Silent Sunday: Halloween-Style

(Stay Tuned for Tomorrow's Post: A Not-So Happy Halloween, Alternately Titled: Mother of the Year Award = Fail)

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

We love you so much, and we're so glad that we got to spend time with you today!  We hope your birthday brought you everything you've always wanted...especially a hand-painted picture frame from Baby Jack:)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for...

...my sister's new job (Congratulations, Ryan - we're so happy for you!)

...the wonderful people who notice my teeth without braces

...take-out chicken wings because I was just too, too tired to cook

...my hubby who listened intently as I read Boris and Bella to Jack before bedtime

...the beautiful, warm fall weather that allowed me to venture out to the park with my favorite little boy

...and these wonderful park moments that I hope I will never forget:

What are you thankful for?

Oh Happy Day!

I didn't expect this morning to be anything special.  It was raining hard, and I was rushing around so as not to be late. 

But it ended up being one of the best mornings ever with my little man.  I heard him calling for me (yes, that's right - he has not yet figured out that he could leave the room on his own accord - thank you, thank you, thank you) from his little toddler bed that he had to go potty.  I went in and took his little hand and led him to the potty. 

He very seriously explained to me that he almost went potty in his bed, but he didn't (as in, next time you may want to move a little faster, Mama).  He was dry, yet again!  Which made Jack so incredibly proud of himself that he had the super cutest grin across his little face.  Ear to ear.  Chesire cat-like.  Adorable.

After he went potty, we headed back to his room to get dressed, and I asked him if he wanted to wear his Buzz shirt to school today.  "That would be good, Mama."

Excellent.  So I helped my little man out of his jammies and handed him the Buzz shirt. 

"Oh, fank you, Mama!"  Like I had just given him something he's wanted all his little life.  He was soooo happy. 

Do you remember the last time something that small made you so happy?  Yeah, me either. 

Unless, of course, you count the fact that this teeny-tiny person has made my life so much better just by being in it:)

The End of an Era

Is it possible for your heart to soar and break at the same sight?

(note the boots at the far right - I just had to peel them off of his little feet)

That's right.  Our little man is now sleeping in his toddler bed.  Where did my baby go?

Pumpkinville

One of the best things about being a mommy is getting to participate in these wonderfully beautiful outings with our little man.  I absolutely love these days.  Saturday, after Jack's nap, we headed out to Pumpkinville.  It was a perfect afternoon.

Jack enjoyed the slides...

and climbing the hills with Daddy.

They even slid together...

and ran to catch the hay ride.

Jack enjoyed the ride, safe in Daddy's arms.

Our precious little boy...

loved the merry-go-round,

explored the general store,

and helped Daddy haul our pumpkins to the car.

While tucking Jack into bed, I asked him if he had fun.

"Yes, Mama.  I had fun with Daddy today."

Silent Sunday

Stink Eye

Sounds nice, I know.  However, we have discovered that when asked to do something he doesn't want to do, Jack can give the evil eye.  Or rather, as evil an eye as a two year old can muster.  Probably bad parenting on our part, but the first time he did it, Brad and I both laughed because it was so randomly adorable. 

I wonder where he learned this?

A Family Get Together

This past week, Brad's grandmother, Earlie, and his Uncle Danny came into town.  Last Saturday we had dinner with the entire family at his parents' house.  We had such a yummy meal, but even better than that was the company.  At first, our little man was a tad bit shy with our family members he hasn't seen in a year, but it didn't take him long to warm up.  Here are some of our photos from that evening:

Jack loves this huge, stuffed lion that Grandma and Grandpa got for him.  He's had it for awhile, but it never seems to get old.

Jack and Uncle Danny had a lot of fun playing together.  Jack kept launching himself off of Uncle Danny, and then he'd freeze his legs and clench his little toes like you see in the pictures above.  That happened at least 30 times:)

Can you tell how much Jack adores his Grandma?  He was very lucky because he got to spend two days with Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma Earlie, and Uncle Danny this week.  Spoiled, I tell you!

Jack's Recliner

Jack and Grandpa at the dinner table

I heart this picture.  Absolutely everything about it.

Me and Brad

Me and My Little Man (sporting the lean into the picture!)

The best part of the dinner was the champagne toast at the end.  Grandma and Grandpa had a special announcement to make: Grandpa will be retiring at the end of this year, and we are so happy for him.  It's quite an amazing thing to have worked for NASA for 41 years...congratulations!  Let the party-planning ensue:)

28 1/2 Months

Baby Jack,

Tomorrow you will be 28 1/2 months old!  I can't believe how quickly time is flying by, but Mommy and Daddy want you to know how very much you are loved and that the past 28 1/2 months have been the happiest months of our entire lives.  Getting to watch you grow and change each day is an amazing adventure that we continually cherish...

