Friday, October 31, 2008

Little Ones Costume Party

We went to a fun Halloween party this morning hosted by the deVilleneuves. It was so fun to see the cute costumes everyone had on their little ones, and watch them run around and play in them. There was a lion, duck, 2 puppys, ladybug, spider, cowgirl, bumblebee, my little pumpkin, and I'm sure I'm leaving some out..... And since Georgia cooperated and is napping (even though she fell asleep during the car ride home- whoo-hoo!!) I can go ahead and get these pictures posted! (See more pictures in our Picasa album)
Georgia's ready for some Halloween fun with her friends- & George!

Our gracious hosts Jenn & Ryan & lion Rollins

Tate is too cute as a ladybug! (LOVE the shoes!)

Hannah is an adorable ducky- & has the waddle to go with it!

Maggie is a sweet puppy-dog (and big Kudos to Lindsay for making her cute costume!)

Tate & Hannah giving Reid the spider & punkin Georgia a ride!

This little bumblebee is having fun!

Natalie is a pretty cowgirl, and I love her red boots!

And -yes- one more of Georgia, who would rather find leaves than the hidden candy bags!

Happy Halloween from a little Punkin!

Hope you get lots of sweet treats and only fun tricks today!



Happy Halloween from the Hipps


Come back later for more fun Halloween pictures...

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Trunk or Treat

Last night we got to join Matt & Sandy at Hunter Street church's Trunk or Treat. They sure had a great turnout! It was jam-packed with princesses, super-heros, football players, and other characters, and there was a parking-lot-full of trunks to visit, all decorated in a different theme. Georgia was a little intimidated at first, but she only had to hear "You're the cutest pumpkin ever!" a few times and drop the first handful of candy in her bucket to find her true Halloween confidence. Soon she was running ahead (but still w/in arm's reach!) of Sandy & me to get to the next trunk for some treats. And the ones that just had a big bucket of candy open on the ground were in trouble- as the kids came up to them the adults would say "Pick one!", but Georgia doesn't know what ONE means, so she'd quickly grab a handful (it's amazing how much fits in one little hand!) and be reaching for another handful before we could blink! Her favorite trunk, though, was the one with the bubble machine and rock band. She was totally digging it until she got blasted from the fog machine- from then on she partied a little more cautiously!
Thanks for sharing the fun, Phelps!
This little pumpkin loves bubbles!
Pumpkin love for Sandy, Matt & Mommy!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Fall Fun with Grammie & Grandad

We enjoyed a great weekend visit with my mom & dad, and got to do some fun fall activities with them. We went to Boo at the Zoo and they got to see Georgia in her costume, picked pumpkins at a Patch, celebrated our coming baby boy with a shower, watched some football and the baseball playoffs, and got some projects crossed off our to-do list with dad's help!
Enjoy the recaps and photos...

Celebrating Baby Lincoln

Saturday night some sweet family & friends gathered to give us a little shower to celebrate our coming baby boy. We enjoyed yummy lasagna & bread, a great salad, mint tea and delicious berry bread pudding for dessert. It was a great "girls night" of chatting and catching up, talking babies to come, babies here, & babies past, and enjoying each other's company. We got some great presents for little Lincoln, and I was excited at how cute boy clothes can also be after a year & a half of enjoying dresses & bows! I feel truly blessed to have such a great group of women celebrate baby boy, and am thankful to them for their support and love! Thanks especially to Laura, Jenn & Sandy for putting the shower together!!
Laura, me & Lincoln, Sandy

Shireen, Laura, Lindsay, Jenn & baby Christian, me, Sandy, Michelle
Grammie shares a hug with Lincoln & me!

Pumpkin Patch '08


Saturday we went to the Old Baker Farm Pumpkin Patch and had a really great time. I highly recommend this pumpkin patch! We didn't really know what to expect, except pumpkins!, and were very pleased with our fun visit. It's a great deal too- $9 per adult, includes one pumpkin, hayride to the patch, "petting zoo" barn, hay & corn mazes, cotton ball "jumper" and plenty of great photo ops! There's homemade lemonade & kettle korn, barBQ, hot dogs, etc for sale too for a great lunch. Make sure to say Happy Birthday to Old Mr Baker who is celebrating his 100th birthday this week!

Georgia was adorably cute in the pumpkin patch! She wanted to get down in the dirt right away and ran & ran thru the field. She tried to pick up pumpkins of all sizes and wanted no help, of course! We eventually led her to one her size and daddy brought that one home for her.

