Fall Fun

...Just some randoms of end of summer fun with the Linams at the museum and a trip to the Memphis Botanical Gardens.

Carter and Samuel...

The princess and the lion... miss you, Drew!

RFS Fund 5K

This past weekend was the annual 5k to support the Forrest Spence Fund, founded by our friends David and Brittany, in honor of their first son, Forrest. It was a really fun day and the girls loved being chauffered through the course (how nice!) and doing the 100 yard dash. I pulled this pic of Scout at the finish line off of the race website. I am forever indebted to the photographer that I was cut out of this picture! Nobody wants to see that... =)

The Fund is amazing, and is doing incredible things for families in the children's hospital in Memphis. Check it out at http://www.forrestspencefund.com/.

Miss Big

So... it's been a while (as usual!) but I thought I would throw a few quickies up here of Kate at her new school. She is *loving* it and we are so thankful that she loves it and that she is where she is... it seems really perfect for her and is such a happy, sweet place. Scout and I have had a hard time swallowing the fact that she is in a "real" school now, and I am totally that shameless mother who is doing a 180 in the driver's seat to see a second glimpse of her as she walks into school by herself, with her big ol' bag, carefully stepping on each pink footprint that leads to her door. (On the days that she will walk in by herself... we are going back and forth on that one.)

The real cherry on top is that her friend Luke is in her class and he is as passionate about Diego as Kate is about Dora. So, they are making quite the team and their teacher tells me that she can only refer to them both as "Dora" and "Diego." Scout and I are both jumping for joy that finally Kate isn't forcing someone to play along with the constant-running Dora episode that is playing in her head. What a treat! (If I had a nickel for every time one of Kate's friends has looked at me and said, "But I don't *want* to be Boots!")

Ready to go on the first day!

...After her first day. Looks like it was a good one!

Zoo Day

...Just some randoms of the girls at the Zoo with buds.

Dora and Diego...

A New School

Kate's first day at her new school is tomorrow. She is so excited and spent tonight organizing her school supplies with Daddy (such a Kate and Scout activity!) and decorating her new school bag. I figured that when she heard she gets to take Spanish she would be thrilled because she is constantly speaking to us in "Spanish" and wants to be fluent like Dora! =)

This convo went down today...
RR: "Kate, at your new school they are going to teach you some Spanish. Isn't that neat?"
Kate: "But Mommy, I already know how to speak Spanish."
RR: "You do? Well, how do you say 'I can speak Spanish' in Spanish?"
Kate: "C'mon Cabana........ That also means....... trash can."

So clearly, as you can see, school is really just a formality.

Her back-to-school haircut...

And yes, we are still expressing ourselves with fashion these days...

Walking, Talking, Dramatizing, Oh My!

C.C. continues to just make us laugh constantly. Her personality is so spunky, but she has such a sweet and cuddly side that makes an appearance right when it's needed to keep her out of too much trouble! She is walking in full force and toddles around the house everywhere... there is no keeping her contained at all and baby gates and closed doors are just totally offensive. When I lose her (momentarily!) I usually find her at her high chair trying to get in, and shouting "Eeeee!"

Keeping an eye on the neighborhood for us...



She is also talking like crazy now and new words are emerging every day. The far-and-away favorite word at the moment is "mama" and it's the the one that she uses for pretty much any and all requests. It is usually the first word that I hear coming from her crib in the morning and she sometimes mumbles it while cuddling up before we put her down at night. She also says "dada" lots and gets soooooo excited when he walks through the door in the evening and she starts her routine of holding up her hands like she's wondering where he is and saying "dada" with gusto over and over. She is working so hard on "Kate" and has been since before she could say either of our names. For now it just sounds like a loud gargling K sound. Getting there! Her favorite trick is picking up a phone and holding it to her ear and shouting "Hello!" (Which sounds a lot like the British " 'Allo!") But lately she's really expanded the realm of possibility with the phone and I've seen her shouting hello while holding balls, food, her own hand, and diapers up to her head.

Always chewing on something... we are teaching the "just make sure that it's not another child you chew" lesson right now.

And.... the drama is kicking in. Big time. Poor Daddy - so outnumbered! When Carter is not happy or not getting her way she now throws her head back and waaaails, then snaps it forward and throws her head down on the ground for some more wailing. Oh, the humanity of it all!!!!! I think that in the Old Testament days when folks would wail and tear their garments it probably looked a lot like this. Of course, after the whole production she peeks up to see who is watching her in agony. =) When she's *really* crying we don't get the theatrics. Just cuddling.

This is her sobbing demonstration this afternoon after being redirected from the electrical outlet. Is it cruel to take a picture? Just couldn't resist!

Dora!

My mom came to town for a few days last weekend and we had such fun. One of the MAJOR highlights was the Dora Live show that we went to see at The Orpheum. Kate loved that she got to have a special night out of Dora and dinner with just Mommy and Momsie at a neat place like the Orpheum and she loooooved getting to see Dora in person, dancing and singing! She has talked about it a lot since then, and still remembers every single little detail of the plot - it clearly made an impression. I was actually impressed - it was a good show! If you have a Dora lover as we do, I recommend it for sure!

She sat on Momsie's lap during the show and did not move a muscle... may not have blinked the whole show!


On occasion, Dora's performance was so magnificient that Kate's jaw dropped. =) I think this was the arrival of Swiper on stage.

Kate's friend Sara Catherine went too and they had fun sitting together and comparing their Dora and Diego gear...

And after the show the girls wanted to "explore" the Orpheum and snuck off to go in the hallway that was off limits. Clearly, that is the only one that is interesting! (Yes, I see who is leading the way!)

With Catherine and Sara Catherine...