We mellowed out today. J allowed me to go for a long run while he took care of Cutie Face. It was a glorious morning and an incredible new route and, to make it even better, I felt great! Thanks be to God for allowing me to run and revel in His creation on His day!
As soon as I came back from my run we had to head to church. We really enjoyed the sermon today (continuing with our Sermon on the Mount series, this week's lesson was on money as your master (you can listen to it here).
Following service, we really wanted Cutie Face to sleep but knew she would be to riled up from a fun time at the nursery to go to sleep right away...so we headed to the grocery store to rile her up some more!
She absolutely LOVED shopping in the "beep beep" car cart (and the faces she makes are hilarious but might discount her claim to "Cutie" face)
We usually count Sundays as a wash for naps anyway so today was not any different. Shortly after we arrived home from Publix, she fell asleep...but half an hour later was up...and just in time, too, because we had 3 appointments scheduled to check out apartments.
Despite the drudgery that can be apartment hunting, Cutie Face managed to have a bit of fun--and she made it fun for us--she danced through all the open rooms (loved that open space) and went "runnnnIN" through the hallways of each new apartment. We also we stopped at a (new-to-her) playground by one of the houses we checked out:
and, that house that i just mentioned had the best backdrop for a photo-op.
AWWW!
Sadly, no real finds were found so we'll keep hunting for a new homestead for Cutie Face and her sweet sister...
Today (Saturday) was an incredibly busy and fun day...
We started out with an exhausted Cutie Face...after refusing to sleep all morning, she finally conked out on our way to the Farmer's Market...
and she stayed asleep on j's shoulder the entire time we shopped!
One of our favorite local pizza places, Mellow Mushroom, was baking their pizza pies outside at the market.
The awesome thing was, EVERY topping they used came DIRECTLY from the farmers/growers at the market today and EVERY $ went to support the market. How cool!
J loved his and ate it while Cutie Face slept. impressive.
The kiddo finally woke up and we headed to the church's playground (the Farmer's Market is held in the church parking lot). She loved it!
After the market, we decided to not go back home right away and headed back downtown. J wanted to go to the Enviro Expo (we went last year and had our fair share of fun so we thought, "why not do it again?")
We parked on the street and ended up walking right past Centennial Olympic Park. I've been there with Cutie Face before but the water fountains weren't working...this time, though, we were in luck!
Since it was 73 degrees outside, we decided to let Cutie Face play in the fountains. She had SO much fun!
So much fun, in fact, that i wanted to join her!
Yay for a new picture of the two of us! And great memories, too!
This video was hilarious (to me, as a mom...maybe not interesting to you!)
After the park, we changed Cutie Face's clothes + diaper (the spare change of clothes finally came in handy!) and headed to the Enviro Expo.
J and Cutie Face enjoyed sticking their faces through the bug cutouts:
She really wanted to walk and push her stroller but she refused to let me or J touch the stroller to help steer her. Everytime she felt our hand on the stroller, she'd look up and become very frustrated.
Oh the frustrating, full-on tantrums are right around the corner, we can just feel it.
There was this funny bug man that flitted from booth to booth--we always seemed to be running into him.
We wrapped up the expo by taking a spin in an RV. I became really dizzy, just like on a boat. So weird! Cutie Face seemed to love the bed, though!
We finally got home and tried to wind down a bit before we had to head back out again. Our friends from Cutie Face's playgroup generously offered us their tickets to the season opener GA Tech basketball game. And, our church and neighborhood friends generously allowed us to stash a sleeping Cutie Face in their basement while we were gone.
We were SO thankful for a date night! Of course, it wouldn't be a date night without a self-portrait...we managed (or, more precisely, I managed) to continually cut off our heads...massive failure:
We finally found a decent angle and here we are, thankful to just be the two of us!
Despite the "Free Bagel Friday" promotion ending last week at Einstein Bros. Bagels, Cutie Face and I relished our weekly date so much that we headed back there this morning. Actually, she had no choice but she enjoyed herself.
This week she ate a blueberry bagel (usually it is cranberry). She loved it!
She also l-o-v-e-d people watching. Hey Kiddo! Over here!
Today's big event was Cutie Face's 15-month well check up.
*Now, Matty, I know you aren't going to like this little tidbit that I'm about to share, but J and i decided that Cutie Face should NOT get vaccinated this winter (no monthly vaccines and certainly not the H1N1 vaccine, either!)*
Hey Cutie Face! How big are you?
SOOOOOO BIG!
