The Hostess with the Mostest!

There is a lot going on this week in my house...namely, planning Thanksgiving! For the first time in my life, I am actually hosting a major holiday in MY HOUSE. Jer and I decided a couple of months ago that we wanted to give it a shot, especially since I love to cook so much and have always wanted to give the big meal a try. At the time, I did not give it a second thought, but I am definitely starting to get nervous now that mid-November is already here!! It is an "excited" sort of nervous and I have hunkered down to finish the official menu and get my game plan finalized. There will be nine adults, two kids and one tiny baby in attendance. :-) I am making a master schedule so that I am certain every dish will be prepared in time, particularly because I only have one oven that is in charge of MANY tasks! I plan to prep absolutely everything ahead of time and make everything possible the day before so that I can just pop things in and out of the oven to bake on the big day. The hardest part for me is finalizing the menu. I have a ton of things that I want to cook and I change my mind literally every hour. I think that I am close to being done with the big decisions and my goal for tonight is to get my schedule completed. I am even scheduling decorating, cleaning, shopping, prepping...the whole nine yards. Hopefully it will run like a well oiled machine. I think we all know that it will probably be the opposite and turn into a very amusing blog post for the day after! I have a small house which means that most of us will be eating on borrowed card tables, the kitchen counter and the coffee table. However, I can't think of anything more fun than having all the people I love crammed in my house on what I consider one of the top two days of the year. :-)

This weekend is going to be a blast because two of my favorite people are getting married! One of my all-time very VERY best friends, Cameron, is marrying Lilli, who just happens to be one of my college roommates and all around favorite people ever. The wedding is in East Texas, so we are heading to Tyler for the weekend...my parents are going to watch Colin on Saturday night so that Jer and I can go to the wedding without a two year old, which is extremely exciting! This is a very busy month, but certainly one that is filled with joy!!

LOVE

I love Colin. I really really really love him. I love him in a way that transcends words. This is a rather obvious point, but one I feel like making regardless.

He is the sweetest little boy that I have ever known. Last night, he made Jer and I sit on the kitchen floor and play cars for the longest time. He would crouch down with a car in each hand and announce, "On your mark, get set, GOOOO!" and then shoot both cars across the kitchen to us. He peppered the conversation with things like, "Ooo, cars FAST!" and "This one REALLY fast!" and "Mommy and Daddy race cars!". Every now and then, it hits me like a ton of bricks that I no longer have an infant, but a car racing little boy. I don't know how long it takes for that feeling of shock to wear off, because I still get it all the time. He now races to the door when Jer gets home from work and says "Daddy! I so glad to see you!". When we read books, he will point out a character eating and say, "Colin can't eat that. Just a picture". He is incredibly polite, especially for a two year old. He says "excuse me" when the cat jumps in front of the television or when he needs to pass by someone at the park. He does not have to be told to say thank you, he does it on his own most of the time. If he asks for juice and I hand it to him, he says "tank you, Mommy!" in the most cheerful little voice. Before I became a mother, I never thought about what kind of personality my child would have. Now it is a source of never ending wonder for me...watching him and learning all the little things that make him Colin. He is sweet, sensitive, silly, and rambunctious.


He shocked me this morning at the park...we were walking down a path and Colin started to run into a very wooded area that lord knows what was growing in. I said, "Colin, no! We can't go in there! There might be scary stuff that we can't see!". I don't know why I used the word "scary", it just flew out. Colin immediately came back to my side and started to visibly shake, so much that it frankly startled me! I got down on his level and asked if he was okay, thinking something was really wrong. He said, "scary, Mommy!! help! I scared!". I felt so badly and tried to explain that I had used the wrong word and that the woods were not scary, just not for play. It did not exactly work and I was reminded how much he retains that I don't even realize. He knew what the word scary meant and I will remember not to use it lightly from now on! He constantly asks me what, why, and where things are. During the same park trip this morning, he saw a little boy playing with his cars which were identical to some that Colin has. He informed me that "Colin can't have cars. Those cars not Colin's". I was so impressed that he pointed that out all by himself and did not get upset. He just left the other little boy at play and went off to something else. He is a very cuddly boy who does not really like to play by himself. He always says, "Mommy, come sit!" and makes me do whatever he is doing. This does not lead to getting very much done during my days with him, but it does not bother me in the least. He still wants "Mommy hold you" (in other words, pick him up) and does not care that he is far too heavy to be carried. He likes for me to sit Indian style on the floor so that he can sit in my lap while he plays or watches TV.


