Football weekend...

Garet and I decided a while back that we wanted to go to a Panther's football game this season.  We looked at when they were playing at home... and when they would be playing the Redskins.  Garet is from DC, so that was his favorite team growing up.  So we figured out they were playing this past weekend, and Garet's sister and her husband said they wanted to come with us!  So... we have been planning this trip for quite awhile!

 

We decided to keep it simple on Saturday.  I learned how to make homemade cinnamon buns from Garet's mom!

 

Oh man did the house smell good!!  It took all morning/afternoon for them to finish (we had to mix it, they had to rise, twice, and then cook), but they were sooooo worth it!!

 

Wow they were good! 
There may or may not have been a mishap in the kitchen where one of our pans may or may not have ended up face down on the bottom of the oven..... so we had some smoke in the kitchen for a bit.  Therefore we opened all the windows and doors... and we put Suzi in the basement.  When we looked over we saw her tail poking out =)

So funny!
It was FREEZING on Saturday... it made me really worried about the game the next day!  Garet and Colin braved the cold and met one of Garet's friends at a park down the street.  Matt is one of Garet's oldest friends!  They didn't last too long (thank goodness!  it was waaayy too cold!), then we headed to Garet's sisters for dinner.

 

On Sunday, we got geared up.  We were a house divided.

 

We drove over to G's sisters and left all the kids (she has 3) with the grandparents and off we went!  While there we got picture updates from Grandma Kay... this one was so funny to me!

The boys playing on their games =)
We were all bundled up and it was cold, but not too bad.  The sun was out so it made it manageable!  I was actually very nervous to wear Panther's attire... I didn't want people to pick on me.  But once we got there, there were actually a LOT of Panther's fans!  I fit right in =)

We arrived a couple hours early so we could tail gate.  Pete was very prepared: grill, burgers, chips, drinks, table, tablecloth, condiments, chairs, football.....  Oh we were set to go!

 

When we finally got in the stadium, we sat just in time for kickoff!  And here is a view from our seats.

 

 We were actually under an overhang, so we were in the shade, and it was really cold!  So after halftime, we hiked (and I mean HIKED) up to the upper level to find some seats in the sun!

 

 The Panther's did SO GOOD!  We WON!  I was sooo excited!  Everytime they would make a play I would jump up, then realize I was the only one standing =)  I really wished Garet was cheering with me! 

 

It was awesome!  I missed my nap that day (I am still so super tired) and since it was Daylight Savings... Colin woke up super early that day (3:45) at G got up with him.  So we were both exhaused and were in bed before 8 that night!

We headed back home on Monday, but first made a stop to see Garet's dad!

 

It was a great trip! 

Colin says...

Happy Halloween...

 

We had a little cowboy/farmer tonight!  I tried to get some good pictures... but after I took a million, I realized I had my camera on the wrong setting!  Oh well... I got a couple decent ones...
After this picture he threw his hat off, and he didn't put it back on the rest of the night =)

 

 We went to our church, they had a fun thing for the kids.  Colin is too young to actually trick-or-treat, so we went there and had a good time!
Colin got to participate in some of the games they had set up.  And he is one smart kid!  This one he was supposed to throw the bean bag into the hole... after one throw from back at the line, he walked up to the hole and threw it right in!

 

He got to golf (although it looked like he was trying to use the golf club like a pool stick) 

 

Colin also got his face painted!  He just sat there emotionless... then once the lady was finished he was smiling so big!  "football!  football!"

 

I think Colin's favorite part was the bounce house!

We grabbed some pizza there.  I didn't grab any utensils, so this was the first time Colin ate pizza without me cutting it up... look at that little bite!

 

When we got home, we cut on all of our lights... put Suzi in the basement (so she didn't freak out!)... and waited on the trick-or-treaters!  Somehow Colin lost his shirt during this process.

 

Colin and Garet sat out front and gave out candy... I made hot chocolate and stayed inside where it was warm =)  It was a great night!  Colin really enjoyed handing out candy! 
Hope everyone has a great Halloween!!

Lately...

