All the Pretty Little Horses

Maybe all those nights of singing "All the Pretty Little Horses" to Caroline have helped her overcome her fear of them. We went out to my grandfather's farm for dinner last night and Caroline actually wanted to pet the horses this time. The last time we went, she was not even willing to go up to the fence, but this time she was not apprehensive at all!

On our way over there, she kept saying, " I scared of horses, but horses nice," as if she was trying to convince herself. She showed an interest in them when she looked out the window after we had dinner. My dad decided to ease her into it by standing away from the fence for a few minutes before slowly inching forward. Caroline didn't protest and really thought the horses were "nice"!

I want to pet the other horse!

He really is nice!

Caroline with Daddy Don and his wife, Ginger (Caroline calls her G.G.)

We are headed back to Charlotte tomorrow after a fun week in Little Rock. Hopefully the flight home will go just as smoothly as it did coming!

Happy Birthday Grandy!

As previously mentioned, my family makes a big deal out of birthdays- no matter how old you are. My mom's birthday was Monday, but we celebrated with a joint birthday party on Sunday afternoon. My Aunt Pat and Uncle Don also had birthdays. Caroline really enjoyed helping Grandy open her presents and cards. Happy Birthday Grandy! We love you!

Grandy needs help opening this present!

Grandy with Caroline and Aunt Pat

The birthday crew: Pat, Don, and Grandy, while Caroline and Lilly look on

Mama Dot, Caroline, Grandy, and Poppy

Me and Curt


Me, Mama Dot, and Curt

Check out this video clip of Caroline singing "Happy Birthday" to Grandy. She also remembered that she is Grandy's sunshine! :)

Girls' Night Out!

Saturday night was so much fun! Some of my best friends from college all got together for a Girls' Night Out, and we also took the opportunity to celebrate Lori's engagement. We missed you, Lisa, Stacy, and Allison! We met at Laurie's apartment to have a little lingerie shower for Lori, and then went out to dinner. Later we stopped by Curt's (my younger brother) place, which is in downtown Little Rock, to sit out on his balcony around the fire pit and catch up.

We just picked up where we left off and it was so much fun! Courtney, Lori, and Jennifer spent the night with me and we ended up staying up until 3:30 a.m talking. The next day, we just hung out in our pajamas and played with Caroline, and then Courtney and I went out to lunch. These are my lifelong friends and it is always so wonderful to see them and reminisce about old times!

(from left to right) Laurie, Lori, Stephanie, me, and Julie

Two expectant mothers, Stephanie and Julie (they are due on the same day in January!)

Me and Lori, the guest of honor!


Buffy, Lori, Laurie, Courtney, Jennifer, me, Stephanie, & Julie


The whole gang again

Courtney, me, Caroline, and Lori- Caroline was still in her pajamas!

It was great to see you girls! Can't wait until the next time we can ALL get together- which I guess will be at Lori's wedding in March! :)

We're Off to See More Pumpkins!

We went to another Pumpkin Patch on Saturday morning and met my Aunt Barbara, along with her granddaughters, Lilly and Maggie. The girls have a blast together and ran themselves ragged all over the farm! This was by far the best pumpkin patch I have ever been to. There were so many things for the kids to do there, including a petting zoo, tunnels made of hay, rides, hayrides, and of course a place to pick a pumpkin! They even had little mini tractors to take the kids through the corn maze. Caroline was too little to do this, but Lilly participated and loved it!

Caroline's favorite activity was crawling through the tunnel made out of hay. I lost count of how many times she did that. She wasn't even bothered by the fact that she had to crawl on the ground and get her hands dirty. As I mentioned before, she is no longer worried about getting dirty!

I even got to meet up with a college friend Buffy, and her husband and their little girl, Lauren. We tried to get a picture of all of us, but the girls were too interested in other things!

Caroline, Lilly, and Maggie (I don't know why this pic is crooked- but you get the idea!)

Here we are again!

I love this tunnel!

Time to go again!

Riding the little carousel

Lilly is ready to go for a ride through the corn maze!



Let's pick the best one of the patch!

Grandy thinks this one is the best!

Caroline got very tired and starting crying for her bed, so we had to make a quick exit. Unfortunately, she woke up at 4:30 a.m that morning and was exhausted by noon. So, we didn't get to take a hayride or go to the actual pumpkin patch because we ran out of time. However, we still managed to come home with a pumpkin, and it was a great experience!

Fall Fun!

