Clara Lee!

Dear Abigail,

This past weekend, Clara Lee came to visit, and what a visit it was!!! She and Mimi arrived Saturday around lunch time and the two of you had no trouble at all finding something to do! One minute you were playing 'house' and then next you were dressing up like princesses and then the next chasing Kitty!

After playing for a bit, we thought we could get the two of you to rest before we headed to the zoo. HA. There is no resting with the two of you, that's for sure. So, soon enough, we started getting ready the Zoo Boo. Part of getting ready meant you got to put on your costume!!! You could NOT wait to put it on and what a costume it was - Mickey Mouse!! That's right, not Minnie, but Mickey Mouse! Mommy went through several pictures with you and after choosing all of them multiple times (including Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and a scary monster) you decided to go with Mickey Mouse. And, since you were Mickey, I had the perfect idea for what Kate should be...

That's right, you were Mickey, Kate was Minnie. I couldn't convince Daddy to dress like Donald, so we just stuck with mice this halloween :)

And it just so happens that last year, Clara Lee was Minnie Mouse so she decided she'd be Minnie again, to go with her BCF and all :)

Can you tell the two of you have fun together??? So off to the zoo we went. It was super crowded, as expected, so we decided to immediately head towards the carousel. We were meeting up with the gang and decided that was the best spot, not to mention it's where you wanted to go! You were super excited to see Baby Grant - or I mean Baby Lion!

And I finally got to ride the carousel with you! For some reason, Daddy always rides it with you, so I was happy to assist while Mimi hung out with Kate - but as you can see, you two didn't need much assistance!
While we were on the carousel, somehow Ellie snuck on it but was on the exact opposite side from us. You kept looking and looking and finally when we stopped the two of you were reunited. Or I should say, you and Belle...
After the carousel, we jumped on the hayride. Now, we did not do the hayride last year, for whatever reason, and we knew it was going to be a bit scary, not like Uncle Bubbas hayride or Gentry's Farm hayride, so we decided to do it now before it got dark. THANK GOODNESS because it was scary enough. At first you were having a blast. There were a few things that may have startled you, but you took control, like the random dinosaur or the pirate shirt with very little skeleton pirates on it, and there were even bubbles that were pretty cool, but then - UGH, a headless horseman, who, of course, took his head off and his horse jumped up at us. And then this ridiculously close and scary dragon looking thing that Mimi and I both tried and tried to get you NOT to look at just took off flying at us. Yeah, that set you off, no doubt. So, once we got back around from the hayride, you insisted to be held. You didn't want to go in the maze with Clara Lee and Mimi either, which put me in a bit of a bind because I had Kate (oh, and Daddy wasn't with us...). So we just stood there waiting for Mimi and Clara Lee. We saw the Monster Mash area and thought for sure this was a safe zone because it was just dancing and having a good time. So we headed that way. Well, you were dancing with everyone at first, but this some, and excuse my language, STUPID kid with a scary mask came in and ran all the kids out, purposely. Now, most of the other kids just went right back to dancing once he left, but not you. That was is. No question asked. You HAD to be held, and you had the look of fear embedded on your face. Everyone else was having a blast...
And because I was trying to fiddle with you and Kate and you would NOT let me put you down and kept insisting to 'Go over there', but I couldn't go over there unless I told Mimi and Clara Lee, I had to call in for help and Mr. Jay was kind enough to hold you, shaking and all, for a few minutes...
Once everyone had their fill of dancing, we headed to go trick or treating at the other part of the zoo. You of course still needed to be held and Uncle Jaybee offered to carry you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sounds all sweet and stuff, huh. I'm pretty sure he was making it worse than better by aggravating you with threats that he was going to put you down with the monsters if you didn't stop crying. Of course, that just makes you cry more, so eventually I grabbed you and we told the gang good bye. We had to convince you that if you hid your face in the stroller that no one could see you, so you hid the whole time, only to peek out every now and then and see where we were. And, right on time, the second we got out of the zoo, away from anything scary, you were happy go lucky, laughing and playing with Clara Lee!!! UGH - such drastic mood swings. Please help me through those teenage years...

So it was dinner time and since you had had such a terrible afternoon so far, we decided to cheer you up by taking you to Chick-fil-a! And it worked like a charm! You and Minnie (not mini-Minnie, just Minnie) played on the playground while we ordered some dinner and then the 2 of you gobbled it up as if you'd hadn't eaten in days. And, of course, we topped it off with none other than ice cream...

All was well now and we headed home to a much needed bed - for all of us! Sunday morning, we got up and you and CL and Kate helped me make some pancakes, along with helping make the playroom look like a tornado went through it 15 times... After breakfast, us girls got ready to go to Gentry's Farm - again. That's right, we had so much fun, we had to take Clara Lee. AND, Mimi was kind enough to buy you your own pair of overalls. Mommy isn't crazy about those things but A) when in Rome and B) they are pink so overalls it was! And, I put Kate in a cute little pair too! Farmin' hear we come!

You refused to smile if you couldn't touch Kate
So I gave in...
And trying to get you two to sit still for a second to get a picture with Mimi was IMPOSSIBLE!

So off to the farm we went!

Upon arriving at the farm, you informed us you were scared of the goats. Like really scared. Like I need to be carried scared. Again. Even though we hadn't seen the goats, and the goats were in cages AND you have seen goats a million times and have never been scared before, but yes, you were scared. Yes, we're looking into therapy for you... It took a lot of convincing but if you and CL rode on the back of the stroller, you would be okay not being carried.
We headed straight to the hayride because A) we were avoiding the goats and B) it was going to get crowded. And, it was a Christmas miracle, but you completely forgot about the goats and enjoyed the hayride. We saw 2 baby cows born just that day - one like an hour ago! Super cool. After the hayride, we headed to all the fun stuff, without the least concern about any goats. We did the barn maze...
which included sliding...

And going through some tunnels...
Then we had to do the unthinkable - wait in line... But man alive, y'all sure looked cute. 1 point for the overalls!
And waiting in line was worth it, or so it appears...

You rode a few tractors...
And finally Mommy remembered to measure you!
Then it was time to cook. Or at least that's what you were doing. Clara Lee informed us, duh - she was getting feed for the chickens. What else did we think she'd be doing! You informed us you were making soup...

And look what we have here - a goat... hmmmmmm... Some one doesn't have to be carried after all.

Playground time!
And you found a red ball (random) and wanted to play catch...
Oh, and you and Clara Lee were playing 'house' again and when i asked what you were doing you said "We're watching a movie." Not quite sure that a teepee and tv watching can go together, but you made it work!

You clearly have gotten over your fear of goats...

And we of course had to pick out pumpkins!
All in all, a VERY fun day at the farm with your fave cousin!

After the farm, we headed to the house where Daddy was getting the grill ready for some burgers and Mommy's cousin and hubby stopped in for a visit all the way from Florida. They had met you the year you were born, but hadn't seen you since, but that did not matter. You clicked right away with them and had such a fun time playing with "Uncle" Marc and Kim! You hid from them, and Marc threw you in the air again and again and again - and more hiding and more playing and by bedtime I was worn out - I mean you were!!! Clara Lee and Mimi stayed Sunday night but unfortunately you had to go to school on Monday morning. Don't worry, they didn't stick around too long and I am positive there will be more weekend with Clara Lee in the future!!

Love you !