We have been busy around here!  And I when I have sat down, I just haven't felt like being on the computer!  So here is a summary:

I had to make a Halloween treat for MOPS last week and I decided that I was going to make witch fingers.  I had made them before and they were awesome!  I was so excited to show everyone my spooky fingers!  Here is what they looked like when I made them a few years ago

 

Creepy right?!  So, this time I decided instead of making the sugar cookies from scratch, I would just a mix.  Save some time.  Bad idea.  Here is what my fingers looked like:

 

hahaha, BAD!  and super fat!  Luckily I only put 4 in the oven to test it.  So I ended up making eyeball cupcakes... which turned out okay, but since it wasn't my first choice I was scrambling to get them made in time!  And on the way to MOPS my pan slid and sent the eyes rolling all over the pan...

We have also been raking!

 

(and I use the term "we" loosely)  Colin had a stick and was sending leaves flying everywhere!

Last Friday was a crazy day: I had a full morning and afternoon planned for Colin and I.  Funny how when you have plans... they never go how you want them to! 
I got Colin strapped in the car, went to turn it on.... and nothing.  My car was broken.
Luckily Garet was leaving for work at the same time, so he was able to jump start it (it was the battery).  Then we drove over to Car Store #1 to get the battery checked.  They quoted us a price, Garet okay'd it, he left, the guy came over to me and re-quoted me the correct price.  It was $40 more.  Called G, he said leave and go to Car Store #2.
Drove to Car Store #2 (it took almost 30 minutes!  My dumb GPS kept taking me down dead ends!  Ohhhh I was frustrated!!)  Get there, they seemed to be very inconvenienced to replace my battery.  Two of them were kind of going back and forth...
Woman: Do you want to take it?
Man: It don't matter.  If you don't want to.
Woman: I mean I can do it, you don't want to?
Man: Well go ahead.  I don't need to...
blah blah blah
So finally I said, well can one of you do it please?!
And they did [finally!] While I was waiting I looked down at Colin and he was kind of waddling and saying "wet".  Poor bud.  He had pee'd through his [cloth] diaper.  So... I had to change him on the floor (actually I had a changing pad, thank goodness!) of this dirty Car Store #2.  But his pants were still wet.  Oh well.  I left them on him until we got in the car.
THEN after all that, I drove by home and ran in to get another pair of pants for Colin.  While I was running, Suzi escaped... luckily she was just sniffing around the car and came right back inside.
THEN we went downtown so I could register and vote.  The line was long but I figured that I had made it this far, we were finishing this errand.  Colin was an angel!  He waited patiently in line with me.  Then once we were in the room I had to register, so I gave Colin a pen and paper.  He sat on the floor drawing.  Everytime the line would move I would say "scoot Colin!" and he would =)  By the end of the line his pants were all bunched up from scooting, but he was so well behaved, I couldn't be more proud! 

Dare I say that Colin is much better in public than here around the house!  If he is going crazy here I normally load him up and take him into public.  And it works.  (hope I didn't just jinx it!)

Anyway.... that was quite a morning... we have also been painting pumpkins:

Sporting this cute Halloween shirt, which I made.  He loves the mouth =)

 

So, that's us lately.  And I can't believe that October is almost over!  This year is going by so fast! 

Fire-less...

That's right folks.  We are fire-less here.
If you remember, we call a pacifier a "fire" and on Thursday, October 11 we were done.
I am not a big pacifier fan to begin with.  I don't like having pictures with a "fire" I think it takes away from my sweet baby's face.  That being said... they have been a total lifesaver with Colin, especially when he was a baby!  He only got them at naptime and bedtime.  I didn't let him have them outside of that, and he never seemed to need them.
He got a fire in the hospital when he was born and liked it so much that I didn't even attempt to give him another kind.  I went out and bought 2 more just like it when he was a few months old.  And that's all I had.  3.  I refused to get more.  And those lasted. 

So, Colin slept with 2.  I kept one in my bag in case of emergency.  The past month I noticed a hole in one of them.  (You can see it in the picture... the one on the right at the top)  So I hoped that would trigger Colin to just toss them.  No such luck.  See there's hole in the bottom of it, and he just stuck his finger in there, and that way he could still suck it normally.  So a couple weeks passed and the second one got a hole it it too.  I knew the time was coming, but I wasn't ready to deal with it.
Thursday morning, I got Colin up and he stuck his finger all the way through!  He pointed it at me laughing.  I said, "Bud, these fires are broken.  They need to be thrown away."  So, when he got off his changing table he said "trash" and went over and threw them away.

