation and "Captain Anderson's Marina" bumper sticker had a place of viewing for Miss A's big day.

Food and cake table, with fabric polka dot and chevron banner, courtesy of Grandma.

Since this would be Anderson's first taste of birthday cake, we wanted to make her cake pretty special.  We used a local lady who makes cakes.  I sent a few pictures over of a couple cakes that I liked -- and she came up with this.  The cake weighed about 20 pounds, and tasted amazing too!

"Smash" cake.

Anderson's "smash" cake was adorable too.  I wasn't feeling adventurous, so stuck with vanilla cake for her; however it wouldn't have mattered what flavor it was, she was not interested in it at all.  She picked at the pink dots, tasted a little of the cake with our help, then tried to push it off her tray to show us she was O-V-E-R the cake. 

During my "first birthday" research I found the adorable birthday stats posters, which I knew I had to have for her party.  I thought this was a great way for family and friends, who aren't able to spend a lot of time with us to find out little fun facts about our special girl.  We also printed out pictures of her "monthly" birthdays to show just how much Miss A has grown and changed over the past year. 

Finally, the star of the show was studded out in her own personalized "First Birthday" outfit.  Besides ripping the bow off of her head in about 10 seconds, the outfit stayed on, and fairly clean for the entirety of the party.  This was one of the only pictures we got of her in her entire birthday outfit.

Through my Pinterest research I found many Time Capsule ideas for first birthday parties.  I love heartfelt mementos like Time Capsules, scrapbooks and yearbooks, so I knew this was another item I wanted to include in her party.  I hope that she will enjoy reading all the nice notes people wrote her when she turns 18 in 2032.  I also hope I don’t lose the Time Capsule in the next 17 years!

Even though the celebration was a very happy occasion for all of Anderson’s family and close friends to get together to honor her day, as a Mom it was also a little sad.  I want to keep Miss A little forever.  I know that’s not possible and am looking forward to making so many more memories with her and planning many more fun birthdays in the future.