October 31st Tradition

We are starting to add some traditions to holidays here in our house, especially as Neal get's older and is able to participate in activities and remember things better.   So, this year we started a tradition of carving out pumpkins on Halloween morning, so they are ready to welcome friendly trick-or-treaters at night.

Neal was so excited to cut the pumpkin but once we opened the top and had him pull out the insides he was not quite as interested.  It was cold, messy and sticky which Neal does not like.   He mostly watched as Tyler scooped out the pumpkin.  

Neal told us how he wanted the face to look and then helped Tyler carve out the eyes, nose and mouth.  

We just need to find a candle to put inside before tonight so it will give a welcoming glow.

The best part about this new tradition is the yummy snack we all got to enjoy this afternoon, toasted pumpkin seeds! 

First Tattoo

Neal got his first "tattoo" at a birthday party he was at, a dinosaur!  He was so excited about it and was looking at it all day.  

I have to say those rub on tattoos are better then I thought...after a week of baths, with me scrubbing his arm to get it off, it stayed in tact.  It is finally almost gone, after 2 weeks.   Neal told me "just like Uncle Matt" as he pointed to his tattoo.  It made me laugh and smile, what a good memory he has and I am so happy that he remembers family, even the ones we have only gotten to see a few times.   But now that we are on the east coast we hope to see Uncle Matt and Tia (my sister) more often.

Kindness

The kindness of others is always such a blessing, and the kindness of a stranger is an unexpected and delightful blessing no matter how small or simple.  

At the NC State Fair last week we asked a lady where she got her goldfish and she said she won it the ring toss game.  We thanked her and continued walking.  A few moments later she came and found us and handed us her goldfish and said she wanted our son to have it.  How sweet it was for her to give it to us.  As a mom there is nothing that delights me more or puts a bigger smile on my face then when people are kind and thoughtful towards my son.  She was the highlight of the fair for me.  She said she knew he would love it and wanted him to enjoy the fish.

Neal loves his fish, talkes to it each morning while he eats breakfast and has named him "Nemo".  I sure hope this fish lasts for a long time 'cause otherwise we are going to have a very sad little boy on our hands.  

Summer, Fall and Even Christmas Projects

It is so nice to finally be able to pull out all of my quilting and craft project again.  I have a lot of projects underway (which isn't really that unusual for me).   My dinning room has become my craft room for now and I love that I have the space (and extra table) to be able to leave my sewing machine and fabric out so I can work on things each day with the few hours, or minutes, that I may have.    So what have I been making....

First, I learned hand embroidery and I LOVE it

This project was an embroidery 101 quilt that a friend of mine had a tutorial on which taught you how to hand embroider.  If you are interested you should check out her blog and try it yourself.  I will be adding little embroidery embellishments to many of future projects.  This is the finished quilt top...

Not sure exactly what I will use the quilt for (not really any of the colors in my house) but it turned out cute and was so fun to make.  For now it is put away to finish quilting later 'cause I have other, more urgent projects, underway.

There was some "Christmas in July" happening in my house.  I started the Christmas quilt that I am making for our family this summer and it is still in process.

I want to have a christmas quilt that we have out each year that our kids can remember and hopefully love to curl with as we watch Christmas movies, read the Christmas story and sleep under the Christmas tree.  So I am hoping to have it finished by this Christmas so we can start using it.   I have a great helper so maybe I can actually get it done in the next few months.

Finally, I couldn't forget about Fall projects.  We are loving the fall weather around here and all the leaves are starting to turn into those beautiful fall colors so I had to make something fun for our door.  I am so happy how this simple wreath came out.

I love the simple fall looking flowers and the "G" (for Gates of course just incase you were wondering).   This simple wreath brings is just what our front porch need to give a welcoming touch to those who come and visit.

Like I said, lot of projects going on...and of course this kind of fall weather makes me want to bake and cook so there are lots of cooking projects going on in my kitchen as well.  One of my favorite things about this time of year is that we can enjoy eating soups again (the summers are just too hot for soup).  This tomato soup is my favorite...you should try it.  It goes perfect on a crisp fall evening with some toasted bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Family Day

Tyler was able to take a day away from the office on Monday and so we got to spend the day together as a family.  He has been traveling a lot the last few months so finally having a day together as a family was a lot of fun.    We decided to spend our day at the NC State Fair.   I'll let the pictures tell the story of most of our day there.  It was a bit rainy but over all a good day and not too crowded since the weather wasn't the best.  

Riding the Train, Firetruck and Carousel (these were Neal's favorite activities)

Watching the pig races and looking at the hive of bees

Petting the feeding goats

"flying" a helicopter

and finally he just couldn't go on any more...he passed out in the stroller as we were walking around.

We had a great day there and will have to go back again next year.  However, we learned that you need to come to the fair hungry and be ready to snack all day 'cause they fry anything and everything you can think of and so next year we will have to try more then just a deep fried snickers bar.

Some Structured Learning

I have decided to try and have Neal sit down with me and do some more structured activities a few days a week.  I am hoping that this will help teach him the discipline of sitting still (which is so hard for an active toddler) and also try and work on a few things that I want him to learn such as letters and colors.

The activity that we did yesterday was a hit.  I used an old egg carton and had him sort out his counting bears by color.  He loved sorting them and it was good practice for his colors.   He's not so great on naming his colors yet but recognizing the color differences is getting better.

A few weeks ago I got an old cardboard box (we have a lot of these around from moving) and let him draw all over it on the floor.  He had a great time and we tried different things like drawing straight lines, circles and letters.

Neal has surprised us with his recognition of certain letters.  He is really good at spotting "o", "n", "s" and "i".   He likes to point out letters that he sees on our shirts, on signs or on "Wheel of Fortune."   Now, let me tell you that I normally don't watch Wheel of Fortune but it comes on right before Neal's bedtime and I found that he loves to watch it and point out all the letters.  So, a few times a week I let him watch it before bed and we work on our letters.  It is helping and is a fun way for him to learn.

I am always looking for new activities and crafts to do so if any of you have great ideas of ways to learn colors, or letters please share them with me.  Especially as winter starts to come and it gets cooler we will be needing more indoor activities to occupy our day.

I Love My Job

Being a mom has been the best job I have ever had.  Each day brings its own surprises, challenges and delights.  Neal is always keeping my laughing and running around.   Sure, there are days that are tougher then others, there are even some days when nap time and bed time can't come soon enough.   However, for the most part I love spending my time playing hide & seek, fighting dragons, reading stories and having a helper with the house chores.   Plus no matter what the day is like, all is forgotten & forgiven when Neal walks over and gives me a hug and says "I love you mom".

Here are the different faces I get to see almost everyday from my sweet son:  happy, silly, sleepy, praying, and his scary/monster face.  (He likes to perform infront of a camera)

I am so blessed to have such a sweet little boy that I get to spend everyday with.  I think many days the Lord teaches me through Neal as much as I teach him.  It's amazing what a 2 1/2 year old can teach you and how much they can show you areas of selfishness and inconsistencies in your life.   God can use anyone to teach us what we need to learn and to shed light on areas where we need to repent and change.  Being a mom is a calling from God and I am so happy and blessed to have been given this calling.  I love my job!