pumpkin patch

pumpkin night

I was afraid this might happen. My pictures posted in the wrong order. I was trying to commemorate our 1st Annual Burton Pumpkin Night with a cute little picture story, but now you need to scroll to the bottom of the post and work your way up. Sorry.

Our new friend! Thus concluded our Pumpkin Night. Sam slept through most of it, but I'm sure he'll be all about it next year as an almost-two-year-old. Yikes!

The artist at work. And my favorite part, sorting out all the seeds from the gooey gunk and baking them. So good.

The finished product and a silly grin to go with it.

Did you make it here? Good. So while Stephen was working his magic on our pumpkin, Kate and I did some baking. It wasn't difficult. Easier than break and bake--very toddler-friendly. And after enjoying her first batch of cookies, Kate now considers herself quite the cook, as well she should. They were yummy.

a bunch of animals

Kate's preschool hosted a petting zoo not long ago, and Sam and I tagged along. Kate was all about the sheep while Sam was mesmerized by a rooster. Sam, who is terrified of puppy dogs and talking stuffed animals, wouldn't stop reaching his little fingers in that cage trying to grab its feathers. Silly boy.

fun fall days

The kids and I are so enjoying the fall weather. It's by far my favorite time of the year. On nice afternoons, we sometimes head over to Kate's preschool and play awhile in the playground. Sam is content to sit in his swing while Kate runs around slipping down slides and climbing monkey bars.

aspirations

Today, after picking up Kate from preschool:

Me: What did you learn at school today?

Kate: What ur (this is Kate's pronunciation of "you") going to be when you grow up.

Me: Really?

Kate: Annagail is going to be a doctor.

Me: That sounds good. What are YOU going to be?

Kate: Cinderella.

friday morning funnies

No pictures to share, just a cute little story that Kate will hate me for sharing when she's a preteen. This morning, I used our ottoman as a barricade against the fireplace to keep Samuel from crawling inside it. Yes, he crawls INSIDE the fireplace. (Have I mentioned that I am now clearly seeing the differences between boys and girls?) What I didn't consider is that, to Kate, this new placement of the ottoman is an obvious stage. Within minutes, my girl climbs on top of it, stands up, holds both arms straight out to her sides, and starts, well...shimmying? She does this for a few seconds before looking right at me and saying, "Mommy, my boobies aren't working!" Cute, yes. But, I know what you're thinking, and NO! I do not shimmy around the house! I did NOT teach her this particular dance move. The running man, I'm on it. Moonwalking...that, too. But not this. I don't know where she got this idea, but her Nana and Mamaw were both in town last weekend....hmmm....

where's sam?

I realized after my last mammoth post that I completely left out my Sam man, Sammy, the Great Sambini. He was there, and he was such a good baby. Despite the extreme girliness of the occasion, he was as sweet as he could be. He seems to really find delight in just watching other folks have a good time. What a cutie.
So, since we're posting, hows about an update on my little man:

• He's now 10 1/2 months old.
• He FINALLY HAS A TOOTH! Thank goodness. It's just one little bottom tooth, but it was ushered in with a three-day fever and plenty of crankiness.
• He's a handful. Two handfuls. He's constantly crawling onto the fireplace, making his way up the stairs, smashing his little fingers in drawers. All of this kind of came out of nowhere. One day he was limited to his cute but not exactly super-mobile commando crawl, and the next he was on the third step just a laughin'.
• He can say "Da da," but I'm not fully convinced that he knows what he's doing. Stephen disagrees.
• He's a little dude. He's still in his 9-month sleepers. No complaints here...I don't like my babies growing up too fast.
• My boy likes to eat. All day. He still nurses every three hours, eats three square meals a day, and snacks at least twice. Imagining him as a sixteen year old scares me.

That's it for now, but you know more will follow. I've been a pretty consistent blogger as of late, don't you think? To all those who like to give me a hard time, you're welcome.

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Shew! What a day! We had so much fun celebrating Kate's 3rd birthday. (I can still barely believe that my baby is THREE!). We had, of course, a princess party, and all of her girlfriends came dressed as their favorite princess. All in all, we had Belle (Kate), Jasmine, Snow White, and Cinderella--a lovely group of girls, for sure!

We started the party with a craft. The girls decorated their wands with jewels and stickers while the two boys (BRAVE knights, indeed, for hanging out with all these girly girls) decorated their armor. It was a lot of fun and gave the kids some cute favors to take home.

And here are those brave warriors, Will and Trevor, with their swords. These two boys were such troopers. They were absolutely surrounded by all things pink and frilly, and they still had a great time and joined in on all the fun.















Kate and her BFF, Abbey, are showing off their most beautiful wands.

surprise!

Things were in full swing when all of the sudden, a special guest arrived. Belle (a wonderful girl named Taylor who restores my faith in adolescence) stopped by to visit the birthday girl and her friends. Cute story: Stephen first explained to the kids that he called Princess-land and asked if Belle could visit Kate's house. He then led all the kids to the front door, opened it, and there stood the beautiful Belle. Without missing a beat, an adorable Mackenzie dressed up as Snow White looked up to Stephen and said, "Stephen! Call Snow White and she'll come, too!" How cute is that?



Once Belle greeted and hugged and patted little heads, she sat all the princes and princesses down to read a story. Surprisingly enough, they all sat quietly through story time. I think they were a bit mesmerized by Belle.













After story time, all the princesses piled on Belle for a photo-op. Curiously, the boys weren't nearly as into Belle as the girls were. In fact, the two princes made a quick dash for the porch as soon as the story was over. Bless their hearts...things just got way too girly.

fun and games

You know what I think is wonderful about three year olds? They are so easy to entertain. When planning Kate's party, Stephen and I thought simple was the way to go. So, among our games was this favorite--"Slay-the-Bubble-Breathing-Dragon Game." Stephen (the dragon) blew bubbles and the kids popped them with their brand new wands and swords. So easy. So fun. Perfect. We also played "Princess Treasure Hunt" and the kiddos had to find items associated with each princess: Aurora's key to the kingdom, Ariel's seashell, the Beast's rose, Jasmine's friend Abu, Snow White's apple... It was a quick game (these kids are smart!), but they seemed to have a blast.

cake and presents!

Bye, Belle...

After spending a wonderful afternoon with her princess friends and our very special guest, Belle, it was time to say goodbye. Kate was sure to give Belle a sticker before she headed on her way. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

the birthday fun begins....

We kicked off the Kate's birthday festivities with cupcakes for her class at preschool. It was so much fun taking a peek at Kate's school day. She plays so well with her friends, and she adores Miss Donna. What really made my day was how proud she was to have her mommy there with her. She held my hand and marched into her classroom saying, "This is my mommy!" It doesn't get much better.

more wedding fun!

What pretty girls! Kate couldn't stop talking about Lindsey and her pretty princess dress. She wanted one just like it. I pray it's a long, long time before she walks down the aisle in her very own pretty princess dress.

I must say, I was RELIEVED when the wedding was over. Kate did a great job, but Sam, poor Sam, he cried throughout the entire ceremony. He could see me and his daddy on stage, but couldn't figure out how to get to us. Love his heart.
Getting dolled up before pictures!

NOW they let me up here!

flower girl

It was so much fun being a part of Brent and Lindsey's big day. Second to Lindsey, Kate was the prettiest girl at the ball. What a sweet little flower girl she was! She did a fabulous job walking down the aisle. So dainty. So sweet. When she reached the altar steps, she stood with her daddy for a few minutes before taking a seat on the front row. She did so well! We were so very proud.

mr. and mrs. maloney

Congratulations to our dear friends, Brent and Lindsey Maloney! We're so thankful these two are in our lives, and now in each other's, too!

dirty windows

And this would be why I can't buy enough Windex. Still, I know I'll too soon miss the days that I wiped little handprints and lip smudges from the windows.

kate talk

Kate was singing a song the other day that she undoubtedly made up. This conversation followed:

Me: That's a neat song you're singing. Who taught you that song?

Kate: Jesus. He's a really good person and he helps me ALL the time.

Me: Isn't he, though! Who taught you about Jesus?

Kate: Gaston. He's nice now.

good morning!

To borrow a line from my beloved Jane Eyre, "I hold myself supremely blessed." This sweet thing (and another one about two feet taller) greets me every morning with sweet smiles. What joys they are!

our favorite space

Clearly, Samuel is a big fan of our latest home improvement project: the swing. Me too. It's become a nice little retreat. The other day, Sam was in the throws of teething (it's been a pitiful process), and he woke up at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. Nothing soothed him, and despite our best, most creative efforts, he was still screaming 45 minutes later. So he and I cuddled up in blankets and sat on the swing for a spell. In no time, my sweet baby boy was asleep peacefully in my arms. It was darling. What a sweet way to start my day.