10 year journey

Cadence is 10 years old! All of my children - double digits now. It feels impossible. She has been with us for a little under 9 years. Cadence and Sierra got in an argument the other day with Sierra arguing that Cadence was born in 2010 and Cadence stating that she was born in 2009. Is Sierra really bad at math or was she just trying to get under her sister's skin (entirely possible!). Or does it seem like Cadence's life started when she came home with us in 2010? She had a whole 16 months that happened before we came into her life. Think of ALL of the things that happen in a child's first 16 months of life. All of the milestones that are cheered about and celebrated. All of the connections that are forming in their brains. So many things!

We have been very open discussing with Cadence what few details we know about those first 16 months of life. We have 24 pictures that we can share with her. We have a short journal that a wonderful volunteer with Half the Sky made when she met with Cadence the last four months that Cadence was in the orphanage. We have speculation about what happened the first few days of her life. Cadence has a very inquisitive mind. I know that there is a lot going on inside her little head about her life story that she is may not be talking to us about. Maybe she can't even formulate the thoughts and questions that are circling around in there. She may not even know where to start. It will be a lifelong journey of processing for her and sometimes I feel like I am failing on helping her navigate it all. 

Recently we went to this wonderful American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. On one wall there were postcards from postsecret blown up to 8x10's and displayed. Check out the link if you don't know what it is but basically people can send anonymous postcards to an address and they may make it into a book, website, or the wall of a museum apparently. Sierra and Laurel were reading them and Cadence was just wandering around... not seeming too interested. Until I saw her standing in front of these. The only two about adoption. I read them and felt like the air was sucked out of the room. What did they mean to her? How did she feel about them? Later that evening I attempted a conversation with her to no avail. She had no questions or desire to discuss anything. I have walked the line of  pushing her to possibly talk about her thoughts/feelings/etc versus letting her discuss in her own time. So I will sit with it some more and wait for a moment that feels right or for her to feel like the moment is right. 

Just a week later we attended a concert in Richmond. Last year I received a pamphlet for events at the Modlin Art Center. I set it aside to look at it another day. Months later I finally opened it and saw that Anda Union was touring in the US and would be just down the road from us! They are musicians and story tellers who share Mongolian culture and heritage through songs and native instruments. I was very excited for Cadence to experience such a rich part of her culture just an hour away from where we live! Once we got there and started reading the bios of the performers I was blown away that each of them mentioned a connection to Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia. Almost all of them had lived there or currently were living or working there. Hohhot City is a huge place but it took my breath away knowing that they may have walked past Cadence's orphanage, maybe even while she was there. I knew that we had to meet and talk to the members of the group! The music was mesmerizing and beautiful. Throughout the show there was video footage of the grasslands, yurts, and nomadic life. Cadence was riveted throughout the performance. We rushed to meet the group at the end and they were all very excited when they learned that Cadence was from Inner Mongolia. They surrounded her and she was seemed very happy and proud to be there with them too. When we were leaving we stopped to meet one of the singers. She sang the "Mother Song"which combines two long songs lamenting the distance between families and wish for reunification (let that sit for a minute here..) When we introduced Cadence she put her hand on Cadence's cheek and said "Mongolia is your Homeland". It was truly one of the most beautiful moments that I have witnessed. I don't know that Cadence fully understood the gravity of the whole night but I know that it made her incredibly happy to be in that space with those people and music and the story of her heritage. I know that our bodies hold on to all of the experiences throughout our lives and deep within Cadence she knows how special that evening was. I also know that it held more for her than I can probably grasp. Maybe one day, as she matures and processes her story, she will share with me what these moments have meant to her.

"I wish you knew that every time you talk about how much you hate people who put up 

their children for adoption.... your talking about my mom."

"To a Birthmother:

You and I have never met, though I've cried for you many times. You gave up your son so that he could have everything, and for that I love you. He has and is everything you could have ever hoped for. He'll look for you someday, and I hope he finds you. My greatest wish is that you want to be found so that you can see what a wonderful person your son has become, and all because of you and your love for him. I love you. PS You're invited to our wedding!"

Anda Union

Cadence busting into her new year! Happy 10th birthday, baby girl!

The beauty in our differences

As Cadence is getting older she's having more "new" friends over to our house. Most have only known Cadence for a few months or a year. Almost none of them know that she has a cleft lip/palate. If they ask why her nose is flat on one side or that it looks like she's missing teeth even though she hasn't lost any yet, she'll easily tell them that she it's because of her cleft palate. Of course, I don't think that any of them know what that means. But they got an answer and off they run to the playground.  Until they come to our house.

