Show Us Your Life - Halloween Costumes

Halloween costumes is this week's topic on Kelly's Korner Show Us How You Live. Spencer's only been here for two Halloweens, so I don't have too many costumes. Luckily, during my first year as a mommy I couldn't decide on what Spencer should wear, so she had four costumes. But by the time I put her in the fourth one she wasn't very pleased with me- not at all! So I only have pictures of her in the three of them.

Last year she was a Chickee Poof and she loved(s) to wear her feathery tutu, twirling around and then falling down. She wasn't a big fan of the headband, and there were some struggles to get her to keep it on. Spencer won that battle and I gave up - you can't win 'em all!

This year she's going to be a piggie, but I don't have any pictures of her in yet. Usually once I put her in an outfit there's a large probability that she'll have an encounter with something that will stain it. That's why I'm holding off on the pictures until the big day.
So here are the pictures of all her Halloween costumes, starting with the first three that were taken when she was three months old.

My little Red Hot Chili Pepper

She was still a happy camper when I put her in the Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin ensemble.

And this was when she started to get VERY annoyed with the costume changes and my incessant photo taking- she wasn't a big fan of the Moo Cow

Last year as a Chickee Poof

Twirling around and falling down- you can see the headband in her hand.

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This is the only picture I have of her with it on- and of course she isn't looking at me, haha!

Just sittin' pretty, hanging out in the yard.

And that's it, I can't wait to take some pictures of her in this year's costume!

**More Show You How I Live Posts**

School Spirit Pride
Baby Gear Favorite Dessert Recipes
Favorite Go-To Dinner Recipe
My Baby Shower
School Pictures
Favorite Vacation Spot
I Have a Child. The Jig is Up.
Here Comes the Maid Of Honor

Verify Your're a Human

Please use this word in a sentence!

A Day at Aquarium

Two weeks ago Spencer and I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. My college roomie, Beth, works there and she put us up for the night and the next day treated us to a lovely morning at the Aquarium. We got to her home on Tuesday evening and she had a delicious meal waiting for us! Spencer chose this night, of course, to not want to go to sleep, and she finally went to dreamland after 10pm. Then Beth and I enjoyed a yummy apple crisp she'd made from the apples she'd picked herself! What a domestic diva!

Wednesday morning we went to Tots and Tales hear a childrens group, Milkshake, sing and do fun things with all the kiddos. Spencer had such a great time- jumping around, dancing to the music, and sitting in Beth's lap - her new best friend. (See picture below) After that we walked around and saw most of the exhibits, Australia, the jelly fish, and the sharks and stingrays, before heading to the dolphin show. Oh, the dolphins, they are just so cute and human like. (Did you know that they're the only species, other than humans, who have "relations" for purposes other than procreation?) Spencer loved the dolphins, but she wanted to go down to them while they were performing. Of course this wasn't an option, so we had to step out for a for a few minutes while she had a temper tantrum. After she calmed down we went back in (to our front row seats!) and enjoyed the rest of the show.

We did a little more touring after we left the dolphin arena before going to lunch. I wish I had a picture of what happened next- Spencer squeezed out her entire yogurt on her grilled cheese sandwich... and then ate all of it! She never eats all of her food, but I guess that yogurt, cheese and bread combo was just too enticing for her :) When lunch was over we had to say our goodbyes and head back home. Spence was in desperate need of a nap and we had a four hour drive ahead of us. (Which actually turned into a six hour drive because of traffic, detours, and an accident.) I would have written about our delightful whirlwind excursion, but a few days later we were afflicted with H1N1. But I couldn't not write about our trip to the Aquarium and how it's always so great to see and hang out with my roomie. Thank you Beth for a lovely trip and for not getting frazzled when Spencer wouldn't step screaming!

Without further ado, the pictures of our journey to Baltimore.

You Have a Question, I Have an Answer and More

In honor of my 28th birthday: I give you a list of the most random 28 things about me that I've never written about before. Since I think I've blogged about most aspects of my life on here, making this list was really hard, I had to dig deep for some of them, ha! Ya'll know almost everything about me, hence the randomness of the list, but I think I managed to do it!

1. I am very claustrophobic. It started when I was on a ride at a theme park and when it was over, both my seat and shoulder harnesses wouldn't open. There was some "mechanical difficulty" and I couldn't get out. To make matters worse, in trying to free me, the ride operators accidentally pushed down on my shoulder hardness too hard- just enough to make it click down a notch and get stuck there, and it very hard for me to breath. The whole incident only lasted around five minutes, but it was long enough to make me forever claustrophobic.
2. Oddly enough, I still love all roller coasters and theme park rides, I'm not afraid to ride anything. But put me in a small elevator, or a large one with a lot of people, and I break out in a sweat- mentally preparing my escape route should something happen.
3. In high school and college I would always wear my glasses when I wanted to be taken seriously at things like Model UN Conferences, job interviews, meetings with professors, traffic court, and whenever I had to give a speech or presentation. (It worked like a charm)
4. I can do a very impressive British accent. During one Model UN conference, I pretended I was from England for four entire days! My team was the UK delegation and my accent ( coupled with an extensive background story, complete with British pop culture, common idioms, and slang) gave us a huge edge over the competition. I never dropped the accent, even when we were in the hotel room, because I didn't want to get out of the habit. And let me tell you, it was HARD to stop talking that way when the conference was over. I thought my friends and family were going to kill me.
5. I get very car sick driving in the mountains, but nowhere else. Well, unless the person driving is an accelerate-break kind of driver, and then I'm a mess.
6. I've never had stitches.
   
