Fun at the Fair!

Friday was a beautiful day so we decided to head over to the State Fair of Louisiana. I have lived here for 6 years and have never had any desire to visit the fair, but it was so pretty outside and admission and parking were free on Friday before 3:00, so I decided it was worth a look. Malloy got to see a circus, a performing elephant, and a tiger show. She also fed a giraffe and rode on lots of rides. Her favorite was the big slide.

Not so sure about the motorcycle ride.

Wheee! This is great. Let's do it again (and again, and again). We climbed lots of stairs to get to the top of the slide.

Enjoying a little dessert after a hard day at the fair.

Adventures in Babysitting

Yesterday afternoon, we had the pleasure of babysitting my friend’s little girl, Tess, for about an hour and a half. Malloy thought Tess was a lot of fun, but what she enjoyed most was pretending to be a baby. Whenever Malloy has the chance, she likes to get in baby seats, exersaucers, swings, etc. and if she can steal a pacifier she is even happier.

Malloy saw Tess putting the blanket in her mouth, so she had to do the same. Below – Malloy sitting in Tess’ car seat.

Malloy and Tess sure had fun giggling together!

 

Halloween

 

 

Malloy in the fairy costume.  She opted to wear this outfit around the house on Saturday, but changed into her “real” costume for Saturday night.

Malloy loves to watch this lady on YouTube.  The videos are called Cullen’s ABCs and it is just a nice preschool teacher singing all of the songs toddlers love.  I put my laptop in Malloy’s room while I was cleaning to keep her occupied.

Enjoying a caramel apple!

Her official costume was Little Red Riding Hood.  She’s been obsessed with this story ever since a group from the Opera came to her preschool and performed a rendition.  For some reason, Malloy decided that Little Red Riding Hood needed to wear a backpack and push her baby in a stroller.

 

First actual Trick or Treating experience.  Just a little too short to reach the doorbell.

We had to stop by our old street so Malloy could see Miss Melissa.  We only went to 3 houses last night, so fortunately, we didn’t have a lot of candy to eat.  I think Malloy has already eaten it all.  Aunt Katherine brought Malloy some cotton candy, but after taking a bite, Malloy said it was “too spicy”.

Sewing Projects

Almost two years ago, I took a sewing class to learn how to make a "Jumper in a Day". Today, I outdid myself by making 2 jumpers in about 3 hours. You can't really tell from the picture, but they are corduroy. After I cut out the patterns, I took the front pieces to my friend's monogramming store and she did the turkey and reindeer appliques. While Malloy watched a few episodes of Dora and during part of her afternoon nap, I completed the two dresses. Malloy can start wearing the turkey dress once we get past Halloween.

While I had my sewing machine out (taking up the entire dining room with all of my fabric and sewing junk) I got motivated to finish making the bedding for Malloy's "big girl bed". I made these two pillow shams this afternoon/evening and I made the bedskirt a few weekends ago. I finally got around to purchasing and installing the bed rails, so now the bed is officially ready for Malloy. I told her that she could not sleep in it until she was a "big girl" which means potty trained. I would say she is officially potty trained now so she is eligible to begin sleeping in it. She attempted to take her nap in it today, but I think it was too exciting for her and after she climbed out I put her back in her crib and she slept for 2 hours. I am definitely not pushing her to get out of her crib because she sleeps very well in it!

Brown polka dot pillow shams with striped ruffle. The bedskirt is also made from the stripe. I did not make the white pillow. It was a baby gift for Malloy from my friend, Hannah, but it works perfectly in her new bedroom too.

I think the bed might still need more pillows.

Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon we took a little trip to the local pumpkin patch. Malloy was not too interested in the big pumpkins, but had a lot of fun carrying around these little ones instead.

Malloy and her friend Catherine had a great time looking at all of the pumpkins and running around the patch.

Once we got home, we decorated our pumpkin. Malloy put all of the pieces in after I made the holes.

Sunday

Mmmm. Malloy liked the carrot cake we had for dessert today so much that she had to use both a spoon and a fork to shovel it in her mouth.

Malloy's grandmother, Dearie, has the best Halloween decorations. Malloy liked standing next to the green Dracula, but was not so sure about the witch.

Cooler Weather

Now that it has cooled down a bit, we can finally play outside and enjoy the outdoor spaces at our new house. We have a big patio in the back where Malloy likes to draw with "shalk" and blow bubbles. Malloy went for a little tricycle ride around the block this afternoon. She really wanted to wear this helmet that grandma bought her. It is way too big, so we improvised and wore a winter hat underneath so it wouldn't slide around on her head.

We have been making some progress in the potty training department, but we still have a long way to go. Malloy is excited about wearing underpants. She proudly pulled down her pants to show me in the picture below. She has also learned how to work the rewards system - she likes to try to go on the potty a lot because she gets candy when she is successful. Sometimes she tells me that her dolls need to go potty and then when they go, she asks for their candy too.