Clara's First Parade

Yesterday, we attended the Richardson High School Homecoming Parade. It was Clara's first parade and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Once she figured out that they were tossing candy off the floats she really got into it. At one point she had two lollipops in her mouth. It was a fun way to begin our Halloween evening.

Cheering for the Parade

Clara and Thatch

We had the Bartletts over for dinner tonight. We had a great time and Clara and Thatcher had a blast and were super funny and cute (as always). Once again, I cannot explain their connection but they are so fun to watch.

Kisses

Clara was pretty determined to get a kiss from Thatcher before he left to go home. This is pretty funny.

A Pumpkin We Will Go...

Every year, Adam rolls his eyes at my slight obsession with pumpkins and pumpkin patches. I would drag him to a different pumpkin patch every year since we have begun dating over ten years ago and he has bit his tongue many times in watching me load up on different sizes and shapes and colors. I love this time of year - maybe it is because my birthday is right in the middle of the pumpkin season. I think I am passing on this love to Clara.

I believe today we hit our fourth pumpkin patch in three weeks. Don't worry, I haven't loaded up at each one. I just love the way they look, sitting in the field shouting "Pick ME!, Pick ME!" Each one has personality with their shapes, stems, colors, even the bruised spot on the back I can find charming. Today, we met my friends Lee and Jodi and their boys, Caden and J.D. at Owens Country Farm here in Richardson. Clara was so cute to watch. She wondered around stepping over them and inspecting them - she was so indecisive.

We finally narrowed it down to two:

State Fair of Texas

My sister, my mom and I took Clara, Ella, and Zane to the State Fair of Texas yesterday. We did a lot more than you will see on our blog. For some reason (besides the Barney photos below) I elected to only take pictures of the kids eating. Notice there is no evidence of Susan, Mom or me eating (Thank Goodness!) I am proud to say that everything Clara ate yesterday she had never tried before (because who in their right mind would EVER make Chicken Fried Bacon at home?) You name we tried it and we felt like we ate lard about an hour later. Needless to say, our dinner last night was a super yummy, all natural, healthy salad.
Cotton Candy Goatee

Cotton Candy
The Infamous Chicken Fried Bacon i.e. instant artery clogger
Twister Tators
Nachos
Bag O' Sugar
Twister Tators in One Hand and Chicken Fried Bacon in the Other
Mmmm......

Starstruck

Susan and I have been planning on taking our kids to the State Fair on this day for weeks but only Saturday did I discover that Barney was going to be there as well. I can not even begin to describe how much Clara loves Barney. I did my best to not encourage him too much for the obvious - he is a big, purple dinosaur. Need I go on? Over the course of a few months, I have encouraged Elmo, Zoboomafoo, Dive Olly Dive; anything BUT Barney. Well, I couldn't look past Clara's eyes lighting up every time she saw the big purple dude. The dear, little girl even says "Barney" each time the television turns on. So, Adam and I have swallowed our pride and accepted that this is a phase and it, too, shall pass. After all, he does grow on you.

We waited at the place where he was supposed to be for a good hour and used our time psyching her up for the infamous sighting. There were Barney posters, Barney balloons, Barney toys, Barney coloring books and of course, Barney was playing on TV. When he finally arrived, I swear her eyes got HUGE and they lit up like I have never seen them before. I even heard a tiny, little whisper "Bar-nee." I even got excited. When it was our turn, I asked Clara if she wanted to walk and she said "yes." So, I put her down and she walked right up to him with the biggest smile and just stared. She shook his hand, hugged him, kissed him. She sang all the way home a made up song that included the word Barney. She was starstruck.

Now, if only Johnny Depp would come to town...

My, What a Big Hat You Have

Clara rediscovered her pool crab from this summer in our garage this afternoon. She brought it inside and played with it for a while in different ways and in different rooms. Around dinnertime, she concluded that the best way to use the pool float, inside the house anyway, is to balance it on her head. I am now kicking myself for not videoing this. She could not figure out how to walk through doorways while wearing the new "At" as she calls it. Clara got stuck a couple times in the doorway to her room. Too funny.

Little Miss Smartie Pants

We took this video last month and I finally got around to downloading our videos from the camera. I had to share this one.

Ah-lor

"Ah-lor, Ah-lor!" - This is what Clara says when she wants to color. She loves coloring and pointing at what she is doing and saying "Pity"(Pretty). Thought I would share a few pictures from yesterday's coloring session.

Dessert or Facial - You Decide

While babysitting for us this weekend, my Mom was very sweet in making me a birthday dessert with brownies, whipping cream, caramel and butterscotch - you know, one of those low-fat, low-cal things ;) Tonight, after dinner, Clara really enjoyed her dessert. But, I wasn't expecting her to enjoy it so much. Maybe she was trying to give herself one of those fancy chocolate facials....

Lunch with Friends

I had lunch with Crystal, Kayla, Rebecca, Thatcher, and Megan today. We met at the Galleria Playplace and then went to eat at Mi Cocina - Yummy! There were some cute pictures of the kids and I had to share them. Once again, little Kayla was the only one who would bother sitting and smiling for the camera. Clara and Thatch were blurs in the pictures above - think of it as a Where's Waldo search.