Acelyn had such a productive Sunday, that she fell asleep in her high chair after lunch. I placed her on the floor for a second while I cleaned up, and she stayed snoozin' and looked adorable as ever.
Later in the day, we made some crafts, and she may have eaten some glitter. Oops!
Late that night, right before heading to bed, I received a text from my Mom asking if we had seen the news. I quickly turned it on, and we were devastated to learn about the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. We stayed up for hours, watching the heartbreaking and stressful footage, as numbers climbed in injured and those shot. We watched as images came across social media that I'll never be able to erase in my mind. While continuing to watch, I engaged in my BFF Mom group on Facebook where lots of Mamas were expressing their concern for our city and us local girls couldn't believe what was happening and couldn't stop shaking. We tried to go to bed, but I couldn't shut my mind off and finally fell asleep with my phone in my hand around 3AM, only to wake up at 6AM to more devastation, learning the death toll was at 58; the worst mass shooting in US history.
What followed in our city for those first few days after the tragedy was a roller coaster of emotions. Even though we weren't at the event, or directly involved, it was highly personal and really affected us more than I ever thought it could. It was impossible to feel safe in a place we call home, and knowing an act so unpredictable and horrendous could occur anywhere, at any time, in our city, made me sick and extremely anxious to take the kids anywhere. In the midst of the stress, sadness and fear, came an unwavering support of community that made us so proud to call Las Vegas our home. Hearing the stories of survivors helping one another out of the festival... Uber drivers packing piles of injured concertgoers to transport to the hospital since there were just too many... the first responders and ER employees who worked endlessly... locals lined up for hours upon hours to donate much needed blood.... the #VegasStrong billboards that lined the streets, whether it was on the Strip, off the freeways around town or even at local businesses in Henderson... and the 8 million dollars donated to the Las Vegas Victim's Fund Go Fund Me within two days time (which has now risen to $11 million). Seeing and hearing amazing acts being done and living in the moment of "Be Kind, Do Good", was a refreshing and much needed vibe. At one of the saddest times, it was also one of the proudest times in our city, and I'm so glad that the world could see Vegas in a positive light and how truly amazing our community can be!
We are fortunate that we didn't directly know anyone injured or worse that night, but we're also incredibly saddened by the loss of 58 victims and how this has affected so many people, both directly and indirectly involved. #VEGASSTRONG
On Monday morning, we needed to take Acelyn to the dentist, since she fell and chipped her two front teeth that Saturday night. It was an awkward feeling to be doing something so trivial and "normal" at a very non-normal time, and I couldn't shake the sadness from the night before. When we got to the office, the kids played with the waiting room toys, while every parent sat glued to their phone... googling and skimming social media to catch updates. When we were called back, Nolan snacked while we waited and Acelyn was happy to see Zootopia on the TV (even though she doesn't look very excited, here). She wasn't a fan of the dentist laying her down and checking her teeth, but she did great and it was over quickly. It was good news that there was no root damage, and her teeth can be smoothed down when she's a little older. For now, she gets to rock her very chipped two front teeth! We took a quick trip to Target to pick up some groceries, and every single person was talking about the shooting but also, were so, so friendly and people went out of their way to be kind... which felt so good during such a hard day.
When we got home, I couldn't help but feel so happy that these two had no idea what craziness was going on in the world, and felt comforted by their sweet giggles.
We took a spin around the neighborhood after naps in the afternoon, and then played Ring Aound the Rosy, which Acelyn thought was hilarious to "all fall down!"
We wanted to spread the community love and say Thank You to all of our emergency responders, so when I saw @Sincerely Mel Designs Project Thank You, I knew the kids would love to help color some Thank You letters to go to our local police and fire departments. Nolan drew "the fire men" and helped write out Thank You, while Acelyn scribbled some love. Even though it was just a small thing, it still felt good to share our gratitude for keeping our city safe and a great lesson to teach Nolan on how to Look for the Helpers (thanks Daniel Tiger!) and show ways to show our appreciation.
