more fall fun

We had another jam-packed fun fall weekend last weekend. We started the weekend off with a trip to the dog park for Pug Play Day, so Winnie could run around with all his pug pals. We haven't been to pug play day in foreeeever, so I know Winnie was happy to get out and run around. It was Caroline's first trip to the dog park and I knew she would love seeing all the doggies. Since it's October this was the Halloween meetup and all the pugs were decked out in their costumes. One year Winnie was a bumblebee...he still has not forgiven me for that humiliation.

The year that Bill and I went to Maui we got him a hula shirt so he could be Magnum PI. He won the doggie costume contest! I think it was the shades that got him a win.

This year I decided to go with the old LSU jersey. Glad we did because there was another pug there wearing a Florida jersey....the horror!! 

All the other pugs were too cute of course. But it was a quick trip, since Winnie made a beeline for the swimming pool and promptly became a muddy mess and Caroline was nearing naptime.

This year Winnie's costume was carefully selected to coordinate with Caroline's. It took some extensive searching...I scoured pages and pages of Etsy listings...but finally I found the absolute perfect outfit. He too was quite excited when his package arrived in the mail.















But then the shame and despair appeared when he finally realized what was in store for him.

why do you DO this to me???

He was none too thrilled with my choice of costume. I got him to sit still long enough to take a picture and then he started violently flinging his head around trying to get it off. I relented and removed the despised headwear and put it on the coffee table. He then grabbed it off the coffee table and attempted to destroy it. I snatched it away and put it back on the coffee table, but I caught him trying to do it again later. He's going to be one humiliated pug come Halloween....

Aunty Em was in town for a concert Friday night so she came over to our house Saturday afternoon to watch the LSU game. She brought her service-dog-in-training, Kline, whose good manners and training put Winnie to shame. Caroline ADORED Kline and was thrilled with the attention Kline gave her, I guess since she's so deprived of any attention from Winnie. It was Kline's first time meeting and interacting with a baby, but of course he did wonderful. Emily will be very sad to see him go when she turns him in for full service dog training in about a year! 

On Sunday afternoon we met the Huggins at a pumpkin patch for some pumpkin picking and lots of photo-taking. Caroline was pretty cooperative and seemed to enjoy herself. 

Afterwards we stopped at Schlotzky's for a quick bite to eat, which was her first restaurant adventure and her first time to eat any sort of 'real' food (i.e. not baby food from a jar). At Jackie's encouragement, who assured me she would not choke to death, we gave her small pieces of saltine crackers and bits of tomato from my sandwich. She ate them! And she liked it! This is a major milestone considering that just a few weeks ago she was gagging on stage 2 jarred baby food. 

Eating real food! Perhaps it is time to venture into Cheerios and Puffs.

The past few days she's enjoyed playing with the mini-pumpkins, which are just the right size for her little hands to grab.

So excited about trick-or-treating in a few weeks! Can't wait to show off my herd!