The rest of October flew by. Ayla was a cowgirl for Halloween, and Jackson was a cowboy. They were pretty darn cute if I do say so myself, but you'll see for yourself in the photos. :+} November was busy. Ayla and I took advantage of my having a week off of school, and we drove to Texas. My dad went with us to go and see his parents (and family) for the week. We drove directly into Waco, where they recently moved, and Ayla and I stayed the evening and night, and we left the following afternoon to drive into Plano. This stay Ayla and I divided up our stay between Brett's parents and his sister's family. It was nice getting to spend more time with them, and both Jaycee and Garrett love Ayla, but Jaycee was the one that couldn't get enough of her. Right away Ayla was able to say "Jaycee." In fact, weeks after we got home she'd be playing and out of the blue I'd hear her say, "Where'd Jaycee go?" Garrett is a little tougher to say, but we'll keep working on it. Jaycee is amazingly good with Ayla and knows just what to do to entertain her. Pam and Jeff might have to "rent" her out to me in a few more years. I might be able to use a summer nanny. :+] The day before Thanksgiving Ayla and I got up very early to drive to Waco, we had breakfast and visited for a bit, and then the 3 of us were on the road. Having the van certainly makes the trip much more comfortable for adults traveling, but it's the DVD player that makes it pleasant for Ayla... and in turn for us. She rotates between Little Einsteins & Praise Baby, but her ultimate favorite is Little Einsteins. Her O'ma got her the Little Einstein dolls (Leo, June, Annie, & Quincy) that each say their own little "key" phrases. She really loves them! I think that particular traveling day, with the extended trip from Plano to Waco, Ayla had had enough riding in the car because when we were about 2 hours from home, and it was almost 10 PM, Ayla was not wanting to be in her car seat anymore. The poor thing was uncomfortable, tired, hungry (she doesn't eat well in the car), and she was just ready to be out. My dad felt so bad for her that he insisted we stop at a rest stop and let her stretch her legs and walk. Immediately, she lit up and was happy to walk around picking up acorns with Pa'pa. :+] We finally made it home, and the next day we spent Thanksgiving at my parent's house with Justin, Sarah, and Jackson.
Okay, now for a "few" pictures. :+}
The above and below 3 pictures were taken the night we too the Downtown Milton Ghost Walk Tour. It was a lot of fun, and it got just cold enough to put us in the fall mood. We plan to do it each year it's offered. However, on a sad note, last night (1/6) many of the old buildings in downtown Milton caught fire and suffered a lot of damage them. Milton has a beautiful downtown area, and many historic buildings that date back 100 years. I'm very anxious to learn of the extent of the damage :+/
Each year our church has a "Trunk-or-Treat" on Saturday in October. The kids had a lot of fun this year collecting candy. Ayla went as a cowgirl, and Jackson was her cowboy side-kick. :+] The cute, little pumpkin is Luke Farley. You'll notice in the coming pictures that both Ayla and Jackson have suckers in their hand/mouth. Well, the only way we could get them to stay in the wagon and take pictures was to let them have those suckers. You'll notice that they are most definitely enjoying them, and they could care less about what everyone around them is doing. They were very sticky in the end, but it was a great "bribe"... I mean motivator to get them to do what we wanted. Yes, I advocate bribery... especially when it's for the sake of a good pictures. ;+)
I took the above and below six pictures later in the day after the "Trunk-or-Treat." I had to include this series of pictures because I was trying to get Ayla to cooperate and let me take her picture, but she just wasn't having it. Before you go any further, please know that no child was harmed in the taking of these pictures. I just kept snapping away trying to get one good picture, and I laughed when I saw that what I was actually able to document was irritation with me. She didn't want to sit still for the pictures, and she did not want that hat on her head. You see her getting more and more upset, but in the end, as you'll see, she was again content (when she wasn't being directed by the paparazzi). Hmmmm... might this mean she actually has a mind of her own!?!? :+]
Halloween night we went over to Justin and Sarah's to have seafood. The kids didn't trick or treat, but Sarah had "treat bags" for them. :+} In the above picture Jackson is eagerly showing me his candy.
For some reason, I'm not able to go in between the pictures to narrate, so I'll do that here. The pictures to follow Halloween night were taken at random times during the month of November. The two of Ayla in her PJ were taken one Saturday morning. I just had to get Ayla's crazy morning hair. She's got a lot of hair, and it gets wild. The two following the ones in her PJs were taken one Saturday when Brett and I had planned to clean out our garage, that looks like a band of Gypsies live in it. So, Ayla played on the driveway with her baby and stroller, as well as eating a few acorns. The next two show Ayla's faciniation with clothes. If I have a basket of clothes, or more irritating a stack of folded clothes, keeping her away from them is like keeping a kid out of a candy store. She loves to go through them, scatter them about, and as you see, crawl into the basket or luggage WITH them. The one after those is just a random picture I took of her on the fireplace in a cute, fall outfit. The last two I took one afternoon. I'd driven home from school to find my mom pulling the kids in the wagon. It was a cool day, and my brother didn't leave a jacket for Jackson when he dropped him off that morning, and Jackson is wearing one of Ayla's pink jackets, and Ayla is wearing one of the sweatshirts my mom had for Jackson. I just thought they looked so cute in the wagon, and they could care less that they are wearing each others clothes.
