Halloween, finally

Halloween pics, finally.  Helaina decided to be Belle several months ago and stuck with her decision without ever changing her mind - amazing.  She already had the dress but picked out long white princess gloves to accessorize (good thing because it was cold Halloween night and the gloves came in handy).  She wore earrings we already had and for her hair chose a ribbon and a tiara that we already had too.  Wow.  It was a cheap Halloween this year!

Our yearly Halloween card we send out.

Halloween prep:  curled hair then make-up.

The finished product.  She was so happy with her total look.

The stash.  We did just 3 streets in our neighborhood and Helaina scored big-time.

The Friday before Halloween Helaina's school had a Fall Festival that included a dance with a DJ.  Helaina had a blast and loved the live music.

The limbo.

Dancing with her little friend from down our street.

They all held onto each other's shoulders for several dances and snaked around the gym.  Helaina loved these dances and wouldn't let go even after the music stopped.

Helaina has already selected next year's Halloween costume - except she's already changed her mind about 10 times.  Let's see if I can remember them:  Dorothy, a queen, Tinkerbell, the Pink Power Ranger, Mulan, a snake (more on that later), and several other things that I've forgotten.  Thank goodness Halloween only comes once a year.  She's still munching on candy 2 weeks later.

4 years ago, really?

It was 4 years ago yesterday that we "met" our daughter - on paper, that is.  We requested her photos and whatever records our adoption agency had after being fortunate enough to find her on their waiting child list.  This was one of the first pictures we ever saw of our daughter.

"She has a big pair of eyes and a little cute round face." A direct quote from the paperwork.

This was the very first sentence we read in her paperwork:  "...female was found abandoned at the gate of the Children's Welfare Institute...".  Wow, that line still knocks my socks off even reading it four years later.  Those words "abandoned at the gate" make me cringe.  Helaina's Chinese name given to her at the orphanage translated to "brave little girl found at the gate".  Here's one of the first pictures we have of Helaina.  She was about 3 weeks old.  So precious and so oblivious to the hand that life had already dealt her.

Jim and I spent that evening staring at the 3 pictures we were provided and reading over and over and over (at least I did) the paperwork from the orphanage.  Here are some of my favorite quotes from the reports:  "She is a very healthy and very pretty little girl ... she enjoys being held by visitors, including foreign visitors, and she likes to touch their faces ... she plays well with other children and shares toys ... she has an excellent appetite and is never picky at food (one of my favorites!) ... she likes to take bath and likes to stretch her legs in the water and splash water ... she likes her caretaker to sing songs to her ... she will stare at you when you calling her name ... when mealtime gets close she will look toward the direction of the kitchen (also another favorite!) ... when you walk toward her and tell her "let me hold you" she will open her arms and with a big smile come running into your arms ... she is a very adorable, pretty and engaging little girl ... we hope she can be adopted by somebody who loves her and she is looking forward to bring you more joyfulness and happiness."

The next morning we called our agency and set the wheels in motion to adopt this amazing little girl who lived on the other side of the world.  She was 20 months old at the time and had no clue that in less than 4 months Jim and I would rock her little world.  Three and one-half years later that amazing little girl is still rocking our world - every day - and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Apple picking

We went apple picking 2 weeks ago for the last time.  The golden delicious were just that - delicious and sweet, but ridiculously small.  The Jona Reds that were also available for picking were terrible.  I picked one off the tree, took one bite and spit it out.  They were miniature, the skin was tough, the apple had no taste and it had a funky texture.  We picked 2 bags of the golden delicous and have been munching on them ever since.   

Climbing the ladder is as much fun as picking the apples.

Tractor ride to the orchards.

Can't go apple picking without having a few sugar-cinnamon coated hot apple fritters and cider.

We can't go anywhere that there is a dog without Helaina gravitating toward it and and asking the owner "May I pet your dog please?  Is it friendly?"  If the answer is yes, more questions follow, "Is it a boy or girl?  How old is your dog?  What's her name?  Oh, she's so cute!  Our dog is in Heaven but we have another cat now.", and on and on.  A day doesn't go by that Helaina asks when we are getting another dog.  Tonight she said she wanted a dalmation, then a spaniel that she will name Heidi, followed by a pug.   

Last ride of the year on the Apple Ponies.  This one was called Missy.  Missy has a pretty face.

Of all the times we've been to Beak and Skiff I never noticed this tree with the face carved into it.  Pretty cool but at first Helaina didn't want to get near it.  It spooked her, for some reason.

Asleep for the drive home but still clutching her balloon that she got from a witch at the apple orchard.

A Bouncy Halloween Party

A few weekends ago we went to my niece's annual Halloween party.  This year she outdid herself by renting a bounce house.  There were a few bumped heads here and there, but it was a giant success with bumps and bruises not getting in the way of totally bouncy fun.

