From Our Family To Yours...

Next Year's Halloween Costume for Ilah Already Purchased!

While we were at the mall over the weekend, I stopped in to Pottery Barn Kids to browse...but ended up leaving with a little something ; )

Ilah's Halloween Costume for next year was purchased! When I saw this adorable cupcake costume hanging on the rack I just couldn't pass it up! Look at how cute it is!!!.....

What makes this Momma love it even more is that it was regularly $59.99....and I got it on sale for just $13.97!!!....

I got the last one in a size 4-6! Phew!! If you're looking for a steal of a deal on Halloween Costumes, now is the time to buy for next year! Check out your local Pottery Barn Kids to see what's left, or visit them online. For some reason, this cupcake costume {in baby, toddler, and kid sizes} is listed at $22.99 on sale. Not sure why it's more than what I paid in store?

I particularly love that this costume allows for me to keep Ilah warm in underclothes of my choosing...a long sleeve shirt, and thick tights {as pictured in the photos} are adorable. This Halloween was particularly cold so thin costumes are a no-go for me; the material of the cupcake costume itself is made of soft polyester felt. I'm so glad that I scored this cute piece for next year!!!

Ilah's First Trip to Build-A-Bear

Over the weekend we took Ilah to Build-A-Bear for the first time!! She about leaped out of her stroller when we passed the "workshop" window. So naturally when she got inside, she was amazed!

Once inside, we went to the wall where you choose your bear - or your monkey, dog, koala, sheep, etc. - Build-A-Bear doesn't discriminate ; ) Ilah reached in and grabbed her choice....

Here she is hugging the one on display on the shelf {because she just had to!}....

Next it was on to selecting an outfit. And I mean...seriously. This is just a bit ridiculous, no? And this is just ONE wall...there were many more outfit selections throughout the store.

This look on Ilah's face just about summarizes how I felt too! Ha!....

Ilah was kinda like, "Whatever. This will do" and grabbed a pair of shorts. Ha!.....

She took it to the "dressing room"....

And then she got distracted by a backpack that she wanted for herself!....

And this was the look when we put it back....

She was quickly over it, and came flying around the corner strolling a teddy bear!.....

The "birth certificate station" caught her eye and she wanted a closer look....

Cute little hearts that go inside of your bear....

And this is where I tell you that both the camera died...and so did Ilah's interest in the place. She was over it.

Just.like.that.

Ha ha ha!!

At this point she took off running out of the store...one of us bolted behind her...and this repeated about five times before we just said, "forget it, let's go". Ilah left empty handed without a bear - and it didn't even phase her. I think she treated the Build-A-Bear workshop more like a play center and once she got her fix, she was good to go. Literally. Although I thought taking her here would be a bit premature, I still wanted to take her someone new and fun. I'm sure when she is a bit older, she will be excited to customize her very own bear {or other animal}, and our return there will be a super fun one : )

Ilah's Fun-Filled Halloween

We originally planned to go to our church's Trunk-or-Treat night last Friday night but unfortunately it rained and even though they didn't cancel it, we passed on going. I was bummed for Ilah {who didn't even know we planned on taking her there}; I really wanted her to have a fun-filled night, being out and about with other little kiddos. But I was determined to find an alternative...so I was on a mission to find a local festivity that we could take her to on Halloween night. And I did : ) A large nearby church was hosting a Fall Family Fun Festival, and the entire community was invited to come out. Admission was a bag of candy so yesterday afternoon Ilah and I went to the store and purchased a few bags to take.

Here is Ilah before we left the house....

Obviously she is too young to get the concept as to why she has a cute little outfit on, and has a bag in her hand, but nevertheless, she was excited. She went running down the sidewalk....

...and then something ahead of her caught her eye....

And she came RUNNING back....

Those boys are from our neighborhood and they looked quite the part for Halloween didn't they!? You see the middle boy with his hands on his mask? They all ended up taking them off when they saw that Ilah was scared. What sweet boys. After they passed, Ilah's fear seemed to have subsided and she wanted to follow them! Ha!...

"God, do you plan to pour candy down from the sky and into my trick-or-treat bag?!"...

The church we went to was less than 5 miles from our home and they had so many things for the kids to do...both outdoors and indoors {which was a nice surprise, so you could stay warm}. Here are some pictures of Ilah making the rounds at some of the fun booths...

They had someone there who made animals out of balloons - Ilah was loving on her little doggy all night...even after we got home.

This is a face of a girl who was upset that a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle scared her....

Ilah had such a good time at the festival and we all had so much fun as a family!!

After some indoor fun, we headed outside. Popcorn caught someone's eye and there was no way she was going to pass it up!....

We bought Ilah some popcorn {just 50 cents!}...and mommy couldn't resist the grape cotton candy, so we got some of that too ; )

Ilah zipped from one inflatable bounce house to the next, and ran around having so much fun!

She had her first taste of cotton candy last night and naturally, she loved it!...

Hope all of you had a wonderful Halloween!!!