Oreo Spiders

Yesterday, Garrison and I made our 2nd annual batch of oreo spiders. Since I don't really bake (I leave that to my sister and mom), I'm always trying to think of fun, kid-friendly desserts/treats to make for different holidays. Last year, I decided our Halloween tradition would be oreo spiders. They are really easy and something my kiddos will hopefully love to make every year. All you need are oreos, stick pretzels, vanilla frosting, and M&Ms. You open the oreo and use the frosting to stick the pretzels on as legs and once you put the oreo back together the frosting is used to "glue" the M&Ms on as eyes. The picture below is of the little man last year while I made the spiders. =)

This year he helped me get everything out of the pantry and onto the counter and he got to stand on a stool beside me to help....translated: watch and eat.

After eating his first oreo of the day, he decided he'd like another. Sorry bud, one before lunch will have to do.

He pretty much stayed on the stool beside me and watched while I made the spiders and he enjoyed his oreo. Once I finished a full plate it was getting close to lunch time, so I thought I should stop there and clean up. This is what happened when the little man realized the oreos and chips (what he calls pretzels) were being put up....

Our spiders

After his nap every afternoon Garrison gets to have a small snack, and yesterday his snack was really special. He was the first to sample a spider and enjoyed lots of chocolate.

I think the oreo spiders were a hit! Hopefully next year he'll actually be able to help make them.

Pumpkin Carving Time!

This weekend (somewhere in between my 3 shows) we found time to carve our pumpkin! We started the tradition last year before Garrison's first Halloween and we plan to do it together as a family every year. It's something I looked forward to doing each October with my family growing up and since I'm all about traditions, I wanted to continue it with my own family. The next 3 pictures are of my little man last year when we carved our pumpkin. He was only 8 months old and absolutely loved watching Terrell and putting his hands in the goo.

This year we had a big boy on our hands to help with everything. Looking at these pictures I can't believe how much he's grown in a year. Before Terrell got started, I had Garrison pose with the pumpkin... and he just decided to sit on it. I didn't mind at all because it seems like he's sort of getting the hang of being still long enough to have his picture made. Yay! Now, we'll just have to wait and see how long it lasts.

In this picture, he's actually trying to squat down like Terrell and check things out. It was so precious to me seeing him trying to mimic his daddy. Terrell has a huge influence/impression on the little man and it came through once again during pumpkin carving.

Whoa... what's in there?

Helping clean out the pumpkin. Memories and smells from childhood came back to me at this point. Passing on a tradition is SO fun!

This picture was so sweet. Once Terrell turned the pumpkin over so he could start carving, Garrison bent over to take a look at the inside of the pumpkin. He was pretty fascinated with the whole process.

All 3 of my babies. =)

The finished product with the little man on top.

After lighting a candle inside the pumpkin we took it outside and attempted a few more pictures. Garrison had his own ideas while we were outside...

All in all, the carving of the pumpkin was a great success and Garrison seemed to love it. We weren't really sure what he would think about it this year, but he definitely enjoyed helping and especially loved having a new place to sit. =)

Fall Family Fun

Monday was Columbus Day, so Terrell had the day off (yay!) and the 3 of us went to "Corn Dawgs", the corn maze/pumpkin patch in Loganville. We had a really good time and we both agreed that Garrison is going to LOVE that place (or one like it) once he's a few years older. They had tons to do and we picked the perfect day to go. Normally they're only open Friday, Saturday, and Sundays but for Columbus Day they were open half a day and we really enjoyed being there without having to fight crowds.

Last year we went to Bert's Pumpkin Patch in Dawsonville before heading up to Suches to spend the night with my aunt and uncle. The little man was all bundled up last year the week before Halloween and only 8 months old.

This year, the weather was really nice and we were all a little over dressed. It was cool when we woke up so we all wore jeans, but by the time we got there it warmed up fast. The first thing we did was let Garrison get on the big tractor. That lasted about 2 minutes before he was ready to move on to something else.

The pictures below are of Garrison on a zip line swing. He didn't know what to think about it at first. His expression was so funny. Eventually he started enjoying it and smiling.

