Halloween 2013

Halloween just gets better and better every year!  We started our day off with our traditional Halloween breakfast which was waiting for Sydney when she came downstairs in the morning.  I got her a new placemat, cup and plate and put out some of the new toys from her Halloween loot bag that we got at the party this past weekend.

She was so pleased!  We enjoyed a special time together over breakfast.

Syd could hardly wait to put on her Abby Caddaby costume tonight.  We both got dressed up and headed up to Christina and Jack's house for an early dinner before heading out to trick or treat together.

Syd had so much fun playing with my hat!

I have been in the midst of getting Sydney's birthday cake together over the past few days and I had an extra layer cake left over so decided to ice up a little Halloween cake for the occasion!

On our way to Christina's we stopped at our piano teacher Maureen's house to say hi.  She was thrilled to see Sydney all dressed up!

Weston and Lori met up with us and we hit up two city blocks collecting candy and enjoying the amazingly decorated houses all the way!

Our favourite house by far was the one that passed out candy to the kids and glasses of wine in plastic cups out to the Moms!  We strolled along sipping our wine and chatting while the kids went door to door.

The kids lasted about an hour at which point they all started whining that they wanted to go home and that their buckets were getting heavy and that they were tired.  It was a big night and such fun!

 Happy Halloween Everyone!

Pumpkins, A Playdate and Gifts Galore

This afternoon Sydney's friend from preschool, Addison came over for a playdate.  I'm finding as the kids get older that free play isn't always as effective as it used to be at keeping them entertained so I thought that I would set a little agenda for today's playdate and see how it went.

Couldn't have been better, first thing we worked on a couple of crafts at a station that I had set up in the playroom.

The girls painted leaves and glued them to paper and made a tin foil spider as well in keeping with the Halloween theme.

Then we headed upstairs for a little snack and Spa Time.  I painted their toe nails rainbow colours and read them books while they waited for their nails to dry, with a little help from the hair dryer!

Such a fun time together!

Syd and I popped out to 4 Cats later this afternoon to pick up the giant canvas that we had stretched from her Splatter Party on Sunday.  It looks amazing, we proudly hung it in the playroom and it is a welcome addition of colour and creativity in the space!

We spent some time yesterday making a little treat to give each child in preschool this Friday when we celebrate Sydney's birthday in class together.  We made five batches of homemade playdough in different colours and made up a bag for each child along with a little cookie cutter.

We also took some time as a family to do our annual 'Pumpkin, Three Ways' yesterday.  Daddy carved his pumpkin in the traditional style, then painted on some accents.

Sydney painted her entire pumpkin, another beautiful masterpiece.

And I used the Mr. Potato Head pieces to make a silly looking pumpkin.

We set all three out on the front porch for all to enjoy, it was a fun time getting them all done!

Yesterday at school Sydney's friend Julia gave her a birthday gift as she was away for her party on Sunday.  Syd was so excited!  Inside was a silicone Hello Kitty mould that can be used to make cookies, cupcakes, ice cubes, jello, you name it!

We promptly brought it home and made a batch of Hello Kitty Jello in it.  Super cute!

Syd has so been enjoying all of the generous gifts that her classmates gave her over the past few days.

Nico gave her Hello Kitty's treehouse, she loved it!

Sophia helped to add to our growing book collection:

As did Carrie who gave Syd a boxed set of the Fancy Nancy books:

Leo and Tessa got her a Dancing Spinner game, she is so into games right now, it was a perfect gift:

Kaya got her a Tigger bean bag pal:

Jules got the coolest Lunar Remote Control Stunt Car for her, can't wait to try it:

Cathy gave her a Barbie dining set:

Addison got her a Rainbow loom to make beautiful bracelets and a Silly Face Craft Kit:

Jiaqi got a My Little Pony storybook set for her, she has been asking for My Little Pony stuff forever, was so excited to get this gift:

Noa got her a Shopping List game which we've played every day since:

Sophie got her a Lalaloopsy doll:

Allegra got her some stencils and a crown making kit:

Levi and Max got her a Lalaloopsy doll and a Hello Kitty puzzle book

And Henry got her the most beloved baby pack and play for her dolls.  Couldn't live without it!

It's been a very fun and crafty few days with joy around every corner.  Gotta love it!

Three Fun Days!

My feet have barely hit the ground the past few days as we've been merrily moving from one fun activity to the next.  I do so love this time of year, Halloween, birthdays, parties galore.  Never a dull moment around here!

Friday morning Sydney and I met up with her buddy from preschool, Levi, and his Dad and brother Max at the Richmond Country Farms to visit their pumpkin patch.

I remember coming here years ago when my nephews were just little guys so it was so neat to return years later with my own daughter and re-live the memories!

The patch was decked out with all sorts of fun things, characters, tractors, singers and people in costume.  We went on a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and sang songs the whole way.  The kids really enjoyed taking it all in.

Sydney chose the hugest pumpkin she could possibly find to take home, I swear it weighs more than she does!  I barely made it back to the car with it, it was so heavy!

We left the pumpkin patch and, after a quick wardrobe change, headed straight to Danny and Heidi's house for the bris of Jonathan and Lauren's new son Jacob Henry who was born a week ago.


What a lovely time we had together celebrating the baby's birth and catching up with everyone.  As the guests left, we were given a Hershey's milk chocolate bar that had been covered in a custom wrapped cover that read "Here He Is" and had all the baby's stats on the back, so cute!

Friday evening after I had put Syd to bed I met up with the Dunbar Moms at Sally's house to help decorate for the Halloween party that we were throwing on Saturday.  We cracked a few bottles of wine, relaxed and chatted and sometime well after midnight decided to start putting up some decorations!  Was such a nice time together!


The Halloween party on Saturday was such fun.  Sydney decided to wear her butterfly princess costume from Purim last year, it was pretty sweet!

Once again this year, everyone brought the most fun and amazing themed food!

And the kids got awesome stuffed loot bags to take home.

The kids played while we ate and chatted and then we all headed up the street to Dunbar for the annual trick-or-treating at the local businesses.

Sydney was like a mad woman running from store to store eager to fill up her bucket with candy.  She would go into each store and come running out exclaiming "Daddy, look I got a Kit Kat!", loudly announcing each new acquisition to her bucket.  We had been practicing her saying "Trick-or-Treat" for a while and she was great at using it!  Such fun!


Sunday afternoon brought Sydney's long anticipated Splatter Paint Party at the 4 Cats art studio in Kerrisdale.  We invited her entire preschool class to join her in celebrating.

The kids each got to make their own splatter painting and then help work on a giant canvas for Sydney to take home.

They filled syringes with paint and squirted them onto the canvas, then popped balloons filled with paint over top for the final touch.

In the end we had an amazing masterpiece!

Sydney was so thrilled to have all of her preschool buddies there to celebrate.  When we got home with our heaping pile of birthday gifts we sat on the living room floor and opened them up one by one.

She got some amazing things!  We were so so spoiled and blessed to have such wonderful families in her preschool.


What a wonderful few days, so many celebrations, we are joyful!