Happy Halloween!

....from our little puppy dog!

Scott's family always had dalmatians growing up. I saw this costume at the local consignment shop and I knew I had to get it! It was perfect!

Michael had so much fun wearing it and I thought he was the cutest fuzzy puppy dog ever. He wore it to daycare during the day and then to the daycare party later that evening. The other kids thought it was funny and really wanted to hug him!

Have a great Halloween!

I love Fridays!

On Fridays I don't have to go to school until 11:00 and I love it! It is so nice to have a few hours at home to caught up on things before the weekend. I can usually get a few loads of laundry in, the house picked up, and the dishes done. The extra time is totally awesome.

I also like to have the extra time to spend with Michael. This morning I tried the "toys in a paper bag" game to see if it would keep him occupied while I emptied the dishwasher quick. It was pretty successful!

(and yes, I realize there is half of a cat coming out of the side of my son's head in this photo- yeesh!)

We also made a quick bath of pumpkin bars this morning to take to the tailgate tomorrow. Michael sat on the counter next to me and had lots of fun watching all the ingredients come together.

Once I tried to make a fancy schmancy pumpkin bar recipe and it was horrible!! So now I just use a spice cake mix (adding in everything on the box) and a can of pumpkin. They are really delicious!

Also, how cute are Michael's pj's? I bought them because I thought they might make him look like a little baby again but they just make him look even bigger! So sad, but still cute. :o)

Happy Friday!

Epic Cyclone Win!!

How could I be so late in posting this??

On Satuday, the Iowa State Cyclones beat TEXAS!!!!

Woo!!

It was awesome. One of the biggest wins in Cyclone history!



And can you believe we beat them in front of over 100,000 Texas fans? That is a big stadium.



We had friends over to watch the game on TV and it was so much fun to watch. We never know if our game watch parties are going to be a hit or miss because usually the outcome of the game isn't so good!

Every time they panned to the Texas crowd on TV, they looked so shocked. Believe me, Texas fans....we've been there many times!

It's a great day to be a Cyclone!!

(photos from dmregister.com)

It's funny how a year changes things....

One of my favorite things to do lately has been to look back at my old blog posts from the same time last year. I've been thinking about getting my blog posts printed into a book but it is insanely expensive and I'm really enjoying having a little online scrapbook of our family!

Anyway, Michael and I went for a walk at Jester Park last week and the weather was just absolutely perfect. It really sent me back to how I was feeling just a short year ago when the big deal of the day was if I could get Michael and myself out of the house for a quick walk. Now, everything seems to be literally a walk in the park. It is awesome. Here is the post from last year at this time and here are some photos from our recent walk:






Perspective is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Have a great day!

Show Us Your Life: Nursery

Happy Friday!

This Friday I am linking up with Kelly over at Kelly's Korner again for Show Us Your Life Fridays.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new for you guys since you've already seen numerous posts about Michael's room. Can you still call it a nursery after they are not a baby anymore? When do they graduate to a big boy room?

At any rate, it feels like I just finished his nursery I don't even want to think about doing a big boy room!



We got this dresser and changer top from a local furniture store. We love the espresso color because we really don't have too much in our house that is such a dark color wood. I was worried about it clashing with the light maple trim work but actually I think it is a nice contrast.

I also love his little crib: I think I picked out this style and color of furniture because I really wanted something similar for our bedroom set but unfortunately actually having furniture for our bedroom will be on hold for the next 12-18 years!

The wall decals are vinyl sticky things you have to rub on like a transfer. I ordered them from Dali Decals online and they were by far the best price I saw anywhere. I was really pleased and actually have a ton left over in case I ever get the desire to put up some more circles on the wall!

Michael's room is very large and so we just left our queen sized bed in there from when it was our guest room. We have actually spent a couple of nights sleeping in there with Michael (thankfully not many!) and a couple of times my mom has slept there while she stayed over with Michael. Mostly it is used for clean laundry storage that I just can't quite get into the drawers or closet.



Our friend Brandy made this fun print for us. She loves letters and it is so funny because in her nursery she has a whole letter wall! Such a great idea!



I also later added Michael's initials above the changer a few months ago. I got them on sale at a gift shop and they didn't have an S left, hence only two initials. I think I still have a few M's left over- I should find somewhere else to put them!

Thanks for stopping by, this was a nice trip down memory lane for me!

Thought you were off the hook?

Did you think you were off the hook for gardening photos for the year???

Guess again!

It has been absolutely beautiful here this week with sunshine everyday. Michael had a rough day on Tuesday and I had to take a little time off work to come home with him. We were driving back from the doctor and he fell asleep in the car so I let him sleep in his carseat while I snapped some photos of the yard.

I've been so busy lately I feel like I have barely stepped outside to enjoy the fruits of my labor from spring and summer. It was a nice surprise and also very stress relieving.



Zinnias are going strong-I deadheaded them a ton a few weeks ago to collect seeds and they are still blooming away!

