Painting Pumpkins

Paige and Mommy had a pumpkin painting party...check out our cute little pumpkins. I love the bumpy ones and paige likes the "normal" ones, it's great to watch her explore and paint. I love that she's creative! She would have put 50 wiggly eyes on if she could, but she kept wiping the glue off so they eyes wouldn't stick. She was very protective of the glue and told me several times "don't break it mommy", she didn't allow me to hold it...she was in charge. She has such a strong little personality.

 She asked me to add the smile to her little one, then it would be like mommy

Baby

Paige is going through a "baby" phase again. She's been playing with babies, wrapping them up in blankets, putting them to bed and taking them for walks in their stroller around the neighborhood. The only downfall is that she has started to talk like a baby every now and then. I keep telling her that I can't understand her when she talks like a baby, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I guess it's all part of growing up, I'm pretty sure every kid goes through it. Here's a video of her taking care of her baby.

Pumpkin Patch

The daddies are gone so the girls decided to load up and head to the pumpkin patch. There was a hayride, but Paige didn't want to go on it...maybe if Ryan goes with us she'll change her mind. Lots of pumpkins, animals and even a wagon to pull. It was a great way to spend the morning, a beautiful morning I might add. I LOVE fall!

Playhouse

The is the playhouse of ALL playhouses...Uncle Mike built it and Paige and the kids had fun going down the slide and playing "school"! Paige and Abby had the chance to play together, they are both getting so big.

Clean Up...Clean Up...

26 months old!

Look how old she's getting!

She added her baby to the picture...she said "I HAVE to have baby my too"

Dream...

"What you dream bout' last night" is usually the first thing that I hear when I get Paige out of her bed in the morning. I try to come up with something quick, but I usually end up saying "tigers" or "polar bears". When I ask her the same question she usually has the same response every morning "kitty cats, puppy dogs, horses and all of them". Today she ended with "owls too mommy", she's so funny. It's great to have actual conversations with her these days. It it's very sweet that she's genuinely interested in my response.
We dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at the airport this morning and she was thrilled when I parked on Post Rd so we could watch all the huge planes take off and land. She insisted we call daddy to tell him, I handed her the phone and she yelled "big planes in the sky daddy" about 10 times. Ryan was laughing so hard, listening to the excitement in her voice was precious. To think that she was SOOO excited about seeing the airplanes up close made me realize how important stuff like that is for her. It's great to slow down and just let her soak it all in. She asked me tons of questions about airplanes (many of the same questions over and over). As one point she said "I go with grandma and grandpa", and I told her that I wanted to go with them too! I love Boston/Maine, and I really hope that in the years to come Ryan and I can go there again...I remember it as being so relaxing and carefree.
Can't wait to hear about what her dreams were about, maybe she'll add airplanes to her morning phrase!

Building Pride...

I've started a new little twist to our bedtime routine. I've been picking one "good deed" that Paige has done during the day and telling her how proud I am of her for it. It can be as little as being gentle with the neighbor dog or as big as helping me get chores done around the house. It's amazing how proud she is of herself. I'm hoping this will promote more "happy moments" during the day and less fake crying over silly things. I guess only time will tell, and me giving her a compliment every night can only lift her confidence...who doesn't want a compliment about something nice they've done. I especially love that after I tell her she always says "mommy, you happy?"

She's my precious girl...especially for always letting me take her picture! 

Another day at the zoo!

Paige and I met Mandy and James at the zoo this morning. It was a chilly start to the day, but we all bundled up and had a great time! The kids were so good and had fun jumping all over the place. They are only 6 weeks apart in age and it's funny to hear them talk and do so many of the same things. They crack me up! Paige was trying to hold James' hand and finally convinced him to let her at the end of our "date".

Because I never want to forget....

~Paige's little personality is ever evolving and she's becoming a pretty funny little girl. Here are a few of the cute things she's said lately.

~"Mom, I like the sun...it's so yellow"

~"Mom, I like garbage trucks...they are yucky and dirty"

~Our little family of 3 was sitting in the back yard on saturday and Ryan asked Paige "what should we do this afternoon". Paige's response was "lets go to garage sales!" She then giggled and said "I make you laugh".

