Visit with Yia Yia and Pappou

Ella and Pappou had a nice time discussing the names of the boys and girls in Ella's preschool class

Yia Yia and Nicholas

Papa Don reading to Mae (one of her favorites......her big animal picture book) with Niko posing in the background

Papa Don, Nicholas, Mae and Mommy (Ella was at preshool)

LOVING this picture......Nicholas James Demas and Nicholas James Detwiler

Yia Yia and Mae.......Mae and Yia Yia enjoyed looking at books together. At one point, I asked Mae to go get a book and take it to Yia Yia. Mae walked from the kitchen right out to the living room to the books basket, grabbed a book and took it to Yia Yia and handed it to her. So sweet!

We had a very special visit from my grandma (Yia Yia) and grandpa (Pappou) Demas yesterday. My parents drove GM and GP up from Columbus. GM is 93 and GP is 91 and it was such a blessing to have them visit us in our new home. We captured some really sweet moments on camera. These pictures are precious to me.

Disney Magic Show

On Sunday, November 7, friends of ours from church gave us tickets to the Disney Magic Show at Conseco Fieldhouse. There were 4 tickets so Lenn and I took the big kids and Meemaw and Papa stayed with Mae at our house. The show was big and bright and fun. Ella was absolutely mesmerized by the princesses. Nicholas was totally participating throughout the whole show.....they frequently asked us to say the magic word........but then after the show was over, Niko said it was boring. Go figure!

They wouldn't let us take pictures of the actual show......bummer.

It's always fun to get to do something cool downtown. Indianapolis has so much to offer.

GAG Night 2010

Nicholas (Spiderman) with Joshua (5) and Ben (2) Waggoner at GAG night. The entire Waggoner family dressed up as pirates......awesome. This picture is out of order.......long story.......

Ella as "Tinkerbell".......she's holding one of the princesses that Daddy brought her from his trip to Texas......cute!

Ella and Nicholas

Nicholas, Mae (Raggedy Ann) and Ella.....ready for GAG night!!

Mae trick-or-treating for the first time......at Miss Ann's house in our cul-de-sac

Mae Mae as "Raggedy Ann"........Mae left her wig on only about half of the time and she has a cold so getting the perfect picture was not easy.......we never could get her to smile!

Mae Mae and Ella playing the duck game

Ella playing ring toss while Mae watches closely

Will Hoerger (2 yr old friend from Bible Study, dressed as Woody from "Toy Story") with Nicholas and Ella (Ella is eating a pixie stick.....yum)

Tonight was our Great Alternative Gig (GAG) night at Chapel Rock. We got the kids all dressed up, made a quick trick-or-treastop at our neighbor Ann's house and then headed to church. The kids had a great time playing games and getting candy. Nicholas and Ella were very much into acquiring the most and best candies but Mae just wanted to wander around and take it all in. Lenn and I just looked at last year's blog and it is unbelievable how much these children have changed. Mae was just a few weeks old and I was wearing her in my sling. Ella had a pudgy little baby face and beautiful ringlet curls around her tiara. Niko looks like he's 6 inches taller this year (maybe I exaggerate......but he does look like a big kid!). My how time flies.

Waterman's Fall Festival

Ella and Daddy in the corn maze

So cute....."How tall this fall?"......Nicholas and Ella (below) are big kids!!

Nicholas posing in the corn maze

Niko speeding down the combine slide (the slide is attached to a combine.........clever!)

Ella on the combine slide

Nicholas racing against Mommy and Mae....I'm not sure who was having more fun!! Woo hoo!

Mae playing "peek-a-boo" from inside a tractor tire

We had the most fun last night at the Waterman's Fall Festival on the east side of Indianapolis. Waterman's is a pumpkin patch, farm, market, etc with lots of fall fun activities for families to enjoy. The kids played and played and then as we were preparing to leave, it was time to feed the dinosaur. They have this mechanical dinosaur who is probably 10 feet tall that growls rather loudly and eats pumpkins. It was great! Nicholas and Ella were mesmerized and Mae was slightly terrified.......she didn't totally melt down but she was shaking in Lenn's arms. What says fall like a pumpkin-eating dinosaur?

Jack-o-Lanterns!!!

"Ariel" and "Golf" jack-o-lanterns

Ella and Nicholas and their pumpkin creations

Nicholas and Daddy working hard on Niko's "golf" pattern

Ella concentrating on her "Ariel" carving

Ready to start carving!

We had a great time this afternoon carving our pumpkins for this year. We bought pumpkins last night, printed off patterns from the computer and got to work. Ella, of course, wanted to do a princess so she chose Ariel from "The Little Mermaid." Nicholas had a tough time deciding between baseball and golf but ended up with a very cool golf picture. (You can click on the jack-o-lanterns picture for a bigger image.) It felt a little strange to be carving pumpkins outside in our shorts and t-shirts. It was a beautiful day but it didn't feel much like fall.

Now we're going to roast up our pumpkin seeds.......yum!

Mae's Birthday Cupcake

I decided I should do a separate post about Mae eating her cupcake so that I can include lots of pictures. On Nicholas and Ella's first birthdays, there had been very few sweets prior to their parties. So when they were presented with their first cupcakes, they approached said cakes as though they were strange and forbidden. They were ever so cautious. Not my Mae Mae. She's had numerous encounters with sweets in the past few months so when it was cupcake time, it was game on. She grabbed that thing with both hands. She had two hands full of cupcake so she couldn't quite get herself a bite so Ella helped. Then Mae got it figured out. She seriously ate the entire cupcake except for the chunk that fell down beside her in the high chair. That's my girl!

Happy 1st Birthday, Mae!!!

Our Blessed Mae Mae

Yummy

Mimi and Mae Mae

Sarah and her boys.....Joshua and Ben

Mae's Presents along with the resident gift bosses Ella and Niko (who is on the couch but did quickly assume the other boss role as soon as the first card was opened)

Our little Mae Mae turned one today. I have been a wreck for the last few weeks thinking about my "baby" turning one. She is such a blessing and I cannot believe how fast the past year has gone. I'm so proud of her. She was born into this busy household and she has learned to take it all in stride. She loves her brother and sister. She loves her big stinky dog. She LOVES her Daddy and grandparents. She is pure delight.


We had a nice little party for her this weekend. Mimi and Papa Don drove up from Columbus. Our friends Sarah, Joshua and Ben Waggoner also joined us. Meemaw and Papa Carl were missed while they are traveling out west. Mae liked her dinner, LOVED her cupcake, and could have cared less about her presents.......which was a good thing because her brother and sister really didn't let her help open anything. She did seem to really like the walking/talking Cabbage Patch Doll that we had bought her........I wasn't sure if she would like the doll or be terrified because she's really loud! Mae received so many sweet presents including many beautiful new outfits. Yippee!! I love dressing up my girls!