Mad Skills

I picked up Emily from Nanny's house today and discovered that she had done some very interesting artwork in one of her coloring books. Mimi and Papa (and various other family members) have worked with her on practicing her letters. She's getting very good - but writing in a straight line is sometimes a challenge. She knows what orders the letters go in, but tends to run out of room on the page. She then squeezes the extra letters wherever they'll fit. Her favorite is the letter M. When she writes it, she says "Up the mountain, down the mountain, up the mountain, down the mountain." The Y is just "Down the mountain, up the mountain, and give him a tail." This is an excellent example of her handiwork. The girl's got mad skills!

Looking Cute for Church

We went to church this Sunday and Emily looked so sweet in this dress from Nanny that I had to snap a picture with one of our scarecrows. She was excited to go to church - after all, it was crackers and juice Sunday! That's her favorite. She stays with us during the service, preferring to rummage through my purse and read the hymnal instead of braving the unknown terrors of the nursery. Who knows what kind of craziness goes on in there? I'm happy to have her sit with me, anyway. I have many lovely memories of sleeping in my Dad's lap during church when I was younger. She's learning to sing the songs and recite the prayers and that's a good thing, too. She does a mean "Blessed be the Name" because Mimi practices Bible School songs with her during the day. I'll try to get a recording of her and post it here soon.

A New Toy

Emily visited the church yard sale this weekend and came away with a prize. Aunt Liz purchased this cute sponge mop for her after Emily spent the morning carrying it around and looking longingly at it. We brought it home and she spent the rest of the day mopping the floors, the furniture, the bathtub, etc. Who knew the menial labor could make a kid this happy?

Happy Halloween!

Since moving to our subdivision, we've had the tradition of having family and friends over for dinner and trick or treating. The Farrs and Williams joined us this year but the Whites were traveling and unable to make it. Donald was also away for Halloween this year at a conference, so we took lots of pictures and messaged him all weekend. Emily wanted to be a cheerleader, but not just any cheerleader. She wanted to be "a G cheerleader like Daddy likes." She even had special "cheerleader" shoes to go with her getup. Abby was magnificent in her princess dress. Mimi and Amy have strict orders to save this costume so that we can borrow it in the future. On Halloween Eve, we met up for dinner at our house and then Papa and I took the girls out trick or treating while Mimi and Amy manned the trick or treat headquarters. The highlight of the evening was a trip to the pirate house in our neighborhood. Emily's been looking forward to this for months! Eventually, we headed back home where Mimi and Amy had given out of candy. The girls posed for a few pictures and then we turned out the lights to warn away all prospective goblins. We also put out a sign because we've learned in the past that a lack of lights doesn't automatically deter trick or treaters in our neighborhood. Hugh Hefner and his three bunnies came to our house last year but they apparently stayed at the Mansion this year. I think our two girls were definitely the best-dress trick or treaters out there tonight!

Posing before supper - this one got sent out to Daddy

A picture with the pumpkins

Posing with the pirate's booty

In the back of the car - ready for candy!

The other Boleyn girl

Sampling her goodies at the end of the evening

Time for bed!

Trip to the Farm

Donald and I recently joined Emily and her class for a trip to the farm. The day dawned very cold and extremely windy, but we loaded up and caravaned out with the rest of the students. I put a warm coat on her, but took along mittens, gloves, and a hood for her. She kept saying she was cold, so we kept adding on more outerwear. Eventually, she looked like a round cabbage and couldn't put her arms down - just like Ralphie's brother in The Christmas Story. She enjoyed the hayride and feeding the animals, especially the goats who were full of energy. The donkey was lots of fun, too, but she was a little wary of him - after all, this is the same donkey who mistook Abby's finger for a carrot on her preschool trip to the farm. Emily knew about this story and kept her fingers safely out of the donkey's mouth, allowing us to give him his feed instead. The pig didn't want to play and the turkey was really ugly. Couple this with increasing winds and Emily's good humor eventually wore out. We stopped back through Senoia for coffee and a trip to an excellent gift shop. She came away with a miniature toy pony and I got a new silver charm to commemorate our first field trip. A very fun, blustery day!

A cautious exploration of the donkey's very soft ears - but stay away from the teeth!

The teepee was surprisingly warm inside.
Emily and the Great Pumpkin.

All bundled up.She liked these inflatables.

Heading off to feed the catfish - but they wouldn't come up because of the cold.

Checking out the scenery on the hayride into the farm.

A rare family shot taken by Ms. Tonya.