Looking Back: September {Jelly the Pug}

The girls wore these outfits at the beach this summer, but I needed one more photo shoot with them before Eloise inevitably grew out of hers.  I just love these matching Jelly the Pug patterns (and they had matching baby doll outfits too!) compliments of Zulily.

September afternoon in the gardens of Tanglewood.

Pickles

Every year we plant a garden. And every year it seems we have a different crop that goes bonkers and produces a bumper crop!  Some years it's been zucchini or peppers or tomatoes (well, let's be honest.... you really CAN'T have too many tomatoes).  This year, it was cucumber.  

It's a shame, since I don't really like cucumbers.  But Robert and Clara love them and more importantly, Robert loves pickles (ew, yuck.)  So a few Saturdays ago, Sweet Mama came over to help Robert make a big batch of pickles using her mother's recipe.  Clara (and Eloise?) helped.  

 I won't be tasting them to tell you if they were any good, but it was fun for me to watch these folks I love work together to create something with all those cucumbers.  Summer just calls for canning.  And even though I never knew my grandmother, it's cool to think that some of her legacy is living on in jars in our garage.  Anyone need some cucumbers?

Dirt Digger

So, Wednesday, November 7 we made our thankful tree.  We continue to have a lot of fun adding leaves to it daily.  We are so blessed!

Thursday, November 8, I mostly got ready for class and read a bunch of papers I needed to grade and scurried around.  In the midst of all this happy-making, I forgot I do have a job and some responsibilities.  But I got it all done with about an hour to spare.  Clara and I did make a few happies during that hour.  We played in the rice table.  Hunted for some acorns.  Ate lunch on the porch. And danced outside with the leaves (who were doing quite a windy-dance of their own).  In our PJs, nonetheless.  And she got to spend the afternoon with Sweet Mama while I taught, which is always a great big happy. I also finally pulled my Thanksgiving books and we've been reading those a lot, although I don't have a picture of it....

 Dancing outside in her PJs

 Exploring the Rice Table

Friday, November 9 we played hard in the backyard in the morning.  I love the warmer temperatures and just wanted to make the most of them before these hard cold winter days come.  In the afternoon, Clara helped me plant some half-dead mums in the backyard.  I've never been great with mums, but here's to hoping these might survive.  They were stunningly gorgeous when I first bought them.  What's the trick?  Oh, you should water them?  Hmmm.... maybe we will try that.

Here's my little dirt digger....

I just love her helpful heart!

The rest of the weekend held even more fun, so stay tuned!

Here's our updated bucket list

November's Bucket List: Updated

Take a nature walk and collect things we find

Rake leaves and jump in them

Visit the horses at Tanglewood

Go to the zoo

Fingerpaint (for the first time!)

Make turkey handprints

Do leaf rubbings

Read Leaf Man and make leaf people

Play in the rice table

Make a list of things we’re thankful for (thankful tree)

Read books about Thanksgiving

Visit GA for Thanksgiving (and use lots of hand sanitizer)

Take Mama Wore That photos

Go for walks/jogs

Bake together (perhaps in honor of National Cake Day, November 26)

Read Stone Soup and make veggie soup together