She weighed in at a decent 24 lbs (75% for girls) and 32 inches (89% for girls). Not too shabby. Her head continues to be the smallest measurement (but, hey, I can still wear kids hats so no complaints).
Cutie Face and I had to wait for a little bit to see the doctor but she didn't mind--she was incredibly intrigued by the painter that was outside her window. (her facial expressions = hilarious)
she just could not get enough of it. Every minute or so, she'd look up from her book and glance out the window. She did not want to miss a moment of painting (and who said watching paint dry was boring?)
Cutie Face also wowed her doctor with her verbal skills. I think it is because Cutie Face gets to hang out with her uber smart cousin, Lil' Miss!
I haven't ever counted how many words she has but perhaps I'll do that for a rainy day. Side note: She does have quite an extensive vocabulary that I can understand...but i'm not sure if that counts since sometimes i'm the only one who knows what she is saying :).
She can definitely point to all these pictures and either sign or say the name of them. Good job, kiddo!
And, of course, it wouldn't be a Cutie Face post without a picture of us on the playground. Seriously. We go to the park every day yet i feel continually compelled to 1) take a picture and 2) blog about it.
Here is our lone park picture (note: iPhone cameras + swinging = poor quality shots):
J and I had an incredibly boring Friday night--he didn't even get home until 8 PM so lets hope our weekend gets more exciting!
Cutie Face turned a corner this morning from being a baby to being a mama--she really wanted to be with her blanket and/or babies from the moment she woke up.
We started with a morning walk where she pushed her blanket up and down our sidewalk:
She learned that the stroller could be pushed in many different ways--
she pushed it with one hand:
Pulled it from behind:
pushed it sideways:
and took a momentary tantrum/frustrated break while pushing the normal way (clearly not the preferred method)
After her morning nap, she found the sling that the twin made for her birthday. After we put the baby (also made by the twin for her birthday!) in the sling, she did not want to take it off. It was so cute.
She'd stare at herself in the mirror for minutes, making sure the baby was
Properly situated:
and Properly loved (lots and lots of tight squeezed hugs):
Cutie Face even wore the baby + sling while we ran errands (she was in the stroller!). i think she is going to be a great big sister!
Along with the unmotivating rainy drizzly weather blogging motivation has also fizzled. And not just bloggy motivation--we did nothing exciting yet here i am blogging about nothing (i should make a sitcom...about nothing...oh wait! that's been done already!).
The kiddo and I hung out in the house and we each took two naps. Hallelujah that is a huge praise!
We finally went to Trader Joe's and Richard's Variety Store for a little excitement. The highlight being that I made Cutie Face walk all around both stores so that she could get a little exercise. She loved it!
Oh and she did confiscate my camera so we have a few fun pictures of the wall, rug,
and me.
I turned the tables on her, though, and took some more pictures of Cutie Face:
Whoa. I haven't posted on either of my blogs in 48 hours. Nice!
Mainly because:
1) we've been boring
and
2) we've been busy (an oxymoron? if only you knew...)
But, the reason why I write on this blog is to remember our day-to-day boring happenings so here I am recounting them (and for you, too, Jenna, since I don't want you to go through withdrawl :0)
Monday Cutie Face had an awesome day...nap-wise. I couldn't figure out who this little sleeper was--certainly not my child! She wouldn't take TWO 1.5 hour naps after sleeping for 12 hours, would she? Turns out, no, she really wouldn't as today (Tuesday) she awoke at 5:30 AM, fought both naps, and ended up going to bed at 6:45!
Regardless, sleeping is boring and not often picture-worthy.
Here are the events from Monday and Tuesday that I did find entertaining enough to photo-document, though:
Besides sitting in the corner and serving as a topic of conversation* every day between Cutie Face and I , the apples we bought way back in October haven't had much play time in our kitchen.
(*the conversation goes like this: CF: "Apple?" Me:"Yes, those are apples". CF: "Apple? Pleese?" "Pleeeessse?" Me: "You've already eaten two apples today, sweetie, you don't need another one" while i'm thinking "...or else you'll poop even more than FOUR times a day".)
The kiddo and I finally decided to put them to good use: we made homemade applesauce in the crockpot!
She helped me eat the apples as i cut, peeled, and quartered--don't worry, that is as close to the knife as she got! We made up our own recipe after reading a few other ones and combining the best aspects that sounded yummy. I took a picture of the apples pre-cooking but the applesauce was completely devoured once it was finished and didn't last long enough for a photo-op. It does mean, however, that it was eaten so quickly that we need to make more so there will be plenty of other opportunities for pics!
