Halloween 2020

Last Sunday's Fall Festival kicked off a week of Halloween fun. We carved our pumpkin; we read Halloween books; we enjoyed the spooky decorations in our neighborhood. Emmy was very excited to wear her Elsa costume again for school on Friday and on the actual day of Halloween. We kept our Halloween plans pretty simple this year. Emmy, Eli, and I made a swing around the cul-de-sac and then came back home to help Daddy with the candy. Sadly, we didn't have many trick-or-treaters. Boomer was a little overzealous when he went shopping, so needless to say, we will be eating candy until next Halloween! After trick-or-treating, Emmy got a special phone call from Princess Anna. She knew all about Emmy's upcoming birthday and our family movie nights on Fridays. Princess Anna (aka one of my former coworkers from UNCG!) told us about her adventures in Arendelle and about Olaf's silly shenanigans. Emmy liked it so much that now she wants a call from Elsa herself and from Minnie Mouse too!

One was more excited about dressing up than the other!

I captured this sweet photo earlier in the week when we met our friends Stephanie and Lyla for a park dinner date. I love the bond these two are developing! 

It seems we have been filling every minute of our days from dawn to dusk! One night, I snuck in to check on the kiddos, and they were both knocked out. It's funny to see Eli's empty crib and then Emmy's bed filled with stuffed animals. We all have no trouble falling asleep after our busy weekdays and fun weekends. 

Fall Fun

The month of October has brought beautiful weather, and there seems to be no shortage of fun fall activities. Since our Saturdays have been somewhat full with races and birthday parties, we fit in a midweek visit to our local pumpkin patch. Emmy picked out three small, handheld pumpkins, and we also got one larger pumpkin to sit on our front porch. After leaving with our purchases, we made an extra stop through the McDonald's drive-thru for pumpkin creme pies, a treat that seemed appropriate after our outing. 

Our church had their annual Fall Festival this evening. In years past, the event usually fills the entire parking lot with dozens of cars decorated for trunk-or-treat. There's also hayrides, bounce houses, and other carnival activities. This year's festival was scaled down to just a few food tents, and the main event was a magician show. Beforehand, we made a stop by Great Grandma's to show off all the kids' costumes. Emmy continues to love all things princesses, especially Princess Elsa. Ever since Aunt Megan gave her the dress a few months ago, she has loved wearing it around the house, and she was very excited to be Elsa for Halloween. We dressed Eli as Olaf, Princess Elsa's snowman sidekick. The temperatures dropped into the 50s today (after a week of almost summer-like weather) so luckily the kids weren't sweating in their costumes as has happened on warmer years. I am not quite sure our plans for Halloween this year, so even though it is a week early, these pictures may be my only documentation of 2020. 

Our fall fun has also included a few crafts. During church today, we made sticker characters while listening along to the service. We continue to have "church" at home on Sundays while watching the service live on the computer. As you can see, things got a little rowdy by the end! 

My Big Girl

Last Saturday, Emmy was invited to her first birthday party for a classmate from school. Since his name is also Emerson, we have called him "boy Emerson" to distinguish between the two. Emerson's mom, Mallory, planned a fun party with pumpkin decorating, donuts, and playtime on the playground. It was a beautiful fall day and perfect for outdoor activities. I especially loved seeing the way that Emmy interacted with her peers. They were all so silly together - laughing at burps, trying to out-scream each other, and just generally being rambunctious kids. All of us parents agreed that their teacher, Mrs. Holly, is a saint! Since the party was at 10AM during Eli's morning naptime, Eli and Boomer stayed at home. On the car ride home afterwards, I said to Emmy, "I had so much fun! I loved doing something just us girls. We will have to do it again soon!" to which Emmy responded....

"I want to do something with Daddy!" 

This time of year means flu shots and annual doctor's visits. Both kiddos got their flu shots today, and Emmy had her 4-year well check. Although she will be 3 for a few more weeks, it was convenient to double up her appointment with her flu shot to make only one trip to the doctor's. I realized just how old my little girl is getting when Dr. Albright actually addressed his questions to her. He asked things like: What do you like to do? (play) Do you help Mommy and Daddy? (yes) How do you help them? (help them play) Some of her answers didn't quite make sense, but she showed off a bit by singing some of her songs from school and sharing some of her artwork. They took her measurements, and Emmy weighed 35 pounds (56th percentile) and was 3'5" (80th percentile). The visit ended with the dreaded shot, but she was such a tough girl and didn't shed a tear! As a special treat, not only did she get a Happy Meal for lunch, but instead of going back to school, she got to spend the afternoon with Grammy, resting in her big bed and then making cupcakes. Emmy sure loved the extra spoiling!

Earlier in morning, before school, I captured a funny moment with my phone. During the final five minutes that Boomer and I hustle to head out the door, Emmy will wait patiently and either watch something on Daddy's phone or color at her table. I got a kick out of the way she put on her Minnie ears and crossed her legs, lounged back in Mommy's chair. Boomer and I joked that her pose is saying "Servants, put on my shoes and take me school." I had to grab my phone to take a picture! From birthday invitations to 4-year check-ups, my girl is getting so big! 

