Playdate Fun

I love Adi's weekly play dates with Caedon. They've literally grown up together and he's the closest thing she has to a brother. Caed is always so sweet and excited to come over and play. The instant we walk in the door I hear, "Stacey, I'm hungry" which is most likely code for, "Stacey, I'm not really hungry but I know you have different snacks at your house than I have at mine and I like to try whatever you have here" and I love the predictability of that. Since Adi doesn't have any siblings, Cam and I are her play mates. This is great fun most of the time, but it is so rewarding to see her interact with children her own age.After several months of attending preschool we opted to take Adi out and keep her home. There were many reasons, financial, separation issues Adi was having and problems with one of the other students that had Adi pretty upset about going to school were just some. I know she'll have to deal with that stuff at some point in her life, but she's three years old and I don't believe it's beneficial for her to have to cope with it right now. So she's been home with Cam for the last several weeks and the number of tantrums have reduced pretty dramatically. She's happier and sweeter than she's been in a while. I know we made the right choice.

Oh, Christmas Tree

This year, decorating the Christmas tree for Adi meant that she had to dress up and be beautiful first. She has learned well from friend Djuna how to use what's around you to make an extraordinarily lovely gown.
When she heard that the tree had a skirt, she decided that the tree shouldn't wear it, but she should. So she found a ribbon in the decorations box, wrapped the tree skirt around her little body and asked for help tying her ribbon belt. I think it turned out beautifully.Now that Adi was well dressed for decorating a tree, she decided the tree could use a few pretty things too.
Under the tree is one of the cats favorite places to hang out, though that might change with Adi operating in "capture and hold" mode. Bella and Mojo aren't too excited about that so when Adi comes running, they go running ;)
This tree looks so much better in sepia! A couple of years ago I decided to buy plastic ornaments so Adi could play with them and I wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt on broken glass. We're still using the plastic ornaments, but after seeing blogs from a couple friends and realizing that broken ornaments are part of the "tradition" I think I might pull out my real ornaments after all.
So now the tree has been relocated to the family room downstairs because I realized that on Christmas morning I can't think of anything more sweet than a new tradition of opening gifts next to a cozy fire in our new insert, which we totally love. So stayed tuned for new pictures of our tree with upgraded ornamentation.

All of Us are Stinkers

Adi had a fun play date with her friend Caedon... I never quite know what to expect. Sometimes one or the other will be grumpy and they won't play much and others they amaze me at how well they get along and how easily they share and respect one another. This time I was well entertained as they spent a good 30 minutes spinning, laughing and saying silly things. Hope you don't get too dizzy watching them ;)

Dancing

I can't resist posting Miss Adi dancing. She does some of the funniest things, but I know that this is her expression. This is her art. This is Adi.

Fall Photos for Gramdma Marsha

These photos are especially for you Grandma Marsha (our most loyal blog follower :)
The weather has been so wonderful (thanks surely to global warming) and we've been doing our best to enjoy the warm temps while we can before the blustery winter descends upon us.
I love this next picture of Adi. She looks so contemplative. I think she was trying to figure out how to climb over the pile of branches Bella our kitty was snooping through so she could capture her. We let the cats out in the fenced yard with us on nice days so they can eat grass and cough up hairballs outside ;)

Happy Halloween!

So what does Super Woman do anyway? Fly, of course!

Here's Nana, Adi and I at the "dress rehearsal" of Halloween. We went to the Sycamore Mall Halloween event on Thursday night and though the hay rack ride was fun, I seriously doubt we will brave the massive crowd and slow moving lines. I don't think anyone really had much fun, it was too crazy to enjoy it.

The redeeming moment was finding Super Man and convincing him to have his photo taken with Super Woman. He wasn't too sure but his mommy was optimistic that the two Supers would "hook-up" in the future. Parents are funny.

On Halloween night we continued with our annual tradition of trick-or-treating with our beloved friends and neighbors, the McCoy's. It wouldn't have been the same without them.

As you can see Miss Adi was Super Woman for Halloween this year. We originally got an Ariel (The Little Mermaid) costume but once Adi laid eyes on this gem there was no turning back! Super Woman it is - officially Super Girl but you try as you might, Adi will have none of the "girl" stuff. She was Super "Woman"! I couldn't resist taking a picture of the loot. Ridiculous. The photo doesn't do it justice. If Cam and I don't eat it all first (big IF) Adi will have candy for months!

Carving Pumpkins!

Sunday evening was a perfect night for carving pumpkins! Adi, Cam and I went to Nana and Papa's house for dinner followed by a fun evening of messy pumpkin carving. Adi got to work straight away.
And this year she wasn't afraid to get dirty... or gooey.
And what's better than getting gooey on you-ey? Getting goop on Papa of course!
And thanks to Mama clearing up the myth that pumpkin can't be eaten raw (right in line with my raw food eating ways of late) Adi decided everyone should try some raw pumpkin. Maybe not exactly by will, but everyone must try some!
Here are the three ladies of the house, working away.And what would pumpkin carving be if we didn't have a pumpkin headed monster show up?
And for the grand finale, here is the fruit of our labor. Aren't they great?
The pumpkins were carved, from left to right, by Stacey, Papa and Nana. If you'd like to see the glowing version and the tasty roasted pumpkin seeds head on over to our Urban Homestead blog :)

Fall Colors

Adi and Cam went out on a fall color adventure. Their first stop was the "waterfall". Adi found some beautiful purple flowers and is showing one of them off here:

The seagulls were flying free and Adi is such a lover of animals, particularly birds, that Cam really can't resist getting photos of the birds for her.

Here's Adi with a feather she found. I love the way the wind is blowing her hair...

And finally, fall colors, in all their glory. Gorgeous!!

