Pumpkin patch

I absolutely love Halloween. I love the smell of it, the costumes and pumpkins! Ever since we've been married, we've been lame and haven't gone to a pumpkin patch. I was determined to go this year, since I feel like every kid should get a picture at the pumpkin patch for their first Halloween! I looked up ones in our area and there was one just 10 minutes away in Laguna Hills.

There were so many cute things to do around the whole area. Luckily, he's not old enough to want to do any of those things (because they all took money), so we were able to just walk around, look at all the fun things and take lots of pictures! We didn't even end up getting a pumpkin because they were overpriced!

There was so much going on around that it was a little difficult to get him to look at the camera. I suppose it's ok since he's cute from any angle.

He's just over 2 ft now. Such a tall boy!

He was definitely more interested in the straw around than looking at the camera.

He was a pretty somber and sleepy boy, so there weren't many smiles, but he has master the two finger sucking.

I just love his eyes.

We had so much fun and I can't wait until next year when he's a little bit older and can enjoy just a few more of the fantastic activities it has to offer!

Happy birthday to me!

This is definitely a few weeks late, but I couldn't miss writing about my birthday! I mean, I am now 25!

It started off the night before my birthday. Ethan was going to be gone for most of the day so he wanted to give me my gift early. I may or may not have had a good idea of what it was, but I wasn't going to spoil it for him. I opened my gift as we sat around the fire pit. The first gift was a photography book that I've been wanting, to help me get better at taking pictures. The second gift was one that I just knew! We will be going to an amazing show-Wicked! Have I already been twice? Yes. Do I really want to see it again? Absolutely!! He knows me all too well!

On the actual day of my birthday, I spent time to talking to people on the phone, cleaning the house, and doing the every day things that I do. Ethan gave me a call and said to be ready to go out to dinner at 7:00pm. He wouldn't tell me where, but I'm fairly easy when it comes to food. I got ready and even put a little more make-up on than usual. I felt great and I was excited to eat! We went to this small little Italian restaurant called Tutto Fresco. It was absolutely delicious! They had this amazing bread, with oil for dipping of course, and it was so soft and warm. Yum. We decided to pass on dessert, but ended up going to Target and getting ice cream. It was nice to get out, dress up and go on a little date with my little family. We came home, got Nixon to bed, and spent some time cuddled up on the couch watching a little Chopped and then called it a night.

The next day, Saturday, we decided to celebrate with a little bit of a party. There's a group of about 14 young couples in this area that we've done a few things with and we thought it would be fun to get together for my birthday. It was nothing too exciting, we roasted some S'mores around the fire and I had made some delicious brownies (people loved them). We had planned on playing a few games, but we ended up just hanging out around the fire and talking for a couple hours. It was nice to have a couple Pack N' Plays and enough rooms to house the 4 little sleeping children, while the parents were all downstairs.

It was a fantastic weekend (with no pictures unfortunately), and the perfect way to celebrate the big 25! I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best years to come.

26 Weeks

Nixon is 26 weeks and has hit the 6 month mark! We don't have any new stats yet, since his appointment isn't for a couple weeks but here's some of our favorite things about him.

-He is one of the happiest little babies I have ever seen. He has a smile that could light up any room.

-Getting him in the morning is the best thing ever. He flashes his million dollar gums and kicks his feet he's so excited! It would make anyone feel like they've won the lottery.

-He is a spitting image of his dad.

-We're working on him sitting up. It's a work in progress, but it's progress nonetheless!

-He's got the bluest eyes. I could look at them for hours!

-He loves his oatmeal cereal. He has it once a day and eats like a champ.

-He is the best sleeper. No joke, it's almost ridiculous. 

-He rocks a bow tie every Sunday and people love seeing which color he'll rock next.

-He and I are the best of friends. We hang out all day and I wouldn't have it any other way!

-He's got the biggest personality!

-His favorite song is still "You Are My Sunshine."

