Pumpkin Carving

The finished products!

Luke cleaning out his own little pumpkin

Luke liked helping

Ewww....slimy!

Last night we carved some pumpkins. Luke watched me clean one of them out and then we couldn't get him away from them! He wanted to get all of the stuff out of them and put it in the trash can. I bought one of those pumpkin carving kits with the templates to follow. I was so excited because my dad used to do these amazing pumpkins every year. Of course, he did them free-hand with a jigsaw, but hey, I was trying! I got a little over zealous with my carving tool and did not follow the pattern correctly....my pumpkin ended up with a big hole for one of his eyes! Paul and Luke fared much better on their little pumpkin. I think they both turned out cute, though!

We lit them and put them on the front porch last night. We sat outside for awhile since it was so nice. Luke kept pointing to the moon so we taught him to say "moon". It comes out more like "mooo", but we know what he is saying! Today is Luke's Halloween party at school. I plan to be there for it. It is so nice to be off this week to participate in all of these activities!!!

Kitty's Birthday

Kitty opening her present

Luke and Grandpa

Jon and Kitty having a serious
discussion over bbq!

Friday, Kitty will celebrate her 94th birthday!!! What an amazing lady! We decided to get together tonight to have supper. We went to Jacky Billy's in Gallatin which is an institution there. I had actually never been. It was really good. They were very short staffed tonight so we were there forever! Uncle Jon surprised Kitty by joining us. We did not tell her he was coming in case he was not able to make it at the last minute. She was so excited to see him. We had a good time seeing each other for an impromptu dinner. Kitty is still remarkably sharp and does not miss much! She drives herself to get her hair done and enjoys friends, family and going to church. What a blessing she is to all of us!

Scarecrows!

Luke and me with our new friend

Here's his nose Nana!

He really did not want to pose
for pictures...

Nana and I took Luke to see the Scarecrow exhibit at Cheekwood this morning. Luke loves scarecrows so I thought it would be neat for us to go. There were 65 different ones to see! Some of them were so creative! There were scarecrows made out of plastic bottles, music memorabilia and sheet metal. They were awarded prizes in different categories. It was really cool. Luke loved getting to touch them and point out their eyes and noses.

We enjoyed lunch at the Pineapple Room on the grounds of the gardens which was really good! Luke was so well behaved all morning. I can't imagine taking many toddlers to a "frilly" restaurant but he did great! Luke fell asleep just as we were getting home this afternoon. He enjoyed a nice long nap (and so did I). It was a great day!

Cookies!!!

Hmm...don't know about this!

I look mean here--really, I am trying to keep Luke
from getting out of my lap

Luke discovered pretty quickly
that the dough is good!

Luke really enjoyed cutting out the shapes.

Last night we made Halloween cookies. Lauren gave Luke some cookie cutters in Halloween shapes so we had to make some! Luke liked trying to roll the dough out and pick out the different shapes to make. We added sprinkles to some of them. I must admit they were pretty yummy straight from the oven! Luke had more than enough. We were afraid he would get a tummy ache!

So Close!

Luke was all fired up in the game!

Paul was keeping his fingers crossed!

Saturday afternoon we watched the UT - Bama game. Like most people we thought Alabama would run away with it. We were pleasantly surprised to see UT hanging with them. The last few minutes were so exciting! I even got the video camera out in anticipation of a celebratory dance from Paul. But, alas, the game winning field goal was blocked and Paul fumed the rest of the night. It really did not matter to me; although there isn't much I like better than seeing Alabama loose!

I wish the Auburn game had been half as exciting. Since I have been sick I have been going to bed early. Saturday night was no exception! Auburn has really been disappointing the past few games. I would not mind so much except they started the season off so well.

Today kicked off my official staycation. When this term became popular this summer I hated it! But, now that I have a week of staycation staring me in the face it is not so bad! I have been losing my vacation time at work so I decided to take a week off. Paul is not able to take off so I am just going to do some of those things that have been on my to-do list forever. I did go to a walk-in clinic this morning to figure out why my cold has been lingering so long. Turns out I have a baterial infection that required three prescriptions! Good grief...I should definitely feel better after all of that!

Memory Walk

Laura and Mr. Morris

Luke was entertained with Cheerios

Really? I should have taken the
ear warmer off for the picture!

This past Saturday Luke and I were so proud to be a part of the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. Laura's dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year and she organized a team for the walk. Virginia and I were happy to participate! Laura did a great job--our team was 1st runner up in the rookie category for fundraising! Great job Laura!

The walk was in Centennial Park. It was a cloudy dreary morning but the sun peaked out every once in a while. It was great to see so many supporters of this great cause.

Just Like Daddy

Luke always likes to do what Paul is doing. When Paul cut the grass last week Luke stayed outside watching him for most of the time. Every time Paul would come toward him Luke would wave so hard. The lawnmower definitely captures Luke's attention. He stood sill a lot longer than normal!

One Tired Little Guy

I have been battling a cold since the Sunday after our hayride. I have virtually lost my voice and have coughed and coughed. Last Tuesday when I was off Luke stayed home with me. He was so good! I did not feel like doing a whole lot. We did get out and do a few errands. I was talking on the phone and he was playing at my feet. When I got off the phone I realized he had fallen asleep just like this! I picked him up and put him in bed where he slept for two hours. Luckily that gave me time to take a nap, too!