I love this age. I do have moments where I miss eating out and wish he was more of an independent player. It can't be understated how much work a two year old is, but I adore him at this stage regardless. I don't ever want to forget what an adorable little baby bear he is right now! I am so lucky to be his mother.

These pictures are from today...this one sums up life with a 27 month old...running. :-)

I think the jeans make him look so much older!

First thing this morning...I went to make him breakfast and came back to find him in this position in the office. There is nothing better than Colin in pj's with fuzzy bed head. Cool Cat Hot Dog is one of his all time favorite books.

Halloween!

Halloween was on Saturday and I cannot believe that it is already over and November is upon us! We had an interesting holiday this year with some highs and lows...it all started a couple of weeks ago when I tried to put Colin's Spiderman costume on and he refused to go for it. He asked specifically to be Spiderman but for whatever reason, he seemed almost frightened to wear it. I bought his black skeleton t-shirt on a whim at Gymboree a couple of weeks ago on sale, so he wore that to the first Halloween party of the season. I hoped that with time his real costume would grow on him, but that was NOT the case. As we prepared for the big night on Saturday, I tried in earnest to put it on, but he had a screaming fit over it complete with back arching and hysterics. I even brought the costume along to the trick-or-treat party, but he flipped out again at the sight of it and I finally threw in the towel. Colin was a skeleton (sort of) with a spiderman bag for Halloween. I am very thankful that I purchased the t-shirt and really thankful that I bought the $23 costume instead of the expensive astronaut costume that I really wanted. I think I would have taken it a lot worse if I had spent a fortune. ;-) Halloween was also a little sad for us because Jer had to work on the big night and was forced to miss trick-or-treating. Luckily Colin is still too young to really know that Daddy missed something important and everything was fine, but I missed him a LOT. I don't like to spend holidays of any kind without Jeremy and it certainly dampened my spirits.


We were invited to a fabulous party at Dana and David's house and it was an absolute BLAST! There were around 6 two year olds and a couple of cute babies in the mix and we had a little feast before taking all the kids around their neighborhood to trick-or-treat. Dana throws a great party...her decorations were ADORABLE and there was a ton of yummy stuff to eat. Colin was also very pleased to take apart Gabby's playroom and go crazy with all her toys! He was not his normal self for a good portion of the party simply because he gets pretty easily overwhelmed in a new environment with all new people. He was at a new house surrounded by all new people and things, so he was pretty quiet at first and kept to himself (and Gabby's toys). He barely touched a bite of food and I will admit that when trick-or-treating first got underway, I was starting to sweat. He did not really understand what we were doing and did not want to follow the kids up to strange houses. He started to shut down, which is very hard to get him to recover from. He started running away from everyone and me...inching away from me so that I would not be able to grab him and sitting down asking to go home. He quietly informed me in my ear that he "don't want trick treat" and I was pulling out the keys and getting ready to jump ship. Then Dana's incredibly sweet mom (she is honestly the nicest and most comforting person that I have met in a long time) back tracked from the crowd and started to help me. Between the two of us, we managed to get Colin up to a front door where the candy was sitting out on the porch. It finally registered to him what was going on...if you walk up to a house and say trick-or-treat, they will give you candy!! His transformation after that was amazing!! He was quickly running with the kids to each house and even got ahead at one point! There were a couple of scary houses and spooky adults in costume, but he was undeterred. He was not stopping until everyone under the sun gave him candy. I was laughing to myself at the end...all the kids made one block and went back into Dana's house for cake. Colin, however, would have kept going all night long. I ushered him back into the house, but I am pretty sure that he would have kept going until he passed out! I am very glad that nobody seemed to mind that he was not exactly in costume. :-) The whole party was wonderful and I am so glad we were invited. He has been talking about Gabby's house and candy ever since we got home, so I know the night ended up being a hit for the little man. Here are some of the pictures:

Gabby and Colin sitting at the table...they were alternating between eating candy and Oreo cake. It does not get much better than that!