We have Cadence's referral picture in a frame. The picture that introduced me to my third child. The picture that I stared at endlessly, getting lost in her eyes, wondering if she was being loved and taken care of. Worrying about how she would transition into our family. Wondering if our love would be enough to help get her through whatever has happened to her before she was placed in our arms.

Another one of my favorite pictures that we have out is the first professional ones of my three girls. I swear my heart grows every time I look at the pure joy on their faces! Cadence's big, beautiful cleft smile... I fell in love with it because it was her. I even had a hard time when she had her lip repaired. I missed her cleft smile desperately.

When I look at those pictures now I don't see her cleft lip. I just see her. However, when new friends see the pictures, the cleft is all that they see. It does look dramatic. Most kids have never seen a child with an unrepaired cleft. And I think it can be hard to relate that to the crazy, giggly girl that they know.  Most of them ask questions about it, understandably. Some are a little confused, some listen and move on. A few have said things that can hurt if Cadence is really paying attention. "I'm sure am glad I wasn't born with a cleft" and "That is soooo weird". I don't fault them. They are young kids. I'm sure my kids have said inappropriate things in similar situations.

I know from our six months that Cadence was first home with her unrepaired lip the reactions that happen in stores and on the street. We're standing in the grocery line and Adult makes every effort not to look at Child with cleft. Kid can't stop staring at Child with cleft. Adult grabs staring Kid and whispers "Stop staring" and tries to hustle them away from Child with cleft so they can't see. Back then, I made every effort to reach out to that family though. To explain to kids that this a cleft lip, it's how Cadence was born, just like staring Kid was born with brown hair/freckles/blue eyes. Yes, it looks different and because it makes it hard for her to talk a doctor will fix it one day and her lip will look like most kids. I wanted to use the moment to teach them that it's okay to look and ask questions (hopefully politely) but mostly I wanted them to know that she is a kid just like they are... just one that looks different. Because all of us are different and that's what makes the world kind of awesome! There is beauty in our differences and they don't have to be ignored, just respected.

Cadence is a pretty self assured little girl but I worry that as she gets older about comments that she hears might not roll off her back like they do now. For now I'll try to help my kids see the beauty in everyone's differences as well as the things that makes each of them different from every other person in their class or on the street. Hopefully they will carry that with them where ever they go and with whomever they encounter.

Community Day for Cadence

Last week was Community Day at Cadence's school. I had signed up to help out for 4 hours (!) and wasn't completely enthused about it. My work needed help and I contemplated bailing on volunteering to make a few extra bucks. Ironic, huh, that I was planning to bail on helping out the community ON Community Day! Anyway, I decided to go into work a little later and complete my chore at the school. Before I know it Cadence won't be

 begging me to come volunteer during her class anymore.

**cough, Sierra, cough**

 

I am so glad I did it! The amount of work and energy that was put into this by the teachers was amazing! The kids had 10 stations to go to and a bag of money to spend. They are learning about money denomination and spending habits. I was in awe at how orderly the whole event was considering the volume of 5-6 year olds involved (all of the kindergarten classes). There were a ton of parents to

help out. The kids' excitement and positive energy in the room left

me feeling all warm and fuzzy! I truly feel blessed that we

have found our way to such a great school and community!

 

 

Riding the bus

Stop at the Soda Shop

Everyone needs to do yoga during their busy day

Grocery shopping

I worked the shoe shine station which cost 10 cents. We showed them how to

do it, they handed over two nickels, and shined each others' shoes

 

 The kids absolutely LOVED shining the VP and teachers' shoes

They watched a "movie"

At the post office they wrote a letter to a friend

Reading at the book store

They got to take home the book that they bought

Made of AWESOME!

This girl is made of Awesome! She put that outfit together and she totally owned it! She owns everything that she builds, says, makes, creates. No holds barred. She has her moments of shyness and bashfulness and regret. But most of the time she is wide open, full of life and joy, and taking the world by storm. 