7. Although I did have staples for my c-section, but that's it.
8. I'm allergic to almost every antibiotic in existence. One very bad reaction when I was a kid landed me in the hospital on IV steroids. I have to be really, really sick for the doctors to prescribe me one because they don't want me to build up an immunity to the only ones I can take.
   
9. I love to drive. Long road trips all by myself, listening to my iPod, NPR, or an audio book is how I like it.
10. I can still walk on my hands across a room.
11. I had (have) my high school's record for the sit-n-reach. I can also put both legs behind my head.
12. During my teenage rebellious years I pierced my own ears when my parents wouldn't let me get a second earring hole. Once I saw how much I liked the second one, I got brave and did a third and fourth one in my left ear a few months later. I eventually let those close up, but I still have the second holes. And none of them ever became infected!
13. I was grounded for that incident for a LOOONG time.
14. I met James Brown on a trip to New York while eating dessert at the Plaza Hotel. He wore a gold lamé suit and was so nice, he even took pictures with us.
15. I don't like ice cream. I'll eat it on some things, but I never crave it. And when I do eat it, it's only vanilla.
16. I would love to live a small town, with twinkle lights on the trees, and little local shops you can walk to- where there's an actual community instead of suburban sprawl. Let me know if you know where one of these towns exists, please!
17. I love crossword puzzles but I hate sudoku,
18. I know all the of the US Presidents in the order of their terms. When I can't sleep I go through them all.
19. If that doesn't work I name the US states and their capitals by order of their entrance into the Union. Then I do it alphabetically.
20. After watching two of my grandparents suffer from Alzheimer's, I'm terrified of it happening to me. That's why I do many crossword puzzles and mental activities that exercises the brain.
21. My favorite one to do, and the most difficult, is to turn one hand clock-wise while also turning the opposite foot counter-clockwise. So right hand turns right and left foot turns left- and then you switch them. It took me awhile to be able to do it!
22. I am a firm believer in high thread count sheets. They are a little costly, but they last forever and get better with age. I never buy anything less than 500, but I prefer 800. It's the one real luxury I allow myself these days.
23. I didn't have curly hair until I was around 8 or 9 years old. Before that it was stick straight and would NOT even hold a curl. I could sleep in rollers all night long (which I did many times) with loads of hair spray, and within two hours it would be straight again. Then it just changed, becoming a frizzy mess first, then wavy-ish, and finally curly.
24. And then after all those years of wanting naturally curly hair, it happened; which of course meant I wanted straight hair again. I shudder to think of all the money and hours I spent over the years on straightening products and hair straightners- trying to tame my super thick, very stubborn hair into submission, before finally embracing the curls.
25. I've gotten 3 speeding tickets, the last of which was my senior year of college.
    
26. But I've never successfully been convicted of speeding. I appealed my way out of one and for the other two I found legal technicalities to argue my way out it. For one of them I requested the police officer's radar calibration records and it turned out he hadn't calibrated it at the beginning of his shift. I probably wouldn't have gone to such great lengths if it weren't for the fact that my mom said she'd take me off of their car insurance if I ever got a speeding ticket on my record.
27. I have never found a four leaf clover.
28. And finally... When I first watched The Wizard of Oz (age 4) I became terrified of becoming a "dwarve," ( a dwarf, or little person) as I called it. I thought I would stop growing and be like the Munchkins. For at least a year, every night, I'd make my mom promise me that I wouldn't stop growing , that I wouldn't be like the Munchkins.

Whew, I am tired- if you made it through that list I'm pretty impressed. I've been thinking about doing a question and answer post for a long time now. So if this lengthy list of Katie Randomness didn't answer your question for/about me, please ask in the comments! I'll answer all your questions in a post later on this week. Since there are some things I just don't write about on this blog, if I don't feel comfortable with a public answer, I'll send it to you in an email. So feel free to ask all those questions you've been wanting to know :)

The Pumpkin Patch Birthday Trip

Our trip to the pumpkin patch was great! The weather was a perfect, breezy 78 degrees, the sun was shining, and the crowds were nonexistent. We got there around 2pm,, about an hour before the elementary schools let out, and we had the place almost to ourselves. I'm so glad we got there then, because by the time we left it was packed and the lines were long. The only complaint I have is that Spencer (who otherwise was an angel) was in one of her "I'm NEVER going to look at the camera and smile" moods. I took about 200 pictures, most of which are of the side of Spencer's face, or her back, as she'd whip right around as soon as she saw me with the camera. But if that's all I have to complain about, then I know I;m a very lucky mommy.

