We got some really good use out of this Dorothy dress… Emma got to wear it to 4 events within 1 week. :)  By actual Halloween day, Emma said, “Mommy, I don’t want to be Dorothy anymore.”  I said, “Emma, put on your ruby slippers and and a smile, Dorothy is all we’ve got!”  :)

Sunday my mom, Aunt Judy, and Uncle Ron came to our house while the kids got all dressed up.  We then headed to the church for our annual “Noah’s Ark” celebration.  I was so thankful to have help from my mom and Aunt Judy.  It really did take 4 adults to corral 2 kids.

Nana and Emma…

Aunt Judy with Foster and Emma:

Ron, Judy, Emma, and Foster:

Foster and Robin:

Mackenzie and Emma:

Emma was very timid at the beginning of the night:

However, Emma perked right up when she saw Aubrey!:

Foster loved pretending to crawl through the tunnels… he would poke his head in and start to crawl then laugh and turn around:

While this Halloween season was wonderful and we created a lot of awesome memories, I’m worn out and ready to just hang out at home for a few days! “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.”

Saturday night we were invited to a fun costume party at some friends’ house.  The parents were told to dress up too.  I haven’t really dressed up for an event since college! Since my kids were going as Dorothy and the Tin Man we decided to go with the Wizard of Oz theme.  We searched and searched for Glinda the Good Witch costumes and Scarecrow costumes and in the end opted to throw things together from home. 

I wore my Senior Year Prom dress (which fit very differently than it did 13 years ago) and went as Glinda the Good Witch.  I used accessories from Emma’s dress-up box.  Robin went as the Scarecrow.  He wore his overalls that he used during his fraternity Pigskin performance and then we bought raffia to make it look like he had hay coming out of his sleeves and pant legs. 

Here is our version of Glinda, Dorothy, the Tin Man, and The Scarecrow.

Here are all of the accessories involved in dressing as The Wizard of Oz foursome: A straw hat, a magic wand, a tiara, rope, raffia, tin man hat, blue ribbon, ruby red slippers, and toto in a basket (not seen here.):

Stuffing the scarecrow:

Dorothy and The Scarecrow:

Poor Poor Foster… he will never forgive me for this!

Aubrey and Emma at the party: 

Foster and Jax on the stairs:

Jumping on the trampoline- look at that static hair:

All of the kiddos:

Emma and I looked through a Halloween costume catalog way back in  August and started thinking about what she would like to be for Halloween.  She thought Dorothy looked cute and she had just recently seen the movie “Wizard of Oz” with Nana.  Nana happens to love the movie.

I was so lucky to find this adorable costume at the Just Between Friends Consignment sale.  It came with a wig but Emma was scared of it. :) We got some good use out of this costume too- 4 uses in 1 week!

Here is Emma as Dorothy:

We got invited to a very fun Halloween party given by our friend, Karter, from church, and her mommy, Amber.  The party was on Friday morning and there were so many fun things to do- crafts, games, food, and more!

Fishing for pumpkins: (Karter, the hostess, is Cinderella)

So serious here:

Emma is coloring a mask and Foster is thinking about trying to open the markers:

Emma and good friend, Adelynn:

Snack time: This was such a fun way to start the Halloween weekend.  Thank you Amber and Karter for a very fun morning!

On Wednesday, October 27th, Emma got to go on her very first school field trip!  I found a sitter for Foster so that I could go on the field trip with Emma so we could enjoy some special time together. 

We went to the Southern Hills United Methodist Church Pumpkin Patch and it was a lot of fun.  We started by having story time in a tent with some of her classmates.  Then the kids got to go to the science center where they looked at the inside of huge pumpkin- Emma love touching the pumpkin and inspecting it with a magnifying glass.  Then she had a blast playing on the toys and hay bails with her good friend, Maggie.  Next the teachers had the kids sit down for prayer and snack time.  Lastly, the kids got to pick out to small pumpkins before leaving to head home.  It was such a fun morning and I was thankful to get to go!

We were the first ones to the pumpkin patch so I had Emma come hang out with me in the front seat for a few minutes while we waited.  You can see her “car tag” that I turned around so you can read her name. 

Story time…

Checking out the pumpkin with Maggie:

“Eeewwwww…”

Pumpkin Ring Toss:

Maggie, Emma, and Ashlyn:

Climbin’ the hay bails:

Emma and Maggie on top of the hay bails:

Class Picture: I really got a kick out of watching the 4 teachers try to corral the kids and try to get them to stay still for a picture- bless their hearts for teaching our kids 3 days a week! 

Prayer and snack time:

Washing hands:

Eating apples:

Surveying the big pumpkins:

Picking out pumpkins- she was sad because she wanted to pick out more than 2!

She did NOT want to leave when it was time to go- can you tell?!

We spent Oct. 22nd-24th in Waco, TX to see our friends The Kreys and celebrate Baylor Homecoming.  We had a really great trip!  We left early Friday morning and got to Waco around 3:00 Friday afternoon.  We hung out at the Kreys all evening on Friday.  It took Emma about an hour and a half to warm up to Elliott and Oliver but by the end of the night they were best buddies just like last time we got together.  The picture above was taken on Friday evening after dinner.  They are enjoying their brownies in the backyard. 

