trick-or-treat.

The Costumes

I searched and searched for a Halloween costume for Emma Kate before she was even born. All I found was either way too big or entirely impractical. Baby Gap had some cute, soft one pieces with matching animal-themed booties and hats that were actually sensible for newborns. Since I'm all about pink these days, I just had to get the pink pig outfit. Who would have ever known that she was going to be born 8 pounds, 10 ounces? A true little oink at birth. Her costume suited her very well.

P, on the other hand, would not decide on a costume. He kept saying he wanted to be Elmo, which was his costume last year. I think he kept going back to Elmo because that's all he knows of Halloween. He doesn't even watch Elmo anymore. Once EK arrived and the jealousy set in, he decided that he wanted to be a pink pig, just like his baby sister. I agreed, thinking he would change his mind before Halloween. But he stood firm. He wanted to be a pig. Try finding a pig costume that looks masculine. Not possible. He is going to kill me one day when he sees these pictures.

The Collaboration

Since P and EK were both dressing as pigs and Taylor and I wanted to dress up also this year, I decided we could go as the three little pigs and the big, bad wolf. This is P's favorite bedtime story. We tell it to him almost every night. "I'm gonna huff and puff....." P loved the whole scenario. The part he didn't love? Actually wearing the costume. He's a typical two year old. If he is not fully convinced of something, he's just not gonna do it. We spent the two weeks before Halloween building it up. We all went shopping for the big, bad wolf outfit. Daddy tried on his costume. Mommy tried on hers. We tried to get P to try his on to make sure it fit. Nope. He wanted no part of it. So, we just crossed our fingers and hoped that he would be more enthusiastic on the day of Halloween. Otherwise, little piggy number three would just be MIA.

The Candy

On the day of Halloween, P kept saying that he was only going to wear the hat. Not the shirt or the shoes. My response, "You don't get candy from the neighbors unless you wear the entire costume." I'm so mean, aren't I? It worked, though. What can I say? My kid loves candy. He fully cooperated, minus velcroing the hat. We visited approximately four houses, got lots of M&M's (P's favorite), and then headed back to the house. P decided that he liked giving out the candy better than receiving it. He stood at the door with Grandaddy all night handing out candy and watching daddy the big, bad wolf scare the kids. He was too cute. He told each and every trick-or-treater "Happy Halloween" and put the candy in their bucket.

The Candids






















Happy Halloween!

jack-o-lantern.

My days fly by in the blink of an eye. By the time I get both kids up, bathed, dressed, and myself dressed, at least three hours have elapsed. Then it's lunch time. So we eat. Take naps. Then it's practically supper time. Then bedtime. Then we get up the next day and start all over again. Emma Kate will be a month old tomorrow. Where has the time gone? I feel like I'm going to wake up one day and my little darlings will be headed off to college. In all of the business and commotion of having a newborn at home, we completely ran out of time to carve a pumpkin. These traditions are very important to me, so my sweet mom brought one over to carve with P on Halloween day. Thanks, Granny! I was able to snap a couple of pictures of the carving....

We let my mom be in charge of the knife.


And P let my mom be in charge of the guts.


And I was in charge of roasting the pumpkin seeds.


Can you tell what it is?


Beme, Granny, and P all helped with the carving. P made sure the pumpkin had freckles.


Ta-da. Meet our pumpkin the pig. Or our pig the pumpkin. We just call him Hamlet.

down on the farm.

We live not even twenty minutes from the best farm in Georgia. I look forward to the Fall every year because of this farm. They have a corn maze, pumpkin patch, hayrides, a cow train, all kinds of animals, pig races, a jumping pillow, slides, corn cannons....the list goes on and on. It is enough to keep my two year old (and two adults) entertained for days. Emma Kate enjoyed the commotion, too. She just slept right through it.

My two boys checking out the farm and planning what to do first.



The jumping pillow. P loves to jump....


and jump....


and jump....


and jump....


and jump some more.


Snoozy Emma Kate. Let's see....I think she was just 8 days old here.


The cow train. Poor daddy.



Our best group shot (minus Taylor). This is about as good as it gets these days. P is not really into my camera lately.


Emma Kate's first pumpkin. I just couldn't resist....


