Embracing the Mess ... and the cuteness!

Here's our "little hill billy" ...
right after enjoying a snack of blackberries! (Fruit is still Ian's favorite food group!)
We had some friends over for an Earth's Best (free sample) party. They enjoyed the yummy snacks and playing together.


We mommies enjoyed the time to talk! Ian enjoyed pushing his fire truck down the hallway and then back to the toy room. Suddenly, Momma realized that it had been a little while since she had seen Ian and that it was VERY quiet. Uh oh ...
Ian discovered the paper shredder!
What a fun, snowy mess!
Caleb came to investigate on the firetruck.
Here's Ian in his "hiding spot." Listen to the below "interview" to find out more about this little boy. Mess and all, we love our little man!

Ian is 18 months old!

We love our 1 1/2 year old! Here are his latest stats:

Height: 34.75" (95-97th percentile)
Weight: 27 lb. (65th percentile)

This video shows one of Ian's current favorite activities ... and some of his newly-learned info!

Ian's Newest Skill

How Playdates have changed ...

Last week, Brooke, Caleb, and their mommies came over for brunch one day. We used to get together a few times a month for playdates, but life has gotten busier with our older kids. We kept laughing about how much playdates have changed over the last 18 months or so. For one thing, it was impossible to get a picture of the three kids together all looking at the camera. Here, no one is looking but at least they're all on the couch.
Soon after the first picture was taken, Ian fell off the couch, Caleb crawled off the couch, and easy-going Brooke just kept playing with her toys.
It was hard to keep up with all of the activity of THREE toddlers. They certainly made the house look like a tornado had come through it. :)

They started with the snack cabinet and taking out ALL of our snacks. (Ian is crying here because, whenever he sees the camera, he wants to look AT pictures of himself instead of BEING photographed. :))Brooke is trying to cheer Ian up with a Snickers bar.
"I found the crackers, Mom!" thinks Caleb.
"Hey? All of this food to myself??" thinks Brooke.

Happy Halloween!

Last Halloween, Ian was too little to participate in many of the festivities. This year, Ian was really able to celebrate! He helped clear out the pumpkin "guts" and didn't know exactly what to think of the slimy mess.



He enjoyed watching Daddy carve the pumpkin and then light a candle inside.
He also enjoyed sampling the roasted pumpkin seeds, although he promptly spit them back out after licking the salt off.
Ian enjoyed his costume ...
and especially liked saying "Yee-HAW!"
We didn't think he'd keep his cowboy hat on very long, but he actually did! He must know he's a native Texan. :)

We hosted a Halloween party for some friends on Saturday night.

We (Daphne and Shaggy from Scooby Doo and our little cowboy) had LOTS of fun!
Some of our guests included Scarlett O'Hara and an elephant.
These guests started right away on the pumpkin scavenger hunt. (You can barely see one of the 10 orange pumpkins hidden to the right of the rock wall on the post.)
The soccer coach brought some pretty ferocious-looking kids with him to the party.
We also invited a school girl, bride, dalmatian, farmer/rancher, cat, and northerner?? (WHAT are you supposed to be, Pastor?? :))
The princess brought her newborn brother with her,
and we even had a celebrity appearance from the Flinstones! :)
The younger guests stayed occupied at the craft table before our salad dinner.
Even Snow White and her busy mommy took time to color a picture.
Our cleverness award goes to our "Bun in the Oven" (expecting a baby this spring), our "Sugar Daddy" (candy on his tie), and their little football player.
Annie wore the costume her Daddy wore as a little boy. (Isn't it precious??)
The football player brought along his two biggest fans.
Creativity Award #2 goes to this clever family ... a bee, the Queen Bee, and a beekeeper! So cute!
We enjoyed the beautiful fall weather by eating outside.
Kim enjoyed making some fun Halloween-y treats like Oreo spiders and even a 4 lb. meatloaf mummy (which we didn't get a picture of).
After dinner, the kids went on a "trick-or-treat trail" from adult-to-adult around our cul-de-sac.
This cute little pig enjoyed trick-or-treating, too!
After exchanging candy, the kids played "Pass the Pumpkin" (a version of Hot Potato).
Way to pass the pumpkin, Bam Bam! :)
We didn't know what Ian would think of trick-or-treating on Sunday night, but he turned out to be a big fan! He loved saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" after reminders from Momma & Daddy! (We tried to capture it on these videos, but you sort of have to use your imagination.)




Throughout the week, he had been very interested in our neighbors' inflatable witches. He enjoyed getting a closer look.

We trick-or-treated around our cul-de-sac, and then we decided to go to a few more houses since Ian was enjoying it so much!

Despite how it looks, Ian really enjoyed going on a hay ride with our neighbor, Dennis.
Dennis drove a bunch of kids from house-to-house. (Now THAT'S the way to trick-or-treat in style!)
Many people sat on their porch to hand out candy since the weather was so warm! We were completely in awe of this neighbor's pumpkin.

When we got home, Ian helped to hand out candy to the kids that came to our house! What a fun weekend!!