Celebrating Halloween

Today our munchkins dressed up for Halloween. Nicholas was a chef and Ella was a little cupcake. They wore their costumes all day and really loved not having to wear regular clothes. Nicholas said it made him feel very special. 

Here are our two pumpkins. I carved the owl and Jeff carved the jack-o-lantern. I would say that Jeff is much more talented than I. 

This afternoon the kids and I did a Halloween crafting project. I bought a door hanger kit at Target a couple days ago so we assembled each one and hung them on door knobs around our house. I also wanted to glitter some small pumpkins, but Ella didn't nap today, so Nicholas and I will be doing that together on the next day she naps. I just don't think the combination of glitter and a two-year-old sounds like an especially good time.

In the early evening the rain broke so we decided to take the kids trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Nicholas did a great job of saying "trick-or-treat" this year even if he always said it right before the people opened the door. And Ella did a great job of yelling "bye!" as we left each home. Next year we will have to work on both of them saying "thank you."

 We put Nicholas's pumpkin candy container on his IV pole (which normally holds his food) and put a flashlight in it so we were illuminated during our walk. After trick-or-treating we went home and had a yummy pizza dinner with my parents. It was a perfect ending to a great holiday.

Okay, now for a ghost story on this All Hallows Eve...

Randomly over the last few weeks, I go into Ella's room and one (or more) light bulbs in her chandelier will be unscrewed. I have to screw them in and then in the next day or two the same thing happens. At first I thought that our toddler was part ninja and crawling up and untwisting them. But it would be awfully hard for her tiny little self to reach the light on her ceiling. Then I remembered that our next-door neighbor told me about an old lady who loved in our house many years ago who resided in Ella's room. She apparently died in that room and now seems to be haunting our home, but sticking to Ella's room and leaving the rest of us alone. And she's not doing anything scarier than unscrewing light bulbs. 

Are you scared yet? No? 

Well, good, because Jeff just told me that he has been unscrewing them when Ella gets up and turns on her light thirty times every night. So, no baby ninja and no ghost. Just a tired daddy who wants to get some sleep. 

Happy Halloween, everyone!!

Princess of Playdough

 Ella's aunt and uncle got her a playdough play set for her birthday and since she got so many gifts at one time, I tucked this one away to bring it out when it could be extra special. She really loves squishing her fingers into the dough, molding little shapes, flattening with the rolling pin, and cutting pieces off with the plastic knife. I can honestly say it's a huge hit! Thanks Kris & Jami!!

Something Sparkly

I finally got my wedding ring back from the jewelers and I must say I love more than ever before! It got cleaned, the loose diamonds were fixed, and all of the gold was rhodium plated to make it less yellow and more of the white gold color. It's sparkly and lovely and I get excited to put it on everyday. Although I am a bit sad that we couldn't afford the matching wedding band at this point (because there are much more important things to buy) I really love my refurbished ring and am so happy my hubby was so thoughtful for our five year anniversary. 

Costume Party for Mom & Dad

Last Saturday night Jeff and I got all dressed up and spent the evening out with friends at a Halloween costume party. Can you guess who we dressed as?

Jeff was Magnum P.I. also known as Tom Selleck from the popular 80's television show

I was Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas

We had a good time and as always, it was fun to get out of the house and even more fun to be in costume! I cannot wait to share our kids' Halloween costumes in a few days. They are both very excited to dress-up this year and are going to be absolutely adorable. 

We LOVE Make-A-Wish Oregon

Are you ready for our exciting news?! Last Tuesday I got an email from The Make-A-Wish Oregon Chapter inviting our family (along with other wish kids and their families) to attend the special grand opening day of the magical Polar Express Railroad! I called to reserve our spots right away and I know the kids will just love every minute of it. I told Nicholas about the train ride and seeing Santa Claus so the rest of the day he kept shouting, "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!" Seriously, I think Make-A-Wish has made our son's year-first the awesome beach/aquarium trip and now this!! 

We cannot wait to experience this very special Polar Express train ride next month!

Catching Up

I just realized its been a couple weeks since my last post, so here is a new one for all ten (or so) of our regular readers. ;)

I have been cooking lots of comfort food lately: homemade mac and cheese with ham, spaghetti with meatballs, pot roast with vegetables, etc. because it is now rainy and cold outside and a hot meal seems like a nice way to compensate.

 I also tried a new recipe last week. I made chicken piccata over thin spaghetti noodles. It was delicious although I think I went a little overboard with the lemon. 

Nicholas's speech teacher is always finding cool new iPad apps for him to use in the classroom. In the most recent one she used, she uploaded a photo of Nicholas and made him the star of the app. He used all kinds of verbs to describe the things he was doing in each picture. It was awesome!

 I went to the mall for the first time in months to spend these wonderful little treasures: Nordstrom notes. Although I really wanted to use them for myself, I realized Christmas is just around the corner so I used them for Christmas gifts and a little something for my godson's birthday. 

 Ella has become completely obsessed with her tiny baby doll, she named Sally. She likes to have Sally swaddled at all times and must sleep with her every night. For sleep time, Moo Cow is out, Sally is in. I love this photo because she truly looks like a proud mommy. 

 This is our sweet girl before church a couple weeks ago. Notice the pumpkin in the background? I learned my lesson last year when we waited until the day before Halloween to buy some pumpkins and there were none to be found-we bought ours early this year!

