Wordless Wednesdays: Two Anniversaries

Our wedding anniversary.

Sadie's anniversary of being tube-free for exactly one year. This day has a lot of meaning for me. Picture was taken the day I pulled it out. A year later and life has changed for the better for us so much.

Catch Up

I keep meaning to blog about a couple of things, so here goes...

One of the best things about raising a toddler is showing them new things. Everything is amazing to them. Last weekend we went with a couple friends to Roger Williams Park Zoo since it was a beautiful day and Sadie had never been to a zoo. We were pretty sure she'd love it. And our instincts were right on the money. This is her reaction to the first animal we came across- a zebra:

I love that pic! That says it all. "You mean..... those things in my books are.... REAL?!?!" So priceless! Sadie had her friend, Amelia, with her, and that made the day even better for her. They were pretty adorable playing and looking at all the animals together. Definitely a great activity, I can't believe it's taken me so long to take her. It's a perfect zoo for kids. Small, but has some great things to see.

Watching the very real zebras.

We also went to a surprise birthday party for a friend last weekend. In classic Sadie form, she of course refused to nap the day we really needed her to (and the days I want her to stay up because of an afternoon activity, she passes out cold.) and I was preparing myself for a short stay at the party. And a very cranky little girl. I was pleasantly surprised though that she sat all throughout dinner and even tried some of the clam bake food. Then came the dancing. Oh, the dancing! She was in her element then and you would never know she had no nap. She and her friends ruled that dance floor! Around 9, we decided to go, because we didn't want to push our luck. I brought her pj's in case she conked out on the way home and she protested loudly in the bathroom as she was being dressed "NO!! I wanna DANCE!!". I seriously think she could have danced the night away. But as soon as we we in the car and down the street, she was deeply asleep! No tantrums, a night out...... ahhhh..... nice. :)

Sadie and Amelia dancin' the night away.

Also, down the street from us they had a jack-o-lantern walk through the woods and we bundled up and met a few friends for a nighttime Halloween stroll. It was so cool! Over a thousand pumpkins along the trail. It was so pretty and just a perfect October night to see all the lit pumpkins. I heart fall so much.

A group of jack-o-lanterns on the trail.

Go Rhody!

So that's been the latest happenings in our adventures in Rhode Island. We're in full fall mode and loving it!

Wordless Wednesday: Why Housework Takes So Long

A Close Call

It's a sad story, folks, but thankfully with a happy ending. Imagine, if you will, opening up Facebook and seeing that one of your most favorites places for good eats updated that they just concocted a delicious homemade pumpkin ice cream, that could be mine, mine, all MINE for the taking! Oh joy! Oh rapture! It's all I could think about. It's all I could dream about. Unfortunately for John, it's all I could talk about. I finally got over there and eagerly bought their completely ridiculously overpriced pumpkin ice cream, which had better have been made with the utmost love, care, and delicious ingredients available to man for that price. So I race home, run inside and grab a spoon and prepare for utopia..... only to be utterly disappointed. It really..... wasn't all that great. I just kind of stood there in my kitchen, with my empty spoon, feeling kind of deflated. It was way too pumpkin-y and not near enough sweet ice cream-y. Le sigh. What to do? I hated to waste it, it was that expensive, and also, I still needed my pumpkin fix. But an idea hit (they are few and far between), what goes better with pumpkin than ginger??? I took some ginger cookies and sandwiched the ice cream between them and voila- Pumpkin Ginger Ice Cream Sandwiches were born! And ya know what? PERFECTION! It was exactly the flavoring needed- pumpkin disaster avoided!! And no, I haven't OD'd on pumpkin yet, in case you were wondering. :)

Wordless Wednesday: PAPA!

Cozy Corner time!

Happy Sadie with her Papa.

Papa brought Sadie a big surprise- her first tricycle! Big girl now!

Having a ball, playing ball!

Things To Love About That Girl!

1) Her genuine love for vacuuming. Seriously. If I want to get her out of a bad mood, I say, "Hey, you wanna vacuum with me???" (That's her doggy vacuum.)

2) Her obsession with puddle stomping! I made her day with a rainy day walk and puddle hunt today.

3) Naked reading on the couch. HA! This cracked me up when I walked into the room. Reading a catalogue on the couch, so chill and laid back, so adult!

4) My current favorite video. Her intently working on her painting, singing "apples and bananas", and then a lengthy explanation on what she was making. :)