Our Halloween Happenings

October is one of the busiest months around our house!

Between birthdays and parties and get togethers, we are BUSY!

This past weekend was FULL of Halloween fun. By the end of it all I was worn out:)!

 

 

Friday morning the kids and I met up with my MOM's group for a Halloween music and story time. The kids dressed up and had fun singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, hearing pumpkin stories and poems and eating lots of Halloween treats!

 

We came home for just a bit before putting on our costumes again and heading to our next event.

 

Friday evening my sister and I planned a fun night out for all the cousins:)

A fun little play place not far from us was hosting a Halloween party. They were going to have open gym, pizza, prizes, crafts, and plenty of sweet treats:)

I didn't tell Jake where we were going because he LOVES this place and I wanted it to be a big surprise!

 As we pulled in to the parking lot, he got a giant smile on his face!

 

Sissy ran from one thing to the next and just had the best time ever!



And my sweet Parker loved his time too! When Matt got off of work though, he stopped by to pick him up and take him home. He was so tired and it made things a little easier on me to just have my two biggies to chase after!

 



Our fun didn't end there though...

 

Sunday night we met up with some friends and headed to a "Halloweenie/Trunk or Treat".

This is our third year doing this and it is just so much fun!

We all had a hot dog dinner and then got in line just in time to collect all of our sweet treats!

 



 

It was a pretty chilly and windy evening, so we moved quickly from trunk to trunk.

When everyone finished, the kids found a place to check out all there candy and of course sample a few pieces:)

 

Jake had his Halloween party at school today. All the kids dressed up, had a yummy pizza lunch, enjoyed some fun Halloween snacks, and played games:)

 

We of course are all set and ready for one more round of a fun tomorrow night:)

We will for sure be bundled up as we trick or treat! 





First Tooth:)

 

I was thinking that it would happen soon! From time to time I would check his gums to see if I could see any white popping through, but didn't see anything. Last night though we spotted it! His little bottom right tooth is on its way up! Yay, Parker:)

Our Fall Getaway

This past weekend we loaded up and headed to the beautiful mountains and spent the weekend in Boone, North Carolina. We try to go each year to enjoy a small weekend getaway before basketball season starts up and the craziness begins.

Matt's buddy owns a mountain house and graciously allows us to stay there each year that we go.

It is called "Moosevilla". 

We always have a great time and the weather has so far been just perfect each year! 

I have a picture of Jake in front of this same tree each year that we have gone! 

When I look back at pictures from last year, Sissy seemed so little! She was not quite a year!

She has changed so much in the past year...



And this year we have my sweet Parker...

 

Each year we have asked some friends to go with us.

It just makes it more fun!

 

Jake and his buddy Reed...

And Sissy and her playmate, Ty.

They are so sweet together! They are just good little buddies:)

We arrived in the mountains late Friday night and pretty much just went straight to bed.

Everyone needed a good night's rest because Grandfather Mountain was the first thing on our to do list the next day. We took our time driving up the mountain and stopped at several sights for pictures. We also stopped to see some animals along the way. Mildred the bear is always a favorite:)



Sissy loved being outside and climbing (and collecting) rocks!

 

 

Parker was SO good.

We pretty much just stayed bundled up together and kept each other warm.

 

 

The temperature was just right going up the mountain, but when we got to the top, oh my goodness! It was FREEZING and SOOOO windy. Matt took Jakey across the bridge, but it was just way to cold for the little ones, so we didn't make it across this year.

 

 

After our time on Grandfather Mountain, we headed back down and made a stop at the Mast General Store. We always like to look around and buy a few treats! It was SOOO crowded and by this time Parker was wiped out! I sat with him on the porch and just waited for everyone to finish shopping.

 

We made it back to the cabin just in time for dinner. We were all pretty tired and hungry by this time, so we cooked some tacos and hung out and just watched t.v.

 

Sunday morning we were up and at it again. We decided to make a stop at Blowing Rock.

This is one of Jake's favorite spots! We went last year and he loved it!

He likes to climb on all the rocks and make his mommy nervous! Ugh! 

 

 

This is the best family shot we could get. Not the best, but it will do! Ha!

 

We had a great time as a family and with our sweet friends!

It is always nice to get away and enjoy a fun, fall weekend together!

It's Fabulous Being Four!!!

Wow! We have been BUSY celebrating one special four year old!

We are pretty much PARTIED OUT!

 

Saturday night we had our family over for Jake's first birthday bash.

We decided to pick his favorite superhero, Spiderman, and have a pizza party with some very special people! October birthdays are so great. The weather is cool and usually just perfect for a party! Everyone was in and out playing in the bounce house, enjoying games of cornhole, and swinging on the swing set!

We are so lucky to have so much of our family close by to celebrate with us!

After our pizza dinner, Jake opened gifts and then we all sang to him and had Spiderman birthday cake!

