Olivia's First Pumpkin Carving

Yes, we waited until the day before Halloween to carve our pumpkin. :)

This was Olivia's first time being part of a pumpkin carving, and I'm pretty sure it was also her first time seeing a jack-o-lantern.

Checking out the guts!

She wasn't too sure about it!

Her fingers went in her mouth as she watched Boppa pull out some pulp and seeds.

After watching him she decided she could go ahead and give it a try.

Immediately she said, "It's just too icky!"

Quickly followed by, "Can you get it off, please?"  She doesn't like messy hands!  After her hands were cleaned, she observed only.

Pattin the outside while Boppa cleaned out all the gunk on the inside.

She kept asking "What's in there?" even though we had already answered her a dozen times.

We had a carving kit from years ago and debated about using one of the fancy pictures. But Olivia was getting a little impatient with our little activity, and since it was her first time we just stuck with a simple face.

She was pleased with the outcome! :)

This is the best picture I could get with it lit.  It took longer with the darker mode and she kept moving so every picture was blurry.  Regardless, she thought it was neat!  Yay for new family traditions! :)

Boo At The Zoo

We went to Boo at the Zoo this weekend!  It was our first time attending this event, so we weren't really sure what it would be like.

I fully intended on dressing Olivia in her costume, but it was so cold when we went that we aborted that mission and just stuck to regular, warm clothing.

When we walked in we saw all sorts of pumpkins hanging to decorate the trees.

Olivia loved all of the animal pumpkin blow ups!

The day we went was the absolute last day to check out the dinosaur exhibit.  We had tried to check it out when we were there for Jack Hanna's anniversary, but the wait was 45 minutes long.  Olivia likes to play with dinosaurs and she watches Dinosaur Train every once in a while, so we thought she might enjoy it.  We got in free to the zoo because of our membership, so paying $2 each for the boat ride was worth the extra little treat.

There were dinosaurs to see as we walked down the path to the boat.

She wasn't too sure, so we just kept saying nice things about them. :)

Sloooowly moving towards the water.

Watching intently

After the ride we just walked the zoo and hit up any candy stations that we saw.  I think they said there were 20.  We didn't make a point to go to each one, because at this point Olivia doesn't even care.  In fact, we were right by 3 or 4 and she just flat out refused to get candy.

We did make sure to see Dory!

We eventually called it a night when it started getting dark and it was clear that the collection of candy was not a draw for her any more.  I'm sure she will like it more and more each year.

25 Weeks, Baby #2

**picture to come--maybe :) **


How far along: 25 weeks

Size of baby: for weeks 25 to 28 the baby is the size of an eggplant

Total weight gain/loss: +8.6

Maternity clothes:Yep, pretty much every day.  I had to break out the sweaters this week.  I had a few from last time and then I bought a few earlier in the season on clearance.  The only new maternity clothes I plan on buying from here on out will be nursing type stuff--tanks, new bras, etc.  I need to wait a little bit on those though. :)

Gender: It's a boy!  Logan Michael is on his way!

Movement: Yes. There have been a few days where he has moved around less than others and I start to let my mind wander and worry, but he moves every day.  I know I don't have to worry about daily movement for a week or two anyway.  He always kicks when I am laying in bed trying to go to sleep.

Sleep: The same-it sucks.

What I miss: sleeping, there are a few foods that I personally choose no to eat that some are fine with eating while pregnant--I miss those items. :) (like lunch meat and hot dogs, etc)

Cravings: Not much.  I don't think I eat more than I did pre-pregnancy either.  There were a few weeks in the first trimester where I couldn't get enough food, but for the most part I just eat my 3 meals a day (if I can get myself to eat breakfast) and sometimes a snack.

Symptoms: insomnia, shortness of breath, back pain, heartburn, and an overall lack of patience

Fun Purchases: I bought a winter coat!  I had been looking for a bit, but was having a hard time pulling the trigger when they were $60-$120 and some of those were sale prices!  I honestly haven't bought a coat since before having Olivia because I didn't really need one in Texas.  So even the coats I have don't really fit, so there was no way to adapt and improvise with what I have.  When someone on a message board posted that Old Navy had a maternity coat on sale for $36, I jumped on it!  It is probably not something I would have originally picked out, but I went for frugality over fashion. It's only for one winter season!  It came just in time too, because we had temps in the 30's and 40's this week.  I needed it!

