Play Date Fun

One of my favorite things about staying home this year with Addie is being able to help friends out in a pinch.  My other stay-at-home mom/teacher friend, Keli, chose me to keep her little peep one day....

Meet Mr. Beckham, Addie's stroller riding buddy.  Addie loves Beckham in her special playing hard to get girl way.  Beckham is always willing to give Addie a hug, kiss, fist bump, high five, etc. but Addie just is not that kind of girl:)  These two had a blast playing together and just show us how sweet friendships can be.

Addie "fishing" in her chalk pond.

Who knew Addie could walk on water.

Addie rowing her boat to get away from the sharks.

Watch out Tiger... competition is on the way!  Look at that back swing.

What a swinging good time!!!!

Our Pick of the Pumpkin Patch...

It was pumpkin patch time in Tennessee.... or so we thought.  We loaded up after church last Sunday and met up with our friends for pumpkin pickin' at Gentry Farms in Franklin.  When we got there we were very sad to hear that the patch was closed due to the rain, mud, and the fact that most of the pumpkins still on the vine were rotten.  Good thing they had a great play area to make up for the lack of pumpkins because Addie was quite sad.  She quickly got over it and we went on to pet goats, play with the chickens, go on a hayride, play in the corn, and go through a corn maze.  

Aubree calling the cows on the hayride.

Addie's stroller buddy Beckham and his mommy Keli and Daddy Ryan.

 

The parents' failed attempt of trying to get a group shot.  Next year maybe we can get a helicopter for an ariel shot:) 

Going to the slide.

Beckham did not know what he was getting himself into at all.

Beckham trying the slide out one more time.

Who knew corn kernels could be so much fun.

Evan getting into the corn dumping.

The daddies thinking of how they could start something like this for $6 per person and retire early. 

Addie talking to the ducks.  Her favorite saying, "Come here little buddy."

Off to the car without a pumpkin but with a lot of memories.

*** We stopped at a pumpkin stand to fulfill Addie's wish for a pumpkin:)

The Flower Girl

Addie checked flower girl from her bucket list last Friday when Uncle Jason married his love Kellie.  Since Kyle, Addie, and I were all in the wedding it was a very busy event for our family. 

The very happy and cute couple at the wedding dinner the night before.

The wedding took place at Cedar Wood Plantation and was supposed to be a nice Autumn wedding with cool, crisp air and leaves falling down around us.  Instead we had a cold snap that made the wedding party look for Jack Frost lurking around every corner.  With the wedding moved onto the patio and the heaters turned up on high, the occasion turned into a very cozy event.  Addie was adorned in a dress fit for Cinderella.  She was not keen on the dress at first, especially once she discovered how "warm" silk is when it is 45 degrees outside.  She was definitely wishing for her velour "pre wedding" suit.

Addie walking outside, discovering how cold it was, and begging for her clothes:)

The flower girl found some flowers to pick and decided to wear the dress.  Daddy's pockets full of Starburst also helped to convince her.

After the "I Dos" were said and Addie had stood next to Kyle for a whopping fifteen minutes... playing with his Blackberry, eating Starburst, and playing with the pumpkins that were part of the alter decor, WITHOUT tipping a candle over, stepping on the train of the wedding dress, or climbing the staircase where I was standing (these were all of the things I had nightmares about her doing) we were ready to eat, dance, and be merry.  I am not going to lie.... I was stressed about all of these things.  

The happy parents of the flower girl.

Addie's idea of a great wedding reception... a portable television with Dora.  This is a great way to Addie's heart.  The portable entertainment allowed Kyle and me plenty of time to fellowship with our friends.

On the dance floor with Daddy.  

Our Cabin Home on the Hill

The Sanders Trio hit the road again to the Smokey Mountains for a little fall getaway.  Kyle got a great last minute deal on a great four bedroom cabin.  Needless to say we had a lot of room to spread out.   Since this was a last minute trip, we really did not have plans or a group of friends to meet.  I think that is what made this trip so special since this is probably the last trip for the Sanders Trio before we become a party of four in the Spring.

Our Home Away From Home

    Since a trip to the Mountains ALWAYS includes a trip to the outlet mall, Kyle had one request for our trip.  He really wanted to "hike" Clingman's Dome.  We had never done this together and we both thought it would be nice to see the fall colors.  With this being said, I had forgotten in the fifteen years since I last went up Clingman's Dome what a hike it is.  Although the distance is nothing for a runner like Kyle and a walker like me, the incline is killer; especially with the lack of air due to being preggers and a two year old who at one tenth of a mile said, "Me cold.  Me want go back to the car."  I now realize that this is my child, and I am getting everything in return that I did to my parents.  

Sitting on the "BIG HUGE" rocks as Addie put it.

Addie trying to save Daddy from the rocks.

Addie protesting the hike.  We were going up... not down.  

Well, we made it up the dome.  The view was not very great though.  It was really foggy and misting.  We were really sad because the leaves were at their peak up in the high elevations, but we were able to see some great foliage on the way back down when the traffic picked up in the park.  

View from the road.

These pics are what happens when you are stuck in the car.... not moving... with a two year old... for about an hour.  

Crazy Daddy

Good thing she is strapped in because I think she could have baled on us.

Mommy trying to laugh about the whole deal.

We did get out of the park and made it home to the cabin on the hill.  Addie was very happy to be back .

Yet Another Milestone Accomplished...

     After almost a year of Addie climbing out of her crib, we finally converted it into her toddler bed.  Addie and I put on our tool belts and took the "top" off her crib as Addie likes to say.  She appears to like her big girl bed and still packs it full of all her friends.  She really has done a great job staying in her bed for the most part.  There have been some nights where Kyle and I hear a thud above our bed and the pitter patter of feet going to the stairs but after a quick stop at the potty she runs back to the bed.   

I know it seems like a little milestone but this one change was really a kick in the head.  I mean it literally seems like yesterday Kyle and I were in that empty bedroom putting together a crib for a little person we had not met.  After I put up the tools, I sat in the rocker watching my little girl just fall in love with her bed.  The bed that once seemed so big when we placed her in it at two months old seemed so small all of a sudden.  Just another example of how time flies when we are having so much fun.