Trunk or Treat & Emma's 6 month checkup

Last weekend we participated in a Trunk or Treat event with the Lake Norman Mommies group that I am a part of. The kids had a blast!! Everyone shows up and decorates their trunks and sets out candy. Then we had dinner (they had pizza and tons of desserts and a dj playing music). Then they had the costume contest for all the different age groups. They called out the 0-6 month age group first, so Emma and I headed up...and no one else came up. Finally two others came up, and they took a vote (by amount of cheering) - and Emma won! And wow, they sure know how to put a prize together! She won a free month of Gymboree ($68 value), a cake by a professional cake maker (who is also a Lake Norman Mommy) ($45 value), $5 gift card at a Learning Discovery store (all kinds of teaching tools and art stuff), and 2 free entrees and Qdoba (Mexican restaurant that Chad and I love!). There were tons of kids in Drew's age group, but I think he just liked getting up in front of everyone with Chad. After all the contests were done, the kids got to go "trick or treating" at all the trunks. Emma smiled and laughed the whole night - she loved being outside, around all the people and riding in the stroller. And Drew loved seeing his candy bag filling up! Here they are in their costumes (Lightning McQueen and Colts cheerleader - and that's Emma's first bow too!)

And here's the silly smile that won her that awesome prize!!

And Drew posing in front of our spider web trunk. Some of the other cars had some amazing displays!! The contest winner was a truck with a ton of dirt in the bed, with gravestones and a huge chain link fence - very impressive!

And Daddy posing with the kids. Drew was trying to get Emma to look at the camera and forgot to look himself.

Here's Drew helping himself to a treat.

And they had a fog machine that the kids had fun running through.

Last week, Emma figured out how to stick her tongue out! She would stick it out every time she smiled and sometimes she'd just stick it out while she was playing!! It was so funny...but she is already past that and doesn't do it any more! haha

Here's Drew in his jammies posing with his pumpkins that light up. They are plugged in to an outlet that works with a light switch. So, he turns them on in the morning and turns them off when he goes to bed.

This morning Emma had her sixth month check up. She is 26 1/2 inches long (80th percentile) and 15 pounds 10 oz (50th percentile). Her head is in the 60th percentile. So, she is a growing girl - despite the fact that she is still refusing to eat solid foods! I had tried her rice cereal, bananas and sweet potatoes and she wants nothing to do with it. The doctor wants us to keep trying, in hopes that she'll figure it out in the next couple months! She said her gums looked swollen, but no visible teeth yet (which teething can cause them to refuse solid foods too). I usually post all the positive, fun things going on in the kids' lives, but this is also a recording of their growth for me - so I have to mention: Drew has been a CHALLENGING two year old the past week. We have been struggling with him refusing to listen or do what he's told, talking back, disagreeing and arguing, and even some hitting, Everyone assures me it's a phase, but that doesn't make it any easier! Chad and I have been researching the best way to handle it and help him move past this phase a little quicker. At least he tells us, "I want to be a good boy. I don't want to be naughty." haha! :)