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!

A Star is Born...

I seriously just entered this picture in the GapKids casting call contest. Am I a huge dork, or what?? ;-) I was shopping online for Colin and when I went to gap.com, the contest was the first thing on my screen. I thought, eh...why not!? I have NEVER entered something like this, nor do I think anything will come from it. First of all, they try to get you to send the link on your entry to friends so that they will "vote" for your child. I hate that kind of thing and refuse to do it, so if votes count, we are out. Second of all, the picture is just a poor quality shot from my camera. Third of all, there are something like 90 billion entries. Winners in the age groups apparently appear in a Gap ad and get a $1,000 gift card for the store. I could spend $1k in that store FAST. Anyway, I am still laughing at myself for actually entering Colin, but I figure that Gap would be very lucky to have those dimples showing off their clothes. I know that I would buy anything he is selling! :-)

We had a cold front move through last night during a giant storm, so our weather was actually chilly for the first time today. It never got out of the 50's, which felt frigid in comparison to the humid 85 degrees it was yesterday. Colin woke up in the middle of the night last night during the storm and was crying out, "Mommy! Thunder!", which I thought was both adorable and tiring. :-) I spent a couple of hours in his bed getting kicked all over the place (Colin is a wild sleeper!) and finally extricated myself at around 4:00am to head back to my bed. Sadly, I could not fall back asleep and finally dozed off at 7am...just moments before Colin was up for the day. Needless to say, I am running on empty today! Luckily, the cool weather kept my spirits up! After a long trip to Indoor Safari with Colin and a trip to JC Penny's and Wal-Mart, we came back home to cook a festive fall dinner. I made the first batch of my homemade chili and cornbread for the season and we had the inaugural lighting of our fireplace!! The food turned out great and the fire was WONDERFUL! We have not had it lit in two years...last season was just too scary with Colin so young, so we skipped it all together. This year is perfect; he listened to us explain about the fire and what it is and why we never touch it. We then lit the fire and put the screen up. He did not go near it one time! He pointed it out a few times from afar and we sat in front of it with him in our laps to "get warm". I can't believe how awesome he was...he is getting to be such a big boy! He is now fast asleep and after this post, I am going straight to bed to make up for last night. How did I stay up all night when I was in my twenties?!?! :-)

One last tidbit...I ordered Colin's Spiderman costume last night, so we are all set for Halloween! A couple of days ago, I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween and he immediately said, "Spiderman!". I don't have a clue where he got this from, as he does not even remember what Halloween is, but I asked him on several other occasions over 48 hours and got an emphatic "Spiderman!" every single time. Therefore, Spiderman it is! He is going to be so cute!

A River Runs Through It

We just arrived home from a lovely afternoon at the park. The weather is insanely beautiful today and we had a great time. Colin had fun running in his awesome new sneakers that I bought at Stride-Rite yesterday. He measured for a 6.5 wide width. Colin has HUGE feet. He is getting taller and leaner and his feet are just so big!!

While at the park, we decided to walk through the trails in the woods and came across a stream. I ended up with this shot of Jer and Colin which I think is amazing. You just have to click on it to see it big and up close. I am going to cherish this picture for a very long time.

Running Man!

The high yesterday was in the 60's!!!! Oh, the glory! After lunch I took Colin to one of the parks in our neighborhood and we will be going back there for sure. This one is completely enclosed by a gate and is not too large. It has a basketball court attached to it, which Colin had an absolute blast running around. He loves a new wide open space more than anything! There was a puddle on the court that he stomped in and plenty of room to run. I love the second picture above...I kept trying to take his picture running and that was the best I could get. It really sums up Colin perfectly. :-) I plan to get a ball this weekend that we can take to kick around. I think he would really like that. The brisk temps forced me into putting socks on with Colin's sandals. Not exactly stylish. The tennis shoes that I bought him at Target don't work. They are too bulky and big and hard to walk in. He needs wide width shoes and I am going to have to take time out this weekend to find some good ones for fall. He needs light weight, sturdy shoes with a sole that actually bends, just like his nice sandals. I think I am headed back to Stride-Rite.

A Saturday to Remember!

Today was simply a perfect day. This morning we took Colin out to the Pumpkin Patch and we had a wonderful time. This place was just unbelievable...I ended up with a half ton of pictures. There were hayrides, bounce houses, miles of pumpkins, mazes, food and drinks, and everything from Disney characters to scarecrows to get your picture taken with. It was a beautiful day met with bright sunshine and just the perfect time to play in the pumpkins. We met Colin's Mom Mom and Pop Pop out there and everyone had a good time. Colin was beyond ready for a nap by the time we left and he passed out immediately in the car and slept the whole way home. Here are some of the pictures...there were so many cute ones!!