Two cuties!!

How cute is this?!?! A bunch of trick-or-treating toddlers!! Please note Colin's anti-costume.

This is at the beginning of trick-or-treating. You can tell from Colin's expression that this is before he figured out what was going on. :-)

Colin and Gabby during the "picnic" dinner. They are so precious together!!

Super Giant October Update Post!!

There has been SO much going on for the past couple of weeks and I am behind in posting! We have been keeping very busy in our little household and I can't believe that Halloween is this weekend! Let me back track and try to update what has been going on.

*I took Colin to the State Fair of Texas a couple of weeks ago and we had an absolute blast! Alieson went with us and we made a whole morning out of it...we had been trying to go for several days, but it basically won't stop raining this month and we could never seem to get our scheduled lined up with a sunny day. We finally made it work on an overcast Thursday morning before Texas/OU weekend. We just made it before the end of the fair and I am so glad we did! We all ate corn dogs (I might have eaten two), shared a funnel cake and fried snickers bar, and finished things off with a fresh cherry limeade. The best time by far was the Little Hands Farm. There was an adorable children's play farm set up where the kids "worked" each little section of the farm and received something for their efforts. For instance, when you "fed" the chickens, you picked an egg and put it in your basket. Colin went through the entire farm and participated in each section perfectly! He milked a cow, planted seeds, tended the sheep and the whole nine yards. After he collected all of his items in his basket, he "sold" them to the store and was given a pretend dollar to buy a snack with from the general store on the way out. I was blown away that he carefully sold each item from his basket to the store...I was certain that he would not understand that he had to give away all the things he had loaded into that basket!! I was totally wrong and he was thrilled when they handed him his own money at the end. He picked out a little pack of fruit snacks and paid the girl his paper dollar at the register! It was honestly one of the most precious thing I have ever seen!! It is a memory that I will take with me forever. He also adored the petting zoo and fed every animal under the sun. I have never seen him have so much fun and I am really glad that we braved the elements and nap issues in order to attend. We will be back next year for sure! Here are some of the pictures:

Colin and Mommy feeding the cows...Colin LOVED this!

Colin picked out his hard earned snack for working the Little Hands Farm. SO CUTE!

Carefully carrying his basket of goods to the general store.

Feeding the chickens.

Colin and Alieson stand with Big Tex!

Mommy and Colin also get a shot with the icon!

*We took Colin to his second pumpkin patch visit of the season with not the best results. First of all, the Flower Mound pumpkin patch is just too crazy busy. We tried to go on a Sunday and that was a bad idea! It was total madness. Pumpkins were strewn about and the crowds were gigantic. Colin is not a fan of chaos like that and tends to quickly shut down when he feels overwhelmed, which he did. It was mere moments before he started chanting, "Mommy, go home!". This quickly changed to "Mommy, go Pop Pop's house!"...Jer's parents were with us and Colin figured it would be more fun just to go over there. :-) It was so busy that I was not even able to get a single picture of Colin standing by the cut-out characters, which is what I was after. I was dying for some cute matching pictures from last year to show how much he has grown, but that plan was not to be. We ended up at brunch, had a great meal and spent the afternoon playing with Mom Mom and Pop Pop's dogs, so Colin was happy none-the-less! Next year, we go on a weekday! MUCH better on a weekday!

