Donuts with Dad

What a special day for Ella and her daddy! She picked out a "special outfit" to wear for her date with daddy and had me put a "special barrette" in her hair. She even came home with two new books from the book fair!

An officer, a pumpkin, and a shortcake!

  Halloween 2012- we had Officer Davidson, Strawberry Shortcake, and a pumpkin with an attitude!

 So much for photos! Our lil' pumpkin would not stand still for a second! 

 Cade had insisted on being a "police boy" for weeks and weeks, and let me tell you, this was a tough costume to find! It was sold out online and everywhere we looked. We finally lucked out at the last minute. He was so stinkin' proud of himself, chipmunk-cheeks and all! He wore his costume all day and kept barking orders into his little walkie-talkie. At one point during the day, he was mad at me and said, "Excuse me! I need someone to come take Mommy to jail!" I told him if I went to jail, he would not get to go trick or treating, so he barked into his little radio, "Cancel that! Do NOT take Mommy to jail!" haha! Silly police boy!

 Ella is crazy about Strawberry Shortcake and all her friends, so I was not surprised when she picked this costume. We had the spray and intended to spray her hair pink, but when it started raining and we thought about what a mess that might be running all down her dress, she decided she would rather preserve her costume instead. Good choice!!

 Just cute!

 Harper had the perfect trick or treat set-up-

  Trick or treat! After almost every house they went to, Cade informed me, "Mommy, I even used my manners!!" We were cracking up, too, because lots of people we met on the sidewalk kept referring to Cade as "Officer". They would ask him to please not arrest them and he would just giggle. He was having so much fun. 

 I held an umbrella over Harper's head and as long as I kept putting suckers in her little hands, she was a happy girl!

 Hot on the trail...

 They lasted about an hour in the cold and rain before declaring they wanted to come home and pass out candy. Love those little rosy cheeks!

 Dad tried to swindle some candy out of Officer Davidson...

 And Harper couldn't stay out of the candy bowl.

 Concentrating... =)

 We caught her again after dinner. I guess five suckers and a pound of M&M's were not enough for this pumpkin!! haha!

Pumpkins and cookies

 We told the kids that cleaning out the pumpkin guts was all up to them this year. They weren't quite sure what to think but they were up for it! Cade checking out the work ahead...

 Getting started...

 I have about a hundred of his little "grossed out" face. He was trying to be nonchalant about it, but at one point, he almost started gagging! haha! We were cracking up!

 Ella was not much better, but she was MUCH more vocal- "This is disgusting!" and "This is the grossest thing I have ever touched!" haha!

 Finally the pumpkins were clean and we could get on to the fun stuff- drawing faces for Daddy to cut out.

 Before photo

 After photo. She was so proud!

 Then Cade got to draw his face on (under Ella's supervision, of course!)-

 And Cade's after photo. Daddy had to improvise a bit!

 Lighting them up. So fun!

 Ella and I made pumpkin cookies after school one day this week. She has a thing for sprinkles!

 Taste-testing. The verdict- YUM!!

"Jesus is cool"

I found this on the counter the other day and it made me smile. I love this girl's heart. ♥

Mumps

Mumps... in America... in 2012... looks like this.

Poor Cade. His cheek and jaw swelled right up during breakfast yesterday. The doc said, "Yep, it's mumps." WHAT??!! He's vaccinated, but I guess an atypical strain still goes around and the doc said he sees a case every couple of years. How Cade managed to catch it I have no idea, but we're thrilled he gets to be the statistic (note my sarcasm here...). This morning both sides are swollen. I hate it and feel so bad for him! Eating in general causes quite a bit of pain, but especially eating sweet/ sour things. What that means (and all that matters to him) is that Halloween candy is out of the picture this week. That's pretty hard for a three year old to understand! He's a bit bummed, but I'm not taking any chances on him hurting more than he already is. He was supposedly most contagious in the few days before he swelled (ummm, that's good to know NOW!!), so hoping and praying Ella and Harper don't come down with it, too! Please say a little prayer for him that he'll get better quickly!

Pumpkin patch 2012

 Saturday was our annual trip to Niederman Family Farm. This is a trip we and the kiddos look forward to all year. We just love that place! Family photo as we walked in-

 Mamaw, Papaw, and the kiddos

 Another on the pumpkin bench

 We posed behind as many of these as we could. I love how Cade is watching his daddy here.

 It was so blasting windy and chilly that day, so we decided to do the pumpkin patch first before the kids tuckered out in the cold. Harper is an independent woman and did NOT want to be held on that wagon ride!

 Searching for just the right one

 Come on, Buddy- you can do it! haha! I love watching this little guy try to be big and tough!

 Say pumpkins, kiddos! Harper was still on the run!

 Just sweet

 Checking out the farm animals

 Cade and Papaw feeding the goats

 This one wanted to give Cade a kiss and he jumped a mile!

 Love this little gal's giggle!

 We played on the playground.

 And Ella and Cade loved the big dirt hill.

 Papaw and Mamaw bought us some cider and homemade donuts- boy, were we in heaven!

 Cade and Papaw checking out the tractor.

 Love this! God is so good!

 Our last stop for the day- the tube swing. All seven of us were on it at one point. So fun!

Love making such fun memories with my family!!