Once she woke up from her morning nap, we headed to the park to collect leaves (for the tutorial i still have yet to write!).
She wore a BOW in her HAIR and NOT on a headband for the first time! Check out all the hair she recently grew--seriously it took off the last two days and she can now wear bows in her hair. Its the simple things, people.
Sadly, the bows don't really last as long in her hair as they do on a headband...
Cutie Face really loved kiddo-watching...from the left...
...to the right...she loved checking them out everywhere they went
and that was the end of our pictures from Monday!
I do, however, want to document that Cutie Face walked all the way from the post office to the corner of Virginia & Highland...nearly half a mile! I thought that was impressive for the little tyke. Well done, kiddo!
Today (Tuesday) we had RAIN rain RAIN (side affect from the hurricane...)
Mimi (my mom) had to run an errand downtown at a mall a mere 4 miles away from us so we met her there for lunch. I decided to not bring the stroller so that Cutie Face could walk around the mall and tucker herself out for a good nap. (Turns out that plan backfired but whatevs)
Cutie Face loves visiting my parents' house because she can play in Mimi's makeup drawer
Visiting with Mimi today was no exception as Mimi allowed her to play with her lipstick. She loved it. Cutie Face is going to be one Girly Girl!
We walked around the mall, saw Santa, pointed at him, watched some kids (mainly girls, under the age of 4) cry and scream and some kids sit and share their wishlist. Cutie Face loved pointing at Santa ("hohohoho" as she said) but when we got close to him she said "Noo...? No!"
We wrapped up our mall visit at Nordstrom's shoe rack in the kids' department. They had an excellent place for Cutie Face to color and watch the fish "swimmm-min".
We went home where she fought nap #2 and, sadly, she won. That meant that she got to go to bed at 6:45 PM. Now when she'll wake up tomorrow is a whole 'nother question...
As you may know, my twin and I are expecting our second daughters 2 months + 1 week apart. She is due in 4 weeks! Crazy!
Lil' Miss was treated to quite a few showers before her arrival. One of the twin's friends and I didn't want Sweet Pea to feel unloved so we threw her a "sprinkle" instead of a "shower". It was a casual, low-key affair with a "sprinkle" of people but it was really fun!
We had cupcakes and punch...but we didn't eat the cake as J and I had a slight mishap with it in the car on the way up to the 'burbs...which is also why you won't see a close-up picture of it!
We also had delicious savory food!
To jump start the party, we had all the attendees paint a onesie for Sweet Pea. I used my freezer paper stencil tutorial and it was a lot of fun! Most of the onesies sported a number stencil--there were numbers 1-9--perfect, I thought, for taking the month-birthday photograph...at least for months 1-9!
There were also flowers, birds, butterflies, and fleur de lis designs:
Painting onesies served as a great way to relax and have fun chatting
Everyone was so creative!
Two of the twin's former students came to her shower, too--so sweet!
After onesie-painting, we retired to the "present room". The theme was polka dots so we had fun polka dot puff balls hanging from the ceiling:
The twin was ready to go!
The girls gave her an awesome gift full of babysitting coupons! So smart!
I promise, we weren't bored!
It was so nice to see a lot of the twin's friends at the party to sprinkle Sweet Pea with some love. We can't wait to meet her in person!
Our day dawned early and bright with Cutie Face once again waking up around 6:20 AM. Gone are the days of sleeping in until past 7. Bummer. At least we don't need an alarm!
After her breakfast, we all got ready for our 5k Road Race. J went to break down our jogging stroller and put it in our car and I carried on getting Cutie Face dressed. We were interrupted when J came running back into the apartment to let us know that our car had been stolen (!!!!).
We saw the skid marks and the scrape marks from where someone had towed it off.
J immediately called 911 and reported the theft but they said it was most likely towed...for reasons we have yet to grasp...but, regardless, we determined that YES, the car was towed but, thankfully, not stolen!
That left us with a dilemma--should we try to make it to the race with 18 minutes to spare? Sure, why not, we asked? We ran over to the D family house and they very graciously let us borrow their SUV. Thankfully they have carseats in the car (a very cool Britax Camo design that she didn't mind riding in!) so we plopped Cutie Face in the seat and away we went!
We made it to the race with 5 minutes to spare but, thankfully, they were a little delayed with the start...
