More Firsts

So I know all of you (3) readers are expecting a Halloween post, but sometimes my OCD gets the best of me. The blog posts just have to be in order. Plus, I have hundreds of pictures to go through from today, so look for some cute pics of our little pirate and parrot soon!

For now, I have a first for both of them.

Collin wrote his first story a few days ago! He is doing such a great job at sounding out and spelling words. The other night, he was reading Green Eggs and Ham (with just a tiny bit of help)! I think you should be able to make out most of his story. Except for maybe the "DND" in the middle of the page.The "DND" just might be my favorite part of the whole story. It's "The End" or "D End" as I have now realized I say it when I read to him. :)

Since the pediatrician or the AAP or whoever now recommends you keep your toddler rear facing in a carseat until the age of 2, we just now switched Katelyn to forward facing this weekend! Her poor little legs just couldn't take it anymore being all scrunched up against the seat. I tried, but at least it's her birthday month as of tomorrow! Cannot believe THAT by the way!I think she likes it! Here's to some more pleasant car rides with her!

Random catch up and Vacation!

In my last post, I mentioned we had been to our first fall festival, but I failed to mention that the kids went on their first pony ride! When Collin saw the ponies, he immediately knew he wanted to go. I wasn't going to let Katelyn at first. I figured it would be a waste of money because she would just scream and cry. Then I remembered she is fearless and gave it a shot. She didn't even hesitate!
Collin and Katelyn have developed quite the sibling rivalry, so pictures like this make me smile more than ever lately. (I swear, if I hear the word "mine" one more time...and Kate is so much worse about it than Collin! She will just go grab one of his toys, give him a sly grin, yell "mine", and take off running.)This year, for our anniversary (7 years!), we went to Las Vegas. No surprise there, but this time it was all for pleasure, no business! (I'm lucky enough to get to tag along every January for the Sports Licensing and Tailgate show). Katelyn didn't understand, but she definitely thought she was going!
While that picture might make you feel sad for her, I assure you they had a blast with Nanna, Gumpy, Aunt Kandace, Mimi, Auntie Joy, and Virgil. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family who always look forward to getting to spend time with the kids. It's so nice to be able to get away so that we can have "grown up" vacations. I'm a better mommy when I come home that's for sure. So thanks everyone! And special thanks to Auntie Joy for always sharing pictures with me while we're gone. So here are a few pics of only a fraction of all the fun they had! (Not pictured included plenty of backyard fun at Nanna's, more eating out than we do in a month around here, a football game, fishing, and movie night with Auntie Joy and Virgil).

Chuck-E-Cheese!
Katelyn playing skee-ball :)Dairy Queen!
So I'm awful about taking pictures if I don't have my good camera. I managed to get a few of where we stayed:
and some of Stevie Nicks (special thanks to Mike who took me to see her when we could have seen Jimmy Buffett the same night). She was great!We also saw the Blue Man Group (which I really don't recommend...should have done Phantom or Jersey Boys). I was literally falling asleep at one point. I really wasn't ever able to switch to the time zone for some reason so probably not only because of the show :)

Since we go to Vegas every year, you would think we would be bored, but there is always something new to do. We are already planning things for January that we didn't get around to doing this trip.

While we were gone, Katelyn had her second ear infection since having her tubes placed last December. Oddly enough, the first was in January when we were in Vegas! So I had never actually experienced what it's like for her to have an infection with the tubes. This one is still going on. Oh. My. Grossness.

The one positive is that I discovered that I can put her hair in full blown pig tails (not the tiny ones with her bangs I was making before). I had to get her hair away from those ears. I wanted to take some cute pictures of her little ringlets, but that darn ear drainage showed up in every one of them! I'm not a huge fan of black and white, but I edited one of them and it turned out pretty cute!
How long are ear infections with tubes supposed to last anyway?? We've been on drops for over 7 days! Hoping to make it without yet another trip to the pediatrician...

It's Fall Y'all

Whew, did September fly by or what?? The kids have adjusted VERY well to their new school and look forward to going every day. Collin has especially come out of his shell and walks around that school like he owns the place. Not to mention, he hangs out the car window at carpool saying hi and goodbye to his favorite teachers every day. I've gotten great reports about how he is so helpful and "complimentary" to his friends. He's really growing up. On top of all that, he learned to tie his shoes! I showed him once and he had it down in about 10 minutes. Katelyn is doing great as well. So far her favorites are the bubbles, painting, and dancing during music time. She's doing some growing up herself too. She's singing songs (favorite by far is Wheels on the Bus) and having tiny little conversations with me (mostly about what she did at school to which she always responds with "play", "bubbles", or she might even start singing a little tune).

I don't know about you, but we are so thankful that fall is here. So many great things to look forward to. We've already been to a fall festival and are looking forward to pumpkin patches, hayrides, costumes, fall parties at school, and the list could go on and on. Mostly, we've been enjoying being able to play OUTSIDE again!

Collin taking Katelyn to see the Halloween decorations.

Explain to me again why there are pumpkins in our yard?

Mom, enough with the camera.

Katelyn likes to take her shoes OFF to play outside.

Happy Fall!