That Time We Dyed Orelia's Hair Blue

What'd you do the day before Thanksgiving?  Oh, we dyed Orelia's hair blue.

Uncle Bobby flew in yesterday and Orelia had been asking him for weeks whether he would make her hair blue when he came.

He first blow dried Orelia's hair (for the first time).  She was enamored with the results.

 Then the blue went in.  And it was seriously blue.

Tons and tons of blue was washed down the sink (the sink which may never be the same), yet tons of blue still remains.

 Brother Bennett was fascinated by the new look and was very intrigued.

 We then took Orelia to see herself in the mirror.

 And she was over the moon excited.

 The master with his creation posed for some photos outside.

 Her new hair goes well with her new Uncle-Bobby-provided fairy costume as well.

 Was this my idea?  No.  Was I thrilled with the results?  No.  I am trying very hard to let Orelia be Orelia even at this young age.  She has always been herself and likes to do pretty outrageous things with her appearance.  I know that she will be doing this her entire life, so I am trying to embrace it.  We are HOPING this dye comes out in about a week or so, and hair is just hair anyway.  We love our silly, adventurous, blue-loving gal and we love that she is herself.

Blue Hair got to show off her stuff at the mall and I cannot even begin to tell you how many compliments she got.  Since the line for Santa was short, I also decided we might as well pop over for a visit to memorialize her blue hair.

When asked what she wanted for Christmas, Orelia said she would like a yo-yo (she gave the same answer last week too).

We adore this spunky kid so much.

The Fall Filter

I finally get it!  

All the raving about fall finally makes sense to me.  

 I'm not going to say it's my favorite season (SUMMER FTW!), but I am absolutely loving fall this year.

It's not pumpkin spice flavored things or cooler temperatures, but it's the beauty of the light that gets me.

I never noticed it before, but come fall the sun is just so low in the sky it's always filtered through the beautiful changing leaves and the whole sky just glows.

 And when I see this girl's curls lit up by the fall sun, my heart melts.

 It's almost as if the entire season of fall has its own Instagram filter that makes everything more beautiful.

Palo Alto trees are at the peek this week, and I can't help but smile every time I walk down our street.  This fall thing is working for me.

And pumpkin-flavored beer isn't half bad, either.

The Two Percent

 Lately my photos are 98% Orelia.

 She is so exuberant in her play, that I try my best to capture her in her element.

 She loves playing "tennis" with her Hello Kitty tennis racket from Aunt Natalie and Uncle Mitch (it's more akin to baseball where I throw her the ball and she tries to hit it).

 There are often acrobatic feats from the monkey bars in my camera roll.

 Lately she has been enjoying jumping and running more than ever.  She especially likes to leap from the rocks in our yard.

 I have many, many photos of this girl upside down.

 She must love the view.  (So do I.)

 Occasionally there are pictures of snuggles, but usually she is solo.

 I am grateful for every photo of her sweet smile.

 This period of her life is especially well documented, it seems.

And then there is Bennett.  He is my sweet boy who is never in front of the camera.  I remember this age with Orelia.  They aren't always as easy to smile as they were when they were babies.  And they are always moving, and usually they are crawling away from you or literally crawling on you.  I could probably take a million photos of Bennett standing and yanking at my pant legs in the kitchen, and that would capture this age perfectly.

 For now all I have are a few photos where Bennett is in his daddy's arms.

Or strapped into his little car.

I will try harder, Bennett, to capture you in your element better.  For now I will just hang onto those few photos I have of you at almost-fourteen-months.

City Field Trip

We got to take a field trip up to San Francisco last week when we had a day off from school and a nanny to watch Bennett.

When I told Orelia that morning we were going up to the city she shrieked with joy and jumped up and down.

She was especially excited to be going up with her best friend and fellow preschool buddy (whose mommy also has a nanny for our work days at school).

 Orelia helped me choose the very chocolately cookies we enjoyed from Miette.

 And she drank her Blue Bottle hot chocolate in less than two minutes.

After the Ferry Building treats we enjoyed a big city playground absolutely chock full of other kids off of school too!  It was a wonderful morning, and I was so glad to take my big girl on an adventure.

Those Eyes

His eyes.  They see everything now.  Every piece of food on the counter that he eagerly and dangerously lunges for.  Every time Mommy tries to slip out of the room.  Each instance his sister approaches with a grin on her face.  Any four-wheeled vehicle in the room.  Any dog anywhere ("Dahg!  Dahg!  Dahg!").  He is so observant and eager, it's fun seeing the world reflected in his beautiful blue eyes.

Halloween 2015

Halloween is definitely a great time to have a kid.

Seeing Orelia light up when she slips on her fairy wings and waves her wand around is just magical.

 The day before Halloween there was a costume parade at her school and she proudly marched/fluttered around with her class.

 The wand got quite a workout, though I'm not sure what kinds of spells she was casting.

 She was eager to wave at me and all the other bystanders oo-ing and ah-ing around the procession.

 Before the parade, all the kids in the class got to stand up and talk about their costume.  Orelia was very eager to discuss every accessory.  "I have wings and a wand and a crown."  "Anything else you want to add?"  "I also have shoes."

 On Halloween night three fairies gathered with their pal Dorothy to trick-or-treat.  (Not pictured, Spider-Man)

 Per Orelia's request, John dressed up at Darth Vader, and his costume was a huge hit with everyone all night.

 I'm not a costume person, but I slipped on a witch hat when I got in the spirit.  Bennett was a dragon since that was the only thing I could come up with that went with fairy.  :)

Needless to say, Orelia had an absolute blast trick-or-treating.  The whole experience just blew her mind.

 Darth walked up to every house with the girls and I think they made a wonderful crew.

Bennett didn't enjoy Halloween much, to be honest, since I didn't let him eat any candy and he was essentially carted around in the dark.  He and I headed home early so he could go to sleep at a normal time.  His sister loved staying out late with Daddy and making the most of every Halloween moment.
We hope you all had a happy Halloween too!