As we were walking into the grocery store the other day she was skipping ahead singing "I'm cool. I'm awesome. I'm cool. I'm awesome!" Laurel and Sierra trailed behind saying "Mom, she sounds kind of conceited. You should tell her to stop." I can't. I just can't do it. I said to my older girls that Cadence has her whole life to be knocked down. Someone will knock her down at some point if she doesn't do it to herself first. If she can retain a portion of her self-love and self-confidence, that will be a win. But it will change eventually. There will be a boy, or a frenemy, or an outright bully that will make her stop and question all of her awesomeness. Sadly, it may even be the voice in her own head after seeing a commercial on TV or a supermodel in a magazine. She will question her looks, her strength, her smarts, her worth. She will question and compare and wonder if she's good enough, if she's smart enough, if she's "fill in the blank" enough. That is the sad fact of life. I sure as hell am not going to be the one to knock her down.

Don't get me wrong. I'm fully aware that she shouldn't skip her way down Wall Street chanting "I'm cool. I'm awesome!" as she swings her briefcase. At least not out loud. But my wish for her, is that she will sing it in her head. I hope that she holds on to the confidence that she has when she looks in the mirror at her stripes and polka dots and her crazy hair that she "did all on my own" and can say to herself  on a regular basis "I kinda kick ass. I'm smart, I'm strong, and I have worth." You are made of Awesome, Cadence. Don't ever forget or doubt it, baby girl!

Cadence's dance recital

I'm determined to get caught up on 2013 before it ends!  Cadence performed in her first dance recital back in May.  She was going to stop taking dance in December but then saw their outfits for the recital and decided to stick it out.  She knows that you have to sacrifice for cute clothes sometimes!  She was in class with three of her best buds, so she had fun.  Cadence did great at the performance.  "Great" for me means that she walked onto the stage and stayed the whole time.  Cadence even danced too!

 

Showing off her outfit

Lila Kate, Cadence, and Blair

 

What a cutie!

Mothering instinct

Cadence is obsessed with babies.  She has been for as long as I can remember.  As soon as she spots a stroller she's yanking on my hand to "see the baby" (which she adorably pronounces 'bee-bee').  She mothers her baby dolls unlike either of my other girls ever did.  She spends a lot of time dressing her babies, feeding them, cleaning them.  Heaven forbid that I accidentally drop one of them!

 

We have talked about Sierra and Laurel growing in my belly but that I grew Cadence in my heart.  She seems to like that, but all she has talked about lately is growing a baby in her belly.  She says that she might grow one in her heart too, but she wants "lots of babies in her belly."  It's very sweet and I love to see her motherly instinct.  She did ask me the other day why her first mommy couldn't take care of her.  Cadence is so inquisitive and analytical, but I was a bit surprised to be fielding these questions when she is four.  I hope, though, that the sooner we talk about things like this the more she will come to understand and accept her story.

 

I do love to see, though, that despite her background, however she "makes a baby" her mothering instinct is deeply rooted.

 

More adventures

We haven't had any adventures quite as exciting as the first week here, but the pain in the butt challenging aspects of living in an apartment continue!  I still have boxes to unpack since I have no where else to put stuff.  Yes, I'm sure this is a good time to get rid of things, but the sorting feels too tedious most days.  I went to Sam's club the other day.  I was on a quest for Summer Shandy beer but apparently retailers deem mid-August to officially be autumn, but that's a whole other blog post.  Despite the elusive summer brew I bought a few things but was very conscious of the fact that we have very little space to put things.  I felt like I did pretty well until I came home.  Then I remembered that I had to get the stuff inside.  I've always hated unloading after a Sam's club trip, but try doing it while living in a second floor apartment.  Grrrr...

 

Then there is this room.

 

 

 

The laundry room. 

 

I'm grateful that we have it and don't have to deal with communal laundry space, but the dimensions get to me every time.  The bottom door doesn't open with a laundry basket in front of it and the top door closes on me as I pull clothes out.  Combined with the fact that we have our cat's litter box sharing space with our "clean" clothes, the whole area makes me annoyed (as if doing laundry doesn't annoy me enough as it is!).  As usual with frustrating times, Cadence made me laugh through it today.  I was emptying the dryer, clothes were falling on the floor (near cat litter... eww!), and I muttered something under my breath.  Cadence was eating lunch in the other room and she says "Mom, you aren't supposed to say that word."  I asked her what word (I honestly barely realized I had said anything).  She says "The one you always say in the laundry room"!  Oh, my girl can make me laugh!

Birthday week

The end of April through mid-May I used to a bit sorry for Brad.  My birthday, our anniversary, then Mother's Day, usually within two weeks... you can imagine it was a bit overwhelming for him to cover all of those!  Then, Cadence came home with her birthday smack dab in the middle of it all.  You can guess what takes priority over all of those now!

