Chiropractic Care

I've posted about the kids and how chiropractic care works and it still rings true today. Last Friday we went for our monthly visit and it was a special visit for Arabella. Usually Adam or I hold her while she gets an adjustment but she was determined to get up on the table. Dr. Tim was more than happy to oblige. "She's big enough now" he said.



Arabella playing with the table



She got prepared to get on the table. Dr. Tim had to tell her she'd have to wait her turn, but she could still get on the table during her turn.

 



"You okay Dada?"



Finally, it was Arabella's turn. She did really well on the table. Toward the end Mommy had to help her turn her face completely down, but she was a trooper.

"I did good Mama?"

I can't say enough about the wonderful care we receive at McMullen Chiropractic. The staff is amazing and Dr. Tim is the best. I'm also very proud that my babies behave so well while getting adjusted. It makes this Mama's heart melt.

Ella-Bella

This past week or so I've really been grilling Arabella hard and trying to get her to say her name. She has Bella down like no other, but getting her to say her full name is sometimes down right hilarious. I asked her to tell me her name at the dinner table. Of course I got Bella. I said "Yes, but can you say Arabella?" Of course she had a stumped look on her face.  I then asked her to repeat me: "Ara" "Bella" her response "Ella" "Bella." So I did it again and she quickly said Ella-Bella. I had to laugh. Since then she still says Bella. Oh well, everything in its own good time.

After dinner she hopped in the bath tub and as part of one of her rituals she looks at her self in the overflow cover and chimes "baby, baby, baby." I look at her and said, "Now that's not your name is it? What is that baby's name?" Perfectly clear she says "BELLA!" and of course it rings through out the bathroom and I have to ask her to keep her voice down because Daddy is sleeping. Another ritual we have is to stop and look in the mirror before we leave the bathroom. I ask her who that cute baby is and she quietly says "Bella." I really think she's getting the hang of it. Next thing you know she'll be speaking about herself in third person. But one bridge at a time I suppose.

I love my little smartie pants!

Shutter Love - Halloween Costumes

This is my first entry into another photography blog hop on Trendy Treehouse. This weeks theme is Halloween Costumes.

Here are my pride and joy:

Arabella the Pumpkin and Evan the Ducky

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody

My lil pumpkin wasn't cooperating

Such a cute duckie

Grandmama and the kiddos

Pumpkin Carving 101

How do you get a near two-year-old to stop stealing her brothers binky? Ask her if she wants to carve a pumpkin.

First we printed out the template we wanted to carve, then we gathered our pumpkin carving supplies.

Next Mommy cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin so we could pull its guts out.

The we have to inspect the inside of the pumpkin to see what it's all about.

Then we start scraping the guts out.

Pile of guts and seeds. Now, please take note that you should NOT leave these lying on the table or within reach of a toddler. Otherwise that toddler might consider these as a food source. Then that toddler will make the most awful faces, gag and proceed to spit out what is left of the pumpkin seed. Totally hilarious by the way.

Next you apply your template to the pumpkin. This is one that Arabella & I designed together. She loves saying moon and stars so of course it was a no brainer.

Then we take what seems like for forever and poke our pattern into the pumpkin.

After a long time of tedious carving we have a finished product. (Thank you Laura for the foil tip, never heard of that one.) After this you can line your pumpkin with foil to keep it from being burnt by the candle. I opt to use flickering tea lights, but still lined it so that it gets a better reflection and shows off the design better.

And there you have it...Arabella's first carved pumpkin. I plan on taking some pictures tomorrow evening of the pumpkin outdoors, so stay tuned to Thursday's You Capture post for those.

Have a safe & happy Halloween everyone.

Halloween Weenie Roast

Last night we went to a weenie roast for my best friend. Her and her family drove in from South Carolina and it was the perfect night for a party. I haven't seen her in over a year so I was so happy that she was able to come to Missouri. Since it was so close to Halloween they decided to have a hayride for the kiddos and let them dress up in their costumes. So Arabella wore one of last years costumes, her pumpkin. She wasn't too sure at first and she was way more interested in what the boys were doing.

My lil pumpkin

 Evan went as a duckie. It was a tad chilly after dark but he had plenty of coverings on to keep warm. He even managed to squeeze a late evening nap in in front of the bonfire.



Having you ever seen a teething duck?

