Happy Halloween!

We went to a local Halloween Festival on the lake tonight and the kids had so much fun! Clay caught on to the trick-or-treating thing in no time. We went around from booth to booth trick-or-treating and he was so polite. He would say "tricktreat" and then "thank you". He even said "thank you" loud enough for them to hear him. Yeah!


After the second booth Mike realized that we were walking the opposite direction of the trail so we turned to go the right way. Clay started saying, "I no want to go to the car!". He was so worried that we were already leaving. I guess he's a trick-or-treat fan!

They had some carnival style games that were right on his level and there were no lines for anything. He had a good time and loved getting the candy as a reward.



Carolina just sat in the stroller and ate a corn dog. She has been under the weather all week and was happy just to sit and eat. She got a little fussy toward the end and we knew our little zebra needed to stretch her legs a bit!

We had such a great time with our little zebra and penguin. It was a sweet time to celebrate and get to experience the fun of trick-or-treating for the first time as a family. I think Clay's ready to do it all again tomorrow!


Happy Halloween! Love, Carolina the Zebra and Clay the Penguin

Halloween Celebrations

We have been having some fun this month getting ready for the big day- Halloween! We have been to several pumpkin patches, painted and carved pumpkins, done our fair share of arts and crafts, made some Halloween decor for Clay's room and even played some Halloween-inspired games.



I love doing projects with Clay and we have focused this month on Halloween. Mike and I want to stick with fun, happy stuff (not scary) for Halloween activities so our projects were all smiling pumpkins, candy, happy spiders, etc. Clay and I have so much fun creating these toddler works of art (I tell him what to do but all of the actual work is Clay's) and he is SO proud to show everyone his work.

One of our favorite things this year was making "Jack". Jack is the pumpkin Clay and I carved and he sat on our bar for about a week. Clay talked about Jack a lot and he was very sad when Jack got yucky and had to go to the trash. Clay keeps saying, "Mama make another one 'morrow."

Clay loved watching me carve out the eyes and face for the pumpkin. I had seen some ideas about turning pumpkin carving into a lesson so we talked about how God made our eyes, nose and our bodies just like Mommy was making Jack's face. I know he'll have a much better understanding when he's older but it's a good start.

It's funny because Clay has NO idea what Halloween is. He talks about his costume sometimes but he doesn't even know what a costume is. I think he hears it them talking about sending in pictures of you in your costume on Sprout and sees all the Halloween ads so he thinks a costume is just something to do with Halloween.

Several times when we made projects and I would show him the finished product he would say, "It's my costume!". Today when he opened up one of his Halloween cards, he said it again. Bless his heart- he's going to be so excited to find out what a costume really is (and what you get when you wear it!). He's had his costume on several times but tonight will be the first time he's worn it for more than a couple of minutes-- we can't wait!

We are really blessed to have some aunts who always send them cards and treats for the holidays. Especially now that Clay is getting a little older, he gets so excited to open something (cards and presents). Auntie Jamie and Uncle Garrett sent sweet cards with glittery pictures on them. Clay loved rubbing his fingers over the letters and showing them to his baby sister.



Aunt Rebecca gave the kids a Mickey and Minnie card, some hilarious pumpkin glasses and some fun Halloween books.







We were all cracking up at the glasses. I was so surprised at how long Carolina kept hers on when she and Clay were playing. She finally took them off and kept trying to put them on top of her head. Monkey see, monkey do. Ha!

We are headed to a Halloween Carnival tonight so it should be tons of fun. Pictures of cute trick-or-treaters to come...

Pumpkin Patch

Since the last Pumpkin Patch post was so short, here's a couple of pics from just before the mud bath. The kids were so cute in the wagon and Clay was VERY excited to see Barney and his friends.



Today was our third attempt at the Pumpkin Patch (the second time it was closed due to rain). Clay calls a pumpkin a "catch" for some reason and has been talking about the Pumpkin Catch ever since the first time we went.


Carolina decided to forgo the mud mask and go natural this time. It made for much prettier pictures... I have to say, though, the best part about Carolina falling in the mud was that Clay keeps reminding her of it several times a day. "Crina, don't fall in the mud!" "Crina fall in the mud. Psshhttt!" He even gives her sound effects. He tells strangers about it and warns her all the time. Poor girl. Her brother can barely make a sentence and even he won't let her live it down!

Today, Clay was very excited to do all of the moonwalks and pull the wagon with Carolina. Carolina was happy to just sit in the wagon, be pulled around and smile for the camera.


She's so easygoing at this age whenever we are out and about. I know it won't last much longer before she wants to get down and run around too. I'm just glad to have one more year of the Pumpkin Patch with her staying in the wagon. Every time I think of the Pumpkin Patch my mind goes to our trip last year with this sweet thing who was all of 6 days old. She's growing up so fast!

Here's some shots from our fun time (make sure to check Miss Priss telling you how old she is-- the girl is so proud to be one!):








Happy Fall!

Carolina's One!

Our Sweet Girl turned 1 yesterday.
Happy First Birthday, Carolina!

Standing Tall

Just a couple of weeks shy of her first birthday and Little Miss is perfecting the art of standing. Way to go, Carolina!

Asking for Disaster

We took the children to the Pumpkin Patch this morning in high hopes of getting some adorable pictures (and letting them play, of course). It was a little rainy but we wanted to try it anyway. What's the worst that could happen?? See our cute Carolina in her pretty little cream pumpkin outfit---

Before




After






*This is what happens when two very proud parents step back to marvel at their daughter standing up ALL BY HERSELF in the wagon-- just long enough to take a picture (clearly too long). No children were harmed in the making of this post (except for one little girl's pride). One cream pumpkin outfit is still in critical condition.

Happiness is...

Carolina in the dog bed and Clay drinking out of the orange juice container (note: this is their idea of happiness, not their mama's).

It's Raining, It's Pouring

We had a rainstorm the other night just as we were leaving for dinner. Clay has had a raincoat and boots for ages but I have never remembered them when we actually need them. This time, though, I did! We got him ready and set out for dinner. Note to self: When trying to put on shoes that your child hasn't worn in over a year, remember to take the stuffing out of the toes before trying to shove your kids foot in for 10 minutes and especially before asking your husband for help.

This was a special night for two reasons: 1) It was our anniversary & 2) We saw Clay's first rainbow! Clay was very excited to see the rainbow (it took A LOT of explaining for him to figure out where to look). He has talked about the rainbow a lot since he saw it ("I see rainbow 'morrow").

Another fun part of the evening for him, though, was wearing his raincoat and rainboots. He wouldn't take them off for the entire dinner. Mike and I got a kick out of eating dinner with the Gordon's Fisherman.

We came home and still didn't want to take our fun outfit off and now, two days later, the coat and boots live on! Clay eats dinner in them, plays in them and runs around the house in them (the boots are perpetually on the wrong feet).



All this running around in our rain gear reminded me of the first time he wore the rain outfit. This was part of his one-year-old shots and he had just started toddling around. He kept falling over but it had just rained at the portrait place and the mud on his knees was so cute! He was so sweet trying to stand up in his big ole' boots and walk!


I don't know how long the rain outfit will last but for now, it's as cute as can be!