~We were at Target the other day Paige was holding my list and being such a good listener. When we got to the checkout she yelled "mom, don't forget your coupons" at the top of her lungs...she knows her mom is thrifty!

~Paige and I were having breakfast the other morning and out of the blue she said "Mom, where's great granny?" I told her she was probably at home eating her breakfast and Paige told me that great granny was still sleeping. Then in the next breath she said "what color is great granny's pillow?"

Likes: 
Coloring (and holding the crayon like a pencil)
Animals
Painting
Running
Playing on your scooter
Going down your slide (minus the slivers)
Music
Puzzles
Fruit Snacks

Dislikes:
Loud noises
Veggies
Lawn Mowers
Sprinklers

I must admit that I used to dread the early morning wake ups at our house. Now, I've come to enjoy our snuggles in the morning. She loves to snuggle on me while drinking milk and watching "her show". I sometimes tear up thinking about how fast she's growing and that it's only a matter of time before she wants to lay by herself. Until then I'll take all the snuggles and sweetness I can get!

First Day of "School"

Paige her her first day of ECFE classes today. This is our second year participating and I'm excited to be involved again, it feels good to have it back in our schedule. It's great for Paige to play in an organized setting with other kids, and I like listening to the parent ed speaker and meeting other moms. Eliot and Kenley are in her class again this year, that always helps with separation for her.

Another Project...

I'm a person who needs a project...it's in my blood. I love to repurpose things and this is one of my latest ideas. We needed a new chair for the desk in Ryan's office, I saw this at a garage sale:

And after a coat of paint and roughing up the edges with my sander, I turned it into this:

Not a bad deal in my book...

Scooter

Seriously, how did she get so big? She loves this scooter and feels like such a big girl when she rides it around the garage. Thanks to her buddy Abby for passing down her helmet to Paige, it fits her perfect and she doesn't ever fuss about wearing it! I love watching her learn a new skill, and believe me riding a scooter takes skill!
We've been savoring the nice cool weather, it's so refreshing to be outside in the cool air.

Nana and Grandpa's New House

We took a trip to see Nana and Grandpa's new house this week, it's going up so fast! The kids had fun running around and I'm happy to report that nobody got hurt (which is pretty much a miracle.) So happy to have Nana and Grandpa close by!

Beach

Daddy got home early today, so the 3 of us went for end of summer trip to the beach. It was 93 degrees today, hot and windy! We figured that a trip to the beach was in order, it's not often that you have a 93 degree day in September! There were only a handful of people at the beach and although the air temp was HOT the water was very COLD! It took us a while to get used to it, or should I say until our feet became numb! Paige had fun, she didn't want to go in past her belly...I don't blame her, neither did I! It was a great way to spend a september afternoon as a family. I'm sad to see summer go, but looking forward to new adventures in the fall...bye-bye beach hello fall colors!

Our Adventure

Paige loves when I ask her if she wants to go on an adventure. This morning when I asked she said "what is it", I told her that it was a surprise. It really wasn't that big of deal, it was just a trip to Como zoo...yet she thought it was great!
We pulled in and she yelled "it's the zoo", she was so excited. The best part was there was hardly anyone there. We had the polar bear exhibit to ourselves and they were very active today. Paige was scared at first...but then really got into it. It was great, there were no crowds to fight and Paige was able to run and run. I love this kid!

Paige's New Hat

Ok, this has to be the cutest hat ever created! It was a chilly day, and Paige insisted that we bring it to the Lupus walk and there over to grandma and grandpa's. I agreed because I wanted to get a picture of her cute face!
We ran around the yard at grandma's, she let me take picture and I chased her like crazy. She wanted to take the pumpkins with her, but we told her they had to keep growing.
Then we ran out to the apple tree and she trip and fell in a pile of deer poop, seriously! Luckily it was only on her hands and not all over her shirt. Grandma suggested she soak her hands in warm soapy water and she happily agreed. A day in the life of Paige...deer poop and all!