Beware!

*I am warning you that the overwhelming cuteness in this post may not be suitable for all readers.*

When I started thinking about Lily's Halloween costume I turned to Pinterest. I was leaning towards an owl because it looked like the easiest DIY option. I showed a few to my mom including one I pinned just for fun. Well, what do you know, she surpassed all of my expectations! Not only did she make the one I really wanted, it is so much better than anything I could ever buy in the store!

Since she turned 11 months last week I decided to use that as my excuse to dress her up and take some pictures. I hadn't tried it on her until this point because I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself when it came to sharing the images. I have spontaneously burst into laughter at the thought of my little chicken and I am thrilled to finally share them with you!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!

More Fall Fun!

Friday we traveled to Greenville to enjoy more pumpkin patch activities. Actually, we didn't see any pumpkins while we were there, we were too distracted by all of the other fun things Denver Downs had to offer. Lily was excited from the minute we got there!

Then she realized her cousins were there and she really got excited! She greeted Cruz with lots of hugs!

Lily has started a new thing when she smiles; she crinkles up her nose making it look like she smells something fowl. I think it's cute (of course) but I know others are probably wondering why she is making a funny face so if you see it in future posts, know it means she is really happy! ;)

There were goats, baby goats! There were several litters, some only hours old! The kids loved them!

Playing house!

Denver was there too!

Lily and Anacapri rode the train! We were afraid Lily missed it but at the last minute I saw an empty seat. Pat tossed her in, crumbled some popcorn in her lap and they were off. I heard someone say that there weren't seat buckles but I didn't give it much thought until the second lap when Lily finished her popcorn. Until this point I don't think she had any idea what was going on. After a few seconds, she turned around and stood up! For all of you worriers out there, the tractor was only going a few miles an hour and the operator was keeping a close watch on his passengers. 

 Lily is in the second caboose/cow, the one that looks vacant.

You can tell it was going slow based on the 

excitement of the passenger in front of her. Ha!

Here she is trying to play with the cow behind her!

We had such a great time, we are hoping to make it a family tradition. Next year the kids will be able to participate in so much more....I can't wait!

What a weekend!

Friday was a big day for Lily and an exciting one for me....Christie and I took her to the fair! She loved the farm animals. She touched everything she could and reached for every animal we passed.

 She loved the goats!

 "Grandma Christie, do you see that funny bird?!"

 The chicks!

 She tried her best to climb in there with them!

 Piggies!

Cocky!!!

I would have loved to see her reaction, but I decided not to purchases tickets for rides because it was so HOT! Lily was happy enough with the animals and her corn dog and fries.

Her eyes lit up when Christie gave her the whole bucket!

Pat got home relatively early on Friday because he had big plans of his own. Anytime the weather permits, he rides his jet ski(s). Not only was the weather perfect but some friends of ours just got a new boat that puts out a pretty outrageous wake that Pat couldn't wait to jump. We watched as he jumped from one side of the boat to the other. One time in particular, he got some good air but missed the landing. He gave a thumbs up and we slowed down to give him a change to catch up. When he reached the boat I heard him say, "I cut my leg." He did another pass or two as we headed back to the dock. Lily and I met him back at the house and when he sat down for me to clean his "cut" I almost lost it. I quickly poured the peroxide so I didn't have to look at the very deep gash. I put some gauze and tape on it and sent him to urgent care. He ended up with 5 stitched on the inside and 9 on the outside! Yikes!

The adventure didn't end there, Saturday we were scheduled to have 13 pine trees cut down in our yard. You probably don't remember this, but when we moved in I blogged about "giving myself a year" to get the house the way I wanted, well....I need to change that to 5 years! The status of our home has, finally, gone from plain 'ole work, to a work in progress. Now that the ball is rolling I realize how much there is to do. The interior has taken a backseat while Pat works on creating our outdoor oasis. The tree removal is making way for more grass, sunshine and thriving hardwoods. Between Pat's buddies taking down the trees and others stopping by for a recap of the boating incident, our Saturday was nothing short of entertaining!

Lily is already enjoying the change!

We also started the process of staining the house (not ourselves, but professionals) and I love the way it looks so far! Slowly but surely.....

Hello Fall!

Last weekend brought me together with some of my favorite girls, once again! I can't believe that Jenny is getting married next month! I am so excited for her and we were all happy to shower the beautiful bride-to-be! The shower was on Sunday but the festivities started on Saturday when Jenny, Haley (and Denver) and Shelly (and Cruz) arrived! It was like old times but with better food and a few little ones running around. I can't believe we let another get-together come and go without getting a picture of the kids together. But here are a few highlights from the weekend....

The soon-to-be Mrs. Walter!!!

The bridesmaids

Denver loves to push and Lily loves to ride....match made in heaven!

This weekends weather was wonderful, it feels like fall! We have a family trip planned for later this month to a big pumpkin patch in the upstate but Saturday morning Pat suggested we go to a local farm to pick out a pumpkin. In true Stier fashion, we pulled up to the pumpkin patch just before 5 pm. We looked at a few, mostly posing Lily for pictures and before I knew it Pat wondered off. I tracked him down just in time to hear the young girl working the register say, "I never thought anyone would buy one of the big ones!" What?! I know he didn't do what I think he did, did he? Yep, he bought the biggest pumpkin they had. I think he loves having a child to use it as an excuse to do all of the childish things he has wanted to do for so long. His response was, "That's the one Lily wanted!"

Obviously, this isn't the one she chose!

My little pumpkin!

And, naturally, all she wanted to do was play in the dirt!

Oh and did I mention the pumpkin was so big that the farmer had to use his tractor to put it in our car?! 

I'm not sure what we are going to do with the massive pumpkin but if anyone lives in the Columbia area and is interested in getting a picture with the giant pumpkin, come on by!