14 Months

C is 14 months old today! My little bitty boy is growing up too fast!

This is what he's been doing this month:

• TALKING! His words are: Mama, Dada, More, Ball, Thank You (ta-tu), Ta Da (this is also for touchdown ha!), Hello, Down and Hami. He also says sounds of words (aka Bunny is "Buh").
• Running. He's really picked up speed these past 2 weeks and he and B will chase each other around the house!
• He's become more independent. I trust him to wander the house more w/o my constant supervision. 
• Still eating pretty much anything I put in front of him! 
• Still taking 2 naps, but some days he only takes 1. I think within the next couple of months we will be down to 1 long nap. Each nap is around an hour...sometimes more/less. 
• He just got his 7th tooth! I'm ready for the rest of them to come in so it will be over with...the irritability and bad sleeping is not wanted in this house!
• He can climb down the full flight of stairs with no problems or help. He's been doing it for a while, but I just now have let him do it fully on his own. Now he can go upstairs and play with B and then come down when he's done!
• He follows commands and understands what we say to him. Examples: He will go turn the TV off and I point and tell him to turn it back on and he will do it! He points to things that he wants; looks at what we point to. 
• He's my wild man monkey! He's still climbing on everything and is such a BOY! Can be pretty destructive...will open a toy chest/cabinet/drawer and throw EVERYTHING out, then move on to the next. He also likes to throw things!
• His favorite toys: BALLS...he's gonna be my sports player for sure! His ABC Train, Ball popper, and anything that isn't a toy ha!
• DANCING! He used to just nod his head to the music, but now hes moving his legs! Sometimes he just dances up and down, and other times its in a circle. I'm LOVING this!

I can't wait to see what this next month brings!

Trick or Treat

We started Halloween off with carving our pumpkin! B helped scoop the "guts" and C just wanted to play with them! It took a bit longer than I had planned to carve it, but we loved the result :)
This year BOTH boys went trick-or-treating! B went as Buzz Lightyear and C went as an extra cute Monster! Our first stop was to Brian and Hami's office. The boys showed off their costumes and got some candy and cookies. Then they went outside and ran around for about 20 minutes! After that we headed to my parents house for our annual halloween dinner (tortellini-yummy!) and then Brian, my Mom and I took the boys out on a hunt for candy! We took the stroller for C and I was very thankful for that! He got out a good bit and went to the door with B and had his own bucket (of course that one was for mom and dad ha!). B had a blast getting candy and C had a good time looking at the decorations and other kids dressed up. C fell asleep in the car on the drive home and B was too hyped up on candy to fall asleep! We had a great time and can't wait til next year!

C and Grandmommy

The first house!

Love that little monster!

Sky Top Orchard

Today we took the boys to Sky Top to go apple picking! This was our first time and we had a blast! Once we pulled in we knew it would be a long day b/c everyone was there. It was perfect weather and not a cloud in the sky! Once we figured out what we were doing and where to go, we headed for the orchard. B was serious about picking the apples. Before he picked them he would ask to make sure they were just right ha! We let C pick one too, but he only cared about eating them. We spend the majority of the time picking the apples. We got Jonathon, Gala, Fuji, Cameo, Pink Lady, and Granny Smiths. We ate some along the way too ;) After a quick potty break in the woods for B (ha!), we trucked ALL the way from the end of the orchard, up the hills, and back to the barn. We bought the apples and some local honey, then let the boys play in the pumpkins. B was climbing all over them and C tried to copy B. After that, we went to see the barn animals. B fed all the chickens, roosters, peacocks, and turkey. We pet the goats then headed through the bamboo forest. It was really cool in there! We also made a stop at the sheep, and I'm SO glad we did. B ran up and started petting one of them which surprised me b/c he's usually scared. We got C out of his stroller and let him pet the sheep too. We gave the boys some food to feed them, but B was afraid of their tongues, so Bri and I fed them most of it. We gave C a handful to see what he would do, and he stuck his hand out and let the sheep lick it all up! After a good hand scrubbing we headed back to the car, but before we made it, B wanted to sit on the tractor. We had a great time and can't wait to go back next year. We're definitely making it a tradition!

Mmm thats good!

LOVE this one!

So after we got home, I decided to make an apple pie with some of the apples (since we have like 50!). It was my first one and I think it turned out pretty good. All the taste testers said it was delicious, especially B!

Our 1/2 bushel of apples!

