Trick or Treat!

Halloween snuck up on me! 

Case was little Maverick from Top Gun this year 

and little Rhetter followed in his big brother's footsteps and was a Farmer for his first Halloween!

We had lots of people come over before we headed out to the neighborhood, Amy & Avery headed over with Griffin and Cy. Kelli and her three girls came over, so I could paint Teagan's face like a cat. Kelli's sister Shauna and her daughter Zuri came over. Shauna's friend Kelli came over with her little boy Jeremy...we had a full house! Matt walked in and was a little overwhelmed seeing all of those kids running around our house! :) 

I'm so upset that I didn't get any pictures with our camera, so the iPhone shots will have to do this year! Shauna got some cute pics with her awesome camera, so hopefully I can get some of those soon! 

 

Kelli's Mama :)

Hee! He is such a cute little stinker! 

Case had SO much fun trick or treating this year, he really got the hang of it and was super excited. 

His big cousin Griffin took him around to the houses, and Case was in heaven. 

He cracked us up when he started saying "Happy Halloween!" 

instead of Trick or Treat half way through the night.

Everyone kept asking him what he was, and he always replied "I'm free!" (Three) HAA! 

Daddy and our neighbor Joe pushed the Rhetter man around, and he only lasted until around 7 or so, big man was getting sleepy (and cold) so he went home to get into warm pajamas and hit the sack early. 

Case was a trooper, and walked house to house until 8 o'clock, then we ate dinner, he got to eat three pieces of candy and slept like baby. 

We had a fun little Halloween this year, even if it did creep up on us, and was over like that!

Hoping Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't over as fast! 

Love this time of year!

My Almost One Year Old

He is the sweetest, snuggly little man ever. 

He crinkles his nose and throws his hand up to his face when he laughs. 

He lights up when he sees his big brother, and looks for him frantically when he doesn't see him right away.

He loves his Da-Da and chants his name when he sees him.

He's a fast little thing.

He hates getting his diaper changed...I. mean. hates. it.

He LOVES bath time, he practically dives out of my arms to get in. 

(However, he can't stand to get his hair rinsed.)

He loves his big ol dog, he pats him and lays on him and climbs all over him. 

He loves his graham crackers. 

He loves any food really.

He's cruising the furniture like a well oiled machine, won't be long before he takes those first steps.

He's a Mama's boy, if I'm in the room, forget about holding him. ;)

He is such a good baby, such a mellow man. 

He is such a blessing to our family...

...and we can't BELIEVE he is already 11 months old. 

Just a Little Random Update

Lots of little random things on my mind, and not a whole lot of new news.

Just wanted to share the little things before I forget. 

• Case is hilarious, and talking more and more each day. If you know him, you know he hasn't been leading the pack on his speech. But every day I notice him using new words, and enunciating words a little more each day. It's so fun to watch him learn new things and to really start having conversations with him! 
• I was so proud of the art Case did last week at school. It was just four shapes, and the idea was to get them to paint each shape a different color. The class is a very young group, just a couple of them are three or close to it - so most of the little ones dabbed a few globs of paint and ran off to play with the leggos or blocks. Case isn't always into the art, but this day he totally got the concept of painting each shape a different color, and it was so neat and precise! Maybe he has a little art in him like his Mama. :)
• Little Rhetter man is growing SO MUCH. Every week I look at him and he seems like a new little man! He has really thinned out as he has gotten taller and taller. However, he is only 8 oz away from outgrowing his car seat limit which means we are on the look out for a new car seat. Probably going to buy Case the next size and let Rhett switch over to Case's convertible one. I can't get over the fact that he will be 11 months old this month, and that we are already switching his car seat. That means he is closer to being a toddler than a baby! Breaks my heart!
• Matt has his PE Test coming up at the end of the month. Praying that he will pass that mean ol' thing. I still can't even fathom how to study for an 8 hour exam that is basically over his entire college career in Engineering. He is in total study mode right now, he is staying late every day after his already long days and studying a section every night until his test on the 29th. I am so proud of him. 
• My friend Kelli's husband has headed off for basic training, he will be gone until December when he graduates, then will return home for just a short trip and then leave again for another four months. I think about and pray for her all the time. I am so thankful that she has such close family and friends that are able to help her pass the days. I just can't even imagine what she is going through, she has three little girls and she is just a hero in my book. Matt and I talk about how amazing Anthony is for his service to our country. We are so proud of both of them for what they are doing.
• Feeling very thankful lately for all of my wonderful friends and family. As I am making some new friends at church and becoming closer with them, and keeping up with friendships I have had for years - I just love the people that God has put into our lives.(Also really missing my sister, we have both been so busy lately - we need a sister date ASAP!)
• We are missing out a lot lately in our Activate Group (small group at church) and I am missing all the lovely ladies at LOL (Ladies of the Lord) bible study at church. Matt's work schedule has just been so crazy, and between that and the boys both getting sick back to back the last few weeks it hasn't been in the cards for us to make it. We love the time with our church family in the evening so much, and I am aching for conversation with the wonderful women on Wednesdays - especially on these long nights without Matt here in the evenings. Thankfully, this is just a season in our lives and there will be plenty more Activate Groups and Bible Studies. :) 
• Well, I'm realizing now that Case has eaten all of carrots and none of his chicken, so I'm going to try to persuade him to finish his dinner before bed. ;) Rhetter man has been snoozing for about an hour already now...and Mama will be in bed pretty soon I think. :)

The Orchard

Fall is fast becoming my new favorite season. I have always been a summer girl, but for the last few years something about this season always gets to me. The leaves changing colors, the crisp cool mornings, boots and scarfs, fall festivals and of course trips to the orchard!

Sally came up for a Fall Festival, and then we headed out to Boyd's Orchard that evening. One of my favorite places, especially this time of year. 

We fed the cute little goats, and this year Case was old enough to really enjoy the play area they have set up for the kids. This was Rhett's first time out at the orchard, he loved crawling around through the pumpkins, and afterward took everything in from his seat in the stroller ;) 

 

The Rhettster

These pictures are pre-teeth, but they are so stinking cute I had to add them before I forget.

Thank you Nanny for always letting me steal your fancy camera to take pictures when you come up! 

The Boys

Oh my word, I love them so much it hurts!

Celebrating the Big 3!

We celebrated Case man's birthday a week late this year. We decided to have just a little family get together this year. Matt grilled burgers and hot dogs, I made some special birthday treats and hot apple cider since it was a chilly afternoon! 

Made these little footballs out of Cocoa Rice Krispie Treats, and white frosting for the laces! :)

I wish I had made these cuties, but they came straight from Wal-Mart's bakery section! :)

Our big boy was pretty excited about presents this year, it was adorable seeing him getting so excited, and understanding a little more this year what this birthday thing was all about. 

I mean, there is just something truly special about seeing your child lit up with pure excitement!

 

Case is a pretty blessed little man, he got lots of very fun presents from his family. Puzzles, books, a Leap Frog, clothes, a baseball uniform, a gorgeous bookshelf, an interactive video game, a tee for t-ball, and lots of books for his bookshelf. After opening each present, he would say "I wanna play wid that! I wanna play wid that one!!!" So sweet!

Littlest man wasn't going to miss out on all the action, he was perfectly content crawling over all the new cool boxes, and chewing on the left over tissue paper...Daddy saved him from all the chocking hazards. ;)

After dinner, presents and special birthday treats...that's when we all relaxed, played with all of the new toys and enjoyed spending time together...

 even if the CATS were sucking...

...

All in all, we had a pretty fantastic day. Still can't believe our little (big) man is
THREE YEARS OLD! 

We're pretty sure he had fun celebrating his third birthday...

even if it did hurt Mama's heart a little (in the best possible way.)

Happy Birthday

to our

wild, crazy, rough, tough, sport loving, puzzle loving, particular, sweet hearted, silly, funny little man.