Halloween Festivities

My parents and brother came up to help Jonah and Meredith celebrate Halloween.  It was a day full of cookie baking, pumpkin carving and preparing for the evening’s main event - Trick or Treating.

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Why raising a daughter costs more….

When I saw this outfit online I had to have it for Meredith. 

This is what makes having a daughter so expensive.  It doesn’t matter if I’m in Neiman’s or at Target. There will always be cute girl clothes. I have my favorite stores/brands for Jonah’s clothes because it’s really hard to find cute boys clothes. I don’t like themes, especially sports themes and I’m not a huge fan of cutesy characters or animals. Unless it’s a vintage style shirt. Then, I guess it’s okay. But what I really like are for Jonah’s clothes to look like mini versions of Josh’s clothes. So, needless to say we are a little limited in the boys department. I used to ignore the girl’s section because it just frustrated me even more but now that I have a daughter I am submerged in a sea of wardrobe options for Meredith. And oh gawd don’t even get me started on the accessories…the bows,  the hats, the tights, and the shoes. How I love the shoes!

Sorry I digress. Back to the point of this post. I found this adorable outfit at Stitched With Love. 

Meredith was being such a good little model during this mini photo session so there are lots of pictures. Some of the lighting isn’t all that great but her smile is! And isn’t this outfit just precious??

   

A Family Affair

Josh’s dad came down to spend the night with us and visit Jonah and Meredith. I’m starting to notice how our parents never come to see us anymore, just their grandchildren!  Oh well,  I love when Josh’s dad comes to visit because he cooks us a lot of food which we eat during the week the following week  so it saves me a lot of time in the kitchen. He is also our handyman. So when he comes to visit, Josh tends to hand over the “honey do list” to his dad and they tackle it together in half the time. Jerod and Lauren also came over. It’s so nice when there is family around to help out when you need an extra pair of hands to hold Meredith or keep the Jonah entertained!

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My first road trip with the kids…alone.

Yesterday it took me an entire day to pack the car and get everything ready for the two and half hour road trip to the tiny town of Hico this morning to visit Josh’s mom and grandmother. It also decided to rain cats and dogs today but we went anyway. Luckily we didn’t need to stop for any potty breaks and Meredith slept most of the way.  Thank. You. Jesus. Quite frankly, I was a little nervous because when Meredith isn’t happy no one in the car is happy. Except Jonah, he seems to tune out her screaming but then again he is a guy. 

Amy also drove up from Austin with Kayla and Christian and when Mimi mentioned that the Baptist Church had a pumpkin patch setup we loaded up and headed over to the church. We had the whole pumpkin patch to ourselves. You just gotta love small towns! A Great Grandmother, a Grandmother, four little ones, two Moms armed with their fancy cameras, pumpkins and you have a recipe for some great photo ops!

And yes we made it back home to Dallas in one piece with no major drama. Again, no one had to stop for a potty break which was a good thing because getting a baby and a toddler out of the car in the rain at night doesn't sound like much fun! So my first road trip alone with both of them was a huge success!

 

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Singing Sensation

I’ve seen all the adorable videos on You Tube of preschoolers singing popular songs while in the car with their parents and their parents video taping the entire 3 minute song. Well, I am now officially one of those moms. Jonah has become quite the singer these days when we are in the car and I told myself “Self, you need to video tape him singing because these are the memories that you will want to remember and these are the video’s you will want to show all the girlfriends he brings home!”

So, the other day as we were backing out of the garage Jonah requested one of his favorite songs from my saved music on Sirius and I quickly grabbed the video camera and recorded my little singing sensation. And note when he points, it gets me every time!

Halloween Bash

Our first annual Halloween Bash. Twenty five kids and their parents. Apple bobbing (actually they tonged instead of bobbed thanks to the swine flu epidemic here in North Dallas), strawing for spiders, mummy wrap race, a piñata and Halloween themed food that included Witches Brew, Monster Dip, Spider Pretzels, Monster fingers and toes and Pumpkin Roll-ups. We had Super Hero’s, Police Officers, Princesses, Witches,  Fairies, Pirates, Ladybugs, a Court Jester and even a Skunk.

Planning the party took a lot of work but it was totally worth it listening to the laughter that filled our house that night! After the party was over Jonah gave me a big hug and said “That was the best party ever! Can we do it again tomorrow?”

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Falling into Fall

First fall photos at the Arboretum. There were pumpkins galore and for being so good while Mommy took 300+ photos (thanks to a candy bracelet bribe) I let Jonah end our visit with a couple of runs through the frog fountain which was obviously way cooler than the candy bracelet! Now that I look at the pictures...maybe an orange shirt wasn't the best choice for pictures at the pumpkin patch. Mommy lesson learned!

 

The next Tiger Woods??

We’ve been trying out a variety of sports for Jonah to find out what he really likes - soccer, swimming, basketball and right now we are trying out golf.  He like it and he hits the ball really well but so far soccer has been his favorite.  We have to wait until he turns four to start tennis.  Of course Josh and I both have visions of Wimbledon and the US Open dancing in our heads so hopefully he enjoys it. But if he doesn’t that’s okay because it’s all about finding something that he enjoys and wants to play.

 

Swanky Six

Six months old today. A sweet smile, a silly little giggle and baby rolls that are too irresistible not to kiss! So in love!