Forever Family Day - One Year!

One year ago today we were anxiously waiting to meet our new daughter -- to become a family of four. And then after waiting for about an hour for her to arrive, there she was.....and our lives felt complete.

In many ways it feels as though Ailee has been a part of our family forever -- and in others, we just can't believe that the past year has flown by so quickly!

Our baby has grown -- so much has changed over the past year. The girls have gone from adversaries to the best of friends. Ailee has gone from having no words to being a little chatterbox. From a baby to a little girl.

She is such a sweetheart with a smile that lights up the room. My heart melts each time she wants a cuddle and is nestled in my arms. My heart feels full -- our girls are home and they are the most wonderful parts of our lives.

October's Random Cuteness

Ailee got a bug bite just above her eye -- poor kid!

Pushing cousin Ian in the baby stroller...



Movie night -- which lasted for a glorious 15 minutes! The first time the girls wanted to sit together --
the start of them truly playing together...

Halloween Fun!

Leading up to Halloween, Maelyn was sick with a bad virus and I was worried that we would have to miss out on Trick-or-Treating. Thankfully, after 11 days, her fever broke and she had a day to rest before the big day arrived.

The girls were so excited about going out in their costumes and carving the pumpkins. Maelyn wholeheartedly believed that it was her job to teach Ailee everything about Halloween.



There is nothing better than carving pumpkins in your skivvies...



Ailee's first experience touching the 'guts' of a pumpkin...



Ailee has been obsessed with the book, 'I Like Pumpkins' -- and she
couldn't wait to see a real-life pumpkin seed!



Painting the little pumpkins...



Maelyn said that she painted this pumpkin to be her BFF, Jennie... :)



Getting ready to head out in the rain...

I have been looking forward to dressing Ailee up in the ladybug costume that Maelyn wore on her first Halloween --

The costume is especially dear to me because my friend, April, made the costume for Maelyn. Ailee wore the ladybug costume for days, leading up to Halloween. She loved it! But -- when it came time to get dressed for the 'real deal,' Ailee saw that her big sister was dressed as a princess and she just had to be a princess as well. Although I was a little sad that I wouldn't be taking her out as a ladybug, I knew there was no fighting it, so I let her pick out her costume. Maelyn, however, was not a happy camper. She was not impressed that her sister was copying her costume idea.



Not a happy camper...

 

I absolutely love watching Maelyn's pure joy as she runs from house to house. She is all about the experience of Halloween and not as big on the candy itself. It took Ailee only a few houses to discover that she would be given treats each time she knocked on a door -- and then she was hooked! She lasted quite awhile -- but in the end, she was happy to sit in Daddy's arms and enjoy a few treats while Maelyn continued to trick-or-treat. The rain finally got the better of us and we headed home to check out our loot! :) 



 

Our Halloween adventures didn't stop there. See the suckers on the couch, beside Maelyn? I didn't realize that one of those suckers didn't have a stick -- and it turned out the be a serious mistake on my part. Maelyn was sitting with my Dad and after a few minutes, she must have gotten off his lap. I felt her tug on my arm and when I turned around, I saw that her face was red and her eyes were filled with fear. I quickly realized that she was chocking -- and the first aid I learned came in handy as I thumped her back to help her get the candy out of her throat. To say that she was terrified afterwards would be an understatement -- and I definitely felt the same way. Thankfully, in the end, all was well. We snuggled for awhile and then she was her happy self again. I, however, aged a little more that night. :S



After trick-or-treating treats -- yummy!



The girls are already planning their costumes for next year -- can't wait!!