Lots to Discuss

I have become one of those people who lives by a list. I used to get by with a planner, but now I just use my planner for appointments/deadlines/showers/etc. My list gets me through the day. So, in random order, here are some things I wanted to mention on the blog:

1. We bought our first REAL Christmas tree this year, and I love it. I might change my mind after the take down process, but for now, I think it's super fun. I can't believe I'd never had a real tree. I've also never been to Disney World, but that's a story for another day.

2. Since I'm very impatient and don't appreciate cliff-hangers, I will give you the short story about Disney World. We took a family vote: Disney World or build a pool in the back yard. It was 3-1. My mom voted Disney World, because she knew she'd be the pool woman. She was correct, and I expect my first real Disney experience will be with Mike and Trent in a few years.

3. My husband has started an e-mail debate team. I went to a baby shower one night, and I had 22 emails when I got home. I almost woke him up from his sound sleep when I saw that he'd picked 15-20 random friends and family members and sent an email with our first topic. We've discussed a few things over the past month, and I got in trouble for picking a topic a couple of weeks ago. Apparently Mike, "Big Daddy Slim AKA President" is the only one who can suggest topics.

4. Dry Shampoo is awesome! It's 10000 times better than baby powder. My favorite brand is Batiste, and I buy it at Ulta.

5. Trent is supposed to be Boy Jesus in our church's Christmas play tomorrow. The good news is that he does not have a speaking part. The bad news is that he's had a fever all day today.

6. If you have an iphone and a toddler, download the Toddler Teasers apps. They are educational, and I know lots of toddlers {including my own} who love them.

7. My friend, Margaret, gave me these Time Out signs. They make me laugh, and I will probably have to use them soon.

8. This package came today. It's one of my Christmas presents from Mike. He thought the "Wife of the Year" title would be funny, and it was even funnier since they gave the title to John Reed. Mike claims he didn't have to review the name:)


9. Do you think the mittens/hat approach could work when it's time to quit sucking his thumb and twirling his hair?


10. I found this picture on my phone. I took it at JoAnn's a few months ago. It's his "kiss" face, and don't worry- we didn't buy the ears.

If you are still reading, thanks for sticking with me. By including all of these things on one post, I was able to cross all things Blog off my list:)

Mother of the Year

I figured it could happen one day, and I'm relieved that it took almost 23 months.

I locked Trent in the car last week. Of course I did it on the coldest, rainiest day of the year. I picked him up from Miss Kim's house and ran to the car, holding my 30 pound boy:) Since it was pouring, I put him in the car seat and threw my keys on the seat. I intended to go around, get in the car, and turn around and buckle him in once I was out of the rain. {Side note: I have never done this before. I always buckle him as soon as I put him in the seat.} As you have probably guessed by now, the driver's door was locked when I ran around to open it, as were all of the other doors.

I think I felt more shock than panic as I ran back to Miss Kim's door and told her the situation. She went outside to watch Trent while I used her phone to call Mike, who told me to call the police. While I was talking to the 911 lady, Miss Kim remembered that her neighbor is a policeman. Thankfully, he was home. He came out with his bag of tools and called for back-up, since he didn't have the tool he needed to open the door.

As the sweet policeman was trying to break in my car, Trent climbed into the front seat. {He did not ever realize anything was wrong. He thought it was hilarious that Miss Kim and I were waving to him from outside the car.} As he was playing with the steering wheel, I got one of my better ideas. I told him to press the buttons on the door. Of course he smiled and started pressing away. The policeman could see that he was pressing the "lock" button and told me to tell him to press the button next to it. As soon as I said, "Buddy, can you press the button next to that one?" he pressed the button, unlocking the doors. I quickly opened the door, and my sweet boy smiled and said "Mama," as if it had all been a fun game. Don't you want to nominate me for Mother of the Year 2010? I didn't think so.

These pictures don't have anything to do with the car incident. They were taken last weekend in Tuscaloosa- Trent's first trip to T-town! He smiled and laughed every time we said "Tuscaloosa." Maybe by the time he is four years old, he will be able to say it! We had a great time, and I think Trent's favorite part was meeting his buddy Owen and driving his car:)

Have a great weekend!

Santa is not a character

I think I've mentioned it before on the blog, but Trent loves characters! We find this strange, since he does not like strangers; but, it works out great during Halloween or when Mickey Mouse is at the mexican restaurant.

I guess I've always considered Santa a character. Poor Trent must have also thought he was a character. He was very excited to see him tonight and actually ran up to him when it was his turn. However, when Santa reached for him and said, "Hey little guy, come tell me what you want for Christmas," Trent decided Santa was a stranger instead of a character. It didn't go very well.



Maybe next year we should tell Santa not to talk. Seriously, how can you not like Santa but love this guy?




This was last week, {yes, we went back} and I think Trent liked him even more this time.

Thankful

We thank God for so many things, but this Thanksgiving we're especially thankful for...

Wagons.





Especially wagons that we can steer while riding.

I think this kind of wagon only exists at Mimi and Papa's house. Notice he's already signing "more."


He held on tighter while I was driving.

We're also thankful for swings.



And sweet cousins to push us in swings.

We're thankful for trees and their leaves.


And we're thankful that Mimi {Mike's mom} saved some self-portraits Mike drew years ago. We're also thankful for laughter:)


We're especially thankful for our families, who we enjoyed spending time with this week. They are truly blessings that we don't need to take for granted, and we are thankful that they live relatively close to us.





Last but certainly not least, I'm especially thankful for this guy, even when I'm in his shadow:)


Thank you God for all of our blessings!

Zulily

If you haven't heard about Zulily, you might want to add it to your list of sites for Christmas shopping. I've ordered pajamas, hats and most recently some Castles and Crowns pants for Trent. They had C&C brown corduroy pants for $14.99! They have different deals every day, and most are 40-60% off the retail price. Right now they have Crocs up to 65% off.

Check it out here. You can register for free, and if you buy anything, I get referral credit. So, if you like it, pass it along so you can get credit too!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be back soon with a Thanksgiving post:)

Halloween, Applique and Football

Meet Mr. Giraffe. He loved his costume, and I ended up having to hide it so he wouldn't ruin it before Halloween.


I wish I could take credit for this costume, but it came from our friend, Jackson, who grew out of it before he got to wear it. Thanks again Mindy and Jackson:)


Here is the costume I bought him. He liked it too. I found it for $3 at a consignment sale, so it's okay that it was almost too small for him.


He wore it as we handed out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.

In other news, November is flying by around here.


We've been spending lots of time outside.


We voted.


We celebrated Daddy G's birthday!


I spent some time with the embroidery machine.


We're watching lots of football on Saturdays.


And poor Bailey is being tortured having fun with her little brother.

I spent most of Trent's nap yesterday making Christmas lists, and now it's time to start shopping! I'm not a black Friday kind of gal, so I am hoping to get a lot done in the next couple of weeks. I need to read some Favorite Things posts to get some ideas!

Jack O Lantern Lane

My favorite Halloween tradition {can it be a tradition after two years?} is going to Jack O Lantern Lane with my family.


Yes, that would be my child, not looking at the camera.


He loved the hayride.


This is my favorite picture from the day.


I'm not sure why I look so short. I'll go with Tracy's better posing skills:)


Trent LOVED feeding the goat. He belly-laughed the whole time.


Picking out up our pumpkin


This was our best opportunity for a family picture, since he loved driving the tractor.


We took advantage of his compliance and took a big family photo.


This is a picture from last year. Look how much difference a year makes...

Thank you Jack O Lantern Lane!!