Month 21

My 21st month marked my 2nd Thanksgiving. I'll get to that later. First, I would like to comment on Christmas cards. In this month, my parents also set the scene for the annual Christmas card photo shoot. Mommy dressed me up in adorable white Christmas dress with petite Christmas trees adorning the collar. They then pulled out a mini Christmas tree, complete with ornaments, homemade Christmas cookies, decorated with homemade icing, as well as a white sheet to provide the illusion of a snowy backdrop, (because that would really fool people into thinking there's snow when we live in Wilmington and it is 82 degrees outside). They thought it was really adorable and fun. I thought it was too. About as fun as, say...sticking bamboo shoots up your fingernails, or eating glass. So if you were a lucky recipient of our Christmas card, you got to see just how productive the photo shoot was. If you weren't so lucky, I can tell you I am representing Halloween on the card.

Thanksgiving was really fun this year and I was excited to celebrate with both sides of my extended family. Everything was relatively tame. There was no name calling or drunken insults. However, the shenanigans of Christmas did not disappoint. I'll save that for next month, but I will tell you there were a few impressive insults flung around including, but not limited too, "whale tail." For Thanksgiving, we had an early celebration with my Paw Paw. Then we went to my Nana's house on Thanksgiving day, THEN that afternoon we drove to my other grandparents' house and got to see ALL my cousins (and eat more food).

At the beginning of the month, something REALLY exciting happened. Mommy and Daddy left me to go to NYC. For a weekend. What? I'm eating solid food and sleeping through the night (usually). I'm totally independent. Just kidding! I stayed with my Nana. We had a great time and so did Mommy and Daddy. Although they spent the first day of their trip, saying "hmmm, I feel like I've forgotten something." Then they'd remember it was me and laugh hysterically. Just kidding. Although I'm fairly certain they greased Nana's palm to make sure she'll take me on again, I think they missed me.

Until next month, you can look at my pics and wish you were this cute!

With Mommy and Uncle Charlie

4 Generations of Grangers...and Great Grandma trying to give me wine...sweet.

Frolicking...

Clearly not into family photos, as exhibited by the gagging sign

Pittman Clan

With my cuz Bailee, I like to show her the ropes because she is SO much younger...like 3 weeks, such a child.

Documentation of the torture my parents inflict on me almost nightly...bathing. This is going in their file.

The Holiday Photo Shoot setting...

Trying to bribe me to cooperate with cookies

It didn't work...although I did enjoy the cookies. Why waste good cookies, right?

My parents like this pic. It's the only decent one out of, say, 1,982 pictures, but that's a rough estimate.

Photo shoot is officially...
O.V.E.R.

Digging the Christmas tree shopping
Not so much Mrs. Claus
Or Mr. Claus
Yep, all the lights work...

The first ornament...drum roll please...

Just relaxing...
Fooled ya, didn't I? I don't ever relax silly!
Catching some Elmo with Daddy
Ok, maybe I'm getting tired now...just a little.

Month 20

So apparently in October this strange phenomenon occurs. Your parents dress you up like some sort of animal, cartoon character, or, in my case, food, and send you knocking on peoples' doors begging for junk food. And you know what I caught them doing? Keeping all that junk for themselves! That's right kids! Your parents TELL you, ohhh...you'll choke, or it could be poisoned, and THEN...THEY EAT IT! My parents dressed me as a pumpkin, and I'm just going to be honest, I wasn't into it. Not at all. When we first brought the costume home, I though hmmm...this might be kinda cool. So I put it on, pranced around the neighborhood, and was done. I see no need to dress up as a pumpkin AGAIN. So after that night, I refused to let the pumpkin suit come anywhere near me. Did I wear it to the Halloween carnival at school? No, I did not. Did I wear it to the Halloween party at Borden's house? Nope. Did I wear it on Halloween night? I did wear it to 3 houses, then decided it was for the birds and stripped. But Mommy came prepared. She helped me to express myself through the written language and iron-on letters. I will let the pictures illustrate this.

While I wasn't so much into the costume, I did LOVE the decorations. Especially the pumpkins, or "pummies" as I like to call them. Mommy put some mini pummies in the house for decoration, and I would make her get them down and give me one for each hand to carry around. We even carved a really BIG pumpkin. It took my awhile to get used to the guts, but then I kind of liked picking the seeds out of them. I would help Mommy by flinging the guts into the trash, sometimes hitting the trash, sometimes the floor.

I'm really loving school and learning all sorts of new things...like "mine" and "stop!" Mommy and Daddy are super excited about that. I'm very independent and I don't even take my sassy into the classroom. I haven't brought it one single time. I know it's not allowed and when we pull through the carpool lane, I spew that sassy right out of my mouth! At school they give me a happy face on my hand everytime they change my diaper. I love to point to my hand and say "happy, happy." Sometimes, they even give me one on the other hand, just because I like it so much!

