Thanksgiving Break

With all of the overwhelming Christmas stuff, it's easy to bypass Thanksgiving and not remember how important it is.  I get e-mails each week with family fun ideas, and this weekend, there was Turkey Talk at the Charlotte Nature Museum, so we decided to go.

 

It was a great place--Em got to see eggs in an incubator and little baby chickens,

an alligator,

and got to feel goose down, which of course was super soft.

I think this was a baby egret, but I honestly can't remember--I was too busy getting pictures.

I love Em's excitement when we go somewhere new--she wants to see everything and try everything.  We walked the whole museum about three times--once so she could see what was there, and the next two times to make sure we got to everything.

She had a turkey painted on her hand,

and there was a craft section, where she made a turkey beak!

Gobble gobble!

This was turkey talk with Mr. T, the turkey.  Pretty cool to see a turkey up so close!

I can't stand these water tables, because she always comes away soaked, but Em loves them!

The outdoor play area had this big xylophone bell where Em and Daddy played some music.

She also liked the little wheelbarrows.

There was story time with Thanksgiving stories, and this talking tree!

We all went in this dark room and sat around this little campfire, and the tree told a story and talked about all different kinds of animals that live in the forest--there were huge stuffed animals all around the room, but it was hard to get pictures in the dark!

We had a great time for a gloomy Saturday!

Can't Get Enough of Fall!

Em was napping on Saturday, and I was heading home from some shopping when it stopped raining and a beautiful rainbow appeared.  I can't tell you how much we've talked about rainbows, and how much Em has wanted to see a real one, but she never has.  If you think about it, they are pretty special and don't show up too often.  I pulled in the driveway and ran in the house to see if she was up from her nap.  Mick said she was waking up, so I went upstairs and told her there was a rainbow outside--she bolted out of bed to see it!  I loved that we finally saw one together--afterwards, she said that now she wants to see a real unicorn :).  I wish she could stay this innocent for a long time!

Em is the best helper we could ever ask for, no matter what we're doing.  Mick would be happy working in the yard 24 hours a day, so when she's helping Daddy with something, they're outside.

They raked this big pile of leaves together, and Em couldn't wait to jump in it!

I love the shots where I caught her midair!

This swing set was one of our best purchases for her--she loves it still, and it's a huge hit whenever we have company with kids.

I put this ice cream on the counter to soften a little for us one night, and caught Em sampling it--I grabbed my camera and missed the really spontaneous shot, but this captured the essence of the moment :).

She loves her ice cream!

Halloween



Emily started an infatuation with Peter Pan last year, right after Halloween.  At the time, I thought it was such bad timing because she would have made such a cute Peter Pan.  I never imagined she would still want to be Peter Pan a year later, but she was determined.  I decided to make her costume because I couldn't really find one I liked a lot.

 

Rainbow Station had a Halloween parade that afternoon, and Mick and I both got there a couple of minutes late--they had already changed into costumes and started the parade, so Em was a little bit of a mess--her hair was a disaster and her shoes were on the wrong feet, but boy, was she happy to see us!  Look at that sweet smile :).

 Here are a few of her friends in their costumes.

And here she is with Emma, Heather's daughter, who dressed as Ariel.

We got home that night in time to order pizza for dinner and get Em's hair and costume straightened up a little.

She was so super proud of her costume, and excited to start trick or treating!  We went with our neighbors, and Em and Brady kept each other going for almost three hours--it was crazy!  It was amazing to see what a difference a year made in her--last year, she was so shy and hesitant to go up and ring any doorbells, but this year, she was unstoppable!

Each time they went to a house, she would turn around and say "Mommy, I remembered to say thank you!"  We have a great neighborhood for trick or treating--there are so many kids that we end up walking around in a big group, which makes it more fun for the kids and the adults both.

She said her teachers had given them homework--to bring Ms. Kathy milk chocolate, and Ms. Nabila dark chocolate.  Em decided she didn't want to share her candy though, so she went in her class that morning and told Ms. Kathy that she didn't do her homework.  It was hilarious :).

 

On the way to school that day, she told me she wants to be Batman next year for Halloween.  We'll see what sticks!

Last of the Fall Festivals

We decided to go to another fall festival on my birthday--this one was pretty close by and had lots of great kids' activities.  Em headed straight for the cow train!

There was a maze of hay bales and this smaller one that all the kids were running on top of--Em loved it!

She picked her outfit today, complete with the shiny purple shoes. 

These little cars were so fun!  The pedaling got a little tricky with a 35 pound weight on my leg :).

Mick got on one too and we raced around the track!

And the last of them...this is Hall Family Farm, where she went for her school field trip.  We pass it every day on the way to and from school, and she keeps wanting to take a picture with this big spider!

We picked out more pumpkins,

and she stopped long enough to take a few pictures.

 There was a hayride, wagons to carry our pumpkins,

and these bouncy balls, which are always a big hit.

The sand box is one of her favorites, and I HATE IT!  Sand ends up in her hair, her socks and shoes, and everywhere else, but I think she'd stay in there all day if we'd let her.

We came home that afternoon and carved our pumpkins!  The best part is the toasted pumpkin seeds...yummy!

Here's our finished product!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Em doesn't care whose birthday it is--she just wants to help with the celebration.  When Mick asked me what I wanted, I told him I really just wanted it to be a fun day for her--so that Saturday, the two of them spent the day picking out fun stuff for me, including a cake, balloon, cards and presents.  She was so excited to show me everything!

 

I also ordered some boots online and she tried them on before I did :).

The stairs are a total mess, but I love these pictures!

Along with the real birthday cake, she also picked out some chocolate Spider-Man cupcakes that we had to have.

Each cupcake had a ring on top--

What more could you want?!

Fall Fun

We've made a few trips to pumpkin patches this fall--Em loves pumpkins for painting and carving.  It was late last Sunday and she really wanted to carve a pumpkin.  We compromised and just carved the smallest one we had.

Bella and Gracie love it when we do things outside and they can come out with us!

Here was our finished product!  We toasted the pumpkin seeds and they were delicious!  Can't wait to carve our big pumpkins!

Daddy had to work late one night this week, and Em and I had Superhero spaghetti for dinner.

In case you're wondering, it's the same as regular spaghetti, but you have to wear a cape while eating it :).  Spaghetti is one of her favorite things--she always wants to share a noodle like Lady and the Tramp.

Mick's company had a family event at a local pumpkin patch this month too--here's one of the three of us on the hayride!