Wordless Wednesday: Trick or Treat!

No, not "wordless" Wednesday.  I can't do it.  I just have to say that Abigail went trick-or-treating with 2.5 year old P.  At every door, the 4 parents prompted the kids "What do you say?" to try to get either Abigail or P to say "Trick or Treat."  But 364 days per year, that four-word prompt has trained our kiddos to reply "Thank you!"  Love it!

Happy 3rd Birthday

Last year, on Abigail's birthday, Northern Virginia had an unseasonal snow and ice storm.  It was a Saturday and we were going to take her to a town Halloween parade for her walk in and get candy from the main street shops.  Today we are waiting out the far reaches of Hurricane Sandy's arms, hoping we get to keep our power on.  Abigail is happy to get to wear her footsie pajamas all day; this is something she has always wanted to do.  

This weekend her aunts and uncles and my parents showered her with attention (and a few presents).  She received a Spiderman action figure, a wooden tool box set, a Spiderman Hippity Hop, and many books.  Watching her play with her new Spiderman action figure, my brother commented that this is how you raise a little girl to be nerdy and good at math.  Lar and I, of course, don't mind, since we are both math teachers!  And we would rather she play with these sorts of things she received than get "how to be a princess" kits.  We don't push her in either direction, but we love that she is who she is and that is NOT a princess!


Today she has been eye-balling the 3 wrapped gifts on my desk that she knows are for her, asking for each one after she felt enough time had passed.  We gave her a wooden train set that she played with for a large part of the morning, placing her horses on the track and creating table-top excitement.  After she gets up from nap, she'll open her Spiderman pajamas/Halloween costume; I am curious if the footsie pajamas will actually last all day!

Pumpkin Patch and Animal Farm- Sunday Snapshots

Abigail was far more excited about petting and feeding the animals than she was about the pumpkins, but she did enjoy picking out a small one to take home.  

Her favorite part of the day, she said, was seeing Spiderman.  (On the "haunted" hayride, there were large displays of various monsters as well as super heros and comic book characters.  Spidey happened to be one of the last displays hanging from a tree.)

She also got a pony ride, if you can call it that, because it was only ONE time around a tiny circle and took about 40 seconds (for $3.50- meaning that horse could be making $315/hour!).  

This donkey was not actually eating her hand.

Christmas Gift?

Hi Readers, Friends, Family
Please consider buying a calendar from Henan Kids International.
It is a nonprofit organization, mostly of parents and family of kids adopted from Henan Province.
Abigail is from Henan.
Every fall there is a calendar fundraiser that raises a few thousand bucks and sends it to an orphanage in Henan for big projects like cribs, heaters, washing machines or something to make the lives of the waiting kids better.
What is really cool is that you will have a calendar full of pics of adopted kids smiling at you all year long!

Here is the link:  http://henankids.blogspot.com/
You can buy on the right side of that webpage.

Thanks for buying!

Wordless Wednesday- Reflections of a Great Weekend

Tree Climbing All By Herself

Fall Cookout with Yinski

Getting ready to roast a Marshmellow

Stealing M&Ms from Grandma while making Brownies