Trick or Treat

Austin got some really cool vampire teeth-- I think he likes these more than the candy



Our Halloween Treat-- Kerri came home for the weekend-- Jackson became quite attached to the strings on her hoodie-- he slobbered them up really good before she and Jonathan left the party.




Jackson (excuse me Yoda) and Aunt Leisa hung out a lot during the party




Here is Austin with some of the girls from school



Halloween night we spent the evening with Nancy and Larry Miles. "Aunt" Nancy has thrown a big Halloween bash for the last several years and it is always the place to be. We all gather at the house for some yummy food, delicious soups and yummy treats. After a quick bite, all of the kids head out into the neighborhood and do a little trick or treating. After all of the candy has been found we always go visit Aunt Leisa's sister and brother-in-law and their turtle Tess... this is just about as much of a Halloween tradition for us as costumes and trick or treating. Jackson hung in with the best of them this year. He kept his little Yoda ears on all night long and only took them off when he was having his bottle before taking a quick little nap. We all had a wonderful evening making memories with family and friends.

More Tate Farms

Here are a few more pics from Tate Farm. It was suppose to be a nice cool fall day, but it turned off HOT!! We were all in jeans and were miserable. Jackson rode through the Hay Ride with a cloth diaper on his head so he didn't wind up looking like a red pumpkin.

Tate Farms

I have been meaning to post these pictures for a while. During Nana's last visit we all went and spent the afternoon at Tate Farms. Jackson didn't really care about anything but Austin had fun taking Nana through the Hay Maze. He also tried his hand at Pumpkin Chunkin' and played around the farm. We took a hay ride and picked the boys a pumpkin. If you are looking for something fun to do, Tate Farms is it! There is something for children of all ages! It is a Fall tradition that we are looking forward to continuing on for Jackson.

Here He Comes......And There He Goes

Scott surprised Austin on Saturday with a go cart!! They have been talking about it for about a year now but Scott did not want to fork out the money for a new one so he put the word out that he was looking for one. Uncle Jeff has a friend that was going to sell one that was their son's, so we went to check it out. Austin did not know until we got there and casually said when we drove up "Hey...they have a go kart, cool." Scott asked him if he wanted to drive it and Austin hopped on! He didn't get to drive very much because of their two BIG dogs that Austin was petrified of. One dog would chase him and bite the front tire and then the other one would run up and try to bite the first dog! Austin would just stop and look at them, he didn't know what to do. So Scott asked him if he would like to take it home with him and he said "Yes" with a BIG smile on his face. We headed on over to Mamma and Papa's house and let him loose. He had a BLAST! He rode around the back yard and made him a little track and rode around it again and again. Scott even got the 4 wheeler out for a while but then Austin thought he wanted to race so Scott parked it and made him slow it down a little. He had a ball all afternoon!!

Our Little Smarty Pants

Our little Einstein hard at work


This time I am talking brains not mouth! Today Austin got into the car with a piece of paper in his hand and a cheesy grin. It was report card day! I asked if he had opened it yet and he said "no" so I told him to hand it over. He declined and said he would like to look at it first. So he did, as he began reading off the grades I held my breath...there were a couple of subjects that were borderline at our last progress report... but in the end we had all A's! One nine weeks down-- three more to go. He asked if I thought his report card deserved an award. I said that might be considered. He immediately asked if we could go to Sonic for a milkshake. I figured that would work! So off we were for milkshakes to reward good grades. His name will be in the paper in the next few days. Small towns put everything in the paper...better not do anything you would be ashamed of around here!!

Austin Lost A Tooth!!

OK... The usual night time routine had begun... Mom tucks Austin in....calls Dad until he comes in ....remembers to fill up his water cup (which he does not ever drink out of but he feels the need to refill it every night)...then comes up with some other reason to call us back in there and then he asks for one of us to lay down with him for a little while, just five minutes, four, three... just one minute? So, he has finally settled in for the night and I went to my computer and Scott went to his to get some work done....then out of the dark he comes running into the living room in a voice on the verge of slight hysteria saying "I lost my tooth, I lost my TOOTH" So we ran to the bathroom and washed out his mouth for a while and then he was back off to bed...dreaming of how much he thought the tooth fairy might bring! I am sure he is planning what he is going to spend it on as well!
We didn't even know he had a loose tooth... he lost the one right next to it a while back and it is just now starting to come back in. Until they come in he has one great big hole in his mouth!

He's a Big One!!!

Today we saw Dr. Parmer and weighed in at 20 lbs. 8 oz. -- and he is 27 and 3/4 inches long. Everything looked good and he got all of his shots... we even got the first round of our Flu shot. Dr. Parmer said he is back on the charts now-- we were off the charts-- but he is in the 97th percentile in weght and 95th in height. He and Austin will go back in a month to get the final shot! ouch!! But he is sleeping and Austin is playing downstairs. That is all of the excitement for today!!

Six Months Old

Can you believe it-- it just seems like yesterday that we were getting his room ready and counting down the days until he arrived. Now we can't imagine what we did without him. Austin says daily how happy he is to have a little brother. Jackson thinks that Austin is pretty neat too-- he will always laugh for Austin.

Jackson goes to see Dr. Parmer on Wednesday for his six month check up-- we'll post our stats--come back and check us out!

Fall Break Fun

Austin got a little more in the Halloween spirit today by decorating his Haunted Mansion!!! We have had fun the last few years doing a Gingerbread House at Christmas so when I found this one for Halloween at the local Wal Mart I just had to put it in my cart. Since we are on Fall Break this week Austin thought it would be a good project for today. Jackson sat in his exersaucer while we were hard at work. He just sat there and said "Blllll Bllllah" the entire time! I highly recommend picking one up- they are lots of fun!! Happy Halloween!

Too Cute to Spook

May the Force be with us on Halloween. Are they not the cutest! The boys tried on their Halloween costumes and let me take a quick snap shot. Austin is ready for Halloween. He keeps checking the calendar to see how many more days until time to trick or treat. He is going to start off the Halloween season tomorrow night when he and Scott head off to Camp Comer for "Cub Haunted" with all of his cub scout friends. There are several of the boys in his class that are going and he can't wait. He and Scott always have a good time at this campout. Jackson and I won't spend the evening alone though, we are going to meet Joy and Michele for dinner-Yum!! and then we'll watch for the happy campers to return early Saturday afternoon. Then we are going to enjoy FALL BREAK!!! I am so excited to not have to wake up early for a little while. Austin is ready for a break and this meand we are just a little closer to Christmas.... better get shopping!

Too Little Time

Do you ever get the feeling that there are just not enough hours in the day? Well that is how I have felt the last two weeks. Mom is here visiting... she came down all by herself!! It has been great to have her here but time just seems to fly by. We were talking today that we have been running in six different directions every day but have not gotten a thing done. No grand shopping trips, no marathon cleaning! Just spending time with the boys! Jackson just smiles all of the time at Nana and she has tried her best to get him to say NANA! but no luck!! We all went to Tate Farms last Saturday and I'll have some pictures to post soon. Like I said-- not enough time. Austin and Scott are heading to Camp Comer on Friday for Cub Haunted. Austin can't wait... not only does he think this is the most fun campout that they go on but it kicks off the beginning of Fall Break!! Sleeping late-- Can't wait!!! Jackson and I will enjoy that! Now if we can only get Austin to cooperate-- one of these days he is going to learn how wonderful it is to sleep until 10-- Jackson-- now he understands!! Check back soon and we'll have some pictures