Cookie, Cookie, Cookie Starts With "C"

Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte also starts with "C."

Coincidence? I think not!!

Last week, Aunt Sammi came over to spend the day with me. Instead of going to school, I got to play with Aunt Sammi all day. The best part of our day - we made COOKIES!!!

This is a little known fact, but the character "Cookie Monster" was modeled after me. They added some blue hair, lowered his voice and made him a boy, but his affinity for cookies was definitely inspired by yours truly!


I put on one of my many aprons ( a good chef must have an apron to match each outfit!), and Aunt Sammi and I went straight to work. She put all of the ingredients in the bowl, and I was in charge of mixing.

Who needs a Kitchen Aid Mixer when you have me?!


Cookie dough on my nose...I wonder if my tongue can reach it?!

After a long, arduous baking session - one that involved constant taste tasting - here is the
pièce de résistance.

Of course every good chef must test her recipe before offering it to the masses.

Baking cookies is fun, but it can be VERY tiring. My arms need a rest from mixing, and my belly needs a rest from cookie dough.

Did I get any chocolate on my face?!?

Thanks for a fun day, Aunt Sammi!!

CHARLOTTE'S SHOUT OUTS
Penn State - 31 Temple - 0

1. Defense - For the second straight year, you shut out Temple. Yes, it's Temple, but still...a shut out is a shut out!!

2. Dan Connor - you had 18 tackles and a sack. If you don't win all the defensive awards this year, it proves that those voters don't know anything!

3. Derrick Williams - You made 7 catches for a career high 104 yards. You're making more of an impact every week. Your patience is paying off!!

4. Rodney Kinlaw - You went over the 1,000 rushing yards mark in this game. You ran for 168 yards and a touchdown - high five!! You also caught 5 balls - you can run, you can catch...can you throw, too, and take Morelli's place??

5. PSU fans - because of you, Temple had its biggest attendance for a football game ever. Philadelphia was "Happy Valley East" for the day.

6. Illinois - I love you! You gave a great birthday gift to Mommy!!

Twick ow Tweat

What a crazy Halloween!!

First, I went to school dressed as DeeDee Doodle for a Halloween party. We had special "spooky" snacks, we carved a Jack o Lantern, and we walked to other classrooms to fill up the candy bags we each designed. Everyone at school loved my costume! My teachers got a great photo of DeeDee surrounded by all of her boys!

Then I came home to a special surprise - Nana came over to go twick ow tweating with me and Mommy!! Daddy was in the middle of nowhere (aka Nebraska) for work, so it was just us girls that night!

I was so excited to put my costume back on and get started. I got my bat bucket, grabbed a piece of candy from Mommy's bucket for practice, and off we went!


Nana took my hand as we made our way to the first house. Mommy thought that I might get nervous when a grown up answered the first door, but she forgot she was talking about DeeDee Doodle, world famous singer and dancer. I perform in front of large crowds for a living - visitng a few houses wasn't going to make me nervous!

Mommy said that I was a pro from the first house. I walked up to the neighbors' door, smiled my best DeeDee smile, yelled "Twick ow Tweat" and took my time picking out a piece of candy. I carefully placed the loot into my bat basket, smiled again, said "Tank ooo!" and left with a skip in my step to the next house.

Why did Mommy ever doubt that I was a natural?

As much of a pro as I was, I started to tire quickly. I had a big day, after all. Our neighborhood seemed much bigger that night. After about twenty minutes, Mommy decided this glazed over look meant that it was time to head back home to hand out candy.

I got a second wind back at our house when I remembered all of the candy I had just earned with my cuteness.

Being the sweetie that Mommy always says that I am, I offered my first candy to Mommy. I know that she goes ga-ga over M&M's, so I gave her a bag. She says that the "M" stands for Meggan - that's why she feels like she has to eat them so much!

After carefully searching through the selection, I decided that this lollipop would be the first candy to pass my lips. It was my first lollipop ever, and it certainly won't be my last!!

Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolli lolli lolli... (that one goes out to you, Auntie Tara!)

Thanks for going Twick ow Tweating with me and Mommy, Nana! I hope you had as much fun as I did!!

PS - Mommy and Daddy spent the day in Philly yesterday, so Mommy didn't get to see the PSU - Purdue game. I got to spend the day with Gramma, so I didn't see the game either. Neither Mommy nor I are qualified to do Shout Outs. Mommy says that we should just give a Shout Out to the whole team for pulling out a win!

Charlotte Doodle and Drew Cow

Drew and I got together for dinner at Nana and Joepa's house tonight, so we thought we'd unveil our Halloween costumes to everyone.

Drew is going to be a cow this year. Fitting, considering where we live. Cows of Lancaster County, represent!!

