Our Exploration to Meet Dora

So Dora was scheduled to make an appearance at a local mall last weekend and I couldn't pass it up even though Adelyn wasn't quite 100% after the flu. Little did I know that it would be about a 2 HOUR WAIT for a very brief meeting with Dora and her sidekick, Boots.

Adelyn and Ella had stars in their eyes when they first saw Dora but by the time we had lunch, shopped around a little, found some Dora cookies, and took advantage of some face painting at the mall, the girls had very little interest in taking an actual picture with Dora. I tried to pry them off my hips so they could take a picture with her by themselves (I did not want to be in the picture with my no make-up mommy look in full force)... but no such luck. :) Thank goodness Dora didn't talk. After 2 hours of waiting for a picture of me with Dora, the last thing I wanted to hear was, "Say it WITH ME.... LOUDER!!" *cringe*

Hope you enjoy the pictures from our day.

Congrats Grandma June & Grandpa Scott!

We traveled up to Springfield a couple weeks ago to attend a luncheon honoring Grandma June for Illinois School Nurse of the Year. Grandpa Scott also received an appreciation award for doing some financial work for the association. We were so proud! :)




Sidenote: Ella was getting tickled by Grandpa's scruffy beard... she loves him so much! Another picture is of Ella playing with her Aunt Barb and cousin Erin at the luncheon table. Thank goodness they were there to help distract! LOL Oh, and doesn't Adelyn look like her daddy in this picture??

Fabulous Fall Fest

So we attended a playdate this week with a festive Fall theme and I was blown away with the preparation this mommy made to ensure a great time by all of the kiddos. There were pumpkin cookies, home-made apple cider, a do-it-yourself turkey cupcake (picture), outside fun time, etc. And the crafts were amazing!! The picture above really doesn't do it justice... I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera at the play-date but I can promise that everything was wonderfully and festively fall! I even asked the mommy who painted the mural on her daughter's bedroom wall and big surprise- she did! Oh, and not only was she rediculously organized and creative... she was sweet, too.

On the same note, we also attended a "Curious George" birthday playdate last week where the girls could "monkey around" with friends, enjoy the gorgeous weather outside, hit a monkey pinata, have monkey cupcakes, and play lots of monkey games. It also came complete with a "Curious George" CD with a unique selection of kid-friendly tunes. Geesh... definitely raises the bar for my playdates. LOL If you're reading this, Jessica... thanks again for a great time!

In light of the season, we are definitely "thankful" for new friends!

Marley & Me

Marley is a very popular name in our house. It started when Adelyn attended VBS this past summer and met a sweet girl there named Marley. Ever since, Adelyn has wanted to name everything Marley. For instance, when we went to Build-A-Bear in Branson over the summer, Adelyn excitedly named her new bear Marley. So you can imagine then that it was only natural for her to name her new Beta fish Marley. I asked Adelyn what she thought Ella would like Marley's middle name to be and she thought that Nemo Dorie was only appropriate since they both love that movie. :)

Here are a few pictures from our day looking for our new fish, Marley Nemo Dorie. I still smile every time I see these pictures of Adelyn & Ella "shopping" together.

Halloween 2009

Here they are.... our little octopus and mermaid. I have TONS of pictures from our night trick-or-treating but will have to leave it to a couple right now. Too hard to pick my favorites. But if you're wanting more, just e-mail me and I can send you a link to my Facebook page where I've uploaded a few there.

The girls had a great time... we went over to a neighbor's house for chili and then went trick-or-treating in Grandma's neighborhood. Adelyn especially liked to dress up in her pajamas at school in honor of Halloween and she also loved to wear sparkly make-up and have her hair curled to look like "mermaid waves." Ella loved that I allowed her to eat CANDY!

Here's a pic of the girls before carving the pumpkin. I think they might love Fall time festivities as much as I do!

My Lil' Caterpillars

Adelyn: "Mommy, I don't want my pet caterpillar to turn into a butterfly." *sniff sniff*

Mommy: "But, sweetie, he has to. All caterpillars turn into butterflies... just like all babies turn into big girls."

Adelyn: "Why, Mommy? I want my caterpillar to stay a caterpillar. It's so fuzzy and cute."

Mommy: "But aren't you excited to see what he looks like as a butterfly... and see him fly??"

Adelyn: "No! Where is he going to fly to?"

Mommy: "Well... hmmmm... he needs to go away to butterfly college and go to butterfly work and then meet a butterfly friend and marry the butterfly friend and then have caterpillar babies.... and then..." *my face starts to look sad as the words come out*

Adelyn: "Mommy... why are you sad?"

Mommy: "Maybe I don't want the caterpillar to turn into a butterfly."

Adelyn: "It's o.k., Mommy. The caterpillar wants to be a butterfly so he can fly."

Mommy: "I know, I know. You're right."

I couldn't make this stuff up! :)

In honor of this post, here's a picture of my little caterpillar and butterfly last Halloween. New Halloween pictures will come soon... I promise!

Oney Monster Mash!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Wish I could fit our dog, Shelby, in the video, too! :)

Boo @ The Zoo

We made our annual trip to the local Boo at the Zoo. It was an opportunity for the girls to get dressed up for the first time this year. I can't say much for the event myself since there weren't many animals to see... but the girls still enjoyed the spooky decorations on a gorgeous Fall night.

Here are a couple pictures of our octopus and mermaid...

our sea animal and sea princess. For the record, they are both princesses... Ella just fit in her sister's old costume. Besides, doesn't she make for an adorable pink octopus?! :)

Pumpkin Pickin' and Elephant Ridin'

We had a great weekend full of family fun... first the circus where Adelyn got to ride an elephant for the first time (I just couldn't bring myself to allow Ella up there yet!) and then pumpkin picking at Relleke's farm.

We enjoyed a great playdate with friends this week as well as having another successful dental appointment for Adelyn. I am continuously shocked at how good of a patient she is for the dentist. We're looking forward to Chuck E. Cheese tonight since Adelyn completed her sticker reward chart. Then we're headed to Boo at the Zoo this weekend and a playdate here is planned for Monday.

Hope everyone is enjoying this cooler weather... feels like Fall has already passed but we have too many other Fall-time activities to enjoy over the next month to let it go that easily. :)

Poor Kitty

Our poor cat, Savannah, fell off two floors from a window sill and broke three bones in her back foot the other day. She's fallen many times before but apparently she fell on it the wrong way this time. We were really scared that she got outside and ran away since we couldn't find her for a full day but Adelyn did some searching and found her behind our couch in a lot of pain. When I saw that she was limping, I had remembered seeing her fall in the corner of my eye the day prior.

The good news is that she is already in much better spirits and walking around with her splint just fine. Here's a picture of her pathetic bandaged foot. The vet must have known that pink was a popular choice in our house. :)

My Child is a Genius

(Kidding.) But Adelyn did master her name recently... see her awesome fine motor skills at work??

Goofy Girls!

The girls have a lot of fun together and I'm starting to think that Ella is getting just as goofy and full of personality as her older sister. Can you tell?!

And here are the girls' signature dance moves.... Ella lkes to put her head on the floor and Adelyn is a fan of the classic "sprinkler." They're a lot of fun for Mommy, too! :)