Happy Halloween!

Saturday was Buchanan's big Halloween/Trick-or-Treat day. After nap time, we ran out to the Riverwalk for Trick-or-Trail. I had never been so I'm walking down this path wondering where all the candy is with Eleanor asking the same. Turns out we were a little too late. But it was a pretty walk anyhow.

I asked Eleanor to put her arms down and tried to get Carolyn not to eat the leaves. You know, looking for that perfect Halloween picture...

All I ended up doing was boring Eleanor and Carolyn kept eating leaves.

So we left the trail and got ready for the real Trick-or-Treat!

Carolyn all set to get some candy. The girl was a trooper, skipping her nap to join in the fun!

As we made our way down to the Police Station, Eleanor shouted "That's my favorite dog!" So we had to get a picture with him.

Eleanor running to the next house!

Eleanor was great. She picked it up quick last year at 1.5, so now that she's 2.5, she's an old pro. And many of the people handing out candy just loved how polite she was. She'd go to each house and say, "Trick or treat", get her candy, then say "thank you!" She doesn't always use her manners, but we're working on it. She made up proud that night!

The biggest blow-up ever! If you look down on the ground, you can see my tiny ladybug and ity-bity chicken.

After an hour of running to the houses, we headed home to hand out our candy. Eleanor handed out all the candy herself and absolutely loved it! I think she thought she was pretty special with all the kids coming up to HER saying trick or treat.

And I know she was by far the smallest (and cutest) candy passer-outer :)

When all the candy was gone, we went inside to check out Eleanor's loot. Carolyn really wanted to check it out!

Biter Biscuits

Now that Carolyn is getting so big, 7 months old now, we've been experimenting a little with her food. Nothing crazy, but she did get her first biter biscuit the other day. I set her in her highchair, put on her bib, handed her one, and thought "this'll keep her busy while I unload the dishwasher".

Boy, did it ever. Just 1.5 minutes later she had it everywhere. Tip to parents, don't give your baby biter biscuits unless you plan on giving them a bath afterwards!

There's a New Puppy in Town (or two)

After my birthday dinner celebration with my dad, Jackie, Hanna and Emma, we went back to the Ohlund residence for cake and ice cream. We had also heard that during their recent trip to the Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, OH they purchased the newest addition to their corgi farm - little Lewie. Eleanor was excited to meet him. Plus Emma claimed to have a surprise for her back at the house.



Once at the house, the girls ran upstairs. As I got Carolyn out of her car seat, I heard them asking Eleanor "Which one do you like better?" What, no they didn't. Did they buy a puppy for Eleanor? I was freaking out. But once upstairs, I saw what they were talking about. Not only did they buy Lewie the corgi, but they also bought Nelson the miniature long-haired Dachshund. They are crazy about their dogs! Eleanor loved them. And they were both very sweet to let Eleanor carry them all around.

Eleanor & Lewie

Eleanor & Nelson (and Fannie and Mabel)

Carving Time

We carve a pumpkin the other night, Eleanor and I while Carolyn napped. Eleanor was happy to watch while I handled the carving knives.
When we were finished, I got a candle and lit him up. Eleanor wanted to know if we could sing him Happy Birthday. (It's that 2-year-old thinking again. Candle = Birthday. Duh) So we gave him a quick birthday shout-out and Eleanor of course had to blow out the candle.

Search for the perfect pumpkin

Last Sunday I took the girls to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. We had fun finding the perfect pumpkins, petting the farm animals and swinging on the tire swing.

Traditional "The Patch" picture

Eleanor loves the tire swing. If you look behind her, you can see the jealously written all over Carolyn's face.

Eleanor thinks she may have spotted that perfect pumpkin. Carolyn's eyeing the larger pumpkins across the way.

Eleanor lovin' on the goat.

No Stools = No Power

Yesterday I awoke at 5:30am to Carolyn's monitor beeping. The receiving end beeps when the main unit in her room is not sending a signal. We had lost power. Looking outside I knew why. Our backyard looked like a war zone as Matt so eloquently put it.

Trees with leaves + heavy icy snow = fallen branches + power outages

So, we got the candles lit. Matt got ready for work and with no daycare and no heat, I prepared to take the girls to my dad's for the day. When Eleanor woke up, she ate her cereal by candlelight. I asked her if it was fun to eat in the dark. She responded with, "No stools?" After wondering what she was talking about for a second, I remembered that in order for her to turn on the light in her bedroom, I put a little step-stool under the switch. So, to a 2-year-old, if you haven't turned on the lights in the house it must be because you don't have stools to reach the switches. :)

Deb's Wedding

My step-mom's cousin Deb got married on Saturday. We attended the reception - all four of us. We weren't holding our breath that we'd be able to stay long. We just played it by ear.

Carolyn was such a trooper. She was supposed to take her 3rd nap on the way to the reception but chatted the entire drive. She got so tired made obvious by her constant eye-rubbing and red eyes. But she never cried (except when Cousin Linda was holding her and started laughing too loud).

And Eleanor was pumped up by us telling her about how she'd be able to dance at the wedding. That girl loves to dance! Once the music started, there was no getting her off the dance floor. You wouldn't have known it was her first wedding reception the way she picked-up on the chicken dance and hokey-pokey! Even Carolyn in her exhausted state watched Eleanor in awe and just laughed and laughed :)

Eleanor was so excited that her friend Brody would be at the wedding. All day she talked about how she was going to dance with him.

When the music started for the Chicken Dance, Aunt Julie asked Eleanor if she wanted to dance. Of course she did. Julie took her out to the dance floor. I'm embarrassed to say I had my doubts, but Eleanor proved me wrong and quickly had the dance down!

Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah (twist, twist, twist, twist). I told you that girl can dance!