Saturday Morning Donuts!

Earlier this week, Jill and I went to Sherwin-Williams to pick out some paint colors for the nursery at church. At the paint store, there was a little nook with some coffee and donuts. The nice associates offered the kids donuts, and of course, they accepted. Jill and I each had one, and we were sold. These donuts were so yummy! They are the best donuts in the area. They remind us of the donuts in Destin, FL, and those are the best donuts on the planet! After Jill and I left Sherwin-Williams and Kohl's, Jill went right over to the new bakery and bought a dozen for her family.

I told Jeff about these donuts, and we planned for a Saturday morning trip to the bakery. So, this morning, we literally got in the van in our pajamas as soon as we woke up and headed over to the bakery. On the way there, we asked Elaina what kind of donut she was going to get, and she proclaimed that she would be getting a BLUE donut. I was hoping that she wouldn't be too disappointed when we got to the bakery because I was not optimistic that there would be blue donuts available. Fortunately, there were PINK donuts! Both the girls were excited about the pink donuts with fall sprinkles. When the employee asked Elaina what she could get for her, Elaina held out her hand that had a quarter in it and told her she wanted a pink donut. So cute!

We picked out our dozen donuts and headed home. On the way home, I thought that I would tease Elaina and tell her that I couldn't wait to get home so that I could eat a pink donut. Elaina said, "No, Mommy. Those are my pink donuts. You eat Daddy's donuts." I replied, "So, you'll eat the pink donuts, and Mommy will eat Daddy's donuts. What will Emily eat?" Elaina quickly responded, "Crumbs." Nice. Real nice.

At the new bakery in our pajamas.

Elaina enjoying her yummy pink donut.

Emily knows what the best part is . . . the icing!

Pacifier Free Emily!

What a big girl!

I forgot to post this last week, and I just have to share. We had a big accomplishment in our house last week . . . Emily got rid of her pacifier! She has only been using it at naptime and bedtime for several, several months now, but still, she was extremely dependent on it for those times.

We took Elaina's completely away from her at 14 months. I remember being 7 months pregnant with Emily at the time, and when Jeff got home from school that evening, I demanded Donatos pizza, breadsticks, a Coke, and a white cream filled caramel iced donut. I remember vividly it being a day and a half of no fun! That was all it took though, and it was over.

I ended up letting Emily have her pacifier a couple of months longer than Elaina because when Emily turned 14 months old, she was getting four teeth in at once, and we were getting ready to embark upon a 2600 mile roadtrip. Taking the pacifier away at that time just didn't seem to be such a good idea.

So, on Monday evening of last week, I realized that Emily was 16 months old, her chompers were in, and it was time to get rid of that thing. The first night, it took her an hour and a half of crying to fall asleep. Jeff was so wonderful and took care of constantly going in her bedtime and comforting her. The next day for nap, it took 50 minutes. That same day at bedtime it took 30 minutes. Then on Wednesday at naptime, it was over. She was asleep with no crying. Now, she still does wake up once in the night and struggles to get back to sleep, but we know if we stick to it, in time, that will pass too.

The day and a half of crying at bedtime and naptime was again well worth it. Our home is pacifier free again until it's time for another McCrary baby to be added to the household. We're so proud of our little Emily. She's becoming such a big girl!

Franklin Fall Festival 2008

On Saturday, we went downtown Franklin to the Franklin Fall Festival. There were a lot of fun things going on, and we had a great morning.

Elaina immediately spotted the street that was blocked off to host the dance and gymnastic teams from the area. She was so excited and loved every minute of it. She has become quite the little interpretive dancer/gymnast/ballerina around here lately. She didn't take her eyes off of all the girls performing. We would start to leave, and she would say, "Wait! There's one more t(c)omin'!" She replaces the "c" sound with the "t" sound a lot.

J.P. Parker is a floral company here in town with locally grown flowers, and I LOVE the sunflowers that they get in every year at this time. I never buy any for myself (and neither does my husband! :) ), so I was so excited when I looked down the street and saw that they were giving them away for FREE! It was so beautiful, and I wish that I had taken a picture of it. There were containers all through the middle of the street filled with beautiful sunflowers. It was gorgeous!

Next, we painted pumpkins, and that was free, too! It was so much fun. The girls each picked a pumpkin and painted it. They did such a great job!

We stopped by our church booth, too, and got balloons, cookies, and popcorn. The girls had a ball with their balloons.

We had such a great morning, and the weather was beautiful, too! We love our Saturdays together!

Emily and Elaina watching the gymnasts and dancers.

Elaina painting her pumpkin.

Our pretty sunflowers!

So proud of their painted pumpkins!

