Thursday, November 10, 2011

Happy Hawoween!

Our little Butterfly Princess had a wonderful Halloween this year!  She loved dressing up and going to houses (every house she called a "hawoween house" whether it had decorations or not.)  She had no problem marching up the front steps to each door and knocking.  But once someone came to the door, she got very shy and had to be coached to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you."  She eventually got bolder and was saying it more and more on her own.  And sometimes she would practically shout, "Happy Hawoween" at people, sometimes multiple times.  She was always on the hunt for a "hawoween dog" at any house and she did get to see a few dogs in costumes.  It didn't matter whether they dressed up for her or not, she is always happy to see a dog.  She got a lot of comments from people who answered the door and other trick or treaters on how cute she looked.  Her outfit was a combination of cheapy store finds.  The dress was from the beach -- just a generic princess dress from Tuesday Morning.  The wings (or butterfly) were a yard ornament that I found at Ross in the clearance section. A little strap adjustment on the dress and some straps sewn onto the butterfly and we had the costume that Callie had requested.  She and I painted some wooden beads metallic purple and I made some antenna out of pipe cleaners and a head band.  Fortunately, it was an outfit that could be worn over all types of clothing so it worked for the cooler evening.  The weather was cool but not rainy and even though she had the beginnings of a cold, she wasn't too sick this year to trick or treat.  She did end up getting sicker the next day and was sick the rest of the week but it was a mild and short-lived cold.  Eventually, our little butterfly princess pooped out on us and Matt had to carry her home.  Callie considered the evening a success because she got a lot of suckers, which are her favorite kind of candy right now.  And I have learned to always put her hair in a pony-tail when she is eating a sucker!

This first picture and video are from our time in Richmond a few weeks before.  Mimi surprised Callie with the witch towel after bath time.  I couldn't get enough of her trying to say "witch"!  Her little mouth is just the cutest thing!





These next photos were taken during a little photoshoot at a local children's boutique here.  









 In addition to trick or treating in the neighborhood, Callie also got to go to Matt's office again this year. She always loves going to Daddy's office and Daddy enjoys showing off his girl.  Daddy has some interesting co-workers.

I went as a housewife who actually put on make-up that day.

Such a big girl, ready to go out in the neighborhood!

Bob and Diane's house across the street was the first stop.  Callie loves going over there because they have two huge Dobermans.

Those wings were quite a load for her to carry and they made it difficult to maneuver in narrow spaces.  Not to mention the antenna were floppy and the headband was spikey.  But certain sacrifices of comfort are always made for a good costume!






Time to fly home!

Almost as cute from the back!

 What a fun night!












Zippity Do Da!!!

Well, as usual for Fall and football season, we have been zipping in and out of town a lot.  Besides just going to games, we have been able to spend time in Richmond with Mimi and Yoo-Hoo and Nana and Papa.  My dad had a conference and Richmond that coincided with Dreama's birthday and a baby shower for my cousin, Katie.  So one extended weekend was spent celebrating and attending all those various events.  That was also the grand opening of what I am now tagging as "Zippity Yoo-Hoo Adventure Land".  Yoo-Hoo unveiled his latest invention -- a zip line across the backyard for Callie!  Callie loves it and woke up one morning while we were there and the first thing out of her mouth was "Car go fast."  I couldn't figure out what she was referring to, thinking she wanted to go somewhere, but finally realized she was asking to go out on her zipline because the swing attached to it looks like a car.  Again, like the slide that Papa built for the grandkids at the lake, this zip line is not adult friendly and even though I thoroughly enjoy watching Callie ride on it, I have to admit that I am a tad jealous!

Other weekend travels included a trip to Bburg for a game that Michelle was able to drive in for.  Callie enjoyed that weekend especially because Aunt Missy brought her dog, Wrigley, with her.  Callie and Wrigley loved chasing each other around Ma-maws house.  It was the weekend of dogs because Callie also got to see new born puppies that her favorite "mountain" dog, Princess Penny (our name for her) had just given birth to the week before.  And speaking of giving birth, Callie and I also drove to Roanoke that weekend for a baby shower for my cousin Ashley who is due to pop later this month.  It was great to be around some Worley's again.

Ready?

Set?

 Here she goes!










Yoo-Hoo gets his exercise because he has to run after her and hold the rope so that she slows down before hitting the fence on the other side.

 Then, he pulls her back across the yard and they start all over again!  Usually, Yoo-Hoo is dripping with sweat by the time Callie finally gives him permission to stop.

Going backwards slowly is not nearly as fun, apparently!

Still pictures just don't do it justice so here is a video as well:






Puppies!!!  If anyone reading this wants a good mutt (Shepherd-Dauchtsung Mix) these little guys will need good homes very soon.  And their momma is precious too!

 Cousin Ashley and baby Everly (in belly)

 A bunch of Worley-Girls!


 And...a more natural pose.

While at the shower, Callie got some Nana time but a whole lotta Papa time because he kept her occupied in the church playground for hours!


