Looking back on October

There were just so many things going on in October and so many really fun things that I wanted to take a look back! I literally can not believe that Thanksgiving is this month and Christmas is next month! I don't feel like we should be going shopping for a Christmas Tree to chop down, just yet! Looking back October was so full of events! And I mean jam packed. Here are a few I didn't get a chance to blog on as I think back:

Pajama party with Cecilia (a pizza baking pajama party at that! Cecilia came over for a night of baking their very own mini pizzas, chocolate cookies, and a nice bubble bath! Here the kids are patiently waiting right beside the oven for their cookies to be done. I love pajamas on kids-always so cute.


Mommy and Daddy date night-one of very few I might add, so this one HAS to go down in the record books! Seth and I were lucky enough to catch one of our long time favorite musicians here in Little Rock at the Rev Room, the one and only Mr. Bob Schneider! Man going out just isn't what it used to be is it!! It takes me a couple of red bull drinks just to stay up! But the music was awesome and we staid right on the front row where we always do. Hehe. We had so much fun.


Major vehicle obsessions-both on and off road vehicles at that! Elem continues his love for 4 wheelers, motorcycles, scooters, trucks, etc. and tends to be on at least one of the ones in this picture every few minutes or so. Nice to now that while these riding toys are nicely lined up for some kind of experiment here in the kitchen at the current moment, usually they are nicely spread about my living room. I don't think I will ever have my nice clean house back. Ahhh one day, one day.


Plenty of pumpkin action! Carving was so much fun! Elem was more than stoked about his butter knife.


The end result, one happy/classic pumpkin that took like an hour! And one kitty cat pumpkin that Elem Zane just HAD to have, that as you can see in the pic was not carved just yet! But yes it did get carved and took more time than I care to document. Seeing his face when I dropped the candle in...made it all worth the long amount of time spent to get that little kitty face looking good.


Elem also enjoyed lots of pumpkin painting both at home and at school. I believe he painted a total of 5 pumpkins but I am not even sure if that was all of them! Painting pumpkins caused for some real focus and creativity. Elem has always used his tongue or wiggled it or stuck it out when he is seriously trying to concentrate on something and he doesnt even realize that he is doing it! I was so pumped to catch him in the act, just working away on his little pumpkin to set outside for all the trick or treaters.


Wagon rides at the pumpkin patch were one of our toddler favorite activities!


As were the pig races, the petting zoo, hay ride, hay stack play area, and pumpkins galore! The pumpkin patch was more fun for all of us than I had anticipated. We headed to Molly's and it was so much more than just a big field of pumpkins. We will totally be hitting that place up again next year.


And last but not least, lots and lots of dressing up. :) Dress up has slowly but surely entered its way into our small little household. And I must say it always brings a smile to my face! From batman costumes, to mine or seth's shoes, to baseball hats, or purses, or back packs, etc! There is just never a such thing as too much dress up. Elem is really coming into his own and is starting to use his imagination more and more. Its so much fun to see him having fun in his own little world, and I hope I can capture just a few pieces of it along the way.


Wow so yes October is gone and we are already on our way through November! My little boy officially turns 2 and 1/2 on the 7th and we are having a family photo shoot on that very day to capture this very special time in our lives! I cant believe that my once chunky and waddling little baby is not about to be...what I guess I should call ....a preschooler (GULP). I think I need a good cuddle to get me back in the right mind frame! No tears, no tears, no tears.

Thought of the day

Not much time to blog lately but I plan on making it a monumental weekend and totally racking up on the documenting! For now, a little bit of what has been monopolizing my days. Mostly just sweetness and messiness all rolled into one.

I wanted to leave you with the following conversation:

Elem: I wanna lay on your bed mommy

Mommy: Okay comon up here, you can lay with me

Elem: Owww..you hurtin me

Mommy: No I'm not, what is hurting you?

Elem: YOU are. Your ow-ie things are hurtin me (pointing to mommy's legs)

Mommy: hahahahahahaha

Elem: You ARE. Get those ow-ie things off of your legs

Mommy: hahahaha. okay I will shave my legs tomorrow and those ow-ie things will be gone

NEXT DAY....

(ELem rubbing my legs)
Elem: mommy did you get those ow-ie things off your legs so they wont hurt me no more?

Mommy: Yes Elem, I shaved my legs. They feel better?

Elem: Yep! They not hurtin me no more!



