Pumpkin Carving

Did a little pumpkin carving th other night.

She got quite a kick out of the experience.

Daddy? Not so much. :)

But for his carving debut....

....I think Daddy did an awesome job!

Kudos, Daddy!

P.S.  If you want a treat, go check out THIS POST from the Delaney family.  Her sweet Cooper just turned two and she's amazing at all her attention to detail.

The girl's got moves....

...and an insane energy level ~ neither of which her parents share.  Happy Monday.

Pickle in the Pumpkin Patch

 

 Went to the pumpkin patch yesterday hoping to get a few sweet autumn pics. HA!  Seems like our little pickle has an aversion to photo opportunities lately.  She was so tired that she just used this pumpkin as a pillow for a few minutes.

The best way to describe her these days is incorrigible ~ but that's a whole other post.

Hard to believe such a cute thing can be so "picklish."

Well at least she's a sweet pickle....most of the time.

These are the only decent pics we managed to get of our pickle in the pumpkin patch.

We were excited to bump into our friends, the Hobgoods, while at the Pumpkin Patch.

Grayson is three and Emelia is 10 months.   

 Gianna enjoyed to company.

Is this the cutest smile, or what?

Now, buckle up for some SERIOUS cuteness.

 I know.

This little sugar plum made up for the pickled puffalump that we had to endure. :)

P.S.  Last year's trip to the pumpkin patch is HERE

At KaZOO

We took Gianna to "Boo at the Zoo" in Lafayette over the weekend.

We heard about it, called ahead for tickets and showed up with the rest of the state of Louisiana.

 I guess THE Zoo sounds a whole like KAzoo to a two year old, so all day we heard,

"We at kazoo, Mommy."

Most of the kids were in their Halloween costumes (so cute!), but I just put a pumpkin shirt on G. Those costumes get so darn hot midday.

It probably wasn't the best idea to go on such a busy day.

It was SO crowded that it was almost unenjoyable.

One of the big attractions for the day was that Elmo was going to be there.

Elmo's natzi-wranglers 'bodyguards' made it near impossible to get a picture with him unless you pushed your way through the crowds. No thanks. A brief sighting would have to do.

I'm really glad we waited until she was two to the zoo.

She's curious, interested and excited with a hint of an attention span. 

 Naptime and crazy crowds interfered with the full zoo experience, but we did manage to see a few sights.... 

Always nice to see the animals... 

...and always a little depressing to see them caged. 

(Except for the monkeys. Definitely prefer them to be caged!)

Loved the pygmy hippo. 

Never  managed to figure out what the above fella was.

The otter was so fun to watch.

He swam back and forth... 

 ....flipping up and twisting backwards every time he met the pool's edge.

Gianna got the giggles watching him.

* * * * *

 I have to say that the giraffe is my new favorite animal.

 And she was so friendly.

(Actually, I have no idea if it's a female, but those eyelashes looked like they had mascarra on them, so I made that scientic determination on my own. Impressive, I know.)

Unexpected Graduation

I think.

A LOT.

I am a thorough thinker.

I read.

I plan.

I philosophize. 

I discern.

I do these things....all at the amusement of God who must not be

quite so impressed with all my thinking and planning. 
Either that or He finds it very entertaining to watch me scurry as
wrenches get thrown into all my plans.

Case in point:
Gianna unexpectedly 'graduated' from her crib to a bed last night.

I planned on keeping Gianna in her crib until she was 2 1/2 or closer to 3.

I felt good about that decision.

Until yesterday during nap time.

Gianna was performing her usual pre-sleep shenanigans which eventually turned into

panicked cries.

I ran to check on her and as I got closer I heard,

"I stuck, Mommy. I so sad."

She was stuck.

Horribly stuck.

This wasn't the first time.

But today was the scariest.

Her elbow was stuck between the slats

really close to the mattress.

I couldn't get it out.

I slathered lotion on her arm and

after an excruciatingly long time ~ freed her.

My heart was beating out of my chest and I was seconds of calling 911.

Later in the evening, she was in her crib for some "thinking time"

and wouldn't you know, she got her arm caught again.

She did it on purpose.

That was it.

No more.

Iain took apart the crib then and there

and we got the toddler bed down from the attic.

I re-arranged her big girl room an hour before bedtime.

There was no thinking involved.

I had no idea how I was going to prepare Gianna

(or myself!) for these 'on the fly' changes, but there was

no turning back.

I figured it would take at least an extra hour or two to get her down.
It didn't.

I thought I'd end up sleeping on the floor in her room.

I didn't.

I thought she'd wake up during the night and become disoriented.
She didn't.

I thought she's get to jumping and bump her head on the wooden headboard or foot board.
She didn't.

She did splendidly well.
She was tickled about her big girl bed and kept thanking us.
She did get up once to "adjust" her music....but once I re-directed her back to back, she was fine.

We heard her wake up this morning saying,
"Big girl bed!"

I am SO proud of my very big girl.
(And kinda proud of her Mommy too.)

All that success and ease with no over-thinking or planning on my part.
Yeah....I'm pretty sure there's a lesson in there.
I'm also pretty sure if God smirks, He's doing so right now.
;)

Chile & Chili

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was riveted, inspired, touched and blessed by the

miraculous rescue of the Chilean mine workers.

Since I've become a mother, I am little ashamed to admit that there is little of the news that I'm able to tolerate.  It brings me to such a sad place that I avoid about 90% of it.  Terrible, I know, but I feel that for this short chapter in my life I need to save my mental energy for my vocation here in Lewis Land.

There was no way, however, I could escape the reports of the amazing rescue of the Chilean miners.  It moved me to my core.  That last miner who was their leader and mentor has become a new personal hero of mine. What unbelievable foresight, strength, courage and faith! He is the truest version of a servant leader.

In honor of the heroism and patriotism and faith of the miners and people of Chile,

I thought it was only appropriate that we celebrated with them....

with Chili for supper in our little corner of the world.  (Okay, I know it's a stretch, but I didn't know what else to do and well, I'm just not into pinatas.)

I've mentioned before that Gianna often asks me to feed her.  I don't fight it too often but encourage her to eat on her own as often as possible.  Finger foods are fine, but veggies and soups etc, are usually a bit of a struggle.  She went to town on the chili last night.

Purdy, huh?

 

As Iain and I were talking, we realized that our precious child decided to have a little show with her supper.  Literally!

I'm sure you can guess that bath time followed this video.

Halloween Crafternoon

Sarah the Brave hosted a little 'crafternoon' for some spunky little spooks.

Gianna the Adorer of Refined Sugar (who seldom gets to splurge) was in hog heaven.

So were her little friends:

Emma the Exuberant

Jack the Icing King:

Emily the Adorable

Ella the Prayerful

Benjamin the Bearded

Therese the Treasure

And John Paul the Train Captain:

* * * * * * * * * * * *

When the Hunt for Hidden Pumpkins was announced,

these three raced to look out the window as if they'd be ringing the doorbell upon arrival.

I don't think the candy pumpkins in the lovely silver tray were meant to be the object of the Hunt,

but I'll give her an A for effort.

I'd say the decorating of the cupcakes and cookies was the highlight of the afternoon,

but I'd probably be corrected by these little goblins.....

...who would certainly say...

...that EATING the scrumptious Halloween confections

beat all!

My child gets intense when it comes to sweets.

And there were other of moments of sweetness too:

like this sweet big brother playing with his darling little sister.