-He LOVES to stand. If I want him to sit, I usually have to force him to bend at the waist.

-He has the best voice. It's so low and straight from the gut. His laugh is the same way.

-He sure looks up to his dad, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

-He has been the biggest blessing in our lives and we love him more than he will ever know.

Happy 6 months Nixon boy. We love you!

Sweet boy

Is that not the most precious face? He melts me. 

25 Weeks

Today Nixon is as many weeks old as I am years! The weather here is still beautiful so we're able to spend some time outside, which we enjoy. He's not so much a fan of grass, but who would be when it touches your bare skin? Look at that lip.

He's also getting in to the Halloween spirit. If I would have know how keen his was on pirates, I may have taken that route for the costume. Maybe next year..

Louisiana trip- Part 5

Monday was the day that all of us were trying to avoid. It was the day we had to say goodbye. I had uploaded the pictures from Sunday to my laptop so I could see them on a bigger screen. My heart sunk to my stomach when I realized that 90% of the pictures I had taken were blurry. I had my camera set on a low f-stop because I'm usually taking pictures of only one or two people.

Needless to say, I was NOT going to leave without getting more pictures! So, we set up shop in their front yard and took some more!

I would say one of my favorite things about this entire trip was to see the love that these two had for each other. I can't even count how many times Archie would learn over to Loretta and say (with his adorable souther accent), "I love you baby!" Without fail, Loretta would say back, "I love you too." The best was when she would add to that, "But I'm not sure why." That is the kind of love I hope to have when we're 80 years old. 

Five generations

Ethan was also able to spend some time with his grandpa in the infamous shop that I've heard all about.

His grandpa always said, having the right tool makes any job easier. I have a feeling no job was too hard based on the amount of tools he had! He was also able to help his grandpa cut and weld a basket for the freezer back together. I have no doubt that both of them enjoyed working together on that little project.

As we were saying our last goodbyes before we got in the car for the airport, I had to get one last picture.

Louisiana was good to us. Until next time. 

Louisiana trip- Part 4

Sunday morning, we went back to Robeline for an event called Homecoming.

It's a day where the families, that have family members in this little privately owned cemetery, get together at this tiny little church and have a little sermon, a business meeting regarding the cemetery funds, and they finish it off with a potluck.

The sermon was very nice and talked about the notion of a new day. It was uplifting and made me reflect on what I need to be doing with each new day that I am given. After a closing prayer was given, the business meeting was started.

Every person (about 30 people) stood up and said where they were from and essentially how they were related to those in the meeting. They went over the finances of the cemetery and how the funds were used for that year. It was so interested to see how the whole process worked and to see these amazing people, who are very humble people from little money, come together and donate money to keep this cemetery up and running.

We finished up with a delicious potluck which had some food that was pretty good. There was this white bean and chicken chili that was delicious! For dessert they had this lemon pound cake, that was amazing. I've never had it before, and it's probably a good thing! It was hard not to go back for more!

I figured I would take the opportunity while everyone was together to get some family pictures.

 Archie, Loretta, Ruthie and Sarah

 Ruthie, Ron (Ruthie's husband), Archie and Loretta

Four generations

 Nixon and Great-grandpa Archie

 Nixon and Great-grandma Loretta

 Ethan and Archie getting close for their picture

This next picture is my absolute favorite picture of Archie!! I told him to strike a post for me, and this is what I got.

Don't you wish he was your grandpa? He is seriously amazing. I love him. 

We also had the chance to visit a couple of the headstones. This first one is the parents of Archie.

This next grave was even more special. Stephanie Gale Thomas is Ethan's oldest sister. Dwayne and Sarah (Ethan's parents) were in Chicago at the time going to chiropractic school. They didn't want to bury her there, since they had no intention of living there permanently, so they decided to have her brought back to Louisiana to be buried. 

It was such an uplifting day, and it made be happy to be a part of such a great family.