Halloween

We had such a fun Halloween this year. Both girls were old enough to enjoy dressing up and enjoy trick or treating. We started our week off by carving a pumpkin. Both girls love Sophia, so that was the pattern of choice. Felix is a master at carving a pumpkin. You can tell by his face how serious he takes it.

Blair also had a Halloween Party at school that week. They had chapel that day, so I showed up so I could see all the kids in their costumes. Blair was very surprised to see me. I also helped with the class party so I could take pictures there as well. She has the cutest class! I am looking forward to getting to know more of these kids as the year goes by.

Minnie Mouse and Figaro were so ready to get their trick or treat on! Our neighborhood always has a little party right before so we can get everyones belly full before the fun begins. We had a huge turnout this year, and their were some impressive costumes. It seems that zombies were a hit this year. Glad we are few years away from that ;)

Carter acted as if she knew right what to do. She loved riding in her wagon and checking out all the costumes.  I thought she would be a little unsure, but not at all. Blair is the one that we have to walk to every door because she is worried they may have a dog :-( Poor girl!

We had a wonderful Halloween, and we look forward to diving right into the holiday season! Ready or not, IT'S HERE! Happy Fall! 

Pumpkin Patch

I have let myself get behind on the blog again! Life has really been happening around here lately! A few weeks before Halloween, we met the Driskell girls at Berry Patch Farms in Milton. It was the perfect little outing. The girls got to burn off some energy at the Pumpkin Patch, and then Megan and I rewarded ourself with a glass of wine at dinner that evening ;) I think Quinn and Blair have been to this pumpkin patch together about 3 times since they have been born. Carter and Kathryn  hung right in there with them and knew exactly what to do!

We had such a fun little trip, and we look forward to many more Pumpkin Patch trips with the Driskell family!

18 months

Our sweet Carter-girl turned 18 months in September.  I was determined to get this post done before she turns 19 months ;) Carter had a fantastic 18 month appointment, and she is doing great.  She weighs 24 lbs and 5 oz (75th percentile) and she is 32 inches tall (50th percentile). She and Blair are pretty much the exact same size at this stage. Blair weighed 24-11 and she was 31 inches tall. This is really working out good for Carter's fall wardrobe!

This is the spunkiest little girl I have ever met. Doesn't she just look like a mess in the pictures? As I have said before, she is NOTHING like her sister. She is not scared of anything, and she is such the little daredevil. She loves to run away from me, climb, jump off the furniture, etc. She is so active. I don't know if I was prepared to have a child that is all over the place! I actually can't believe she sat still for these pictures. I was using my best singing voice for sure!

Carter is growing tremendously with her vocabulary. She just about repeats any word that we say. She is starting to string some words together as well.  When I'm on the phone she loves to say "want to talk too". She also says "love you Blair" which totally gets me going. She tells every animal in her room night night and blows tons of kisses. She loves to sing "wheels on the bus", "abc's", "ring around the rosies", and "bye bye black sheep".

Carter is over-all a good eater. She was a GREAT eater before she had hand, foot, and mouth disease this summer, and I swear that really took a toll on her. She loves all fruits and a good amount of vegetables.  We went through a really tough spot with meat and poultry, but she has gotten tons better. She is a fan of deli meat, daddy's meatballs, fish sticks, turkey sausage, and some hot dogs. She also loves any type of beans. She did NOT get that from me ;)  For some reason, she does not want anything to do with chicken nuggets or any sort of potato. She is pretty much a train wreck at Chik-fil-a.  Where did she come from?!

 And last but not least, I have to brag on how much Carter loves her sister. Blair is the best little helper and teacher to Carter. I have known for a long time that Blair is such a nurturer, but it has really come out in the past few months. Blair has taught Carter all of her animal sounds, she has taught her several nursery rhymes, and she has also taught her to count as she is walking up the stairs. Blair loves to sit down and read to Carter, and she is so good in sharing her toys with her. If Blair gets something new, she is always worried if Carter is going to get a treat too. We definitely have our moments where they fight over the same toy or where one of them ends up throwing a fit, but for the most part they are best friends.  Carter wants to do everything Blair does (even walk on her tip toes-Lord help me). I never thought I would buy an 18 month old hot pink glittery Tom's, but I did because she just wants to be like her sister so bad!

We love our little out-going, energetic Carter-girl! She is one of a kind and we wouldn't trade her for the world!

September

What did we do in September? What did we NOT do in September?!  The month was jam-packed with visit the classroom, meet the teacher, back to school, back to ballet, back to soccer, etc, etc, etc! It has been such a busy month, and I'm just so proud that we survived and didn't kill each other ;)

Early in the month, I took both girls to see their new classrooms. They got to meet all their new little friends, and play for just a little while. Carter-girl was especially excited to see her class since this is her first year at Preschool.

Blair was just like an old pro. She had to tell me right where to go. She had some very familiar faces in her class, and it was no turning back for her. I can't believe it's her last year. I can't even go there :(

Both girls had a great first day. Everyone was so cooperative for their first-day pictures. We were the 2nd ones in the carpool line and we were dressed, fed, and had already taken photos. At that moment, I knew I had done something right ;)  Blair is going to school every day this year, and Carter goes two days a week. They have both settled into their routine perfectly, and they both look forward to going to school every morning.

It was also time for Blair to start ballet again this month. She sure does miss her activities during the summer, so she was very excited to get her ballet slippers back on. She has a great class with many, many friends in there with her. After carpool on Tuesdays we all go grab a quick lunch before heading to the studio. This is our 3rd year with most of these girls, and even the same teacher!

A new soccer season has also crept upon us. Unlike the other seasons, this year is NO JOKE. We have practice one a week, and then we have a game every Saturday. It is becoming way more organized the older Blair gets. Now that we are actually playing real games, Blair is starting to understand the game so much more. She has had her fair share of goalies so far, but she gets a little upset when she does not score. We are trying to teach her that she has other duties on the field, such as blocking goals, stealing the ball, and being a good team player. She is definitely competitive and just this week she said "I hope we beat that other team!". Uh-oh ;)

Out of all the colors in the rainbow, the USA team got stuck with the white shirts. You can imagine how that went over with 4 year old little girls. They wanted the purple, or pink, or even lime green. So, when you have lemons, you make lemonade, right?? One of the moms organized a little get-together to tie-dye our shirts so we could have the bright fun colors that the girls wanted.  Now, our shirts are the most popular ones on the field and everyone else wishes they would have gotten the plain white shirts ;)

This is Blair's 3rd season to play soccer with Tina. She LOVES Tina. They have taken soccer and gymnastics together every year. It has also been interesting because two of our neighbors are on the "other" team.  It took some explaining when trying to tell them they could take the ball from each other. It was so sweet watch them give each other high five's on the field. And that little Carter-girl is the BEST cheerleader. She sits in her little chair and screams "Yay Blair!". She is a loose canon on that soccer field, and tries to go out and play.  I'm usually just as tired as Blair after the game is over!

And last, but certainly not least, we have been cheering on our Auburn Tigers. Let's just say these late games are killing this mama! But, we are very proud of our Tigers for their 3-1 start to the season. We are proudly sporting our orange and blue every weekend around here and we are optimistic for a good season!

So that's it. It's crazy and wild around here. The weeks fly by but we love it and wouldn't have it any other way. Carter-girl turned 18 months in September so that post is coming soon!