Little Bo Peep

At the Dear Em,
If my heart didn't already belong to you, Little Bo Peep would have stolen it this year. I know I'm a little biased, but I think you're the most adorable & amazing Little Bo Peep in all the world.

Almost 28 years between us. I think you kinda look like your Mommy.

I just found your aunt Jennie wearing the costume too. I was Jem (& I was truly outrageous, truly, truly, truly outrageous).

While it seems that my family has a long tradition of being Little Bo Peep, I think the Bo Peep 2011 model is quite an upgrade...

Believe it or not, this is not even all of your lambs. 

My heart just melts 

This halloween photo shoot was a family effort. The MVP award goes to you for sitting longer than 30 seconds & looking so darn cute. An honorable mention goes to Daddy who stood behind me & made fart noises in attempt to make you laugh & smile.

You may notice that there is snow in the background. Yup, our first snow of the season came on October 29th here in Rhode Island. I don't typically drag you & Daddy outside for photo shoots in the snow, but it was finally sunny & light out (& the day before Halloween so I didn't really have any time left). So, I layered you up underneath your costume & hoped for the best. I will love these pictures forever.

Trick or treating was wicked fun. You called your lamb your "little peep." You tried saying "trick or treat" but you were just so in awe of all the other trick or treaters, especially your very favorite angel. It's not very often that you're speechless, & it was funny to your daddy & I. You held out your spider-bag like a champ & got so excited to receive your treats.

Trick or Treat!

Our favorite trick or treating friends.

Sweet treats & sweet friends.

We had only two trick or treaters at our house. So, I gave them both a big handful of candy. As they watched the handful fall into their bags, they exclaimed "whoa!" It was so cute.

Thank you for making my Halloween so magical by just being you.

I love you so,

Mommy

hope your halloween is berry special

Dear Em,

Happy Halloween! This month has flown by. I feel like October just started. How can it be Halloween already? Sometimes I just need a moment to think of all the sweet moments that have passed by in the blink of an eye.

Last year was our first Halloween as a family of three & I remember feeling magic in the air as we dressed you up & took you on your very first trick-or-treating adventure. I know you weren't exactly old enough to eat candy, but that didn't mean that Daddy & Mommy couldn't have fun, right?

You were the most adorable little strawberry I've ever seen. You were ten months old & had been walking for a month and a half. The strawberry costume allowed you to move freely but had the perfect amount of padding for your little bum (as you were still tumbling & landing on it quite a bit).

Halloween has become so much more magical since you've joined our lives. I can't wait to dress you up in your Little Bo Peep Costume & watch you twirl in excitement. I can just picture you pitter patter from door to door, exclaim "trick or treat" in your sweet, little voice, & jump with delight when you receive your treats. I'm buzzing with anticipation & excitement just thinking about it.

I hope Halloween is as magical for you this year as I know it will be for me. I'm sure i'll be posting pictures soon.

I love you so,
Mommy

love letters

Picture taken by Shannon Pattie

Dear Em,
Today two of our sweetest friends will say "I Do" & promise to be there for each other in good times, bad times, & all the other times in between. I feel so fortunate that your daddy & I are invited to see them make such a beautiful promise of love.

"For hearing my thoughts, understanding my dreams and being my best friend...for filling my life with joy and loving me without end...I do."

Anonymous

I am so blessed to have your daddy as a best friend & copilot throughout our adventures in life. It fills my heart with joy when a dear friend finds his/her best friend & copilot.

And when you're lucky enough to have a junior co-pilot join you on your adventure, well, that's what dreams are made of.

I love you so,

Mommy

suitcase living

Dear Em,
I feel as though I spent the majority of this month living out of a suitcase. We've had so many fun adventures, but I'm kinda ready for life to just s...l...o...w...d...o...w...n. Tonight is my last overnight away from home this month. I'm away for work, & I missed kissing your cheeks, taking your face into my hands, & saying "sweet dreams, I love you" before bed tonight. I miss listening to you breathe in and out on our monitor.

You & Daddy called to say goodnight, & my heart was happy hearing you read books with Daddy. You giggled as you said, "see you tomorrow, mommy." I felt all of the day's stress melt away knowing you were having a special night with just Daddy.

And then I walked into my hotel room. What a happy surprise to find that my room is a harbor view executive suite...sigh. I feel a little bit like the kid in "Home Alone." Ok, maybe a lot. This place is incredible.

The views.

Seriously, this place is so cool. There are shampoo/conditioner dispensers in the shower.

I kinda want to take this bathroom home with me & the robe is wicked comfy.

Bliss.