Milestones: I'm in my 6th month!

Barnes and Noble: Go Away, Big Green Monster... or not.

A few weeks ago we were spending some time out of the house at a local Barnes and Noble.  As we sat at the kiddie table reading books with Olivia, I noticed some fliers talking about a Halloween story time.  The picture looked like the cover from the book "Go Away, Big Green Monster" and it said that would be the featured story of the day.  Olivia has this book on her kindle and it adds the parts to the monsters face as it is read to her and then takes them away.  She really likes it, so I made sure to note in my phone calendar the date and time.

I have been to a story time at the library where this was used.  They added pieces of felt to the picture as each page went to make the scary monster and then took the pieces away as they go away in the story.  I've been to multiple Barnes and Noble story times in the past, so I was expecting something along those lines.

We arrived a few minutes before 11.  We waited and waited and nothing was happening at the story time spot.  So at 11 I went to the desk and asked.  The guy said, "Oh, well, story time is at 11:30".  I told him that the fliers and the big poster when you walk in the store all said 11.  He said, "I believe you that they say that, but story time isn't until 11:30".  Umm... great.  I was annoyed.  Not only was it on the two publications I had seen, but then I found a flier with all of their store events for the whole month of October and it said 11 there too.  How do you publish it wrong in 3 different places?

Olivia busied herself during the half hour by reading books, playing with stuffed animals on the shelves and playing at the train table.

On the page that had all of the in store events listed, it said that "Go Away, Big Green Monster" would be the feature, but that there would also be a visit from Clifford the Big Red Dog.  I knew Olivia would love that.

We sat down and waited for story time to start.  Clifford walked in and Olivia hopped right out of her seat.  Everyone else sat still, but she yelled out "It's Clifford the Big Red dog!!" and squealed in delight.

This is her looking at me with a look of "do you see what I see?" :)

She would sit and be enthralled, and then jump up and say something like, "Clifford as big red ears" or other related observations.  Later, Michael said, "She sure knows how to draw attention to herself." Umm, yep.  I have a feeling I know where her personality is headed. :)

The lady read two books and then the kids got a badge and a trick or treat bag.  Olivia tried giving her badge to Clifford. :)

Then we went on a "tour" around the store.  You could wear your costume if you wanted, but only one kid was dressed up.  There were three stations and each one handed out a piece of candy.  Of course, I missed the part where she gave Clifford a hug. :(

A little blurry, but that's Olivia grabbing Clifford's tail on the walk through the store.  Oops.

So after we stopped at all three spots, we assumed that we were headed back to the story time spot.  Nope.  The lady started telling everyone thanks for coming.

In case you missed it... "Go Away, Big Green Monster" was never read.  If you know me, you can imagine how this went over.  First, you had the wrong time printed on everything and then you didn't even read the story that was plastered all over your posters and fliers?!  Not acceptable.  So I went to the customer service desk and asked to speak to the manager.  I explained that it was incredibly inconvenient to have a two year old who had to wait a half hour for a story time to start and then not even get the story she had been promised all morning.  The "manager" (I'm not sure she was a true manager) was not nice at all.  She acted like I was the one in the wrong.  She told me that story time is always at 11:30.  I asked why it was then printed in 3 different places that it was at 11.  She said, "Well, we don't print that stuff.  Someone made a mistake.".  Yeah. I know.  Someone did.  And it wasn't me!  Then she asked if I had gone to the website (I hadn't, but since have and it is stated 11 as well).  She said, "I don't know what to tell you.  Story time has been at 11:30 for ten years."  Really?  That is your response to me?  Then she said, "And it was never suppose to be Go Away Big Green Monster, it was suppose to be Clifford".  She whipped out her event page to try to prove me wrong, but of course it stated that it was to be both.  She responded with, "I don't know.  It was a misprint I guess."  So helpful, huh?!?

