Miss Independent

So it's been a while. We've been pretty busy. Doing what? You know, everything and nothing all at the same time. Not anything to really blog about. Except for maybe the fact that our boys won the championship(!!!), they went on a camping retreat last weekend, and oh, Travis' car got stolen! But no worries, it was left on the side of the road just a mile away from our home when the cops found it and came banging on our door at 11 pm while I was home alone with Anna. Again, no need to worry. We're safe, our car's back in its proper parking space, and the next thing on our to-do list is buy a club.

Aannyywayy...on to more important matters like the fact that we have a little miss independent on our hands. Yeah, we guessed it might be that way, what with both of us being first borns, we kind of suspected our first born would inherit the dreaded first born attitude that sounds something like this: "it's my way, I'm always right, I can do it by myself, etc". And she can't even talk yet! How at just shy of 14 months do we already have a child who wants to do everything on her own? I guess this is only the beginning.

Do you wonder if you have an independent child? You may if...

1. She tries to grab her toothbrush from your hands while you're trying to brush her teeth. Of course she wants to do it all by herself.

2. She lets go of your hand at the exact moment you're trying to cross the street. She can be safe all by herself.

3. You pull her away from something she's not allowed to be in (i.e. her trashcan full of poopy diapers, a medicine cabinet that should have a child lock on it but you haven't had time to fix it) and she flails her arms only to make a bigger mess than if you would've just left her alone.

4. She wants to dress herself. Ok, so she can't actually put her clothes on by herself just yet but she hand picked these shoes all by herself (or maybe this is more of a creative child, which I don't mind one bit!)

5. You take her to the YMCA or church childcare and she could care less that you're leaving her. See ya, Ma, I've got toys to play with and people to see!

6. She refuses to eat unless she's doing the forking or spooning.

7. She says "no" to everything! The good news for us is Anna can't say "no" yet but I know it's just around the corner!

8. You've contemplated getting a child leash so when you're outside walking or in public she can still explore while still being close enough in case you need to run after her. Because an independent child will not sit in a stroller for very long.

**Ok, that last one you may think I'm crazy, but I'm totally serious. If it weren't for Travis I would definitely put Anna on a leash!

So do you have an independent child? I'd love to hear advice on how to handle one. You know, so I'm not tempted to pull out my hair and at the same time crying on the inside because she doesn't need me anymore while also letting her be free to safely explore the world around her.

A banana, a monkey, and a few heroines

I loved Halloween growing up and it's not much different today, especially now that I have a child. Like I said in one of my previous posts, activities are so much fun with a kid in tow! Last night we did it all: dressed up, went door to door with a few of our little friends, and passed out candy. The night was concluded with a pot of white chicken chili, Hocus Pocus, and a few bites of Anna's candy that we collected (shhh, don't tell!) 

A lot of you know one of Anna's many nicknames is "Anna Banana" so I thought it'd be cute to dress her as a banana and Travis and I as her monkeys. However, my costume changed entirely once my two volunteers for girls nights and I decided to go as a trio. You'll see below who we chose!

Cutest banana I've ever seen! She saw an airplane. She loves them!

Here's the thing, she didn't like Travis' monkey mask and mullet (I mean, who would?!) Like, she hated it. Wouldn't even look at him. So we improvised and got her one of her monkey stuffed animals to take pictures with. And the hairstyle below, we call that the "pulled hair bow out of hair" look.  

Look at that Zoolander pose!

Yes, I made her costume. Yes, it may look more like a fairy or a flower but hey, homemade costumes are always the best! My mom used to make ours, Travis (the creative one) used to make his, so I felt it only necessary I make Anna's. I think these shots below make her look most like a banana.

Our girls night girls are obsessed with the Powerpuff Girls. Do you remember the show? 

When I was in middle school my friends and I loved the Powerpuff girls, so much so that my AIM name was "blossom503". I guess you could say I was a little obsessed too. When our girls started calling us by the Powerpuff Girls names we knew exactly who we were going to dress like for Halloween!

