Happy Halloween

This weekend we had a big trip West, and visited family in the Chicago area. We stayed at Papa and Gramma's house and went to Malone's game vs. TIU (we won 34-0) where we met up with GG, Uncle Justin, Aunt Anna, and our friend Bobby. After the game we went to a little party at GG's house where we had some awesome chili and all of the fixins and got to see Aunt Betty. This morning we did a little early trick-or-treating with Gramma before heading back to OH. It was great to see everyone and great to get a win on the road.
On Saturday morning, I was out running an errand and happened to notice a garage sale that looked like it had kids items on my way back to the house. I had been talking to my MIL earlier about things that would be useful to have at their house when we visit and that we could look for at garage sales or consignment stores. So on a whim, I decided to stop and look around to see if they had anything interesting. Right away, I noticed a big pop-up play tent and knew that B would get a kick out of playing in that. I also found a fold-up booster chair with tray that was actually one of the items that we were going to keep a look-out for. They were both a pretty good deal at $5 a piece (thanks Gramma!). Once I got back to the house, I put the tent up for B and he LOVED it. He kept crawling in and out of it and he would sit in it and have us read him books in it. We currently have it set up in our living room now and he has already been in it a couple of times since we've been home tonight. Some other fun things he got to do this weekend were painting a pumpkin at Papa and Gramma's, pet tons of dogs, get tons of doggie kisses, watch movies in the car, and eat special Halloween cupcakes.

Sunday Serenity

Yesterday, we took a nice long walk in one of the nearby Ohio state parks to recharge and appreciate the Fall colors. B had fun looking at and meeting the variety of dogs we encountered and clutched the big yellow leaf that I gave him to hold for an hour before he decided to tear it slowly into tiny pieces.

No Cavities!

B had his first dentist appointment last week and "aced" it. He did a great job watching Mickey Mouse while Mommy got her teeth cleaned and then sat on Mommy's lap so that he could get his teeth checked and counted. He has 6 on top and 6 on bottom. He loves "brushing teeth time" (I think because of the yummy toddler toothpaste) and even lets Mommy or Daddy "help" him at end.


B with his "no cavities" ribbon.


B showing off his mad tooth brushing skills early one morning.

Picture Hanging Tip

I saw this tip on how to hang your pictures, straight and with only one nail hole in the wall. All you have to do is trace the outline of your frame onto craft paper or scrap paper, depending on the size, and use painters tape to hang the paper where you want it on the wall. After you adjust and move your various "pictures" around you level them and measure to where the hanger would be on the back of the frame. At that point you just have to hammer a nail straight through the paper, rip away the paper and tape, and hang your picture frame. Voila! No nailing mistakes or multiple holes in the wall. Worked for me, hope it works for you!

Remember Those Bird Pictures...

Well, with the help of my mom, they are finally up on the dining room wall. Check it out!

The Ultimate Toddler Fan

**No actual body paint was used in the taking of this picture. :-)

Hat Trick

...wait that's only in hockey...isn't it? Well, B had some hat tricks this weekend at the game. He did good for a while, but then after we made a slight adjustment, he must have realized that "Hey, I have a hat on and it will be a fun game to take it off and try to put it back on a million times!"

Yum!

Looking for a new recipe for all of those apples this fall? Give this one a try, you won't regret it!

Game 5

This weekend, B and I made the trek to Indiana to watch the Pioneers play at Taylor University. We left on Friday so that we could stay at Jeff's uncle and aunt's house near Indy. B had a pretty good time playing with everyone and was pretty tired Friday night by the time bedtime rolled around.







The whole trip we had wonderful weather and we had a beautiful drive with all of the fall colors. It was probably close to 75 at the game on Saturday. Its always interesting finding ways to occupy a toddler during a football game. Luckily, the visitor's side had plenty of room for him to run around. He was very content for around a half an hour to just put rocks in and out of a cup. It was probably the most I had got to watch a game in a while. The Pioneers ended up losing the game though 12-7. It was a close one and came down to the very end of the game just like last week.

Back In the Game!

Nope, this post is not about football, so if that is what you are interested in reading about, I'm sorry. You will have to wait for another post for that. What I am referring to is, me getting back in the groove. Last Sunday, I (with the help of my wonderful husband) set aside some time to be creative. I dusted the 'ol sewing machine off and set out to work on a new project. No, I didn't start with a small project, but took it upon myself to make a nap roll for B's new daycare class. I found a pretty simple tutorial here and went and picked out the cutest gender neutral fabric/colors that I could find at JoAnn's. Once B's head hit the pillow for his Sunday afternoon nap, I embarked on my new craft journey. I had only washed the fabric and had not made any cuts or anything at that point. But, I finished it....in about 5-6 hours. I did the final binding stitching with the machine just because it was faster but it doesn't look as good as if I would have hand-stiched it. Oh well, I got it done and it he gets to take a little bit of "Mommy Luv" to daycare with him every day.
Now onto some projects that have been waiting for me to complete since before the move....

Fall Monogram

I saw this idea somewhere this past weekend but can't remember where.
Take your supplies...



Start hot gluing silk fall leaves onto your cardboard 3-D letter, layering them.



Hang from ribbon and Voila!

Movin' On Up!

Today, B transitioned to the young toddler room at daycare. This is a pretty big deal in my mind. In this room he no longer sleeps in a crib, but instead on a nap mat/cot on the floor. We were also told that they don't use lids on their cups in this room, so we should practice doing the same at home. Not sure if I'm totally comfortable with that yet... He also, will no longer take a morning nap at daycare. All of these new things on top of some of the new things he has been doing at home has my head spinning. He is growing up so fast.
Yesterday, he was giving us the "I'm concentrating really hard on something big going down in my pants right now" look. When I asked him about it. He pulled at his diaper and said "poopy". Jeff and I were just like, "Did he just tell us that he needed a diaper change?" I guess that is step one on the long road to potty training.
He is getting a little frustrated with his inability to effectively communicate with us but does know some signs and uses them correctly. I have a feeling that we are on the brink of a language explosion though.

All Smiles

Someone finally got his carseat turned around...he hasn't stopped grinning. :-)