Pumpkin Carving

I love carving our pumpkin every year.  It is a fun and I have very strong memories of doing it as a family growing up.  I think that Justin and I have carved pumpkins since the first year we started dating.  Justin enjoys it as much as I do.  It is also lots of fun to see the difference in perspective of each completed Jack-o-lantern. Justin likes scary, I like happy!  This year we invited Lindsey and Hunter over and we had a great time.  The guys did the blue print for the Jack-O-Lanterns and carved them.  Lindsey, Collier and I were there for the gutting and pumpkin seeds.  It was the first year that Collier actually got to participate with the pumpkin.  He was in bed by the time the actual carving occurred but I think that the fun with the ooey and gooey was just right for him.

Saturday our friends down the street had a huge party.  It was very nice to just be able to walk to their house and walk home.  There was an awesome band and Collier danced all night with a glow stick that he found.  He didn't last long with his gun and holster, his sheriff star broke and was lost and he will NOT wear his hat!  Tonight should be interesting   We're only going to a few houses just so that he can at least experience the concept of Trick or Treating!  Look out candy here we come....

Yummy

Ok.  Check these two recipes out. They were delicious and fun and easy!  Did I mention delicious?

First, these yummy soft sugar cookies coated in yummilious frosting.  You know the ones that are at the front of every store calling your name.  Well this is that only much better, softer, melt in your mouth kind of goodness.  I got the recipe from here. My frosting got a little loose and I was just too lazy to try and thicken it more than I already did. So, I just let it run off the side and it was just fine!

Then there were these very easy egg and bacon cups that I spotted on pinterest last week.  And here is the source for this perfectly easy and delicious breakfast..as in I wanted to eat all 12 but refrained myself since I did have a husband and child to feed.... Hurry make these for breakfast or dinner this week.  You won't be sorry.  OH and be sure to spay your pan before you cook them, I sort of learned the hard way on that...that is not a good step to overlook!

My skeleton loves eggs!

And the lastly, pumpkin seeds three ways!  I have always baked my seeds and they are usually perfectly fine.  But I saw [again] on pinterest that you could roast/saute them and they really turned out great!
Round One: I used this recipe with brown sugar, cooking spray
Round Two: I liked the sugar idea but thought that the brown sugar was a little heavy.  So, I treated the pumpkin seeds like I use when I candy walnuts for salads.  Just heat and sugar.  But I added a little cinnamon because I knew that Justin would love that...and I was right.  These were certainly Justin's favorite.
Round three: toasted them a little (on the stove top) and then added a little bit of butter, worshersire, garlic salt and cooked until they were done.  I was split between these and the cinnamon sugar ones!

Justin said that he preferred that I cook them in the oven but on the stove was just way easier and quicker.  I didn't have to worry about being sure that they were so dried out as when cooked in the oven.  Something different and yummy.

I'll catch up on our fun and busy weekend tomorrow!  Hope that you will enjoy a few of these recipes!
Is anyone else addicted to Pinterest?

Expression

Collier has suddenly busted out of his vocal shell in the past week.  He is all of a sudden putting full sentences together and making the funniest comments and conversations.  He says the cutest things and I need to start documenting them.  In addition to words his personality is coming out and he is really very funny.  He loves to make you laugh and laughter encourages whatever he is doing [which can be a good and a bad thing depending on the circumstance].    But this is a new expression that we have seen several times this week.  I about fell off the Carousel when he first did it.



I am also glad to say that after much prayer and patience he is doing so good at school, bible study and church.  Last week when mom picked him up he actually said he 'not want to leave school'.  This was like music to my ears and such a good relief.  He is no longer telling me he doesn't want to go to school.  I am so proud of him. 

Pumpkin Patch Visit

 We went on our First EVER Pumpkin Patch visit this year.  It was loads of fun and perfect way for a little man to burn off some energy.  Plus it was a beautiful day and loved being outside.

waiting so patiently, for the much anticipated and favorite part of the day, tractor ride

The slide.  Justin didn't think it was a good idea because of all the kids and he wasn't sure if Collier was able to climb up the slope/steps on his own.  The first time up he did sort of hold up the line but they were very nice and patient.  He loved it and did it twice.  If we let him he would have done it a lot more.  He loved it!  Click on the picture to enlarge and see the pictures better!   

      Where is Collier                                                          Peek A Boo!!

It really was a fun morning and we still made it back to watch plenty of football with friends.  The rest of the weekend I cleaned, cleaned and cleaned.  While Justin put the finishing touches on Collier's big boy bed!

Fall Brings...

I love fall for so many reasons but the weather alone is a good enough reason to love this season.  It brings reasons to be outside, football, soups, pumpkins, halloween, boots and beautiful colors.  Not to mention it ushers in winter and I am all about a good reason to build a fire!

Justin had his annual guys golf trip this past weekend which meant Collier and I were solo.  Friday we headed to Aldridge Garden's for the morning to just enjoy the coolness and plus I needed a good excuse to take some pictures of just him...since I haven't done that very much lately [partly because I can't seem to get him to sit still long enough].  Not that I thought that he would at the gardens but I thought it would be a good place to at least try.  He did pretty good and was very patient with me snapping so many.

