Trying Out Curlers, part 1

Last Christmas I bought some pillow curlers for Gabrielle. She has very fine, very straight hair. I have tried in the past to curl her hair with a curling iron and the slight curl that I can get in her hair falls right out within an hour. We only tried these new pillow curlers once last year but we didn't follow the suggested styling tips so they didn't really turn out that well. The curlers work best if you sleep while wearing them and I just didn't think Gabrielle would keep them in - until now. I figured she is becoming such a big girl in so many ways that maybe we could at least give it a try. She was very excited about them. I just checked on her, now sound asleep in her bed, and the curlers all seem to still be in place. She is quite a wild sleeper so we'll see how well they stay in throughout the night.

Doesn't she look cute in her curlers? I can't wait to the results in the morning!!

Build-a-Bear

One of Gabrielle's birthday gifts was a Build-a-Bear gift card from her cousin Emily. On Saturday afternoon we made the trip to Crabtree Mall for Gabrielle to use her gift card. It was quite a different experience from the first time we took her to Build-a-Bear.

Last year when she turned two we took her there to let her spend some money she received as a gift. Gabrielle was not a very opinionated 2-year-old and basically Ed and I chose what she was going to make from the animal to the outfit.

I took Gabrielle again this past June after we got a special email coupon for a free animal. She was definitely more choosy on that visit and insisted on getting a pink sparkly unicorn.

This visit Gabrielle noticed that some of the animals had "babies" - miniature already stuffed versions of the animals. She had to have an animal that also had a baby. After standing and studying all the animals, tapping her fingers on her chin, obviously contemplating this very tough decision, she chose the seasonal Spooky Kooky Kitty and her baby.

Gabrielle and her new friends "Momma Cat" & "Sister Baby Cat"

Gabrielle was much more involved in the whole process of stuffing the kitty than she was even in June with the unicorn. She also wanted clothes for her kitty and of course chose the pink ballet outfit and shoes. As if there was ever any doubt what she would pick! Ed showed her several other outfits and even wanted the kitty to try them on just to see and with each one Gabrielle's response was "No, no, no, not that one. The ballerina!!"

All of her Build-a-Bear animals have had a turn wearing
the ballerina outfit. This is her first animal, Pooh Bear, wearing
the tutu.

It was also Ed's idea to show Gabrielle the different sound options she could put inside her kitty so we'll be hearing "meow" nonstop for however long it takes for the button to stop working!

There have been several performances and recitals by the various
Build-a-Bear animals. Gabrielle lines up her other gazillion
stuffed animals as the audience.

Thank you again Emily for the gift card ~ Gabrielle loves her kitties!!

Remember This

Last night while grocery shopping at Target I found something I have not seen in a while - General Mills Monster cereal!! One of my favorites as a child. So I bought a box of Boo Berry and a box of Franken Berry.

Gabrielle chose the Boo Berry for breakfast this morning. She was really excited about "scary monster cereal." And just like me, she ate all the marshmallows first and was left with a bowl full of plain cereal!

Just A Swingin'

Another beautiful day, another fun afternoon outside. We decided - well, actually I guess I decided - instead of going to the park today we would hang out in the backyard.

Today was Samantha's first time in a swing. The sun was a little bright but I think she enjoyed it. Gabrielle loved having her sister beside her swinging and also had a ton of fun pushing Samantha in the swing. I wish I had my video camera because the two of them were laughing hysterically at one another! I am in no hurry for Samantha to grow up but I can tell from today next summer is going to be so much fun and Gabrielle is going to love having someone to run around with and play with everyday. (Well maybe not everyday. )


Gabrielle played with Bella a little, chasing her and trying to play fetch with her. Bella isn't great at retrieving and Gabrielle doesn't really throw very far so the game was a rather slow and boring one.

I have LOVED the weather this week! Windows open, playing outside, getting out all of our fall clothes and I am now craving some yummy fall food like apple crisp! Mmmm... Even though it is supposed to get a tad warmer over the weekend I'm hoping really hot days are behind us and many, many, many more cool fall days lay ahead!