Our Week in Pictures

I just thought I would share some pictures from our week. We are so excited that October has finally arrived and FALL is here. Pumpkins, leaves, cool breezes, apples, warm blankets and pajamas, Daddy having a fall break from school, . . . the list goes on and on with the things we LOVE about fall. We hope you're enjoying your first little bit of fall, too!

On Tuesday, we spent the evening together as a family playing with Play-Doh.

Emily decided that it looked like it might taste yummy. Oops! We caught her just in time!

Elaina working on her Play-Doh necklace.

So proud!

We stayed in all day on Wednesday so that I could clean the house from top to bottom. That night after Jeff got home from a meeting a church, I met Jill at the new Kohl's that just opened in Franklin. Before I left, I gave the girls baths and had them all ready for bed. All they needed was to have their teeth brushed . . . does this sound familiar?

While Mommy was at Kohl's, Daddy became the Super Hero with bedtime Boston Red Sox hat wearing and miniature white powdered doughnuts. Did I mention that I had just spent the day cleaning the house from top to bottom? Yes, that would be our two daughters sitting on the kitchen floor (nice and clean, I might add) eating their powdered doughnuts.

On Thursday, Jill and her kids and Hilary and her daughter came over to play and have lunch. This is a picture of the girls standing at the door awaiting their friends' arrival. At this time I was saying, "Girls, Mommy just cleaned all of the fingerprints and kiss marks off of that glass door."

Elaina replies, "It's alright, Mommy. I'm washing it for you."

Elaina LOVES "Little Bear." Her sweet friend, Hannah, bought her this Little Bear with her very own piggy bank money. How sweet! (Notice her outfit. She likes to pick out her own clothes now, and on many days, she likes to layer!)

Thursday evening after dinner, I met a friend to have bagels and coffee. Jeff was working on putting Emily down to bed. When he was done, he noticed Elaina reading and snapped this picture. Elaina LOVES to read.

A Princess and a Sucker!

Jeff was outside mowing around 6:30 p.m. this evening when I found out that I needed to have a quick meeting with someone at the church. So, I gave the girls their baths and cleaned up the house and had the girls put their toys away. Jeff was able to get in and get his shower and relax for a few minutes before I needed to leave. At 7:45 p.m., I was ready to head out the door. I kissed the girls goodnight. All Jeff had to do was brush their teeth (which I had even already laid them out and put the toothpaste on them) and give the girls their bedtime Bible lesson. Now, I always brag about how helpful Jeff is. He always helps me out with the girls, so him completing these tasks tonight was nothing new or earth shattering. I just know that he was looking forward to relaxing and so that's why I made sure everything was in place before I left . . . you know . . . to make the bedtime process go more quickly and smoothly for him.

I left the church right at 9:00 p.m. On the drive home, I thought about how I would be going home to the girls sleeping peacefully in their beds. I was looking forward to sitting down with Jeff, snuggling, and catching up on the day. I entered the kitchen through the garage, and I heard nothing but peace and quiet. Now, I LOVE my girls and I LOVE the sounds of my girls, but at 9:00 p.m. as stay-at-home mommy, I was ready to be done for the day. I walked through the kitchen and turned the corner to the living room, and what you see in this picture is literally what I ran into . . .

There she was in all of her glory! Elaina inside the princess castle tent that her Auntie Leah picked out for her! She was laughing and giggling and was so excited that her Daddy got this out for her tonight. Elaina woke up this morning and her allergies were really bothering her. She has had a terrible runny nose and head congestion all day. Apparently, as Jeff was putting her to bed she said, "Daddy, I don't feel good." Jeff replied, "I'm sorry, honey." Elaina said, "It's okay, Daddy, it's my fault." Jeff explained to her that it wasn't her fault that she didn't feel well, but she kept saying, "No, Daddy, it's my fault. It'll be alright, Daddy." She then proceeded to tell him that it would make her feel better if she could get out her tent and sleeping bag. So, there you have it. Whaalaa! Princess castle tent and sleeping bag up in a jiffy!

SUCKER!

Beautiful Evenings

We have been enjoying the beautiful evenings outside. Although I'm looking forward to the typical fall weather with the cool breezes and foliage, we can't help but be thankful for the time we're able to spend outside together as a family in the evenings! Here are some pictures of just one of our evening outside this week.

Our silly girl!

Elaina proudly riding her tricycle.

Emily wanted to play Peek-A-Boo with Mommy in and out of the front door.

" You can't get me, Mommy!"

"Peek-A-Boo!"

Elaina's tricycle ride ended in an accident! "My leg all better now, Mommy. It alright."

Happy Anniversary, MawMaw and PawPaw!

Jeff's parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary this past Monday. This past weekend, the family all got together to spend the day. We met for lunch and then went back to Steve and Betsy's to play games, catch up, and make homemade ice cream. Congratulations, Steve and Betsy's on your anniversary! Thanks for everything you do for us!