Courtney's boys are hilarious! Roston was dressed as Woody and Ryland was dressed as Buzz Lightyear. Ros is such a clown, a lot like his mama. I have several pictures of him posing, but this one just makes me laugh. Ry was having a fun time riding around on his John Deere trike. Which of course Arabella kept trying to hijack every time he hopped off of it. 

Roston



Ryland

 Roston is a sweetie pie, just like his mama. Arabella decided she didn't want her pumpkin hat on but rather Roston's hat. He was generous and let her wear it for a while.

 Aunt Courtney took the kiddos for a quick ride on the gator. She had to run down to the truck where the guys were target practicing in the field. After they got back Arabella was determined to ride the gator some more. She was a little obsessed with it.



Aunt Courtney and Arabella



Mmmmm...bonfire

It was a good night, roasting weenies, roasting marshmallows, S'mores, hayride and great friends. I'm sad that they'll be going back home soon, but I'm more happy we were able to see one another again.

Shutterfly Holiday Cards ~ Why Didn't I think of that?

Alright ladies, it's that time of year again. Time to start thinking about busting out those address lists and pick out your Christmas and holiday cards for the end of the year. As far back as I can remember my Mom has been addressing and filling out Christmas cards during deer season while me and my dad were out hunting. I just kept thinking, why does she choose the cards she does? Why does she choose to use the same old non-personalized run of the mill cards? Why doesn't she use an easier method? Then Adam and I started our own family and I began to do the same thing she did, run to the store and buy some boxes of cards and sit down and fill them out. I however have the advantage of a computer so I of course made address labels to speed up the addressing process. But there had to be another option. Something that allows you to send your loved ones a card, but gives you the ability to "make it your own." It also gets rather pricey trying to send family members pictures each year, and I try to enclose current photographs for each card. Yes, 4x6 prints times however many people are in the family and that adds up to a lot of money that we're really short on at this time of the year. Solution: Shutterfly.

Shutterfly is an amazing website that allows you to do a million things with your photographs. From custom photo books to gifts to greeting cards. Why didn't I think of this before? I sat down and starting pouring through the hundreds of choices for holiday cards and Christmas cards. I literally have spent hours deciding upon a Christmas card for this year. There are so many options to choose from. You can pick a card with one or more photographs on the cover and you can place your own greetings on the inside.

So are you excited to see what card I've chosen for this year? I've decided that With Love Chartreuse Christmas will be this years card.

Isn't this design just amazing? I love the layout of the photographs and it will be just perfect. The colors are amazing and it just fits our family. Of course I'll wait until closer to Thanksgiving to order them so I have some current photographs of the kids. It seems no matter how many photographs you take they change way too quickly. I am so excited to finally not have to worry about handwriting in each card, although I still may add a few personal touches as I address the envelopes.

The inside of the card is spacious as well. The top of the card gives you the option to add a sixth photograph and place a caption underneath. The bottom of the card has room for you to put in a message for everyone or you can leave it blank and hand write your greetings to each person. I cannot get over the fact that I didn't think to do this sooner.

The best part is that they have cards for all holidays, baby showers, birthday invitations, weddings, thinking of you; you name it, they have it. They have something to suit all of your photographic needs. Perhaps you'd like a personalized calendar or how about a life-sized cutout of your child? Yes, they do that too. I'm telling you the possibilities are endless!

See, now that I've written this post I'm seeing more cards I'd like to try such as a story card. How neat would that be? The Joyous Holiday Story would be my choice. Choices, choices, choices.

So what would you choose?

You Capture ~ Autumn

This weeks challenge: Autumn, of course. Be creative, got that? (or spring, depending on where you are!) Don’t forget to be creative! and also – be creative!


Umm yeah, I'm crafty, not so much creative, so you'll have to live with what I was able to shoot during this crappy week of wet weather.


Under a harvest moon, after a little rain of course.




I took a drive down a back road and found a hidden driveway.




Unfortunately this year in Missouri the leaves went from green to blah. We didn't get a lot of the pretty fall colors you'd normally see.




This pumpking stem ended up looking more like some creepy buggy creature.



My favorite capture.



If the trees don't have brown leaves they look more like this.




One of my favorite autmn festivites...hay ride.




It doesn't take long for it to get dark in Missouri during atumn.

For more Autmn pictures, visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry.