I know, I know!

So yeah.  I know I haven't blogged since Halloween.  Whoops!  I have been kinda busy though.  I've had a rush of photo shoots, which probably won't end until about two weeks before Christmas.  Speaking of, that's right around the corner too!

Toight we took Parker for a drive around the square to look at the lights.  He kept pointing and saying, "Mama, ligh-lights!"  The boy loves lights!  This Christmas is going to be so fun!  He knows how to open presents this year, he can eat candy and cookies and just about anything--exept for nuts, which he chews, but will not swallow; resulting in a handful of chewed up nuts for mommy-- and he appreciates the lights and decorations!  I love seeing his little eyes light up when he sees a Christmas tree!  I really think the true spirit of Christmas may be seeing the Joy of it in the eyes of your child.

TRICK OR TREAT!

Well, Trick or Treating was a HUGE success!  Parker LOVED his costume, and had a great time!  We went to Harber Meadows to trick or treat with Parker's cousins, Kate and Claire, and he had a blast trying to keep up with the big kids!  Parker would march his little Razorback self right up to a front door, ring the bell about 13 times (Because once is never enough!) and when the door was opened, would happily declare, "Treat TREAT!"  --Yeah, he wasn't really interested in the trick part, just the treat!  Then after every house gave him the amount of candy he thought was acceptable--don't worry, if they only gave him one piece, he was quick to hold out his hand for more!--he would say "Thank You!" and turn away to show us his loot and run on to the next house!

We thought we would only do one or two streets, but the group we were with wanted to keep going, so Parker did the trick or treating thing for 2 whole hours, without one complaint or whine!  He was having the time of his life!  After trick or treating, we went and picked up a Jack-O-Lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's and came home and ate our super healthy dinner of pizza and candy!  Then it was off to the bath to scub off all that war paint, and then to bed!  He was exhausted! 

So I know you're all sitting on the edges of your seats waiting for these, and some of you have even called asking for them already--MOM!  So here they are!

Test run of the costume on Friday Night!

Playing outside Before Time to trick or Treat!

TOUCHDOWN!

Even Daddy got in on the Halloween Action.  Much to My embarrassment!  He was a redneck, if you were wondering!

Jack-O-Lanterns!

So last night we got bored, and decided to have a little fun.  We decided that it was the perfect time to carve our Pumpkins!  Parker had a blast playing with the Pumpkin Guts, and Jon and I had a lot of fun carving too.  I think they turned out pretty good!

The great Pumpkin Cake!

So by now, you might be able to tell that we love Halloween around here.  Oh heck, I love all the holidays!  You just wait until Christmas!  (Which by the way, is only 8 short weeks away at this point!--Do I hear sleigh bells and carolers?)

Ok, back to the subject.  We love Halloween.  We love carving pumpkins, and I love making all things Halloween-y.  So last night I decided to make a Pumpkin Cake.  No, not with real Pumpkin flavoring, cause we all know how much Jon hates pumpkin.  So really it was a chocolate bundt cake, made to look like a pumpkin!  The cake actually came out of my bundt pan without falling apart, which wasy some sort of little miracle in itself!  (They ALWAYS fall apart on me!)  Next, I reserved 2 Tbsp of  white frosting from a can.  Then I colored the remaining frosting orange with some decorator's food coloring and warmed it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Then I just drizzled the icing all over the cake until the entire thing was covered.  Lastly, I colored the 2 Tbsp. of reserved frosting green, and spread it all over an ice cream cone.  Then I inverted the cone, and plopped it right in the middle of the iced bundt cake.  How easy was that!

Parker had fun licking the icing bowl, I had fun making it, and Jon, Parker, and I had fun eating it!  Here are some pictures of our finished Product!

The Cookie Taster

So last Friday, Parker kept asking for a cookie.  Well, we didn't have any cookies, so me having the sweet tooth that I do, decided that he had a great idea there, and that we should make some cookies.  But not just any cookies, really cool looking cookies.  Soooo, off to the internet I went.  And I found the cutest recipe for Candy Corn look alike cookies.  Parker and I agreed, we had to make those cookies.  And even better, we had all the ingredients.  We didn't even have to run to the store!!! Score!

After much preparation and anticipation, the first batch of cookies came out of the oven.  I'm not sure I've ever seen Parker so excited about a cookie before!  He kept pointing and  yelling "Cookie!"  Now we wont go into a discussion about how cute he is, but seriously, you all know he's precious!  It was sooooo cute for him to yell cookie over and over again!  And he was even cuter in his little "Cookie Taster" apron!  So overall, we had a great, cookie-tastic day!

And Here's a Picture of the finished Product!

Yeah, Yeah

OK, I know I've been a slacker and haven't posted in almost 3 weeks.  Soooo, lets see what's gone on in those 3 weeks! 

First, last week was Craft Fair Week for us. Which by the way totally warrents me not posting--I have to go get the coolest stuff right?  Parker had a good time.  We went with the Rieskes (Well, minus David, because no woman in her right mind brings her husband to a craft fair,,,, too much whining and micro managing!) and we went with a friend of the Rieske's as well.  So in all, we had 3 ladies, and 4 kids under the age of 5.  WHEW!  The first day was fun, and so was the second day.  Parker had a blast riding the "train" at one of the fairs.  If Ashley will ever send me the photo she took of them, I'll post it!  (HINT HINT! :) )  I ended up getting a lot of cool stuff, and a few Christmas gifts as well.  YES!

This week was pretty boring.  Parker managed to spray Roundup all over my best Holly Bush out front, and the same day he broke my little camera.  (Don't worry, it wasn't by 40D, just my little Nikon point and click, but still!)  Somedays, I just wanna strangle him! 

But then there are days where he's super cute!  Like today.  He was actually pretty good all day!  We went to the mall this morning to meet up with some friends for a playdate.  Parker loves his friend Samantha, and she loves him too.  (And it helps that Sam's mom and I are becoming really great friends too!)  The kids had a ton of fun, and wore themselves out.  Parker took a 3 hour nap after we got home!

So in a nutshell, that's what we've been doing!  Just normal day to day stuff, with a craft fair and a play date thrown in.  Maybe someday we'll do something super exciting (Although I was seriously as excited as all of those crazy old ladies wearing red hats about the craft fairs),, but then again, if we did do something super exciting, I might just die of exhaustion!

New Potty!

Guess what came in the mail for Parker yesterday!

That's right, a big boy potty of his very own.  (In the color he picked out online at that!  That's my boy, go for the red!)  He was actually really excited about it.  We'll see if that excitement lasts in the months to come!  At this point, we're encouraging potty training, but not pushing the matter.  I think before we really start pushing it, we might need to work on the concept of taking off our jeans and diaper before we sit on the potty!

We were told that last night while we were at dinner, Aunt Kayla got Parker to sit on the potty sans diaper, but no pee pees (as Parker calls them) were made.  Good try though!