Halloween with Little Red Riding Hood

We started Halloween with a little Trick or Treat on the square in Newnan. Every year the shops on the square in Newnan come outside and hand out candy to all the little kiddies in town. It's nice because we can get the feeling of trick or treating without much knocking and rejection ;)

We met our friends Heather and Sean and their two boys Carter and Cooper - and Christi and her Dad and Mother in Law with Owen. Cooper was Micky Mouse, Cooper was a bear and Owen was a greaser!!





They had fun being pushed around even though it was a little cold. There were a LOT of folks out this year (last year it was raining) so we made it down two sides of the square then kinda had to rush down the 4th (we completely bypassed the third side haha). By the end the kids were ready to go home!!

On Halloween day all the girls and their kiddos met up at Summergrove to take pics in their costumes. I already had a million pics of AC in hers so we just went in casual clothes ;) We took some pics and just kinda hung out. I was trying to give a mini photo lesson - but we were distracted with kids running everywhere hahhaa.











AC enjoying the wind!!


And remember this chair from last year??


This pic of AC was taken almost exactly a year ago today!! Look how much she has changed!!


Later that night AC and I went to Walmart to get some candy and when we came home there was literally a TRAILER full of kids that we had just missed! We waited, and waited and waited.... and no kids, so we walked across the street to our neighbors house to show them Anna and Piper's costume. We ended up hanging out with them for a while, then headed back home.

We ended up having about 10 more kids come through... We missed a lot of them being at the neighbors house but the ones that we did get got a LOT of candy!!

Anna's First 5k

This morning AC ran the Peeples Elementary 5K with me. This is part of the Rotary Grand Prix series of races that I did 2 years ago (before AC). I wanted to do it again this year, but have a hard time finding someone to watch AC since Chris works most Saturdays - so I decided to just take her with me on the run!!

It was FREEZING cold but we made it in 32:35. I did have to stop twice to give her snacks and get her covered... and starting about mile 2 she screamed the whole way back. Come to find out her poor little hands were frozen stiff and she couldn't even eat the snacks I was handing her!!!! I felt terrible! :(

All bundled up about to start the race


But we made it - and even managed to get first place in our age group :) Even beat some girl who yelled "No fair - she's pushing a jogging stroller" - like it was EASIER to be doing that!! Sheesh.

Admiring our 1st place medal :)

Lots of new stuff!

Ok first off have to give a BIG praise to AC for going pee AND poop in the potty today!!!! We started last Sunday sitting her on the toilet (with her little seat attached) a couple times a day. First time on it she peed!! I was so excited! The next time - peed again!! A few times she has just sat there reading books but we also use it as learning time. She has learned what the lion, cow and duck says just from sitting on the potty!!

Which brings me to the next thing. AC has been talking up a storm. She now knows what the duck says (kak kak), cow says (moooo), lion says (a Raaawr), dog says (arf ruff ruff), cat says (MEEE-noooowwwww) and birdie says (tee tee). She also has been saying "whadat?" for "what's that?".

Her top two teeth on either side of the front two ("lateral incisors" as I just learned) have broken through. Sometime within the last week but it's hard to tell because she wont let me look in her mouth. No telling if there are any more teeth coming. She's not fussy - and well like I said she wont let me in her mouth.

She runs (well toddles fast) around the house non stop... the girl wears me out.

She's still going to bed around 8pm and wakes up around 9am.

She LOVES to feed herself Oko (yogurt - we tricked her and told her it was ice cream and Oko stuck) and applesauce.

She has her first 5k on Oct 30th so we will let you know how she does ;)

I have some videos to share just need to reinstall the software. The are good ;)

Gooooooooo Jackets!

Uncle Philip gave "Johnny Jun" some tickets to her very first Ga Tech game! Chris and I had in the back of our minds that she may not make it very long - but we just wanted to go for as long as she could. We got to the game a little late but found our way to the seats (out of the sun!!!!) and Tech was winning!! AC took a little while to warm up to her surroundings since we had to wake her up to get her out of the car - but in just a few minutes she was clapping along with the crowd and dancing to the music.

She worked the crowd and had people oohhing and aahhing over her little outfit and her very mild manners :) She ate snacks, waved to people and even offered her Bippy to the guy next to us (he wasn't interested) We lasted till the very end of the 3rd quarter and by then she was SO comfortable with the crowd that she wanted to get up and walk around - and there was NO room for that. So we packed up and headed back.

Ergo Baby was a life saver back to the car - glad we brought it. It was a pretty long hike back to the car (I have blisters to prove it) but we had free parking so it's hard to complain.