Of course, Olivia didn't mind.  She enjoyed Clifford and just went with the flow.  I, however, had some issues with this.  First, two separate employees acted like I was the crazy/wrong one. This does not sit well with me.  I choose my battles, and I generally only choose the ones where I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am right.  Don't act like I'm the idiot for not knowing story time has been at 11:30 for ten years when everything I read said 11. Second, they essentially made me look like a liar to my daughter.  If you are going to spend all that money on posters and color printed fliers and banners on your website, why in the world wouldn't you be doing what it says?  And how are you the manager but have no clue what is going on?  Maybe it's crazy pregnancy hormones....... but probably not.

So I did the next best thing and emailed customer support.  I got an automated email back saying I would have a response in 12 to 24 hours.  That was 2 days ago.  I'm still waiting.

Halloween at The Little Gym

We returned the faulty bee costume, and then went with a better quality one from a different store.  It cost less too, which was a bonus!  She first wore it to her Little Gym class on Friday.  In Texas they have a Halloween party one night.  Here, you just wear your costume to class and get a sticker on the way out.

Olivia had all the adults in the class cracking up.  She was SO excited to see everyone in their costumes.  She just kept running from kid to kid saying, "Look! It's Minnie Mouse.  That's funny!" and "OH, she's a lion! That's funny!".  On and on it went.  She was especially happy to see one of the boys in a monkey costume.

The headband didn't stay on.  This does not surprise me.

She loves being a bumblebee.  At least this costume will last us the few times we need to wear it.  The other one had 5 safety pins in it in the first 20 minutes. Cuter, but not practical.  

Let the festivities begin........

Fall is Here!

Every time we go outside Olivia makes the comment that the leaves are falling off the trees.  So one afternoon earlier this week, we headed out to play in the leaves!

It was in the high 40's/low 50's, so we had to bundle up a bit.

Weeeeeee!

She's such a goof!  She hugs trees all the time.  I have no idea why.  This time she said, "I just love trees." :)

Stomping through the leaves and listening to them crunch.

After playing in the leaves, we went running through the back yard.  She said, "Come on, follow me!" and then "Are we having fun?" and "Let's go to the house (meaning the shed)."  When we got to the shed she said, "Ahh, we made it!" with her arms stretched out. 

Of course we had to stop and check out the pine cones.

Then she remembered that she left some rocks on the picnic bench from our last walk.  She is fascinated by rocks?!?

After running around the yard and playing in the leaves for the better part of an hour, I busted out the cozy coupe and she played in that for a bit.  She still hasn't mastered how it's done.  She mostly goes backwards.  I'm glad I got it used.  By the time she figures it out, she'll be too big! :)

We woke up the next morning to snow! There wasn't a ton and it didn't stick around long, but it was definitely a white covered morning.

Spider Art

I mentioned in my sensory box post that Olivia has taken a liking to spiders. This mostly has to do with a spider that was "put to sleep" by grandma.  When thinking of fall crafts to do, I knew that a spider would be a fun addition.  I remember making this spider art with Little Man, and thought it would be perfect to do with Olivia.

I started off by taping a piece of orange construction paper to the inside of a paper box lid.

Then I put three globs of black paint on the paper.  In hind sight, I should have put them on the box instead of the paper, because it left big huge spots of black.  Oh well.  Live and learn.

I dropped the marble in and showed her how to tip the lid back and forth.  Then she got to work.

After our web was all done, I went ahead and painted her hands to make the spider.  I think this is the first time I've painted them.  At least that I can remember.  She did really good!  I probably should have used a different kind of paint though.  It didn't show up the greatest.

After the spider was painted and her hands were cleaned up, I put two glue dots for eyes.  She glued on the googley eyes.

Since I didn't love the 3 big black blobs of paint, I trimmed them the best I could and taped the page to a black border.  She went and proudly showed Michael her spider right away.

And because she was so interested, I let her play with some of the marbles from the bag.  I supervised, of course.  She's pretty good with not putting things in her mouth, but this is one time where I wasn't going to risk it.  I tried to get her to count them, but she wanted nothing to do with it.