Well, what do you think? 

Yours Truly as Buttercup (she just fit me better this time around)
Susan as Blosson
Emily as Bubbles

Too bad most of our girls were confused and it took a few tries for them to guess who we were! But we did get a random group of adult women ask if we were the Powerpuff Girls, so...YES! 

Anna refused to let Travis hold her or be within 5 feet of her when he had that mask on so he kind of had to sneak into the family shot. And just look at that nasty mullet. He seriously wears it every chance he gets (a lot of you already know this from previous Halloweens and dress ups!) 

Don't worry, Anna, Mommy and the Powerpuff Girls will save you!

Whelp, here's to hoping Anna won't be as scared next year! How was your Halloween? Did you and/or your kids dress up and get tons of candy to make you sick for the next year like we did?! I hope we're not the only ones :)

Skytop Apple Orchard

This year was the year to go apple picking, not because I hadn't been in a long time, but because we have a little one now and all those seasonal activities are much more fun with a kid in tow. They give us adults an excuse to do all the kid stuff again, like climb a tree for the best apple at the top. And don't think that Travis didn't do exactly that. He wasn't going to be told twice to get that one just out of reach when standing on your tippy toes. And the apple cider donuts were most definitely worth the 15 minute wait in line. Bought a dozen, went home with five--yeah, so they were pretty high up there on my favorite donuts list; and I have a list. So having a kid can definitely have its perks but when you go with the best people ever than it just makes the experience that much better! We went with a couple who have become our great friends over the past year. We love the Jowers to pieces and what better way to spend time with them than picking apples and eating donuts? Sounds like a perfect day to me.

I mean, look at those Macs and Pink Ladies. They look pret-ty cool, if I do say so myself.

Have you ever heard of blushing gold apples? Yeah, me neither. After being told they make a really good apple pie, Travis said yep, we're getting those! Not because he's baking a pie, but because he expects me to. We'll see how that turns out--I guess I do have plenty to practice with considering we went home with a peck! Not exactly sure how much a peck is but the bag was filled to the top.

Isn't this the ideal apple with the little leaf still attached? 

My man climbing a tree to get the perfect apple.
Reverting back to his childhood or trying to impress his Pink Lady?
I'd say the former ;)

When she wasn't throwing a fit in her stroller (because she's a walker now, Mom, how dare you confine her to a stroller when you have to walk 400 yards across an orchard atop a mountain?!) Anna was perfectly content playing in the dirt and pulling the apples out of our basket.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful! It reminded me so much of when we lived in Greenville, South Carolina and could see the mountain ridges on a daily basis. A little photoshoot with the mountains in the background was a must and these next few pictures are pretty much my favorite! Anna's faces are almost too much to take and those pigtails, I could just die.

Had to take a family shot to prove we were at an orchard, you know. Anna apparently didn't get the memo about wearing flannel.

It really was the perfect day. The weather was beautiful, the scenery was breathtaking, and the company was even better. Plus we left with a peck of apples and a happy tummy, filled with 3.5 donuts. Yummm! 

See that picture at the top

Yeah, the one where we're kissing our daughter on the cheek, not once, but twice, and her wanting to break free. This is the epitome of our relationship with her. We love this little girl so much and can't get enough of kissing, hugging, cuddling with her. She, on the other hand, tries to get out of those kisses, pulls away from hugs, and breaks free when we try to cuddle. And then there are times when we do something silly and she gives us a look like Are you serious right now? You are not funny, people! I didn't think this behavior would start until she's in middle school! Jeesh! I get it (a little), she's a busy girl and doesn't want people all up in her business when she's trying to explore, but can't a mama and daddy show a little love (all the time)?

Sorry, Anna, your parents will never stop loving you, never stop kissing you (especially in public!), never stop hugging and wanting to cuddle with you. So get used to it, baby!

Photo credit: my sister, Stefanie <3