I am wearing the costume of my favorite all time singer. I used to be a big Justin Timberlake fan - until I was introduced to the world of the Doodlebops!! Dee Dee Doodle is the piano player and singer of the greatest rock group ever - the Doodlebops!

Can you see the resemblance?

I am their #1 fan - I have tickets to see them live next month, I know all of their songs, I replaced my nightly watching of Elmo's World with Doodlebops episodes, I can (sort of) recite the Doodlebop pledge, and now I am going trick or treating as Dee Dee Doodle. How can anyone possibly claim to be a bigger fan?!?

Stay tuned for more photos this week of trick or treat night! Until then, have a Happy Halloween!!

(Mommy is still mourning the Penn State loss to OSU. She can't bear to think about Shout Outs right now.)

Charlotte's Web

"Salutations!"

Yesterday at school we made spider hats as part of our Halloween celebration week. I was VERY excited about this - I am the most famous spider in literary history, so it was about time that I got to be myself for a day!

I helped crinkle the legs for my hat, and Miss Janelle stapled the legs to the top for me. I walked around school the rest of the day wearing my spider hat - I am Charlotte, after all!

Stay tuned for photos of me in my Halloween costume. It is the greatest costume ever!!! Mommy doesn't let me wear it too much, though - I tend to throw a fit when she makes me take it off!!

Any guesses of what I will be?!? (no spilling the beans if you already know!!)

Hot Dog!

As Mickey Mouse would say,
"Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!"

On Friday, Mommy and I met up with Auntie Sharon, Riley, Auntie Sue and Genna in Hershey. First we ate a very yummy dinner at Red Robin - I was so good that I even got a balloon!

After dinner, we were off to the Giant Center for my very first live show!!! The mommies bought us tickets to see "Playhouse Disney Live," featuring Handy Manny, The Little Einsteins, Tigger and Pooh and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang!!

Mommy was a little nervous about how I would react at a live show - was she nuts?!? Loud music, dancing, singing, Disney characters...what kid wouldn't LOVE that?!?

Adorable Miss Riley at Red Robin.

Cutie-pie Miss Genna, patiently waiting to leave for the show.

As the curtain rose, I could hardly contain my excitement!

I tried my best to keep up with all the dance moves!

My little hands got tired from all of the clapping!

Luckily for the Little Einsteins, I was there to help them get Rocket off the ground...

Blast-Off!!

What a great show! I was very sad to see it end.

The Junior Pinks after the show.

Auntie Sharon, Auntie Sue and Mommy - thank you SO much for taking us to the show. That was the best Friday night EVER!!

Now I'm ready for the Doodlebops show next month!

CHARLOTTE'S SHOUT OUTS

PENN STATE - 36 INDIANA - 31

1. Kevin Kelly - You broke Craig Fayak's school record for career field goals with 52. I guess now we'll forgive you for those missed overtime field goals in the Orange Bowl two years ago, making us stay up half the night until you finally won it for us!

2. Jeremy Boone - With a little over a minute to play, you booted a 68 yard punt that pushed IU back to its own 5 yard line, making it impossible for them to make a comeback.

3. Maurice Evans - 6 tackle (4.5 for a loss), 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a 55 yard fumble return...not too shabby for one road game!

4. Justin King - You recorded a career high 9 tackles - high five!

OK, boys. Next week is THE BIG ONE!!

Night game, white out, national TV - OHIO STATE! Practice harder than you ever have this week. We MUST NOT LOSE TO THE BUCKEYES!!!!!

Homecoming, Toddler Style

What a great Homecoming for Penn State and for me! My Nittany Lions whipped those crazy Badgers, and Mommy and I watched the game with Big Jim, Amy, Avery, Evan and Jess! (Daddy went to Hershey for a car show.)

Mommy told me stories of the Homecoming festivities she took part in when she was at Penn State. She told me about spending the week building and pomping floats, participating in Crazy Band dances, watching and riding in the parade, drinking "cider"...

Avery, Evan and I decided to celebrate Homecoming in our own way. Instead of making floats, we decided to make a mess. Instead of cider, we had juice, pizza and ice cream!!

While Penn State began to put the hurt on Wisconsin, Avery and I played in the basement. Evan tried to get into our playhouse, but we quickly instituted a "No Boys Allowed" policy. I have my fill of boys at school all week - I need a break from the cooties on the weekend!

OK, Evan, you might have cooties, but can you call Joe Paterno on your cool phone and tell him that we really need a win?! I have a long car ride home with Mommy tonight - it will be an unbearable ride if they lose!

Not only were we celebrating Homecoming, we were also celebrating Jessi's birthday!! (I can't say "Jess," but I can say "Jessi" really well, so that's how I refer to her now!!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESSI!!!