Bloomsbury Farm

Last weekend we went to Bloomsbury Farm in Atkins. It has a huge pumpkin patch and several other attractions, such as the barrel train pulled by a tractor.

They also had this huge jumping pillow which was a huge hit for the kids. On the left is Adi's cousin Kayley and Uncle Travis.
Papa braved holding 3 grand kids in one lap. Myles, Kayley and Adi :)
I totally want to put one of these tube slides in my backyard.

Who could resist the goats? There was also a llama or two. Funny animals.

So overall the place was a lot of fun for the kids. I found myself struggling to keep up. I felt like it was a bit expensive, but I suppose it's the owners livelihood. If you feel like making the trip, be prepared to do a lot of running around and take my word for it, do NOT go in the corn maze!!

Raptor Center Adventure

This was my first week back to work from my 13 week leave. When I returned I learned that I will no longer have a partial year position, so this was the last year to have my summer off as far as I can tell :( The transition is going well for everyone. I'm getting used to my new 24" Mac - the biggest available. The sucker is bigger than my t.v. I guess there's one benefit to doing my current job and learning another one on top of it (I currently do electronic form design and will be learning the paper form design process as well).

So, Cam and Adi have some quality Daddy/Adi time on Mondays and Fridays since the peanut isn't in preschool on those days. This week they went to the Raptor Center.
One of the owls in captivity at the Raptor Center.
Adi outside one of the large cage structures which house the birds and a cool photo of one of the raptors (maybe a falcon?)
Chasing shadows - Adi and Daddy's shadows on the path.

Adi's First Haircut and Cam's Safe in Mexico

Cam left Wednesday night at 6:00 pm for a long drive to Minneapolis where the mission team were flying from early Thursday morning. That same evening Adi and I had a 7:00 hair appointment. Yes, friends and family. I finally did it. I finally complied to Adi's requests over the past year or more to get her hair cut. It was hard to do, but the motivating factor for me was the fact that between the two of us we were donating 20 plus inches of hair to Locks of Love. Here we are before the cut: This first haircut was a really big deal for me and Adi. Nana accompanied since our appointments were at the same time and I figured I was going to need some help. I'm also grateful that she brought her camera and got several really great shots to remember this milestone.
Now Adi has this super cool, hip haircut that I totally love. Because we have different stylists, my hair is a bit different but about the same length. To be honest, I think I like Adi's cut better. I'll have to ask Joelle at Bellissimo to do mine a bit more like Adi's next time around.
So here's the final product. Joelle let me know that her brother Derek is studying hairstyling at The Salon Professional Academy on First Ave in Iowa City and needs people to come in and get color done for $19. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'd just been to Walgreens to buy my favorite shade of Chocolate Cherry for $9.99, but I'm telling all of you so if you'd like to have color done really inexpensively here's your chance. Just make sure you ask for Derek.
Cam took our Cannon camera with him to Mazatlan so I'm using our old Fuji Film which I'm having a really hard time operating. The Cannon Power Shot is so much easier and the quality kicks Fuji butt! That said, here' the best photo I could muster of the new cut with new color :)
I talked to Cam this evening and he said everything is going really well. Maybe a bit unorganized but with only four people on the team it seems like people would have to do a bit more than they would if the team was larger and I imagine that might feel a little chaotic at times. He said they saw 80 patients yesterday! That's a ton of people!!!

We weren't able to talk long but he did also mention that they visited a church that had some sort of youth ministry (I think Cam's true calling is to youth ministry - personally speaking) so he was really impressed with the way they did things. He got some video footage of them dancing; I can't wait to see it and if the quality is good I'll post it when he gets home. He can check emails but can't upload any photos right now so all of that will have to wait.

Please pray for Cam and the team's safety in their day to day activities and that God would bless them in ways they'd never imagined possible.

Visiting

We went to Newton to visit Grandma Marsha and Grandpa Mike White on Friday, and Cam did a little tilling so Grandma could get her plants in the ground before the season gets too late. As usual, Adi wanted more than anything to hang out with Bunny the bird.

We had our dog Ihry with us as well so I don't know if she was freaking Bunny out or what but Bunny didn't want to be held (by me anyway) so I had a hard time helping Adi with her. I got bit several times and gave up after a while. At least she got to hold her for a little while... Then it was time for yard work.

Cam and I felt completely blessed by an unexpected and delicious raw meal prepared by Grandma Marsha. We, by no means, expect others to accommodate our choice to eat only raw food for a little over 3 months so it was a pleasant surprise when she and Mike sat down to a raw meal with us. Thank you, Marsha. The food was fantastic and we truly were blessed more than words can express.

I love this photo of Adi in her Ariel pj's with her grandparents. Grandma Marsha had successfully (we hope) washed all the manure out of her hair after flinging some in the air while spreading it in the garden to till in! Ha ha.

Monarch Caterpiller

Our next door neighbor Jonathan was kind enough to let Adi have one of the monarch caterpillars from his garden. Adi LOVES caterpillars so much that she often squishes them to death. Happens to the best of us I suppose. I was on high guard of this little guy, though. I told her it was very special and she asked, "to who?" I told her it was very special to me because it would soon turn into a mariposa butterfly and she had to be VERY gentle with it. We proceeded to transfer the caterpillar to our own milkweed plant in our garden which has so far been uninhabited by monarchs.

I think the Butterfly kisses shirt Adi is wearing is very appropriate.

Here's Adi with a milkweed leaf and the hungry caterpillar (the holes in the leaf are from other bugs).

Once I convinced Adi to let the caterpillar go to his new home on our milkweed plant it didn't take him long to find a spot to start chowing down on what must have been some tasty "milk". First thing this morning Adi wanted to go outside in the rain and check on her new friend. I made her wait until it was time to go to preschool and we were both relieved to see him there on the underside of a leaf, protected from the rain.