They had several different playgrounds/swings/slides there. He officially loves to slide and had fun playing on all the playgrounds.

After sliding, we headed over to ride the cow train. I actually rode with him and boy am I glad I did. It was one bumpy ride. I don't think the seat belt would have held him in. I was bouncing around so much on the itty bitty seat clearly made for kids that I kept a tight grip on Garrison. He laughed almost the entire ride. I think he was laughing at me making all kinds of noises while we bounced around.

After the cow train we walked over to the petting zoo. Garrison enjoyed watching the animals and even helped Terrell feed them.

After we left the animals we went over to the hayride. We didn't bring the stroller in with us, which I think was the right decision since it would have been a pretty rough ride for the little man and a really big hassle for us to deal with, BUT it did make things interesting when Garrison decided he didn't want to walk with mama and daddy, or wasn't ready to leave the animals, or didn't want to get on the hayride, etc. We never had to actually chase him down or anything, but we did have a few ultimatums given. Needless to say, the paci had to come out once or twice. Oh well. Avoiding meltdowns in public cause for desperate measures I guess.

Once the hayride started moving and he had his sippy cup of milk, all was well and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy the ride.

After the hayride, we were all getting a little sweaty and there wasn't much else for Garrison to try out, so we decided our last bit of fun would be picking out our pumpkin. They had a lot to choose from, but clearly the pumpkin patch at Corn Dawgs isn't the main attraction like the one at Bert's from last year. We let Garrison walk through and look and help us make our decision.

This is the one!

On our way out, we stopped and had Garrison's picture made at the entrance. He's so tiny beside the big "hay tractor". We couldn't believe he just stood there for us to make his picture. We're really looking forward to going back once Garrison can fully enjoy everything they have to offer. It was a really neat place and another fun fall memory for us. Now, we can't wait to let him help clean out the pumpkin for daddy to carve!

Birthday Celebration: Part 2 and Hilton Head Island

On my actual birthday, Terrell took me and the little man out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Covington and then we picked up ice cream on the way home for dessert. Once we got home, they gave me my cards and present and then we enjoyed our ice cream. I can't wait to go shopping with my gift cards and spending money! =) My birthday was very special and I really appreciate Terrell for making sure it wasn't just a normal Wednesday.


Fast forward to Friday... On Friday around 12:30 the 4 of us (including Bailey) left from Covington and my parents and sister, along with the puppy dogs left from Barnesville to go to Hilton Head Island for the weekend. We actually met up on the interstate in Macon and made a stop for gas and to let the puppies out before following each other the rest of the way. We got to Savannah a little before 5:00 and ate at Spanky's on River Street. It was Terrell's idea to stop in Savannah for an early dinner and it worked out perfect. It was a nice break in our trip and we got to eat right on River Street and enjoy Savannah for a little bit on our way to HHI. After supper, we drove about another hour and arrived at our townhouse/condo in Hilton Head. There was a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen downstairs and 2 bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. Needless to say, the gate they left for us had to be put to use right away because Garrison was all about the stairs. We had to watch him really closely because if the gate wasn't up, he would take off up the stairs. The picture below was taken Friday while we got all of our things unloaded and situated.

We let Garrison stay up a little later than normal on Friday just so he could have some time to play and get adjusted to where we were staying. He loved running around the condo and helping unload the cooler and following all of us around. After his bath when it was time for him to go to bed (something I was honestly dreading because I assumed it would be a battle to get him to go to sleep on his own) he did perfect. I was completely amazed. I gave him his milk and read him 3 books and was about to sing a few songs to him before attempting to lay him down for the first time, when he said "night, night". Normally when he says this he means he's ready to lay down and go to sleep. So I went ahead and put him in the pack 'n play expecting him to cry or not want me to leave the room, but he was completely fine and slept the entire night. I guess the trip just wore him out.

Saturday morning we woke up and my mom cooked a big breakfast for us before we all got ready to go to the beach and then out to Harbour Town.

On the way to the beach, which was a short walk and across the street from where we stayed.