Then on Monday (his real birthday) Matt and I planned a surprise night out for him at Monkey Joe's!

Jake kept running around the place saying..."It's my birthday, oh yeah. It's my birthday, oh yeah!" 

We all had such a fun time bouncing around and being all together!

When we got home we sang again and enjoyed some special birthday brownies!

Then Tuesday rolled around and the fun continued...

 

Jake was celebrating his birthday with his preschool friends!

 



 

Jake decided that this time he wanted to bring in donuts to share with his friends!

I know he loved all the birthday love that he got at school.
He came home with all sorts of birthday goodies!

 

And last night was our big birthday finale...
Yes...Chuck E. Cheese!



Matt's parents treated us to a night out and we all had a great time!

Jake's cousins from Florida were up visiting for a few days so they were able to party with us!

 

Whew! What an extra special few days we have had celebrating an extra special four year old!

 

Happy, Happy 4th Birthday, Jake!





Jake Is 4!

Today my big boy Jake is 4 years old!

We have been counting down to this day for weeks now and here we are;) Everyday I would tell him how many more days until his birthday and he would say "That's a long time".

But here we are...celebrating YOU!

 

 Last night I was telling him that I was SOOOO excited about his birthday and all the fun celebrations that we had planned, but I was kind of sad too because I didn't want him to grow up. He looked at me and said "It's okay mom, that's just what happens!"

 

I love my Jake more than anything in the world! He made me a mommy for the first time and is the absolute love of my life! He makes me smile, makes me laugh, and keeps me daily on my knees (ha), and he is OURS to celebrate today!

 

You are growing and learning new things all the time!

You can write your name, ride your bike, and swim so good! You love to play pirate ships and your Leapster and all your new superhero guys! Your favorite movie these days is Shrek and you still LOVE to watch Curious George every morning! 

 

Your favorite place to eat is Bojangles because you get mac and cheese and jelly biscuits;)!

You LOVE to read! We always read a book or two before nap and bed. Your favorite book is probably your Spiderman book.

 

Your hair is still super blond and you are getting so tall! You are still a skinny little thing. I can't keep a pair of pants on your waist!

 

You are making new friends in your preschool class this year and learning oh so much!

 

You are a big brother times two and you are so good at it;)!

 

 

 

 

You love to do stuff with your daddy any chance you get. He will take you on his errand trips anytime he can and you just love to ride with him! You are his wrestling partner too. Ha! You guys are good little buddies:)!

 

 

You love to play outside and will pick up all the rocks and sticks you can find!

You are just ALL boy!

 

You give the BEST hugs and kisses, which I can never get enough of!

 

I love you to the moon and back, Jakey!

 

You are my big 4 year old!

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

 

Love,

Mommy



Punkin' Pickin' 2012

Last night Matt and I took the kids to the punkin' patch:)

I had been waiting for a cool evening to go, and last night was just perfect!

We have been going to the same pumpkin patch now for the past few years and it is just so fun!

There are animals to see, hayrides to go on, and rows and rows of pumpkins to pick from!

We picked out a little red wagon to pull around the patch

as we were on the hunt for the perfect front porch pumpkin!

Jake ran from pumpkin to pumpkin looking for just the right one!

 Sissy caught on quickly and followed her big brother around the patch.

And oh my word...

Look at this sweet pumpkin...

He is just so easy to take pictures of these days! Full of the sweetest smiles ever!

 

These next two pictures have to be two of my all time favorites...

 

Sweeter than a piece of pumpkin pie;)

 

Our porch looks so pretty now with our big, orange pumpkin!

 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Fundraisers, Firetrucks, and Friends

Being a mommy of three kids 3 and under keeps me very busy! I don't get to get out all that often! Ha! But several fun things seemed to all fall on this past weekend which meant I was going to be one busy girl;)!

 

Friday night Matt and I were offered tickets to hear Bob and Pam Tebow (Tim Tebow's parents) speak for a fundraising event. They were speaking on raising a Godly family and I thought it would be a great night for a date night! We asked Matt's mom if she would keep the kids for us. She said she could, so we were able to get away for a nice dinner and night out!

We found a little Greek restaurant to eat at and then enjoyed our night hearing from the Tebows!

 

 

Saturday afternoon, our local fire department was having an open house/fundraising event for a firefighter who is battling cancer. It was a beautiful day so we decided to check it out! All the trucks were parked around the station for the kids to see, BBQ and baked goods were being sold, and bounce houses and games were open for the kids!

(Sissy insisted that she wear her ballerina tutu! She would NOT take it off and I was not going to argue with her;) Ha!

 

We saw so many of our friends and neighbors out supporting this event!

We all had such a great time!

 

After our time at the station, we hurried home to lay the kids down for a quick nap before heading back out the door.

