Happy Halloween!!!

We had such a fantastic Halloween! First and foremost, it was a beautiful day! It was in the 70s today, and this evening was super-pleasant, which made for a very fun night of trick-or-treating and visiting with our friends.

I have to say (with apologies to Alex) that Carter is the cutest shark I've ever seen! (A huge THANK YOU to Alex and his mom Kelly for loaning us the shark costume.) He did really well in his costume...he hardly fussed at all once I actually got it on him.
We started our evening with a costume parade and a little trick-or-treating on our block.

Then, because the Governor's official residence is in our neighborhood, we made our way down there to trick-or-treat with Govenor Daniels.

On the way back home, Carter figured out that there was food in his bag and starting signing "more" and "please." Well, if he is going to be that polite, how do you refuse a little taste?
When we got back to our house, we visited some neighbors where Carter really got into playing in the candy bowls.


Carter was such a trooper and had so much fun--he didn't fuss at all until it was time to go inside and get ready for bed. Even though he was sad to leave all the fun, he was incredibly tired. He crawled down out of the chair when we were reading books, walked over to his bed and reached up as if asking to get in it!
He must be gearing up for Alabama football tomorrow! RTR!

(if you'd like to see more pictures from the pumpkin patch and Halloween, please click the Willis Family Picture site link in the sidebar)

Uncle Steve's Visit

We were so excited to have Uncle Steve {my brother} in Indy visiting for the weekend! Unfortunately, his flight into town on Friday night was delayed, so Carter was already asleep when he got here. I had a recipe from Andrea that I really wanted to try, so Nick, Steve, & I enjoyed a fantastic dinner of Crazy Sista's Juicy Pot Roast Sandwiches {another post all of it's own...I wish I had taken pictures!}. Then we just chatted and were glad to be able to spend some time together.

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed a semi-lazy morning for a few hours before Nick and Steve headed out to play some COLD golf. Carter and I hung around the house for a while. He has always been into phones, remote controls and other gadgets he shouldn't have. It occurred to me that I had an old cell phone he could play with. I took the battery out and gave it to him to play with. When Nick and Steve got home from golf, he was showing off what he had learned.

(the video is a little long...sorry, but the end is cute!)

Then he wanted to show Steve his music table.

Let me just return a few e-mails for you here on your blackberry...you relax, Uncle Steve.

Carter LOVED playing with Uncle Steve! Steve would push him around in his car, and he would smile & laugh so much. After that got old, Steve would build a "house" really tall with Carter's mega blocks, and Carter took much delight in running over to it to push it down! He was so happy to have a new playmate!

Of course, we capped off the day preparing for the Tide's victory over UT. Roll Tide!

Nick, Steve & I watched the game after Carter was in bed, and then the boys enjoyed a post-game cigar in honor of the victory {see post below}! Not as much fun as lighting one up in Neyland would have been, but great nonetheless.

We had a great breakfast at Patachou this morning before taking Uncle Steve to the airport to head home. We had a great time and look forward to seeing you at Thanksgiving!

{ps...sorry, Allyson, (kind of) for the previous post...it was Nick...}

ROLL TIDE!

Carter says:

"Nothing sucks like The Big Orange!!

ROLL TIDE!!!!"

POST GAME UPDATE:

Light'em up! ROLL TIDE!!

Look Who's Here...

Uncle Steve's here for a visit!!

Magical Mail

We received a special delivery postcard from the Magical Kingdom today!
The Murphrees just got back from a BUSY trip to Disney World and were kind enough to stop long enough to send us a picture of the Disney Characters. Carter was all into it!

Carter looking at the characters
Laying down on the floor to get a closer look at the characters!

Thanks for remembering us, Murphree family! We are glad you had fun!

Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon was a perfect fall day--sunny, temperature in the mid-60s, so after Carter's nap, we loaded up and headed to the pumpkin patch. Carter wasn't really sure about all the people and activity at first. He warmed up a little bit on the hayride to the pumpkin patch, and by the time we were hunting for the perfect pumpkin, he was raring and ready to go. He was walking all over to check out all the pumpkins and wanted to pick them up, push them over, and roll them along. We finally found one that we could bring home to make our front steps festive for the next few weeks!

Halloween Treats

Boo Kisses after baking and setting

I really enjoy cooking and baking, and unfortunately I rarely have the time to cook and bake as I would like. However, I saw these Boo-rific Kisses in a recent copy of a recipe magazine I receive, and I just had to try to make them. Though, I opted to omit the orange food coloring...ghosts are white, after all. They aren't as perfect as the ones pictured with the recipe, but they were super-easy and very yummy!

A Boo-kiss up close

Saturday Potpourri

Just a couple of things to share and ask on a brisk fall Saturday. It is only noon, but it is one of those days where I feel like it should be five o'clock given all the things we've done today. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes and sausage that Nick cooked for us before heading out to play a little golf. Shortly thereafter, Carter and I headed out to get flu shots...we both did well! :) Then, we ran some errands, played, washed clothes, ate lunch and now Carter is napping! Whew. And there's still half a day left!

A fun picture of Carter from this morning

Nick got Carter's little slippers at Tar.get because his feet get so cold on our hardwoods and tile. Nick also put the hood up on his shirt this morning...and Carter thought he was soooo funny!

And for Caroline....

In Summer

And in another season...

And one last question for all you seasoned moms...what to do when your child wakes up in the morning and is soaked because his diaper leaked? Does this mean it is time to move up to the next size {he is in size 3 cruisers, and is only about 23-24 lbs, so he would be in the low end of size 4s}? Or is there a diaper out there that is specifically intended for all night? Should I cut back on liquids at a certain time? I would appreciate any and all thoughts...this is starting to happen on a regular basis, and I feel so awful for the little man!

Happy Saturday to everyone!

Fall Flowers

Nick and I planted fall flowers in our flower box and mums in some pots for the front porch this morning. We had plenty of help... Carter loved the dirt, the watering can, and playing with the cat.

These plastic pots make good drums

Mmm...dirt tastes goodDontrelle, don't mess up my picture

Ok, now...much better

New Experiences

The last few days have been full of new experiences for Carter. Yesterday, a firetruck and firefighters came to his school in conjunction with fire safety week. He and the rest of his classmates were able to climb in the firetruck, sit in the driver seat and interact with the firefighters. Carter's teacher, Amber, told me that he thought he was big stuff. I can only imagine! The team leader for the toddlers took pictures, so if one has Carter in it and I can snag it, I will scan it so you can see...I know I would love to have seen it!

We are lovin' this 80 degree weather in October up here! So, today since the weather was nice and we wanted to spend time with our friends Sarah and Miles, we went here:

Carter really seemed to enjoy it...in fact, even more so than I expected. He was really into the animals and would point at them and "talk" about them. He didn't care much for the walrus presentation (he cried, so we left), but he LOVED the penguins and the fish & sharks.

Enjoy some pics from our day at the zoo!

Just about to go in the zooCarter and Miles taking a break from all the animal-watchingGiraffes resting on each otherThe baboons...look at the baby baboon (born in July) on the back of the baboon on the leftPointing at the baby elephant

The baby elephant

Trying to get up close and personal with the penguinsCarter and Mom at the Zoo

Next Best

If you can't be in Bryant-Denny Stadium to watch the Tide play, then watching the game with your two favorite people has to be the next best thing...

That way, if you get bored (or a little nervous because the game is too close for comfort), you can crawl into Wrigley's kennel and watch it from there.

And, you can go to the fridge and get a snack whenever you want... (even though there's no stadium dog in there!)