Saturday morning we got up early and headed to Baylor campus for the Homecoming parade.  We weren’t able to come to Homecoming last year because I was 8 months pregnant so the last time Emma came she was almost 2.  The funny thing is that she remembered a lot of it.  She has talked about the big blow up bear for the last 2 years.  This year Kathy helped us save front row seats on the curb so the kids could get a great view of the parade. 

Here are the dads walking to the parade:

We had Shipley’s donut holes at the parade for breakfast- what a yummy treat! 

waiting for the parade to start…  

It was a very muggy, humid day and it rained twice during the parade.  This was NOT good for Emma and Mommy’s hair!   By the way, Emma’s adorable shirt was made by my talented friend Terra who makes personalized apparel and gifts.  Please visit her at Tickled Sew Pink if interested in ordering.

Foster’s first parade!  He stayed in the stroller for the first half of the parade then demanded to be held.  He loved watching the floats and people go by.  He also loved watching all of the people around us.

Baylor Mascot on a Segway! This cracked me up!

This is the huge blow up bear that Emma remembered from 2 years ago: 

Foster taking it all in from his stroller:

Dr. Pepper Hour in Barfield Drawing Room after the parade.  This was Foster’s very first Dr. Pepper Float and he loved it- does that mean he needs to go to Baylor?

Enjoying Dr. Pepper floats…

Emma and Oliver share a really special bond.  Every since they were babies they seemed to gravitate towards each other.  I think they are probably a lot alike.  They played together the entire weekend and were attached a the hip.  It was very sweet to watch. Here are a few pictures of Emma and Oliver:

Oh my goodness… look at Emma in this picture- she adores him!

Look how close she’s standing to Oliver…

We went to the “Bear Pit” after the parade and the kids got to look at the real live bears.  Kathy was holding Foster and she said he just kept saying “ball”  “ball”  “ball.”  He was unimpressed by the real live black bears, he liked the big green ball. :)

“No more pictures Mommy… do you have a nap planned for me today because I’d like my bed right about now…”

Robin and I look so tired… we were!

Thank you SO much to our good friends Conner and Kathy for hosting us. Thank you for letting us invade your home with an almost 4 year old and almost 1 year old.  It was so good getting to hang out with you all and getting to see your boys.  They are adorable.  I’m so thankful that even though we’ve been out of college for over 10 years, we are still able to get together and goof off just like the good ‘ol days.  You all are true friends.  We love you all.

Emma LOVES sunglasses.  I feel like I buy her a pair out of the $1 bin at Target just about every time I go (which is I realize is a problem I have and maybe I need to cut back!) 

We call these glasses her John Lennon glasses and they are her favorite pair right now.  Today in the sunroom I asked her if could take some pictures of her and she struck some poses.  HOW do little girls know how to pose at such a young age?!!

Here she is with her favorite stuffed animal right now: Lamb

I also want to document here that her absolute favorite pair of shoes is these $2 flip flops from Old Navy!  Of all the shoes she has that are safe and would stay on her feet, these are the shoes she wants to wear every day.  When the cold weather really hits I will have to put an end to the flip flops!

I am currently training to run a 5K race and it is HARD work!  Ironically, while I’m learning to run, my baby is learning to walk. :)  Foster loves to hold our fingers and practice walking.  He’s not completely steady on his feet by himself so I think it will still be a little while but maybe he’ll surprise me and catch on quickly.  I wonder who will win the competition… will Foster walk by himself first or will mommy run a 5k first???  This is one competition I’d be ok with losing. ;)

Look at those chubby legs! (and yes he had a little rash on his belly, it’s cleared up now!)

Last Tuesday, Foster was invited to his very first playdate with other babies his age WITHOUT older siblings!  This was such a fun experience for me and Foster- I rarely get to see him interact with other babies.  Emmarie’s birthday is this month so we went to her house to have an early birthday celebration.  There were just 3 babies and Foster was the only boy so it was double fun for him!

Kerrington (10 months), Foster (almost 11 months), Emmarie (almost 12 months!):

Foster loved playing with some new toys for a change.  His favorite was a big red slide that he went down several times. 

Last Monday night was the first “Viewing night” at Emma’s ballet studio.  We always get to watch the girls dance through the windows but this time we actually got to go in the room for the last 30 minutes of class to watch.  Emma had quite a fan club!  The people who came to watch her were: Mommy, Daddy, Foster, Nana, Aunt Judy, and Uncle Brandon!! 

Unfortunately, Emma had been absent the two weeks before viewing night so there were several things that Emma had missed out on and she got kind of nervous towards the end of their presentation.  We just kept giving her big smiles and thumbs up.  She is such a beautiful little dancer and we look forward to many more viewing nights. 

Toe taps with her taps shoes: (she’s the one with black leotard and black skirt with hands on her hips- almost the far right.)

Heel-Toe, Heel-Toe, Heel-Toe:

This is pretty dark but I had to include this… Foster and Uncle Boom watching the dancers through the window.  Foster couldn’t stay in the room because he got a little bit excited when the girls danced and tried to sing to the music!

Nana and Emma:

Aunt Judy and Emma:

Last Sunday night we went to Pumpkin Town with our Connect Group friends from church.  Emma and her best friend Aubrey had a blast playing together.  They were in their own little world. 

I absolutely love this picture of Foster… he’s like, “Mom, why did you just put me next to this big orange ball?”