It was fun to see him have some free space and our time one on one was very fun.  He kept waving to everyone that would walk by us.  Such a sweet little man.  And then we came upon these ducks and we clearly didn't follow the directions of 'stay on the path' as he headed straight to the ducks to join in their fun.  I was that mom who just let him and stood back and took pictures.  I did have to threaten a spanking as he tried to kick one of the chicks...that is a big NO NO! and then we made our way to the tortoise and the hare!

Saturday we headed to the airport to pick up Mom [she was gone all last week to celebrate my Grandfather's birthday!].  We decided to make it a real airport experience.  We arrived about an hour before mom was to land and went in for Collier to really see the environment of the airport [we are traveling in a few weeks to tampa to visit my sweet cousins].  I wanted him to at least see the process of dropping off our bags and going through security so that when it was his turn he would at least be somewhat familiar.   It was good and fun and he seemed so comfortable. I just pray he'll be that same way on the day that we travel.  Traveling down to Tampa, it will just be CH and I as Justin will already be down there!  I am a little nervous to be doing it alone on the first round but he is so stink'n excited about going on a ride in the airplane that I think that he'll be fine.  Like I said...I'm just praying!

I also worked on a few projects this weekend which involved a lot of painting.  I did a little reorganization of a wall in our kitchen and when it is all done, I'll share the details.  I am also working on a big boy bed - painting it and will be sharing those details soon too!  But all of this projecting meant we made a few trips to HomeDepot and Lowes.  Here is Collier's reward for being so good while mommy shopped:

When we left church yesterday, he told me he wanted to go and ride the taktors!  Gosh he just loves those things...such a boy.  

It was a good  and busy weekend, but we are so glad to have Justin back. It is just better and more fun when Daddy is around.  Plus, last week we ended up back at the doctor with another ear infection!  Thankfully he has done rather well this round...just have a bit of a runny nose and cough that has finally gone away after a week! I think that his back teeth are still pushing through as he keeps his hands stuffed in the back of his mouth.  

Socialization

I feel that we are now into a good routine and schedule.  We have now been in school for 2 months along with bible study (Monday nights) plus Church nursery time.  At each drop off and pick up there are tears from time to time (still) and certainly a sense of him holding back in 'wanting' to go and participate.  Since he has not been in nursery or day care up to this point, it has always been a concern of mine of if he is getting the social interaction that he needs.  So, now that we are involved in social settings, is he participating and involving himself in the activities or is he pulling himself away. I keep asking all of his teachers and they keep telling me how sweet that he is and that he is doing fine.  I have no doubt that he is fine or even a good kid, but I just don't feel that he is engaging in activity and the whole experience.

When Mom picked CH up this week his teacher said that he had a few times that he cried for me or Nammie and he sat in her lap quiet for a little while.  She said he is just seemed sad.  Mom asked if he was interacting and the teacher said that he is only to a point.  He doesn't really play with everyone else on the play ground but will play fine by himself.  RED FLAG, RED FLAG, RED FLAG....also translates into BREAKS MY HEART!  She also told mom that he is really sweet and does anything that is asked of him, very willing to do but doesn't really engage.

It is just a huge prayer for me right now.  He does tend to be a bit shy when we are around others that he isn't really familiar with.  I am hoping that this is just a stage that he will out grow.  But am also sad that he isn't really playing and interacting with others.  At home and with friends who he is familiar with he is really great and social.  He certainly doesn't lack confidence in these area's while at home but in the unfamiliar he does seem less secure and confident.  The teacher does feel that it is just going to take time and that he will catch up and adjust.  My MIL also reminded me that he hasn't really ever gone through a supper shy and tentative stage where he didn't like strangers and so maybe this is just that time.  I am afraid he is missing out on the fun he could be having by holding himself back.  But I am also not sure how to help him through this and so we are praying him through it.  I know that God does know and that God can give him the tools that he needs in order to cope, adjust and have confidence.

In my memory verse this month I am reminded that God is familiar with all of our ways!  Pslam 139:1-3 'You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down.  You are familiar with all of  my ways'   It is God who knows what is going on in that little heart and mind of his and only God can truly know how to meet those needs.  As I am typing this I am realizing that my prayer needs to be that God will reveal to us (Justin, Mom, his teachers and caregiver's and me) what we need to do to encourage and help him through this phase! I would appreciate your prayers with us during this time. More than anything it is just hard as his Momma to see him not wanting to go and do the things that I know have the potential to be a lot of fun!

On the belly baby front; I have felt movement over the past week.  It is just about once a day but I just know that he/she is doing all kind of activity.  According to babycenter it is about the size of an avacado and will double his [I naturally call it a he because that is all that I know up to this point and it is what rolls of my tongue/fingers] weight in the next few weeks.  I go back to the doctor tomorrow and will then know when the big appointment to find out what we are having will be!