I'm sure some of my colleagues are living it up in Boston right now...& I am too. Tonight I am living it up by enjoying Boston Harbor's amazing views & doing nothing...at...all. Sigh.

I can't wait to snuggle you in my arms again tomorrow, but until then I'm going to enjoy life. Life is really so beautiful.

I love you so,
Mommy

the dress

Dear Em,
This is a photo taken 28 years ago of a little girl who was just about your age- me. This is just one of thousands of photographs taken of me as a child. It might not seem like a big deal to you. We have over a thousand photographs of you from just your first year, but my childhood photos were taken in a different era, an era before digital technology. As a mommy, I can't even imagine snapping photos of you, having no idea what image I actually captured, waiting a couple weeks to develop my photos, & paying for them whether I liked them or not (I'm not even going to get into the difficulties of photo sharing). I can tell you one thing, there would be an awful lot of photos capturing the back of your head as you run away.

I'm so blessed that your nonnie worked so hard to capture my childhood memories.

In most photos I look very similar to the picture above: perfectly posed & all dressed up in pink, bows, ribbons, & lace. Your nonnie claims that I liked dressing that way, but I've always believed the outfits were her idea. Clearly, the excessive frills have led to my current avoidance of sporting anything pink or anything that requires tights/nylons (which I talked about here). I've spent most of my life shaking my head at many of my childhood memories. I can't believe my mother dressed me up in outfits like that everyday. I mean, it's so...pink...ruffles...over the top.

This particular outfit always kind of reminded me of Little Bo Peep. So, when sheep became one of your loves, I asked your nonnie if she still had the dress for you to wear...for Halloween. Sadly, the dress didn't survive all of our moves, but Nonnie did still have the pattern & some of the fabric she used to make my original dress. Your nonnie (who is so loving & creative & talented & giving & amazing & we are so blessed to have her in our lives) made this year's Little Bo Peep Costume from the same fabric & pattern as my childhood dress.

It finally arrived in the mail earlier this week, & we talked to your nonnie on skype while we opened the package. It's so amazingly beautiful (really, she is so talented). I put each piece of the outfit on you while your nonnie set me straight. She had actually made the original dress for me to wear to a wedding I was going to. I loved the dress so much that she tried to get as much use out of it as possible during special occasions (hence the above portrait).

When I had finished dressing you in the dress, your nonnie & Papi & I watched you giggle & exclaim, "I'm so beautiful!" You twirled & laughed & jumped up & down & called Daddy to "come see me!" It was so surreal to watch you shine in MY dress. In that precious moment- to have your nonnie & papi there (even if they couldn't really be there), to feel your excitement resonate throughout the room, to listen to their stories of me wearing the dress, & to watch you twirl so sweetly- my heart just overflowed. It was...well...magical. Which is fitting, because for me, that is what Halloween is all about.

After seeing you beam in the dress, I finally believed that it probably was me, and not your nonnie, who loved the frills & the pink & the ruffles & the lace. Whoops.

I love you so,
Mommy

* Readers, I'm hoping to have pictures of Em in the dress to share by Tuesday. In the meantime, Happy trick-or-treating to you & your little loves*

thriller

Dear Em,
I was just thinking of the Halloween before you were born. I was 32 weeks pregnant & driving to Target to pick up some Halloween candy to give out to the two trick or treaters in our neighborhood. The song "Thriller" started to play on the radio, & all of a sudden I felt a swift poke in my belly. I looked down to see my belly moving in all directions. I'm pretty sure you were doing some kind of breakdancing in there. It was such a funny & sweet moment, the moment I realized my daughter loves the song "Thriller."

Whenever I hear the song, I feel such a strong urge to do a choreographed dance (that I don't currently know, but it will just come to me like it does in the movies, right?). I must have listened to this song a million times, but I don't think I've ever really listened to the lyrics. They're kind of scary.

"...You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl!
But all the while you hear the creature creeping up behind
You're out of time

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl
Thriller, thriller night
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight..."


Michael Jackson- Thriller

I've always preferred a Halloween full of magic rather than one that is full of fright. Luckily, thriller dance parties aren't scary at all. Let's dance.

I love you so,

Mommy

hoot-iful halloween treats

Dear Em,
Since I don't have to worry about making you a costume (thanks to your nonnie), I had fun making these with you instead.

When One Charming Party posted a blog about these, I squealed with delight. You love owls! One of your favorite books is Little Hoot, & after your baths we wrap you up in a little owl towel. I couldn't wait to do this project with you.

