Before Bed

So this is pretty much what happens every night before Evie goes to bed.  Joe plays with her in her room, then we read some books, then we play some more... until it's time for sleep.  (The tent, by the way, is actually a "sleeping pod" and has a thin, oval-shaped air mattress and sleeping bag, which is pretty awesome.  We hope that one day it will become a good travel bed for her when we're away from home.  But for now, it's just a ton of fun to play in.)

Thanksgiving!

Wow, it is hard to believe that it is Thanksgiving already.  This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Joe's family at Sylvanna & Steve's house.  Which was great because Steve is an amazing chef, and I was able to once again avoid learning how to actually cook a turkey.  Yessssss!!!  Everything was so nice this year, and Sylvanna did a fabulous job at making it a very special and memorable holiday for all of us.  We really, really enjoyed our time together with Joe's sisters and their families, and are so thankful that we were able to spend this holiday with them.

Veterans Day Parade

We are fortunate this time in that our apartment is located exactly 3 blocks from the City of Phoenix parade route.  (Which is almost as cool as being able to see fireworks from your balcony, right?)  So Evie and I got to take a short walk/stroller-ride to watch the Veterans Day Parade this week.  It was so convenient in that we didn't have to find parking, and we could leave as soon as Evie decided she had had enough and started to make a fuss.  She lasted just over an hour, so I was a proud momma.
The giant balloons were especially fascinating to her, as well as the huge pack of dogs, old noisy cars, and the high school bands.  I found myself really touched by the thought of all of these men and women and their families sacrificing so much to serve our country.  Just the idea of having your family split apart for so long - it's hard to imagine how anyone could do it.

And back at home, we have snacks on the floor...

Today, We Go To The Park

Trick-or-Treating!!

We are very proud parents, Evelyn was awesome at trick-or-treating!  We almost couldn't believe how quickly she caught on or how much candy she was able to score for Momma & Dadda.  The only thing was that she couldn't quite figure out why we weren't going inside these people's houses.  Several times, she tried to just let herself in uninvited and we would have to stop her. 

So for our first year, we joined Syl & Steve and their adorable Princess Ariel (seriously, a princess and a mermaid- how cool is that!) for some serious trick-or-treating up north, near Sue's house.  It was a lot of fun for all of us, and the girls were total pros.