Trick or Treat

Dan, Matt, and I went over to Molly's for dinner this evening. The Hansen's joined us and we ate and got to see Emma, Brendon, and Jayla in their costumes. I was able to get some photographs before and as they headed out to Trick or Treat. The fun didn't last long as it began to pour down rain.

She looks like her Daddy

The Perfect Cheer

Swing

Pumpkin Cookies

I made about 5 dozen pumpkin sugar cookies this weekend. I did a controlled test. Half were made with a Martha dough recipe that had to be chilled and the other half were made from a box mix that didn't require chilling. I iced and decorated them the same.

In a blind taste test by Matty, the box mix won. I'll take the easy way out next time... although there is nothing easy about the decorating step.

Friday Rambling

I have been working and traveling so much lately, that I decided to take a long weekend. Dan and I took a long drive today to Waxhaw and the surrounding area. I took my camera with me and practiced my photography. Here are my favorite shots from today's adventures.

Playdough!

Favorite Picture of Emma taken today

Emma came over for a visit this afternoon. I captured this shot while she was rolling on the floor under our coffee table after grabbing a gourd out of a basket that was on the table.

Homework

Here are a couple of shots that I took of Emma this evening on our back porch. I had photography homework to shoot in Shutter Priority mode on my camera. I set Emma up on the porch with her watercolors and got these.

Emma's 2nd Birthday Party

Here are a few of the pictures from the party. Emma had a great time and really got into the cake - literally got into the cake! We visited, ate pizza, opened presents, ate cake, and then straight to Nana's sink for a quick bath and change into pj's. I posted all the pictures to Shutterfly. Click the link on this blog page and the second tab on the Shutterfly link to see them.

Molly got Emma the cutest cake from Tizzerts (the same place that made Emmy and Robert's wedding cake). Emma loves animals. After she saw the cake, she kept reciting "Fat Pig, Crocodile, Lion, Monkey, and Elephant." The cake was not only cute, it was delicious.

Pumpkins and Crows

Fall is my favorite season. I got up very early this morning and decorated my mantle. We have the Halloween spirit now! I am enjoying a quiet afternoon which will shortly change to chaos -- as Emma's 2nd Birthday party starts here at 4 PM.

Here are the pumpkins in a goat cart on our front porch.

Birthday Dress for Emma

I finally finished Emma's birthday dress today. I had it all smocked and sewn. I just had to sew on the buttons, finish the button holes, and give it a good pressing. It turned out so cute with the smocked cupcakes with little glass beads serving as the sprinkles.

Her 2nd birthday is on the 9th and we are hosting her party at our home next Saturday.

I love these little blue eyes...

Watercolor

I introduced Emma to watercolors today. She loves all things about art and I hope that we can use this to bond in a special way. Today we worked on the back porch with watercolors, markers, stamps, and stickers for over 2 hours.

I had Big D watch her for a little bit and she reminded him several times, "It's OK, Nana be right back." She spied Big D's clementines at lunch and gobbled them down as fast as Big D peeled them.

We both ended up with a lot of color all over us! I waited until after she fed herself lunch before I gave her a bath. What a beautiful baby girl, dirty face and all!