Pumpkin Patch

It was the perfect day for a pumpkin patch; a little bit cold, no wind, no rain, just right.  We loaded up the truck, grabbed our good friends & neighbors, the Dabrowski's, and headed north to the quaint farm town of Celina, TX.

The Dabrowski's Lisa, Derek & Alexandra

Cheese....

 Mesmerized...

HayRide Time!

The boys & babes

the mommas ;)

Preparing the season's first pot of chili- Charlie also getting festive ;)

 Yum!

Happy Halloween month!

xoxo

Fall at Last

This weekend it finally turned to Fall! The sky turned gray, the rain fell, the weather cooled, football ruled the TV and pumpkins now line the mantel.  Yes...it's Fall.

I have never been more excited for Fall as I have been since moving to Texas.  Maybe being a Mom has something to do with it too ;)  After 3 very hot months and much too intense sun, this cool down and change of season is so welcomed.  To make it official, I made the season's first pumpkin bread, put out the Fall wreath, the Fall scented candle and cozied up with my boys. Life is good.

 GO BUCKS!

Always on the move!

We also enjoyed this cozy fall weekend with our good friends the Seemans.  Annie, Nick, Cole, Finley (kiddos), Roxy and Benson (the pups) all moved in for the night.  We ate chicken, butternut squash soup & pumpkin bread, put the kids to bed and enjoyed a few cocktails on the outdoor patio. It was bliss!

Cole, enjoying Charlie's bed ;)

Besties! Finley- 16 months & James- 13 months (Annie & Pete too ;)

Happy Fall, Friends!

XOXO

12 Months

12 months old & last monthly sticker...yea & "sniff".  It's bittersweet, that's for sure. These pictures are becoming more and more difficult the "busier" you become, but I'm sad in a way that it's over.  So many feelings I'm having about this milestone month; 90% of it is pure joy.

Stats:
21 lbs (45%)
29.75 inches tall (46%)
17.8 inch head (25%)
Clothing 9-12 months
Diaper size 4
Shoe size 4

What you are up to this month:

You have met all your 1 year development milestones; walking, pointing, clapping (kind of), saying two words with distinction, R-E "Charlie" and Da "Daddy". You are eating all types of foods with your favorites still being bread/crackers/pasta & all kinds of fruit. Most recently your favorite is blueberries.  We switched to whole milk this last month and you have done okay.  I've taken it slow, given your previous milk protein allergies, and you are doing 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk. We are also working on weaning from the bottle, one feeding at a time.

You love to go to the park and slide down the slides & ride around on your push bike. You love taking things 'in and out' of any container, cabinet, drawer, etc.  You still have an obsession with wheels and love to go exploring out in the garage. Oh...you are all boy.

Only a few colds over the last few months (thank you God & ear tubes!).  You now have 3 teeth (2 top & 1 bottom).  They give you trouble off and on, but luckily you have continued to sleep though the night (again, thank you God and ear tubes).  You are still taking 2 naps 10:00 and 2:00 for 1.5-2 hrs in length and go to bed around 7:30 and sleep till 6:15.  Still lovin' those paci's, but we restrict them to bed and the car seat.  At night, you have to have your monkey wuabanub paci and a regular paci; one in the mouth & one in the hand.  Sometime, they both end up in your mouth at the same time ;)

You are busy and so funny and make me smile everyday. Try not to grow up too fast my little man. I love you to the moon and back.

Water Table Fun!

 Water Table "aka Charlie's bowl" fun

 Yum!

 My favorite activities: 'Open & Shut' & ride bikes

 Barn Time Fun!

 Best Buds Chilin'

 Charlie: "Seriously...?"

 Reading to Da

 Fun w/ Gramps (showing off his goose egg!)

Cheers!

Happy Birthday My Big #1 Year Old

Happy Birthday Baby! You are 1 year old.  I'm so over whelmed with joy, excitement & pride over this grand milestone.

However...

I stare at my screen now and it feels so surreal to be writing this post, almost as if I'm writing in advance; for a day that is far off in the distance.  It wouldn't be unlike me to do this.  I wrote my first blog post, the post announcing our excitement at finding out we were expecting you, 10 weeks before I actually posted it.  I was so excited for your arrival that I couldn't wait another minute to shout it from the top of the "internet" mountain.  However, I was afraid, so I waited...as the Dr. suggested...those 10 long weeks.

But here we are...it's really here! Your 1st birthday.  A year ago, August 26th, my life changed forever and I would never want to go back.

We had the most wonderful celebration in your honor. 50 of our closet friends along with Grammy & Gramps showed up at the house on your big day.  It was an elephant theme (for no other reason, except I found some really adorable stuff on Etsy, and I know my days are numbered to where I get to make this decision!) Daddy made sure it was tons of fun for everyone, ordered great BBQ, bought squirt guns, crayons and markers for coloring, "Dumbo" to watch on the outside TV, a water table and a bean bag toss!  Everyone had a blast, including you!

You did not even hesitate with the cake.  We sang "Happy Birthday" and you just stared at us with a very surprised look like you were thinking, "What are you crazy adults doing?" As soon as I presented you with your cake, it was a whole 2 minutes and the entire thing was demolished!  All of our friends were laughing & commenting on how you really went at that cupcake with "gusto"! However, this did not surprise me one bit, it's the way you generally go about life, little man.  You came into this world with gusto and it hasn't stopped for a minute since.

You are such a joy, so much fun to be around. You are a funny, cool, happy, crazy, dude with such a bright future ahead of you.  I'm so proud to be your momma.

Happy Birthday my love!

xoxo Momma, Da & R-Ee