Treat Seeking Trio

(most of the pics ended up like the one above. The BEST pic ever was the one below--I believe it is of "print out large, frame, and put on bookshelf" quality!)
The kids were dressed up and ready to go for some candy-hunting fun! Garrett stuck with the traditional "ninja" costume, Caroline went old-school with her cat combo, and Emily was the cutest ladybug this side of the Mason Dixon line. Luckily, the kids' teachers gave no homework, so were able to chow down on some tacos, get in costume, and head out while it was still daylight. Forty houses and about 17.8 pounds of candy later, we were riding high on sugar and ready for showers and a nice comfy bed. I let the kids pick out 20 pieces of candy to keep and the rest is stored in gallon Ziploc bags on top of the pantry. The kids get to snack on favorites that I don't normally keep stocked in the house, and Timmy and I were able to grab some Baby Ruths, Twizzlers (him) and Snickers (me) without spending a penny :) Gotta love Halloween!

Little Ladybug

Timmy and I headed into town yesterday to run a couple of errands and hit Picture People. I had made an appointment to get Emily's first birthday and halloween pictures done in the morning when she is at her most sassiest and least camera-shy. We did the "first birthday" pics first (you will see those in just a couple of weeks!) and then changed into our ladybug costume. I was sure that a meltdown was nearing because we had just had the best photo shoot EVER for the first set of pics, and I figured, how long can this actually last? Well, long enough to get the most adorable pics of our ladybug! Emily was quite the trooper, "allowing" the photographer to rearrange her, throw fake leaves on her, and switch through several backgrounds. As you can see below, Emily is sure to get tons of candy with this getup!

Hanging with the Fam

Saturday was a very busy day--I hauled the older two up to Sealston for our soccer game, and Timmy drove the baby across the bridge to the grandparents' house for some family time. After our game, I brought the kids over to MD so that we could get some grub and relax a little with Mary, John, and Brooklyn. The cousins were a lot of fun--stealing each other's toys back and forth, trying to grab pacifiers, etc. Emily impressed all by climbing into the newspaper basket and climbing back down, over and over again. Her mobility was a little annoying because this house is faaaaaar from baby-proofed. Every horizontal surface has a Boyd's bear statue or glass figurine or picture frame or irreplaceable dust collector. So Timmy and I had to play police and follow Emily around the whole house for pretty much the entire time we were there. But it was great to see everyone and catch up!

Emily throwing out some gang signs.

I will take your ball AND my ball too!

Real men use Boppy pillows.

Emily: 11 Months Old

What a big girl! No official stats til Nov. 21st when we have our "one year old" checkup. But I do have some "unofficial" info til then:
Height: almost 29 inches
Weight: 19.2 lbs
Sizes: 12-18 months in clothes, 3 in diapers

What I like: getting into everything, crawling all over the house, getting picked up immediately, having everyone pay attention to me, talking to people, my shoes, interactive toys, going on walks, cruising along furniture, peek a boo, reading books
What I don't like: getting dressed, having my diaper changed, having to lay down for any reason, sleeping more than 10 hours at night, taking more than one one-hour nap per day

What I can do: clap when people say "Yay!", wave hello and goodbye, say "dada" and "mama" (though not always in the right situations), say uh-oh! when I'm supposed to, hold onto furniture and toys and make it all the way around a room, stand without holding onto things for a few seconds, crawl, eat lots of food, use a sippy cup during the day

SOL 600 Club

The kids did great this past year on their SOL tests! Caroline scored a double perfect score--600 on Reading and Social Studies. Garrett got the triple play--perfect 600 on Science, Social Studies, AND Reading!

It's Only Natural...

to want to visit Washington DC and act like a tourist for the day! Timmy and I loaded up the baby and headed north to visit the Natural History Museum. Emily did great, holding our hands and toddling around to all the exhibits and being a good stroller rider when she got tired. We saw the Hope diamond, the minerals and gems, all the fossils, and the special exhibits. Then we headed for the Mall lawn to enjoy the absolutely beautiful weather. Timmy spied a carousel so we jumped on for a spin. It was a lot faster than I thought it would be, but Emily loved it!

Hmmmmmm.....nice amethyst. Could we fit this in the stroller and take it home?

Seriously, Daddy, I really like jewels.

These two were fascinated by the lighted sculptures in the Deep Ocean exhibit...

One of the sculptures. They light up and move around.

Emily liked hanging out with the Neanderthal toddler.

Ummm....this is going really fast. And I don't have a seat belt.

Is this edible? I could just take a small bite...

Dad! I found the perfect leaf for you!

Carving Out Some Family Time

The kids got some carving time in after the parade on Saturday. Camm and I picked out pumpkins while at the Food Lion and the kids each chose the ones they wanted when we got home. They decided to draw the designs on the pumpkins first, then use our carving kits from last year to get out all the pieces. First on the agenda? Scooping out all the goo and seeds.

Caroline tends to lean toward a more classic Jack-o-Lantern design.

Garrett went for a more menacing, grimacing look.

The pumpkins look right at home on the front porch.

Thank you, mums, for coming back every year. You make it look like I know how to garden!

53rd Fall Festival

We hit the King George Fall Festival parade pretty early so that we could get good seats. Cammy helped Timmy and I haul all the kids (plus one--Caroline's friend Lauren tagged along) to the road that they had shut down for the parade. Afterwards, we all headed over to the KGHS for some BBQ, craft show, fun stuff for kids, and funnel cake!

Tracy and her "Eloise" (the name she gave Emily in utero and has stuck with ever since!)

Mel's son Ryder enjoying his first Fall Festival

Caroline and Lauren

Garrett

The whole KGMS staff (present and past): Natalie, Tiffany, Tracy, Sheri, Mel and assorted hubbies and kids!

Emily had the best seat in the house!

Sheri's son Logan made many trips to the field behind us for dandelions...

which he promptly gave to his new girlfriend, Natalie :) He seems to have a thing for older women!

In the Virginia Parks truck were a raccoon...and a Yeti. Odd combo.

sign on side of Plumber Co's float

Emily is gripping two lollipops in her hands while watching the parade

At the petting zoo at the KGHS. We were in love with mini pony!

baby piggies

Garrett was a bull rider master. He went for two rounds! Video below