Happy Birthday Buddy Son

You came to us as such a big boy! All 9lbs 12oz of you were sweet right from the beginning.

We adore you more now than ever and that's really saying a lot because the adoration was pretty consuming from the get go.

You can get pretty grumpy and when it happens you're relentless, but those times are few and far between. You're really happy and easy going most of the time.

You make us laugh with your expressions and the things you do. What a little man.

You can really dish it out and put Eva in a tizzy. You like to take whatever she is playing with. You also just like being near her and touching her because you love her so much. However, she sees it more as harassment.

But you're awfully good at taking it too. She really puts you through your paces with the dressing up and the taking of your toys.

You're handsome and no one can dispute that. Even after eating a fist full of dirt.

You love bath time! We've had to change our routine so that both of you are taken out at the same time, if not you'll dive back in, jammies and all.

You're a real good buddy. You love to play and if we're not around, you'll roam the house looking for us to have some fun.

Happy First Birthday Buddy Son! You're such a good boy and we love you!

Boo at the Zoo

The first and last picture of Baron with his monkey hood on. He absolutely can not stand things on his head.

So we decided to go to Boo at the Zoo. A great venue for us to show off our little tiger and monkey. They had trick-or-treating stations set up throughout the zoo so it was excellent for Eva, who had been practicing trick-or-treating for a week. I was particularly fond of it too, because it was the perfect amount of treats without things getting absurd (like pillow cases of candy, um not gonna happen here.) I'm a real witchy mom when it comes to treats. They had great little things of chocolate milk and trail mix and string cheese and of course all the goodies. I'll confess that Derek and I ate most of the "good" stuff while we left the "good for you" stuff for Eva. Plus it was just nice to see all of the animals and it gave Baron something to be interested in too. I think he trick-or-treated for a bag of Cheetos to give to his dad and that was the extent of the treat acquisition for him.

Derek pulled them in the wagon and maneuvered the not so terrible crowds quite well. The weather was absolutely beautiful!

He really didn't understand what the hub bub was all about.

It was a real magical day for that little girl. Treats, good. Animals, good. She had a special moment with a gorilla. She was up next to the glass and the gorilla pushed his face against the glass. It was actually really touching. The gorilla was so gentle and just mesmerized by Eva. They just stood there face to face for minutes. Eva still talks about the "beso" (kiss) from the gorilla.

Baron's semi-interest in the elephant.

The tiger stalks its prey. We saw the new baby elephant (not shown here) and she was so darling. She just laid there taking a nap next to her mommy.

This to me is the essence of Halloween. A bucket full of candy and a smile on a cute costumed face.

Picking Pumpkins at the Patch

We picked pumpkins a couple of weeks before Halloween to add some autumn color to our front stoop. We never did carve them which Derek and I are both okay with until Eva gets a bit older. She'd probably be grossed out anyway. But a nice whole orange pumpkin makes her pretty happy. It's all she's been talking about for 3 weeks. The Buddy Son, however, was more interested in straw.

Not a quarter of a mile from our house, right in the middle of the subdivision, three families on an acre each decided they wanted to do something for the community in their substantial "backyard" so they decided to have a free pumpkin patch. Donations are encouraged and 100% of the proceeds are given to the Perpetual Education Fund. So that's where we went. It was really peaceful and nice knowing that money we would've spent anyway on a pumpkin was actually being given to a great cause.

Baron didn't know what to think.

I love this picture of Derek and Eva. She just loved that odd little shaped pumpkin.

The one I picked out was super duper heavy.

Cute little faces.

We just looked it all over and made sure we picked out the absolute best ones.

She was pretty proud of her pumpkin and talked about the event for weeks.

a late afternoon at the park

Face of Opportunity Entry

Face of Opportunity Entry:

Here is a link to a business contest Derek's company has entered. You can vote everyday so please vote often! The winners receive air fare from British Airways to anywhere in the world to grow their business. Beckett and Robb would choose to fly to London and Bangkok to work with their fabric distributors and taylors. Thanks everyone!

State Fair

We went on a super fun outing with our bestest friends Zach and Mama Owley. Ally is a kindred spirit. We both come from the other side of the country. We miss the trees and fresh fruits and vegetables. We grew up in more rural settings and want those experiences for our kids too. Farm animals and swimming in lakes, all that good simple living stuff. We find ourselves teaming up to do things that our husbands would prefer not to. This particular day we took on the State Fair, a thing we both have fond memories of, but the boys do not. Ally is fearless. I'm not as good at independent as she is so I was glad to have a friend along for something I may not have done without one. It was so fun and the kids had a great time.

There was a fantastic exhibit where the kids went through their own farming experience. They first gathered grain to feed a cow (a fake one.)

They took their tiny bucket of corn and put it in the cow's feed trough.

They were really grown up little kids. Next came milking a cow.

They turned in the milk for seeds and planted them in a little garden.

And then came harvesting .

It wouldn't be a farm experience without a turn on a tiny tractor.

Eva was content to sit on her pink tractor parked next to a bale of straw.

Baron was a sweetie. All smiles and so cute in those little overalls. After the tractors, they brushed sheep for wool, gathered eggs, and turned in their produce for a tiny farm buck. They went to the general store and Eva bought herself a granola bar. It was a really great little adventure.

Of course we saw a lot of other things at the fair too. Eva loved the livestock farms. Seeing the cows get baths and a sheep being sheared were highlights. Baron was particularly fond of a goat who was trying to eat his stroller. He wasn't sure at first with these large beasts, but he warmed up and was wide eyed, taking it all in. We had fresh doughnut holes in all their cinnamony sugar goodness. And we stuffed ourselves on carni food that left my stomach pretty unstable the rest of the day. It was so worth it.