Halloween and other fun stuff

Here are our Halloween pictures. Mom came over and handed out candy while Geoff and I took Maddie and Ryan around the neighborhood. People fell in love with Maddie and carried her off in some instances to show others her costume. Ryan got to "shoot" people with his storm trooper gun. We have fun and have yet to make it through the full subdivision before Ry poops out. Geoff was raring to finish and I had to remind him this was for the kids...and if Ry is done, we are done. Maddie could have cared less but it took her only one house (of giving back the candy) to figure out how it all works.

Maddie was the puppy at the daycare festival Friday night. Ryan won a costume contest in it when he was 1 :)

There is an alien tattoo on her cheek from a festival we went to earlier in the day.

This past Saturday we went to the 1st Annual Harnett County Fair. We didn't make it to the State Fair this year which was ok by us. It's a BIG deal down here, but honestly, it's expensive and crowded. This county fair we went to was the perfect size and the weather was beautiful. We even got to see the youth rodeo where they tied sheep and roped calves. Very cool. We will definitely head back next year.

Ryan's first time in bumper cars. This nice girl let him ride with her.

Maddie watching big brother

Maddie is now such a ham for the camera...she does this squinty eye, smile thing...very cute.


Ryan doing a Jerky Shoot (play on Turkey Shoot). He didn't hit any of the targets but he still won some beef jerky...mmmmmmm


Ryan and the big slide. He went down 3 times, loves it.

I threw some other random pics in here too.

After bath time in Maddie's room. Yes, she has some sort of boo boo on her back.

Also...congrats to our friends Nikki and Josh on their twin baby girls! We can't wait to come by and meet them!

Oh, and the garage painting project is done. The kitchen tile back splash has officially started...woo hoo! Once that is done, the fire place will be completed (soo close and it's the faux stone facade that is being finished). I am promised I can decorate it for Christmas.

I will have to get some pictures, but Geoff has built an RC car track in our side yard. We have 2 1/10 scale race cars. They are awesome. They go almost 35 mph. Geoff just got me my own body that snaps on the frame and we custom painted pink and brown and some decals. Pretty sweet!

Ryan just recited the months of the year to me while I was typing! I knew he had the days of the week down but I never heard him say all his months in order. Go Ryan! We have his parent/teacher conference this Thursday to see how he is doing. They do not put out report cards for kindergarten for the first 1/2 of the year.

Oh and just to brag for a minute...I am done Christmas shopping..oh yeah...done! I have never been done this early :) heehee

Pumpkins

We had such a great weekend. Busy, but great. Saturday I went to the Jr League Shopping Spree with Adria and Aniela. Then Aniela and her family and our family went out to Smith's Nursery to get pumpkins. We got to feed the goats too!

We all had a blast and got in the car just as the rain drops started.

Maddie's 15mo Well Visit

Maddie had her 15mo well visit today. It went great. Poor thing had 4 shots but two of the vaccines are done now.

She is still super tiny...her latest stats:

18 lbs 11.5 oz

30 inches tall

45.o head circumference

She is in the 10th percentile for weight. Her size is always concerning to me in terms of keeping an eye on it. Doctor is not worried but she does want us to work on getting some more weight on her. Healthy fats like beans and cheese. Honestly the girl EATS. Anyone who sees her eat for the first time is like OMG! I swear she will be 2 before I can turn her car seat around.

She is right on track developmentally and I wish she would learn some more words verbal or sign language. She gets so frustrated because she cannot express herself. She has become so snuggly lately too. She has also begun getting attached to blankets. Pacifier is still a go. 2 yrs old is the limit for that thing. That will be interesting.

Here are some cute pics of her from the other day. She let's me do her hair but rips it out in about 10 minutes.

Geoff and I also had our 8th wedding anniversary today. We celebrated Saturday night with a horse drawn carriage ride downtown, dinner and a night out on the town. Had a little TOO much fun ha. It was probably my most favorite anniversary so far.

Oooh la la

Well I had my big trip to Canada, eh. The travel part was flawless. Airlines had their act together, everything was on time. The train ride was great and very clean...my ipod putzed out 1/2 through so that was a bummer. I highly recommend ViaRail in Canada!

I learned some French and ate some amazing food. I got to see some sights...but not near what I wanted to. I will have to go back with the whole family again sometime and we can enjoy it all together. If you have never heard of poutine...check it out. Sounds strange but it was SO good!

Here are some pictures of Quebec. They are almost all pictures of the Old City or Vieux Quebec as it's called in French. I did not get any pictures in Montreal, unfortunately.

I brought home a Quebec made skateboard for Ryan. He starts lessons this Saturday. He loved it. I brought home Maddie a tshirt and this little purse. She was cracking us up with it and I got it on video too.

My neighbor and I ran in the Selma RR Days 5K this past Saturday. We got 5th and 6th place in our age division. Pretty good! After that there were vendors and a parade. The kids loved catching the candy thrown from the floats. The Shriners had these hilarious mini semi truck cabs, like 10 of them zipping around. They also had people dressed up in animal costumes which still freaks Ryan out. We try not to laugh but it's funny...he was hiding. Again, didn't have the camera with us. I am waiting for Aniela to send me the race photo though.