I'll go ahead and get straight to the pictures, because I know it is really just to get a glimpse of my adorable mug that y'all come here anyway!
Bouncing in the jump-jump at the carnival...everyone else wore their costume. But I'm shepherd...not a sheep.
Decorating Halloween cookies

Bowling at the carnival 70s style...psychedelic man...

Getting ready to carve the pumpkin
Throwing the guts onto the floor...I mean trash
TA DA
I can look cute anywhere....even next to a jack-o-lantern
I'm not sure why I'm nekked, but I'm sure I had a good reason at the time.
The pumpkin transformation
Off to score some candy!
Not sure I'm thrilled about going up to a stranger's door...I thought talking to strangers was discouraged?
Soooo over the pumpkin suit
Trick or treating with my peeps
Enjoying a cupcake at the Halloween party. Bonus points if you can spot my costumer. Hint: I'm not wearing it.

Taking an important call while Mommy makes fruit kabobs for my class snack.
Move over Madeline there's a new girl in town.
Oh what a feeeeeelin', when you're dancin' on the...chairrrrrsssss
Modeling the coat Mommy made, clearly, I'm ecstatic
Do these boots make my feet look big?
I have a bit of a hoarding problem when it comes to the Starbuck's bears
Bet you can't guess how much Puppy LOVES me!!

Month 19

So this month we took a little vacay. Daddy works hard for the money, Mommy is just workin' hard, and I'm straining my brain in school every week. So over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we went. Ok, we didn't really go to Grandmother's house and we didn't go over the river and through the woods either. We went over the river, through the woods, up the mountain, down the valley, through this dumpy town, through that dumpy town, through the middle of nowhere, around the corner of nowhere, and straight to where Deliverance took place. Just kidding about that, sorta, it really wouldn't surprise me. We thought we were going to a small cabin near Blowing Rock, but for these folks, "near" means an hour away. The only thing correct in the description was the "small cabin" part. There was no TV, no internet, and no phone (well there WAS a phone, but it didn't work). There also weren't any neighbors or signs of civilization...except for the scary mountain man hiding in the woods with his ax. Kidding again. See? I can laugh about this scary experience. The cabin was actually really cute and rustic and we did get to do some pretty fun things. We explored Blowing Rock and went to Tweetsie Railroad.

I'm also gearing up for Halloween. We went to the pumpkin patch and I basically want to live there. Not only do they have pumpkins, which I've decided is my new favorite thing, but they have homemade ICE CREAM. The only thing that's stopping me from making a permanent move to the pumpkin patch is the killer mums. Trust me. YOU'LL see! Mommy and Daddy are trying to teach me to say "trick or treat." So far, I haven't tackled it, but I keep hearing a rumor about people handing out fistfuls of candy after you say it?? If this is true, I might give it a whirl.

I'm learning lots of new things in school and I'm really loving it. Sometimes I bring home artwork and I always get a smiley face on my hand. I've learned "Ring Around the Rosies" and a few new words too...like "apple" and "goo" (that's what a ghost says...GOO!).

I hope you enjoy my pics and don't forget to watch the video of me bustin' it to Michael Jackson.

Checking out the snakes at the snake museum...

I love scouting for airplanes...

Note to Parents: Do NOT let your toddler drink sweet tea...EVER. It will keep them awake for the next 36 hours.
Note to Toddlers: Scream, cry, freak out everytime you see sweet tea so that your parents will be total suckers (like mine) and give it to you anyway.

We saw all sorts of animals at Grandfather mountain.

Just because your roughin' it in the wilderness doesn't mean you can't look good while doing it!

Hurry to the bears momma....ROARRRRRR
Loved the bears
I even got to feed them
Our cute, albeit rustic, mountain cabin

I found the Tweetsie choo choo to be a little scary at first...
Let's GO already...chooooo choooooo!
Choo choo, I think I love you!
Check out my eyes! They cowboys and indians were scary, and I'm fairly certain, historically inaccurate.
Riding on the kiddie choo choo
I totally bonded with the goats
After some experimentation, we found goats would eat leaves (Mommy and Daddy didn't have enough cash for me to buy a 50 cent container of goat food)
Check out the chick next to me. She thought she'd just bust up in my bidness and feed the goat, but haha...goat ate her ice cream!
Heee heeee
I really, REALLY wanted this doll...so I threw a HUGE tantrum and......
VICTORY!!
I love you my new Native American friend.
Wheeeee horsies

Told you the pumpkin patch was awesome!!

See? The mums ARE scary!
Pumpkins need love too

I set up all my friends on the steps with me for a photo op
Hugs for Ella!