Christmas Kick-off

Colin and I ventured downtown last Tuesday night and took in the Holiday Lights parade.  John had to work late so he met us there and treated Colin to the best seat in the house.  Colin especially enjoyed the police cars and fire trucks, but [I'm assuming] mostly loved the Tootsie Rolls. 

What a great way to kick-off the holiday season with my two favorite people.  This may have to be a new family tradition...

Comfort.

There's just something about a crackling fire on a chilly fall day.  It reminds me of when I was a little girl, Andy and I "helping" our dad make a fire after church on Sundays.  The Vikings were always on in the background and the best part was picking what color match we were going to use.  

The toddler helped his dad make our first fire last weekend.  I loved the novelty of it; me and my boys sitting in the living room, watching log after log burn.  It felt like home. 

  

Bathroom Decor

Here it is. The only decoration up in the bathroom. 

Sad, I know. 

We have one little 2-year-old who is very proud of that cabinet decor though.  And he even counted all 18 of those stickers (it's a little unrecognizable after "12"...everything kinda sounds like "...teen", "...teen," "...teen".)  :)

We started "encouraging" more potty times at home instead of making it a choice.  This chart is what resulted.  It's from last Saturday through this morning.  Not bad!  It also helps that we have the influence of Elmo.

   

Halloween

I have to admit, Halloween is not my favorite holiday (nor is it John's).  So it shouldn't come as a surprise that we picked up a zebra costume last minute at Target (just happened to be a 2T in a mound of other costumes) and didn't carve a pumpkin until mere hours before the actual day.

The little man was so excited to help with the carving this year, unlike last year when all he wanted to do was eat the insides.   

Colin also enjoyed trick-or-treating this year.  We had to coax a "trick-or-treat" out of him every now and then but overall he was very good. I, of course, was proud that everyone heard a "thank you" out of his mouth, too. :)



The visit to see Uncle Luke & Auntie Alexa produced the greatest treat - a juice box.




A sad attempt at a photo with our old neighbors.