Kumquats and such

When you live a mile and a half from George Washington's house, it's only right to do some trick-or-treating at the mansion, right?! We met up with our friends from hourly care at Mt Vernon for some fun. Reagan and McKinley are about a year apart and Savannah is a few months younger that Kaelyn, so it's a great match! Plus their mom, Danya, is super down-to-earth and easy going. McKinley was Elsa and Kaelyn was Minnie Mouse...so cute! We got there early and were able to hop on the first wagon ride! This was Reagan's first time on a wagon ride and despite the photographic evidence, she loved it:) Savannah wasn't too sure about it! Look at how big these gorgeous horses are! All around the estate, they had tables set up and demonstrations going on. Reagan was learning about how they comb sheep's wool in preparation for spinning it into yarn. Savannah loved her freedom! And they had 13 stations set up for trick-or-treating. The event...

On Halloween morning, we wasted no time and immediately donned costumes. Reagan was Spider-Man and Savannah was a dinosaur. We were going for a Godzilla costume because she's super destructive:) We took Reagan to school for her Halloween parade through the neighborhood and then met the class at a local park. Got a picture of Reagan being Reagan... And I love this one. It just screams independent girl growing up! The kids played for a bit... This is Reagan's friend, Joshy. He is in the 3-year old class and the two of them get along famously. Before the children were allowed to attack the plethora of cupcakes, cookies, and other treats, they sang a blessing for the parents and said grace. It was adorable. And while the big kids ate, Savannah took advantage of the playground!

Reagan has come a long way in the last 2 years. Previously, she refused to touch the pumpkin guts...this kid does not like to be dirty or sticky!!! Last year, we got her to help with a spoon, but this time around, she dug right in! We decided to scoop out the pumpkins before Jason got home, then they would be all ready for the carving fun! Reagan helped with about half of it:) And the biggest step for her was that she didn't beg to wash her hands immediately after touching the pumpkins! Once Jason was home, they turned to on the planning. He likes to draw out the designs ahead of time and then do the carving. I'm more of a draw straight on the pumpkin and then wish I had taken more time type of girl. Reagan selected the features of her pumpkin - heart-shaped mouth with big square teeth, sunglasses for eyes, and a simple nose. It was perfect! Savannah wanted to join in the fun, so we got her chair and she watched. She was a total pill though, so I ...

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. First of all, I love candy.  And secondly, who doesn't like dressing up? It's even better when you can dress your kids up!  Here's a look back at our last four Halloween costumes... Reagan actually had two different monkey costumes for her first Halloween. Although we didn't trick-or-treat, we did dress her up and take her to some of our neighbor's houses for fun. The next year, Reagan and I were in Woodbridge visiting Grandma & Papa for Halloween. She was a hamburger and I was a hotdog. We took her to a local shopping center for their trick-or-treating and she was adorable! The next year, we became residents, once again, of Northern Virginia. Grandma, Papa & Uncle Geoffrey came over for pizza and trick-or-treating. We loaded Reagan up in the wagon and carted her from house to house. At first, one of us would walk up with her. By the third house, she was telling us, "I go all by me-self." I...

Although I had already done a mini session for Savannah's first birthday, I really wanted to photograph the girls at the beach. One morning, Jason and I loaded up the beach cart with the girls and took a long walk to the pier. Savannah's increased mobility made it somewhat challenging, but it also made it really fun! Jason was in charge of wrangling the beast and doing his best to position her while I captured some shots. Then we switched to the easy one:) Reagan has become so used to me and my camera that she just complies most of the time! And we did our best to get some of the girls together. Jason had the idea of making them play peek-a-boo and that worked out great! Finally, I wanted a few of him with the girls. They adore him. These are my favorites. This is my favorite one of Savannah. She's constantly on the move these days. Slowly losing those cute little arm rolls and growing into her own person. What a joy. This is probably my fav...