A Day Out With Thomas

On Saturday Brian, B, and I headed to Spencer, NC to meet Thomas. B has been looking forward to this day for a VERY long time. We wanted this day to be really special and it was the first time that we have done anything just us 3 since C was born! After we arrived and picked up our tickets, we let B play for a while before our scheduled train ride. There was a bounce house, corn maze, museum, and several model train stations set up. He got to see the "real" Tidmouth Sheds where Thomas lives and see a turning table. He was in heaven! Then we went to see Thomas before our ride. He talked to him and waved, but wasn't sure why Thomas didn't talk. I had to tell him he was resting before he pulls us along! After we hopped aboard the (super hot) train, B was handed a Jr. Engineer certificate from the conductor, signed by Sir Topham Hatt himself lol! He loved his ride and waved to everyone we passed. The train only went about 10 miles an hour in a large circle, but he didn't notice! We're so happy we got to make one of B's dreams come true!

He was talking to Thomas

Such a cheesy smile...never seen this one before but he was extra excited!

Giving Sir Topham Hatt a hug!

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His very 1st train ride

Waving to everyone

He was out on the ride home!

13 Months

This last month seemed to go by in half the time as normal. I guess because we've been so busy! And it's been so much fun! C had his first birthday and party and started school! He also went on his first outing with my in-laws. They decided 2 Saturdays ago that they would take BOTH boys with them to run errands, etc. That left Brian and I with nothing to do but spend time together. It. Was. Awesome! We didn't know what to do! At first I thought about all of the errands I needed to run and cleaning that needed to be done...but then I decided, forget it all, I'm chillin at home! So Bri and I stayed home and watched football all day! The best way to spend any day :) We also left C with the in-laws last Saturday b/c Bri and I took B to meet Thomas the Train! That's another post all in itself!

Here's what C's been doing this month:

• WALKING! He started taking steps at about 10.5 months. Then it started to be about half crawling/half walking. Then about 5 days ago he decided, I'm ready, and gave up the crawling. I'm LOVING this stage. He's been trying to run with B and has picked up speed just in the last 2 days!

• Eating like a little piggy (that's B's nick name for C ha!) That kid eats so much I have no clue where it all goes. He will eat anything put in front of him! I'm loving this too :

• Not really picked up any new words, but they're getting clearer. He can recognize and tries to mimic the signs for "more" and "all done", so that's been cool. He also says "more" (which sounds like "boar") when he needs more of something. 

• The kid loves his Dada! When Bri comes home, he walks as fast as he can toward him while saying Dada. It's super cute. 

• He's still taking 2 naps, but some days he only takes 1. He needs both, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.

• He loves playing with his ABC Train, ball popper, trucks and balls. He's also a climber and can climb up on most anything!

The first 4 pictures are from his 1year shoot.

The New School Year

This year is an extra special year...BOTH of the boys will be in school! B started K-3 and C started PDO. I have 2 days a week kid free! B's teacher this year is Mrs. Templeton, and I could not be more thrilled about her! He started 2 weeks before C did, so it was all half days at first. We are now in a carpool line and love it! B feels like such a big boy walking to his class by himself. He has a half day on Wednesday, then on Thursday and Friday he has late stay until 2. C goes til 2 on Thursday and Friday. B is loving preschool and C has done really well in his class. I was worried C would cry they whole time, but he just whines for a second when I drop him off. One of his teachers had B when he was a baby, so it made it more special. She said he plays well and is a great baby! I'm gonna copy my good friend and make a list of B's favorite things. These are his answers:

TV Shows: Yo Gabba Gabba, Super Why, Dinosaur Train, Curious George, Max & Ruby, Go Diego Go
Movies: ALL Thomas and Friends, Cars 1 & 2, The Smurfs, Toy Story 2
Song: You've Got a Friend in Me...the Toy Story theme song.
Food: Corndogs and Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets
Candy: The suckers from the bank...haha!
Book: "What do Smurfs Do All Day?"; "Ted and Friends"; "Where's My Monster?"; All Thomas books!
Toy: "All of my Thomas trains!"
Activity: "Going to the park to play with my friends!"
Wants To Be: "A Tennis Player" -I'm ok with that, I think the next Federer or Rafa would be great :))

I  tried to get a shot with him holding the paper, but it turned out more like a mug shot than a cute pic ha!

Outside his classroom on his 1st day!

Waiting to be picked up in our 1st carpool line!

The boys before C's 1st day...aka, my 1st day kid free!

They wouldn't cooperate with me...go figure!

What C was up to before we left for school

B's 1st day being dropped off and picked up in the carpool line. He thought it was cool he could move to the front seat to get out of the car!