AC was singing the whole way home (we assume it was the Ramblin Wreck fight song) - I'd say she had a pretty good time!! Thanks Uncle Philip for the tix :)

And now a few photos. Bless her heart - I dont know what was going on with her hair today.... it was a little flat and kinda homely looking (sorry Bean... but it was). We still think she's the cutest thing in the world though ;)



Kinda a weird pic of her, but it's one of the only ones we got of her looking at the camera... and it was kinda tight so I wasn't in full "photoshoot" mood!


Next to the building that Chris spent a LOT of time in.

Updates

Nothing super new going on here. Just watching Anna Claire change and grow every day!!

Her top two teeth are definitely visible now and that 3rd tooth on the bottom is really showing. She has 2 more teeth on the top (either side of the middle two) that should break through tomorrow if they didn't already today (she won't let you look in her mouth). I also see and feel more buds so who knows how many more she will get this month.

It's amazing how getting teeth can change her face shape. I swear she looks different... more beautiful (if that's imaginable! haha - sorry totally biased mom here).

New Words:

• She says Milk now which sometimes sounds like "Milk-A" or "Mocha".
  
• She has decided to add an occasional "B" in front of diaper so it's "B-Diaper". Trying to figure out where that came from.
• She says biscuit (one of her new fav foods) which sounds like "Bi-kit" and is totally adorable when she says it!!
• She TRIES to say "smile" but cant get the S out.. so it is "Mile" (she mocks me when I say "smile" for photos... twerp)
• She still calls yogurt "Oko" which was her word for "ice cream" (yes, I was trying to trick her) which is totally ironic because the brand of yogurt we feed her is Oikos. No clue how to pronounce it but we like to pretend it's Okos and act like she's saying it on purpose haha
  

She dances like crazy to any song her latest move being the chicken arm flap.

She is beginning to put stuff together like "More Ma-na Ma-na" (more banana) and "More Wabble" (more waffle) while pointing to the kitchen.

She laughs.... oh my gosh the child laughs.... so hard that if she starts laughing when she's walking she falls down. We can get her so worked up she can hardly catch her breath and it just cracks us up! She is SO full of personality and we are just so in love with her. I think we may have our hands full when she gets older.

And on a final note - I posted a pic of AC on facebook and the Birdie and Peanut folks (that's who makes her adorable little headbands/flower things) put her on the home page of their website :)

Play date with Owen

My friend Christi had a day off today so we got our kiddos together for a little play date/photo lesson. The kids had a blast running around... the weather was PERFECT for it!

Here are a few of the photos. Neither kid was in "photo shoot" mode so we just kinda snapped when we could. When I was going through the pics they kinda told their own story so I just added captions :)

A day in the future life of Owen and Anna Claire...

"Mow the grass woman while I eat my snacks"


"Yes dear"


"Here you want snacks? I'll give you snacks!"


"Ok..."


"I'm eating your stupid snacks... happy?"


"I'm sorry, lets not fight anymore"


"Hmm... let me sit here and think about it"


"Ok, I'm sorry too" (and they lived happily ever after)


And then another of our little beauty :)

Picnic with the Fam

Today the weather was BEAUTIFUL so we decided to have a picnic in PTC. Chris packed up some sandwiches, chips and snacks (and I packed up the 'gear'). Piper LOVED being around all the new smells. A LOT of dogs come to this little park area so she had a lot to explore.

Anna simply LOVED being outside too and was very fascinated with all the people walking by. After lunch we took a little 1 mile stroll to the docks and park where Anna swung on the swing for the very first time ever. She wasn't really a fan. I think she liked being down on the ground more.

It was an AWESOME day and we have sworn we will do it more often!! (I think Chris had the most fun out of all of us... that boy was just born to be outdoors!)

Here are a few of the pics:




I guess AC didn't realize she could sit on the blanket




No, we don't let her eat potato chips - those were ours,.. but they were salt and vinegar. I just wanted to see what she did when she put them in her mouth. She just wanted to throw them though...


After lunch - playing around in the field:

She was smelling her fake flower


Had to zoom in so you could see.. too funny. The flower is made of FABRIC.


Blowing kisses


Smelling her flower again


Seriously - 100% Sass!


She learned how to give herself a hug on command... Looks more like a gangster pose though ;)


More self hugging...


And more self hugging...


Mommy and Anna Claire


Piper Dog


Swinging

Photo Shoot

A friend of a friend who is actually used to work with Caron (are you confused yet?) was asked to do a photo shoot for a magazine and had a little "casting call" for models. I posted AC's pic and she was chosen for the "test shoot", unfortunately they didn't get clothing in her size for the actual shoot so she got cut, but it was so much fun doing the test shoot!

Here are a couple of the pics:

This was taken by Ashley Brawner (Ashley Brawner Photography)


These were taken by my friend Tate Cathcart (Taken by Tate)






And then of course I had to come home and snap a few more... you know - because I'm like obsessed with taking pictures :)