Happy Halloween!

Elena Rose was a pink ladybug for Halloween this year. On Saturday we went to a Halloween event at our church, and I think almost everyone else in the area was there as well. We had a good time, Elena actually seemed to have a blast. She enjoyed walking around and looking at the decorations.

You can't tell here, but I actually have butterfly wings and antennae.
I took this picture while Jorge was doing the chicken dance with Elena. She loved it!
Jorge put her up on the hay to dance.Today we went to our friend Miriam's house for the little ones to play and go trick-or-treating. They were so cute together! Alana is a bumblebee, Emma is the pink panther, and Elena is the ladybug.
Happy Halloween!

Accomplishments

I passed the LCSW exam! I'm so happy. For months I've been studying after putting Elena Rose to bed, until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore . . . studying review materials and doing practice exams, when all I wanted to do was go to sleep or tackle a few things on my endless to-do list. Now, two exhausting exams later, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I finally have my nights back! I've been able to relax, cook, watch television without feeling like I should be doing something else, and carve a pumpkin. So nice!

I made minestrone for the first time, and I was able to prep all the veggies the night before so that I could make it without Elena crying and tugging at me.


And Jorge has made some accomplishments of his own on our house. He built a fence and gate to block off the side area that we are making into a dog run for Ginger and Charlie. This area used to have an ugly, green, ground cover plant that just took over the whole space. There was a big, ugly tree in the middle, which we had removed awhile ago due to termite damage and it getting dangerously close to the roof. Jorge removed all of the ground cover plants himself, sprayed it with weed killer, installed new sprinklers, and laid down netting to prevent Charlie from digging holes. He also sectioned off an area to add grass, and we will cover the rest with bark, and maybe something else. We're very excited to get this area done and then tackle the rest of the backyard to make it a space we can enjoy.

The gate and fence

The dog run area


Jorge also converted our wood-burning fireplace into a gas-burning fireplace. This will be the first winter in our house that we'll actually be able to use our fireplace! We haven't decided what kind of cover we want to use for it yet.


Things are moving along with the house, and we're very happy with the recent improvements.

Fall is here!

Elena Rose has been to two farms/pumpkin patches. Last weekend Amy came to visit, and we went to a local farm. We had a lot of fun, but it was pretty hot, and we were all pooped after. We went on a wagon ride, rode a train, and went into a petting zoo. Elena's favorite thing by far was the petting zoo. She had me chasing her all over the place, and of course she didn't want to hold my hand. I wouldn't have cared so much if there wasn't goat poop all over the place!


They had a ton of sunflowers that we got to ride through on the wagon ride.


Then yesterday we went to a farm in Santa Paula. Elena Rose spend a lot of time in the hay maze (they had one for kids, and a smaller one for toddlers). We went on a tractor ride and went in their petting zoo. For some reason she didn't really want to touch the animals.


The hay maze


The petting zoo


These little piglets were Jorge's favorite. They're only a couple of months old, and they were so cuddly with each other.

Personality

Elena's really getting good at letting us know what she wants.She's been a good pointer for a long time, but now she also shakes her finger at the dogs when she wants them to stop doing something.
She likes to look at pictures, especially of herself. Janice made her a little album with a lot of the pictures she's taken of her. She loves it!She likes to pretend she's talking on the phone now. Here she's wearing Jorge's headlight that he uses when he works up in the attic. She didn't want it on for long, but she was amused by the light on the wall and ceiling, and she was confused about where it was coming from. She can also do the hand sign for "more" now, touching her fingers together in the middle. She uses it for everything she wants more of, including food, games, toys, and music.

September

September flew by! So, so busy. Here's the last month in a nutshell . . .

We celebrated our second wedding anniversary on September 12th. We celebrated Jorge's birthday on the 20th. I passed the first part of my licensing exam, so we celebrated that, too. And Jorge was promoted to a supervisor position at work.

September was so busy that Jorge couldn't keep track of which dog needed shots for the dog license renewal. After getting to the vet with the baby and Charlie (and you can imagine how difficult it is to go out with a beagle and a one-year-old), he realized it was Ginger that needed the shots! Ginger is now fully vaccinated, but that took place on an entirely different day . . .

We decided to upgrade to a king-size bed (Cal King) so that we won't be falling off when Elena Rose decides to sleep sideways. We debated for awhile, and then when we realized that our queen mattress was sagging a bit and that we could feel some springs (plus we've been getting back-aches for the past year), we decided to go for it since we were going to have to buy a new mattress regardless. And we are LOVING our new bed! It's big, pretty, and the mattress is soooo comfortable. And even when Elena Rose sleeps sideways, we have room.

Elena Rose's hair is starting to curl in the back.

Elena loves to drink from a straw now. Such a big girl. She also loves to push buttons; she especially loves to turn the cable box on and off.

We were finally able to paint some shelves we've been wanting to put up in her room for a long time.

Putting stuff on the shelves left room on her dresser, so I put out some cute little bookends I got at a consignment sale a couple weeks ago. I love good bargains! And she has a lot of books.

I also got her a little Handy Manny talking toolbox at the consignment sale. She loves this toolbox. She dances to the music and for some reason she likes to carry it behind the couch and leave it there. Now she can work on the house just like Daddy!

And some other cute things Elena did this month: She went up to the different animals on the walls in her playroom, giving them all kisses; she mimics us whenever we cough; when you ask her where her belly-button, nose, mouth, eyes, hands, toes, and some other body parts are, she will point to them; she had her first bubble bath, and she was amused, but not thoroughly impressed.

And (nothing new here), she loves her daddy.

Especially when he's silly with her.

They're two little peas in a pod. And he calls her his little sweetpea.