My baby is four years old.  I'm not sure when this happened.  She is very excited to be closer to the coveted "5 years old" when she will be allowed to have sleepovers like her sisters.  She is already counting down the days until then!  In the meantime, though, she has had a blast with her friends!  Birthday celebrations at preschool, a party at the park with her friends, and then a joint birthday breakfast celebration at my parents house for both of us.  It rounded out the week well!

Cadence is not an "easy" child.  She pushes and pulls and strives for independence when she is still so young.  She is observant and literal and will call you out to prove her point.  In the hustle and bustle of our busy lives all of us moms throw some lipstick on in the car, right?  The other day Cadence wanted to take her play make-up with us and put it on in the car.  I told her that we don't put make-up on in the car.  She responded "You do.".  Why, yes.  Yes I do.  Busted!  Cadence was annoying her sisters.  I said "Cadence" in my best 'You had better stop now or else there will be consequences' voice.  She continued and I said "Cadence, I told you to stop."  She replied "No you didn't.  You said 'Cadence'."  with perfect inflection and all. 

While she may not be "easy" she is truly one of the funniest kids that I have ever met!  She cracks us up on a daily basis.  She loves babies and coloring and playdoh.  She loves group hugs and being a clown.  Cadence brings so much joy into all of our lives.  It's so hard to believe that she has only been with us for 2 1/2 years.  She has certainly filled us all with more love than we ever imagined!

Happy birthday, Cadence!

Party in the park

Making a wish

Busting into her new year!

Happy birthday to us!

Three year anniversary

I may not blog frequently, but a month off it a record for me!  Lots of indecision in so many areas of my life have left me paralyzed on all decision making fronts... including what to write about!  However, yesterday was a special anniversary.  Three years ago we received our referral for Cadence.  I wrote this blog two years ago and still remember the feelings of that day so vividly, as if it was yesterday!

Cadence's referral picture

April 24th also marked the anniversary of another beginning... the beginning of our life with Cadence. I woke up that morning, one year ago, and got ready to start the chaos of a Saturday. Gym for me, swim for Sierra, baton and a sleepover for Laurel. I hurriedly opened my email and saw a message from our adoption agency. "Waiting Child Match - WANG, FENG YE". Holding my breath, reading the email, really only processing a few words "read this ENTIRE email carefully", "Female, 5/2/09, cleft lip and palate, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia", "time constraint on shared list", "This IS a potential child match". And then there were 4 pictures... and those eyes. Deep, dark, intense eyes. They didn't seem sad or broken to me, as I've seen other orphanage pictures look. They also didn't seem ecstatically happy, but content. But it felt like they were looking right AT ME.

And I was scared. We weren't supposed to get this until December, at least. I'd been watching everyone else's timeline and this was too soon. Could this really be it? Could it really be her? Was this our daughter? Was I supposed to open up my heart to this child and believe that she would be in my arms in a few months? What if some adoptive parent put their child on a plane back to China with a note in her pocket... and China stopped their adoptions, like another country had (albeit temporarily). Was I strong enough to have faith in the process to accept and love this child now? But isn't that what I did with both Sierra and Laurel? I fell madly and deeply in love with these children from the moment I saw two lines. I took a leap and opened my heart to something that I could lose. And I do it everyday now. I am not so naive to believe that the universe will discriminately protect me from the worst heartache possible. But I keep on loving, fiercely and deeply... as I did with Cadence on the same day that I opened that email. It didn't matter that I had never touched her hair, smelled her skin, or heard her laughter. It didn't matter that she was on the other side of the world. She was my daughter.

Four and half months later I got my first look into those eyes in person. I got to hold her, wipe her tears, and eventually hear her laugh! And now, one year after seeing her face for the first time, I get to do this everyday! We are truly blessed!

The first time I laid eyes on Cadence

Two years ago

Love this girl!

Where's her mom?

The snowstorm that they were predicting this week, the one that I pshawed and rolled my eyes at...  yes, that one.  Well, it actually happened.  Snow fell hard and heavy enough to knock out our power.  Instead of being simply snowed in we were stuck in a powerless house with no running water.  One of the side effects of not having public utilities that I hate.  We had been planning to head to my happy place the next day.  When Brad got home from work we called Great Wolf Lodge to see if we could change our reservation to that night.  We grabbed our suits, crossed our fingers, and braved the roads.

