Fwooping witch scares mermaid

As far as Halloween events go, the last few days were just wonderful.
I had always thought though, that when we made our way into a house in a neighborhood, we would be amongst other families, and trick-or-treating would be a fun neighborhood activity. But with this particular community, we, as a family, are the extreme minority. Our neighbors are much more grandparents than parents and kids. Because of that, we had to find our own entertainment for my beautiful little girl, costumed as the most adorable pig ever.
Our ultimate destination: "Howl-oween" at Phoenix Zoo.
What I most liked about this venue was that each different area on the Zoo's trail was graded for scariness via skulls. One skull = good for Sydney. Two skulls or three skulls = not good for Sydney. I got us a bit lost at the very beginning of our adventure, but we ultimately ended up on the proper path to the Trick-or-Treat Trail. I forgot to bring a bag for Sydney, so she ended up treating with my purse. It worked out okay, though when the treats are provided by a grocery store, you're as likely to get a granola bar as a candy bar. She rocked the activity though, announcing her "Trick-or-Treat" loudly and proudly.
Brian and I got creeped out by a witch there, though. You know how places like that have random people in costume hiding in random places? There was a witch, perfectly hidden beneath the dark limbs of a large tree, all in shadow. As we wandered past the tree, she cackled at us. It was kinda low and not too distinguishable, but I heard it out of the corner of my ear. I turned and barely made out her form beneath the tree. Then, she cackled again, and moved a little bit. She had a long, flowing cape that lifted in the breeze perfectly. I grabbed Brian's hand and had him turn to see the witch, too. When we looked back, she had sunk down into a kind of puddle of black cape, and cackled again. Then, she did the weirdest thing! She kinda lifted up and moved a foot closer to us, all under her cape, which kinda fwooped around her. The effect was so creepy! Then, she did it again!! CREEPY!!
Then, I looked at Brian again and was all, "Okay, that's looking too creepy. We should keep moving before she scares Sydney." And I grabbed Brian's hand to walk with him.
Then the witch fwooped again!
And Brian was all, "Okay, let's go."
Once back in the car and driving from the parking lot, we got a huge giggle out of ourselves. The witch had freaked us out! Sydney didn't even notice her! And Brian and I were all, "We've got to get away from that witch before she scares Sydney!"

The devil we DO know!

Okay, I'm officially sorry that I don't have any kind of costume for tomorrow. I suppose I could roll with Brian's scrubs and a stethoscope and go as a doctor, but I've done that before. I wish I had my awesome poodle skirt ensemble, but that's at Mom's house. I should check under my bed, I may have a costume or two in storage under there (Belle or an astronaut?). And then, the big question, do we dress for the holiday all day tomorrow?
But you know what the big messed-up thing is for me right now? I am so over candy. I haven't eaten even a fraction of what I normally do, and I'm sick of eating it. I can have, like, one of the fun-size 3 Musketeers bars (which isn't even a real portion of candy) and call it quits on sugar for the rest of the day. It actually makes me kinda nauseous. This is not at all like me. I used to be able to eat at least a quarter of a bag of candy in one sitting. This year, thinking of it makes me physically ill! Dare I say that my body has learned the portion control that my head is refusing exists? Ack! Thank goodness there are no Twix bars in my give-away basket. To part with them because I couldn't eat more than one of them at a time would be the darkest depths of sorrow.

Angels are as angels do

I totally almost went to bed tonight without posting anything to the blog! The horrors! The disappointment! I could never do that to you! Actually, I could, and I often do. Sorry.
I was watching The Vampire Diaries tonight, and noticed something both interesting and repulsive. Jasmine Guy, she of Whitley Gilbert fame in the show A Different World, played the part of one of the high school character's grandmother. A grandmother? How is that possible? Didn't she just marry Dwayne Wayne and live happily ever after?
Don't you hate it when you get smacked in the head about being older than you thought you were? Guy is only ten years older than me, and she's playing a grandmother? Logical, I suppose, if you just look at the numbers, but still.

