Halloween 2015

In honor of Baby Waldo we went with a Where's Waldo theme for our Halloween costumes. It was the perfect costume for being 37 weeks pregnant. Comfortable and little fuss! And as a plus Collin LOVED it! I made the hats using the nifty knitter looms and then hunted down some stripe shirts- Collin's from Target, mine from Goodwill and Michael's we resorted to ordering from Amazon. And the glasses were photo booth props I stumbled upon at Hobby Lobby.

 

 We got into the Halloween spirit by decorating the house. I loved how our Frankenstein front door turned out. That was a quick, in between Conference sessions project using supplies we already had. We also painted pumpkins. And took a family trip to the pumpkin patch (aka over priced pumpkins scattered on the lawn in front of a local church with some props and bales of hay). We had fun walking around for a few minutes and then drove around town to the grocery stores looking for pumpkins. Which ended up being harder then expected. Lesson learned don't wait till the week of Halloween. But Michael did end up finding some when he went out later that night. I kept tradition of painting mine, Collin painted his and Michael carved. Collin was not a fan of the pumpkin guts, but he did love the finished product.

 

 

Collin was lucky enough to get to wear his costume for the few days leading up to Halloween. On Thursday we had story time at the library. Then Friday we got to trick or treat around City Hall and then helped pass out candy from Michael's office. And then Saturday on Halloween we went to our ward trunk-or-treat, which got moved in doors because of rain, and then went trick or treating around a block in the Wilcox's neighborhood. He made the cutest little Waldo!

 

 Happy to discover he still fit into last years costume. We wore it around the house one day and practiced our trick or treating.

 The kiddos insisted on holding both of Michael's hands

Collin was at such a fun age for Halloween! Last year he was just barely walking and had little interest in holding his treat bucket. This year he perfected "trick or treat please" and was even brave enough to say it most of the time and he knew to knock on the doors- maybe next year he will learn that one knock is enough ;) And he was so brave he would try to help himself to the candy instead of letting the person give it to him, we'll work on that for next year too ;)

 

Holidays are much more exciting through the eyes of a little kid! And I loved having a family themed costume. Maybe we will follow in the footsteps of Grandpa Al and just be Waldo every year!

California in September

Collin and I were lucky enough to go visit my family in California for a week in September. Michael had the ICMA conference in Seattle. Originally we thought I would go with him and leave Collin in CA with my family. But logistically that was getting too crazy and expensive and exhausting for being 30/31 weeks pregnant. So then Collin and I were just going to stay home. But then Southwest had an amazing deal on tickets- $55 each way. I had enough points and Collin was still free and we felt like we couldn't let the opportunity pass.

We started off the trip with a bang- Collin threw up within a few minutes of my mom picking us up from LAX. When we left Texas he was acting totally fine. But then he slept on the plane which was really odd and was feeling a little warm and acting clingy and whiny. So that was a nice, stinky start to our trip. Made for some good memories cleaning everything up with my mom in a fast food parking lot. I must say I was really surprised at how well I handled myself during the whole ordeal and wasn't gagging and throwing up too. A little mommy blessing! So the first couple days were pretty low key but thankfully no one else got sick! Another blessing!

Some highlights from the trip once Collin was feeling better!

Playing in the backyard! How I can't wait to have a backyard of our own!

Cousin Elle's soccer game

The General Women's Conference with the girl's in the family. Lindsay was still on her trip with Shaun so she didn't get to join us. But it was so fun to have Madi there who had just turned 8. We went to Olas for dinner (always have to get my fix while I am in town) and then enjoyed so many chocolate desserts after the broadcast. I left Collin in the care of my Dad, with some help from Spencer (thanks Spencer!). When we got home he was in bed, and my dad said he ate 2 (!!!) hot dogs for dinner. My dad also introduced him to pickles, which he loves and now has to have almost everyday for lunch. Coincidentally, he also realized his love for mustard (and has almost every day now) after having lunch with Anie and Calvin on this trip.

Handsome boy on Sunday!

Boppi's birthday! Realized that this was the second year in a row we got to celebrate with her. Last year we were all in Utah/Wyoming for Grandma's funeral.

We rode a trolley with Chloe and Bryan. This little Daniel Tiger fan was so excited! 4 months later and he still talks about it.

Bumping bellies with Anie! So excited for Derrick to have a cousin just a few months younger then him. He and James will be the best little buds!

Playing at Spencer and Anie's. He was loving the trike and helmet.

Playing with Miso, my parent's cat

Fun on the plane on the way home. We got a row to ourselves. Yippee! Collin had a blast playing with our empty cups and straws. He kept saying he was playing the drums with them.

It was a great trip, although a little exhausting. But I am so glad it worked out for us to go and that we were able to take advantage of Collin's free flying status one last time.