Ahhh. Those are the conversations that I seem to live for these days. Just when you are thankful that your husband will let you get by with not shavin' for a day or 2, your little boy needs to step right up and make it known, that it is so not okay with him. Hehe. So sweet. I love the innocence and the sheer interest in really trying to understand something that is just a little bit over their head and not really in the near future of something we have planned to explain. But I guess that is when the best mini lessons are taught. When you least expect it, they are soaking up every single little bit of info we are pumping into them. At least now my child knows that I shave my legs. He is just that much smarter! ha!

Trick or Treat

Halloween seemed to sneak right up on me just like it does every single year! I always have good intentions of getting Elem such a fabulous costume, but it seems that I am always scrambling until the very last minute. However, I couldn't have been happier with Elem's costume this year, and more importantly what a fun time we all had trick or treating! I tried putting the little Halloween bug in Elem's ear about 2 weeks before Halloween. And he didn't really understand what it was all about, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he got the picture. I began by asking him what he wanted to dress up as for the big event. Of course, he had no idea and just kind of looked at me. But strangely enough, the very day I started asking him about his costume, he started dressing up with some of the boys at school in the power ranger outfits. Elem has never been one to wear a mask, or costume, and I was very hopeful for a change of heart for the big night of trick or treating. Although I do catch him with this fabulous little crocheted baby blue hat with a flower on the side, and this black purse that he claims as his to "go to walmart" with his friends at school. haha. So deep down I knew there was a possibility of getting something on him, I just had to pump it up and catch him at the right moment. So once I saw him dressing up as the power ranger, I tried to talk it up, and make sure he knew how cool dressing up was! Before I knew it, he was telling me that he wanted to be a "pirate pig" for Halloween. Uhm, what??? Well I can thank Dora for that little idea. He has recently been watching this DVD in the car where Dora and Diego are on a mission to get their pirate costumes back from the "pirate pigs". Hehe. So a pirate pig seemed to be the ONLY thing he wanted to be. I mean nothing else. I thought....baseball player-NO. I thought football player-NO. I thought an animal, dragon or monkey or something-NO. Pirate pig, pirate pig-which meant super large hat, a sword, and an eye patch needed to be in the works. Meanwhile, I was trying to get 40 costumes donated for the kids at the shelter, and Elem's pirate pig seemed to slip to the backburner. I never mean for that to happen, but it always does! I am so obsessed trying to make everyone at the shelter happy, that I have to scramble when it comes to my own family. Never the less, and I had one pirate pig to create and so we did! Luckily, once the pirate pieces started to come together, the actual pig part kind of faded into the background! And thank goodness for that! I was willing to get a razorback nose and slap it on his face if I had to, but so did not want to do that. Thank you Elem for your cooperation and for being THE most adorable pirate pig in the whole wide universe. Da, da, da, daaaaaa-
ELem the pirate pig...eye patch and all-enjoying our freshly carved pumpkins. :)

The eye patch didn't really make it past the first house. But he was still as cute as could be. I love the massive pirate hat, I think it totally made his little costume. ha!


Off you go little man...reach for that "ring bell" as he likes to call them.


"Uhm..just a minute people. I need to take care of the popcorn ball before we take another step towards the next house. "


All set and ready to go.


We barely hit up the first few houses and rounded the corner before we ran into-who else....Cecilia the pumpkin fairy! The good thing about living about 10 houses away from your family-there is always a playmate ready to hang out! Can anyone tell they are excited to see each other?


Here you can see Elem doing his normal thing-smooozing Cecilia. I can only imagine what he is telling her here. He is probably telling her that they are going to knock on the door and then when the person comes with the candy to let him pick first. haha! Neh he loves his sissy and would do anything for her, most of the time. :)


Daddy was a big help, and took Elem to the door while I handled the camera. I tend to get a little finger happy when it comes to snapping shots of Elem, but I just cant help it. I seem to think every single thing needs to be snapped! It is my guilty pleasure, so what!


Cecilia, me, and Elem. I believe this was the last house of the night that we hit up. 15 houses or so was enough for Elem, he didnt feel the need to be greedy!


We had such a blast! Nothing to big or flashy, just a good ole night of trick or treating in the neighborhood and then back to our house to pass out candy to the rest of the kids that came by. Elem was so polite and adorable when he said trick or treat at each and every door he came to. He even said thank you to every single house, with a little encouragement from me and Seth, and had the most genuine look each time a new face would come to the door with a bowl full of candy! Such a fun holiday to share with a toddler. Looking forward to the even bigger holidays we have coming up! It is going to be so much fun, I cant hardly stand it. Oh and let me end on one last note about my other side of my family. Yes, Cecilia was a sweet little pumpkin fairy, and Elem pulled off the pirate pig look, but I cant mention this Halloween without including my sweet little red headed nephew-Wyatt. My sis has the cutest, red headed, pale skinned, little 18 month old boy, and they turned him into none other than-
Yes you guessed it-CHUCKY!