You can kind of see J if you look closely--he is the very last person standing on the right with the purple baby jogger. Do you see him? Regardless, make sure you notice the two cops up front:
J decided that, in order to maximize our award potential, he would compete in the stroller division so that i could race solo. Clearly, you can see that I borrowed these photos from MachShots.com but they did say that i could download them! Thank you!
Here I am, around the 2.4 mile marker:
and here is my buff husband, pushing the stroller with ease:
Doesn't he look like a pro? I love that you can see Cutie Face peeking out behind her blanket:
Shortly after both of those pictures were taken, the race was over--the funny part about this race was that I came in at 15:30 ...which is ridiculously fast for a 5k let alone for a 6-month PREGNANT WOMAN to run.
I knew something wasn't right...turns out those two cops we mentioned before MISSED A TURN. Yeah...so we all ran a 4k race instead of a 5k. Can I still claim that time as a PR?
Regardless of the shortened course, J's race strategy paid off--I was the overall woman in the race and he was the overall stroller runner so we both received plaques and gift certificates! Not a bad deal as we definitely got a larger return for our money!
While we waited for the awards ceremony, we played all over the Cabbagetown playground:
Upon returning home, my very kind and generous and sacrificial dad took J to pick up our towed car. They had to make a few stops because that's bureaucracy for ya so we are very thankful to Dad for his patience and willingness to help us!
and all the chili you can eat. Last year, we came late because we had no idea what to expect. This year, our orange spoons were part of the race package so we didn't have to wait in line to buy them. We did, however, cut the start time incredibly close.
J, coming from the towlot, decided it would be faster if I met him at the festival and I was happy to oblige...this plan just meant I had to run back to the location as quickly as possible so we could coincide our arrivals. This also meant that I would be running 2+ miles to Cabbagetown with my hair dried, straightened, while wearing my "street clothes" (jeans and a nice top).
It all worked out and we arrived almost at the same time so it was perfect. I found out on Sunday that one of our church friends saw me booking it in my jeans and nice top while pushing Cutie Face in the jogger so that was a little embarrassing but i got over it. Besides, i also got to add mileage to the day's run so that was a bonus!
The way the chili fest works is that restaurant and individuals enter their chili recipe(s). Everyone makes a large batch (some make more than others) and dish out sample servings to anyone with an orange spoon. You can make the rounds or go back for more of your favorite but you have to be fast because when the chili is gone, the participant flips over their chili pot and leaves it upside down on the table--no more soup for you!
I laughed at this chili table--they gave you antacid tablets!
Look at all that chili!
Ria's was my favorite vegan chili
until i ventured over to the Vortex and sampled their vegan chili...THE BEST!
6-Feet Under still gets mad props for having fun AND for having ALLIGATOR chili AND for having fun and goofing off!
The beer trucks were also hot commodities
and the live music was GREAT!
Despite all those great festival features, Cutie Face LOVED the dog adoption/rescue pups the best! We spent loads of time with all the dogs and it was like a little slice of heaven for her.
As J remarked on our way home, the Chomp and Stomp is his favorite Atlanta festival. It was a great day (despite the car...!) and we were able to end it with J's dad, who read Cutie Face her bedtime story:
Today started out the same as the past two Fridays--with a trip to Einstein Bros. Bagels for a FREE BAGEL! Love it!
This morning it was really cold so I dressed Cutie Face in the most adorable pink sweater knit by...are you ready for this...MY Great-Grandma! So Cutie Face's Great-Great-Grandma made this sweater! I love that!
Anyway, it was the last week for Free Bagels so we couldn't miss out--i think Cutie Face thought there'd be a bagel shortage or something as she consumed 1.5 bagels (bread head!).
The light was great in the bagel store so i took quite a few pics with my phone of Cutie Face + the sunburst behind her...SunFlare is a theme this month at iheartfaces so i was practicing:
After bagels, Cutie Face was too revved up to take a nap so we ran a few errands--
namely to the library, Whole Foods, and Petsmart
before making a picnic pit stop at Trader Joe's:
J came home early and we made Cutie Face walk to one of our favorite local kid stores--BlaBla kids (same store that hosted the really fun pre-Halloween party). They were having a ridiculous sample sale and we stocked up on lots of long-sleeve t-shirts, a few handknit sweaters and a simply precious hat! Thankfully Cutie Face was plumb tuckered out by her 1.5-block walk there and back so she crashed fairly quickly and now it is early to bed for us as we have a race in the morning!
This afternoon held a long anticipated event--the grand opening of the Macy's Pink Pig! The twin and I made plans to attend the Grand Opening Preview party more than a month ago (which is really planning when it comes to my calendar!).
