Week 15

I can't believe Halloween has come and gone. As we were returning home tonight, I saw someone had already put up their Christmas lights....why is everyone always in such a rush!


We started off the weekend carving our Jack-o-lantern "Sarah" as it was named by Lily. Lily chose the design and helped clean out 'the guts'. Caroline supervised.



This year Lily was able to tell us what she wanted to be for Halloween...and it was a no-brainer for her...DORA!!

The grandparents will tell you it is Lily's favorite. So, there was a bit of pride swallowing for me because I had made all of Lily's costumes up to this year, and was hoping that would be 'my thing'...but after the melt-down we had last year it was more important to us(me) for her to have fun then for me to achieve my own agenda...so Dora it was.

Dora would not be complete without her sidekick...so luckily for her we planned it just right to have baby Caroline aka "Boots the monkey" by her side. Admittedly, not the costume I would have chosen for my sweet baby girl's first Halloween, but again, I'm working hard to put my own preferences aside...and to be honest it was pretty cute and Caroline was a champ. Really, I should know by now not to expect anything else from her, she remains one of the most evenly tempered babies. She is such a dream.



My concern was, as usual, with Big Sister. She informed me the night before trick-or treating that she in fact was not going to wear her Dora costume......say what?!?! Luckily she's old enough to understand no Dora, no candy. And when time came, thanks to some helpful persuasion from Gran as well, Lily easily got dressed for the night. And then it happened....like a switch was thrown, Lily was Lily no more, but Dora incarnate. She truly transformed and with such life and enthusiasm, it was a joy to watch...kind of like Christmas when you enjoy watching them enjoy their presents way more than receiving them yourself.


Gran helped Dora make a map for the evening...Step 1: Down the street, Step 2: Up the sidewalk, Step 3: Knock on the door! And that's how you get Halloween candy :) Lily made sure this map was in hand for the evening's adventure and she used it too. It was SO cute!


"Mr. Luke" (as Dave calls him) and my friend Elizabeth came over again this year. Luke readily informed us that his name was not Luke, but "Spiderman"...got it!

Week 14

This week picture marks what will be known as the last warm autumn days of the season.

Parents, Kids, and Grandkids

Week 13

Granny Campbell will tell you that Papa was born on Friday the 13th. So perhaps it is appropriate that Caroline decided to honor Papa's alma mater for her Week 13 picture. Apparently, when Nana and Papa were down keeping the girls for the past week, Papa kept hearing about a football game from earlier in the season.



Lily and Jackson didn't want Caroline to have all the fun!



Even though her younger sister is sympathetic to the plight of Papa's Hokies, Lily remains a Duke Dog girl at heart!

Week 12

This week was ended with a trip to Asheville for Mary Hudson's third birthday party (more of that to come later). While we were in that neck of the woods, we thought we would swing by some of the apple orchards in Hendersonville. We found this cut-out and in the heat of the day (mid-80's believe it or not) and with a overly-tired 3 year old this was about all we could drum up. Didn't get a good smile out of her, but it is a little reminder of our side trip adventure...

Week 11

Just as Lily did, Caroline loves her play gym. You can find her doing her workouts while we are reading books to Lily at bedtime. She's so content to play and stretch and gurgle while we are getting big sister tucked in for the night. Every once in awhile she'll have an audience, as viewed below.



The below pics are of the lovely 'Welcome Caroline' shower my Aunt Carrie held for us. It was so thoughtful of her and great to get the family together. We were so pleased my great aunts could make it.