Happy Halloween!!!

Gabrielle as Cinderella at Mother's Day Out.

Dressed up and ready for Halloween...notice that she picked out a Tinkerbell candy-bucket. Her wand mostly just got stuck in daddy's pocket most of the evening. So much for accessories! :)

The back of her hair with her headband that I made.

Walking to the Fall Festival at our church.

I think it was a little overwhelming for Gabrielle when we first got there...lots of booths with games, several bounce-houses, and candy everywhere. Here's her friend, Emmalyn, as Tinkerbell.

Gabrielle with her friend, Sarah, who was a unicorn.

Enjoying herself in one of the bounce-houses and the slide that was connected to it. I think she could have spent the rest of the evening there if we would have let her!

Taking time to try a hot dog. This was the first time that we have given her the hot dog in the bun instead of cut-up on her plate... as you can see in this picture, she's mostly just eating the bun from the side instead of biting from the end...guess we have some hot-dog learning to do! :)

Trying out some mini golf.

And a few more shots...she did a pretty good job, minus the fact that she stood on the greens each time instead of on the pavement. Oh well.

Showing daddy her ball after she got it out of the hole.

Showing off our blue-green tongues after eating some delicious cotton candy--yummy!

Gabrielle, Emmalyn (Tinkerbell) and Raylen (Dorothy).

More bouncing fun...

Of course we had to try out the third bounce-house too!

Mommy helping Gabrielle frost her cookie with pink frosting.

She chose star sprinkles and yellow crystals to decorate it.

The final part...tasting her masterpiece.

A shot of the church parking lot during the Fall Festival. And a little glimpse of my little baby bump...yea!

Saying goodbye to her friends for the evening...

See you at church tomorrow!!!

Some of the yummy treats we took home.

Unfortunately, we ended up with more candy than this at home because we only got a few trick-or-treaters at our house this year.

Chocolate Lovers' Pecan Pie

Yes, it's delicious!!!

Check out the chocolate on Gabrielle's face! :)

1 pie crust

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 T. milk

1 c. brown sugar

¾ c. light corn syrup

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cornstarch

2 T. butter

1 ¼ c. pecan pieces

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bring pie crust to room temperature and place crust in pie pan.
2. Combine chocolate chips and milk in a medium glass bowl and microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. Scrape out mixture, spread on the crust, and set aside.
3. In the same bowl combine brown sugar and corn syrup and microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Combine eggs, yolks, vanilla, and cornstarch in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add melted butter and sugar mixture, beating for another 30 seconds. Stir in pecans and pour into pie.
5. Bake on a lower oven rack for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before serving. Enjoy!!!

More towers and such

So, Mondays are usually my laundry and cleaning days, but this week we took time to play with the blocks, read some books, eat some pretend cake from her kitchen, and so much more. I realized that it broke up my "monotonous" chores, so I'll have to do that more often.

This was the tower of blocks that Gabrielle built by herself (minus the base that I helped her start). But, seriously, how can I get my daughter to smile for the camera without squinting her eyes closed?

Proud of her creation.

One evening this week we headed to a local burger restaurant that was Nick's choice. While we were waiting for our food, they found the games, and even did some "pretend" shooting...nice, huh? :)

Beaumont Pumpkin Patch

Last Friday we headed to a Pumpkin Patch in Beaumont (just at a church, not like the farm we were at in Kansas) with some of my MOPS friends and their kids.

Emmalyn and Gabrielle heading towards the pumpkins.

Stopping to realize that they were wearing matching shirts!

Just getting super excited for the day!

The lady who read us a book about a square pumpkin.

After that, we headed through the patch and find the "square" pumpkins (that were made out of wood). Gabrielle found one, and was super disappointed that we couldn't buy it to take home.

Taking a picture with the pumpkins.

Checking out the pumpkins.

Finding a little pumpkin to take home.

Emmalyn and Gabrielle posing for a picture with Snoopy.

Gabrielle and I taking a picture. You can tell how windy it was that morning because my hair was all in her face...oops!

Their experience wouldn't have been complete without a bounce!

CHEEEESE!!!

Putting all our pumpkins and gourds (from Kansas and Texas) outside the front of our house for decoration.

More cheeeese!

Sedgwick County Zoo

So, Friday morning of our trip "north" we headed to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita. Nick and I had been there a couple of times together, but didn't think that we had been there since about a year before Gabrielle was born. They have done so many new things there, and even though it was a little chilly, the sun was out, and it was a pretty nice day!

This beautiful swan was the first animal we saw.

We headed to the "farm" portion of the zoo first.

Gabrielle acted like she wanted to pet these goats, and then would get scared every time we got within a few inches of them. May be next time.

The newest exhibit...penguins.

Gabrielle not wanting to take a picture...nice.

Some really HUGE tortoises!

Just bein' crazy and trying to get Gabrielle to smile for a picture.

In the reptile building...Nick's favorite (definitely NOT mine).

Walking through the Jungle exhibit...Gabrielle wanted to push the stroller instead of ride.

Beautiful!!!

Nick set the timer on a little post so we could get a picture.

I think it turned out great!!!

Gabrielle and I on the other side of the waterfall. And, I know this is a surprise, but Gabrielle didn't want to smile (again).

Crocodiles...just glad he was in a glass case!

The crocodile was one of her favorites.

SNAP!!!

More SNAP and a smile for the camera--yea!

More beautiful animals!!!

Getting out of the stroller and playing for a few minutes.

Taking a ride on daddy's shoulders AND stealing his sunglasses...you can tell that we were still cold, but the sun was very bright too!

Trying to entertain Gabrielle by acting like a monkey...

My cutie...the one in the stroller.

Gabrielle got ALL excited when she saw the "park". But by the time we got closer, we realized that it was closed. Guess there were too many monkeys playing earlier. I was just glad that I was able to momentarily distract her with a box of raisins from my purse!

In Africa...I know this is gross--another picture that Nick took.

Acting like the King!

This lion got up and started walking towards the little stream. It was fun to watch the ducks and fish move away from the shore...I'm sure they didn't want to be lunch!

Beautiful zebras.

Gabrielle lovin' the zebras.

Hippos just hangin'.

The elephants having some lunch.

The rhinoceros seemed either tired or depressed...

The giraffes...I think this was Gabrielle's favorite since she mentions it first every time someone asks what animals she saw that day.

Giraffes are my favorite too!

Just a little candid shot of us...

One of the last animals that we saw that day in "Australia".

Gabrielle getting out and playing again towards the end.