I fight the/my cold ... and the Yankees

~ As a Red Sox fan, I find that I am as pleased to see the Red Sox win as I am to see the Yankees lose. So tonight is a tentative embarrassment of riches (not really, since the Sox didn't win the game) to see the Phillies take Game 1 of the World Series from the Yankees, in the new Yankee Stadium. I think that I shall root for the Phillies to win the Series for the simple and singular reason as to see the Yankees lose. That makes me a real Sox fan.
~ It was cold in the desert today! I could have worn a sweater over my long-sleeved shirt at lunch, but didn't, and was too cool. I should have brought a jacket with me to dinner, because I got cold walking from the restaurant back to the car. I'm pleased to say that I even turned the heater on in the car, and flipped on my seat warmers! When I took something out onto the back patio this afternoon, the chill in the air smelled slightly of Boston! And when Oliver went outside to rest a bit in the sunshine, his body was a bit cool when he came back inside -- not hot and toasty! This weather, of course, is temporary. The great meteorologist says that the temperatures will be back into the 90s this weekend. I'm so over this summer weather!!
~ Ever since Tara bustled off to Honolulu, I see her quite rarely. Imagine how excited I was to hear that she would be in town this week! And then to learn that she would be able to lunch with us this afternoon! Lovely!
~ I'm feeling a bit better today. I think the cold is departing my body. Did I not tell you? I've been dealing with a bit of a cold over the last couple days. The snotty nose and general achy-ness are bothersome, and seem to be sapping my energy. I hate colds. Given the fact that Syd's runny nose seems to be gone entirely today, I'd rather be the sick one and take it all on myself than have her catch any more of what I've got. After all, she's got birthday activities at school tomorrow, and the Halloween festivities at school on Friday.
~ I have so much television to catch up on. List of what's on my DVR right now: The Good Wife (10/13, 10/20); The Office (10/22); 30 Rock (10/22); and Eastwick (10/28); as well as several episodes of Gossip Girl and Jungle Junction.

I feel swampy ... yes, swampy

We're back home in Arizona; I officially have a cold; all our bags are in the kitchen, as I will not even open them (except for my toothbrush) until tomorrow; and I'm all full of melancholy thinking about tomorrow being Sydney's third birthday. I did the entire drive by myself today, which was fine, since all I wanted was to get myself and my kid home, so I'm super tired right now. Why am I still blogging? Because I'm too lazy at this moment to get up and move.
The drive itself was uneventful, and moved pretty quickly. I can't believe that I peed more often then Sydney! She's got such a little bladder! But managed to hold it from Mom's house to Blythe, Calif. That's about six hours, people. At any rate, she also napped for two hours during that time.
Because of the high level of tiredness in your favorite blogger, the pictures of the "stars" invited to leave the fantabulous Dancing with the Stars, will be posted here, with little to no textual fanfare. Except to say that I'm bummed to see Louie Vito and his pro, Chelsie Hightower, leave the dance floor. And as much as I peripherally appreciate Melissa Joan Hart, I'm not sad to see her waltz off the stage.

Same bat editor, same bat blog address

Who really thought that Baby Einstein DVDs made their kids smarter? I never thought these fantastic discs would make my baby smarter; all I wanted was something to entertain her enough so I could get a couple minutes of quiet on my own. Baby Einstein wasn't an intelligence booster, it was a pseudo babysitter! I don't remember if the packaging ever really said that the items would make kids smarter, but apparently they implied enough to get someone angry about the claim. The main complainer started a campaign, which gained speed when parents decided that their kids weren't smart enough after watching the videos, and suddenly, Disney is smacked with a potential class-action suit if they don't offer refunds to those parents of these less-intelligent children. The refund base is increasing, due to the recent increase in media coverage of the suit.
Am I the only person not at all interested in a refund? All I can think is that the Baby Einstein DVDs did exactly what I wanted them to do: they gave the kid something to stare at for a few minutes while I watched the news, or checked my e-mail, or took the dogs out for a pee, or sat down and took deep breaths. (I initially had the words "laid down," but Mom made me change it, so as not to infer that I took a nap or something.) At any rate, I still am a huge fan of my Baby Einstein stuff.

My Dancing with the Stars voting (9 votes allowed):
Kelly Osbourne ~ 2 votes.
Mark Dacascos ~ 2 vote.
Donny Osmond ~ 2 votes.
Joanna Krupa ~ 1 vote.
Louie Vito ~ 1 vote.
Mya ~ 1 vote.
Melissa Joan Hart, Aaron Carter and Michael Irvin ~ 0 votes.
Okay, and because I was flaky earlier this week and missed my blog posting on Tuesday, I'll attach last week's departing "star" to this portion of tonight's text.

