Happy Halloween!

I don't know about you, but our weekend has been jammed back with Halloween festivities.  On Friday I took Miller to a playgroup where the kids got to play and decorate pumpkin cookies. 

 Sweet Hunter.  Somehow I didn't get a picture of Hays...  Sorry buddy!!!

 Ava {in the background} and Miller - He was loving all of the new toys!

 Our host and hostess, Hudson and Hannah

Miller was pretty content to have his plain {fine by mommy!}. 

 Hannah Burson was meticulous with her cookie :)

Jackson, Miller, and Hudson - We tried to get a picture of all three boys sitting together.  You can imagine how that turned out.  We had so much fun!  Thanks for having us Tanya!

That night we went up to Dream Ranch for the Ainsworth's Third Annual Costume Party.  Is it just me or does anyone else find it really fun to dress up as an adult?  I guess it's the one time you get to be completely silly and let's be honest, seeing everyone else dress up provides some pretty good laughs. 

 Our little family waiting for the rest of our "cast"

 Andrew and Maggee

 Hunter, Will, Hays, and Kendall

 All that's missing is a bear...

 Sharon and Billy {Will's parents}

 Ben, Katie, Campbell, me, Miller, and Bryant

We had a big group shot taken of our college group, but it's on someone else's camera.  I'll be sure to post it when I get it.  There were some great costumes!  Several of our college friends came in from out of town with their families and we all spent the night at the Lodge which makes it even more fun.  I LOVE being able to let Miller party for a little bit and then put him to bed downstairs instead of having to leave.  As always, there were some pretty creative costumes and lots of laughs!

Andrew, Winston, Scout, and Evelyn.  Got to love all those babies in pajamas!!

Sam

You just though this post was over.  Nope!  On Saturday night we went to my in-laws' house for dinner.  Kate and Scott were in town so we wanted to be sure and visit with them while they were here.  By the way, Kate is the cutest stinkin' pregnant girl around {of course} and she just started a blog.  Check it out if you get a chance...

Anyway, before dinner we took Miller over to his great Aunt Catherine's house.  I was glad we got a chance to see her and I realized how much better I need to be about taking Miller by there once in a while.

 Playing with Papa Frank

 Having fun with Aunt Kate

 Aunt Katie, Miller, and if you look REALLY closely - Baby Limbaugh

Whew!  I'm exhausted just typing all of this!  And now it's off to get ready for our church's Fall Festival.  I may slip into a coma tonight :)  Be back with pictures from tonight soon!

MDO Halloween Party

While Miller is in a sugar-induced-sleep-coma, I thought I'd take the opportunity to blog about his party this morning at Mother's Day Out.  {Is that the correct grammar?  I do possess the day out, right?  Or is the day meant for multiple mothers, plural?  Moving on...}  Miller always does awesome at MDO and so I was excited to see him in action.  He never cries when I drop him off and so far I haven't received any negative phone calls or feedback.  So far.  Anyway, I went a little early to change him into his costume since I wasn't sure if he could handle it all morning.  I was shocked to see all of children sitting quietly on the rug waiting for the teacher's directions.  I think the teachers probably thought I was rude because before even saying "hello" I said, "How did you get him to sit still?"  Too late.  As soon as he saw me he was on his feet running towards me.  I changed him into his lion costume {which took him a while to get warmed up to} and we joined the class in a few songs while we waited on the rest of the parents.  

Once everyone arrived it was snack time.  Let me just tell ya, Miller knows what this phrase means and ran straight for the table with food.  The teachers did a great job of having everything laid out and very organized.  The teacher for the one year old class recently had to resign because of some health problems so for the last couple of weeks they've had to combine the one and two year olds together.  Sounds chaotic, but they've actually done a really great job with all of those kids.  Anyway, the neurotic-health-nut in me {which by the way, only really applies to what Miller eats :) } had to take a deep breath when I saw the plate of goodies: a big sugar cookie, a spoonful of icing, sprinkles, candy corn, potato chips and a juice box.  

I didn't want to be "that crazy mom" though so we jumped right into decorating Miller's cookie and I let him dig in.  

I did decide against the candy corn since this could be a bit of a choking hazard and he didn't seem to notice it anyway.  Thankfully, Miller wasn't that fond of the cookie or chips {I think they were too hard for his little gums}, but don't worry - he found the spoonful of icing.  

Wow.  That's a lot of sugar.  I was interested to see how he'd do with the juice box and I don't know that he really got much out of the straw.  Guess we should be practicing using a straw.  Woops!

After snack time it was off for trick-or-treating.  I forgot Miller's cute little pumpkin, but thankfully the teachers had really cute bags for each of the kids.  

