Fun Neighbors

I am loving all the fun posts on facebook lately of everyone saying what they are thankful for during the month of November. We all have so much to be thankful for and it is nice to read what other people are thankful for too. I am thankful for SO many things but, today I was just thinking about how thankful I am for our fun neighbors. Neighbors have always been very important to me....I mean, hello!...my best friends still today grew up in my neighborhood..Kristen right next door and Allison just a few streets over. So, I am glad we have such fun neighbors today as well. On our street we have 4 couples around our age that we can hang with and 2 of them have kiddos.

One of my favorite things to do is go on walks to the park across the street. We have been doing a lot more of it lately now that Ty can get out more and the weather is nice. Lauryn, Leslie and Annabelle Grace live on our street and Lindsey and Maverick live just a street over.

Ty is naked because he had a huge blowout on the walk and I brought no extra clothes or diapers to put on him....mom of the year! Luckily, Lindsey let me borrow one of Mav's diapers.

Also, we probably should have done this in October but, better late than never right!? The Autumn pumpkin fabulousness is still going on at the Dallas Arboretum until Nov 14th..so, if you haven't been yet...get there. Kris, Al, Aly and I went last year with the kids in matching black and white and we went back this year with Leslie, AG, Linds, and Mav.

These pics are pretty much like a pumpkin patch deja-vu..but, there were some cute ones.

Ty stayed in the baby bjorn so no pics of him....and getting a good group pic is a little impossible.

Anyway, today I am very thankful for our fun neighbors. Who knows how long we will all live this close...but, I think everyone should have to come before a council for a vote before they think of moving away. Ha!

Halloween 2011 - Minnie Mouse Costume

Well, we weren't sure if Halloween would happen this year because Kinley had been a little under the weather this weekend. But, after her nap on Monday she really rallied and had us convinced she was up for the evening festivities and I am so glad she did!

A week or so ago I mentioned that Kinley wanted to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween and showed you the perfect fabric that I found. It was so fun making Kinley's costume! She definitely loved it and talked about it non-stop before Halloween, excited to wear it!

I started out with a simple circle skirt. The MADE tutorial was really easy to follow and it was really quick to make. I think I just may make some more for her!

I love the way the fabric naturally folds and makes you want to twirl.

Then, for bodice part of the top, I used this MADE tutorial about making your own pattern and pretty much winged it and tried to match one of Kinley's shirts. In retrospect, I wish I would have made the pattern a little bigger because it was a tad snug and she won't be able to play around in it much longer.

I totally winged it with the sleeves. This was my first time to make sleeves and I decided a gathered / ruffled shoulder would hide mistakes better and since I am a very novice sewer (?...Is that a word?) I went with what would hide mistakes best.

I had to add a zipper because I wanted a fitted neckline and did not want it to be so large to pull over her head. This was also my first time adding a zipper. Only after I got it all sewed in did I realize you are supposed to use a different presser foot to add a zipper. Such a rookie mistake!

I added a faux Peter Pan collar by just cutting out the shape I like and sewing them on the front of the neckline.

Last, I just hot-glued a bow to some store bought mouse ears ($4 from Party City) for the finishing Minnie Mouse touch!

After it was all done, we went out for a photo shoot....I quickly nixed the tutu underneath...Kinley was not loving it.....and cut the tails of the bow off of the Minnie ears....it just looked weird.

So, here is what my little Minnie Mouse looked like all dressed up for Halloween!

We started off the night visiting Pops and Gram for some treats. "Trick or Treat!" I love how you can see her reflection in the window.

Then we headed off in our stroller to our church's Fall Festival.

Right off the bat, we spotted Maverick..he was the cutest little M&M.

Then we met up with Joe, Emily and baby zebra Isaac.

I really can't say enough about the Fall Festival. It.was.incredible! Seriously, one of the coolest events I have been to. It had everything a kid could DREAM of....bounce houses galore, tons of games to play, piles of candy, a petting zoo, pony rides, and lots of friends! Kinley was in heaven and loved it all.

Not sure Batman can see where he is going..but, he looks cute.

Ty was the perfect little monster...or Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba...whichever you choose.

She is currently telling Eden...."Look, I am Minnie Mouse."

We all quickly jumped on a pony ride.

We headed over to the petting zoo...

...where we met up with another Minnie Mouse! I gave Leslie the leftover fabric I had and patterns I made after making Kinley's costume and she got one made for Annabelle Grace! Who doesn't love to match!? Halloween is also Leslie's Birthday....Happy Birthday Les!

AG's favorite thing to do is to crawl in the stroller and say hi to Ty-Ty.

After we dragged Kinley away from the church, we headed over to Minnie and Jake's and Honey & Boss' houses.

She is trying to talk Matt-Matt into playing upstairs with her.

And she ended the night counting all her treasures!

Happy Halloween! Hope yours was fabulous too!