Ryan and Casey plus 2

This is the first year we carved pumpkins and I can't lie I was pretty excited about it.  I remember loving it when I was growing up and someone (ah hem....won't mention names) would never do it with me....so Ive been waiting for the time when someone else would be as enthusiastic about this event as me:) Last year we painted pumpkins rather then carve because it seemed like a daunting task that she most likely wouldn't be able to help out with.  It was fun and cute but I sure missed those pumpkin seeds, it seemed like such a shame to throw away a pumpkin without even opening it up.   Whit wasn't too much into touching the gooey stuff as she was into "feeding" her pumpkin after her face was carved into it.  She literally spent the whole time Ryan and I carved our pumpkins, shoving little seeds into the mouth of her jack o lantern! She also loved lighting them and putting them outside on the porch.  We have quite the collection out there and she ma...

It was the perfect day to go to the pumpkin farm, a little chilly to start but wonderful and sunny the rest of the day!!   We met several friends and their kids there and had a blast.  I remember going to Shaw Farm when I was pregnant with Whitney but obviously didn't pay attention to the kids stuff as much as I did this time:)  It is the best pumpkin farm I have been to and the kids just loved it!!  The train ride is really cool and there is so much to see, just made for a fun day! The kids: Graham, Whit, Jamison and Will.  All born within a year of each other and love spending time with each other...even if right now they just play close to each other we all know they will be best buds soon enough:)

Its that time of year again and we are very excited for all the games Whitney will be able to go to this season!   Although she was not a fan of the party outside due to the fact that the blue blob was so very close to her, she loved being inside dancing to the music and watching the fun basketball festivities.  We had a full section of family and friends that make the night even more fun! Here's to a fun, winning season and lots of songs for our tiny dancer to boogie :)

Those of you that know my Grandpa, know that he likes to pull pony tails.  It started way back when my grandma sat in front of him at grade school, he would pull her pony tail and try to get her attention.  Well pulling pony tails stuck and you always knew if you had a pony tail in that day....that you would have to go over to let him pull it:)   Whit talks about my Grandpa all the time, pretends to be him or help him in her pretend hospital at home, but doesn't always enjoy being super close to him.  She has always been like that, not sure why... However this last time we were there, Gramps asked if he could pull her pony tail and she happily let him!  I know it made his day and it made me smile remembering all the times he did that me.

For two and a half years, Whitney has been close by, never in a room alone for too long and never on a separate level of our house then me or Ryan.  Not because we make this happen but because this is what she likes.  She will play alone (for short periods of time) in the same room as us but never alone.   I hear moms talk all the time about how their child will play and play by themselves and wonder to myself what is going on?? Its not for lack of trying, that's for sure, I try to encourage independent play but for some reason she has always needed us in close proximity.  She will even go as far as to tell me how lonely she is when I am cooking dinner and she is in the living room not even 10 feet away. SO imagine my surprise when this week she started asking if she could go down in the basement while I am finishing up the dishes or cooking dinner.  She can finally reach the lights so that is a plus, and she seems super interested in her doll house ...

As I mentioned in a post before, Whitney isn't fond of working with me at home.  I try to be sneaky but she still refuses.  I'm hoping it is just a stage but I thought I would share an update on what Whitney is doing/knows at 2 and a half. Depending on the day she knows all of her letters and can write some of them too.  She can write the letters: M, W, t, o, x, H, i, L Whitney is even learning the sounds of letters and knows numbers 1-5 consistently...6-10 are a little sketchy (I'd say we will work on them but that might not happen...haha)   You are probably thinking, how could sweet little Whitney refuse such fun activities....my thoughts exactly.  But she is certainly strong willed and if the activity isn't something she thought of or strictly pretending, then you can almost always forget about it.  Even coloring, she used to love coloring...now you show her a crayon and she throws it!! Please let it be a phase:) I got her to trace h...

I LOVE fall!!!   Not only is the weather cooler but you get to do fun things outside that  you can't do the rest of the year.   We've already painted pumpkins, been on numerous treasure hunt walks, so it was time to make a trip to the pumpkin patch. Blooms and Berries is not more than 15 minutes from our house so it wasn't a big deal to head over there for a morning of fun.  It was a little muddy and the bees were out in full force but that didn't stop Whitney from having a ball! She wasn't too sure about the corn bin...she isn't fond of large ball pits either but I eventually got her to sit down for like a second haha! They have such a great place with really fun things for kids and grown ups alike.  Something I haven't experienced there was the sunflower story path.  They cut a path through their sun flowers and posted a story that someone wrote (about pumpkins of course) throughout the path.  So each 100 ft you read another p...

Whitney loves riding around the neighborhood.  At first it was in her car that has a handle for me to use when pushing her, then her tricycle, and then onto to her big wheel.  Now she has moved on up to a big girl bike with training wheels!!! Each bike took less and less time for her to accustom to and this last one surprised us all!!  We were expecting her to cry and not like it at all but literally the second time she got on it, she was riding down the sidewalk without anyone holding on.  I now have to run in order to keep up with her!!:) We weren't expecting her to get this bike, we had planned on getting her one for Christmas, but Jenny and the girls showed Whit their bike and IT FIT!  They obviously don't use it anymore so it was a no brainier.  We ran to Walmart the next day and bought training wheels, a bell and a helmet to go with her new bike and she was so proud!!!  Thanks Emma and Caroline for sharing your bike with Whitney:) ...