Treats, Treats and more Treats

The costumes have been ready since summer, the treats were purchased weeks ago, we've been reading about Halloween and even receiving Halloween goodies in the mail for several weeks... but tonight was the big event. Though Lilly is 3, this was the first year we actually took her trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. So, for about an hour, we cruised the culdesacs in search of goodies... candy, popcorn, toys, plastic jewelery and fun...

Claire, even at her young age, got the jist of it- she held on to her bag while following the big kids to the door. All she had to do was look cute, and people gave her candy. The big kids said "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you." Claire excelled at saying "Bye-Bye," sometimes saying it 5 or 6 times.

Our friends Brennan and Jaden joined us for dinner before T-time, and they seemed to have just as great of a time visiting the neighbors. Here they are before setting out in the neighborhood:

What's a stroll through the neighborhood without the wagon?

And, of course, Miss Hannah joined us. She and Lilly have been talking about and planning for this evening for months- Tinkerbell and Ariel. In their adorable attire, they set forth to gather treats. Here they are:

Once the whining and fussing began, we knew it was time to head home. Claire was ready for bed in an instant, so everyone else celebrated with pumpkin pie. Hannah and Lilly found it extra fun to answer the door and give popcorn to the other trick-or-treaters. The night ended with big hugs, a few bites of candy and toothpaste laden toothbrushes.

Until next time... Happy Halloween everyone!

It's here!

As I was blogging this afternoon, the UPS man knocked at the door and delivered something quite special. I thought you'd like to see. Many of you know I began my doctoral program in 2006 just before Lilly was born. Well... 3 years later, I'm almost finished. That's right, I will be graduating in December. Hooray!

The dissertation is done- I'm just waiting to hold my defense in mid-November. Needless to say, I am VERY happy about that! Here is my latest fashionable graduation wardrobe item.
I took my dissertation chair's advice and purchased a "nice" robe instead of the cheesy papery kind. Since I participate in graduation ceremonies at my campus, this will come in handy each May. For as much as I paid for it, you'd think it had a built-in air conditioner, but it looks nice nonetheless. And here she is...

One more month until graduation. I'm counting the days!

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more...

Each year we enjoy a fall outing at local Schnepf Farms. They have a Pumpkin and Chili party- pumpkin patch, train rides, petting zoo, grilled corn to eat, homemade pies- lots of fun for the kiddos. Instead of our usual tradition of "Schnepfing" with our cousins the Stimmlers (sick kiddos and record heat), we went with the Huckfeldts on a beautiful fall 75 degree October day. And of course it was a great time, just as it is every year. The only bummer of the day was a dead camera battery about 1 hour after we arrived. Argh! In light of that, I managed to capture a few good photos...

Hannah and Lilly... best friends returning to their Midwestern roots 
by posing in a sunflower patch.

The gruesome foursome: Hannah, Dylan, Lilly and Claire... not so thrilled at this moment.

My favorites: my girls and sunflowers!

This was a big week at preschool. Tuesday was Lilly's Harvest Party and yes, she was able to wear her Ariel costume to class. They trick-or-treated, played games, made snacks and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Since I'm one of the room-moms, I was able to help out! It was great! Here's her entire class on their trick-or-treat route.

Then today, we took a field trip to another local pumpkin patch... even little sister came along.

It was a brisk 65 degrees (sweater weather), but we survived. Big sigh! Claire enjoyed hanging out with the "big kids" and the pumpkins.

Lilly and her classmate Haley were the first to arrive.

Lilly's friend Annabelle was more than happy to show just how tall she is. I think she and Lilly are two of the tallest in the preschool class.

Here's looking forward to a great Halloween weekend.

Trick or Treat everyone!

First "official" school photo

I must say I was quite impressed with the photographer Lilly's preschool hired to take photos of the kiddos. It just so happened I volunteered in Lilly's classroom on the day the photos were taken. There were no tears and surprisingly everyone followed directions... hmmm, why doesn't that happen at home?
I think her photo turned out rather cute, don't you?

Here is miss Lilly, age 3, preschool photo, October 2009.

Great Grandma Wurtie and Clariel

We were excited to spend a few hours with Great Grandma Wurtie while she was in town last week. Joe and Lee hosted us for the evening, and we had a good time catching up. Lilly, Claire, David and Thomas had a great time playing with each other... that's Batman, I mean David, in the photo. He and Lilly are quite the pair when together.

You may recall that Claire has tagged right along with the dress-up gig that goes on at our house. On this particular night, she hijacked Lilly's Ariel Halloween costume. Now introducing... CLARIEL.

Butt Naked?

Another Funny Lilly Story-
Lilly is fond of her baby dolls- playing house and all sorts of things. Lately she chuckles while telling Rob and me, "This baby is butt naked." She really means buck naked, right? Despite many attempts to correct her, she insists her baby doll is "butt naked." I'm guessing a friend at Tiny Toes (Megan) taught her this phrase. It perplexes me and yet, at the same time, is very funny to hear her say. Rob agrees.
So, in search of the correct lingo, and for peace of mind, I did a little Google search on the term/terms. It's rather interesting what I found... perhaps Lilly is correct after all...
After googling "origin of buck naked," here's what I found:

Basically, there are 2 theories to the origin of "Buck Naked."
Theory One: One theory backed by the American Heritage Dictionary proposes the original phrase was actually "butt naked." The phrase was then cleaned up to "buck naked" so it could be used in polite company.

Theory Two: British wordsmith Michael Quinon has another theory. He's of the notion that "buck" and "buff," another term to describe nudity, are both derived from buckskin and buffalo hides. He argues that buff leather is tan in color, much like the color of the Europeans' skin after being in the sun. This led to the expression "to be in the buff," or naked. Thomas Dekker was the first to go on record with the term when he said in 1602, "I go in stag, in buff." The assumption is that "buck naked" has a similar derivation from buckskin.

Which theory is correct? We'll never know, so I guess we don't need to correct Lilly for referring to her baby as "butt naked." She could be technically correct according to theory #1, yet not too polite, to say the least. :)

18 months and more to come

Today marked Claire's 18 month well-check at the pediatrician's office. Her measurements indicate she is one healthy little lady- 90%tile weight and >95%tile height, imagine that. The doctor was most impressed with her motor skills and speech. She was oh-so-eager to get there- had a great time tearing up the paper cover on the exam table but was less than thrilled with her MMR and Hep A shots. This picture captures her uneasiness as we awaited the nurse's return just before shot-time.

They weren't that bad! After all, she did get to choose a toy from the treasure chest. It's amazing how a cheap plastic ring can make all the tears go away.
Cross your fingers that our next visit to the doctor will be a scheduled one in 6 months instead of an emergency visit due to the swine flu.