After a quick trip home, we headed back out for another fall festival. We live next to a tiny town called Roanoke and they had their annual fall festival today. They have one tiny little main street and that was roped off to traffic and they had all kinds of things set up for a fun afternoon. I absolutely adored this and it reminded me of exactly why I love small town Texas. We had corn dogs and funnel cake for lunch and big glasses of the best homemade lemonade you ever tasted. They had all the firetrucks out for the kiddos to look at, as well as live country music, clown shows for the kids, face painting, bounce houses and even water balloon fights. Here is a picture of Colin enjoying his corn dog and our view from the picnic table we were sitting at. I plan to make this a yearly event for us and hope to have many more pictures in the years to come of our Pumpkin Patch/Fall Festival weekends.


As if all of that was not enough, the Fort Worth Air Show was also today. We live very close to the airport and decided to take our lawn chairs out to an empty stretch of land close to our house to watch the Thunderbirds. There is a new subdivision that has the streets paved, but the houses have not been built yet. It literally overlooks Alliance Airport, so it made the perfect vista to enjoy the show. There were loads of our neighbors there with the same idea and there were folks in their chairs and on their tailgates watching the show. The Thunderbirds took our breath away...it was amazing!! I thought Colin might have been scared with all the extremely loud air tricks, but he had a great time. It must be in his blood. :-) That finally concluded our day and Colin is sound asleep now. I can tell you that days like today remind me how very blessed I truly am. Just an amazing day.

Thursday Stuff

I knew that I needed to keep Colin busy this afternoon so that he would not think about being sleepy. I did a good job with that! First, we took a trip to Target to get sneakers and socks with grips for Colin. The mornings are slowly getting cooler in the house as the temps are dropping and I broke out my own house shoes for the first time in months today. The time for socks is growing near! After a fair amount of digging, I found some with grippers at Target and I hope there is enough grip to keep him from falling on all of our laminate flooring. The sneakers are pretty cute, but they don't seem nearly as comfy (obviously) as the expensive sandals that we got from Stride-Rite. Colin wears those everyday and they are so nice. I need to make a trip back there for a fall pair, but I have been holding off to make sure that I get a size that will last through the season.

When Jer got home, we all went back out to get Jer a new pair of dress shoes for work. DSW is right beside Central Market, so we headed over there afterwards for dinner on their patio. It was a special treat with the weather being so nice and Colin really had a great time. They have a great playground that uses torn pieces of tire for the flooring. It is very soft and springy, which is great to avoid injury, but boy was it dirty! Colin did not want to do anything but play in it and his hands were solid black. He then started running around the whole patio, which made several people laugh. One woman stopped me to tell me that Colin looked just like me. I get a lot of that, but I also have people that say he is an even mix of both of us. I always enjoy hearing the different takes people have on that. I think he smiles like I do, which is probably why the woman thought he looked like me last night. Colin and I were both cracking up at the time.

After Colin went to bed, Ellen and I went over to my friend Sally's house to basically watch her set up her garage sale, drink a margarita and rifle through her stuff. I did not get home until after 11pm, which is really late for me. I feel a bit like I snuck out of the house. :-)

Naps and Fall Fun

Things are interesting around here at the moment. Colin is on the road to losing his second nap for sure now and I feel like I am just along for the ride at the moment. We have been having all sorts of nap battles for at least the last month. Some days are great and he takes two naps like always, but then lots of days are not so good and he takes one nap and battles the other one. The last 4 days have seen Colin skipping the morning nap. Before that, it was the afternoon nap that he would skip. If Colin is going to one nap now, I need to start helping him move that nap to the middle of the day. When he wakes up from a nap at 11:00am, it is far too long a stretch to be awake until 7:00pm and he gets really upset for the last two hours of the day. We have been experiencing a lot of fussy baby evenings around here lately. I am going to keep trying to follow my instinct and put him in bed if he is showing signs of being tired. He is fighting these naps tooth and nail, but I know he still needs them if he is getting that fussy by 5pm. I think my only option at this point is to hang on for the ride and keep trying to get him sleep. I can certainly see the difference switching up his schedule is making. He has woken up twice this week in the middle of the night, which he has not done since May. Colin is textbook....when sleep schedules get messed with, he starts night waking.

Yesterday Colin and I went on another picnic in the park and it was actually chilly in the shade!! I had us sitting at our usual table under the trees and ended up having to move into direct sunlight because it was too cool for Colin in his shorts!! How great is that?!?! Last night I made dinner with all the windows in the kitchen and living room open and Colin played on the patio with Jer with I cooked. It was so wonderful. Last night we even slept without the air on! I found a local farm that is tucked away behind our neighborhood (I can't believe this place exists and I just now found out!) and I plan to take Colin over to check it out today or tomorrow. This weekend we are taking him to the Pumpkin Patch (if the rain holds off), so we have a lot of fun outdoor activities to do in the next few days. I love fall!!!