Not exactly pleased with the crowd, but glad to push a huge pumpkin around. :-)
Stacking pumpkins with Mom Mom

Pouty face cuteness! :-)

*We attended a fantastic Halloween party with a big group of our friends on Saturday and had a great time. It was a party for the little ones and they all had a blast. Colin wore his skeleton shirt and I am just hoping he lets me dress him in his Spiderman costume for Halloween. Fingers crossed! :-) It was the perfect afternoon; good friends, lots of yummy food, tons of well behaved two year olds having fun...wonderful! I still can't believe how great they all were...there were zero meltdowns and Colin had a great time. We had to literally drag him out the door at the end. All of my friends have a second child or one on the way, so Colin was thrilled as usual to have babies to love on. I would never have imagined his reaction to babies...he loves them SO much. All the other two year olds were chasing each other around the yard and Colin spent a good deal of time helping the infants in the bouncer seats and kissing their heads. He is such a gentle little soul! Maybe he is destined to be a pediatrician one day and I will have to tell this story to embarrass him. :-) Regardless, it was a perfect evening and it reminded me that I am VERY blessed to share my life with such amazing friends!!

Lots of boys playing on the train table. Almost all of my friends have two year old boys...so cute!!

Extreme love for Halloween cupcakes!

Colin giving Pierce a big kiss!

*Last, but certainly not least, we all attended the Fort Worth Alliance Air Show on Sunday! Jer's parents met us here and we drove over together at about 1:30pm. I love love LOVE the air show...aviation is just simply part of me! There was non-stop entertainment and things were going fairly well until some of the fighter jets got rolling. Colin was petrified and basically attached himself to me while crying sadly. It never even crossed my mind that the noise would be a factor, but oh man, was it ever! Like a complete lunatic, I left the diaper bag in the garage without putting it in the car, where it might have been of some use! I had no snack, no juice, no emergency pacifier, no diapers, no wallet...nada. It is a good thing that Jer brought his stuff and was able to buy us snacks and drinks and get us set up in our lawn chairs. Things perked up...we found our friends and we all watched The Blue Angel's together, which is what I was DYING to see!! They were more amazing than I ever could have imagined! The weather was brilliant and I am so glad we went. Colin does not seem too worse for wear from the whole experience, although he does remind me several times a day that "Blue Angels TOO LOUD, Mommy!". Oops! :-) It really was a GREAT day!

Nathan, Kim and little man Hayden standing with Jer and Colin. We were all watching the Blue Angels.
Colin and Ryan share some Kettle Corn...this made them both VERY happy!

Mommy trying to get a picture with one unhappy little man! Too loud! :-)

Daddy and Colin check out the show....this was Colin's favorite part!

In Memory of Uncle Dave

My uncle passed away on Monday morning and this week has been both horrible and wonderful at the same time. Uncle Dave was my mother's only sibling and he was 14 years her senior. The huge age gap between them made him more of a father figure than brother to her and I know the loss is exceptionally hard for her. He has been battling complications from emphasema for 12 years now and just recently had taken a turn for the worse. The news on Monday was therefore not a surprise, but shocking to fathom none the less. My aunt and uncle live in Boerne, just outside of San Antonio, and we packed up and headed out on Tuesday morning. The drive was 5 hours long, which was by far the longest car ride that Colin has ever been on. He was amazing and surpassed my wildest expectations. We stopped to eat in Temple, which was about half way, and he ran off some pent up energy in the Chick-Fil-A before we finished the drive in. My parents and sister Alieson has arrived on Monday afternoon, so they were waiting for us. Meredith, Cory and their kids were close behind us in arrival time, so we quickly had gathered my entire immediate family. Uncle Dave and Aunt Judith live in a stunning home nestled in the Hill Country of Texas, complete with deer hanging out in the backyard waiting to be fed. We all drove from the hotel out to the house to meet up with my aunt and all of my cousins, who had also all arrived from their various homes. We have never all been in one place at the same time, and it was so amazing to be together as a family, but sad that it was under such trying circumstances.