We finally got to the water park and were having a ball!  Heat, running water, AND entertainment for the kids... win,win,win!  Eventually, though, the breakdowns came.  At one point Cadence was throwing a fit.  I was talking to Laurel, trying to focus on what she was saying, waiting for Cadence to chill out so I could deal with her more effectively.  A girl about 10 years old walked by with an older brother.  She stopped and was fretting about Cadence.  Probably 30 seconds went by and I finally stopped my conversation with Laurel and picked Cadence up.  I thought the girl would walk away but she came up to me.  She looked so concerned, almost distraught. 

"Where is her mom?" she said.

"Me" I muttered, trying to get Cadence to settle.

"No, where is her mom?" the girl practically shouted.

"It's me.  I'm her mom!" as the realization kicked in... oh, yeah, I don't look like her mom.

It seems so obvious to me.  Of course I'm Cadence's mom.  How could someone think anything else?!  Well, I guess there is... that!

Picture courtesy of http://www.oldfieldsphotography.com/

Tucking Cadence in

When we were waiting to go to China and bring Cadence home I put together a care package for her.  My mom sewed a small lovey to send and we made a larger blanket to have at home when Cadence got there.  I wanted her to see something familiar when she saw her bed for the first time.  When we met Cadence the orphanage workers returned the disposable camera as well as the photo album that we included in the care package.  I don't know if Cadence ever saw any of the other items that we put in there.  I do know that she didn't display a particular fondness for the blanket that my mom and I made.  Actually, when Cadence came home from China she didn't care for any blankets except for the one that she chewed on.  She refused to be covered by anything when she slept... for two years!  I know that some orphanages don't have much (or any) heat.  In order to make sure that the children stay warm they would sometimes dress them in four or five layers.  I'm thinking that she may have never slept covered with a blanket or sheet.  We have always doubled up her pajamas in hopes that she'd stay warm enough.  Finally, though, Cadence has let us cover her with a blanket at night.  Don't we always want to know that our children are cozy and tucked in?  A couple of weeks ago I dug out the blanket that my mom and I made for her.  She loves it!  She excitedly talks about how I made it when she was in China and waited for her to use it when she came home!  Almost three years ago I held the blanket in my hands anticipating tucking her in with it... I just didn't know that I'd have to wait two and half years.  Better late than never!

Brown eyed girl

Brad and I finally got to see the beautiful, moving documentary "Somewhere Between" last week.  It's a documentary that follows four teenaged girls who were adopted from China.  As if teenage-hood isn't hard enough, these girls struggle with additional challenges.  They say that they feel like a banana or Twinkie - yellow on the outside, but white on the inside.  They struggle with wondering why they were abandoned, not "good enough" for their own birth parents.  I laughed and cried as I watched this movie and this very small time in these girls' lives.  I left the theatre feeling dissatisfied.  I needed more.  I needed resolution and to feel like they found the answers that they needed.  But this will be a lifelong journey for the girls in this documentary.  For all adopted children. 

I know that we will have issues that Cadence will deal with as she gets older.  When the depth of her questions grow beyond "Where am I from?" to which she excitedly exclaims now "China!".  When she starts to wonder about the "who" and "why" of her history.  When she tries to figure out what part of her heritage she will want to embrace.  Maybe even as she tries to figure out where she fits in exactly, in a community with a very small Asian population.  I know what I want for her, but I cannot "fix" anything that might cause her pain and grief as she walks this journey.  All that we can do is anticipate what she might want or need, answer her questions, and love her.

Ironically, a few days after the movie, Cadence started asking me about eye color.

Cadence: What color are my eyes?

Me: Brown.

C:What color are your eyes?

M: Blue.

C:What color are Daddy's eyes?

M: Blue.

C: What color are CeCe's (Sierra's) eyes?

M: Blue. (I'm starting to feel anxious now)

C: What color are Lulu's (Laurel's) eyes?

(Now usually I would answer blue for the sake of ease, but suddenly I'm thinking "She's going to feel excluded from our family because she is the only one with brown eyes."  That being said, Laurel's eyes are a weird blue/grey/green/hazel combination.)

M: Hazel.

C: Awwww... (very disappointed)  I don't want brown eyes.

(I'm thinking "Already?!  Really?!  She is already going to have issues of wanting to change herself to fit into our family/community?  Ack!!)

M: What color eyes do you want?

C:  I want my eyes to be hot pink!

Phew!  Dodged that bullet for a little longer!  I hope that we can raise this little girl to accept herself and all that is wonderful about her - including those deep, beautiful brown eyes.