"I'm a genie in a bottle, baby ..."

I am absolutely exhausted, feel like I'm fighting a cold, and in disbelief that no frickin' other baseball team can send the Yankees home with their tails between their legs. Can NO ONE beat these beasts in pin stripes? Ack!
However, I am committed to continuing with my avatar Halloween costumes every day until the big day, so tonight I give you the genie (Mom's choice). I actually quite like her, she's a bit sassier than Jeannie. And you won't find me being all, "Master," and all that. And if you want a wish ... you gotta rub me the right way.

Send in the clown; she's awesome

I love Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays. Dressing up, though I don't do it as well, or as consistently, as I used to, is still one of my favorite things, too. And I live vicariously through my avatars. So, as I did last year, I'll be dressing my little avatar here for Halloween for the week leading up to the big costume holiday.
Tonight, we are rocking the clown.

The pony's name is Marshmallow

Okay, I can't tell you, at all, why I've been so lax in dealing with the blog this month. Like I was telling Aunt Bette today, I've just had a rough time coming up with anything too creative, interesting or intelligent lately. Even tonight, I'm not entirely sure what I'd like to regale you with from my day.
Mom and I took Sydney to the biggest pumpkin patch/harvest festival ever this morning. We had thought that we'd be able to handle the whole thing in an hour, but the shear size of this event made that impossible. What we did get done though, was get Sydney to take a pony ride. Oh my, she LOVED it! My pictures of it are great!
In other Halloween news, Sydney attended her first Halloween party this evening. She was able to run around with other kids in costume, and do crafts and activities and, the best part, trick-or-treat. She's gotten so good at saying it, and was so wonderful about it. Sydney had a lovely day today!
So, besides all the Halloween goodness this weekend, Sydney's got her birthday party tomorrow. She'll be a very tired little girl on Tuesday when we drive home!

No line on the horizon

Katy and I are going to see U2 in concert tomorrow night. I love U2. Honestly, they are the best band ever. I always love seeing them in concert. The problem with this concert in particular though, and the reason why it's an event I seem to be dragging my feet to rather than skipping down the highway to attend, is that I spent way too much on the tickets.
You should have been there that morning. It was a feverish bidding war for the best tickets I could get, and I let the excitement of the hunt get to me. Had I known then what I know now ... . Alas, I was high on the crazy running through my head, and I couldn't stop myself.
I've had the tickets up on CraigsList for the past couple months, and no one is interested in taking them off my hands. Because I'm not in love with this particular CD, I was pretty okay with missing the concert. Because I got in trouble for spending so much money on the tickets, I was okay with selling them and putting the cash straight onto the AmEx card.
And ... because I love this band so much, I am okay with going to the show tomorrow night ... because, you know, not going would be a complete waste.
And for my dear friend, Sarah, my U2 partner in crime, I'll scream, "Look over HHHEEEEERRRRREEEEE!!"

My Dancing with the Stars voting (10 votes allowed):
Kelly Osbourne ~ 2 votes. I am just loving her. I am not entirely sure it's not just a crush on her random hats and fantastic hair accessories.
Mark Dacascos ~ 2 votes. He needs to get better. I really want him to do as well as I think he can.
Donny Osmond ~ 2 votes. Inexplicably, it hurts me to vote for him twice, but I think he's doing better, despite his constant whining and old-man jokes. I'm torn as to whether he's a bit more irritating that Marie.
Joanna Krupa ~ 2 votes. She danced with Maks tonight. Two votes.
Louie Vito ~ 1 vote. I really like this kid! He's awesome! Did you see him totally school Aaron Carter on doing a flip? Fantastic!
Aaron Carter ~ 1 vote. I count myself among those that are, for whatever reason, turned off by him. But he's doing well. So, one vote.
Mya, Natalie Coughlin, Melissa Joan Hart, Michael Irvin ~ 0 votes. While I like what Mya is doing for this competition, and the rest of them are likable, there just, sadly, aren't enough votes for me to make everyone happy here.
Who leaves tomorrow? I'll guess it's either Irvin or Vito.

