Happy Halloween!

This Halloween Claire was a princess thanks to a beautiful dress that Grandma Vandervaart picked up when she went to Disney World. We were very impressed with how Claire did this year. Here are some pictures from our evening...

Our pretty little princess...

When we started trick or treating, Claire was unsure that if we put the candy in the basket that she would get it back so she started to hoard the candy.

She definately got the hang of it and would say "Thank You" when candy was placed in her basket. It started to get to heavy so she was dragging it by the end.

She and Jackson had a great time together

Claire: The Domesticated Princess :)

(Here she is throwing a fit because we told her we were leaving to go trick or treating and we had to put the lawn mower down)

Our family on Halloween

Trick or Treating at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Claire clearly having gotten into some chocolate :)

"If mom and dad aren't going to open this for me, then I am just going to chew on the wrapper until I get to the chocolate..."

The best TREAT of all... Grandpa Carroll home from the hospital on Halloween!!

October 2009

October proved to be another month that was busy and filled with many wonderful memories. Our activities included Carroll Camping; a visit to Ohio with family and friends; Claire being the flower girl in our friend, Nim's wedding; Monkey Joe's with the Whites; Halloween; and Grandpa Carroll coming home from the hospital!!! Here are some pictures from our October...

She loves bows in her hair, so one day dad put all of the bows we own in her hair - she loved it!

We went to Monkey Joe's (indoor playground) with the White's and Claire enjoyed playing with Jackson

Claire definately knows how to burn some energy at Monkey Joe's!

Here is a picture of Claire with an entire fun size Hershey's bar in her mouth AND asking for more! :)

Sporting her Halloween outfit

She wore this outfit to school and received many compliments from her teachers

We had a play date with Korbin that Claire ALWAYS enjoys

Our little love bug...

Pretty in pink

Going down the slide with dad

So excited to be a big sister

Grandpa and Grandma took Claire for a ride when we went to visit

Claire being extremely crabby after a day at school - typically how our Thursdays are

Come on, Claire... give us a smile!

There we go!

Did someone say popcorn?

Such a sweet little girl....sometimes :) Just kidding!

Claire The Flower Girl

Here is a video of Claire in the act of being a flower girl. She did wonderfully! She got about 1/3 of the way down the aisle, then the orchestra started playing the wedding march. The music scared the ring bearer and Claire so they turned around and were about to dart in the other direction. Just as Claire turns around, she sees her monkey doll that Pete is holding up and comes running down the aisle :)

Claire as a Flower Girl

One of Pete's closest friends from high school, Nim got married this past Friday, October 23rd. She asked if Claire would be a flower girl in her wedding. We were honored, but also very nervous about how Claire would do. As you can see by the video above, she did pretty well. Pete and I were very proud of her and impressed by her behavior during the entire evening. Here are some pictures from the wedding...

Once Claire got down the aisle, we had an M&M cookie waiting for her

It was a rainy day, so the curls in her hair fell out quickly
During pictures, we asked her to sit still on the stairs and she sat like this for probably 30 straight seconds... it was hilarious!

Here she is with the beautiful bride

But after all is said and done, she was exhausted!

North Canton Visit

This past weekend, we traveled to North Canton to visit with family and friends. The entire Vandervaart family went to the pumpkin patch and carved pumpkins. Here are some pictures from our fun fall activities...

The family at the Pumpkin Patch before the cold rain began

Brotherly Love :)

Starting from Left:
PIE (Kristen)
One tooth smiley face (Kathy)
Vandervaart Family (Laura)
Peace Tree (up on chair) (Kimmy)
Turtle (Laura and Kathy)
Nemo (Pete)

Vandervaart Family Pumpkin :)

Claire "gutting" a pumpkin (We threw plastic turtles inside so she would fish for them)

We told her Barney was inside :)

Our little family at the pumpkin patch

What a cute little pumpkin

She's not sure which pumpkin to pick, but she really just wanted to play in the gravel

But she still loves those apples!

Grandpa Carroll Learning to Walk Again

Grandpa Carroll's Update

Dad is doing well and has been transferred to a Rehab Hospital. He is learning to stand and walk again. They have predicted his discharge home will be November 4th, but his goal is October 30th. We are all very proud of his good spirits and wonderful progress. Way to go, Daddy-O! :)