Sadly, Cutie Face decided that this would be the day where she did not need to take a nap. She finally fell asleep on our way back downtown. First, though, I had to make a pitstop at Babies 'R' Us...not knowing what to do with my sleeping bambina, I decided to lay down our shopping cart cover and place her into it...like so:
We shopped for 25 minutes with her in the cart like that the whole time. And, she even transferred BACK to the car without waking up--I was impressed!
The Twin and I eventually made it to the Pink Pig where we could hear the festivities from the parking lot.
Time out you say! What is the Macy's Pink Pig?
Well, if you aren't from Atlanta, you may be wondering what could be so exciting about a pink pig at Macy's.
The twin and i, despite spending 11 out of our 28 years in Atlanta, had never experienced the Pink Pig in person. Sure, we had heard about it, but we really had no clue what it was or what it entailed. We decided today would be the perfect time to find out just what the Macy's Pink Pig was since 1) we now had our own kiddos and 2) we had free passes!
Despite not needing to get...
The line for the ride was way past the ticket booth.
and it stretched for ever forward:
Here is sweet Lil' Miss sitting patiently. She was so cute in her PIG-tails (get it?)
We eventually made it outside where we could glimpse some of the balloons:
Cutie Face decided she was still tired...or she was just sick of waiting in line:
The twin and I took turns walking (dragging?!?!) around to keep them occupied
I wish that this event happened a little earlier--there were SO many great "kodak moment" balloon shots available that would have tied in perfectly with this week's I ❤ Faces theme!
As we inched our way forward, we saw what the end of the line held for us:
We also saw Priscilla the {GIANT} pink pig:
45-minutes in line and we've almost made it to the sign...getting closer
Then we made it to the outside of the tent...getting closer, getting closer...
Woohoo! After a 60+ minute wait, we made it inside the CRAZY pink tent...it was next to impossible to get a decent picture due to the crazy colors and lighting:
I can't help but wonder...was the line this long when the Pink Pig looked like this:
The line behind us...still stretching:
almost there chickadees! (they can barely contain their excitement)
WOW! We actually made it on the ride!
The twin and Lil' Miss
the rare photo of me with Cutie Face (thanks sis for this capture!)
After all that hype, I'm glad to say that we rode the pink pig. We got our sticker (which is the coveted souvenir for riders each year) and we have pictures...
I also have a video of the 90-second ride. You tell me if you think it was worth the 60+ minute wait:
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the Christmas season and the joy that celebrating Jesus' birth brings to nations.
BUT.
I also treasure the Thanksgiving season and don't like to rush through it just to get to, what has become, an all-too commercialized, frantic "holiday" (ie no longer "Christmas") season.
Anyway, despite what I might like, there is no denying that stores everywhere are displaying their Christmas decorations and wares (not to mention Christmas music!). My mom works at an interior design store and today they had their Christmas Open House--{note: it does make sense that they need to get people in the door to buy Christmas decorations before the Holiday season officially starts...but still...}
I met up with Cutie Face's cousin, Lil' Miss, and my twin at the store.
They had their Fraser Fir line out and man-oh-man-ooohhh-man did it smell incredible. Seriously, the best Christmas scent EVER hands down no question. I took this picture for J since he is even more fanatical about the scent!
They also had yummy food which is never oblivious and always tempting to a pregnant woman:
My twin, the crafty genius of us two, volunteered to personalize ornaments for those who purchased them. I loved the ornaments they have this year:
Actually didn't like THESE as they are Bulldog ornaments (GO TECH!)
Great verse!
The Mom-to-Be ornament unfortunately gave me a taste of what I get to look like in a month and a half:
More verses--so nice to see scripture in Christmas--as i said, i think it is WAY too commercialized so these ornaments remind you why you are celebrating!
and one of my very favorites for its creativity & relativeness to my life:
Hopefully I can avoid more Christmas open houses until after Thanksgiving!
Wow! Today i only took THREE pictures. That is a huge record for me as i am usually snapping hundreds (no lie!) per day.
The pictures I took were of Cutie Face finally sleeping. I'm not sure what is going on with her but I think that she is either teething, growing, or still not used to Daylight Savings Time. Poor kiddo--she just isn't taking "real"naps (ie: naps longer than 30 minutes) these days!
Here is my little sleeping beauty, conked out for one of her 30-minute slumbers:
Thankfully, my father-in-law sent a few of the pictures he took of Cutie Face in the park yesterday...so at least we can all get our daily fix :-o
You just might see one of these pictures on a Christmas Card....