My cousin was getting married so Matt and I were dropping the kids off with my sister Allison this time for the night (along with my sisters 5 kids)!

 

The wedding was beautiful and she was just gorgeous!

 

Then Sunday rolled around and I had more plans! Whew!

One of my best girlfriends from college was coming to town and several of us planned a night out with her. She will be leaving the country in the next few months to serve the Lord overseas and wanted to see us all before she left!

 

 

We ate at a fun little place called Cabo Fish Taco where we just caught up with each other and then enjoyed some dessert at a little French bakery called Amelies'! I had never been to either one of these places, but had such a great time!

 

 

The Lord blessed me with some of THE MOST AMAZING friends during my college years.

Most of us still keep up pretty good, which I am so thankful for!

I love these girls and am so grateful for our friendships!



Parker is 5 Months

Yesterday my sweet Parker turned 5 months old!

This past month went by so fast! How can he be 5 months already???

 

 You are still such a big boy and oh so sweet:)

You are wearing mostly 12 month clothes now and a size 3 diaper.

Your hair (what little you have) may be losing its red tint:(, but you still have your yummy dimple on your right cheek! LOVE:)

You still drink about 6 ounces during the day and sometimes 7 at night.

 

You can roll from your tummy to your back, but have not gone from your back to your tummy, although I think you are close. You get all the way to your side, but just can't get that belly over yet!

 

You sleep on your back, but we often see you on your side too.

As far as sleep is going, you have not done so good lately. You were going from 8:30ish until 4 or 5 in the morning, but these last few weeks, I see you a bit more often again. We aren't sure if you are hungry or just waking up and not able to get yourself back to sleep. Either way, mommy is tired:). 

 

You are working on sitting up. You are still wobbly, but can do it for a few seconds before tipping over! Such a big boy!

 

You are pretty good at reaching for toys and can get a pretty good grip on them!

 

You still have lots and lots of rolls, which I love!

When it's bath time, I have to be sure to clean you really good in all of them! Ha!

 

You like to be held and I love to kiss your warm cheeks.

You enjoy a warm bath and can splash and kick like crazy which makes a huge mess! 

We all love to make you giggle and to me, that is the best sound ever!

 

Not only did you turn 5 months, but Sissy turned 22 months yesterday and big brother Jake will be 4 in one week! Crazy!

 

 

I love my 3 babies and am so blessed to be your mommy!

 

Love my sweet three!

XOXOXOXOX

My Jake...

 

My Jake is LOVING preschool! I actually e-mailed his teacher last week just to check up on things and she was quick to reply with a call later on that evening. Matt and I were nervous to call her back, but all she had was good things to say about Jake! Whew;)!

She said that he is a big helper to her and that he is her little buddy:). He gets a little shy when they do something new, but it doesn't take long for him to warm right up.

They have done some really fun things these last few weeks. He had show and tell for the first time this week. He brought his new treasure box, some shark teeth that we found at the beach, and his swim goggles:). They had "Fish the Magish" come to their school a few weeks ago and today they had a fireman and a firetruck come to teach them about fire safety! Tuesday they are all supposed to bring in an apple to do some fun apple activities and taste testing with! What fun!

 

I did want to blog about something Jake said to me yesterday...

He was being a little ugly to Sissy, so I sent him to time out for a few minutes. We have been working on teaching Jake some Bible verses and a few weeks ago we learned 1 Thessalonians 5:11 which says, "Be kind to one another and build each other up." Well after stomping his way to time out, I heard him say his own version. This is how it went..."Be mean to one another and don't be nice." *Sigh*. Guess we still have some work to do;)!

 

Can't help but love him!

XOXOXOX

A Few Fun Things From The Weekend...

 Friday morning my kids and I hosted a really BIG playdate at our house!

We had several mommies and close to twenty kids!

 

 

The weather was beautiful...warm and sunny!

The kids and I planned to read some of our favorite fall books and sing some of our favorite songs. We brought out the bounce house and parachute and then enjoyed all the yummy snacks everyone brought! We had such a GREAT time!

 

 Friday night our plan was to head to the football field to cheer on our LIONS, but that quickly changed when the rain moved in.

 

 

We stopped on the way and grabbed a pizza for dinner, but ended up having a pizza picnic in the car. We were hoping the rain would pass, but it didn't, so we ate and then turned around and headed back home. We heard it was a good game by those who braved the weather. Oh well!

 

Saturday morning the kids and I met up with my best friend, Marcy, and her little girl, Sophie, for a fun morning out at the Great Wolf Lodge. We met at Dunkin D0nuts and had a treat and then listened to the little story time they have.

 



We had such a sweet time together!

 

Sunday we went to chuch, took long afternoon naps, and took at LONG walk around the neighborhood. 

 

Weekends are just the best!

I love being together with my family and making the sweetest memories!