On Friday, the Discovery Children's Museum was allowing free admission to Las Vegas locals as a way to help the community heal. I was really anxious about taking the kids out to a busy place so soon, but knew we couldn't stop life and live in fear, so we called up our friends to see if they wanted to join. We met up with Jamie, Victor, Coen and Shaw, as well as Breann and Ellis, and spent the morning at the museum. It was a great distraction from the week and a perfect way to let the kids be kids and keep their Mamas minds happy. Nolan and Coen spent a ton of time in the toddler room, loading up bags of rocks and dumping them over and over again, while the littles ran around trying to keep up!
Acelyn loved the sensory wall and kept hugging the soft things!
We always love the pretend play area, and the airport was the big hit this visit, where Acelyn decided she would crawl through the conveyer belt not once, but twice... Whoops! She did some grocery shopping and Nolan did some magnifying glass discovery, too.
Of course, the water room is the most anticipated, so we leave this for last, as the kids tend to get soaked despite their cute ponchos. They were busy, so therefore I was too, chasing them around, hence the lack in pictures here!
After our adventures inside, we spent some time winding down with lunch on the park grass, talking about the week and letting the kids run free. It was a beautiful day, and one that made us appreciate our littles even more.
Later that night, we took a fun field trip to PetsMart, where Acelyn said "Fish, fish, fish" over and over again. (More like, Fsshhh, Fsssshh!)
Saturday morning, we met up with Erin and Jeremy at Cafe Breizh, a little French bakery that had some amazing breakfast pastries, which Acelyn seriously approved of!
Afterwards, we headed over to the Italian Sports Car Show, where Jason and Jeremy talked all things cars and racing, while we strolled and checked out the fancy cars. Nolan has been obsessed with our old, half broken digital camera, and thinks it's the coolest thing to take pictures of everything, so he brought that along and snapped blurry pictures of cars, his feet, and other random things! We really should get him a new one that focuses correctly, because it's hilarious to go through and look at the pictures he takes!
The kids painted some Target $1 section pumpkins during the afternoon.
Nolan's Preschool had their Park Day, where class for the day is held at a nearby park and the parents get to attend, mingle, and watch a few performances the kiddos have learned thus far in the year. The kids also got to make some crafts (clown puppet below), read some stories and play a few games, while the parents signed up for snacks and parties throughout the year. During the performances, Nolan acted shy and refused to participate, whether it was reciting the Pledge, singing songs or dancing. I know he knows all the words to each of these, because he comes home singing them all the time. I made sure to ask his teachers if he's shy at school, and they assured me that he participates, so he was probably just overwhelmed by all of the parents watching and filming! Either way, it was super, super cute and I just love his teachers and school so much!
Acelyn had a successful spaghetti night!
She's starting to talk more, and loves asking "gain" (Again) for more of something, or "wa dat" (What's that?) when she wants to know what something is.
Nolan continued the circus theme at school and came home with a complete circus scene craft that was so cute!
We had a real life moment meltdown when I wouldn't let her empty the dirty dishes in the dishwasher (literally her favorite thing in the world to do).
She discovered a new love for the word "NO". (Greeeaaaatttt).
The City of Henderson Fire Department had an awesome Community Expo and Open House at their training center, and Nolan was in fire truck heaven for the morning! We watched a demonstration of a rescue, and Nolan was able to use the fire hose to knock over cones by spraying them! He talked about this for days and days.
We took lots and lots of pictures next to and on trucks and ambulances, and while he tried getting Acelyn into it, she just wasn't all about that truck life like her bro.
There were lots of booths with games and giveaways, and the kids loved the Chick Fil A cow and won cute little stuffed versions of him.
Acelyn tried on some fire gear, while Nolan joined SWAT for a minute (he's behind the shield, haha!)
Before we left, we sat and snacked while watching the full demonstration of a mock building fire, with full trucks and sirens, water hoses and smoke! Nolan was totally in his element and loved every second if it. We didn't plan on it being such a cool event, but we had a great time and it was a perfect way to spend the weekend!
