Wordless Wednesday - Kiddos in the Country

A Hoedown or two

The night before Halloween, our church had a Hoedown.  It was complete with a square dance caller and a texas-style dinner.  We dressed up the fam and headed there.  Because Cory and I were busy with other things, Landry was the only one who tried her hand at square dancing.  She mainly got in the way, but she had a really great time.  Here are a couple of pictures from the night.

Then, this past weekend, we went back home to attend the Harvest Hoedown at my parents' house.  It's basically a fall festival at their house.  They invite friends and family and, believe me when I say, my mom goes all out.  We're talking chili cook-off, homemade hot tamales, popcorn, snow cones, games for the kids, hayrides, bonfires, etc.  It was a great turn-out and everyone had such a wonderful time.  Here a few pictures from the special event:

These were some very large horseshoes.  Landry thought they worked better as a belt.

 Aunt Connie was in charge of face painting

And this was after LSU beat Alabama!!!!

The kids with Uncle Josh and Aunt Trista.  Can't wait till the new little cousin gets here!!!

Landry and Eli kept fishing for treats even after the Harvest Hoedown was over.  This is the next day.

I just love Eli's face in this pic!

Landry and Alivia

Josh and Trista were our balloon artists.  They were quick learners!

And here is Eli playing the only game he knew how, Pick up Ducks

Landry is sharing her snow cone with GiGi

 PawPaw got feeding duties

Fun Times!!!!!

Clap Your Hands!

Eli decided to show off his mad clapping skills at breakfast this morning.  It's funny how eating yields clapping.  LOL!  The boy likes his food.  Here's the video I wasn't able to capture yesterday. 

Two Firsts In One Day?

So I blogged just a few hours ago about Eli getting his first tooth today.  Then as we were sitting at dinner, Eli suddenly began clapping.  We tried to grab the video camera, but of course he would not show off for us.  Instead of clapping his hands together, he started clapping his feet together.  I guess it was more fun.  


Wow!  This kid is amazing me.  He's doing so much, so quickly.  Have I mentioned he's already trying to take steps?  Yep!  Well, we'll see how long it is before he decides to take off.


And because a blog post wouldn't be complete without pictures, here are a few....

He always wants to be standing

And here is a mess Eli made all by himself the other day

It Has Arrived!

After weeks of a runny nose, oodles of less-than-pleasant diapers, and Eli not being his normal happy self, the culprit finally presented itself.  That's right, Eli got his first tooth.  We can't see it yet, but we can feel it.


I am anxious to see what he will look like with his tooth, but I sure will miss this gummy grin!

Bossy! Bossy! Bossy!!!!!

I got this idea for a picture in my head when we were on our back porch a few days ago.   I thought it was funny, that when I actually snapped the picture, they were playing those very roles.  Landry's telling Eli what to do, and Eli is just chillin' with his ball.  I think I know what Landry is saying, "Eli, don't put that in your mouth!"

I mentioned in this post that Landry was a bit bossy.  Well, it seems the bossiness gets worse everyday.  I thought I'd post some of her recent quotes towards Eli.  She should get a good laugh out of it when she gets older:

"Inside Voice, Eli!"

"Don't touch me!"

"Stop Eli!  That's mine!"

"Don't pull my hair Eli!"

"No! No! No! Stop it Eli!"

"Give me that!"

"Don't walk Eli!"

Poor little guy.  I'm sure one day he'll get mad and whop her!  Maybe she'll learn her lesson, but I doubt it.  The next few years will prove to interesting.

Batman, and Princess, and Football Player, Oh My!

If there is one thing I have learned, when you make plans, your children are likely to change them.  This Halloween is a perfect example.  When we found out we were having a boy, Cory thought it would be the best idea ever to have our kids dress up like Batman and Batgirl.  I thought it sounded cute so I agreed to it and even bought a Batgirl costume after Halloween last year.  What we didn't think about was the fact that Landry would be almost three years old and have a mind of her own.  So when I tried to put the Batgirl costume on her before before leaving for trunk or treat on Friday, I faced the reality that she was NOT going to wear that costume.  We fussed and fought and battled over wills until I remembered that this was supposed to be fun for HER.  I finally asked her what she wanted to dress-up in and, she said "princess" in a sweet little voice.  So we raided her dress-up clothes in order to find a suitable princess costume.  Her mood immediately changed.  She starting adding accessories to the outfit and prancing around.  What can I say, she was meant to be a PRINCESS!

As for Eli, we couldn't find a small enough Batman costume, but as I was looking through my cousin's pictures on flickr, I saw her little boy in a Batman suit.  She had gotten it from wal-mart, but ours did not have it.  So my cousin saved the day and mailed it to just in time!  Thanks Aunt Shonda!

(Eli had just waken up in this picture, but it makes him look tough. LOL)

These were all taken on Friday Night when we went to Trunk Or Treat at a local high school

Tonight, we had Trunk Or Treat at church.  We tried one more time with the Batgirl suit, but got the same reaction.  Back to the dress-up basket and Landry decided she'd be Cinderella.  Thanks Mom for providing Landry with so many princess dresses! Thanks to Louisiana weather, it was a little too hot for Eli to be Batman tonight, so he was an LSU football player. Thanks Olive! (Noticing a trend here?) The jersey was mighty handy and CUTE!

Here are pics taken tonight:

Daddy wanted a chance to be a football player.  He switched hats with Eli

Landry got to make her own cupcake.  She was proud!

 I thought Landry looked so cute sitting there with her barefeet and her balloon.  Wish the background wasn't so distracting, but it's still cute.

Here she is feeling some gooey "eyeballs"  Eeeeew!

Eli is being a lady's man, as usual

After Trunk or Treat, we decided to hand out candy rather than going to get more.  I think it was Landry's favorite part of the night.  She stood at the door and waited intently.  We had a good number of trick or treaters.  In Landry's words "Yay!  People!"

 Of course, Landry wanted a piece for herself every once in a while.  Why are lollipops always their favorite?

Eli tried to get into the candy too

Despite the change in plans, Halloween was a success!!!