My uncle was a very special and interesting man whose last wishes were unique and wonderful. He asked that there be no funeral at all and that his family do one thing...gather in Luckenbach to drink a Lone Star beer in his honor. He hated the thought of a funeral and much preferred that there be a party instead. They live only about 30 minutes from Luckenbach and spent all of their free time there. It was his all-time favorite place to be on earth. Luckenbach is the stuff of Texas legend and I had never actually been and ALWAYS wanted to go. The town consists of a bar, and that is pretty much it. It is literally in the middle of nowhere, nestled in the hills and away from civilization. The back of the bar is surrounded by a huge old patio where various musicians play every single day. There are picnic tables, lights swinging from the trees, old beer signs, dust, rocks and roosters walking around. We brought a giant spread of food and the requested Lone Star beer. The entire night was like a dream...you could feel Uncle Dave around us. I have never been to a more wonderful place and we were all loathe to leave at all. The sounds of old country music wafting from the cowboys gathered on the patio and the distinct smell of beer and cigars made for a dreamy night etched in our memories forever. I can't do the night justice with simple words...it was a night filled with love and family and memories. I know that Uncle Dave was having the best time watching all of the people who loved him together in the middle of Texas celebrating the night away for him. It was, quite simply, perfect.


Here is Colin enjoying his HUGE cookie!

Duke helps the boys during the dinner...the weather was perfect.

Jer outside the bar/shop/post office...it was amazing!

Colin loved the giant front porch AND the scary scarecrow!

The closest that I got to a picture with Colin! :-)

Jer and Cory enjoy a cigar...they are members of the "I married crazy sisters" club. :-)


Hanging out with my sweet sisters...

My favorite picture that I have taken with Jer in a long time...you can just tell how much love was in the air.

All the cousins in one place for the first time ever! From left to right...Meredith and Cory, Kayla and her father Nick and his wife Suzanne (my cousin), me, Jer, Alieson, Steven and Amy (twins)

I love this picture...my precious cousin Suzanne. Everyone says that we favor each other a great deal.

Two Years Ago...

My little snuggle bear....two years ago. I remember that he had just starting losing his newborn hair and I was exhausted because I had just gone back to work that week. I can't believe that that was exactly two years ago. I am SO glad that I was able to stop working about 3 months later. The days when Colin was 3- 6 months old are a blur to me because I hardly saw him due to my work schedule. He spent almost all his waking hours at Miss Anne's house, who was thankfully the sweetest lady in the world, but I feel like I missed out on this stage. Colin is having a rough week with sleep and I have been feeling very tired and in need of a vacation...this reminds me how lucky I truly am to be taking care of him full time. Despite my current exhaustion, I would never trade this time in a million years.

A Very Good Boy!

It seems like forever ago, but there was a time when Enzo was our only baby. We purchased him just a few months after we moved to Dallas, in early 2004. I had been dying for a dog and we stumbled onto Enzo during a leisurely outing to a pet store. There was a woman holding our puppy in her hands...literally in the palm of her hands...and he looked like a baby deer. :-) We just knew; it was love at first sight. It was not long after that happened that I learned about puppy mills and the perils of buying from pet stores, so while we will only be adopting from now on, I still would not trade Enzo for the world! He quickly became our precious baby (along with Gretchen the cat, aka Mitts, who had been with me forever). In those early days, we were young and living in the city...I would drop Enzo off for "doggie daycare" every single day on my way to work. Yes, he was very spoiled. I also joined a meetup group of Italian Greyhound owners and we went to several meetups at swanky little dog friendly cafes across Dallas. Those were such fun days; utterly and completely different from our lifestyle now as suburban parents. I look back on those days and get a little melancholy...I would certainly not trade my life now, but it is fun to think back to the time when having Enzo was as much responsibility as we could muster. :-) Enzo has not been to doggie day camp since I left work and we have not been to a meetup in ages. There was an event scheduled in Denton yesterday, so we jumped at the chance to take Enzo for some fun with other Italian's. There is nothing cuter than a pack of Enzo's running around all over the place! Colin had a blast chasing everyone and Enzo was a little nervous, but seemed to have a good time seeing his peers. Times have certainly changed, but Enzo is still my baby and still sleeps under the covers with us every night. He may not have his own day care anymore, but he is very well loved!

Here is Enzo, hiding behind Colin and Daddy. You know Enzo is nervous when he chooses to huddle close to Colin. :-) I love how he is peering between them!

Colin LOVED chasing all the Iggies! Please note how small those two black ones are...Enzo is on the big side of the breed anyway, but with all the extra grilled cheese sandwiches these days...he was HUGE in comparison!