Totally decked out for the party in her favorite Halloween attire, including the curled hair "just like Anna's."

In the bounce house where Helaina spent most of her time.

Painting her pumpkin, mostly pink, of course - a very natural color for a pumpkin.  Notice the completely sweated hair with flushed red cheeks from bouncing non-stop for hours.

Ok, there's just too much cuteness between these 3 little girls. So much cuteness that it's almost too hard to handle.

Ahhh, those chubby little cheeks.  Did I say "little" cheeks??!!

What, no candy?

I had the mail in my hands yesterday while I waited at the end of the driveway for Helaina's school bus.  She got off the bus, saw the oversized envelope in my hands and asked "What's that?"  I showed her the envelope and she saw her name on it.  "Who's it from?"  I told her Aunt Terry and Uncle Mike.  A squeal came from her lips.  She called her Daddy to ask if she could open the package after lunch or if he wanted her to wait until he got home from work.  "He doesn't care."  She started ripping open the envelope while swallowing her last mouthful of soup.

Here's how the conversation went as she was opening her card and 2 gifts.
Helaina:  Ahhh, I like this card.  Now hand me a present. Oohh, Halloween pencils.
Me:  Those are nice.  You can sharpen them and use them to do your homework packets.
Helaina:  Oohh, a stripe shirt.  Can I wear it to school?
Me:  Yes you can.  It will look nice with your purple leggings.
Helaina (while holding and shaking the crinkled tissue paper):  What, NO candy?????
Oh, the honesty of children!  I reassured Helaina that she'd be getting plenty of candy this weekend.  Thank you Aunt Terry and Uncle Mike, even though there was no candy!

Last Friday and Saturday the Disney Store had a Halloween party.  If you wear your favorite Disney character costume you get to play games, parade through the store, watch a movie clip and get some gifts.  Helaina decided to go as Cinderella.  This dress is a play dress she's had for a long time and is not what she will be on Halloween, but she looks absolutely amazing with her blue eye shadow and red lipstick.

Yah, she looks 5 in this picture - uh huh.

She plopped down in a sea of stuffed animals and was quite comfy.

When dressed as Cinderella you simply must ride your white horsie - round the carousel.  As far as Helaina's choice for Halloween this year?  Well, let's just say if you guessed a Disney princess, you'd be on the right track!  Last year she was Snow White.  Any bets on what princess she selected this year?

More Fall Festivities

Hafner's garden center has fun Fall activities each weekend in October.  When their schedule says that Coco the Clown will be there, Helaina will be there also.  Coco is great.  The kids love her and she's got a good sense of humor.  Helaina requested a ghost this time and was pleased with her Casper.

Helaina is particularly interested in mazes this year.  She made her way through this hay bale maze on her own.  Every once in a while she'd stand on her tip-toes and check to see that Jim and I were still there - like where would we go?  It was funny because we could barely see the top of her head but we could clearly see her balloon ghost that she was holding up rather high.

She surprised me with her facepainting choice.  Thought she'd pick a pumpkin or ghost but she opted for a glittered cat nose with whiskers.

Ride 'em, cowgirl.  She just can't get enough horsie rides.

Helaina got behind this witch cut-out and started laughing like a witch and "cackling".  People were walking by her and laughing.

A hay bale racetrack?  There was a line of kids waiting to ride trikes through the hay bales and, as usual, she impatiently waited her turn.

We de-gutted a pumpkin recently and Helaina was actually excited to pull out the strings and seeds.

Helaina drew the face and I did the carving.

Weeks are just flying by...

The Fall weekends are whizzing by us faster than we can keep up.  Seems like every Saturday and Sunday we've had something fun and Fall-like to do.  It's keeping Helaina happy and busy but putting Jim and I way behind on outdoor projects we'd like to wrap up.  We try to squeeze some of our stuff in between Helaina's busy schedule!  Two weekends ago Carousel Mall was celebrating it's 21st anniversary so we headed there on Saturday morning to take advantage of some events.

There were free carousel rides for the kiddos.  Helaina took advantage of that - twice.

Free cupcakes.  Or in Helaina's case, free frosting and sprinkles.  She ditched the cupcake after getting her sugar high off the frosting.  Check out those nails.  She's into the multicolored designs now.   I'm getting good at painting stripes, polka dots and letters on those cute little nails.

Helaina saw 2 clowns walk by the cupcake table and watched them like a hawk.  Free face painting - in Helaina's case, arm painting.

And free balloon animals, which in Helaina's case turned out to be a flower.  This very nice clown, who had a very long line of kids waiting, saw me trying to take a picture and she stopped for a moment and posed with Helaina.  Very nice of her.

Sunday found us at the local garden center to enjoy more Fall festivities ... clowns, balloons, face painting and pony rides.  It never ends, much to Helaina's delight.