Halloween Festivities 2011

 Better late than never, but, here we go...

This year for Halloween, Bobby was a race car driver.  He somewhat caught on to the fact that it was a Lightning McQueen costume, but told everyone that he was just a race car driver.  I wanted to make sure his costume was something that he was really interested in, but, also comfortable.  This kid cannot stand to wear a hat or jacket, so I had to be picky about how crazy his costume could be.

Of course, leading up to Halloween, we carved a pumpkin one weekend morning.

Evidently, the new thing now is to take the bottom off the pumpkin.  Makes total sense.

Out came all the pumpkin seeds... (I probably would've baked them, had I not been preggo and too tired to get all the gunk out.)

Here's the pattern Bobby chose.  And, yes, it was the most difficult one in the packet.

This thing took forever to carve!

Bobby got bored, and decided to play with an old Transformer.  Yes, I said Transformer.  My mother-in-law has saved some of Bob's toys from when he was a young'in.

The final product!

Onto some trick-or-treating!

We started out the evening sharing a chili dinner with some friends.

Bobby, Reese, Luke, and Cooper

Tara, Me, Volree, and Gina

Bobby and I do a sorority girl pose in our family picture.

He totally got the hang of trick-or-treating this year, and loved it!  He asked me for a few days afterwards when we would go again.

Dumping and checking out his loot of candy!

To close out the holiday, Bobby's school had a parade the next day.  It was hilarious and cute to see all of the kids dressed in their costumes.  A party in his classroom followed the parade.

Blessing the meal...

Oh, how I could eat him up - just like all of his Halloween candy! :)

Sprinkled!

Last night was a special night for me.  My sweet group of neighborhood friends, threw me a Sprinkle.  My good friend, and neighbor, Volree was also honored.  We are both due by the end of the month.  She's having a baby boy - Parker.  I can't believe that our babies are almost here!  It's been so fun being pregnant with her, and I hope that our little ones can grow up together!

The Sprinkle was such a sweet gesture, and I really appreciated everyone honoring Evie's upcoming arrival.  I'm so thankful to have these friends.  We are all such a support system for one another, and I can depend on them for anything!

From left to right:  Sabrina, Amanda, Gina, Volree, Me, Ginger, Kristin, Lexy, and Stefanie.

Both photos were taken by Stefanie L.

Bittersweet(ness) & a lot of mushy stuff...

I find myself becoming more and more excited for little Evie's arrival.  But, I also feel a little sad for the amount of time that we have left with Bobby being an only child (23 days or less!).  Giving Bobby the gift of a sibling is an amazing thing; yet, his little world will soon be turned upside down.  This afternoon, I put in Evie's last bit of clothes to be washed, and just held some of them in my hands.  They were so small.  I remember Bobby being that small.  Everyone warned me that time would fly by - and, it truly has.  And, people have also said that with each child, time goes by even faster.  Sigh.  

Lately, I've thought about my own childhood.  I had a great childhood, and wouldn't trade it for anything. Things were easy, innocent, and fun back then.  I want nothing more for my own children.  And, as a mom of soon-to-be two young children, I'm already feeling bittersweet about them growing up.  I tell Bob and my friends all the time, that I truly believe I'm living the best years of my life now.  And, that scares me.  Of course my days are tough.  So many things are a battle with Bobby.  I'm tired all the time.  I feel like I never live up to my potential each day.  But, I know that this is the season of life that I am in.  And, it's always what I wanted.  I thank God for that everyday, and for my husband, for providing me with this life.  But, days are fun.  I am constantly amazed at the new things Bobby does each day, and he is such entertainment for us.  It's so neat to see his little mind working, and trying to figure stuff out.

I've also neglected my blog a lot this year.  My posts compared to years' past are pretty pathetic.  I plan to change that.  I've always been too tired at the end of the day to blog.  And, naps are few and far between these days.  But, I'm going to try to make it work.  He's playing with his toys, while I am typing now.  And, yes, a football was thrown at my laptop, and I had to reboot.... but, that's motherhood for you!

I want to remember everything.  I want to cherish every memory; big or small.  I just want life to stand still for awhile.