Better luck next year Wyatt, maybe you can choose what you get to be when you can talk a little better. I think your daddy got the upper hand this year! But you are THE cutest chucky I have ever seen and I wish I could have been there to see you say trick or treat when I answered my door. :) Love you!

We THINK PINK

Yes, all of us THINK PINK around here-including our boys!


Especially during the month of October, but mostly just because we love love love my mom (memaw to Elem) and are so proud of the battle she has won against breast cancer, and for all the women out there who have been touched some way by this horrible cancer. I am happy to report that it has officially been 3 years, well a little over 3 years, since my mom won her battled against breast cancer, and we make it a priority to do the Race for the Cure here in Little Rock each and every October. I have been doing the race for many years now, but it means so much more to actually walk for someone close to you, and "see" the difference you and all the others who are there are making, just by showing up, walking, and supporting the cause. It is truly an amazing event to be a part of and we wouldn't miss it for the world. I know many of you also participate in your cities, and I just want to say on behalf of my mom, THANK YOU! For those of you who run it, I envy you, because I so wish I could get there, hehe-Becky-but I am just as happy to walk with my mom. And all her many supporters. My mom arrived Friday night before the race and had some super sweet moments will Elem Zane. Every time he hears Memaw is coming, he gets excited, and immediately starts asking, "where", "where is she". And I mean does not usually stop until he sees her getting out of the car. It is so cute.
Catching a few stories before heading to bed to get ready for the big day...uhm did I mention how many stories Elem likes to read every single night??? Memaw had no idea what was in store. Typical night, bout 15 books or more. I think Memaw got off easy. :)


We made it downtown around 7:40am, after scooping up my cousin Jeff who drove from Memphis to walk with us in support of my mom! We are so thankful he got to join us for this wonderful day. The more the merrier. Seth's mom and sis, known around here as Aunt Ali and Grammy, met up with us as well-even battling a little illness, they made it just to show their support and sport their pink. Again, just so thankful and happy to have family around in support and to do this together. We signed up for the Family Fun Walk so Jeff and Seth could join us, and Elem :) After listening to a little music and battling the masses, we snapped a quick pic and headed off to join in with the tens of thousands already walking. Sadly Jeff seemed to get the boot on many of our pictures. hehe. Sorry Jeff, we still love you!
Me, Mom, Elem, Seth, Grammy, and Ali


I try to go all out, and make Elem as PINK of a supporter for his Memaw as I can, and still keeping him a noticeable boy from afar! Here he is sporting his "PINKED" out stroller with countless pink ribbons, and his "I walk for my memaw" shirt. True supporter since 6 months. Lets get to walkin'


The weather was beautiful, ending out a rainy couple of days, so it made the day even that much better. Our crown seemed to flow smoothly and there were no melt downs by the toddler. :) Made for an even better Race Day. We love you Mom, and are so thankful you won your fight against this disease. Thanks for letting us walk for you. And we look forward to many more years of supporting this cause until a cure is found. Hopefully, we can add to our little "memaw" group as the years come. :) Here we are heading round one of the last blocks downtown (otherwise known as the turn where the firemen are on their firetruck, stripping down and dancing to music.). Always a favorite of the ladies. I love this pic! Look at all that pink, too.


At the end of the race, there is a umbrella of balloons with people lined up on the outside, for survivors to run through and feel the love! Here is our little hero herself, enjoying her moment of triumph. Too cute. Go mom go!


And last but not least, Jeff and my mom. Thanks again for coming all the way down and for showing your support by walking and wearing pink, etc. We hope to see you here each and every year. I don't know why the girl at the end of the race cut you out of the family pic, but she did, so I am giving you your own little pic with mom in the blog! :)


What a great day! What a special day! We love you mom, and will always THINK PINK for you!

"I ride the 4 wooter, mommy"

Here is the video from the fair where Elem and Cecilia rode the "4 wooter" (4 wheeler)! Elem LOVES 4 wheelers so this little ride was right up his alley. At the beginning he is just too cute waving at the camera and all the onlookers, which consisted of myself, seth, ali, dustin, and grammy and poppa. So there were plenty of people looking for a little wave. And then if you watch closely right at the very beginning of the video he is putting a little bit of gas in the 4 wheeler hehe :) and telling us thats what he is doing. Cecilia's face is priceless too! Uhm, and check out how fast this little ride is going! geez for such little people....I know I am going to have my work cut out for me when he gets a little bigger and is wanting to go on the crazy upside down and super fast rides. Guess I need to be thankful this one just goes in a small circle, round....and round.....and round..... again.