Right now you weigh about 29 pounds, which is a little on the light side, but we're not worried.  While you are a little picky about what you eat, once we can settle on something you like, you do a good job of eating it all:)  You're wearing mostly 2T clothing, but occasionally you wear 18-24 month pants (because of that tiny little waist of yours).  You would wear your Buzz t-shirt 24/7 if I let you (but I don't).  You love, love, love to wear your Buzz shoes or your Spiderman shoes.  And it goes without saying that that's only when you aren't wearing your cowboy boots.

You love to drive your car and motorcycle (aka - tricycle) around the house.  Lately, you've been driving to the bathroom when you have to go and parking next to the toilet.  It's actually pretty darn adorable.  You also love to play with Mr. Potato Head still, and lately you've taken to making new faces because for the longest time, you could only make one very specific face.  You're always asking me to "play wif cars," or you'll say, "Can we build sometin, Mama?"  Which, oh my word, how could I possibly say no to that?

Sometimes you'll let me pose you for pictures - which I'm loving.  Sometimes you very clearly state, "No pikters, Mama," and I can understand that because I DO take LOTS of pictures.  You're just the cutest thing I've ever seen in my whole entire life.  You love to watch movies, and we're very impressed with your attention span.  Now you can turn the movie on all by yourself (TV and DVD player); all I have to do is hit the play button on the remote which you haven't quite figured out but you're working on it.  Almost every day, when I ask you what you did at school, you tell me that you built a castle.  I have yet to figure out if that's true, but it's pretty cute because you're so sure that's what you did.

Have I told you that I used to HATE feet before you came along?  It's true - I really did.  And now?  I just can't get enough of yours.  Look at how cute they are?  You have these adorably chubby toes that I just can't help but kiss and nibble as often as I can because I know one day you won't let me and (let's be honest) I won't want to. 

You also love to sing.  You know the words (although not consistently) to the ABC's, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, Five Little Monkeys, London Bridge, Rain Rain Go Away, the clean-up song, and Skinna Marinky Dinky Do (sp?).  I usually recognize the tune and try to chime in, but you don't seem to like it when I sing too much.  The picture below may be an absolute favorite of mine (note the tummy).

Speaking of tummies, you're losing yours!  The doctor warned me, but I didn't believe her.  She said by the time you turn three, your tummy would be flatter like big kids rather than chubby like a toddlers.  Boo hoo:(

You love your daddy so much.  When you hear the garage door open, you make a beeline for the door.  You run and jump into his arms.  You peek into the mirror to look at your faces.  Too cute.  Sometimes you like to snuggle up with him before bedtime and watch a bit of Wall-E, but then you scoot down and come down the hallway so that you can snuggle up with me and read a book before bedtime.

You love to read books.  We read every night, and you've even memorized some of the words to your favorite books like Bear Snores On and Toy Trouble (yes, that's a Toy Story 2 book I've read to you no less than 539 times). 

Can you tell how much we love you?  Because we really do.

Silent Sunday

An Engagement Day

This past weekend, we spent lots of time focusing on my sister's upcoming marriage.  I'm so excited - I can barely stand it, and I still have an entire year to wait!  They have a date (10.15.11) and a venue.  I'm helping with Save the Dates and stationery (and, oh, I'm so excited about this job!). 

Saturday morning, we went to purchase her wedding gown, and it is beautiful.  I mean, drop-dead gorgeous.  John is going to love it:)  If it made me teary-eyed, surely it will make him cry. 

Then I must have tried on 30-40 bridesmaid dresses.  No, I'm not kidding.  It's definitely quite the process, and I remember what it's like.  I'm pretty sure I put Rypie through the same thing when I was getting married because whatever you choose has to be just perfect and you have to love it forever.  We narrowed the choices down a lot since I think Ryan has a pretty clear idea of what she's looking for.  Here are the two we were left with at the end of the session, both in a deep purple/eggplant color:

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_V-Neck-Taffeta-Dress-with-Ruching-Floral-Detail-84094_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-All-Bridesmaid-Dresses

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Short-Cotton-Dress-with-Y-Neck-and-Skirt-Pleating-83690_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-All-Bridesmaid-Dresses

Any thoughts?

Anyway, she has time to decide:)  Whatever she chooses - I will love. 

Then, Saturday night, we headed to an engagement dinner at my mom and dad's where we got to meet John's mom and his aunt.  They were both so sweet, and you can tell that they just adore my sister.  We had a really good time.  Jack loves John very much, and he even warmed up to John's brother, Jason, before the end of the night.  Here are some of our photos from that evening:

The outfit Jack started out with, but *gasp* the shirt was too small:(

Soon to be married

Jack and Grampy

Jack adores Grampy, can't you tell?

Two peas in a pod

John's brother, Jason, John, Buddah Bear (oh, sweet Buddah), Rypie, and Jack

"Don't take my pikter, Daddy"

One of Jack's favorite things (I'm not gonna lie - mine too)

Rypie - we just can't wait for your wedding.  You are going to be such a beautiful bride and we are so honored to be a part of such a special day.  John - your family is wonderful, and I can't wait until you're all a part of ours:)