Caroline had a blast playing in the leaves the other day! Some friends of my parents, Mike and Linda, bought her a little wheelbarrow, which is the perfect size. Caroline also discovered it is very useful for collecting a few leaves. She loved running and jumping in the leaves!

Load them up!

We almost have a full load!

Time for fun!

I can't resist this pile of leaves!

I love the fall!

Caroline doesn't like to get dirty, but apparently that changed this weekend! After playing in the leaves, she helped Poppy repot some plants. I had gone out shopping for a little while, and was surprised to see her with dirty hands when I returned!

Poppy's little helper

To get the job done, you have to get your hands a little dirty!

Arriving in Little Rock

We arrived in Little Rock on Wednesday afternoon after a long journey. Caroline did great on both flights. We had to fly through Detroit, so we were in flight a little longer this time. I was pleasantly surprised that Caroline did so well, considering the flights were during her naptime and she didn't sleep a wink! I think I was more worn out than she was! Poppy, Grandy, and my grandmother (Mama Dot) were at the airport to greet us. Caroline was so excited when we got off the plane and ran right to Grandy and Poppy with big hugs! We didn't do much when we got back to their house, as it was time for dinner and bed.

Since she is the only grandchild, Grandy and Poppy are always showering Caroline with gifts. Her favorite one this time was a matching raincoat and umbrella. She was still in her pajamas, but couldn't wait to try it out!

I'm ready for a rainy day!

Caroline loves the dogs (all four of them!) and spent plenty of time playing and cuddling with them. We enjoyed being outdoors for a little while.

Carter needs a hug!

What a nice day!

Cuddle time with Cody

Just a swingin' with Grandy

Carving a Pumpkin!

Then... 18 months old

Now... 2.5 years

Wow, a year really makes a difference! I was thinking about our last year's experience with carving a pumpkin, and thought it would be fun to post an old picture. Not only has Caroline grown from a baby into a little girl, but also the weather was a lot more fall-like this year. As you can see from last year's picture, Caroline was wearing summer clothes since it was in the high eighties in October. This year, we had a beautiful fall afternoon, just perfect for being outdoors and for pumpkin carving!

On Sunday afternoon, we (or should I say Ben!) tackled carving the pumpkin. We had to do it a little early since Caroline and I are leaving for Little Rock on Wednesday and won't return until the 30th. Caroline pulled the wagon with the pumpkin all the way to the back deck with very little help. She was very proud of herself!

The only part I had in this whole process was drawing the face on the pumpkin and taking the pictures. You can tell I didn't major in Art, because the pumpkin's eyes ended up being different sizes! I never claimed to be good at this! Ben was able to fix it so that you can't tell, luckily. :) Caroline had to be talked into putting her hands inside to get the seeds out. She didn't like the feel of the slimy seeds. We laughed when she disappeared for a few minutes and came back with her play gloves which are way too big! She thought that was a perfect solution and then was eager to get the seeds out.

Helping Daddy unload the pumpkin

Mommy is no artist!

Wow, the top is off!

I'm not so sure about this- too slimy!

I found just what I need to get the job done!

Last, we carved out the mouth

Thank you Daddy for helping me carve a pumpkin!

The pumpkin has found its home on the front porch!

Check out this video of Caroline pulling the pumpkin in the wagon once they finished. She was afraid that it would fall out and "get hurt" if she went too fast. :)

Tomorrow, Caroline and I are leaving for Little Rock to spend a week. We plan to visit another pumpkin patch there one of the days. Thanks for checking in!

Going to the Pumpkin Patch!

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a birthday party at a Pumpkin Patch. It was a lot of fun, and Caroline really enjoyed the petting zoo they had there.  They had goats, sheep, llamas, rabbits, and even pony rides!  She loved the goats the best, and we even got to pet a "kid". :)  It certainly felt like a fall day and it was a tad windy. While we were inside doing some of the birthday festivities, Caroline got impatient and wanted to go back outside to see the animals. She said all in one breath, "Mary had a little lamb!" She wanted to go see the sheep again. :) We took home a small pumpkin, which we got to choose as a party favor, and also purchased a big pumpkin to carve later on.  It was a really fun experience, as Caroline is more aware this year of what is going on. I realized later that we didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl, Paige, who is a playgroup friend in the neighborhood.  We got plenty of other pictures though! It was a great time!

Petting the baby goat

Chrissie and I are helping Ali and Caroline pick out a little pumpkin

The cutest little pumpkins in the patch!

Caroline and Ali are all smiles!