Halloween Party

Yesterday was the Halloween party at Daddy's office.  Gavin finally decided that he wanted to be a dragon a couple weeks ago, but after trying the costume on for about 30 seconds, we couldn't get it back on him.  I was worried he wouldn't wear it for the party or for trick-or-treating tomorrow.  Well, we got to the office and he did put it on, but wouldn't let me put up his hood.  No big deal...I decided to take what I could get!  

 He was very cautious the entire time we were going through the different rooms.  He would randomly grab on tight and say, "There's a witch over there."  The kids' costumes were ok for him, but the adults that were dressed up scared him a bit.   

 There was a {sad} Sesame Street display, and Gavin was even scared of some of them.  I think he was confused because the characters didn't look quite right...this is supposed to be Big Bird.  Hmmm...I think I see the resemblance. 

 Despite his uncertainty, he did say 'Trick or Treat' a few times and got to fill his bucket with candy.  He said he had fun, and we were very excited that he wore the costume!  Now, let's just hope we can get him back in it tomorrow for trick-or-treating. 

Happy Half Birthday, Gavin!

Today is not just my lovely sister's birthday, it's also Gavin's half birthday!  2 1/2!  Seriously?!?!  He tells everyone he is 'two half.'  Gavin is such a big boy already.  It is so bittersweet to know he's growing up.  Here are some of the things Gavin's been up to...

• Even though we have the occasional accident, he's potty trained!  After I blogged last about his pooping issues, he's been pooping on the potty ever since.  
• Gavin has started singing his alphabet!  He recognizes all his capital letters and is working on the lowercase.  He can count to 10, but only does it sporadically.  Sometimes I'll catch him counting things and he'll say, '11, 12, 13, 14...' so he knows the numbers, he just doesn't put them in order all the time.  
• Speaking of singing - he loves to sing...the popular songs right now are Monkeys Swinging in a Tree, Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald, and Twinkle Twinkle.  
• He knows a lot of shapes, including the ever popular hexagon and octagon.  He's silly.
• He's getting really good at throwing and catching a ball.  He's had quite the arm on him for a while now, but is just starting to catch the ball, too.  He also loves to 'head' the ball - future soccer player, I'm sure!
• He listens really well and is a great helper - he puts his dirty clothes in the hamper every night, and loves to put his underwear away when I'm folding laundry.  Cooking is a favorite thing to do with Mommy.   
• The last couple of weeks he's been acting funny at bedtime, asking us to sleep with him and even to leave the light on once.  Sometimes he cries, other times he's fine when we leave the room.  He wanted Shirley to sleep with him earlier this week, and even though Mommy didn't like it, she did get up on his bed and lay there with him for a couple hours.  If only we could get him to sleep in!  His 6-6:30 wake up time is getting earlier.  5:30 is now the 'norm' with even a 4:50 earlier this week!  

We love you, Bug!  You make life so much more exciting.  Hugs and Kisses!

Thankful Thursday

Four more weeks until Thanksgiving!  I have so much to be thankful for...


I'm thankful that I have the internet, email, this blog, and Facebook so that I can stay connected to all the people that mean so much to me.  (Thanks, Tori, for the idea!)  I just wish all my friends had a blog!  I love reading blogs and keeping in touch with friends.  I'm thankful that I've found a few friends here that I click with.  It's hard when you don't know people in a new town, but having a playgroup has allowed Gavin and me to meet many people and make new friends. And you know that feeling you get when you meet someone and it just 'clicks'?  Like you were meant to be friends?  I love that feeling!  I'm thankful for Annisa, my TS sponsor.  She's an amazing leader that has inspired me and encouraged me when things were tough after moving to Arkansas.  I love what I do and I love this company, but it was hard when we first moved here and she wouldn't let me give up.  And, thanks to her encouragement, the parties are getting booked and I'm building my own team.  Thank you, Annisa!  And lastly, I'm thankful that I don't have to cook dinner tonight!  A celebration dinner for my hubby for completing his Dale Carnegie course last night.  :) 


Take a minute and share your gratitude!  What do you have to be thankful for?

Talking with a Toddler

Gavin:  What's in your belly, mom?
Me:  There's nothing in my belly.  What are you talking about?
Gavin:  Yes there is.  It's a ball.  
Me:  {Realizing he's remembering when I hid the ball under my shirt while we were playing earlier...}  Oh, is that right?
Gavin:  Yeah, two balls.  See....one, two!  


I'll let you imagine what he was pointing to and counting.  Way to make Mommy proud, Gav!

