trick-or-treat!

Halloween is loads of fun with a two-year-old! The night before the big day we carved our pumpkin with some teamwork. Emma Jane helped me scoop out the goop and Paul did the carving. To make it extra exciting, Paul lit up the pumpkin on the front porch and we walked Emma Jane all the way around from the backyard using her flashlight to light the way so she could "sneak-up" on the pumpkin. She was so excited to see the finished product glowing on the steps.

We had a great time trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood this Halloween. It's the first time in years that we actually had trick-or-treaters come to our house. This neighborhood is crawling with kids! Emma Jane dressed up like a fairy and had fun using her magic wand. Walker came with us this year, too. Paul wondered who would tucker out first...the two-year-old, the pregnant mom, or the 10-year-old dog. Of course, we have been practicing proper trick-or-treat etiquette all week and Emma Jane knew just what to say. Unfortunately, she froze at most of the houses and hid between my legs until she was enticed by the free candy. Most of the time she would remember to say thank you, but to our surprise, she would also exclaim, "Okay, I still got mo trick-treating to be doing! Let's go to next house!" So much for showing appreciation! After walking a block or so, Emma Jane was tired of the whole process and ready to go home. She had fun answering the door for trick-or-treaters and we were proud of her ability to "share" the candy we were giving out without any fuss!

6 little pumpkins

After surviving over 13 years of teaching and the countless classroom parties that come along with it, I was happy to be the mommy in charge of Emma Jane's Halloween class party rather than the teacher in charge of all the kids on a sugar high! For her party I brought cupcakes topped with pumpkin peeps. I also spent way too much time making tiny witch brooms out of pretzel sticks and fruit roll-ups, but they did turn out pretty cute! Judging by the mess they left behind and the pleads of "more", all six kids in Emma Jane's class seemed to thoroughly enjoy the snacks I provided. I even got to stick around for a little while to see what Emma Jane and her classmates do on a typical day in class. The kids were so cute singing songs and dancing together. Mrs. Bonnie also read "Five Little Pumpkins" to them which is currently one of Emma Jane's favorite books at home. Emma Jane definitely has fun at school and I had just as much fun watching her.

magic wands and lollipops

Emma Jane dressed up like a fairy for her preschool trick-or-treating night. At first she wasn't thrilled about wearing the stiff tutu, but when she saw her "magic wand" she decided that being a fairy would be fun. She took her wand, waved it in the air, and proudly declared, "I making pretty stars!" Before leaving the house, she wanted to take one of her special blankies with her and I delicately told her that fairies don't need blankies. Apparently, she disagreed since she slyly stuffed her blankie in her trick-or-treat bucket when I wasn't looking! Emma Jane had a great time seeing her sweet friends in their costumes and collecting candy from the stations they had set up around the gym. She was most excited about the lollipop she received and couldn't wait to eat it. Paul and I were not ready for her to dig into the candy, so she walked around the gym holding out her lollipop to anyone who would look her way and innocently ask, "Open?" We finally gave in and she and a few of her friends sat on the gym bleachers happily licking their lollipops. When it was time to leave, our little fairy handed her bucket and wand to daddy...after all, every good fairy needs a daddy to carry her valuables!

boo at the zoo...take two!

Our second year attending Boo at the Zoo was just as much fun as last year. Emma Jane was an adorable whiskerless kitty cat since she refused to let us paint whiskers on her face. We met Lily and her family again this year. I had to include a few pictures from last year so you can see just how much our girls have changed. It was funny to see how their personalities haven't changed at all in a year's time, but they were so much more independent and opinionated this year! There was so much to see and do and the girls didn't miss out on anything. They trick-or-treated at the booths set up around the zoo, rode the merry-go-round, roasted marshmallows, and boogied on the dance floor. At the end of the night, Emma Jane was NOT ready to leave. The final picture proves just how distraught our little girl was when it was time to go home.








Last year our little climber was a cave girl...



The costume has changed, but she still loves to climb!



Last year the girls couldn't say, "trick or treat" just yet!



This year they knew just what to do and remembered "please & thank you" too!














It's so hard to leave when you're having so much fun!

a star is born

Emma Jane had her very first onstage performance at the preschool fall family fest last night. After eating a yummy spaghetti dinner with chocolate cake for dessert, the children took to the stage to sing some fun Halloween songs. At first, Emma Jane was in the back timidly looking on, but towards the end of the performance, she made her way to the front and did her thing! At one point she saw me and got a little nervous. I saw the tears start to well up and she suddenly lifted her dress up to combat the nerves! She was quickly able to move past her fears and put on quite the performance. After the show, Emma Jane took Paul to see her classroom and meet her teacher for the first time. We had a great time watching her interact with all the other kids and parents. She is quite the social bug!