11 Months Old

It is hard to believe that we are just one month away from Eli's 1st birthday! This month, we moved up to size 3 diapers and 12-month clothing. Eli has 8 teeth now - four on top and four on bottom. He is not shy in showing them off; he loves to smile. He will open his mouth wide for food, and he loves screeching and shouting, especially during meal time when we are out at a restaurant. We continue to have a smooth routine during the week. In the mornings, Eli and I head over to Grammy and Grandpa's house around 7:15AM. I've noticed that he loves holding onto the handle on the car seat, and as soon as I snap him in, he grabs on and gives me the sweetest grin. Grammy has a car seat in her car too in case they go for any adventures during the day. As you can see from these photos, he is a happy traveler. Eli loves spending his days with Grammy and Grandpa. Since they have hardwood floors throughout their house, Eli has discovered that he can easily slide around on his belly to get from one place to the other. He often gets himself in places that he shouldn't! Grammy has a whole storage closet of toys, and she recently introduced Eli to the activity cube. I just love the photo of him standing next to it - he looks so big! He has learned to pull himself up on the butcher's block in our kitchen, so we are often on alert anytime that he is awake and on the move. The jumper continues to be a safe holding area for him when we are preparing meals or doing chores; at least we know he can't go anywhere when we place him there! He has improved at meal time with pinching and picking up bite size foods. He is still getting about 30 ounces of breastmilk a day, along with rice cereal and size 2 Gerber baby food. Puffs and yogurt melts are favorites, too. We have tried some softer foods this month, like smashed up banana and scrambled eggs. We have started to experiment with sippy cups, but he hasn't quite figured out how they work yet. We have also introduced the walker, but he isn't sure how to move it by putting one step in front of the other. I'm in no rush to have a second walking small human in the house, so for now, we are certainly enjoying the stage we are in. One more month until the big birthday!

 

Off to the Races

 The month of October is off to the races...literally! Last Saturday the 3rd, Megan and I ran our annual Bakewell sister half marathon. This race was originally supposed to be in May, but because of COVID, it was cancelled, and we were able to move our registration to another race in the fall. It was hard keeping our training and motivation up through the summer, but we kept running each Saturday in preparation for the October 10th Cannonball Half Marathon. Less than two weeks ago, we found out that this race would not be held as planned. Instead runners could run "virtually" on their own route of 13.1 miles. So that's what we did! Rather than another Saturday of a training run, we knocked it out a week early. Our cheering squad was spaced along the route providing water and encouragement. Instead of talking like we usually do when we run, we really tried to have a race-day mentality and to push ourselves. While Megan still has a faster time under her belt, this one was a new PR for me: 1:55.11! I was very excited to have a new personal best. Since it was barely 9AM when we finished, we celebrated with a big breakfast that Zack made for us. It was a little different than the typical post-race environment, but we snapped some photos and chowed down on pancakes, bacon, and eggs. There was a particularly funny photo of Megan and Eli that reminded us of a similar picture of Maddox and me from several years ago. 

Although the Cannonball Half Marathon was cancelled, they still held the 5K on the originally scheduled date of October 10th. They had staggered corral times, and Megan and I signed up for the earliest time 7:45AM. We had to wear masks during the check-in process, but then we could take them off for the run. This particular course is the one that I first broke 2 hours for the half, and even with the 5K, they still had us end with the same big hill during the final mile - how mean! A 5K is not our typical distance, but we were happy to complete the race with personal bests: 24:54 (8:02 overall pace!) We'll take some time off this winter from long distances and start training again in the new year for our 2021 race. A big "thank you!" to the dads at home that watch the kids during these Saturday runs. I always love getting the photos from Boomer of their mornings together. 

Before

After!

Breakfast at home with Daddy

Aside from races, October has also brought celebrations for our main man. We celebrated Boomer's 35th birthday last Sunday with a simple day at home. Poor guy still had his usual Sunday chore of grocery shopping and then bringing breakfast home to the family. He got a little bit of downtime in the afternoon to watch football, but even then, he still managed to do a load of laundry and run the dishwasher. He sure takes care of us! In the evening, we had dinner over at my parents' house with the Houstons. My mom recreated her shrimp and grits that were such a hit at the beach. This dish is a particular favorite of Boomer's. For dessert, we had three different types of cheesecake, and there were a lot of eager helpers to blow out the candles and open the presents. 

Boomer and I snuck in a birthday date night this Saturday. Grammy came over to watch Emmy and Eli so that we could enjoy a kid-free dinner at our favorite spot, 4th Street Filling Station. We extended the evening by picking up dessert from Cheesecakes by Alex and then ate our cheesecake and ordered some coffee at Starbucks. We aren't regulars at Starbucks (we didn't even know the names of the different sizes!) but we got the seasonal drinks Pumpkin Spice Latte and Salted Caramel Mocha - yum! We were still home by 8:30PM so that we could relieve Grammy and watch some college football before falling asleep. Such is life at 35! :) 

Here are a few other photos from our week. We had dinner Friday night at Chipotle to celebrate when we met 12 years ago at Chipotle in Winston-Salem on October 9th, 2008. There is a different date that we celebrate in February for our dating anniversary, so really it's just an excuse to eat Chipotle! It has been rainy all weekend, but we enjoyed the sunshine earlier in the week with walks outside and a visit to our neighborhood park.