Sea Center

We have a great little sea center down the street from where we live. It's a tiny little place with a few big, wall size aquariums, a few small ones and a touch tank that Collin loves! And did I mention that it's free?! Collin and I loved to walk down when  the weather was cooler, now we drive, and see the fish. They even have a couple times a week that you can watch them feed the fish, although we have been avoiding it during the busy summer. One Saturday in March they had a nature day with lots of fun hands on things for the kids to do. Collin was still a little young for some of it but he surprised Michael and I by being so brave and touching a little alligator and snake. Since then he really has had no fear of touching live animals, sometimes he's a little too fearless! 

Dr Seuss Day

I feel like Dr Seuss Day isn't real a big deal unless you are in elementary school. But I happened to come across something about it and it was only a couple days away so I decided to make an event of it. It also just happened to be my night to plan family home evening and we already had a breakfast meal on the menu so it worked out perfectly! For dinner we of course had green eggs (scrambled eggs mixed with avocado) and ham! And then to tie it into FHE we read the scripture "Seek ye out of the best of books words of wisdom" Doctrine and Covenants 88:118. Then we read some books together and talked about learning and good books we can read. Of course with Collin this all lasted just a few minutes. But despite that I love this time to spend together with my little family and talk about important things at such a simple level. We aren't the best at regular FHE, especially since Michael often has city council meetings Monday nights, but we're trying. 

Grandma Coon Visits

Michael's mom was in New Mexico for a work training (way back in March) and on her way home took a detour to visit us for a week. We are glad she was able to come- she hadn't seen Collin since he was 2 months old! Unfortunately Michael couldn't take off any work, but thankfully we had the evenings and weekend to do some fine things and she and Collin and I were able to do some fun things during the day.

We explored nearby Brazos Bend State Park. Enjoyed a nice walk around a pond (maybe they called it a lake?) Either way we saw a real alligator and some other fun birds and critters. We also checked out the ranger station where they lots of interactive things to touch and look at. We finished off our excursion with a picnic lunch and a little play on the playground and another short walk where we saw another, even closer, alligator just sunning itself a few feet from  us. 

 

Grandma treated us to a day at the zoo.  Collin loved all the animals! And that was his new favorite word after that. Highlight for him though was probably the carousel ride Grandma took him on. I was a little nervous to how he would react- he had only been on the little carousel at Bass Pro Shop when we saw Santa and he was a little hesitant about it- but he had the biggest smile the whole ride! 

 

One evening we took a trip to the beach. There were so many seashells that night. It was fun to collect some. Collin was still in his anti-sand phase so he was content to stay on the blanket or safe in Daddy's arms. 

Had some yummy meals at home. One night we treated Grandma Coon to some homemade sushi. This is always a fun  and unique meal to have with company. 

 

The rest of our time together was filled with evenings talking, sharing stories from Michael's childhood (seems like we now know the source of Collins energy), some movie nights, church, and some of our regular outings like story time at the library. We are so glad that Grandma Coon took the time to come visit. The hardest part of living in Texas is being so far away from family. I am especially grateful for the time Collin got to bond with his Grandma and the memories they made together. Also I know Michael enjoyed seeing some of his family. I've had the chance to see my family quite a bit but it's been harder for him to see his since we moved from Utah. 

Truly

My parent's had to make the hard decision to put our family dog down on February 4, 2015 (or maybe it was the 5th??). She would have been 16 years old in June and had been a part of our family since I was about 8 or 9 years old. I still have yet to go home and not have her there to greet me. She will be missed dearly!

A few of my favorite memories of her. I really could share so many more but I'll keep it at this. And just share some pictures I have of her from over the years.

I loved having Truly sleep in my room with me. Much to my dad's dismay she would often end up sleeping on my bed with me.

One year for Christmas Corinne gave me a "PMS kit"- it included comfy pj's, a rice bag, and a cute tote bag full of chocolate. Well one night shortly after Christmas Truly was sleeping in my room with me and that bag was sitting on my floor. I woke up the next morning to her having chewed through the tote and most of the chocolate gone. Little stinker! Good thing she was cute ;)

She sure did have a sweet tooth- one time Corinne had made a pumpkin roll. We had it cooling on the dining room table, a few minutes later we noticed Truly was missing. She had licked off all the cream cheese filling! Also one time she was staying at Lindsay and Shaun's house. It was Lindsay's birthday so they had strawberry shortcake sitting on their kitchen island for dessert. Lindsay and Shaun went out for a date and when they got home the babysitter said it was all gone after she came downstairs from putting the kids to bed.

She had the softest ears.

If you were laying on the floor she loved to come curl up right next to you...or sometimes right on top of you.

She was great with all the grand kids and didn't mind being climbed on or her ears and tail being pulled.  I am so glad that Collin got to meet her. We have a little stuffed yellow lab from Ikea that we have named Truly. Love to hear him ask to sleep with Truly every night and carry her around the house.

 

 

 

She had the sweetest temperament. Her favorite way to greet you was with a big wet kiss. She especially loved licking your toes.  

Michael says I was too attached to Truly, but she was a like a member of our family, and for that reason he says we will never have a dog. I think someday, when the kids are older and we are more settled, we will be able to convince him to get one ;)