Analeigh's 3rd Birthday and Halloween

I know I've been absent and I apologize. I'll get to the reason why in a minute.

On Monday, my sweet baby girl turned 3. We had some of Josh's friends over for cake again. It's fun to have a lot of friends around to celebrate, especially since we're used to having the whole family over.

The happy birthday girl before the party. 

I added the balloons during her nap, so when she woke up there were balloons everywhere. She was so happy!

More balloons and Noelle eating dinner

Ethan made this banner for Analeigh. He's such a sweet big brother.

I did make this cake, it wasn't easy, but it turned out very well. 

Analeigh requested the Strawberry Shortcake with pink and purple inside. Check and check!

Oh Bubba, you are silly!

Noelle says, "I'm ready for a party!" Actually, she's saying, "SOOO BIG!"

Noelle is very friendly, she likes Mora!

Everyone liked the balloons.

Noelle likes wearing hats. Oh no, another accessory hound. 

Andrew, Kenny, Hector, Josh, and Mora

Also joined by Chelsea, Yazeed, and Rob

She's eating her cake with her hands. I think since Noelle was doing it and getting such a reaction, she thought she'd be cute too.

Noelle dove right in. She knew just what to do this time. 

We asked Andew what he was doing with the doll and his response was, "well, she asked me to take care of it" and so he did. How sweet!

 I think everyone appreciated a break in the studying. We bounced balloons around with the kids for at least 15 minutes strait. I can imagine how brain-dead everyone is after studying all day, all week, all month, etc... It is really nice to have our new extended family join us. I think we should get together once a month just to eat cake and play with balloons. Our kids are so laid back and accepting of new people, so they had a blast as well.

My Sweet Analeigh....

Analeigh is going to be the different child. She is blue-eyed and blonde, but the differences don't stop there. She's got her own way of doing things and at 3, it's my way or the highway sister! Usually if there is a ruckus among the children, Analeigh is at the heart of it. She a feisty one, and I think she'll be the outspoken one of the bunch. She's full of drama and sweetness too.

She's my little Mommy. Always follows me around and does what I do with Noelle to her dollies. She's concerned about others, but won't hesitate to take what's hers. She loves her dolls, Blues Clues, Barbie, dancing, Max and Ruby, and The Fresh Beat Band. If there's a song to dance to, she's on it. She's also a princess, just ask her!

Happy Birthday to my Princess Analeigh!!

Halloween in Grenada

I can't believe it's November. I mean, really, I can't fathom it. My mind says maybe, but it's so hot here. It's got to be July. My poor body is so confused. "Why are we still sweating?", my body yells at me daily. So I take yet another shower...and no wonder I do so much laundry.

Nevertheless...it's Halloween and the gracious folks at St. George's University hold a trick-or-treat night for us. It's an American holiday that the Grenadians do not celebrate, so you do not see the giant rows and rows of candy at the local store. There is one tiny candy stand, about 1 foot wide by 4 feet tall, at the end of an aisle. If you were looking for it, you'd never find it. So I think it's extremely kind of the Grenadians to do this for the families here.

Let me introduce you to this year's little tricksters:

My littlest peanut is a bumblebee as you can see. Her hair is so long that I put it up for her antenna  Isn't that hilarious! I made this dress for Analeigh 2 years ago, but for Grenada, I had to make some bloomers since tights were out of the question.

The next ghoul:

Here's my ghost princess. She didn't care what she was as long as she had a pretty dress that looked princess-y. I saw this on Pinterest, and like the 1000's of ideas I see on there, thought "I can do THAT". And so I did. I actually improved on the pillowcase dress with the ruffle at the bottom. She loved it and that's what's important. Anything fluffy, flowy, or twirly is all a girl needs really.

Ethan this year asked me to be a ghost, like sheet-over-the-head-cut-holes-for-the-eyes-and-mouth generic ghost. Well, done and done!!

Of course, it's Grenada and it's 88 degrees and 99% humidity (really, it rained so it probably was) so the poor kid was hot. I saw that one coming. What I did not see coming was him tripping on it while walking up the stairs. He said he was not very happy about that. I don't blame him.

A photo opp on our trick-or-treat route. Ocean in the background. AMAZING!!

Look at my loot!! Analeigh grabs so much candy even though I tried to stop her. Little hands are fast!

Yep, that's the ocean in the background again. 

I believe this is True Blue Bay, if I am correct. 

Daddy leads the troops!

The pigtails are too much!!

After trick-or-treating, we headed to the Caribbean House for a little party that SO's put together. They did a great job!!

The kids had a great time and I was exhausted afterward. The reason I haven't blogged in awhile is because I have been working hard making Analeigh some doll clothes for her birthday and then I had to finish up the Halloween costumes. Not to mention ALL of the other stuff that I do daily...cooking, cleaning, chasing after little toddle-y ones, etc.

No More Drama...Please!

On a totally different note, there's been more drama here than I need right now, well ever to be truthful. One day while the kids were playing outside Ethan starts screaming terrible screams so I ran out and he would not tell me what happened. Finally he tells me that he jumped across this little drainage ditch and missed and got a pretty good bruise across his chest. Jeez! I am so glad he's okay, but what a heart attack he gave me. Boys!! 

Speaking of boys....Josh got a machete here to cut open coconuts. Yes, I too thought that sounded like an excellent idea. And if you don't already know this story, you can probably already tell what's going to happen. He was cutting up some coconuts while I was working on Analeigh's cake on Monday. Then I hear a knock on the door, so I thought, "wow, he must have an armload if he's knocking on the door" so I rush over. In horror, oh yes, in horror I see blood everywhere. I was honestly looking for a finger, but he had slashed his palm with the machete and for some reason there was a TON of blood. It was on the door, the porch, all over the banister, I mean really! We got him inside and he started to feel woozy, so we called our friend Chelsea and I picked her up and she took Josh to the doctor. He's okay; no stitches needed. This is actually not the first hand injury he's had with a sharp outdoor tool. Sigh....eye roll....

In all seriousness, I am very glad my boys are okay...what a week!

Next time I'll show you what I've been working on, plus I have a ton of blog ideas to give to you. So until next time, Happy November!! Hope the temperature is appropriate where ever you are!!

Best,

Tarryn