I was shocked!  I even had a wave of sadness!  Was this it?!  I told him what a good job he did and we left the room (after I snuck them out of the trash!  What if it didn't work?!)  At naptime Garet and I crossed our fingers as I laid him down, without the fires.  Oh it was bad!!!  He cried, I almost cried, he was sooooooo soooooo sad!  After an hour I just got him up. 

That night, we put him to bed without his fires and didn't hear a peep! 
Since then he asks for them regularly before bed.  Everytime we remind him that they were broken and he threw them away.  Then we make a noise like "phooey" or say "stinky" (the trash smell) it always cracks him up.  And then he is fine with it.  There have been a few tears, but they don't last.

So, my baby is growing up.  Good-bye fires.

Sewing...

I really enjoy sewing with my machine!  I love to have projects so I can use it!  Here are a few things I have done over the past few months...

I have actually made a lot of burp cloths.  These are just a couple.  I really had fun doing this onesie! 

I mean, how often do I work with ruffles??  It was a lot of fun =)

 

I had fun doing this pillowcase dress too!  It turned out sooo cute! 

 

I also made Miss. Morgan's 1 year shirt, and I have made Colin a couple shirts... his "2" shirt:

 

And yesterday I finished a cute Halloween shirt.  I will have to take a picture later. 
I also made a "box" out of fabric so he can put some toys in it.  I will have to take a picture of this too.  It was harder than I thought it would be, but so worth it!  Simple and cute =)

Another party...

Colin and I traveled to Charlotte for the weekend to celebrate Morgan's 1st birthday!  Garet had to work =( so it was just the two of us.  We started the weekend by making some homeade applesauce!

 

Colin loves to help in the kitchen... he even taste tested to make sure all the apples were just perfect!
We kept in touch with Daddy the whole weekend too!

 

Colin is so cute on the phone... he even walks around while he is talking!
On Saturday we went to the party!  Here is my brother and his family =)  Aren't they cute!

 

When Morgan started opening presents she would hand her daddy all the trash.  It was so funny!  She did so well opening all the gifts!

 

When the cake came, she took no time digging in!  She loved it!  And had icing everywhere!  That's what you're supposed to do on your birthday though, right?!

 

This picture was taken right before the cake was taken away.  It was such a great day!

 

The rest of the weekend pretty much consisted of playing with trucks!

 

Colin even showed Morgan how to drive the truck around...

It was a great weekend!  It was nice to see family, and celebrate such a milestone! 

Racing party...

We celebrated Colin's 2nd birthday with a race car party!  I totally didn't think I would be that mom... ya know the one that goes all out with a theme birthday party.  Oh, but I am.  I just can't help myself!  So... Saturday morning, we got to decorating!  My parents were here, so they were a GREAT help!  My dad looked a little more decorated than the house =)

 

Garet's mom and Rod were also here, and they did so much!  It is so nice to have grandparents help!!  I did the invites myself.  Then I got all the the food together.  I tried to keep it simple... hotdogs, pretzels, chex mix, peanuts, donuts, cupcakes...

 

We had lunch, and my mom caught this cute picture of Colin and Sawyer enjoying their lunch =)

 

After lunch, I got some candles on a cupcake and we all sang to Colin!  He LOVED it!  He even tried to sing along =)  Then afterwards he just clapped and clapped!  Then he blew out his candles!

Colin doesn't get sweets often, so this was a big deal.  Looks like he is trying to savor it.

Then he proceeded to lick all the icing off =)

The cupcake didn't last more than a minute or so.
After the kids ran around a bit, we gathered so that Colin could open his gifts!  What a blessed little boy!  After he opened each gift he thanked the person that gave it to him (with a little help from me) it was precious!

 

Colin loved all his gifts!  He wanted to play with each thing that we pulled out! 

 

We had so much fun!  It was so great that some people were able to make the 2 hour drive from Charlotte for the afternoon!  Like one of my best friends, Christy!

 

Once all the gifts were open, Colin just got to play!  I love watching him play with his toys.  He was "vroom"-ing all around in this picture!

 

His cousin Sam was a big help too... he put together a bunch of Colin's toys for him.  And he helped him load up his dump truck with Legos!

Colin (and Garet and I!) had a great time at his party!  He went down for his nap (yes, I still put him down for a nap), and then we all got to relax!  It was so much fun!  I just can't believe my little boy is 2!!

That night we went out to dinner with Garet's mom and Rod.  The food was wonderful, and we got to sit outside since the weather was so nice!  Here we are with our little birthday boy!