Another last-first...

Oh, these last-firsts make my heart ache.  I had put off Cadence's first haircut because she hasn't really needed one, but also because this is the last time that I would be witnessing one of my children's first haircuts. (For the record, I missed out on Sierra's first haircut because Brad decided to do it himself when I was out of town.  It's a good thing that being tarred and feathered is obsolete, because that is what I wanted to do to him!)  The thought of cutting off Cadence's wispy little ends, the hair that I touched when she was first placed in my arms... the thought just took my breath away.  At three and half years old, though, it was time for her wispies to go.  She takes out her ponytails or clips within and hour and is always brushing her hair out of her face.

So, we headed to our beloved hairdresser, Mary.  Mary has given Cadence many "haircuts" since Cadence insists on getting it done every time she is at the salon.  Laurel and Sierra were so excited to watch Cadence get her first haircut.  Ironically, Cadence didn't sit nearly as still as when she has gotten her pretend haircuts, but she did pretty well.  She attempted to "read" while getting her 10 minute haircut!  Of course, she looks older now... or maybe it's just me.  It's so hard to believe that she is well on her way to being four years old.  Oh, those last-firsts.

 
Before

What else should one read during her first haircut except "Fifteen" by Beverly Cleary?!

Two of the sweetest, funniest, most high energy girls that I know!

After!

Cadence dances

Cadence started taking dance class this year.  She is now to the point where she doesn't cry when I leave her, but I still haven't figured out exactly how she feels about it.  I've strongly encouraged her to stay in for the second half after seeing how ADORABLE the recital outfits are!  Great reason, I know!  But I'd really like to see each of my three girls dance, just once, on stage.  I think this might be it for Cadence.  I finally got to see what she does in class during parent observation day.  Apparently, whatever she is doing she requires the intense concentration that accompanies sticking her tongue out!

Lila and Cadence

You put her right foot in...

Again with the tongue!

Bunny hop

One of my favorites!

Blair and Zoe were CRACKING us up!  They spent more time making

 faces at themselves than dancing!

Cadence and her friends!

Trick or treat!

 It was a chilly evening this year but we still had fun trick or treating!  The neighborhood close to us has homes on 3-7 acre lots so there can be A LOT of walking... so we decided to go back to our old neighborhood.  We hooked up with some good friends and tried our best to hit the houses that "give out the big candy bars".  The grown-ups nursed our warm beverages and breathed a sigh of relief every time the kids made it back down the long driveways, in the dark, in baggy/bulging costumes without wiping out.  Cadence did a pretty good job of keeping up with the big kids.

Laurel begged and begged for this Jasmine costume when we were at Disney World.  We all know that you do not actually purchase a  princess outfit AT Disney!  I came home and found the exact outfit, on sale, with the shoes, and free shipping - for $20 less.  Boo-yah!  Happy with the price but not completely thrilled with the outfit.  I think one of Laurel's main reasons for liking it is that it "shows her stomach".  Ugh.  Really?  You are SEVEN!!  But, the other things she wanted to dress up as were "zombie with lots of blood" or "vampire with blood".  I decided that I prefer Disney princess vs. horror character.  And she loved it!  She's worn the outfit almost everyday since she got it as an early birthday present.

Sierra pieced her outfit together early this year.  She begged me to let her see "Snow White and the Huntsmen".  Although I still haven't let her watch it she bought a few things based on the movie that she found at Claire's.  Her clothing choices have changed a few times over the past few months.  When she was all dressed and ready I told her that she had to be "something" because people will ask what she dressed as.  She decided that she was a "Modern Snow White".

Cadence was the easiest.  She picked a random dress out of the dress-up bin, put it on and claimed herself as Ariel!  It's actually a dress that Sierra wore when she was 4 or 5 so it was a tad big on Cadence, but it kept her warm.  I'm not sure how the pig mask fit into the picture, but, to each her own!

After freezing our tails off in the neighborhood we went back to our friends' house for hot cider and donuts. Ahh... the comfort of good food and good friends!  Back at our home the kids separated their candy into keep piles and give away piles.  The sugar high wasn't too bad before they crashed into bed!



Jasmine

Ariel the Pig?

Ready to go

Modern Day Snow White (?)

Will traded all of his candy with his friends for KitKats.  I thought it was very entrepreneurial!

Seperating the stash.  Notice how small Cadence's pile is?  Her dad "helped" her with her candy!