It was also announced on Saturday that Jeff's brother, Todd, and his wife, Angel, are expecting a baby! We are SO excited! This will be our first niece or nephew on the McCrary side. Angel is doing well, and the baby is due at the end of April! Todd and Angel will be wonderful parents, and we are so thankful for them and excited with how God is blessing their life together.

Elaina helping MawMaw make homemade ice cream.

Emily wanted to help, too!

Elaina sitting on the ice cream tank while PawPaw cranks.

Emily's turn.

Elaina wanted to crank the ice cream.

YUMMY!

Elaina sharing homemade ice cream with Emily.

Sweet Sisters

MawMaw teaching Emily the "wheelbarrow."

Aunt Amber teaching Elaina the "wheelbarrow."

Elaina proudly displaying her tightrope skills.

A Visit From the Knight Family!

We were so blessed to have some friends visit us this past weekend. My dear friend from college, Jessalyn, and her husband and daughter, Chris and Addie Ruth, were our guests Friday evening. Jessalyn and I had a lot of classes together at Franklin College, and we became very close, especially during our senior year. We lived across the hall from each other our last year and enjoyed Phase 10 in the hallway on many nights, and enjoyed counting on each other to head over to the cafeteria to eat. She was a bridesmaid in our wedding, and even helped me pack for our honeymoon. Although we don't get to see each other often, it never seems like we missed a beat! I'm so thankful for Jessalyn and so glad to see how God has been blessing her life with Chris, Addie, her business and now Knight Baby #2! On Friday we enjoyed dinner and watching our girls play. It had been one year since the last time we saw them, so it was great to see them again! Jessalyn, Chris and Addie are expecting a new family member due to arrive Nov. 2nd. They were making one last trip to Indianapolis to visit friends before they were homebound in Evansville again for a while. We are so thankful that they took time out of their busy weekend schedule to see us. We're looking so forward to getting to meet another Knight baby soon!

If you ever want to purchase some adorable boutique kid clothing, visit Jessalyn's website at http://www.junebug-creations.com/

Jessalyn, Addie, Elaina, Stephanie, Emily

Emily

It was so hard to get the three girls to sit still and happy enough for a picture. This is the best we could do! Elaina insisted on wearing her gymnastics outfit!

Elaina wanted to brush Chris' "hair."

Fun with MeMe and Poppy

My Mom and Dad were down to visit us last week. Mom brought her carpet cleaner, and so now my carpets are nice and clean for the fall! I was also able to get some other projects around the house done while they were here for about a day and a half. The girls loved seeing their MeMe and Poppy! We had a wonderful time. Elaina is totally into puzzles right now, so she was very proud to show her Poppy her puzzle solving skills. Poppy has always loved puzzles, too. We love having my parents visit. We wish they lived closer so that we could see them more often!

Emily and MeMe working on a puzzle.

Poppy and Elaina - So Proud!

Happy Anniversary, "MeMaw Terry" and Terry!

Our wonderful friends, Terry and Terry Bright, just recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. They have such a Godly example of marriage, and such a beautiful family. It is very obvious in watching this family that they are a family that has such great faith and love in God. On Sunday, their four daughters (Jennifer, Jill, Brandi and Bethany) surprised them with a surprise party. Over the last seven years, Terry and Terry have become very dear friends to us. They have welcomed our family into theirs on many occasions, and are so very generous and loving to us. Terry and Terry are Jill's parents, which of course makes them Benjamin, Luke, and Hannah's grandparents. Since we have spent a lot of time with them and she's Hannah's grandma, Elaina has called Terry, "MeMaw Terry" for quite a while now. We had a really nice time celebrating with them. Congratulations, Terry and Terry!

SingStar Superstars!

On Saturday evening, we got together with friends to act like goons and play SingStar! We were so excited, and it was so much fun! Danny and Hilary invited us and the Ruddle family over. The kids played, and the adults had a blast singing! It was hysterical! Of course, Jeff's first pick was "Ice, Ice, Baby!" It was great! Jill did an AWESOME job and is now the reigning SingStar Champion! She and Scott also snatched up the SingStar Couples Champion award as well. The girls played great and enjoyed the time that they got to spend with their friends, but they also enjoyed the entertainment that was being provided by the adults. We're looking forward to another round of SingStar soon!

Danny pretends he's not all about this SingStar business, but we could tell that it's his secret past time!

Hilary - Cool Cat!

Brooke, Hannah, and Elaina - SO CUTE!

Emily danced around all night!

Elaina enjoyed singing with us.

Daddy and Elaina pullin' out all the stops on "Ice, Ice, Baby!"

Jill and Scott - SingStar Champions!