Rocking out to "Friends in Low Places"

I am completely willing to mess with my cool quotient by being excited about this bit of news: Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement. He's been out of the spotlight for some time now, his last album was released in 2001, and no one's seen much of him for those eight years or so. And then, today comes this announcement. A less excitable person would postulate that, well, obviously even Garth Brooks has lost some money over the last few years. Me? I'm intrigued to see what the last several years have done to him as a singer and songwriter. (As long as nothing has the name "Chris Gaines" attached to it.) I saw floated in an article the words Las Vegas, as well. I would LOVE to see him in Vegas! How cool!
So now I've got Brooks on the brain. And this also means that it's time to break out the Garth Brooks songs on the iPod!

Yes, a balloon dragon

I think, this week, I will focus on posting pictures that have nothing at all to do with the actual text in the post. That sounds like fun to me. You?

I've had a weird issue with my bag lately. While it is still very cool, and I love carrying it around, I feel as though it is time to re-graduate to the bags I used to carry before Sydney was born. For those of you who really know the bags I used to carry, those tiny little things that could only hold my wallet, phone and keys, I will say that no, not those bags, but the larger, old-school Kate Spade bags. You remember that awesome red one I carried around everywhere for the longest time? That's the one I pulled out of the "bag bin" this afternoon. It's smaller and lighter than the leather one I carry now, but still has space enough for all my stuff (wallet, keys, phone, Burt's Bees lip balm, Purell, a couple lip glosses, a pen), Sydney's stuff (crayons, bag of snacks, sippy cup), and random paper bits. I think it's time for the extra, just-in-case kid stuff (panties, leggings, wipes) to stay in the car, so that will make room in the bag, too. Also, there's a pocket inside this red one that is big enough for the phone and wallet, though it isn't designed for them. I've become addicted to the little side pockets for those things. (Hmmm, perhaps a NEW bag is in order?)
The red bag is sitting on my bed right now ... staring at me. I will make the switch tomorrow while Sydney's in school. Of course, I'll see if it'll work before I commit to it completely. But I won't lie, there is something very awesome about moving back to my pre-baby bags. It's only been three years. For all that time, I fantasized about not toting diapers anymore, and carrying a real bag again. That the time has come is both fantastic and a little scary. I'm almost high with the anticipation. And the selection! If this works out, I've got such a group of awesome bags to choose from for my daily use! And then there are the new ones, too!!

Not my kid in this picture

Most kids are all, "I'm not sure what I want to be for Halloween." Most moms say, "Well, pick something." Most dads are sure to have a conversation with their wife before buying a costume for their kid, "So, what's she being for Halloween?" And most moms, again, say, "I've got it ordered/ it's been purchased/ she'll be ready."
Herein lies our issue for this Halloween season: Sydney now has two costumes. She and I went through catalogs and more catalogs, before finally settling on the frickin' adorable piggy costume. I ordered it; it was in stock and ready to ship. During this time, Brian visited the Pottery Barn Kids store, and picked up a different awesome costume, that of a jack o'lantern. She loved the "pumpkin costume" so much she wore it all afternoon, even to the grocery store. A couple hours later, she announced that she'd rather be a pig. Pumpkin already was minus its tags, which makes it an official purchase.
Today, the pig costume arrived. So cool! And she was so excited to wear it! I think it's a little small, weirdly, but it's comfortable, so that's all that matters to her.
Brian's all, "Which is she going to be?" I say, "We've got two awesome costumes that she loves. They'll both be made into whole ensembles, so she'll get to choose which one she wants to be before each event."
Halloween in my house is awesome, and can be either a bit bovine, or vegetarian.

Also, Chuck Liddell was sent packing from Dancing with the Stars tonight. That's okay, I decided. Sadly, though, that also means the end of his partner's tenure this season. I'd become very pleased to be watching Anna Trebunskaya toss around the most fantastic bitchy attitude!

Flutter by little butterfly

Stuff around my bedroom right now:
1. Bath towel hanging on the bedroom door. This is NOT normal. And it's bugging me. Not enough to get up and hang it in the bathroom, but enough to constantly catch my eye and make me cringe. [Update: I just got up and rehung the towel in the bathroom. Whew!]
2. Three different and distinct piles of clothing on my bed. One is clean and folded, waiting to be hung. One is clean, waiting to be folded and hung. The last is dirty, which needs to be in the hamper.
3. Magnet toy that goes with a DoodlePad. Sydney left it in here two days ago, and I've yet to get it back out into the toy bins.
4. Oliver. He's sleeping on the clean, unfolded clothing on the bed. He likes that. I'm not a fan of it though.
5. Daisy. She's sleeping on her side on the floor between the bed and my cozy chair.
6. Red Sox sweatshirt. It's Brian's, and it's laying on the chair back. It's sad.
7. Castle on my television. This is one of my very favorite television shows. Right now though, I think the female protagonist's hairstyle looks very much like Carol Brady's with the flippy.

