Meet Annabelle's Baby...

...Sister!

We are expecting another girl! Miss Landry Claire Aldrich will join us late April (if she sticks to the plan)! We are beyond thrilled to be having another girl! Yes, I was keeping my fingers crossed for a boy...but just praying for a healthy baby. I'm not by any means disappointed - this just means we'll need to try one more time (wink!).

Austin is thrilled to have himself another Daddy's girl, and I'm looking forward to get some more use out of those SIX TUBS of clothes in the attic! Sheesh! That is definitely a plus!

Annabelle understands as much as she can with having no experience with a sibling. She knows there's a baby in Mommy's tummy, and she knows it's a baby sister. She likes to tell everyone that the baby in Mommy's belly is Baby Landry. Last night she was talking to her. The conversation went something like this, "Hi Baby Landry! Are you in there? Is Scouty in there? Is Holly in There? Is Cubby in there? I love you, Baby Landry!"

Melts this Mama's heart. I'm thrilled that Annabelle will have a sister. Being an only child this is extra super special to me.

Thank you, Jesus, for your unconditional love and showering these blessings on us.

Annabelle + Minnie Mouse = Minniebelle

And who would've thought that Minnie Mouse could be this cute?? I mean really?? The decision to be Minnie Mouse took forever. I really wanted to let Annabelle decide what she wanted to be. She is getting to the age to where she has somewhat of an opinion on things. She told her Daddy she wanted to be a puppy early on in the month. Hmmm. Well, I knew I wanted to incorporate a tutu into her costume. All of the puppy tutu ideas weren't very cute nor creative. However, I was not going to be the tutu maker this year. I was leaving that up to one of my wonderful friends, Britny. So, I ruled out puppy (sorry, AB). However, without any hinting or help from Mommy, AB announces she wants to be Mickey Mouse. I tweaked that idea a bit by asking her if she meant Minnie, and she said, "Yes!" I could live with that. So, after searching some cute ideas, and talking to Britny, we had the cutest Minnie Mouse (tutu) costume put together! Seriously. Just check her out.



So sweet! I could've eaten this little mouse right up!!

A big thanks to Aunt Jill, too. She went on a mad hunt for her a long sleeve black shirt. I loved the one she found! She even helped with the tutu. That Aunt Jill...she's always there when you need her.

We headed to the church for Trunk or Treat. I'm so glad we did that this year instead of going around our boring neighborhood. AB had such a fun time walking around and seeing her friends. Miss Allison was one of them!

It took her a while to warm up to the busyness and commotion of it all. She wasn't too interested in the games...until she figured she'd get candy if she participated.

Oh, and the cutest cowboy in all the land was there. AB's future hubby...Brycen.

Cousin Stetson came to Trunk or Treat with us. He, of course, was most interested in the games. Especially any sports or ball related game!

We had such a blast hanging out with our friends on Halloween. This is by far the funnest Halloween I've had since I was a kid!

Hmm...I wonder what we'll be next year?

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch - 2011

Of course we knew we would be taking a trip to the pumpkin patch at some point, but this year Annabelle was the one who brought it to our attention. I think she got it from a Caillou episode, and that is all she could talk about. So the following weekend, we headed to the pumpkin patch.

We revisited the McKinney pumpkin patch that had bounce houses, pony rides, hay rides and a petting zoo. AB liked most of those things. Here's her and Daddy at the pumpkin patch.

The petting zoo was a hit. She loves animals - she gets it from her animal loving parents, especially her Daddy. I instantly fell in love with that side of him!

We waited in line for the pony rides...but were pretty sure it would be for nothing. AB isn't too adventurous these days. I figured getting her on a pony would be like pulling teeth. I was right. She just clung to her Daddy. It's ok. There's always next year.

We got some cute pictures waiting in line, though.

Again, where there's a dog, goat or a pig, count AB and Austin in. They stopped to pet someones horse of a dog that was tied to the fence. I guess this made up for the pony rides.

AB got to pick out her own little pumpkin. I love this sweet face. This is my little pumpkin!

We actually didn't buy a pumpkin from the McKinney pumpkin patch. They were outrageously expensive for mediocre pumpkins. So, on our way home we stopped at Murphy Road Baptist Church's pumpkin patch. We took the opportunity to snap a few more pictures.

Can I just tell you how much I love these two?

We ended up getting a few pumpkins for an awesome price! I even found some to decorate with, one white and one blue-ish gray. Love!