This month is super busy for us too. This weekend we have Ryan's lesson in Raleigh, then Geoff and I have our date night. We are going out for our 8th wedding anniversary and I have a special surprise planned for him...hee...hope to post pictures of that. Then we will be off to a nice dinner at Mo's Diner downtown. Sunday we are meeting Mom for brunch.

The following weekend we are heading to Charlotte for NASCAR. We leave Friday and have a Sprint Cup race Friday and NASCAR Saturday. We are going with our other neighbors, sans kids. They got us all pit and garage passes so it should be cool! We are not huge fans but I have never been to a race and since we will get up close to the cars and drivers, that should be pretty awesome. Thanks to my friend who hooked us up with a great hotel rate too!

The following Sunday is the Tekelec March of Dimes 5K. I am the volunteer coordinator so I cannot run :( but I will be busy all day at that. Should be fun. Each year it gets bigger and earns more money for the MoD. (a charity that Geoff and I donate too regularly)

Then it's Halloween...whew...exhausted and it's only Oct. 5th! Ryan is going to be a cross between Obi Wan and a storm trooper and I have yet to get Maddie a costume. They have cute stuff everywhere for her but 1/2 of it looks sooo hot and down here there is no telling if it will be 80 or 40 degrees!?!? I will have to hurry up and commit to something.

The Latest and Greatest

I know I haven't posted in a while but was lacking pictures and really anything to share. Have a few things going on right now.

The biggest is Ryan started kindergarten. He's very excited and is doing well so far. He has his first homework last week. He is having a hard time settling down and talking when it's his turn, but we are all working on it. He has been playing with his Lego's a lot and can actually follow the directions from start to finish. It's quite impressive. He also learned, in about 30 seconds, last Sunday, how to ride his bike without training wheels. He had been scared to try but is now so proud that he can do it by himself. Ryan and I even took a neighborhood bike ride together.

Ryan also lost his first tooth last Thursday! He was hamming it up for the camera.

We are doing date night swaps with our neighbors, the Hansens. Friday night it was our turn to watch their two girls. Abby is 3 months older than Maddie and Emma is a few months younger than Ryan. They are the sweetest girls. Here is how we found Emma and Ryan. Too cute!

These are just a couple pics of Maddie. This is one cabinet she can go in.

Here she is another day before she ripped her ponytail out. She' getting a lot more hair and it's so blonde which surprised me. I thought with her brown eyes she would have darker hair. I guess we will see as time passes.

Maddie and I are getting over nasty colds. She is up a hundred times a night...which is miserable for Geoff and I. We just finished tiling my mom's kitchen floor this weekend. Now we are excited to work on our kitchen back splash and get that done.

I finally gave in to the pressure of working, having two kids, a house to take care of..blah blah and hired someone to clean twice a month. I kind of feel like a failure but honestly, she's been here once, done an outstanding job (her own company and not a chain) and I already feel less stress! We can kinda rationalize it because now that Ryan is just before/after school at the daycare his cost has gone down enough to offset the cleaning. It's soooo nice.

Last but not least, I am heading out of town next Saturday for a mini vacation. I am flying to Montreal and then taking a train to Quebec City. I am meeting my step grandma (which I never call her) Bernie to tour around for a few days. I cannot wait to see the old parts of the city, eat French food and it will be much cooler there. I had to borrow some sweaters from my mom to take with me. It's weird packing sweaters when I have shorts and flip flops on! I leave Saturday and come back Wednesday. I am so excited for my mini getaway and I have always wanted to see Quebec City.

My baby is all grown up...

Well, it's official...today Ryan started Kindergarten. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh

Okay really, I didn't cry. He is so excited and ready and so am I. I cannot wait to go with him on this new adventure. His teacher is Ms. Gallagher and she seems great. He's got friends from daycare in his class so he will feel right at home. He will still go to daycare fore before and after school and they bus him to and from the school.

We got all his school supplies, his new backpack...he had his lunch and snack packed...and off he went. Luckily he is great with transitions and new experiences. He is pretty much "no fear" when it comes to anything.

I just know I am going to blink and it will be Maddie's turn. So, my pledge to myself and my family is to slow down and enjoy every minute of the wonderful life that I have been blessed with.

Cheeseburger, beans, pears...OH MY!

Now, for those of you who are not from the South, nor live in the South...what I am about to say may not be all entirely that funny...or maybe it will be who knows?

Tonight for dinner we had cheeseburgers, beans, pears and well...Maddie...

IS DONE TORE UP!!!!!!!!!!!! (this is the funny Southern part...in case you didn't catch it)

We had nothing to do with this...she did it completely by herself and it was so funny we had to share. Please note the dirty shirt and food all around her mouth. She is also her new stylist going for the punk/trailer look?

Also, Geoff so astutely noticed that Maddie is totally busting out the air guitar moves in these pics too. Who new?

Hope we could put a smile on your face!

xoxoxo