Sunday, November 6, 2011

Today, a T-Rex, Tomorrow a Princess, but Always a Fun-Loving Little Angel!

Here is a collection of random events this fall and my update on Callie's favorite things as of late.  She still loves Mickey and she still loves Princess things but she now loves dinosaurs more than either, I think.  She sleeps with a very pointy and hard plastic triceratops toy that she named Sara.  She also has a new stuffed bear she named Fluffy and even more recently has rediscovered her Snoopy stuffed animal.  Her pacifiers are still her favorite things to hold in bed, unfortunately.  We haven't been successful of ridding her of those yet.  Besides watching dinosaur shows, Callie loves to wrestle or "eccercise" with Daddy and they take turns being a t-rex and triceratops.  Callie also loves to play hide and seek.  She counts only to two or three (but in her special number language) and then slurs out "ready not!  Here-a-come!" and so Matt and I have learned to be very fast hiders.  When it is her turn, we still have to pretend to not find her for a while but she is branching out into new hiding spots and finally getting the idea that a good place to hide is not where Mommy or Daddy just hid the time before.  Sometimes she gets very creative and sometimes she almost scares us because she hid too well.  Callie's verbal skills are improving daily and she can say almost anything she wants to now, it just isn't always understood by everyone but Mommy.  I seem to have the "gift of Callie tongues" if you want to put it in Biblical terms or you could say I speak "toddler-tongue" if you prefer a Harry Potter reference.  Either way you put it, I am the only one who understands her 95% of the time, but that is probably a normal mommy thing.  She is picking up all kinds of saying from us, TV and other kids and is constantly surprising us with new sayings.  She is also mimicking us and repeating things we say when we didn't even think she was listening, so we are having to be much more careful of what we say.  She is getting quite bold in her comments too.  One day she told Mimi to "hop to it" when she was running into the grocery store while the rest of us waited in the car.  She regularly tells me that I am a "silly mommy", and I don't know where she gets that from because I haven't been silly a day in my life ;)  Last night she amused us by yelling "yikes" over and over when Matt was chasing her.  And then, later that evening, she responded to his nagging of her to eat more of her dinner with "all right, all right!" in a very teenager tone.  But the best is that she is learning to say "I love you" or "I wuuv ooo" and no matter how it comes out, she melts us every time!

 Our little Callie Mae, looking very Ellie Mae Clampitt-esque in her hat and pig tails.


 Callie loves to play with binoculars, both real and toy ones.  Sometimes she takes them with her in the car and looks at other cars through them.  Thank God for tinted windows.  I just sit there laughing as she yells, "Ook, Mommy, a car!" and points to a car right next to us as we sit in traffic.

 One of her recent clever hiding spots!


 Daddy didn't fit as well.

 But he did fit under the bed pretty well!  (Notice the beer!  Nothing like opening up a cold one and squeezing under a bed after a hard day of work!)

Callie had no trouble finding him!

 Her old gym closed down but she is now enjoying a membership at the Little Gym thanks to Mimi and Yoo-Hoo.  They are much more gymnastics oriented and she is learning a lot of new skills.


 She likes to try out her new skills at home.  Fortunately, one thing they teach is how to land properly after jumping off objects.  Callie's preferred method is to land flat on her bottom which will hurt a lot more once she is out of diapers!


 These pictures were taken during a drizzly Sunday afternoon Pa visit for his birthday.



 Callie loves to go across the street to play with Savannah and Savannah needs the exercise!

 Helping Pa with his lotto scratchers.


 Callie loves to play dress-up now and is even trying to put some things on by herself.  She also likes to take her clothes off which means we are surprised by a little streaker at times.  This princess outfit has been passed on to Callie's friend, Sara and is her new favorite thing to wear.

This is Callie's t-rex outfit.  I think it is supposed to be a dragon.  It is an after-Halloween bargain from Mimi 

 Speaking of Callie's friend Sara, she and Callie have had some fun times together recently.  One of those times was a dress-up play date at our house.  This is what it looks like when a tiger and a t-rex try to hug.

 Callie greeted Sara at the front door by pointing at her and demanding, "Tiger".  But Callie did allow Sara to wear some other costumes too!




 Another fun time with Sara was when we took them both to see Elmo Live!  They loved the first half and then both broke down and cried or whined so much for the second half that we left early.  But the tickets were a gift from someone at Matt's gym so it was a fun outing.



If you ask Callie who her best friend is, she will say Sara.  They hug each other regularly and always have a great time.  We are blessed to have such good friends here.  They aren't easy to come by, that's for sure!  Incidentally, Mary and I get along pretty good too!  We don't share princess costumes, though.

And finally, Callie LOVES her cats, as usual.  But they love her more and more everyday.  I think I have mentioned before that Ollie meows outside her bedroom door when she is sleeping because he misses her and wants her to get up.  We call him "the rooster".  And even Chester is sitting still long enough for her to hug him now and then.  The other day, she told me she wanted her diaper off and said that she wanted to go potty in the litter box with Chester (or "Hecker").  I guess that is always an option if I can't convince her to go on the actual potty!