Pumpkin Post #2

We met our friends and Kelli at the Arboretum today to do a little photo sesh with the pumpkins. I realize this is 2 pumpkin posts in a row, but we are just so excited to be able to go to the Arboretum again! Its basically off limits in the summer. Anyway, when we got there, we all kept commenting on how not crowded it was. Maybe because it was hot as you-know-what today and everyone else checked the weather report before making plans to chase toddlers outdoors. I should have dressed in gym clothes - it was steamy out and K was extra fast on her feet today. But we did get some really cute pictures and I am already stalking Kelli for sneak peeks (realizing that she probably isn't even home yet).

Once Kennedy was done with her photo opp, she set her sights on a fountain. Luckily it kept her distracted from the splash park at the other end of the walkway. She had a blast cooling off by splashing herself and everyone that walked by.

Oooh a fountain.

Splashies!

Shhhh. The fishies are sleeping. 

Pumpkin Town

It's fall, y'all! The pumpkins are out at the Dallas Arboretum and I have been dying to go and see the set up this year. Its a Cinderella theme, complete with glass slippers and a horse drawn carriage. My mom was in town for a visit so we decided to go have a picnic and walkabout on Friday. This was the first of many, many trips to the Pumpkin Village this year.

Last year, I propped a 2 month old baby in the middle of a bunch of pumpkins and took hundreds of pictures. This year she basically went nuts when we let her out of the stroller, and it took the both of us to not lose track of her (or the stroller and my diaper bag). I won't say it was a "relaxing" lunch, but it was fun to watch her bolt from pumpkin to pumpkin.

Lainey and Kennedy in the carriage.

Pumpkin Beret.

Little did we know this waterfall was about to put Kennedy to sleep in 3...2... 

 ...1. Sleep. 

Random hat in the gift shop.  

Kennedy thinks her Lainey is so funny.

Shiny Shoes

My mom and I were at Northpark, and like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to the perfect pair of shoes for Kennedy. They are pink (check), metallic (check) and be-still-my-heart Sperry Top-Siders! You see, Greg and I both love us some Sperrys. I won't admit how many pairs of them we own between the two of us. But we are well stocked. And now our Little Lady has a pair of her very own.

I also couldn't pass on a sweet little pair of silver Baby Tom's. 

The Littlest Top-Siders. 

This Fall will be shiny.

The Littlest Flasher

We know where our belly button is and we're really excited about it. She can point to it on cue when prompted, but lately, she has been showing it off on her own accord. Really awesome when we are out in public.

Little Artist

One of my favorite things about picking Kennedy up from "school" is getting to see the art project she worked on in class. Its so cute to see all her little paint and sticker projects.

Since I love all the artsy things she brings home, I decided it was time to start doing some arts and crafts with her at the house. First attempt resulted in an immediate trip to Toys R Us for some washable markers. Lesson learned. Second attempt was with washable crayons and stickers and was much more successful. She loves putting the stickers on the paper and when she isn't trying to gnaw on the crayon seems to like scribbling on the paper. She can say sticker and (unfortunately) learned which drawer they are kept in. I now hear her knocking on the drawer begging 'ticker, ticker!!'


Since we have been coloring, I have also been trying to teach her to identify some colors. Is it too early for that? I don't know, possibly so. But she definitely knows the color purple. And now everything she sees that has purple on it she points and says, 'puh-pul'. 

We love stickers.  

Happy with her masterpiece. 

Coloring in progress. 

Crayon Hoarding.

Firsts

Generally speaking Firsts are pretty exciting in Baby World: First Smile. First Word. First Steps.

Of course, there are Firsts that no one really looks forward to, and yesterday, we experienced First Blood.

We are actually having the kind of weather one would expect in September, so I set up her bubble machine outside. This caused a level of excitement I had only seen a few times before. She went charging towards the bubbles and tripped on the little quarter step off our patio before I could even process what was happening.

I scooped her up, gave hugs'n'kisses and assessed the situation. I didn't even see a scratch and she was already over it. We went inside and she asked for a snack. Or a 'nak. nak. naaaaaaaaaak.' I nearly fainted when I saw her mouth all bloody. Turns out, she bit the inside of her lip. Its a small cut. She's already forgotten about it. As far as baby injuries go, this was about as minimal as it could be. But still, baby with a vampire mouth is pretty unnerving.

Don't worry, I didn't bolt for the camera to document. But we did take some pics outside during the morning swinging sesh.

 Happy to be back in the swing. 

Look at that hair. 

The Park

I met a couple friends at the park today for lunch and some playtime. Pre-walking, Kennedy loved to play on the swings or crawl around in the grass making park dates enjoyable and relaxing for Mummy. However, now my extremely mobile (though not fully stable) little lady wants to race walk from the slide to the curb to the merry go round and back again. It's cute that she discovered the merry-go-round, but she doesn't totally get the 'sit and hold on' concept, so it consists of me walking her round and round in circles to make sure she doesn't fall off. The playground is really exhausting for both of us!

The upside to all this playground time? A worn out baby that will nap for multiple hours in the afternoon.

Surprises

On Friday afternoon, I was relaxing at home when I got a call from my mom asking if Kennedy and I would like to fly home to surprise my grandmother, Nani, for her 80th birthday. Of course I did! Kennedy and I hopped on a flight Saturday morning and were pretty excited to get there and surprise her. We all went to my aunt's house and I let Kennedy stand by herself and knock at the door. When Nani came around the corner she got quite a kick out of seeing Kennedy there. I am so glad that we were able to be there and celebrate her special day with our family.

Kennedy and her great-grandmother, Nani.

Happy Birthday!

Kennedy and Gramps exploring the back yard. 

Playing piano with Uncle Pickles and Minnie. 

It was a quick trip as we flew back to Dallas on Sunday to spend the rest of the weekend with Greg. Normally, Kennedy is an easy traveler. I can distract her with Goldfish, books and my iphone for most of the flight. However, it is a different story when she (and I) are sick. Her dress was soaked to her waist in tears, that's how much crying took place in an hour and 15 minutes. I had multiple people stop me after the flight to make sure everything was ok. The poor people sitting around us! Luckily, the girls that sat next to me were very sympathetic and tried to help me calm her down.

When we woke up on Sunday morning we were surprised with crisp, cool weather. Ok, it was still in the high 80's, but you have to understand, that feels like winter to us here in Dallas! We put K in the BOB and walked through the neighborhood to the bagel shop, where we actually got to enjoy eating breakfast outside. We let her nap, ran some errands and ended the day 'riding' her bike up to the park to swing.

Labor Day Bike Ride

Swinging with our sunnies on. 

Chasing Olive around the park.