Once again, she loved the animals. She saw ducks, chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, baby cows and horses. She wasn't too sure about the big horses, but gave them a little pat anyways.

Her favorite part was riding on the little pedal tractors they have all over for the kids to play with. In fact, the only waterworks of the day come when we made her leave the tractor to go pick pumpkins! She thought the tractors were the main attraction!

We had beautiful fall weather for our pumpkin-ing and loved having Grammie & Grandad help us pick out our pumpkins again this year!

Boo at the Zoo


Friday night we all went to Boo at the Zoo. Georgia wore her pumpkin costume and, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind. The zoo was packed with kiddos in costume, which we had just as much fun seeing as the decorations! They had all kinds of activities going on including trick or treating, face painting, a haunted carousel (it went backwards!), spooky train ride and carnival games. (Note: you do have to pay extra to do ride the carousel & train.) Georgia is too little to really appreciate all that, but she loved the petting zoo barn with all the animals. We went thru it twice, taking our time to say hello to the sheep, goats, sleepy pigs and llama. The best part for me was just watching Georgia walk around as a pumpkin, holding Daddy's & Grandad's fingers!

Walking with Grandad & Daddy
Happy Halloween, goat!

Boo at the Zoo with Grammie & Grandad

Thursday, October 2, 2008

One and a Half

Dear Georgia Kate,
One & a half seems so big, and you have definitely made the sweet transition from babyhood to toddler. Just in time, I suppose, since there will be a new baby in the house in 9 weeks! I know you will be a great big sister & such a little helper for mommy. You continue to learn & grow, and perhaps the most exciting development for us is your budding language skills. You are trying to say so many words, and it's fun for daddy & I to teach you! Here are some more things going on in your little world at this age:

~ At your 18 month Dr appt you are 33 inches tall and 24 pounds. That puts you in the 90% for height and 50% for weight. Dr Anderson called you a "michael phelps baby" since your torso is so long, and you are tall & lean. You surely love the water like an Olympic swimmer!

~ In spite of the great measurements, you continue to eat hardly anything! Though you're obviously getting enuf of the few things you eat- milk, fruit, cheese, yogurt, applesauce, cereal bars, ravioli, carbs. It seems at this age your eating habits shouldn't be confined to a list, but here we are anyways! Your father is still afraid you're going to stay a vegetarian forever! I tell him that's impossible- you don't eat veggies! (except corn!)

~ You are so active & always on the move. Lately you've been working on your climbing skills- you can scale your changing table and we found you sitting up on top of it all alone one day. (Scary moment!) You can climb up chairs, stools, and stacked hatboxes. You climb up into your playhouse outside and climb UP the slide- preferable w/o shoes.

~ We have discovered something that will keep you still & quiet for a few minutes- drums! There was a Blue Man Group show on tv & you were entranced! You went from running around crazy to sitting, focused on their drumming & banging. We keep it in the dvr for you! You will also sit for Baby Einstein's Barnyard animals dvd- you love to try to sing EIEIO and make all the animal sounds!

~ You are very curious, and I see your daddy in you when you sit & try to figure out how something works or how it fits together. You also seem abundantly entertained by putting things in things- animals in the ark, blocks in the bucket, cheerios in a cup, & in a bigger cup, & in a bowl. I know this is just a "thing" for your age, but I love watching you work!

~ You love playing outside- in the backyard, at the park, and walking around the pond with the geese. The weather is finally cooling down so we get to enjoy the outside even more. You usually end up taking your shoes off and running around in the grass in your bare tootsies!


~ You are such a sweet girl and love giving us kisses, hugs & snuggles- which we adore, however brief! You love sitting in my lap, and flipping upside down, and being tickled, and laughing like a silly goose. You love to climb all over daddy, and get horsey rides on his back, and sit up on his shoulders, and run to tackle him.


As you continue to get bigger and learn so many new things, daddy & I love being a part of your daily adventure. We love that you will pray with us- sometimes wanting to do so several times throughout a meal!, and we pray for you daily, that we will raise you in love & knowledge of the Lord, and with His wisdom. We love your independent spirit, even when it's frustrating (cereal bars & cheese MUST be in the wrapper!). You are so beautiful, inside and out, and I sometimes find myself just watching you, soaking in these moments. I know one & a half is only a mini-milestone for your life, but know I'm already proud of the child you have become!
Daddy & I love you lots! Love, Mommy