Julia and Andrew all ready for Halloween. Daddy took Julia trick or treating while Andrew and I stayed home and handed out candy. Julia had a great time and got lots of candy. 
We all went to our neighbors house to trick or treat and had our picture taken there. Julia was quite interested in the candy that Mr. Evan gave her instead of looking at the camera...but at least you can see Curious George. Happy Halloween! 
On Sunday Daddy and Julia carved the pumpkins while Mommy and Andrew watched. She wasn't a fan of putting her hand in the pumpkin since you get all dirty. Clearly she's my girl...I hate getting dirty too! 
She helped much more once Daddy took out the scooper. 
Julia and Andrew with their J and A pumpkins, Daddy did a GREAT job! I have no idea what they are both looking at but it must be something interesting. 
Julia did a great job of holding Andrew especially since he's getting bigger and he can't sit up. 
Later that day Daddy and Julia painted two small pumpkins that Daddy brought home a while ago. Last year when Julia and I went to Houston to visit my sister we went to the Houston Zoo for Zoo Boo and one of the things they did was paint pumpkins. I thought it was a great idea so we decided to do it this year at home. I called the Houston Zoo to find out what kind of markers they used and ordered them online. Painting pumpkins may become a tradition in our family...we love traditions! 
The final pumpkin painting product! 
Saturday was a busy day for the Brown Family. In the morning we went to a Halloween party at the Staudt's house, came home for lunch and naps, and then we headed to North Point Mall to do some trick or treating. Andrew was still the cutest baby dressed up, I just love my little monkey! 
Trying to take a photo of a bunch of toddlers is not an easy task. Of course nobody is really looking at the camera but that's not surprising. The party was at Liam's house and Liam is Julia's friend who lives in our neighborhood and he's the monkey right next to her. Her others friends in our neighborhood are Caroline and Whitney who are the two girls in the front row with denim jackets on but they didn't wear their costumes. 
Curious George himself made an appearance at the party and he did great running after the ghost during the ghost hunt. 
We were so proud of how much Julia ran after the ghost this year. Last year we could barely get her to pick one up. 
Daddy and his two little monkeys. 
Julia enjoyed the trick or treating at the mall but I don't recommend it. It was pretty busy but she had fun so it was worth it. I guess we know what Halloween activities we'll participate in next year. Here she is excited to get a tootsie roll (since she had one once before). 
One last photo of the two monkeys at the mall. 
A big thanks to a friend of Thomas' from grad school who sent Andrew this thoughtful outfit that we love since it's orange and blue. It looks like Andrew is already a Syracuse fan even though he's never been to New York. I'm sure he'll be watching the Syracuse games with his Daddy and love our hometown team as much as his Daddy and his Papa do and of course his Grandpa too! 
Good thing he looks good in orange and blue! 
Yesterday was such a beautiful day that we decided to eat lunch on the deck after we went to storytime at the library. Julia enjoyed running around the deck and the yard collecting some leaves. Before long our yard will be covered in leaves and then we'll rake them up so she can jump in the pile. 
Andrew enjoyed being outside too! I absolutely LOVE his smile in this photo! He's such a cutie. 
Andrew does great on his tummy and looks all around! Now he's pushing up on his hands and extending his arms which is something they need to be able to do to crawl. He's quite a strong little boy and getting stronger everyday. 
Just recently Andrew started liking his giraffe that Aunt Kim bought for him before he was even born. They say it's a great toy for teething. Don't you just love the one foot up in the air? 
An action shot of Andrew chewing on Sophie the Giraffe. 
Today we went to Sweet & Sassy at The Avenues to get Julia her first haircut. On Tuesdays between 10-3 they have a special and it's only $10 which includes the cut, dry, style, lollipop, and a cute little face painting. Julia was a bit hesitant so she got her lollipop at the beginning and got to hold it the entire time. At one point I was holding her hand while she was sitting in the chair and she was holding my hand really tight (she was a bit nervous). Despite being unsure of the whole haircutting experience she did great! I'll warn you right now that I posted a ton of photos so you may feel like you were right there with us! 
Getting her hair wet just a little. Don't you love the Sweet Princess cape? This place is very girly...it was so cute! 
Looking down while Miss Melissa cut (well trimmed) her hair. 
Trying to look down but also look at what's going on by looking in the mirror. 
Almost all done! It's really not much shorter but looks more cleaned up. She even got a little braid in her hair. 
After she was finished she walked on the little runway they have there but she still wasn't quite sure what to think about all of it. I'm sure as she gets older she'll really love everything at Sweet & Sassy. 
