Once a Dawg, Always a Dawg, How sweet it is!

It would have been sweet without the win, but the win, especially after this season, sure did make it extra sweet!  I am embarrassed to say that this was my first time in Athens all season, but then, we're in a new season of life that doesn't leave much spare time for heading to the Classic City for the weekend!  It was wonderful to be under the trees, listening to music, watching the crazies (and the cute kids) and enjoying chef Tim's good eats. 

Randomness!

1.   We're working on drinking out of a "big girl" cup.  Soon we'll get out of the highchair too and move to our new "dining" table.
2.  Yes, we went back to the pumpkin patch!  Didn't want David to miss out on this glorious place!  And we enjoyed a fun picnic, too!

3.  St. Jude!  Another huge thanks to my donors that helped me meet my goal so quickly!  If you still want to donate, my friend Elizabeth just has a few more bucks to raise for St. Jude.  You can access her donating site by clicking HERE!

4.  A blog post 50 Rules for Dads with Daughters has been floating around Facebook and I love it.  Click HERE to check it out!  And on a not so serious note,  An Open Letter to Toddlers speaks on behalf of many, many parents.  Click HERE to check this blog post out.

Happy Halloween!

 I am not wearing this hat! 

 Unless you let me pick flowers!  (But that didn't work either.)

 And we are off!  Not so sure about this!

 First stop - neighborhood party!

 Then we stopped by the ole' rental house.

 Finally cheering up some!

 We ran in to babysitter Elizabeth along the way.

 And soon, with Dad's help, we had the hang of it.

 Checking out our stash!

And Mom hid the stash and I cried because I caught on immediately.  I tasted Skittles for the first time.  I like them.  That is all I got to taste.  There is a bucket of candy in the house that I WILL find!  See ya next year!   And big kids, look out!  I've got this figured out now!

Toots Goes to the Zoo!

Let's just say taking a non-walking DM to the zoo and a running DM to the zoo are two different outings!  Our dear friend Amie met DM and me there.  As usual, Amie was a HUGE help!  Plus, she arrived with Gold Fish and Animal Crackers in tow for DM!  What a dear!  Given our new more "independent" status, we didn't see much of the zoo or get many pictures, but we had a good time anyway!

 Riding the train

We ran in to one of my favorite people EVER from our old neighborhood in Kennesaw - my old Pilates instructor Cyndi and her girls.  Chloe (middle) was born just after DM, and it seems like just yesterday Isabella (right) was born!

There is a milk co-op!

No, it isn't our neighborhood.  It is DM's new daycare. DM recently moved to Mt. Pisgah for daycare!  We tossed and turned over moving her for over 8 months.   Any move we made would take sacrifices in several areas for us.  One area would be that I'd no longer be able to prepare DM's food.  We had her at the only daycare in our area that allows parents to bring in food. 

As time passed, there were so many opportunities for us to plainly see DM needed to go to another daycare, even if it meant she'd have to eat more processed food.  The only way to avoid it was to hire in-home care, and we don't have the space in our house yet to house another person who might want an ounce of privacy.  We visited Pisgah and were just SO excited about it.  The center is so big and spacious and offers many activities for the kiddos.  Our visit was on a Friday, and David went back early Monday morning with all of our papers filled out.  Pisgah often has a waiting list.  But because we were right at the turn in the school year, there were a few openings, and we got one!

DM had a great first week!  And SO many parents have reached out to us.  I've received several emails from parents who have dropped off after me who just want to let me know DM was having a good time when they saw her later in the morning!  We've already had our first play date with a new friend.  And I have been so thrilled to learn that some of her classmates are not of the Christian faith.  She already has one friend being raised Jewish!  This may sound odd to some folks, but I am also passionate about DM being raised around a variety of faiths and learning that while we are Christians, we will respect and learn about other faiths.

But at the bottom of my heart was this food thing.  I don't know why I can't let it go, but I can't.  And on our play date, the mom told me we have a milk co-op to bring in organic milk for our classroom.  Oh, happy day!  Some may think I am crazy, and that is okay.  But organic milk makes me happy! We might find out years from now that milk is milk is milk, but for now, organic milk makes me happy.

Pumpkin Surprise

Mimi took us to Burt's Pumpkin Farm today!   It was so nice to get away for a bit!  The week had been so busy with starting a new daycare (more to come!) and not one but TWO trips to the doctor.  We just wanted to have fun.   

 DM searched and searched for the perfect pumpkin.  She was very serious about this task!

 And she took a break from searching to watch a tractor go by. 

 She watched as far as she could see!

 Little lady was so serious on this trip.  She just watch everything in amazement. 

 We had a great time!  Thanks, Mimi!

My First Krispy Kreme Donut!

 Mom decided it was time for my first Krispy Kreme donut today!  Yummm!  Did I mention that Daddy is babysitting me today while Mom goes to play and I NEVER get sugar!  We are going to have FUN!