Wordless Wednesday

Sugar Cookies

Taking photographs to document our lives is so important to me, and almost like a therapy.  When I haven't taken many pictures, I feel out of sorts.  The problem is, Jarrod and I don't share this love.  So, it's usually me behind the camera.  If I ask him to take pictures for me, he will...but usually not as many as I would have taken!  Thank goodness for my self-timer.  One of my favorite blogs is My Sweet Chaos.  I love how she uses her self-timer and doesn't care if someone's head is cut off or the pic isn't centered.  Her photos are beautiful.  She inspires me to use my timer more and capture things Gavin and I do together.

After pumpkin carving, Gav and I made sugar cookie cut-outs.  I set up the timer to take 10 continuous photos and kept a few of my faves.

 

 Of course, eating them was Gavin's favorite part!

Pumpkin Carving!

To me, one of the best parts of fall is pumpkin carving.  I loooove carving pumpkins!  Jarrod will not put his hand inside the pumpkin, so it's my job to gut them.  Why I love sticking my hand in all that nasty junk I have no idea, but I do.  So I was super excited to carve our pumpkins yesterday and look forward to when Gavin is old enough to help us even more.

First, Daddy cut off the tops for me.  I was a bit disappointed in our pumpkins this year.  One was rotting before we even got around to carving them, so we were down to two.  Then, he cut the top off the first one, and it was so gross inside.  Brown, gooey, slimy...  Not the normal pumpkin guts.  Even I wouldn't put my hand in that one.  So, we were now left with just one pumpkin.  Fingers crossed it turned out ok for carving....

 And this is what was inside!  A little strange with the vines, but still perfect for gutting!

 Gavin, though interested, didn't want to put his hand inside.  But, this is the same kid that makes me wash his hands as soon as he's done eating because he doesn't like being sticky or messy, so I didn't really expect him to.  

 My Bug and pumpkin guts....I couldn't be happier!

 I wanted Gavin involved a bit, so I was putting the seeds on the table and asked him to scoop them into the bowl for me.

 Once the pumpkin was gutted, I got paint set up for Gavin to paint a little pumpkin, and Jarrod started poking holes for my template.  While at Hobby Lobby a month or so ago, Gavin saw Cars templates and wanted them.  I let him pick out the one he wanted me to carve, and of course, he picked the hardest one.  But, I won't lie, I secretly wanted to do the Mater one anyway.  :)

 Soon, both boys lost interest and went off to do their own thing while I finished carving the pumpkin!  Here's the finished project!

There he is, Mater!  You know, like Tow Mater, without the Tow!

Firepit!

Last weekend, Jarrod started a fire outside and a friend from his office came over to watch football and hang out by the fire.  Tony brought his 12 year old son, Aaron, and Gavin absolutely LOVES when Aaron comes over.  He wants to do everything with Aaron.  It's really cute.  We let Gavin hang out with us for a little while in his PJs, but he was soon so whiny, that we had to head to bed.  He really doesn't do well past his bedtime, even if it is just 20 minutes!  

Thankful Thursday

It's that time of year again...I'm going to start Thankful Thursdays again through Thanksgiving instead of Thirteen Thursday.  It's always nice to pause and remember what you have in life to be grateful for.  

1. Of course, I have to start with being thankful for my husband.  I appreciate all he does for me and Gavin.  It's so refreshing to know that when other girls are complaining about all their husbands don't do, mine does so much!  I know I got lucky....he even cleans toilets!
2. I am so very thankful for Gavin.  He has gave my life so much more meaning than I could have ever expected.  I knew I'd love being a mom, but didn't realize I'd love it this much!  Thank you, Gavin, for making me laugh, giving me cuddles, kissing my boo-boos, and telling me I'm Super Mom.  
3. Thanks to our families for everything!  We're so lucky to have such fabulous people that care for and support us.  Thank you for all you do for Gavin and us.  We love you all!

What are you thankful for?

Swagbucks?

Ever heard of Swagbucks.com?  I'd heard about it and saw lots of free 'codes' for Swagbucks on different coupon blogs I follow.  Well, I finally decided to see what everything was all about, and already, I'm impressed!  Today, I've tried to get myself in the habit of using Swagbucks to search for things rather than Google.  Randomly, while searching, it has gave me bonus points!  You collect your points, and then trade them in for rewards.  My plan is to use them for Paypal cash or some of the many gift cards.  It's free to sign up!  Try it out!  If you do, I'd love for you to tell them I referred you.  My Swag Name is mrspate22.   Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

Mom and Tot Class

This session at the rec, we signed up for Mom and Tot class.  It's only offered to age 3, so I knew we had to get it in if we wanted to try it, and with Gavin playing "Wipeout" on the couch every night I figured it was time!

Jarrod had taken some time off in September for my aunts' visit, but when they ended up not coming, he decided to still take a day with us.  So, he got to go and see what Gavin's class was all about.

Hanging out on the mat with Daddy

 Trying out the balance beam

 Hopscotch

 Time for flips and somersaults!

 Getting a handstamp at the end of class from his teacher