I even got a bit of a smile out of Julia as she showed me her lollipop. Julia decided her face painting would be a sparkly pink heart but next time she says she's going to get the star. 
It was such a beautiful day that we sat outside and she enjoyed her lollipop. 
The lollipop was a special treat for Julia and she LOVED it! 
They say that at around 4 months babies love looking at themselves in the mirror and this is definitely the case with Andrew. He loves looking in the mirror and usually gives a big smile. Julia never seemed to be interested in the mirror when she was little but I'm sure she'll spend plenty of time in front of it getting ready as she gets older.
A while back we went to Trader Joe's and they have little shopping carts and Julia absolutely loved having her own cart. She wanted to put more and more stuff in the cart and she looked so cute pushing her groceries around the store. When I told her we were going back to that store she was ready to go and do more shopping but this time I was prepared with my camera to take some photos. 
Even though she loves the shopping cart she has at home nothing beats the real thing! She had so much fun pushing the cart around the store and at one point she even told me we had too much stuff in our cart. 
Last Monday we had a Toddler Halloween Party at the house and invited some of the kids from our playgroup that meets on Mondays. Pace is Spiderman, Julia is of course Curious George, Amelia is Super Woman, Maddie is Minnie Mouse, and Cole is dressed up as Woody. Sunny who was dressed as a peacock ran off before the picture was taken. We searched for ghost, painted pumpkins, ate lunch on the deck since it was a beautiful day, and even sang Happy Birthday to what else but pumpkins. Julia wanted to sing Happy Birthday since it was a party so a few of us did that at the very end while they ate brownies. What kind of a party is it without singing Happy Birthday...right? 
I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted but here's a cute one of Julia and Amelia painting their pumpkins. 
On Saturday morning we met some friends at Kinsey Family Farm to get some pumpkins, go on a hayride, and feed some catfish in a pond. It was such a beautiful morning and Julia was excited to pick out the perfect pumpkin for Andrew and herself.
A quick family photo before the hayride takes off. Julia and Daddy are styling with their sunglasses. 
Julia still loves to hold Andrew any chance she gets. I just love how much she loves her baby brother. 
Julia and her friend Cole loved pulling the wagon around but unfortunately my attempts to get a picture of both of them doing it together was unsuccessful since they were both on a mission. They definitely had fun! 
Clearly pulling the wagon around was Julia's favorite part of the day...who would have thought a wagon and some pumpkins would be so much fun for an almost 3 year old little girl. 
One last family photo surrounded by a bunch of what else but PUMPKINS! 
This evening we went to Trunk or Treat at our church and we had a great time! Once we started talking about Halloween Julia said she wanted to be Elmo but then she changed her mind and decided to be Curious George. We found a Curious George costume online and ordered it on Monday night so we weren't sure if would be here by Friday but we received it this afternoon so we decided we would go to Trunk or Treat again this year. Daddy met us there from work and enjoyed hanging out with his two little monkeys. 
Of course Andrew isn't sure what to think about Halloween but he was a great monkey and took in all the festivities. He sure is one cute little monkey with big blue eyes. 
Julia did a good job of saying 'Trick or Treat' and thank you! She's looking at all the goodies she got since we only had a few more cars to 'trunk or treat' at before we were finished. 
Our two little monkeys! So cute! I love that Julia decided what she wanted to be and we were able to get that costume for her. I'll admit it's not the cutest costume out there for our pretty little girl but it made her so happy being Curious George and that's what matters most. 
Mommy and Julia went on a little hayride along with Curious George. It was Julia's first hayride but I'm not so sure about Curious George. :)
When we got home Daddy helped Julia organize her candy. She actually got some Play Doh as well...what a great idea. 
Julia loves to help out in the kitchen so when I asked if she wanted to help make muffins she came running in to help out. We've made muffins before but this time she really helped make them! She poured in the ingredients, stirred, put the muffin liners in the pan just like she has done before but this time she decided she want to spoon the batter into the muffin pan. She did quite well and also decided which ones needed a little more. She definitely enjoyed herself and she said, 'I did it all by myself!' Anyone need a cooking assistant?
For the longest time Andrew has been standing up on our laps. When I'm burping him after he eats he actually prefers to stand up rather than relax. Our baby boy who is quickly becoming a little boy weighed 14 pounds 14.5 ounces at his 4 month check up a week and a half ago which puts him in the 50 percentile. One of the things I love is going to get him from his crib when he wakes up since he's so excited to see you that he kicks his legs and gives you a huge smile. We also love having conversations with him since all his cooing sounds so cute.