Acelyn enjoyed a day at My Gym, jumping on the trampoline, sliding and loving on the Halloween decorations.
We spent our week at the ABC Kids Expo and had the best time!
Nolan made a good manners garden and a ghost wind sock at preschool during the week, while learning about the letter 'G'.
On the weekend, he got another haircut and asked to take a picture with his sissy afterwards.
That night, we all took a trip to the pumpkin patch, and Nolan was so excited to ride the "spinny ride" and had a blast cracking up the whole time. We all hopped on the choo-choo, and said a quick Hi! to the animals, but had to head out since it was pretty late, promising to come back another day to spend more time.
Nolan showed me how Daddy does push ups, and said he wants to exercise so he can grow and grow!
He had a dentist appointment for his second cleaning, and was so excited to go! He did great again, especially with his x rays and cleaning, and the best news: no cavities!
At Preschool, he learned about growing pumpkins and the complete process.
We had a great time at the very crowded Black Mountain Trunk or Treat with our friends!
Jason had Friday off for Nevada Day, so we took a trip to the pumpkin patch, which was great because it wasn't too busy. The kids got some time with the animals, and Acelyn chased the chickens literally the.entire.time. She stopped a few for some goats, but really, she was all about the chickens. Nolan got some kisses and sniffs to his neck from a goat, and Acelyn couldn't understand why it wouldn't lick her hand like Harley does.
We went on the "spinny ride" per Nolan's request, again, and he had a blast. This made me super excited to take him to Disneyland this year, because he'll be all about the rides!
We hopped on the train again, and snapped some pictures before heading out. It was a great way to spend an hour and get in the Halloween spirit!
The kids sang Happy Birthday to Harley and gifted him some new toys, and we gave our fur baby lots of love for turning eight!
We painted some of our mini pumpkins, which Nolan loved, but Acelyn painted more of herself than her actual pumpkin. Maybe next year?
The new Cadence park had a Fall Festival that we decided to check out on the weekend, and it ended up being a blast! The kids started by playing on the new playground, which is amazing, and Nolan spent the entire time on this massive slide.
Acelyn braved the big kids slide and went waaaaaay faster than I expected!
We picked up some free carmel apples and made our way to the horse drawn hay ride, and the kids loved it! When the ride was over, we all met the horses up front and both kids loved petting them. Afterwards, we grabbed some goodies from the ice cream truck where the kids chowed down and made a huge mess... which was so worth it!
When we got home, we were surprised with a fun little bucket on our front porch. We were boo'd! Thank you to whoever Boo'd us!
We had a major trick or treat fail at Lake Las Vegas, but the kids still had fun dressed up in their Moana costumes!
On Monday night, we met up with the Espejos at Opportunity Village and had fun Trick or Treating and carrying on a Halloween tradition!
Halloween morning was eventful- Acelyn fell into the side of our closet door, and somehow sliced open the top of her ear. It looked pretty open, but I wasn't sure if it was something that needed stitches because she only cried for a short period of time and then forgot all about it. I decided I would take her in, just to be on the safe side, after I dropped Nolan off at PreK. He was super excited because it was his Halloween Party day, and he got to dress up as the garbage truck costume he picked out himself! It was a hit and everyone at school loved it.
Once we dropped him off, I took Acelyn over to urgent care, and it's a good thing I did, because girlfriend ended up with 4 stitches! She was such a good girl in the waiting room, and snacked and watched Moana. She played sweetly while we talked to the doctor, and then it was torture time. It was awful to have to hold her down while she was screaming, and somehow I managed to get through it without bawling with her. Afterwards she got all the snuggles because I felt so, so bad for her. What a way to celebrate Halloween!
At school, Nolan had a blast at his party, and came home with a cute bat and awesomely painted pumpkin. He also received a Super Star Award for reciting the ABCs!
It didn't take long for her to return back to her normal, silly self, and she was completely fine for the remainder of the day (and whole time with the stitches in!)
We spent Halloween with the Luks family, as every year, and had a great 2017 Halloween!
....Until next month!
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