P painting pumpkins. Don't tell my husband, but pink is P's new favorite color since EK's arrival. I'm sure this won't last long.


Isn't this place pretty?


We ran into Jeremy, Jill, and Jackson (and baby Truett) at the pig races. So much fun!


Soo wee!


Those little boogers are fast. And, oh so cute. It took me three races to get these pictures. Don't they look like Wilbur from Charlotte's Web? I almost snatched one up and hid it in my sling to take home with me. Not sure the dogs would like an additional roommate, though.


Our view from the hayride. I wouldn't mind taking one of these home, either. Maybe I should just retire and buy a farm. That's the plan anyway....


We had a blast at Southern Belle farm. Can't wait to go back in the Spring for berry pickin'.

her royal highness.

Princess

Emma Kate

sister love.

I love my new baby sister because....

she

makes

a

good

concrete

truck

track.

surprise for p.

Some sweet friends of ours sent P a cookie gram after Emma Kate was born. A "Congrats On Becoming a Big Brother" cookie gram. You should of seen the look on his face when the doorbell rang and the delivery lady asked for him.



Chocolate chip. His favorite.


Thanks Joey and Leslie for making our little man's year. Y'all are the best!

county fair.

Despite Taylor's utter despise of fairs, we took our two sweet kiddos to the fair in our county. It took some convincing on my part. Proceeds from the fair went to benefit the Kiwanis Club, which many of our friends are members. So, I guess you could say that our trip to the fair was a charitable operation. When I put it that way, Taylor hesitantly jumped on board. I just knew P needed to have a good time, and that is just what he did.

My two favorite boys taking it all in....



Sweet Emma Kate was only six days old, so I kept her safe and snug in the sling, tucked away from the hands of those germy carnies.


To my surprise, P had an absolute blast in the kiddie section. He usually isn't a fan of doing things by himself and most of the rides he had to ride alone. He did great!

He took this Jeep ride very seriously. He never stopped steering, even for a second, and kept his eyes on the road the entire time. The Jeeps behind him kept running into his. You should of seen the look of concern on his face. He's a good driver. He already tells Taylor and I how to drive.



P kept wanting to ride this train. It was not a slow kiddie ride. It reminded me of the Mine Train at Six Flags. It was fast, had hills, and slung the little riders all over the place. But P was insistent, so we let him give it a try. The first four or five times around, there was a look of sheer terror on his face. After he figured out how to hold on tight, he squealed with delight.



And, of course, we had to play a game or two. P wanted to play the Goldfish game. Um, nope. Not gonna happen, buddy. I still have vivid memories from when I was little of winning a goldfish at the fair and having to flush it down the toilet not even two days later. I think I was told that it was going to fish heaven. But, I knew where it was really going. To some dark and stinky sewer drain. No goldfish game for us. We ended up playing the fishing game in which he fished for fake fish. I liked this one better.



P watching the Ring of Fire with his fishing prize.


He wanted to ride that crazy thing so bad. (it's kind of like the Looping Starship at Six Flags.) Not sure where he got his adventurous side, but it sure wasn't from either of his parents. We are both terrified of heights and carnival rides are just not our thing. It took taking him over to the ride entrance and having him stand in front of the height sign to convince him that he wasn't big enough to ride the Ring of Fire. He told Taylor, "Maybe I can ride that next year, daddy."

We finished off our evening at the fair with a guilt-free funnel cake and then headed home. It was a great time benefitting a great cause.

first doctor's appointment.

We took Emma Kate for her first pediatrician's visit when she was six days old. Just a basic check-up, complete with weight and height measurements and a thorough baby physical. No shots yet. Not until her two-month visit. (Thank the Lord!) According to our pediatrician, she looks great!


She weighed in at 8 pounds, 7.8 ounces....only 2 ounces less than her birth weight. Not too shabby, since I'm breastfeeding. According to the doc, most breastfed babies don't regain their birth weight until four weeks.


Getting measured in the "height box". She was 20 inches long. Not sure how she lost a half an inch since birth....


Looking forward to watching her grow. Let's see how much she weighs at her four week check-up.

five days old.

Check out Emma Kate's professional pics here taken at five days old by Jenn McPherson, a sweet friend and incredible photographer. Also, see Jenn's link in my sidebar to take you to her website. I absolutely love her work!