We all took our shoes off and walked along the beach and in the water some too. I had never been to the beach in October until this trip and it was really different, but neat. The beach was still beautiful and there were lots of people out under their umbrellas, but very few people were actually in the ocean. The water was really, really cold. Garrison had a ball and would have walked straight into the ocean and gotten soaking wet if we would've let him. He ran around at the edge of the water and all over the beach. He definitely wasn't interested in posing to have his picture made either. He wanted to run and play and didn't appreciate us interrupting him to try to make his picture. I'll be glad when he actually understands that it will only take 2 seconds for him to stop and smile for a picture. Until then I guess I should be thankful for the candid shots I get.

After we left the beach, we headed over to Harbour Town. I had always heard of Harbour Town being a neat place in Hilton Head and I'd seen pictures before so I knew it would be fun to visit there. It's right on the water with shops and restaurants and boats and yachts all around. While we were there we had lunch at the Waterfront Cafe and walked around and went in shops and showed Garrison the boats and water and even had ice cream. We spent the entire afternoon there and it was a really cool place. There were even condos there above some of the shops.

Garrison's favorite part about Harbour Town was the huge playground they had there. Terrell took him over to play on it while mama, Anna, and I were still in one of the shops. When we got finished we all went over to watch him play and he had the best time. He loves to slide. Terrell tried to get him to swing, but he didn't seem to like the swings too much so he stayed on the slides the whole time.

I love this picture of him sliding to Papa. His mouth is wide open!

The three of us on the playground.

We left Harbour Town late in the afternoon to go back to the condo to change clothes and get "cleaned up" and ready for supper. Since Harbour Town was just a few minutes from where we were staying and we found another restaurant we wanted to try there, we decided we would go back there for dinner.

We ate at Crazy Crab for supper/my birthday dinner and had a couple of funny moments happen with the little man. First of all right after we got there he seemed a little irritated in the high chair but for the most part he was quiet and not causing a scene or anything. Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he stands up (on the bar at his feet, not in the seat of the high chair) and just lets out this really loud scream/holler that lasted a good couple of seconds with this crazy mad look on his face. I think I just kind of froze for a second before attempting to make him stop and get him under control. It was the strangest, funniest, most embarrassing thing. It literally came out of the blue and we don't know why he did it. It was funny because it was so strange and dramatic, and he definitely got our attention, but at the same time it was really embarrassing. The scary part was that it sort of felt like the power shifted to him and I didn't have any control over him. Oh my. The worst feeling to have in public for sure! The double dating older couples sitting right beside us gave us a few shameful looks. After it happened and experiencing the "looks" from the next table over we were all fighting back laughter. You probably had to be there to really get it, but I definitley wanted to write about it so I wouldn't forget it. After his outburst he was fine.

The second funny moment we had was after he finished eating and went to sit with Granna. Typically our rule of thumb with the high chair at restaurants is that he has to stay in it even after he's done eating (unless he's really about to throw a fit or we absolutely cannot keep him quiet and content). We don't want to make a habit of him being able to get up immediately after he's finished eating because for years to come he'll have to wait on adults to finish eating/talking before he can get up at a restaurant. Anyway, we were all just about done when Garrison started getting ancy. When it appeared he was about to reach the breaking point, my mom got him and let him sit in her lap. Then he discovered an eaten corn on the cob and helped himself. He ate and ate and even got what he could off of his daddy's and AnAn's. It was hilarious. I guess next time there's no reason to cut the corn off for him because he's now a pro at eating corn on the cob like a big boy. =)

Rocking outside the Crazy Crab in Harbour Town where we had a fun, relaxing evening.

After we got back to the condo we gave the little man a bath and he went straight to bed again! It was amazing! Now, if he could just do this every time we're away from home. Then my parents gave me my birthday cake (that my dad and Terrell picked out) and my presents. It was really fun to celebrate at a new place with my family. We had a great time and I was spoiled by everyone. =)

Sunday morning we all ate breakfast at a place called Stack's. It was really good and we enjoyed being able to take our time (since we were only 4 hours from home) and have breakfast together before getting on the road. My sweet little man sitting outside the restaurant waving to us. Thanks to my parents for a GREAT trip and to them, Anna, Terrell, and Garrison for a wonderful birthday weekend!