Halloween Happenings

Happy Halloween!

Check out what we did...

For Halloween, I was a gardener and Arden was a daisy! These pics were taken by Amy. So great!

We got turtle caramel apples from Walmart....yum!



We left an open bag of candy on the floor, and Arden ripped it wide open. She knows what she wants!

Our neighbors have a cute fall display in their front yard, so I took advantage of it...while they were at work...haha!



Friday was the Preschool Parade. It was a bit chilly but still fun for the kids. We met up with a bunch of friends, which made it even better.





Playing with her Jack-o-Lantern Pale

Halloween night was our ward's trunk-or-treat. Arden scored some candy and got to hang out with Lucy the bumble bee. Too cute!

Adam dressed up as Lion-o from the Thundercats. He made the sword a few years back. It fell and broke at the trunk-or-treat, but he can fix it.

Finally, Adam got his mug carved into our other craft pumpkin. Perfect! We still need to get one for Arden.

Together at last!

Pumpkins of Yester-Year

Adam is so talented when it comes to making stencils for pumpkins. Below are a few he's done in the past.

In 2007, Adam carved Me into a craft pumpkin, so we still have it today. This year he's working on one of his face. He also made a stencil of Arden and me together.

2006 - Jack Sparrow - stencil by Adam. This was technically my pumpkin, but Adam did most of the carving.

2006 - Mr. T - stencil by Adam.

Here they are on display at the ward's trunk-or-treat.

The pics below were taken with cell phones, so they're not fabulous.

2004 - John Kerry - stencil made by Jason Lewis.

2004 - George W. Bush - stencil made by Jason Lewis.

2004 - Abraham Lincoln - stencil made by Jason Lewis.

2004 - My beloved cat Tippy - stencil made by me. He passed away earlier that month. I'd had him since I was 8.

Park-Hopping

Last Wednesday, I decided to take Arden to the park. I went to the one right down the street, Pleasant Hill Park. I meant to go earlier in the day, but Arden's nap didn't allow it. We didn't end up going until 1:30 p.m. By then, it was so hot. None of the playground equipment is in the shade. I gave her a few pushes in the swing, which she loved. Then, I slid down one of the big slides with her on my lap. The slides were so hot, and there were puddles at the ends of most of them. I decided to leave that park and go to another one: Glenburnie Park. I made a pit-stop at Sonic for a half-priced cranberry slush...pretty tasty! Arden enjoyed it, too. Then we made our way to Glenburnie Park. It's a really nice, but it also stinks. It's right beside a sewage treatment plant. After awhile, you get used to the smell. Anywho, it had the same playground equipment as the previous park, but everything's in the shade. I took Arden down a few of the big slides before I let her go down one of the little ones "by herself." She loved them so much, and she loved the little slide even more. She kept trying to climb back up it after she slid down. So cute! Aside from me stepping in another fire ant pile (AHHH!), we had lots of fun at the parks!

Swing at Pleasant Hill Park

She did not appreciate me "stuffing" her into the lion drinking fountain.

Reflection in the car window.

I let her climb around inside the car before I decided to head to another park.

Here she is at the top of the kiddie slide waiting oh so patiently to slide down. Actually, she wasn't patient at all...she wanted to go down so badly!

So happy!

Gettin' Crafty with It

A little over a month ago our ward had a craft Saturday. I dropped Arden off with Aunt Glenda and headed to the church for 3 hours of craftiness. I made a lighted glass block (still need to buy the lights), painted some wooden turkey feathers to stick in a pumpkin, and I made the wreath below. I kind of overcrowded the big flowers on the bottom, but I think it turned out pretty cute.

Mmm...Bananas

Arden is quite the picky eater. She'll eat two bites of something new and then reject it. Crackers are her favorite thing. Well, one day during lunch she ate half a banana! She hasn't done it since.

Arden's Birthday Bash!

We went to Greensboro last weekend to celebrate Arden's first birthday. It was the only way to get almost everyone together. On the way in, we stopped by Amy's for a photoshoot. Arden did really well. I'm excited to see all the pics! Anywho, Arden had a great birthday party, even though it was cold all weekend.

We had pizza for lunch (Arden had bread, crackers, and whole milk.) Adam's dad insisted on paying for the pizza but refused to get more than two. So, Adam ordered two more from another place...haha!

We played and opened presents after lunch.

Uncle Jonathan and the Green Balloon

After opening presents, we all had pics taken with the birthday girl.

Nana

Grandma and Grandpa Lewis

Uncle Chris

Aunt Meredith

Uncle Jason and Cousin Bryce

I think the birthday cake turned out pretty cute.

Mmm....cake!

We stopped by Grandpa Randy's on Sunday. Usually, Jasmine and Arden play well together, but not today. Jasmine wasn't in the mood to share her toys.

Playing peek-a-boo with Ballerina Bear on the way home. We also stopped at Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill in Raleigh for lunch. Arden got to enjoy her own plate of mongolian bbq...free! She loved it.

More birthday loot! She got puzzles from Meredith; Ralph Lauren shirts from Chris; a skirt and a shirt from Amy; puzzles, books, DVDs, blocks, and a ball from Nana; and a squishy globe ball from Grandma and Grandpa Lewis. My dad gave Arden a card and some cash money, so I got her a Playskool walker/rider toy. Pretty cool!

Arden had a great first birthday. Here's to many more!

A Shot and a Stroll

Last Tuesday, we took Arden in for her 12-month well checkup. I'm so glad Adam came with me, because it was the worst appointment ever! Poor little Arden had to have a finger prick. Of course, that wasn't the worst part. The nurse then had to squeeze Arden's finger to get the blood to come out...ouch! She screamed so much. I was filling out a survey while Adam comforted Arden. He's much stronger than I. The nurse put a bandage on Arden's finger, as if that was going to stay on there long. Arden sucked it off right away. Then the doctor came in and examined her. She started crying the second the doctor glanced at her. You'd think she was being tortured! After that came 3 shots, including a flu shot. She was screaming before she even got the shots and then even more afterwards. She got three bandages, two of which she pulled off later on. I felt so bad for her. After we left the office, we picked up some lunch, went to Union Point Park, and walked around downtown. It didn't take long for her to forget all about the shots.

As previously stated, she's 14lbs 4.4oz (fallen even farther off the chart..but she's gained nearly 9 lbs in a year), and 27" long (10th percentile.) Her little noggin is right on target, so at least we know her brain is growing! The doctor wants Arden up to 16 lbs by the time she's 15 months old. If she isn't, he wants to do some bloodwork to make sure her thyroid gland is working properly. I told him I went through all this as a child. The doctors kept trying to figure out what was "wrong" with me and tried everything to get me to grow. It didn't work. I'm small...end of story! So, I'm definitely not worried. She's perfectly healthy.

Doctor's Visit: Pre-Pain

Union Point Park

Mums!

These are my favorite color of mum.

I did a little experimental editing, too.

Adam saw this wall mural and wanted to get a pic of it. Pretty cool photo-op! Again, more experimental editing.




Random flowers...more editing.

I just love the beauty of downtown. The houses are amazing! They all pretty much look like this.

Tryon Palace

Nana (my mom) called on the way back home. Arden was smiling, but it's hard to take a quick pic!

Enjoying her last bit of formula.