Big big pumpkin

Haven't put up a belly shot lately. I'm sure the orange is very flattering! 3 more weeks to go...

Halloween Ladybug

OK, I deserve some award for getting these up within an hour of returning from trick or treating. We opted for the free members' party at the zoo instead of going around the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun and we got a nice variety of stuff instead of just candy. There were small toys and things like animal crackers and Cheez-its too. Plus, it was before dark, which is much better for Laura. We spent about an hour there and really had fun. Here's some pics:

fashion trends

I don't know if its something she picked up in school or she made it up herself, but Laura's really been into this new way of fastening her velcro shoes. It cracks me up and makes me think of french-rolled jeans or the way we used to tie our dexters with little curly-cues instead of bows. 

Fall has arrived

We spent about 2 hours outside this afternoon. I finally got my dead flowers chopped down, and Laura was very helpful. I am so glad she stays close to me in the yard and never even thinks about going near the street. We also worked just a little more on getting the garden ready for winter and played in the leaves.

Below is a picture from a few days ago when the temperature was pretty low. She is really getting good at peddling, but still working on the steering. 

Spackling

Jim and Laura were looking for something to do between dinner and bedtime the other night, so they decided to spackle the dents in the walls. Apparently, Laura is a champion spackler. She made no mess, and didn't even get any on her hands. She was really excited to complete the job the next night. Now I guess we have to paint. Oh, and Jim's a big fan of the spackle that goes on pink and dries white. 

Finished Jack O'Lanterns

snow

Oh, and it snowed today for the first time this season. The ground was too warm for it to stick and there doesn't seem to be anymore forecasted anytime soon.

Jack O'Lanterns!!!

Laura's new bed

Jim's folks brought up Jim's old bed, which also happens to be his dad's old bed from when he was a little boy. So there's a lot of history in this bed! 

Here's Jim's ingenious system for painting the bed. It turned out very nice.

Laura's first night was a little rough. She didn't really seem too scared, just unsure about the new room. The bed wasn't a problem at all. She didn't roll out or seem worried about that. But the big-ness of the room made her nervous. It took her about 3 hours to go to sleep, but after she fell asleep she made it through the night with only one incident where she needed help with her new blankets. Her nap today went pretty well. She got out of bed a few times, but apparently tucked herself back in and slept for about an hour and a half. So we'll see how tonight goes. This picture is from the next morning after she woke up. Its very cozy to cuddle up with her on the bed! Jim and I both enjoy it.

I will try to get a picture of her whole room posted soon. I think we'll try to find some wall stickers for decoration rather than painting. 

hungry hippo

laura ate an amazing dinner tonight. She usually chows down all morning and eats nothing all afternoon. Tonight she ate a ton of catfish, broccoli and mashed potatoes. Of course, a little ranch dip was involved, but not too much. I couldnt believe it.

Updates

-Raked leaves yesterday. Laura helped.

-Joke from my dream last night: I ordered a pancake and 2 eggs overeasy in a diner. The waitress brought it on a very small plate, apologizing that it was so small as the pancake was overlapping the edge of the plate. She said "I like to think of the plate as "shadow-impaired"instead of small." Who knew my subconscious was so clever?

-Family dance was much better yesterday. Laura really had a good time. 

-Going to try to get some yard work done today. I invited a friend of Laura's over so she can play with him while I get some work done, hopefully.

-Cleaned the carpets yesterday and found a mattress for Laura and Jim painted the bed frame that his parents brought us. Just need to resize the slats for Laura's bed and she can move in to her new room.

-Made some bad bread yesterday. Very dry. darn.

-Hung out laundry yesterday for probably the last time this summer. 

Climbing

Well, it finally happened. She climbed out of the crib today. And back in. It was during an enforced time-out and she comes running down stairs screaming "I climbed out of my crib!" Then she screamed that she wanted back in. Instead I just put her in her room for the time-out and when I went back to get her a few minutes later, voila! She was back in her crib. In or out didn't seem to be any sort of problem for her. Guess she just needed the right motivation.

Practicing

If you can get past the nauseating amount of pink in this picture, it is really cute. She is practicing what she learned in her big sister class.

Playgroup

Aaaaackkk! Attack of the 3 footers!

Fall colors

I've been thoroughly enjoying the fall colors this year. I guess its so surprising to me because we missed it last year when we went to the Philippines. Even my lilac bush in front turned red! I don't remember that happening before. We also planted a dogwood bush next to it whose stems have turned red. You can't see it in the picture because its still very small, but it should add some nice color in the winter.

Beater lickin

Laura's first time to lick beaters. yummy pumpkin cookies

Apple pickin

Laura and I went to an apple orchard last week. Had fun! Also picked pumpkins and fed turkey, chickens, and goats and petted a dog. Didn't get pics of any of that stuff, though. 

Papa and Grandma's visit

Jim's parents visited this weekend. It was a busy weekend, but fun. They mowed the lawn, Jim finished the basement, and they brought up a twin bed for Laura that was Papa's and Jim's and they brought our new iMAC. And Laura had a great time with them.

Here's the finished basement. Ignore the drop cloths (clothes) in the second picture.

Laura really liked fishing with Papa and she's very good at reeling in the purple crappie.

Here's our new iMAC!

big sister class

We brought laura to a hospital sponsored big sister class tonight. It was a little late for her (6 - 7:30) but she did pretty well. She spent the tour with her head on jim's shoulder almost asleep but she woke up when they taught her to put a diaper on her teddy bear, wrap him up in a blanket, and feed him with a bottle. She also enjoyed the teacher's assistant dog. And they best part for her seemed to be when we walked out of the building and she reverently whispered "its dark outside".

6:30pm

On the very first day of our vacation 2 weeks ago, Laura adopted a new attitude that just terrified Jim and I. We thought "OK, I guess the terrible 2s are starting...TODAY". Pretty much all week, she was difficult. She has a good enough grasp of language that she can really put together some impressive sentences to sass you and insult you.

Then we got back from vacation and back into a regular routine, particularly back to starting her bedtime routine at 6:30. I know this sounds early, but it is apparently the key to everything for Laura. All week, she was asleep by 7pm, woke up at 7:30 or 8 and took at least 2 hour naps. And lo and behold, she has been the sweetest kid you have ever met. Even when I was grumpy and trying to bait her into joining me in a fight (like you would with a sibling, how embarrassing), she was as calm and pleasant as can be. I couldn't believe it.

I started thinking about how lax we had been on bedtime over vacation and realized that this must be a huge factor. She was going to bed about an hour late and for some reason, waking up about an hour early. And naps were sporadic. Well, I'm glad we figured it out and I'm glad she is back to being a good sport. It was fun to be with her this week. Maybe you just need to go on vacation sometimes to see how good you have it at home.