A Visit with the Pecorinos

Last night, we went to Frank and Diana's house for dinner. They have a precious little 8 month old boy, Peyton, who Clara just loved. She was also quite smitten with their cute little dog Poncho. We had yummy fajitas and LOTS of playtime. It was fun catching up with them and watching our kids play.

Fall Cleanup

We have been trying to do a little Fall cleanup around the house. While Adam has been pulling weeds in the backyard, I have been more interested in cleaning up the house and purging stuff. Clara got into the action yesterday helping out in the garage. She had two brooms going at once and liked sitting in her wagon watching Adam and me work. She also discovered that large tape rolls can be great rolling toys.

"Kee-stel and Kay-ya"

Crystal and Kayla came over to visit today or as Clara refers to them as Keestal and Kayya. Here are a few pictures from our morning.

Clara read Kayla about 200 stories today

Kayla's New Trick - Pulling Up!

Happy Birthday Ella!!!

Ella had her 6th Birthday Party at the Bouncin' Bonanza yesterday. I still can't believe she is six! We had a great time watching all of Ella's friends run nonstop around the place. I gave up on trying to take a picture of the birthday girl because she never stopped moving, running, or bouncing! It took a little while for Clara to warm up to the place but once she did, she had a blast. Just recently, she has been into jumping and she sometimes gets both feet off the ground which is really funny to watch. I added a video above to show her new bouncing skills. Thanks for inviting us Ella! We love you bunches!

That's How I Roll...

Here is a cute pic of Clara in our new ride. Adam and I were trying to figure out some of the features of our new car (um...I mean mini van - Yeah, I am one of those Moms now) and Clara was busy in the front saying "Brrrrmmmm" and "Beep-beep"

Clara's First Day of School

Before school

Clara had her first day of school today, well, Mother's Day Out. She will be attending one day a week.

After years of being on the "other side" as a teacher, I was now officially a parent. I was now the one who dropped off her child and had to leave. As a teacher, I always tried to be understanding of the nervous parent who wanted to stand in the doorway watching but never fully understood the difficult part of leaving.

Thank goodness my friend Rebecca was there (her son goes to the same school and is actually in Clara's class) she helped me get out the door and wouldn't let me turn around or peek back in the classroom just for one last glimpse. This morning, I was walking out the door of her school, the director said something to me (I honestly don't remember what she said) and I couldn't even speak because I was fighting back the tears.

It was a lonely day for me. I twiddled my thumbs while glancing at the clock all day. I have to admit, our TIVO tuned to Barney while I was watching the news during lunch and I started to cry. What a weepy little wuss I am! I can't believe I am even sharing that!

Well, when I went to pick Clara up, she was crying in the middle of the room holding her monkey. One of her teachers talked to me for a long time. Apparently, my sweet, little, happy girl, cried off and on all day. She did play a little but mostly observed. She did eat lunch, though, and napped. Driving home, I asked Clara if she liked school and if she had fun, enthusiastically she replied "YES!" Halfway home, I discovered we forgot her blankie so we had to turn around. We went back, Clara was smiling while walking to her classroom. She said "Hi" to her teacher. She even waved and blew a kiss.

This will be a hard road but I am convinced that she will eventually love it.

If you are wondering about an after picture. It was a little difficult to get a good one. She played with her blanket on her head the rest of the afternoon.

Lunch in Waco

Clara and I met Grandma, Grandpa, Susan, Zane, Gretchen, Mark and Penelope in Waco on Tuesday for lunch. It was great seeing Gretchen and Mark and especially baby Penelope who is already 6 weeks old! I can't believe how big she is getting! She still has amazing blue eyes and black hair and is actually beginning to resemble Mark but still looks just lie Gretchen. Clara had a blast running around with Zane and seeing her Aunt "Suess" as she calls Susan. I have posted the pics from our day below. You can see at the end of the slideshow how tired she was from all the excitement. Too cute!

Visit in Hideaway

Adam, Clara and I visited Granny, Papa, and Great-Grandma on Sunday. It was a lot of fun to see Derek and Jenn, too. Derek fixed a super yummy meal - which is always a treat from Mr. Chef himself. Granny brought out her tap shoes which Clara absolutely loved. Enjoy the video and the pictures!

Halloween with our Candy Corn Fairy

Last night was Clara's second Halloween trick or treating. She really enjoyed it this year. Clara was a Candy Corn Fairy. She absolutely loved walking around in her Tu-Tu and her pretty sparkle shoes. We went to a few of our favorite neighbors and walked around the neighborhood. Clara loved seeing our neighbors and once she figured out that she got candy and she could collect it in her bag she kept going back for more eating it along the way. Clara ended the night running off some of the candy induced energy on the hill at our neighbors house. You can watch the video above to see the full poof of her costume - it was as wide as she is tall.

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: