a few October favorites

 Taty, Mimi, Luci and myself went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Durham Performing Arts Center.  Luciana absolutely loved the show - and I loved how into it she was!  She was singing along and laughing and had the biggest smile on her face the entire time.  I hope this is the beginning of her love of the theater!

 Mimi and Luci made my birthday cake - it was a true work of art.

 

 Any weekend we are in town, we usually have Ashley, who lives in the house behind us, and Allison, who lives in the house next to us, hanging around with our girls.  For the most part they all get along like gangbusters and enjoy spending time together.

 The girls were both Snow White for Jonas and Maggie's annual Halloween bash.

 For the actual night of Halloween, Luci ditched Snow White in favor of Belle and Kai got into the spirit by donning the outfit he wore as a groomsman in an Indian wedding.

 We had a great time Trick-or-Treating with friends Josie, Arlo and Ashley.

the last of the beach days...

We bid summer farewell in style with a quicky trip to the beautiful and remote Ocracoke Island. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we all had a good time visiting with the wild ponies, playing on the beach, and biking around the island.  The ferry ride was also quite the hit with the girls.  I'm hoping we can come back soon and stay longer the next time around.  As Ruby kept saying as the ferry pulled away 'Bye Beach, Bye Coke'....until next year.

Leave it to the Pros

The results from the annual trip to Portrait Innovations do not disappoint. I'm always amazed at how well the photographs turn out considering how all over the place the girls can be.  This time it was Ruby who was not really having it - but Luci was way into it and set a good example for her to pose.

TWO!

The Ru is Two! Celebrations involved fun at the pool (note that Kai really seems to be enjoying himself on the slide and not pictured is a minor mishap with Mimi and Ruby going down the slide involving the lifeguard jumping in - thankfully all was well), bounce houses and face painting, opening lots of awesome presents and cupcakes galore!  Ruby is really starting to shine - she always makes me laugh with her silly expressions and she has a sweetness to her that can catch me off guard.  She is also extremely fond of her big sister, and their bond is incredibly strong.   Happy 2nd Birthday to my littlest ray of sunshine. We Love You!