My Dancing with the Stars voting (11 votes allowed):
Kelly Osbourne ~ 2 votes. I'm really loving her and her insecurities, which include an adoration of musical theater. The wigs are fantastic.
Mya ~ 2 votes. I don't know what little thing during their video montage tipped the scales entirely in her favor in my head, but it was something. Totally dug her, and the dance rocked. I think Kelly and Mya are my front runners.
Donny Osmond ~ 2 votes. These votes are purely tied to the crazy this guy brings to the dance floor. That, and the fact that he's the only male contestant worth anything on the show.
Joanna Krupa ~ 2 votes. I don't know why I'm liking her, but I am.
Michael Irvin ~ 1 vote. Bruno is mean to him, and that's not cool. I vote so I can give him confidence.
Mark Dacascos ~ 1 vote. I just like him. I like him to do well. And that jumping thing was pretty cool.
Louie Vito ~ 1 vote. I wish the judges were nicer to him, too.
Melissa Joan Hart, Natalie Coughlin, Chuck Liddell, Aaron Carter ~ 0 votes. No love for them.

Now, I don't feel guilty for not watching

I'm breaking up with Gossip Girl. There are two episodes sitting on my DVR, last week and this past Monday, and I have no desire or inclination to watch them. I've got so much television that I am drawn to watching either later that evening, or the very next day, that when I find myself almost avoiding a program, I think it must be time to let it go. It's not that I no longer love the characters. On the contrary, I am still totally into Blair and Chuck as a couple. It's the situations, and the plot lines, and the ridiculous issues in which they are all being randomly ensnared that are driving me batty. And the scoop on the future scenarios are making me nervous. It's never a good thing when I hear something about a show, and I actually, physically, roll my eyes. So sadly, I feel like I should break up with Gossip Girl. I'll keep recording the show, in case I change my mind and am just that bored this winter, but as of now, it's just going to hang out on my DVR.
Other shows I'm breaking up with: Heroes (I have no interest in this show at all anymore, but Brian makes me watch it with him), and Community (I started watching for Chevy Chase. He was not enough to keep me interested though).

Honey Nut Cheerios are better!

I've made a small change to my Special K diet ... I am no longer eating the Special K cereal. I bought the larger, family-size box of the Special K: Red Berries cereal. I noticed that, once the cereal level reaches about half, all the berries are gone. The way the cereal settles in the box, all the berries seem to rise to the top and the flakes dominate the bottom portion of the container. This is bothersome. I've never liked flakes-only cereal. They're so ... vanilla that way. Without the berries, the cereal is, well, icky. So here's my change: I'm going to start eating my own yummy Honey Nut Cheerios as my one cereal meal. My thought process is that it's not the cereal itself that is the diet's catalyst, but the removal of all the other garbage in my normal eating practices that are the biggest problem. Having made that mental realization, I'm going to roll with eating the cereal that I like better. It makes the "cereal meal" much more appetizing.
Dancing with the Stars news: Our favorite Republican contender, Tom DeLay, is bowing out of the competition, due to the two stress fractures in his feet (one in each). I feel bad for Cheryl Burke, his partner, but I'm sure that she probably figured she'd be out of the running for the mirrorball trophy by now anyway. In an effort to be "fair," the show "honored" the fans' voting and judges' scoring by continuing with business as usual, and eliminating the lowest vote-getter, Debi Mazar. Sadly, this also means the end of another one of my favorite professionals, Maksim Chmerkovsky.

Voting tonight

There's nothing wrong tonight. I just have little to nothing to be creative writing about. Ugh!

