Monkeying around on Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone! Halloween was so much fun this year. Having a child is especially fun on the holidays.

Adrian had many festivities to enjoy this year. On Friday afternoon we attended a children's party at the Department of Health (where I am currently working). Adrian did some cubicle trick-or-treating, followed by some cookie eating and some gourd bowling. A full afternoon! We loaded everything up in the stroller and went to an adult party at my AdvansysTMC office. Adrian was the life of the party and was really in an entertaining mood. Everytime a group of people laughed he would launch into a loud, fake laugh with his eyes closed and his hand up in the air just like an adult. How can you not laugh at a little laughing monkey? We loaded the stroller up again and made our way to my car. I have never had such an exhausting afternoon at the office! I think Adrian tired to stick his fingers in every electrical socket and network plugin in the entire office. Not to mention opening every filing cabinent within 3 feet of the floor.

On Halloween day Adrian had a party at Lisa's. He wore his monkey costume and I was really surprised when Lisa told me that he was one of the only kids that would keep his costume on. They made Halloween sugar cookies, colored some Halloween pictures and ran around in their costumes (or not). Tonight I took Adrian around the neighbourhood in his wagon dressed in his monkey suit. He enjoyed the ride and the stops along the way. I let him open a box of Smarties when we got home and he would put one in his mouth, make an awful face, spit it out in my hand and then put another new one in. I let him give a KitKat a try and he left that in his mouth for a few minutes and then spit it out. He doesn't seem to like chocolate at all. If I wasn't there when he came out I might question whether or not he was my child... haha.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween this year. We sure did. Now I am going to go eat some of Adrian's treats!! (It's not like he can eat Doritos or Oh Henry bars, so I don't need to feel guilty, right?).

Here Kitty Kitty

We had the pleasure of visiting with Sara, Ian and Emily this weekend. It was very exciting for Adrian to be out and about, especially since they just got a new adorable kitten named Ruthie. Adrian seems to really love animals but this was the first one that was actually his size (compared to our 70lb shepard and the horses at the Country Pumpkin) that he got to make contact with so he especially love her. He figured out early that Ruthie seemed drawn to the string so he wanted to have that in hand at all times.

Sara also captured the photo below which cracks me up because it looks like a male model on the beach shot. Mark my words... he'll be in a calendar someday!

More, please!

I am not sure what has gotten into Adrian's appetite the last couple of days but he has been eating non-stop. He used to eat like this when he was much younger but his appetite had slowed considerably until now. He will eat whatever I give him for supper with gusto (even if it is a plateful of veggies, he even devoured a 2 egg omelet full of broccoli and mushrooms last night), and then be looking to our plates for more. Daddy had a late supper last night and Adrian had to have a few bites of spaghetti on his way to bed. I wasn't too happy about the mess it involved but a boy has to eat! He just stood beside Jamie with his hands up in the air indicating that he wanted a piece of the action. He found 'slurping' spaghetti very silly and therefore a lot of fun!

Do you think this phenomenon could be related to the fact that all of his 12 month pants stopped fitting this week?

Hottest new toy of the season

Jamie and I travelled all the way to Bangor to get the hottest new toy for Adrian and he just loves it... a toy straw broom complete with a dustpan. Leave it to Adrian to love that the best out of all his fancy toys. He carries it around with him everywhere and even pretends like he is sweeping. He seems to be going through a phase where he wants to do everything that Jamie and I do so I kind of figured this would be a hit. The froggie PJs are new too... they really are cute. We got him 4 pairs of these PJs as they are super cozy and warm.

Jamie and I had a great trip to Bangor and shopped until we dropped. We even slept in until 9AM Sunday morning. I was getting antsy to see the little guy on the way home though... that is by far the longest I have gone without an Adrian fix! Adrian got lots of PJs and new books. We are getting tired of his current selection so with cheap books and the dollar at par I figured it was a good time to add to our collection.

Adrian still isn't feeling up to par. Sunday night he developed a rather intense fever and we have been nursing that even since. He seems ok now, but he has a whole host of issues that may be related to teething. Honestly, I am so sick of him being sick... I just wish he would get better and stay better for a few days. I guess that is a drawback of all of the social time he gets at Lisa's.... germs! He is still playing, drinking and eating well (he ate a whole bowlful of salmon and squash tonight... he's such a good eater) so he can't be too sick. He is very very cuddly with me which I much admit is a bit of a pro of him being sick as he is usually too busy to be bothered cuddling. I guess you gotta take what you can get!

Let's hope the 3rd time's a charm.

