watch out Disney . . .

These girls are already well practiced at posing with adoring fans.

The "big" reveal!

So I suppose I should put Grandmas out of their misery? : )

You may remember I sweetly left you hanging with this photo?

One last reminder of Ava's long locks!

No more pony tail! Finishing the cut.

Mommy wasn't prepared for how grown up this little girl would look with short hair.

A back shot

So proud of her and how she chose to bless someone else (and I may admit that combing it has been MUCH more pleasant these last few days).

Now if mommy only handles it this well when it's HER turn.

Haicuts!

We took all of girls to get hair cuts this past tuesday night. It was Kate and Olivia's first "salon" haircut and other than being very serious while their hair was being done, they did really well.

Olivia getting her trim

Kate's turn!

For Ava? Well let's just say we went in with more than just a trim in mind.

After talking for many months, Ava had decided she wanted to give her hair to "another little girl." She's been super excited to do it - here's one last picture of her long locks!

I wasn't sure what to expect when we actually went to do it. But my little girl amazed me. She popped right up into the chair, was answering the lady's questions and was calm as all get out.

About to say good bye to a good eight inches . . .

So do I have you wondering yet how it all turned out?!?!? : )

Come back tomorrow! (insert giggle on my part)

Trick or Treat!

The girls were pretty excited by the time trick or treating rolled around!

One of the fun parts for Ava was that I bought her some makeup she could wear with her costume. She often begs to wear it and with the exception of a bit of blush or sparkles for a really special occasion, I always tell her she has to wait until she's big.

So I had talked to Ryan and decided to surprise her with this exception - she was so excited she slept with it the night before. We had a strict conversation that only mommy can put it on . .. and that Kate and Olivia are still too little. . . and that so is she for other days. So far, it's worked as I heard her echo it to Kate and Olivia herself. : )

Hitting our first house!

Kate and Olivia had no problems figuring out how this whole thing worked - they charmed our neighbors to the best of their abilities. : )

Me and my girls

Gpa and Gma stopped by to see the princesses and brought their own bag of treats. . .including an individual bag of Cheetos for each of the girls. A HUGE hit.

Happy Halloween!

Gpa and Olivia

Then Ava took up her post as "official" candy giver outer (is that an official term?!)

She stayed faithfully there the entire night, doling out the right amount of candy to each kid that came by. : )

Uncle David and Aunt Tara stopped by to see the girls too - I teased David if he had just come from work but I'll go ahead and say he may have modified the outfit a bit to emphasize the actuary part. : )

Beware the Cheetos monsters . . .it's a serious addiction around our house

Daddy and his girls . . .and their stashes

A happy Kate and her candy

Ava back at her post - she decided to sit inside for the last official 30 minutes.

Olivia shows up her stash

And with that, we were candied out until next year!

October Numbers!

We were excited to start our weekend, this past friday with our updated numbers for the month of October! I had prepared just the place to share them:

That's 82 for the boys list and 108 for the girls list.

I was pleasantly surprised by our movement this past month. While our numbers are always fun to get, it's just always good for me to remember that while they help give us an idea of our timeframe, they definitely don't predict our timeframe. We'll be thankful for each step closer we find ourselves at though! Thanks for your continued prayers.

Happy Halloween - part 1

It was a princess extravaganza at our house this Halloween - we figured with 3 girls, we had to do it at least one year before they outgrew it all! : )

Ava was SUPER excited about her costume this year - Ariel. They had a parade at preschool (without accessories I thought) - here she is, all ready to go!

Waiting with her class at drop-off

Class shot - notice Mary Poppins on the bottom? My favorite of the bunch!

Walking in the "parade"

Ava's cheering section

Then we ALL (well the girls ; ) ) got dressed up to go visit Daddy at work!

Princesses Belle, Ariel and Rapunzel

In Daddy's office

Trick or treat!

the rest of Daddy's birthday

For the rest of Ryan's birthday, we enjoyed a fun evening at home with just the 5 of us.

Ava and Daddy with his card from the girls

They picked out Toy Story cupcakes for him : )

Then it was time to paint pumpkins - a favorite each year!

Kate and her finished product (she drew a horse on it if you were wondering)

Olivia and her pumpkin (please notice the dripping paint : ) )

And our resident artist still hard at work . . .

Ava took a picture of all the pumpkins for me - Carebear and all