Halloween 2011

As usual, Halloween was even more fun this year. Samantha ran up to each door with great gusto and yelled as loud as she could “Trick or Treat!” Unfortunately, she never rang the doorbell first. When the door was finally opened, she forgot her manners when a bowl of candy was in front of her! Ellie rode on Daddy’s shoulders, so didn’t get into it a lot and was still tuckered out by the end of the night. It was also Brian’s first time at true Trick or Treating and I think he enjoyed it too!

Samantha painted a pumpkin again this year, and it looks almost exactly like last year’s.

And as usual, I carved my pumpkin.

And our little ghouls were Wonder Woman and a lady bug.

Halloween 2010

Halloween just gets more fun each year!  Samantha had so much fun painting pumpkins, dressing up and ringing doorbells.  I had to prompt her with the “Trick or Treat” and “Thank You.”  (Am I the only one who doesn’t like answering the doorbell and getting a bucket shoved in my face without even a “Trick or Treat?”)  She came up with the “Happy Halloween” on her own.  It was so cute!

We started the evening by painting pumpkins.  I intended to do this at her birthday party, but I was too ambitious.  Halloween afternoon sufficed.  Her pumpkin was solid blue.  Naturally.

I carved my pumpkin during “nap” time.  If you don’t know, I LOVE to carve a pumpkin.  I usually don’t see how I can find the time, but then magically, Halloween afternoon opens up.

Samantha as a bee.

Our pumpkins.  Mine was carved.  Samantha’s were all painted blue.  Brian’s was a bee (whose eye got smudged).

Pumpkin Patch 2010

We headed down to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday.  What a beautiful day!  It got rather warm if you were in the sun, but that was remedied by a cold treat in the shade.

Samantha wasn’t thrilled to go on a hayride, but you have to to get back to the big pumpkin fields. (We were towed by a big noisy tractor!)

Ellie didn’t seem to mind.

Once we got there, Sam was in search for a little pumpkin. 🙂 I think she was trying to find one that she could carry because she would pick one up randomly then decide it was too big or too heavy! We got the smallest one that we could find, but it’s still a mostly normal size pumpkin. I guess she was thinking she could find something like we have as decorations all over the house.

(Brian, why didn’t you tell me that Ellie had a tail?!  I would have fixed that!)

We skipped out on the hay maze, but maybe we’ll try it next year.  This was the first year we tried the jumpy things.  I knew she would have a blast. She mostly played in the big pumpkin, but went down the Sabertooth Tiger slide once!

Samantha and I had shaved ice as a treat.  Hers was blueberry and bright blue!  Here she is trying to do “silly eyes.”

(Ellie isn’t doing it right either…)

We had a great time.  We saw several families that we knew, so I guess it was the weekend for picking out your pumpkin!  Now it’s time to research how I’m going to carve my pumpkin.

It was a Blustery Day

Last weekend, we traveled to the Huntsville Burnses.  (Happy 1st Birthday Penny!)

It was almost cold and pretty windy, so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves outside.  Here’s a family picture.  (And don’t mind my hair, as I said, it was windy.)

Silly girl with windblown hair.

Look out, Little Man!  Don’t you know that you’re supposed to keep your eyes on the road?

Whoa! Here comes Optimus Prime, ready for Trick or Treating!

We decided to get the kite out since it was so windy.  The three little ones helped me put it together.

What are those two scheming about?

Let’s go fly a kite!

Samantha Update

This little girl keeps me on my toes.  She is learning so much these days that I’m often amazed.

On our way home, we drive by a golf course and small lake.  There are usually geese, ducks and squirrels around that we look for.  She also looks for frogs, but I haven’t ever seen a frog there.  A few weeks ago, we didn’t see the squirrel in its usual yard.  She told me that she would get on Mommy-Daddy’s ladder and climb the tree and go look for the squirrel nest.  I was shocked that she knew squirrels lived in a nest, up in a tree, and that she needed to get a ladder to get to the nest.

Ballet is going well.  The first few weeks were a little rough getting her there, but she was fine once she got there.  Now, it’s no problem.  She likes to go and really enjoys the class.  She is definitely the youngest in the class.  It’s a hoot to watch those little girls.  I made a tote bag for her clothes and shoes.  Samantha picked out the fabric herself!

We’ve been talking about Halloween a little bit lately.  Last year, she was terrified of her ladybug costume.  I had it hanging up on her closet door for the whole month of October so we could look at it daily and talk about it.  That didn’t help.  The three times she wore it, she threw a fit each time as if I was torturing her.  This year, it’s a different story.  I was thinking of making a costume for her.  So, I tried to take her to look at some costumes in the fabric store books.  She didn’t seem interested.  We talked about various ideas, but one thing kept standing out in my mind.  I found one, and she loves it.  Chances are, if you’ve skyped with us in the last few weeks, you’ve seen it.  If not, skype with us, or wait until Halloween to see it.  🙂

Lastly, she has started singing along to Raffi.  She can sing the ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on her own, but singing along is something new.  I recorded some today, so check it out.  Raffi and Samantha sing Five Little Ducks.

Here’s an old picture from Labor Day weekend at Diebert Park.