We went back for Adrian's ear infection follow up with our doctor and his left ear is still very infected. Stinking antibotic resistant germs! We got our third prescription and are in the middle of that. Let's hope this one is a winner. The first prescription was 3 times a day for 10 days. This latest one is 1 time a day for 3 days so it must be a stronger one! Die germs, die!! Look at his evil grin.

Poor baby, he has had an ear infection for over two months now. You can't blame him for being a little cranky at times. We are hoping he will be feeling back to normal for his big weekend with Grammy and Grampy Underhill. Jamie and I are going to Bangor for a weekend... first weekend without the baby. We'll miss him but I know he is in good hands. Grammy and Grampy don't know what they are in for! They are going to be tired come Sunday night I bet.

Fall in the park.

Fall is such a great time for photo taking with all of the vibrant colors in nature. I really love this shot of Adrian enjoying himself in the leaves. This is on our way out of Odell park yesterday. We figured he would be tired after over an hour of hardcore playing but in typical Adrian style he still has some energy stored up for a little more fun.

It's very interesting to watch Adrian in the playground. He is pretty much the smallest kid there and he will just stand in amazement and stare at all of the big kids playing. I can tell he wants in on the action but doesn't know how to go about it so he just stands and watches with big eyes and an open mouth. It is so cute and a little sad. But he'll be the big kid before you know it!

10 Reason Why I am Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Hope your bellies are all full of turkey. We just finished our second delicious turkey dinner. Yesterday was the Underhill's and today was the Joneses'. Adrian loves turkey and fall vegetables, especially squash. The boy can eat a lot of squash!

In keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving I am creating a list of 10 reasons why I am thankful. There are SO many that I could list but the first ones that comes to mind are (in no particular order):

1. Adrian. I could elaborate forever on why I am thankful for Adrian but I'll sum it up with: being a mother is a gift that is incomparable to anything else in the world. Adrian brings laughter and joy into my life on a daily basis.

2. Having a safe, comfortable home for my family and myself. 45 Sloat St is much more than a house to us, it's our home.

3. Jamie. A wonderful husband and an even better father. Watching Adrian and Jamie together melts my heart. Right now they are building a Lego house beside me on the floor. Also, he knows how to make a darn cute baby! (-;

4. Lisa. I am so happy that we have found a great home for Adrian to go to in the day while Jamie and I are working. Lisa is a great caretaker and I am so glad I can leave Adrian in her care without a minute of worry.

5. Having a good head on my shoulders. I have always made relatively good decisions in my life and feel that I continue to do so, which makes my life a lot easier. I can thank my parents for the great upbringing I received for this.

6. Ice cream, cheese, bread, chocolate and olives. My favorite foods! Sweet potatoes, grapes, bananas, cream cheese and juicy pears. Adrian's favorites for the moment. I am thankful we have lots of good food to eat.

7. You, and all my friends and family. I have a great support system and network of friends in my life. They make life interesting and bearable in the bad times.

8. This beautiful weather. I love Fall, and who could ask for a better Fall than this? Sunny and warm with chilly nights that are just right for snuggling.

9. My job. I love my new job and my new company. It makes me excited for things to come in my career. If I didn't love my job I think it would be unbearable to leave Adrian every day.

10. God, from whom all my blessings flow.

I am also thankful for all of the fun that we have as a family. Here are a few pictures from our trip to the Country Pumpkin this weekend. Adrian loves to explore and the Fall is a great time for that.

Now that was a welcome home.

We had our official office launch party last night. After 3 hours of attempting small talk (I have confirmed I am really bad at it) and standing with high heels on I was more than ready to go home. It was 6:45 and Adrian goes to bed at 7:30 so I knew that if I was going make it home in time to see him I had to move fast. I quickly said my goodbyes and walked as fast as I could to my car (in the near dark I might add... yikes the days are getting shorter before my eyes). I found myself speeding and wanting to run yellow lights on the way home as I grew more and more anxious to see my baby. I tried to refrain.

I drove into the yard and was thrilled to see a little blonde head bobbing around in the living room. Adrian spied my car and toddled over to the picture window. When I got out of my car I could hear him excitedly shrieking while pounding on the window with both hands. When we made eye contact his whole face lit up and the shrieking intensified. My heart melts just thinking about it. As I made my way to the back door Jamie said that he climbed up on the baseboard heater and started beating his head on the window. Good thing it only took me a few seconds to get inside the house. Needless to say he was excited to see me. And it goes without saying that I felt the same way even though it had only been 12 hours. Coming home to that reception will never get old; he makes me feel so special sometimes.