Fair frenzy!

October = S-T-A-T-E F-A-I-R T-I-M-E !!!!



Every October, the State Fair comes rolling through Little Rock, and is one of those "must do" activities for just about everybody. And that everybody totally includes us. I love the atmosphere: throwing on some jeans and a jacket, all the lights and fun sounds, animals in the barns, the "typical" Ferris Wheel standing high above all the other rides, and last but not least-FAIR FOOD! Whoo hoo. Who doesn't love a super large $5 pronto pup?? Comon' now? This was Elem's 3rd year to go to the fair, yes we took him when he was just 5 months old-not really sure why, but it sounded good at the time, and this turned out to be such a great age to go to the fair. From the minute we entered the gate, he was mesmerized by all the lights and all the people. I kept looking over at him to see his reactions and they were so genuine and sweet, I just couldn't get enough of it. Eyes wide open and cheeks flushed, with a huge smile, pretty much sums up his overall demeanor of the day. It made it worth every single $3.00 we spent on rides, hehe and the overly priced duck game that was so cute to watch it could make someone sick. You know the one where all the ducks are floating in the baby pool of water, each with a number on the bottom, and every number is a winner???? If you were 2 years old, I tell you, when the person behind the duck game tells you "you won, you get to pick any prize you want" it must be one of the best feelings in the world. :)

All bundled up and ready to go. First stop? A massive monster truck that even seemed a little extreme for me? Why anyone would enjoy driving one of these around will never make sense to me. But the overly large tires, do make for one great photo op. :)


With the state fair comes many new and exciting opportunities for someone so little. Here we have Elem's first attempt milking a cow. Hmm. Plastic cow, with rubber utters, that actually spits out milk, if you "milk" them just right. Very strange, but fun at the same time. We couldn't miss out on this thing.


So much to do, so much to see, barely even time for a quick pic with the Shelby boys. Notice any resemblances here?


On to the Children's Barnyard-better known as the petting zoo, which is a must at the fair. I love love love petting zoos, and Elem seemed to love it too! On our way in-


Yep- he loves it! The pigs were one of his favorite . He thought they were so goofy. He let most of the animals eat the feed out of his hands, but was a little timid when they go up to him. I kept seeing him get this look on sheer adrenaline across his face every time they were licking it out of his hand. I could only imagine him thinking that they were going to bite his little finger. But he enjoyed it, and just kept on laughing and smiling the whole time.


The first "official" game of the fair-the duckies in the pond game. Elem and Cecilia waited so patiently to pick the perfect duck of their choice in hopes of winning a prize. Luckily they were both winners, and sissy chose a huge purple kick ball, and Elem chose a huge purple football. Good prizes if I do say so myself.


After the game, we moved on to the rides. Seth and I were a little apprehensive about the whole ride thing, and there were only a few that we thought he should even set foot on. This I must add, was not one Seth or I were too excited about him getting on. We thought it was going to go too fast, and didn't have any "real" sides holding him in, incase he flew off, just one tiny little seatbelt. But as you can tell, he loved it, and he and sissy did just fine. They actually did more than fine and this was probably one of their favorite things they did the whole day. In the end, after he was safely off the glittery blue 4 wheeler, I am happy that he got on. Hehe. :) Just look at that face. Who could say no to that!


The kids rode a couple more rides, including a train that made about 4 teeny tiny circles, but that Elem LOVED, and some insane dragon roller coaster that was almost impossible for me to catch on video, but I will post that another day. The rides turned out to be worth it, and we were lucky enough to catch a few for free, and not the $3.00 for 20 seconds of fun that they were listed as. So that made it a little better! We sure did make time for some good food though. Corn dogs were high on our list of things we HAD to stop and get, and even though Elem seemed to eat a little bit of just about everybody's corn dog, he still had room for some yummy cotton candy. As you can see, he is thankful for the sugar. He and Grammy enjoying some fair sweetness!


One last photo before we leave. Almost too hard to get a good one with everybody looking at the camera-when there is so much going on around us, but this one will do.


We had so much fun, the pictures almost don't even do our trip to the fair justice. Another great time with the Shelby's and the Suitors, beautiful cool crisp weather, plenty of good food, a few nerve racking rides, and more smiles than I could count made for one of those early fall unforgettable memories. Can't wait to do it again next year.