We absolutely ❤ Trader Joe's (or TJ's or "the Teej"). It is my go-to place for just about everything we consume. I've also been a fan of their "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" hand soap but I hadn't bought any of their other cleaning products before...
until today...
it started out when I had a looooong list of cleaning supplies that we ran out of and were in desperate need of. I searched the weekly ads and didn't find any outstanding deals so just decided to head to TJ's and then maybe go to CVS for the rest of the supplies later.
Well, Cutie Face declared she had to go "peepee" upon entering Trader Joe's so we headed to the bathrooms.
Upon washing her hands in the sink (which she LOVED since they have a step stool for her!), I thought, why not just get all my cleaning supplies from the Teej?
So that we did:
The best things about their stuff is that it 1) SMELLS GREAT (if you like lavender, which i do, so i'm in good shape) 2) is affordable 3) is funny...case in point, the tissue box:
absolutely
hilarious
& true
and, when we woke up this morning, we found that even the Trader Joe's balloon wanted to get in on the cleanliness fun:
We crammed a lot into our 1st day of the 11th month...first, i crammed Cutie Face in her room. We bought a baby gate a loooong time ago but never thought to use it for our super small apartment.
As fans of BabyWise, we are also fans of individual playtime. Cutie Face, however, likes to be near us at all times so J and i thought a babygate in her room would allow her to see us (and vice versa). And it would encourage her to play on her own.
At first she thought it was...interesting...?
then she got really sad about it & wouldn't stop asking "up. PLEASE."
Church came...and Cutie Face went. As in, J took her home mid-service because she was on the verge of massive meltdownS. Sadly, that meant J missed the sermon (I was on nursery duty so i missed it anyway).
However, the kiddo rallied after a nap and we set out for a Fall tour of Inman Park. Of course, we hit a playground...and J took a turn on the swings:
Then they played on the slide
until they found a ladybug...
J placed it on Cutie Face to which she promptly responded with a "No. No. No?"
there is also a duck pond near the playground
and cute, friendly doggies:
After the playground,
we viewed a house that was on the market, in our price range and supposedly 4 bedrooms...
though it seems REALLY small:
Mainly, though, our first day in November centered around taking pictures of the gorgeous fall foliage...that i just can't get enough of!
See this tree?
J had the brilliant idea of making me lie down under the tree and shooting up, like so:
While he and Cutie Face watched from the sidewalk,
Our Halloween started bright and early. Actually, it wasn't too bright--it was quite dreary and rainy when we awoke but we had places to be--namely, the Silver Comet Half Marathon.
We made it to the race with plenty of time to spare so I made a beeline for the toilets (aka, the woods) while J occupied Cutie Face. The race was postponed by ~15 minutes so I got to do a few photo-ops with the kiddo, pre-race and pre-torrential downpour:
She got her workout in, too, letting me and J chase her all over the parking lot. Who knows where she gets this much energy at 6:30 AM!
{If you look closely enough, you'll notice that she is wearing KITTY pajamas. Stay tuned for this is a sign of many more kitty sightings....}
The race was GREAT. G-R-E-A-T. I had a BLAST B-L-A-S-T (okay, done with the spelling and caps but seriously i cannot tell you how much fun i had!). i met a new friend on the course and we ran 12 out of the 13 miles together. She is an amazing runner--a mom to five (5!) and an Olympic Marathon Trials Competitor.
She kept me talking in sentences the whole time which was perfect--my OB said running and racing is fine as long as i can keep up a talking pace. If I find myself short on breath, he asked that i back out. I let my new running partner know his "rule" and she kept me true to it! We talked about tons of things and had so much fun getting to know each other that 13 miles flew by--so quickly that we managed a 6:27 pace! Yay! That was good enough for third place woman so i was beyond thrilled.
Cutie Face was thrilled, too, because she got a balloon out of the whole deal. She also devoured quite a few mini bagels and two bananas. No complaints there.
The race was also hosting a costume contest. I made this little number on Friday and was planning on wearing it while I ran but the rain would have made it one soggy mess so I put it on after the race...and it won first place in the costume contest! Mad props go to Jenny and Mark who inspired me from their costume contest two years ago (yes, I pretty much stole their idea).
On our way home from the race, we wandered through the local countryside. Who knew that Georgia had a covered bridge community? J loved it because it reminded him of New England.
I loved the covered bridge sign! The things that you never knew existed on highway signs...Here is one of the covered bridges we drove through--ONE lane!