 

As a second option Miller thought he might just borrow Olivia's pumpkin.

I didn't get too many shots of the actual trick-or-treating since I was corralling a 14 month old.   They had these cute little boxes out that the kids could reach into and pull a treat out of.  This concept took a while for Miller to get.  Once he got something though he'd take off in the opposite direction of me, because he didn't want to put it in his bag.  I guess he was scared I would steal it from him.... which he was right about.  As we speak, I'm eating some of his Halloween candy.  Sorry, buddy.  But hey, he can't chew tootsie rolls anyway, right?  We'll just say he's "sharing" with me.  That sounds much nicer.

 

I tried to get at least one shot of Miller with his teachers before we left, but I think he thought I was going to leave without him. 

 

This picture is so pitiful!  I promise he loves his teachers!!

Alright, off to eat more candy and finish up last minute touches on our costumes for tomorrow night.  Be back soon!

Grab some popcorn...

...because it's movie time!  I uploaded videos from my camera for the first time in a while today and came across several cute videos to share.  A quick note:  Miller has a sixth sense about video cameras and usually stops {or tones down drastically} whatever cute behavior he was in the process of doing as soon as I hit the record button.  So whatever you see, realize he was much more dramatic before the camera was on.  They're still pretty cute though!

Dancing in the car {Disclaimers:  1.  We were parked.  No mom, I wasn't videoing and driving ;)  2.  I realize this song is totally inappropriate, but for some unknown reason when it came on the radio Miller started getting his groove on - I couldn't pass up the chance for a quick video}

This one isn't of Miller, but it was too adorable not to share!  Hunter and Hays came over to play one day and Hunter thought Miller was hysterical for some reason.  Most precious giggle ever!

Laundry Day!  Might as well mop the floor while we're at it.

Miller is finally learning how to GENTLY pet Oreo.  Of course, Oreo doesn't give him much of a chance unless Daddy is close by.  Can't say that I blame her though; Miller has pulled out his fair share of cat hair!

Pumpkin Patch

We took advantage of the beautiful weather today and went to our local pumpkin patch.  Miller had so much fun running around and seeing all of the "balls".   We came home with a very cool green pumpkin and a little white one since I already had a few orange pumpkins.  Nothing like waiting until the end of October to do your "Fall" decorating.  

 Hmmm... where do I start?

 These are just my size!

 Doesn't he look like he's practicing to be a model - with that serious face and windblown hair.

Alright daddy, where's your wallet?  I found the one I want.

Notice how tightly I had to hold him to get this picture.  He did NOT want to be confined.

I should have taken a picture of the pumpkins we ended up getting.  They were so neat and different!  Maybe I'll be able to get a picture of Miller on the front porch with them, but posed pics are pretty tough these days!

Fireman Miller

Last week at Miller's school was Fire Safety week.  A fire truck even came to see them.  Check out our little firefighter!

Sweet Cheeks

Look.  at.  those.  cheeks.

This little munchkin is so delicious.  Mmm.  Love it.

Gran & Pop's

Bryant went to Illinois last week to go deer hunting, so Miller and I headed down to Gran and Pop's house for a few days.  As always, it was fun to have some help with Miller, eat a lot of good food, and just relax.  I came back Saturday afternoon so that I would be here to teach Sunday School, but Miller stayed down there until Monday.  This was an extra treat for me!  I enjoyed having the house to myself for a day and a half, although I worked like mad to get things done around the house that are tough to do with Miller in tow.  It was nice to have some time all to myself, but I was glad when both of my boys got home!  Here's a glimpse of Miller's time with Gran and Pop!

 

Helping Pop cook.  

Miller loves to say Pop's name and he goes straight to looking for him as soon as he wakes up.

 Getting into Gran's cabinets

Mom said Miller made a little "fort" under here

Thanks for a great visit, Pop & Gran!

Girls Trip, Part II

Last weekend, while Miller was at his Poppy  & Cissy's, I went to Ross Bridge for our second try at a girls' weekend.  As you may or may not {probably not} recall, our last trip to Ross Bridge was a bit of a bust so we were given the opportunity for a do-over.  Everything was wonderful this time!  We stayed up late, slept in, shopped, went to non-kid-friendly restaurants, and as always, laughed A LOT.   I have been truly blessed with such magnificent friends!  Thanks for a great weekend, girls!

A Weekend at Poppy & Cissy's

Miller spent the weekend at Poppy and Cissy's house in Birmingham while I went on a girls' trip {more on that to come}.  Here are a some pictures from his time there.  It looks like fun was had by all!

 

 

Thanks for taking such good care of our baby boy, Poppy and Cissy!