Busy Little Bee

Happy Halloween everyone! We've had a great, busy day! Hunter's teacher told me on Monday that the kids could wear their costumes to school today, so I loaded up the little bumble bee and we headed to school all decked out this morning.

When we walked into the building, the director and music teacher stopped us and made a big fuss over Hunter. This should've been my first clue, but I just thought they were gushing over him because, hey, he really is dang cute.

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As we were walking to the kitchen I noticed that none of the big kids in the hallway had their costumes on. Then we passed the 2 baby rooms, and you guessed it...none of the babies had costumes on. I was getting a little nervous at this point, and when we opened the kitchen door, just as I'd feared, there was only 1 kid who had his costume on...and that kid, my friends, was my son.

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I don't know whether it was that he could sense my panic or if it was the teachers gushing over him or if it was that he actually noticed that he was the only kid IN THE BUILDING in a costume, but Hunter stopped in his tracks and I had to lure him over to his high chair.

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I love telling embarrassing stories. I have many, and apparently, thanks to me, my poor son has already started his tally at the ripe age of 19 months.

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When James got home, we got the bumble bee ready to go visit the fam.

First we went over to Nana's house where Hunter got his very own treat bag that he was really excited about. (He's actually squeeling with delight and shaking his fists in excitement in this picture)...

So cute.

We met cousin Zack and cousin Vanesa at Nana's house, and then all headed over to Nanny and Grandad's....

where Hunter got more treats. (Notice the Kit Kat in his hand...that's his second one.)

Hunter even did a little trick or treating at Nanny's neighbor's house. This was exciting for him for exactly 1 stop, after which he started to scream. So we left, and headed to our last stop...Grandee and Poppy's.

I didn't get any pictures there, but it was pretty similar to the other stops. Lots of oohing and aahing and lots of chocolate. It's amazing my kid is asleep right now and not bouncing off the walls from the sugar high. We'll start detox in the morning.

Hope y'all had a great, embarrassment-free day!

We're more than great coats.

Here's my son yesterday morning on the way to school....
Yes, he's wearing a lightweight rain jacket...in 40 degree weather. I should receive an award for being the overachieving parent that I am.

At least I brought a blanket along. A blanket has sooo many more positives than a coat. The most important being, it will make your kid laugh the entire way to school with all of the creative games he will think to play with it.

Here's Hunter on the way to school today...

Not as exciting or nearly as fun as the blanket, but much warmer. Thank you Burlington Coat Factory. Thank you.

Oh! And the funniest thing ever about that coat...Hunter's teachers told me that when they took the kids out to play this morning, Hunter kept bending over and he couldn't stand up on his own because of the bulkiness and weight of his new coat. They had to keep helping him up. What I wouldn't give to see some video of this. I'm sure he was furious. Can't you just see those fists shaking and teeth clenching? Love it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Super Dad

I was at Lake Texoma this weekend for my church's women's retreat, and y'all...I DIDN'T BRING MY CAMERA. Who is believing this? Let's guess how many times I said to my roomie, "I wish I had my camera so we could take a picture of us." One? Two? Nope. Probably more like 3 or 4, which is a little out of control for a 2 day time period.

When I called James Saturday night, and he told me Hunter was in his new Curious George pajamas, I told him he better remember to take a picture the next morning. You know, since that camera never gets any use.

He didn't fail me.

Front and back shots. Is he trained well or is he trained well?

I had so much fun with the women at my church this weekend. It was a great getaway, but I was so ready to come home to my two favorite people...

I heart them:)

The Fair...perfect name guys, perfect.

So everytime I go to the fair I think, "what's the big deal about this place?" and I swear to myself that I'll never go back. Then a couple of years go by and everyone starts hyping it up and raving over the awesomeness of it, so I go back as if I've forgotten how unremarkable it was two years before.

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This year was one of those years that I forgot about my apathy towards Big Tex. We went. I wore jeans. James warned me not to. It was hot. There were millions of people there. There was no order to the walking around. People stopped in the middle of my path, and I nearly ran them over. I got grumpy...and complained...a lot. We went home.

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Yep. That pretty much sums up our day. I did take the time to take some cute pictures though.

Isn't Big Tex's waist a sight?!

I know y'all are surprised there are only two, but I told you I was hot and uncomfortable. And in case you haven't figured me out yet, I despise being uncomfortable.

Maybe in a couple of years we'll have a better experience. I vow to listen to my husband next time. Right. Who thinks that'll actually happen?

Is that hair in your sucker?

I took Hunter to get his first "real" hair cut last week at James's barber, James. I was a little reluctant to go to Barber James since I wasn't sure how he would do with an 18 month old, but he was AMAZING. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. As my James describes him, Barber James is a good ole boy - cowboy hat and all. He and his brother own the barber shop, and it's not exactly what you think of when picturing a kid-friendly place, but like I said he interacted better with Hunter than probably 90% of grown men out there would have.