This covered bridge was located near an old mill-- and this very cool, very old stone house was the original mill house
Upon our return home, Cutie Face balked at a nap so we threw her in a jaguar/cheetah/leopard outfit, put some whiskers and ears on her and took her to the library. She was pretty complacent.
She did get a big kick out of wandering around the library dressed like a cat, though:
Upon our return home, Cutie Face ate a late lunch and settled in for a long nap. She took a verrrrry long nap, long enough that we ended up leaving for the 'burbs (to see my parents and the cousin) more than an hour late!
When we finally arrived, we were greeted with the warm smells of soup and chili on the stove. I was in charge of the pumpkin carving. After my failed Tutorial Tuesday attempt at carving a (rotten) pumpkin, I tried again and (with the help of J) managed to eke out a pumpkin carving that kind of resembles its original inspiration--Buzz the Ga Tech Yellow Jacket mascot:
Next up was a quick dessert-making session. My brother-in-law was incredibly helpful as I tried to recreate yet another Tutorial Tuesday craft--the chewy cobweb bars (this time with cheerios instead of chex). It was quite a messy process:
Finally, we were ready to take the kiddos trick-or-treating. I cannot believe how dismal my photos turned out. They are so blurry and just...dismal. But i hope you get the idea: Cutie Face was a kitten and Lil' Miss was a most adorable chef--the apron and hat made entirely by my crafty twin (and, in fact, you can buy this outfit on her Etsy store!).
We took them around in the Radio Flyer wagon. The girls loved it!
We set out in the neighborhood, us adults on the hunt for some good candy (because, of course, our kiddos wouldn't be allowed to eat it!)
The first house we stopped at didn't have anyone to man the door but they did leave out jackpot goodie bags full of great candy!
The next stop was...kind of sad...kind of scary...but mostly funny. In fact, you have to watch the video to see what happened:
As you can see, the cousins were fine and gladly accepted candy:
The third stop was at Lil' Miss' favorite pumpkin house. She got out of the wagon and gave kisses to the pumpkins. Cutie Face was enthralled by their puppy (no picture sorry!) but i think the woman behind the door thought we were a little crazy for taking such young kiddos out for candy (either that or she knew our secret plan was to eat it all!)
We finally made it to our favorite neighbor's house but first we had to climb a hill. Since the cousins had already gotten out of the wagon to kiss the pumpkin and greet the doggy, we decided to not put them back in. Cutie Face thought that was a GREAT idea and pushed the wagon up the hill. She had a blast.
I had to take another video of the fun she was having. Sorry it's so dark!
We finally made it...Here is Cutie Face waiting patiently for G.G. to answer the door:
She answered and gave her two treats--one for her and one for mommy :0
We decided four houses was enough for one night so we loaded the kiddos back in the wagon and strolled them home. Lil' Miss was incredibly enamored with her candy stash...i think she might have even taken it to bed with her! While Cutie Face is still in the "lets chew everything phase" (ie lets eat all that candy!), Lil' Miss was quite restrained and very content to just look at the colorful wrapping:
Since it was daylight Savings Time, we let the kiddos stay up a bit later than usual but they still ended the night with their shared bathing ritual...
When we were freshman in college, we were crazy. My twin and I lived next door to each other and had the.best.roommates.ever (shoutout to Em and Megs!).
We often went shopping at our local Big Lots. When went shopping there in October of '99, we found these hilarious "Happy Halloween" mats that cackled "Happy Halloween, ah ha ha ha" when you stepped on them (hence the title of the blog post).
I'm pretty sure it looked something like this: I had kind of forgotten about those doormats until Halloween night when we took the cousins trick-or-treating...
Yeah...that video kind of says it all. And, yes, I am the mean auntie laughing at her sad niece's reaction. Sorry sweet Lil'Miss.
I think she was SHOCKED by the incredible deals she was finding...
what do you think?
Fridays at Einstein Bros Bagels also mean that we get to stop at Sidney Marcus Park on the way home. Cutie Face and i were too busy having fun that i didn't get any pictures but i did manage to snap one as we walked in--even in the pre-rain dreariness of the day, the Fall foliage was spectacular!
I am also very thankful for the few homes along the street undergoing construction--this pregnant mama certainly takes full advantage of an available toilet as the need arises. i'm happy to report that this "Pit Stop", in particular, was immaculately clean--i may have been the 1st user!
Not too sure what is up with the spring mattress, though...
Those are just a few reasons why we ❤ Fridays...how about you?
