Pumpkin Carving!!!

We had a pretty low profile week because Laney woke up really really sick on Monday morning. She had a high fever and the worst chest congestion I have ever heard. It was really pretty scary. She could barely catch her breath. We laid low on Monday and once she had medicine to get the fever down, she was happy to play with her toys, but she would'nt talk at all. Her little throat hurt so badly that she wouldn't even try to say anything. We went to the doctor on Tuesday, after a really scary night of not being able to breathe very well. He gave her some breathing treatments and some other advice to help. She got better and better except for her pitiful little voice. She was so scratchy and squeaky that I could barely understand her. By Thursday she was mostly recovered and definitely ready to get out of our house. She kept asking if we could ride in the car, or if she could go see "Kaffy" (her teacher, Mrs. Kathy) at school. This was such a reminder to me of how much Laney loves to play and to be on the go. I am praying that she doesn't get too bored in the future when we are staying home with her baby brothers!
Thursday night we got to have a pumpkin carving party with our Taiwanese friends. Our small group from church has started up our meetings with the university students again, and we have had so much fun already!
Laney and I made and decorated cupcakes to bring to the party. Laney actually only decorated the ones that she got to eat. Even though she was deemed no longer contagious by the doctor, it is better to be safe than sorry!!!

Laney chose a spider cupcake topper for her mini cupcake. We have a halloween decoration that dates back to when I was a little girl at our house. My mom handed it down to me a couple of years ago. It is a stuffed spider on an elastic string that we named Sammy when we were little. Laney chose this decoration for her cupcake and called it Sammy. I hope Sam is not confused next year when we bust Sammy out again! When we got to the church to meet our friends, Laney was so excited to get to play with Tyce. She kept saying, "Run Tyce! Chase!" It was really fun to see them play together!!

Our friends Alan and Rania brought their 6 month old Alvin all decked out in his dinosaur costume. He is so cute and such a rolie polie, I wanted to sneak him home. He would fit right in with our family sporting that dino pride!
One of the most fabulous parts of our evening was that Janelle and Ella got to come and carve pumpkins and play with us! When Laney woke up from her nap, I accidentally told her that we were going to get to see Ella that night. From that moment on, she wanted Ella to be at our house that instant. She kept saying, "I want Ella my house!" over and over. I love that she loves her friend so much. It really makes my heart happy, but I am going to have to remember to not give too much lead time on when we are going to get to see her!!!!

They were playing with a Karate Kid style drum that Alan and Rania brought back from Taiwan for Tyce. He was sweet enough to share with them! Janelle brought this mini pumpkin for her and Ella to carve. It was really cute, and definitely didn't take as long to complete!
Laney tried to offer her help to Janelle in the carving process.

Look at their tiny pumpkin. Doesn't get much cuter than that!

We had a much more gigantic pumpkin to tackle. Laney and Ella helped Todd for a brief moment, but the process was a little more than they bargained for. Todd recruited a team of our Taiwanese friends to help him create a spooky spider!

The Spider Team!!!!

Jai-yo, Sarah, and Tammy!! All of our finished products! Except for Janelle and Ella's baby one. I don't know why it isn't pictured. It was certainly worthy!!!