Carving our pumpkins

Always an exciting event, and this year Madeline was able to help a little bit more. She didn't really like pulling out all the "pyuck." I made a kitty, as usual, and Madeline's pumpkin said "Trick or Treat."

Happy Halloween!

I know it's a bit late, but Mommy had a big test and a project to work on, so picture editing had to wait. Since I had my MRIs on Thursday and had to stay up all night, I was still pretty cranky on Friday, so it was hard to get a picture of me smiling. But once the trick or treating started, I was all smiles! The trick then was taking a picture of five little moving targets who were in a hurry to get to the next doorstep. Last year Madeline was too nervous to ring the doorbells, but this year she raced up to the doors, saying "Tick oh teat" and "Tankoo" in her best voice, and proclaiming "Daddy! I got MOE CADDY!"



Here we are, the elephant and the mouse that it's afraid of, (and no wonder) pausing for just a moment in our quest for sugar.

My friend Jacob heard that I was going to be a mouse for Halloween, and he immediately decided that he would need to be a black cat so that he could chase me. The evening was all backwards, with the cat leading the way, followed by the mouse, followed by the elephant, followed by Diego!

We were joined for the first time this year by Baby Kathryn, my birthday buddy and partner in crime. Her extremely lovely fairy costume made me wish I had decided to be a princess instead-- so when we got home, I gave out treats wearing my Belle dress. The candy went fast, as each trick or treater received a fistful from myself, Kathryn, and Madeline.

Just try it

Subject:
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Jot back a note to let me know what you think!

I said this to Mommy and Daddy in a very matter of fact tone in the middle of my violin lesson tonight:

I always want to have princess slippers. When I'm five, and eight, and.... eighty two!

My favorite part of the pumpkin patch

The petting zoo was pretty slim pickings this year-- there was just one batch of baby chicks and their parents in a pen nearby. It didn't bother me one, bit, though, because I LOVED holding the chicks. I had to be pulled away against my will to do things like eat lunch, use the bathroom, and go see the other attractions. I sat on a bale of hay, and Mommy and Daddy made me give up my chick each time a new kid came up, but I waited patiently until someone left and gave me a chick. Those poor chicks were so exhausted and traumatized from all the grabbing and chasing that they just fell asleep right in my arms. I kept trying to kiss them. All told, I spent over two hours holding chicks, and have since been begging Mommy to get me a chicken of my own.

This used to be my favorite part: brushing the horses. This year, though, I couldn't wait to finish to go back to the chickens.

Madeline at the pumpkin patch

It's hard to take cute pictures of someone who's always in motion, but we took a stab at it anyway. Here are some shots of Madeline at the Love Creek Orchards pumpkin patch.

Please also vote

On the most adorable picture of ME.

(Madeline again, clearly this is included in the first poll, but only four pictures will fit in a post).

Please vote

On which picture of Madeline is the most adorable:

Madeline and me, standing on our foot charts, playing and singing "Baby Beluga." My headband didn't slip down on my forehead, that's where I prefer to wear it. If Mommy adjusts it, I move it right back.

Three ring circus

Last week, Madeline and I piled into the van with the boys and our Mommies to visit the Witte Museum. We got to see all kinds of neat things, including a log cabin, a dinosaur, and a mummy. We took a moment to take a picture on the way out. It was a long moment-- it's hard to keep four kids looking in the same direction and smiling all at once!

little girl bedrooms

Mommy finally got Madeline's room all fixed up, thanks to a new mattress and some lovely custom paintings from Maria, and I thought we should show it off! It only took a few additional weeks to find a time when our rooms were clean and we weren't asleep in order to take a picture. We love pretending to tuck each other into Madeline's pretty covers. She still sleeps in her crib, so it's still ornamental, but it's there when she is ready.

We should take a look at my room, too, since I'm not sure if I've showed off my new bed before. Madeline's bed and my bed can be bunked-- mine is the top. I really want to bunk the beds and talk about doing it all the time, but Mommy says she was just trying to be flexible and keep me from rolling out of my big girl bed, she didn't actually want to bunk the beds right now.

I am very particular about how my things are organized and get upset if they are rearranged-- ESPECIALLY my bed. It has to be made up with the top folded down, like Cinderella's bed, and only one of the many pillows can be at the head, the rest have to go at the foot. My dolls and animals are always somewhere different, but I don't like it if Mommy tells me to put them away. A lot of things get stuck under my bed, and I got very upset when Mommy told me to "go clean all the junk from under there." I screamed "it's NOT JUNK!"

box lessons

With all the violin practice I've been doing lately, Madeline has gotten very interested in music. Daddy got down my old box for her to practice with, and she always insists on having her OWN violin lessons. She's really doing pretty well--she even knows the words to "Dr. Suzuki" better than I do.

Mommy braided Madeline's hair

It may be a little messy, but it's hard to keep this little girl still for very long. This was a minor miracle! She is wearing her favorite dress, the one she wants to wear every single day. I don't know what we will do when she outgrows it.

A big treat in OK

Madeline and I enjoy our very own ice cream cones and find ourselves wishing there was a Braum's Dairy near our house! Yum!

Madeline and I have discovered we can both fit in the car at once. Rather, I discovered this in a desperate attempt to actually get in the car, since every time I try, Madeline swoops in under my arm and beats me to it, leading parental onlookers to mistakenly believe that *she* was there first and I am pushing *her* out of the way. That baby sister gets sneakier every day.

I told Mommy that I just wasn't sleepy when it was time for my nap. I stayed in my room and played quietly, only sneaking out once or twice or three times, but I just wasn't sleepy! Now it's dinner time and Mommy is cooking while Madeline is whining, and I just can't take it anymore. Once in awhile my hand twitches a little and I make a few marks with my pencil, but I am pretty much out cold.