Family Pictures 2012

 We had our family pictures taken on Fort Leonard Wood. I really wanted the beautiful fall colors of the trees in the background, but I was pretty disappointed with how they turned out. I don't think they came out very well at all and I think a lot of that is due to the shadows on our faces. Kind of bummed because I think I could have taken better pictures than this lady but then we'd be missing part of our family! I struggled with finding a photographer in our area that wasn't 2 arms and a leg. Well, guess I know why now! Oh well, I can probably use one for the Christmas card, but I had hopes that we'd get several good shots of our family. And we did get several good poses with kiddos cooperating but not with the help of the photographer. Lesson learned!  So without further ado, here they are.....

Our Lil Candy Corn!

 I saw a cute lil idea for an infant costume and it was candy corn. I thought that I could just make a dress out of it and what cuter than a candy corn dress for Katelyn. Of course, I had to make things a little harder on myself because I decided that the fabric was too thin so I lined it. I've not made many dresses before so the extra layer added a new element to everything. It didn't turn out perfect and I know how I should have done it but it is good enough for the few weeks of wear she'll get out of it. She was pretty excited to get to wear her new "Candy Corn" Dress!! And it was hit at school too!

Of course she couldn't just stand still....she had to "model" it for me!

Trike-A-Thon!

Katelyn's preschool has a different service project each month. For the month of October it is St. Jude Children's Hospital. So they had a Trike-A-Thon and the kids got to bring their trikes/bikes to school and ride them around for the last 30 minutes of the day.
During the week, they talked about different aspects of safety in regards to riding their bikes, etc. So by the time Thursday rolled around, they were ready to go and safe about it too!

They put cones out in the parking lot and let 'em loose!

Ms. Christine getting her all ready to ride

And she's off!

I guess they didn't talk about watching where you are riding during safety week ha!

Those poor teachers, there were kids riding everywhere!! Chaos!

And Will was being a good sport and taking it all in. It was pretty chilly out there that morning too!

Our cute trike rider! She's a pro!!

Katelyn and Katy

The preschool's goal was $1000, but they far surpassed their goal. They raised over $3400!! That's pretty amazing!! And of course, Katelyn had a blast riding her trike.....on a flat surface!!

Family Night at Westside

Tonight, Katelyn's preschool had a Family Night. The theme was "Fire Prevention" because it was Fire Prevention week at school. The local fire department brought the fire engine and tanker and there were activities in the gym for the kids to do. Sparky the fire dog was supposed to be there but he never showed.

Katelyn and her teacher Ms. Heather.

 

Very attentively painting her fire hydrant

Painting, Painting, Painting and of course staying in the lines! She amazes me with her skills!

In the firetruck, for some reason she wouldn't smile. She looked like she was scared. Not sure why.

The fireman is putting her in the jumpseat.....

....and she doesn't weigh enough to keep the seat down. It kept wanting to close up on her! haha! Oh to have that problem!!

Firefighter Katelyn!

 

And then probably the best part of the whole night in Katelyn's eyes.....snacks

Eating donuts with her friend Katy. They had powdered sugar EVERYWHERE!

I was pretty impressed with the night. The firefighters showed the kids anything and everything they wanted to know about the trucks or gear. They opened things, unrolled things, etc. It was neat. I'm also loving her preschool! They have done so many neat things and we're only 1.5 months in!

Fall School Pictures

 Here are Katelyn's school pictures for the Fall. 

Gymnastics

Tonight was Katelyn's first gymnastics class. The class is for 3-5 year olds and meets on post every Monday night.  She was very excited to start and I'm anxious to see how she does and how much she picks up.  Coming from the most unflexible person ever - she'll definitely be able to do more than me in probably jsut a few short weeks! They definitely do a lot more than I thought they would! I was pretty impressed and I was also very pleased with how well she jumped right in the first night. She wasn't shy at all.

Ready to go to her first gymnastics class.

Hula Hoopin'. It seems like an awful big hoop for such a small little girl!

Straddle jumps on the trampoline

Walking up the wall

Back flip

Bars

Bars all by herself. She got her other leg up there too, I just didn't get a picture.

Balance beam time - she was really good on the beam!

And over she goes. That is her teacher, Ms. Tuti!

And she said she had fun and wants to go back. She was definitely one pooped, cranky and tired kid that night! Monday's might be some LONG days if she is like that after every class. Nap maybe?!?

We'll see how she does. If she doesn't like it after she's given it a fair go, that is fine by me. I just want her to find something she likes and is decent at. We plan on letting her try out soccer, softball, and basketball if she wants to see what is her fit. Me - I secretly hope it's softball and won't lie, I'll probably push her a little harder in that sport. However, we AREN'T going to play everything.  In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy watching her find her thing!