Dowelloween 2009

Well, Ada's 2nd Halloween has come and gone! Last year she was a Daisy (and a mighty cute Daisy, might I add):

Ada Grace Dowell- 10/31/2008 (5 weeks old)

This year she dressed as the ever-present, reoccuring theme of our lives: The Ladybug! The costume was adorable; she was adorable; and we had an AMAZING weekend!

The festivities started off with a bang on Friday morning at daycare: it was wear-your-costume-to-school-day. The moment I slipped Ada's bright red TuTu over her head, and tied her pretty black dress up shoes on her chubby little feet, she knew something spectacular was happening. She even wore her headband antennas ALL day! She typically won't even let you 5 feet near her if you have a headband-resembling item in your hands. She was such a ham- unfortunately at 6:20 am, you don't always have your camera handy and we were already running late! So you'll just have to visulaize the spectacle.

Upon picking up The Bug (an even more appropriate title this day of the year!), we headed straight to Grandma and Grandpa's for the annual Lakes of Eldridge Halloween Party. There was a magician, tricks and treats, and a spoooooky story teller. (Have y'all seen Poltergeist? This lady reminded me of the psychic from that movie. I was just waiting for her to look at the nearest fuzzy television and say "Carol Anne! Stay away from the light, Carol Anne!") Here are a few pictures from our Hallween Eve adventures:

Family Picture: Everyone say Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeze!

During the Spooky Storytelling: Ada was much more interested in the listeners than the reader.

Mimicking what witches do when they cast spells.

Dying to snatch some of this poor Dinosaur's candy.

Intrigued by the pirate. He doesn't look Somalian.....

Checking everything out from smack-dab in the center of it all.

Very pleased with this experience!

Then on Halloween afternoon, we ventured on down to Pearland to Trick-or-Treat with the Schilhabs! We love hanging out with them as much as we can; but the primary reason was to get a fabulous picture of Ada and Mia together. Both of their costumes were from Gymboree- Ada was the Ladybug and Mia was the Bumblebee!!! Needless to say; they are priceless memories. Here are few photos of their Trick-or-Treating extravaganza:

Fluffy TuTus blowing in the wind.

Red Wagonin' it!

"The Girls:" Alicia, Ada, Mia, and Katy

Tricks? Treats? All this for ME?

"Open up! We want your candy!"

Such a classic picture- I think I'm going to enter this in some kind of contest!

A little weary of the house with skulls on their doorstep.

A graveyard?? I'm not sure about this.

OMG Mom, that spider is huge. Is the candy really worth all this??

I had a really cute video of Ada and Mia walking, playing, swinging, and Trick-or-Treating; but it's taking too long to upload! I'll post that sometime in the near future!

A Glimpse Into A Teacher's Inbox:

Mrs. Dowell: Does anyone have 30 muzzles I could borrow for my 6th period class? I’d like to use them for the rest of the year. If possible, I would also love to put the shields around their neck that dogs have to wear after surgery. Just to amuse myself. If you’ve got those laying around, I’d greatly appreciate it!

Mrs. Stiles: You could try a refrigerator box. Just cut a hole so that they can see you in the front of the classroom.

Mrs. Dowell: I’m cracking up right now.
I need 30…. I think I’ll go dumpster diving at Sears tonight.

Mrs. Stiles (55 minutes later): Why is Caleb over here?

Mrs. Dowell: OOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NO HE DID-NT! He’s supposed to be using the restroom- he’s been hopping around all class about to wet his pants…. Is he trying to get Nick’s attention??

Mrs. Dowell (immediately after Caleb was sent back to her room by Mrs. Stiles): Just gave Caleb the evil eye when he came back and informed him that your room does not have a toilet in it. His reply: “but she has this cool magnetic liquid!!!”

Houston Texans

Casey's parents have some AWESOME seats and season tickets to the Houston Texans- and they took us with them today to watch the Texans squeak by with a win against the 49ers! (The next game we are going to is against the Colts...that will be exciting!) Ada loved the Katy HS and Aggie football games so much, we decided to throw caution to the wind and take The Bug along for the ride. (Babies under 2 are free....) Let's put it this way: she will probably stay home for the Colts game!! She had fun, we had a blast, and of course Grandma and Grandpa spoiled her rotten; it was just exhausting! She is so curious and independent now, that holding her was not an option- which makes Tailgating and sitting in the stadium a bit challenging! But we survived and made some wonderful memories. Here are some pictures!

Hut Hut!!
I got my own mini-Tailgating lounge chair!

Do I look fierce like Toro!?!

George Bush and George Bush Jr. were there! (George Sr didn't see me; or I'm sure he'd remember meeting me when I was a Receptionist at the Student Rec at A&M!)

Sittin' pretty with Grandpa and Grandma... the pre-game entertainment was mesmorizing!

GO TEXANS! I'm your #1 Fan!

If You're Happy and You Know It....

If You're Happy and You Know It- walk around ignoring your Mom....

If You're Happy and You Know It- Clap Your Hands!!

Swine Flu

The dreaded H1N1 Virus, or The Swine Flu, has officially invaded our home. I'm the one who came down with it first- it started last Wednesday, got bad Thursday, and I thought I was dying by Friday. I ran a 103 fever for at least 3 days, and I almost went to the ER on Saturday night with some intense chest pains- but waited it out to go to a clinic on Sunday only to be turned away because they were too full! By the time I got into a doctor on Monday, I had a sinus infection, upper respiratory infection, and an unexplainable rash (that is now fading). My H1N1 test actually came back negative, but Ada's doctor today told me that those tests are pretty inaccurate and frequently give false negatives. Apparently I probably did have the virus... because Ada tested positive for it today. :*(Her case actually seems fairly mild- knock on wood. Her fever hasn't gotten above a 101.5, and her cough is pretty tame. We do have Tamiflu ($100, ouch!) in case her symptoms worsen drastically- but there are some scary side effects that the antiviral can have, so we're not being hasty and giving it just yet. (Severe nausea, vomiting, and hallucinations in children are just a few....) On top of all of this that this baby is enduring, she also has a double ear infection, so is on antibiotics for another 10 days. (She does not tolerate antibiotics well, her body hates them...therefore I do, too!)Say a little prayer for The Bug! And enjoy the pictures of her with her new stuffed Lovey, Piglet- purchased today in honor of her Swine Flu!!!

Not feelin' too hot- but loving on my Swine Flu anyway!

I got this thing by the ankles- don't worry about me, Mom!!I love this baby.

Girly Girl?

Here is Ada in her pretty, floral, feminine bubble dress that she wore to daycare on Tuesday! She was picture perfect. She even sat a little prissier than usual in her carseat- with her hands clasped politely in her lap and her lips pursed just a little. She knew she looked special! (This day was the first day since Ada began crawling that we have ventured into dress/skirt territory. Now that she's walking we're introducing them back into her wardrobe options!)

When I picked her up from daycare that day, however, I learned that her behavior didn't quite match her girly outfit. The daycare bully (not the infant room bully- the DAYCARE bully) was exiled into the infants room because she wouldn't let any of the 2 year olds in her room sleep at naptime. (Sound like anyone we know? At least our bug does it out of the goodness of her heart- surely the other babies would rather stay up and play with her!) So The Bully was up to no good, and bullying babies: pulling hair, trying to bite, stealing toys, food, and bottles, pushing down, walking over, anything else toturous you can imagine doing to a 12 month old. Ada, apparently had enough- because she started to dish it right back out to The Bully; and had her running scared from her by the end of the day! All the while dressed so pretty in her bubble skirt.... I can't help but laugh when I picture all of that going down!