What we needed:

- Chocolate cake mix (some mommies might make it from scratch, but this was quicker)

- cupcake tins

- brown cupcake wrappers

- coconut pecan frosting

- Oreo cookies (double stuffed)

- Reese's Pieces

We used german chocolate frosting instead of regular chocolate frosting, which I think is both yummier & gave them a more textured look. We first got reduced fat Oreos, but I think reduced fat just means reduced frosting. It was super hard to pull the Oreos apart. Daddy rescued us by running to the store & picking up double stuffed Oreos.

These were so easy & so fun to make with you.

My sous chef is ready

I turned my head for 2 seconds & my
sous chef was covered in batter

It would have been so fun to make these for your classmates, but sadly your classroom is peanut free (I wonder if there is a good Reese's Pieces substitute & if Oreos are made in a facility that is peanut free). Luckily, our friends & family can enjoy our cute, little masterpieces. The best part was watching you eat them.

I think our owls are super cute & so are you.

I love you so,

Mommy

* Readers, are there any yummy & fun halloween treats you will be making this year? *

halloweening, dwight schrute style

Dear Em,
It's less than a week until Halloween. Somehow I always have your costume planned out MONTHS in advance, but your daddy & I scramble around at the last minute (if we end up dressing up at all).

For parents who are scrambling, I thought these last minute costumes look so quick & inexpensive to make. They're also wicked cute.

I have to say the "Dwight from The Office" costume made me actually LOL. Your daddy & I love The Office. How fun would it be to round up a group of kids & dress them up as the whole cast? You would make such an adorable Pam. I just got a little giddy thinking of it.

Here's to fun last minute inspiration.

I love you so,
Mommy

* Readers, what will you and/or your little loves be this halloween? *

to trick or treat or not to trick or treat?

Dear Em,
Can you believe Halloween is only a week away? I wonder if when you're my age you will have Halloween traditions. Growing up all over the country, my Halloween experience changed from year to year.

There was one tradition that remained the same year after year. While many of our friends made a trip to the store each year to pick out costumes, your nonnie handmade our costumes each year. Lucky for us! Your nonnie made us the most amazing costumes: Cleopatra, Pocahontas, Minnie Mouse, Jem...we rocked the costume contests.

What we did changed from year to year. There were times we went out trick or treating to EVERY door in the neighborhood until we were all ready to drop (& then fueled up on candy until we were ready to bounce off the walls). Some years we stayed in and enjoyed Halloween as a family with our friends. Other years we went trick or treating at the mall where it was warm & your Nonnie & Papi felt it was more safe. It changed every year.

Last year your daddy & I thought about what Halloween traditions we would start for our little family. I knew we would dress you up...I mean, I had spent 5 years dressing up our cats (to their extreme disgust & your daddy's embarrassment). I was dying to dress up someone who would have fun with it.

The question your daddy & I had a hard time answering was: to trick or treat or not trick or treat? You were only 10 months old & didn't even eat candy. You had just started walking & couldn't go great distances, & trick or treating in New England is typically cold & dark. We struggled with wanting you to have a fun first Halloween experience but being concerned about how safe or practical it would be to take you out.

We heard about Olde Mistick Village from a good friend who was going to be taking your favorite 3 year old. It was the perfect solution. Mistick Village is an outdoor shopping area. On Halloween, the shops open their doors to trick or treaters. It runs from 4-6, before it gets too dark or cold. We didn't have to worry about cars buzzing by. We didn't have to worry about people poisoning you Daddy (Let's be real, the candy was for Daddy) with tampered candy. We didn't have to worry about walking long distances. It was the perfect mix of fun & safety.

Super Why leads the way
to the candy

It was such a yummy first Halloween for the three of us. We can't wait to go again this year.

This year Daddy will have to share the candy.

I love you so,
Mommy

* Readers, what holiday traditions to you have/hope to build? *

love letters

Dear Em,
You were crying one morning while I got you dressed & a song just popped in my head. I couldn't remember all the words, but you said, "again!" each time I sang the few words I could remember. I downloaded the song & now it's one of our favs to dance around the house to.

Here is our favorite part:

"...Take a good look around

And if you're lookin' down

Put a little love in your heart

I hope when you decide

Kindness will be your guide

Put a little love in your heart

And the world will be a better place

And the world will be a better place

For you and me

You just wait and see

Put a little love in your heart

Put a little love in your heart

Put a little love in your heart

Put a little love in your heart

Put a little love in-

Put a little love in your heart..."

Put a Little Love In Your Heart

sung by Al Green & Annie Lennox

I know the world is a better place with you & your love in it. I love an oldie but goodie, don't you?

I love you so,
Mommy