My Dancing with the Stars voting (13 votes allowed):
Kelly Osbourne ~ 2 votes. I don't like that she feels so insecure. She's so much better than this doubtfulness. I'm loving her!
Mark Dacascos ~ 2 votes. I wish he'd done better tonight. I like him!
Mya ~ 2 votes. Her dance tonight ... awesome.
Aaron Carter ~ 2 votes. I feel like her should get at least one pity vote for having to react off the Muppets last week. But really, I like him for the finals.
Debi Mazar ~ 1 vote. We got to see Mel B. and Maks in the same room again!!
Donny Osmond ~ 1 vote. What was all that kissing with Bruno thing? Oh, you mean that? That was shameless attention whoring.
Joanna Krupa ~ 1 vote. I actually didn't mean to vote for her.
Louie Vito ~ 1 vote. Loved, loved, loved him and Chelsie this week!
Natalie Coughlin ~ 1 vote.

Men behaving ... like crazy men

Okay, not to put too bad a spin on the men in this post, but really, dudes in the news are making themselves look crazy lately.
Case #1: Jon Gosselin. I am trying so hard to stay away from this, since I don't watch the show, and can only comment on the hysteria that is the family's tabloid life. The entire thing is a train wreck, and yes, those poor kids are caught in the middle of it. ... I will say though, that for all the screaming about the kids being so caught in the middle, I've yet to ever see them on the cover of a magazine. As far as I can tell, they're just kids going through their parents' divorce (granted, cameras; but that's something they're very, very used to). And a divorce is something that a whole lot of other kids have dealt with. ... Anyway, back to Gosselin. Since he and Kate are divorcing, he's been fired from the show, which now will be called Kate Plus Eight. And since he's no longer on the show, and therefore not getting a paycheck, Gosselin has suddenly had an "epiphany" and decided that the show is not good for his kids, and that it should be shut down. Suspect, yes? What the hell? Dude. You're not even living in the same state as your kids, have no real income of your own to provide for them, and now want to deny your soon-to-be ex-wife her only means to a paycheck to feed, clothe and take care of your children? Dick move.
Case #2: David Letterman. I like Letterman. I don't watch the show, but I've found him to be somewhat amusing, fascinatingly bitchy to difficult guests (hello, Joaquin Phoenix!), and intelligent. And when I heard about his little extortion/sex scandal that broke yesterday, I was not at all surprised. Not that I expected that he would be the cheating and philandering type, but I certainly appreciate how he is a god in that studio, and several, several women would love to sleep with him. He's like a politician, but funnier. That he took advantage of that god-ness is icky and kinda creepy (judgment!), but I like how he stood up for his behavior and put the extortionist in handcuffs. It's a good thing that he is taking responsibility for his actions.
Case #3: Barack Obama. Am I awful in that I'm glad that the 2016 Summer Olympics are going to Rio de Janeiro instead of Chicago? Dude. You've got p-l-e-n-t-y of stuff to worry about right here, between our little shores. The last thing we need you doing is jaunting off to Denmark to give metaphorical blowjobs to the International Olympics Committee is hopes of bringing people to Chicago in seven years. Learn to share the spotlight, and for the time being, let the world figure stuff out without the United States' input and/or strong-arming.

October rocks

Ah, October. Lovely!
OCTOBER!: This month, the cooler weather begins. We had our windows open last night, and the most delightfully cool breeze blew threw the house all evening. This morning, Brian's toes got cold as he watered the grass. I was able to keep my windows open all morning, and the air conditioner didn't flip on until 11:30 a.m. Finally! An end to our summer has arrived!
OCTOBER!: As is my custom on the first day of October, I put up all the Halloween decorations. Throughout my house, you will find witches, ghosts, pumpkins and Jack O'Lanterns, and this year, candy corn, placed in fun locales and looking jaunty. Yes, jaunty. I had to psyche Sydney up for all the stuff on our way back home from school, because goodness knows, if she didn't already think it was so wonderful as we walked through the door, she would decide it was scary. And because everything needed to find a new home throughout the place, it took me longer to display it all. Actually, it took the entire four hours Syd was in school.
OCTOBER!: Notice how farmer-y my October avatar is looking! This is, of course, an homage to my continued obsession with FarmVille on Facebook. I'm on level 23 right now, and am able to plant and grow corn. I've got my first crop growing right now. Honestly, I am eager to advance mainly because I want to build a greenhouse on my property. That, I can not do until Level 30. Damn! I want my greenhouse!
OCTOBER!: At the end of this month, my baby girl turns three. Ack! I can't believe how big she's gotten, and how grown up she is now!
OCTOBER!: Another birthday! On the 10th, Oliver will be nine years old! Ack! Another one of my children getting older so fast!