 Last Saturday Jeff and I had a date night. We ate yummy Mexican food for dinner, then went to our favorite theatre, Cinetopia, and had some drinks and watched the movie Looper. It was a fun night out!

While we were out, our baby-sitter texted me this photo of our crazy little girl. Apparently she got into her bottle of baby lotion while she was suppose to be sleeping. Rachel had to give her a quick bath and clean smears off the floors, wall, and mirror. Oi Vey!

 I fulfilled my civic duty and voted this week. I did lots of research before voting too, because an educated voter is the best kind of voter, right?

That's it for us for now. I do have some exciting news to share tomorrow though, so stay tuned!

Busy Little Munchkins

Whew! We have been busy these last few days! Nicholas went to neuromuscular clinic last Friday at Shriners. He absolutely loves the huge ball maze that is in the waiting room. It is quite mesmerizing with its twists and turns. He could literally stare at it for hours on end and be completely entertained. 

 Baby Elmo made the trip with him and Nicholas was delighted to show his red, furry friend to all the doctors that visited him. Overall, it was a great visit. Nicholas's scoliosis is progressing, but that is to be expected since his muscles are not strong enough to keep his spine straight. He is at a good weight now though and was in good spirits, greeting all the doctors and nurses with a smile and a hello. 

 Jeff's aunt Stacey and uncle Johnny bought Ella some Mega Blocks for her birthday and she has really been enjoying building all sorts of things. Nicholas always requests that she builds, "a tall, tall tower."

 Last weekend I got out the sidewalk chalk and let Ella color to her hearts content. She had a blast and made scribbles all over the driveway.

 I asked Nicholas if he wanted to color, but he said he was happy to just sit and watch his sister. He is definitely a laid-back kiddo. 

 For whatever reason, our toddler has been filled with energy these last few evenings and can often be found running through the house laughing and being silly. 

 Then as it gets closer to bedtime, she becomes quite a snuggle-bug.

 Yesterday afternoon Ella was playing with the tea set her friend, Bella, bought her for her birthday, and Nicholas decided he wanted to play too. He asked for "some tea, please" and Ella obliged by pouring it into his mouth straight from the tea pot. Nicholas laughed and said, "No, a cup, please."

 So Ella got him a little tea cup and gave him sips. He loved it and so did Ella! Honestly, these little moments just melt my heart and make me want to freeze them in time and keep them forever. Kids grow so quickly and being able to witness these precious moments make me one proud mama.

 My husband has been out of town on a business trip and so these afternoons often require a second cup of coffee to get me through the day. I can't wait for Jeff to get back! We all miss him ever so much. 

New Things at Preschool

This week Nicholas has been trying some new things at preschool. On Tuesday his friend, Joshua, helped push his stroller out to recess and Nicholas was thrilled to have his buddy by his side. Then at snack time, he wanted to try some of the Goldfish snacks. He likes to lick the salt off and push them out of his mouth, pretending to eat them. Today at recess time, his OT and PT brought out a special swing for him to use and he LOVED it! He kept saying, "Look at me, mom, I'm flying!" Then at the end of the day he really enjoyed making shapes and letters in shaving cream. We are so happy he is in a school environment where he thrives and truly enjoys every minute there. 

Ella's Two-Year Check-Up

Just a typical night in the Gustafson household: our toddler brushing her teeth in nothing but a diaper and sunglasses

 This is the face I get when I tell Ella she cannot put Dora the Explorer band-aids all over her body

On Monday I took Ella to her two-year well check-up. She is in the 95th percentile for height at three feet tall and she is in the 65th percentile for weight at 28 pounds. She is growing like a weed and taking after her tall daddy.

We also said good-bye to our long-time pediatrician (who was my pediatrician growing-up) because he is retiring at the end of the month and we had the opportunity to meet our new pediatrician. Her name is Dr. Holland is the ironic thing is that we already know her. She did her residency at Doernbechers Children's Hospital and was Nicholas's doctor on a few occasions when he was hospitalized. We are thrilled to have her as the kids' doctor and love that she is already so knowledgeable about SMA. 

Five Year Anniversary

Five Years. Four Jobs. Three Pets. Two Kids=One Amazing Life!

Last Sunday, September 30th, Jeff & I celebrated five years married. To say that every moment of the last five years has been pure wedded bliss would be silly. Like any married couple we have had our share of wonderfully amazing moments marred with moments of sheer heartache. But overall, knowing that you are married to your best friend makes every part of marriage amazing-even in those tough times.

To celebrate five years together, we went out to dinner and exchanged gifts. I bought Jeff a wooden humidor (because wood is the traditional five year gift), some cigars, and Portland Trailblazer tickets. He was thrilled and told me it was the best present ever. He wanted to surprise me with a wedding band (since we decided not to purchase one when we got married) but since the price of gold has dramatically increased, the wedding band that would have been $500 five years ago now costs upward of $1800. Since we can think of many, many other things that we would like to do with that money, we decided to hold off on a wedding band for now. Instead, my engagement ring is being rhodium plated and cleaned so it will be like a new ring when I get it back in a couple of weeks.

Jeffrey Justin, I love you more today than ever before. I could not have asked for a more perfect man to share my life with. xoxo