The rest of the week consisted of going to work and trying to get well. Mom and I also went to see Steel Magnolias at TPAC with Virginia and her mother. It was very good! I was so afraid that I would have a coughing fit during the show but thanks to an abundant supply of cough drops by Mom and Virginia I survived!

Luke had a couple of eventful happenings last week. I guess he officially has a girlfriend now. He and Rylee have been together since they were infants at His Kids. When it closed they both stayed at the same babysitter and now they are at Good Shepherd together. The teachers tell me they hold hands on the playground and Rylee likes to wake Luke up from his nap. When one of them is not at school the other is lost. It is pretty cute.

I also got two calls in one day last week from Luke's school. The first was to tell me had been bitten by another student and it had broken the skin! Of course the teachers did not know what had happened to provoke the bite but they said Luke was ok. Since that time the child has bitten some other children and has been moved to another room. Later, that same day the director called me again. Luke had fallen on the playground and skinned his chin and nose! When I picked him up it looked like he had been in a fight! The teachers say nothing really seems to phase him. He will cry for a minute and then be back to playing.

Hayride

Virginia and Laura enjoying the chili

Angela and Jake--
he is so cute!

We were all bundled up on the hayride

Brock, Cynthia and Sophia

Hunter's 1st hayride!

Lauren, Faith and Tasha

The kiddos are ready!

Despite the chilly temperatures we had a great time Saturday night! We had to do our hayride on the road since the farm was so muddy from all of the rain. I do not think anyone minded though. When we got back from our ride everyone was ready for some hot chili! Paul did a great job making it. It was almost all eaten! There were some yummy desserts including my favorite, s'mores! With so many little ones the night did not go on too long. I laughed and said once you have kids your idea of a "late night" is drastically different! We will keep hosting our bonfire every fall as long as people continue to come and enjoy themselves!

Halloween Hunt!

Luke loves for Lauren to hold him

Trying to stay warm. Yes, that is my
Abercrombie cord coat--circa 1994!

Luke on the hunt!

I always like to have an activity for the kids to do when the first get to the party. This year I did a "Halloween Hunt" again. I bought lots of little party favors and put them all over the ground. The kids hunted them kind of like an Easter Egg hunt. It was a big hit! The kids seemed to enjoy all of their goodies. I asked one of Lauren's friends to take pictures so we got lots of pictures of Luke and no one else!

Pre-Party

Luke all cuddled up with Nana and Mommy

Looking pretty good...

Luke and I surveying everything

This past Saturday we held our annual Bonfire and Hayride. I had to work and the hospital has been extremely busy. While I was worked longer than I planned Paul was busy getting everything ready. He got the fire and the site ready, made the chili, hooked up the trailer for the hayride and kept an eye on Luke! Luckily Nana and Grandpa were home and were able to help. By the time I arrived there was not much to do except wait for everyone to get there. Middle Tennessee has had a very rainy fall season and it was exceptionally cold last weekend. We were about 20 degrees below normal that day. We still had a great turnout!

The Friendly Bump

Teaching Luke to "bump"

Laura and Virginia came over last Thursday night to hang out for a little while. They were trying to teach Luke how to bump his fist against theirs. He never really did it. He had more fun watching them to do it. It took Luke a few minutes to warm up to them but when he did he had so much fun. I really do not think he could have been any closer to Laura unless he was sitting in her lap!

Back to the Patch

Look at those silly pigs!

Our best attempt at a family pic

Luke and Paul at the Duck Races

Cool horse swing made from a tire

Luke's first time on a see-saw

Grandpa is pretty happy I am sure...with his
favorite little fella on a hayride in a cornfield

Sunday afternoon we went to Honeysuckle Hill Farm in Springfield. This is the same farm we visited last year. I was so excited because I hoped Luke would be a lot more interested in all of the activities this year. Well, I was wrong. I guess he never really got all of his nap in so he was kind of in a daze for the first hour we were there. About the last 30 minutes he perked up and was running around everywhere! He did not care much for the petting zoo area but loved the swings, see-saw and duck races. He also liked all the big pumpkins. Nana and Grandpa went with us which was a lot of fun. It was really crowded since it was such a beautiful fall day.

Saturday with Friends

Luke loved Connor's tractor!

Hanne is growing so fast

Luke thought Hanne was pretty cool

Connor helping Luke with the Legos

Saturday night we went to Cam and Christina's for supper with their family and the Louw's. We had so much fun. It is amazing how much all of our lives have changed since I first met them when Paul and I started dating. There are now 5 kids between us! It was so neat watching the kids play together. Luke did more playing with Hanne who is 4 1/2 months than he did with the "big kids". Emma, Cade and Connor were running and jumping everywhere. I think it was a little too much for Luke to get involved with. He enjoyed Hanne's more mellow company! We enjoyed some yummy pizza and Halloween cookies that Emma and Katherine had made. Sometimes we go months without seeing each other but we are going to see everyone two weekends in a row. This weekend is our annual bonfire and hayride!