These guys are a surprise also-I was doing some "fall cleanup" by removing the spent flowers and I was surprised to see lots of new blooms pop up!

The petunias look so pretty with the light coming through them-I also can't believe they are going strong at the end of October! I am in serious denial about winter coming. I still need to do more cleanup before the snow falls and get my bulbs planted!

1 Year Stats and Milestones

Scott took Michael to his 1st year appointment last week and we got lots of good news on our big boy!

Height: 33 inches
Weight: 24 lbs

This puts him in the 98th percentile for height and 65th percentile for weight. I was surprised by his weight because he is a heavy boy!! He is tall and skinny...surprise, surprise. This boy is going to grow up to be very tall someday!

He's also hitting some big milestones such as:
- walking well and FAST!
-is starting to say more sounds, but not really on a consistent level (some days will be a kee-kee-kee sound, other days gah, gah, gah)
-waves hi and bye
-blows kisses and gives kisses
-likes to take things out of and put things in a container (especially the silverware in the dishwasher-he likes to transfer from one section to the next)
-plays with a ball-throwing and chasing
-picks up things off the ground from a standing position
-eats well with his fingers and likes to eat lots of different foods
-has started to try to eat with a spoon but usually he ends up trying to "drink" whatever is in the bowl I give him (grandma's applesauce was a big hit yesterday!)
-likes to push buttons on toys
-likes to feel the parts of a book (touchy feely books)
-helps with getting dressed by laying still and holding out arms for shirts
-and unfortunately for us- throws a little tantrum when he doesn't get to do what he doesn't want to do. Where do kids learn that!?

My little man is getting bigger and smarter by the day! It is so fun!

What I've been watching...

Things have been pretty crazy around here with my new work schedule of working every day. We've also been super busy the last few weekends with football games, birthday parties, weddings, and neighborhood get-togethers. I just feel like I can't get caught up at home because first of all, I am never home and when I am, actually doing things like cleaning or laundry or making healthy dinners is not really what I want to be doing! I just re-joined orchestra again at church so I can play with them for the big Christmas Cantata and so that is one more night I'm not at home. Let me tell you-- I am ready for winter break!

Anyway, one things I have been making time for is my newest favorite show:



Boardwalk Empire is a new show on HBO and it is very much worth watching. Everything about it is so grand, from the costumes to the music to the awesome set. There are lots of characters and storylines which is typical of an HBO series but it really draws you in. After each episode I just want to know what happens next!!

Scott and I have been watching it together which is a committment because we rarely sit down to watch something together especially during football season. So it is nice to have someone at home to talk to about the show and where we think it is going. And yes, we are dorks. :o)

Scott likes it because it features his favorite actor in a leading man role, which is unusal for Steve Buscemi. Usually he is the weird guy in a supporting role. I really like him and his character has many sides.



That is what I've been up to lately-just chugging away at life and trying to squeeze a few minutes of TV time and relaxtion in here and there. What are you watching on TV this fall?

Sleeping Beauty

Even when he is sleeping, he looks like such a big boy!

Michael's 1st Birthday Party

Here it is: the big birthday party post!!

We had Michael's birthday party on Sunday afternoon. We had a big crowd and things went smoothly despite my really last minute planning. It is so fun to have a house full of people all having a good time!

I made the cupcakes and really had little idea of what I wanted to do for decoration-I think the sprinkles turned out cute! I frosted them with icing in a ziploc bag with the tip cut off the morning of the party so I didn't have to worry about storing them.

For food we had smoked meat (pork, turkey and brisket) sandwiches from a local BBQ place. We ordered eight pounds of meat total, which I thought was way too much and not very much of it was left over! It was good! Family members brought some salads (thanks!) and I had made broccoli salad and a veggie tray. I thought it was easy and good!

Our friends Kylie and Nate brought their twin boys and they were so cute! How sweet is a little sleeping baby?

Cake time!

Michael really liked the sprinkles on the cake. At first he just picked them off one by one ate them-then he really got into it.
The poor boy was sooo tired at the end of his party-I thought he was going to lay down on the floor and take a little snooze. I should have probably known better for scheduling the party during his naptime! However, he went to bed at 5:30 after everyone had left and slept until 7:00 the next morning! He was worn out.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

Happy Birthday!

On Michael's actual birthday we celebrated with just our little family by going to the park! It was a beautiful evening and the weather was just perfect. It has been getting so dark earlier and earlier we figured we better seize the day instead of the alternative which was Incredible Pizza Co., which I figured we could save for later birthdays!



Plus, what could be more fun than free swinging?? I mean, come on!!




Michael was eating his apples and being so silly while we ate. He's such a goofball.



It was weird lighting so I tried to adjust my shutter speed to see if I could get a better photo-it kind of worked but turned out blurry. This tree was practically the only one whose leaves had turned and it was so pretty! I'm still waiting for the tree in this picture to turn-so beautiful!



Look at those toofers!





Happy Birthday, Michael!