A Gorgeous Model

This is my niece, Ella.  She's the daughter of one of Heath's step-sisters.  Ella is 6 months old and such a happy baby!  She's full of smiles and personality.  She was a great model for me on Thanksgiving day.  I had a lot of fun trying to capture those gorgeous blue eyes.

Our Thanksgiving Day

We spent the morning baking cookies and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Hunter really enjoyed seeing the balloons.  He watched in Daddy's lap for quite a while.  It was really special to see him enjoy it.

Then we headed over to Tiff's where Hunter played with the trains A LOT.  Santa cannot get here fast enough with Hunter's own trains.  The first words out of his mouth this morning were 'choo-choo'.

Here's the bird coming out of the oven.

Some yummy casseroles

And some yummy cookies!

I have a lot more pictures to share so stay tuned.  Hopefully I can get more up before we leave for Jax on Sunday.

Gobble, Gobble!

We're staying in town for Thanksgiving this year.  The past few years we've either gone to Jacksonville or we've done both, stayed here for dinner and then drive to Jax for the weekend. We decided to have a more relaxing weekend this year and just stay home. We'll be joining a slew of family at Heath's sister's house tomorrow.   The rest of the weekend will include having family pictures taken (wish us luck, seriously!), watching the UF/FSU game, some cleaning and Christmas decorating, and maybe even some shopping.  Sunday Hunter and I will be headed to Jax for most of the week to help my mom decorate and do some shopping as well as see some other family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

ICE

For the past few years we've gone to see the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord Palms hotel. Heath's mom can get the family in so we all go. This is the first time Hunter's been able to come, too. It wasn't as fun for him as I thought it might be, but we all survived and I managed to get a few pictures while trying to keep track of him.

Nativity

Lighted ice tunnel

Hunter with Ethan and Ashton

His one and only trip down the slide.  He didn't hate it, but he didn't want to do it again either.

Over it.  Time to go.

A Double Birthday Party

We went to a birthday party on Saturday.  Kaitlyn turned 3 and Kai turned 1.  Their birthdays are just a week apart so their party was combined.  There were lots of kids and they all had lots of fun.  Erin planned some really fun activities for the kids that were just perfect for their age.

Birthday Boy Kai with Daddy, such a serious little guy.

Birthday Girl Kaitlyn with Mommy

The cones were a hit with Hunter!  They had cake baked inside of them.

The first activity was finger painting on a shirt.  We skipped that one.  Hunter was having too much fun on the slide.  The second activity was eating pudding and whipped cream with their hands.  She put globs of pudding and whipped cream on the table and just let them have at it.

Hunter enjoyed this one!

The third activity was make an edible bracelet with a pipe cleaners and various loopy foods.  Hunter made two and ate them both!

It was a great party, Erin!

My Little Turkey

They did a Thanksgiving craft at the Y today and Hunter came home with this 'hat'.  They used his hands to make the feathers.  For a kid who will not keep a hat on he sure doesn't mind wearing this.  The sun was directly over head so I'm not happy with all the shadows on his face.  No angle would make them go away.  Still cute though.

Product Recommendation: Loop 2 Loop Belt

I was in the market for a belt for Hunter.  He has a really tiny waist and all his pants are falling down.  I went to a couple local stores and found no one carrying belts for kids.  I searched Etsy and found a lot of people selling kids belts, but this one is genius to me.  It doesn't buckle in the front saving you from having to undo the belt every time you change a diaper or take your child to the potty.  In the back there is an adjustable slide so you can cinch it as tight as you wish.  I got my belt last week and Hunter has worn it several times.  It's awesome!  If you're in the market for a child's belt (they sell boy and girl colors), check out Loop2Loop on Etsy.

New Product : Diaper Covers

I've been wanting to add this item to my website for a while now and finally found a vendor to supply the blanks. Diaper Covers are perfect for covering up that ugly diaper underneath an adorable dress. Personalize them with one initial, a 3-letter monogram, or the child's first name. I'm offering six sizes starting at 0-6 months and ending at 4T (34lbs). Diaper Covers are $10.  WritteninThread.com

I finished a couple of sets of burp cloths. I have a couple of friends who typically buy 3 burp cloths as gifts for their friends and family. They normally just give me the child's name, any sports teams they like, and maybe the parents' occupation. I love having the freedom to pick fonts, colors, and designs and try different things. I started sewing on some ribbon to the bottom of some of the burp cloths, too (thanks for the inspiration on that, Megan!).

Bathtime Fun

Hunter was in an extra giggly mood last night so I snapped some pictures while trying not to get my camera wet. I'm not so thrilled with the color cast on the pics. I improved it a little (it was really yellow), but I'm not so good at Photoshop. Oh well!

A little bit of nothing

Not much to report here. Heath and I had a bit of a stomach bug Friday. We felt good enough Saturday to take Hunter to his very first movie in a movie theater. We saw Madagascar 2 and he made it through the whole thing! Some may be surprised that a barely two year old can make it through a whole movie, but Hunter is a movie buff like his dad.

Hunter got all his hair cut off

Eating an Oreo with Grandma

Self portrait

Hunter and Allison

Last week we had friends from Jax staying with us for a few days. They have a daughter, Allison, who is just a few months older than Hunter as well as a new baby boy. Hunter and Allison played really well for being together for 3 days straight. We practiced lots of sharing and playing nice :o)

Standing in the toy box together

Pumpkin Heads

Well, that was easy!

I feel confident in saying that we are paci-free as of Sunday! It went WAY smoother than I ever imagined.

Hunter took to the paci right away after he was born. He practically lived with it in his mouth until about 14 months. He started walking just before 14 months and I just have this thing about kids walking around with a paci in their mouth all the time. To each their own. It's just something that bothers me personally. I started slowly weaning it from daily life as much as I could. It came in handy during those dreaded weeks of teething though! By 18 months the paci's home became Hunter's bed. It stayed there at all times. He left it there when he woke up and never asked for it otherwise. That should have been my first indication that maybe he didn't need it as bad as I thought he did. Now that Hunter has turned 2 I decided that maybe it's time to get rid of them all together. I decided last week that I would start cutting the paci down starting Sunday. That method has worked for a couple people I know so I figured I'd try that. I didn't think I could just take it away cold turkey.

Saturday night Hunter slept at Grandma's house. He was home Sunday to nap. There was nothing in his bed because everything had been taken out to go to Grandma's so I gathered his pillow, blanket, and dog and took him to bed. I decided to just see what would happen if I didn't put the paci in the bed, too. He didn't even ask for it. Not having it didn't even keep him awake. He fell asleep in no time. We haven't turned back. He hasn't even asked for it.

Pikelween V

We attended Pikelween 5 Saturday night.  This is our neighbor's annual Halloween bash. Marcie totally outdid herself this year.  The decor and food were the best yet.  She has a blog now so all the little details were very well thought out. We had a great time.  I enjoyed being the resident photographer.  There are a lot of pictures!  I'll share just a few, but you can see all 150 of them here if you so desire.  Click on 'detail' if you want to see bigger pictures with captions.  WARNING:  You might find some of the costumes offensive so view at your own risk!

Heath and I were going for easy, cheap, and comfortable this year.  He was a Redneck Gator Fan and I was a Jaguar.  No, people, I wasn't a Cat.  Ha!

The Hosts - Little Red Riding Hood and Slash

The Spread. It looked AND tasted great!

No party is complete without a chocolate fountain! I'll totally take credit for the display of food. Isn't it purdy?