Fall Family Shoot

We hosted an impromptu photo shoot in our backyard today.  We just grabbed our tripod and went for it. 

What looks like a sticker on Hallie's arm is actually a Princess and the Frog band-aid.  She tripped on her Belle dress while running down the driveway yesterday.

Can you believe Hallie? This is her princess pose.  So precocious!

After a couple family shots, the kids played on the slide and swings while Chris and I took some of just us. 

Looks like we are taking another engagement photo . . . nine and a half years later.

Claire was trying to wrestle me in this photo!

Chris thought of giving Claire a leaf . . . brilliant!

Just love this family!!!

I even ordered our Christmas card photo this evening from this group.  One less thing to check off the list.

On this day . . .

On this day (Monday to be exact) here are some of the things we girls did.

Claire was hooked on Sesame Street.

We made pumpkin bread.

That made Claire sad?

It's a tough life.

Hallie had an art museum on the fridge.

The leaves started to turn.

We planned the weekly menu.

Claire went to bed devestated.

And woke up thrilled.

And stylish.

Hallie's Sunshiney Life

Hallie's new "cross-bite"smile.  It is her go-to distracted smile.

I like when my four-year-old dresses like her personality.  This dress is so sunshiney.  Check out the other picture of her shoes . . . . they add such a spunky touch!  Here are some of Hallie's updates lately:

• She is loving preschool.  No surprise there.  I am grateful for the help.  When Hallie was two she learned to count to twenty.  Then I stopped practicing with her and lately I've heard her say "firteen, fourteen, sixteen, eleventeen . . ."  Um, oops!  Preschool helps me re-focus on skills.
• Hallie loves to pray that she will make "good decisions."  After the prays she tells us excitedly "I prayed to make good decisions!"  We have been encouraging her to have her own personal prayers at night in addition to our family prayers.
• She likes her primary teachers a lot.  Whenever she sees them at church (outside of the classroom atmosphere) she freaks out and waves and says "Oh, it's her!  I love her!"  She'll blow kisses and make "I love you" signs.  They are basically celebrity status.
• She is practically fearless but still has an life long aversion to Elmo Lion.  Something about seeing Elmo dressed as a lion when she was still a baby wierded her out.  To this day, if they are watching Sesame Street she will start to panic toward the end because she is afraid Elmo Lion might appear.  All other Elmos in costume are perfectly acceptable.
• She is getting better about cleaning her room.  Her clothes get stuffed in whatever cubby she can find.  But she hasn't figured out my favorite childhood tactic yet . . . stuffing it all under the bed.
• Hallie loves to kiss Claire.  Claire loves her sister but hates the prolonged hugs and wet cheek kisses.  Claire screeches if it lasts more than two seconds.  My neck hair stands on end every time Claire screams.  How do you tell your daughter "stop loving your sister." :)
• Hallie continues to love to reading books.  I am still amazed at how she can quote some of her picture books verbatim.  Her current favorites are from my Halloween collection.  She particularly likes The Runaway Pumpkin and the Berenstain Bears Trick-or-Treat.
• She is getting so creative in her drawings!  Chris and I love it.  All you need to do to keep Hallie occupied in church is give her a pen and paper.  She will merrily draw the entire time.  This method also works well if I am making dinner or doing chores where I want to keep her near me but busy.  Lately she has been drawing pumpkins and ghosts and witches.  She also draws the most hilarious family pictures.  We love them.
• Hallie tells us "Pretty soon I'll be all growed up and then I will be a MOMMY!"  She especially reminded us of this when she started fitting into her 5T dresses. 

Love that sunshine girl!

Cozy Halloween Decorations

Turns out orange and blue aren't frightening together . . .

Doesn't Claire make a lovely addition to the decor?

A Favorite Family Outing

A good ol' family staple with our crew is our monthly/bi-monthly stroll through the local mall.  Hallie loves the water fountain where she can throw a penny in and make a wish.  Both the girls love the glass elevator.  We must be getting pretty old because we hardly ever go in any stores.  We usually stroll through Build-a-Bear so I can pretend I am a kid so our girls can gawk at the cool stuff.  We also usually stop in front of the pet shop so our daughters can laugh their heads off at the barking puppies who roll over and gnaw at each other's tails.  I personally love it when we stop by Otho's to share a luscious toffee brownie.  We normally sit on a bench and people watch while we take turns breaking off a brownie section.  We always end the night with the parent's favorite stop- Borders.  We have to go through the bargain section and I must spend at least ten minutes drooling over children's books.  It is a fun time had by all.  And its free . . . except when I buy books . . . and brownies.

 The best picture you can get with the old one arm holding the camera routine.

On this day (October 9) we were rained out of the pumpkin patch. 

Hence the pumpkin gear on my oh so photogenic offspring.

Hallie had so much fun playing at the play land.  We have been stealthily avoiding it for two years because last time she played at a mall playground she got pink eye.  I am happy to report no funky viruses were contracted from this play experience. :)

She is pacing with excitement.

 

Do you like my sideways belt?  I am so stylish. (P.S. That wasn't intentional).



Heaven knows we'll be stepping up those mall visits as the winter months approach!

Ye Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip 2010

We love pumpkins!  Fat ones, small ones, bumpy and lumpy ones . . . all that orange is just so pretty.

We also love our annual pumpkin patch visit.  Chris and I have taken our annual patch pictures throughout our marriage.  This year, we went on Saturday, October 16.

The girls wasted no time throwing hay at me.

Our little 80s girl in her denim jacket and turtleneck.

We could have left Claire with the "unkins" and she would have been happy all day!

Hallie liked Copper the sheep.  Claire yelped with fear.

Someday our kids will actually look at the camera during a family picture.

We had never been in a fence maze before . . .

Hallie pets Denver the goat.  Denver eats Hallie's Tinkerbell shoes.

These pictures of Hallie made us laugh so hard!  Even Hallie was giggling with delight at her look of fright!

  

It was much more fun with Grandma!

Poor Clairey!

Let the record show that after a clean eighteen month record, Claire got sick for the very first time. Up until this point, every symptom has been teething-related. Imagine our surprise when she started throwing up in the car on the way home from the pumpkin patch on Saturday. Poor baby had no idea what was going on. She let Daddy and I take turns holding her for hours while we watched Elmo around the clock. Thankfully, the really sick part lasted for mostly Saturday and by Monday morning she was fully recovered. Chris caught some cute pictures of our sweet girl on Sunday morning.

When I asked Claire if she had been sick the day before, she got a super dramatic face and said "I sad!" and then fake rubbed her eyes.  Gotta love her commitment to her craft.  And yes, I know my kids got the dramatic thing from me.

P.S.  Our little baby turned 18 months yesterday!

Homecoming

Last Friday we wore our green and blue so we could cheer on Daddy's school.  Lucky for him his place of work also happens to be his alma mater!  Our little girls loved dressing up and going out at the time they would normally be switiching into pajamas and going to bed.  They loved snacking on pretzels and candy corn and were a great little cheering section.

Hallie is totally nervous of being so high in the stands in this picture.

I got to wear Chris' lettermans jacket. 

Hallie was so scared of heights.  When we were high in the stands she kept whimpering. 

When we moved to the bottom row she announced "Now I'm not scared anymore!"

Claire loves football!  She loved the lights and the music . . . but not the fireworks. 

 Hallie enthusiastically asked us "Can I go out there and play 'fit'ball?"

When we got home, Hallie was in a deep sleep, but Clairey was still ready to party!