Speaking of Jessi, I was trying to be like another Jessi in my life during halftime- if you need an intern sometime, Jessi B., I'm all yours!

After our Nittany Lions finished pounding the Badgers, we decided to walk in a Homecoming parade of our own - a parade to Maggie Moo's for some ice cream!

Who needs a marching band? I created an original Homecoming chant as we walked...

3...5...9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How are we supposed to choose from all these toppings?

Can we have some of each?!?

Birthday girl Jessi helped me sample lots of different flavors before we placed our order.

Yummy in my tummy.

Here's Evan on his way to creating an ice cream hoodie.

Who needs "cider" to celebrate Homecoming?? Ice cream is SOOO much better!!!

It works for Trixie and Emmet...

I'm sure we could find more room in our bellies for cake!

We'll take this one!

Thanks for inviting us to your house for the game, Dixon family. We had a great time!!

CHARLOTTE'S SHOUT OUTS
Wisconsin 7 Penn State 38

1. JoePa - You get a shout out not only for the win, but for getting out of your car this week and yelling at a woman for being a bad driver. If only everyone in the world was as good of a driver as you (and Daddy) are...

2. Terrell Golden - You had 5 catches today for 83 yards. You had 6 catches all of last season, so congratulations on the breakout performance!

3. Evan Royster - What a great touchdown run on a fourth down play. See, JoePa doesn't always make the conservative call!

4. Maurice Evans - You only had 3 tackles today, but all of them were for losses and two of them were sacks!

5. Anthony Scirotto - You ended a second quarter Wisconsin drive with an awesome leaping intersection - way to go !

6. Sean Lee - You picked up the fumble on the first play from scrimmage by PJ Hill to set the tone for the game. We needed that great start!

Overall, it was a very entertaining game to watch. At least that's what Mommy tells me - I was too busy celebrating Homecoming with my friends to really notice!!

I-Owe-A Lot to Iowa

It's about time!! For the past two weeks, I rarely got to practice my touchdown signal while we were ahead on the scoreboard. Today, thanks to the Hawkeyes, I was able to practice my signal a few times, all while leading.

This was the first game that Mommy, Daddy and I were able to watch a PSU game together at home. The stupid Big Ten Network didn't get their greedy hands on this game, so our whole family enjoyed an afternoon of Penn State football in the comforts of our own home.

I wore my "Little Person, Big Fan" t-shirt, hoping it would bring the team good luck. Looks like it worked!

As usual, my boys got off to a slow start. Kinlaw fumbled AGAIN, stopping a great first offensive drive. Morelli looked inconsistent AGAIN. For a quarter and a half, I squeezed the life out of Miss Nittany in frustration.

Right before the first half ended, my Nittany Lions starting showing some promise, so I was able to plant some happy, wet kisses onto Miss Nittany.





When the game ended, I called Nana and Joepa (who were at the game) on my new Minnie cellphone. I wanted to share my excitement of the win.














Because I was so excited about finally winning a game, I couldn't help but jump for joy. Since Ally's moonbounce wasn't available, I used our couch instead.




During halftime, Mommy decided to let me decorate the Halloween sugar cookies she had just baked. I put on my favorite apron and went to work.

I chose to decorate the kitty cat cookie, to nobody's surprise. I was very diligent about my artwork, and I took my time to make sure it looked perfect.


After spending all that time decorating the cookie, it only took me a few seconds to lick off my masterpiece.



Daddy noticed that I was playing with cookies, so he couldn't resist coming out into the kitchen to show off his inner Bob Ross. He thought his artwork was so tasty that he ate TWO masterpieces.















CHARLOTTE'S SHOUT OUTS

Due to Mommy's crazy work schedule and Penn State's two losses, my shout-outs have been neglected. If only I knew how to type, I wouldn't have to rely on Mommy to publish my thoughts for me!

PENN STATE 27 IOWA 7

1. Rodney Kinlaw - Even though you did have a huge fumble at the beginning of the game, you redeemed yourself by running for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Since Austin Scott was suspended for being a bad boy, you were the starting running back, and you did quite well!

2. Kevin Kelly - You made a 53 yard field goal right before half time to give PSU a 13-0 lead. What a great way to give PSU momentum leading into the half!


3. Evan Royster - At first, Mommy thought they were calling you "Oyster." She had never heard of you until today, but it's unlikely she'll forget you after today's performance. You ran for 86 yards before you left the game with an injury. I hope you're not hurt too badly!

NON SHOUT OUT

1. Chris Bell - What were you thinking when you dropped that pass in the end zone? I would have caught that pass, and I'm not even three feet tall, with hands that are smaller than your ears.

Next week, Wisconsin comes to the Beav. Illinois beat them today, so we might have a shot. Get some rest this week, boys. We need to beat those Badgers!!