Well, naps may have been required yesterday but they weren't on the agenda today. Cutie Face sat in her crib for 2 hours without taking a nap. Before you think i'm super cruel, I honestly thought she fell asleep twice but both times I went to see if that was the case, she was only "quiet playing" or resting.
Regardless, I decided that a nap would be in her future so we went for a long walk to Ikea. Sure enough, she fell asleep on our walk--YAY!
Some kind Ikea patron decided to ogle her and her cuteness which, of course, woke her up, but that was okay--we were there to play!
Cutie Face spied an older toddler playing in the rainbow tunnel. As soon as he vacated it, she decided it was her turn to try out life in a rainbow room.
Let's just say she was completely taken with it. I literally had to drag her away from it. I'm thinking we need one of those...couldn't you make one out of a Wardrobe Cardboard Box? I think yes!
Cutie Face quickly found the tunnel of blue and got a kick out of crawling through it forward {and backward}:
She also found a "kitty ball" that came through the tunnel with her on multiple occasions.
Hey Cutie Face!
We finally made it to the Family Restroom to wash our hands so that we could eat lunch. Cutie Face was a champ and ate everything i gave her.
She plum tuckered herself out (and, seeing as her stroller nap was only 25 minutes long...no surprise)...
So I let her take a nap at Ikea.
JUST KIDDING!
I put Cutie Face back in the stroller for one final spin through Ikea. On our way out we found some awesome red down boots. Cutie Face LOVED moving her feet in them. It was hilarious.
I was actually hoping that she wouldn't fall asleep on the way home so that she could nap in her crib. Since that was my plan, i knew we would have to create some diversions. So, we stopped at the newly painted and renovated Noguchi Playscape at Piedmont Park.
It is Japanese and kind of cool. I never thought I'd like this architecture but, now that i've gotten a bit more into photography, I think the angles and the design make for awesome photographic settings!
I made Cutie Face sing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" so that she would look at me and smile :0
But sometimes it is nice to just have a non-posed pic in the mix, too:
It was certainly a spectacularly beautiful fun and full Fall day!
The twin and I were lucky enough to each be chosen for a marketing research study (I signed a waiver and can't talk about it for two years. Sorry). Even better than that, we were given back-to-back time slots which meant we didn't have to find a babysitter--we could just use each other!
I drove to the 'burbs to meet the twin and Lil' Miss. The twin was up first which meant I was in charge of the babes in the beginning. I was excited to see what life with two entailed. Granted, it was only for a bit more than an hour but still...
One of my favorite things to do with Cutie Face is take her to Petco to see the adoptable kittens. They are so cute (and desperate!) and I always want to adopt all of them. The best thing about these kittens is that they are very into anyone who visits them--even kids. Which is completely the opposite case in our house where our cats are deathly afraid of the kiddos.
So I took the cousins to Petco and we had a good time looking at birds, fish, and dogs. Sadly, the kitties and their cages were being cleaned so we couldn't visit :(
One tricky thing with two kids and a stroller that doesn't collapse quickly is trying to figure out what to do with them while you are dismantling the stroller. Granted, I could have put them each in their car seats but that would have been too easy. So i put them in the trunk while they watched my mad dismantling skills. I think they loved it.
Soon it was my turn for the study so I gave the twin the car keys and turned the cousins over to her. I went in for my 75-minute study and didn't have a care in the world...
Neither, it turns out, did Cutie Face.
The twin drove the cousins over to my mom's store and, from there, they went to the park. Upon getting back in the car, Cutie Face fell fast asleep. She then stayed asleep when they stopped the car and got out at Sweet Tomatoes. She remained asleep even when Mimi (grandma, our mom) hefted her into the restaurant. And she was even asleep when I met up with them for lunch sometime later.
In the meantime, Lil' Miss had started (and nearly finished) her lunch:
Then us grownups ate...and Cutie Face still slept:
She finally woke up, much to her cousin's happiness. I was happy, too, because it meant that i could feed her the yumminess of Sweet Tomatoes without scrounging up lunch at a later time.
Lil' Miss was so excited that Cutie Face was awake that she even tried to feed her...on multiple occasions:
All in all, it was a great day with the cousin and Mimi! so great that, upon returning home around 4, Cutie Face slept for another hour and a half...and so did I!
Daily musings of a new mom who strives to create a happy haven while seeking after Jesus, entertaining Baby C, and loving J.
For more "About Me", please see this post!
and, that house that i just mentioned had the best backdrop for a photo-op.