He did a great job enticing Hunter with a sucker and putting the little gown over him and wetting down his hair. Hunter was even a champ when Barber James was actually cutting the hair thanks to all of the distraction techniques. But then Barber James pulled out the buzzers. You know the buzzers. Those electric clipper things for the neck hair. He let Hunter touch them with his fingers before putting them to his head, but we still got to witness a serious melt down. To say that it could qualify as one of the top 10 melt downs of all time would not be an overstatement.


Barber James was gracious enough to say that Hunter did great since he only cried at the end, but I'll let you look at the photos and be the judge...

Those are even after I've taken all of the hair cutting garb off and attempted to calm my frantic child down. I finally gave in to his limp body and just let him tantrum all over the floor.

Nothing a sucker and walk down the streets of downtown Plano can't fix though...

By the time we got to the car, I had a very well groomed, happy....and silly...and sticky baby!

(And yes, it took every fiber of my psycho clean freak being to not "accidentally" throw that sucker out the window.)

The Pumpkin Patch

My sister came with Hunter and I to the pumpkin patch by his school, so we could pick out some pumpkins for the porch...and so we could get some cute pictures. I'm not gonna lie. We were mainly there for the cute pictures:) Here's some of my favorites...

Happy Birthday Nanny!

Today is my grandmother's 80th birthday! Hunter had so much fun at her birthday party this weekend...

He loved watching as Nanny blew out all EIGHTY candles on her birthday cake that Aunt Courtney made. He also loved eating the cake and ice cream, although he would've had way more fun if mommy had let him use his hands to eat it like he wanted to do. Who needs silverware anyway?

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He was fascinated with cousin Vanesa's pink headband, and showed us that if he has a little sister one day, she will be just as cute as he is...

His favorite part of the party was playing outside with his cousins. Cousin Vanesa was doing cartwheels (okay I've never written that word and have no idea how to spell it, so there's my best attempt), which Hunter thought was so hysterical that he had to try one for himself...

His feet never left the ground, so I'm not seeing a future in gymnastics for him. I'm sure this is the best news James has heard all day.

We love you Nanny! We're so thankful you were born:)

Party Animal

Friday was Hunter's school's Fall Festival, so he got to wear his Halloween costume and play all sorts of fun games. I was completely excited about the costume part because my kid is one dang cute bumble bee, and I just knew there was an abundance of awesome pictures in my future. Hunter had different plans though.

You see bumble bees do not seem to be his insect of choice. Technically it's the bumble bee antennae that Hunter holds real issue with. As you can see, he had some difficulty seeing with the oversized costume hat on, especially since the entire time he was wearing it, he was doing this...
So I thought all I had to do was figure a way to pin it in the back on Halloween night so it didn't droop over his eyes. Then as I was taking the costume out of the bag on Friday after school, I pulled the hat out and couldn't figure out what was different about the antennae, until I looked inside and saw these...Apparently Hunter pulled on his hat all morning at school until those cute little balls came right off. What I wouldn't give to have been a fly on the wall at that moment. I'm sure he was elated.

Anyone have a hot glue gun I can borrow before Halloween? And some safety pins? I have some bumble bee costume rigging up to do.

One of Hunter's classmates, Owen, also had his birthday party on Friday, so Hunter got a goodie bag full of treats. His favorite prize from the party, though, was the cow hat. I'm amazed at how long he'll wear it around the house.

Maybe he should've been a cow for Halloween. Then I could've had cute pictures all around.

Big Boy Shoes

I bought Hunter some sandals from Stride Right about 2 1/2ish months ago. The shoes he was wearing at the time I purchased the sandals were a size 4. The sales lady at Stride Right told me he needed a 7. For those of you who aren't mathematicians, that's THREE SIZES TOO SMALL! I promise this had nothing to do with the fact that I was trying to prevent my child from having boat feet like his mommy.

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Anyway, about 2 weeks ago some pretty stanky smells started coming from those sandals, so last week I bought Hunter some tennis shoes.

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Hunter hearts these new shoes. I mean how could he not? They make him look like such a big boy for school...

They are an excellent choice for climbing boulders of all sizes...

They give great support and balance when you are laughing your head off and trying to keep up with your much bigger cousins at the same time...

And the very, very best thing about these shoes...they light up. Hunter is fascinated with this. The first time I put them on him he stomped all around the house, staring at his feet the entire time, but he still hasn't completely grasped the concept that the stepping is what produces the light. He is constantly sticking out that little finger and pushing with all his might on the little basketball at the end of the velcro strap to the point of complete frustration, waiting for those red lights to start flashing. Sweet boy. He's so determined.