The outside of the Berry Farm. This is where we get all of our pumpkins, seasonal fruits,
and our Christmas tree.

There were so many pumpkins to choose from, I had a very difficult time making my decisions. I know I'd have bought many more if I could have carried them. As it was, I thought my arms were going to fall off hauling my two large pumpkins to the hay ride wagon, up to the weighing station and then to the car. I guess that's probably a good thing though, I don't really need, or can afford, twenty pumpkins, haha!

This was just a small portion of one field that they have. Unfortunately, I'm an anthropomorpher, and I kept imagining them all saying "Pick me, Pick me!"

It really was a gorgeous day. I think God was smiling on my 28th birthday :)

On the hay ride to pick out our pumpkins. Spence LOVED it! For the rest of the day, every time we'd see one passing us, she'd yell "Truckter!" and begin running towards it.

One of the rare pictures I got of her actually looking at me. I was bummed that it turned out kinda blurry, but oh well. The hay ride was super bumpy, and it was hard to keep my camera steady and focused, even in AI Servo.

Of course Spencer went right to the biggest pumpkin she saw! She spoke to it, gave it a hug, and then had me do the same. I would've taken it with us, but it was ridiculously heavy, and I just couldn't carry it. Luckily, Spence didn't seem to mind too much.

Another "Pangkin" friend she made along the way.

On our way back from the patch and she's still refusing to look at me. But she's still so darn cute.

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The bunnies were a big hit with Spencer, those and the chickens were her favorites. I couldn't get any pictures with the chickens, as I was trying to keep her from getting her hands pecked. She'd run towards them, they'd run away, and she would yell "No, No, No Chickie!" The bunnies were a different story though, they really seemed to like Spencer- running up to her and staying there while they let her pet them.

There was a toddler area for the kids and they had this barrel/wagon/train ride. That's Spencer in the red barrel car. She had so much fun on this and since it wasn't crowded, the man driving the tractor, which was pulling all the cars, took them around for almost 10 minutes!

She took her driving very seriously- this was the only time she ever looked over at us! The rest of the time she was intently steering the wheel. At first I was a little nervous that she was going to be upset out there all by herself, but I was SO wrong. I think the only reason she didn't get really upset when the ride ended was because she was about to fall asleep.

And fall asleep she did! About 2 minutes into our drive home she just passed out.

I am so thankful that everything worked out as well as it did. I was a little nervous since more than a few of our outing type adventure trips often end with both of us in tears. Somehow everything just came together in the best possible way and I couldn't have asked for a better 28th birthday. This was the second year that we went to the pumpkin patch on my birthday, and I think we'll be doing it for (hopefully) many years to come!

It's Official

I am now officially 28 years old! I'm not sure if that deserves an exclamation point or not, but I'm trying to be positive here. I've been alive for 336 months and 10,220 days- which I think is pretty cool because my birthday is 10/22!

We had a really great day at the pumpkin patch, Spencer had a wonderful time, and I got some great pictures. I will get those up tomorrow, but I am worn out. After our pumpkin excursion I had to go to my 3 hour psych class that didn't get out until 9:30. But I wanted to thank everyone for the sweet birthday wishes, it means so much to me!

4 x 7 or 2 x 14

Tomorrow I turn 28. Spencer and I are going to the pumpkin patch with my aunt (just like we did last year) and then I have to go to class. I'm excited to get some pictures of Spencie and compare them to last year. Of course one big difference is that last year it was COLD and Spencer was in a big red winter coat and this year it's supposed to be 80 degrees! I've never picked pumpkins when it was that hot, but there's first time for everything, right? I've been working on my list and I will get those up tomorrow night.


tHere are some pictures of Spencer on my birthday last year when we are at the pumpkin patch.

She's growing up so fast! Which of course means that I'm also getting older just as fast!

How Spencer Counts to Ten

When I ask Spencer to count for me she gets very serious and squints her eyes. Then her eyelashes flutter as if to say "you are really annoying me, Mom, but I'll do it anyway so you'll leave me alone." And then this is what I hear next.

One
Twooo
Fweee
Four
Fife
Ix
Seben
EIGHT, EIGHT, EIGHT!
Nine
Tinnn
Tweve!

I'm not sure why she likes the number eight so much, why she refuses to say 11, or why she stops at 12, but I think the whole thing is pretty cute!

A Little Late

I am so late in posting about our wonderful trip to Baltimore. Unfortunately, I still have a little bit more to do on that post before it's ready, so this will have to do for now. On our drive up we took the "scenic" route and we passed some great photo opportunities. I could only take pictures when the car was stopped, so many of those pictures never got taken. But I did get this and it cracked me up! This was right after we crossed the Virginia border into Maryland and it was probably about 55-60 degrees outside.