Outta Here

Emma lost her very first tooth today. The very first tooth that poked through her baby gums on September 13, 2003 fell out into her hand this afternoon. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up!
One thing I was not expecting during today's excitement was Emma's wariness of the Tooth Fairy. When we put her tooth in her tooth pillow, she asked me where she needed to put it. I told her she could put it where ever she wanted to - either in the bed with her or on her bedside table. She said "I'm going to put it on my bedside table. I'm not putting it in my bed because I don't want her to get close to me." I tried to reassure her that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't have a lot of time to harass her while she slept, but she asked "Well, is she real big?" I told her that the Tooth Fairy was very small AND invisible, and she said "Like a germ?" Who'd have thought she'd be suspicious of the Tooth Fairy, who basically pays little children for their teeth? I didn't feel there was much else I could say that would reassure my little worrywart, so I just quit trying.

Fall Pictures Of The Girls

Today was a school holiday for the girls, so I took them up to the park in the front of our neighborhood to enjoy the sunshine and get some pictures while the weather was nice.

Trick Or Treat!

This Halloween was so much fun for the girls! Before we went trick-or-treating, we went to a neighbor's house and had pizza with several families from our neighborhood. When the sun went down, we headed out to trick-or-treat. The girls got tons of candy and visited as many houses as they could hold out for, and spent the rest of the night in the wagon sorting through their loot. Here are some pictures from our fun night!
...our family
...Sydney, Allison, and Emma
...Emma and our awesome babysitter Hannah
...Emma, Emily, and Kyle
...Allison and Emma
...neighborhood kids
...the girls
...Mary being silly
...Mary took frequent wagon breaks
...headed home to enjoy all the candy they got!

All The Leaves Are Brown...

I already miss Summer so much...the warm sunshine that lasts until 8 or 9 pm, the smell of freshly cut grass, and all of the beautiful flowers that just can't handle the cold winter months (granted, "cold" is a relative term in the South). A few of my favorites...

...dragonwing begonia

...blackeyed susan

...butterfly bush

...the lantana in our backyard that smells just like a bowl of Fruit Loops

Kemp's Vehicle Parade

A few weeks back, all of the Kindergarten classes at Emma's school had a "Vehicle Parade". The kids decorated their scooters, bikes, jeeps, etc., and put on a wonderful parade for their families. There was also an ambulance, a fire truck, a police car, and a mobile crime scene unit for the kids to check out. Here are some pictures from our fun morning...

...Little Miss Mary, waiting for the parade to start

...and here they come!

...I love the wave - she looks like the queen of the parade!





...Emma and her buddy Kyle

...learning how to lift fingerprints at a crime scene, a skill EVERY Kindergartner should learn

...Emma's class and her absolutely wonderful teachers

Halloween Hayride

This past Saturday, we went with some friends to a Halloween hayride. We cooked out, played by the water, went on a hayride, and listened to some wonderful storytellers. The girls had so much fun and weren't even scared! Mary even fell asleep during the second half of the hayride! (By the way, the stuffed dog in a lot of these pictures is Wrinkles, Emma's class pet who got to come home with her this weekend.) Here are some pictures from our fun night...

...the girls and Wrinkles

...Emma and Wrinkles

...Mary's silly face





...my gorgeous Emma

...Mary, Kyle, Sydney and Emma

...Emma and her friend Sydney

...silly Mary

...one of my favorites (EVER)

...Emma and Kyle on the hayride

...Emma and Wrinkles listening to the storytellers

...Mary listening to the storytellers

...our family (please notice Mary, who could not be bothered to wait a whole FIVE SECONDS so we could take a picture before digging into her rice krispie treat)

Happy Halloween!

Here is the annual Latham Family Halloween Picture (2008 Version), with Emma as Hannah Montana, Mary as Thomas the Train, and Samson as Snoop Dogg. I LOVE it!