Tis the Season

We decided last minute to get a tree last Saturday, a real tree.  Then we spent the night decorating the tree and the house (we have minimal decorations).

The tree smells wonderful.  It is pretty awesome having an actual tree in your house.

Surprisingly the cats and the toddler have stayed away from it for the most part.  I am hoping I don't eat my words later down the line.  I would love to wrap some presents and get them under the tree but I feel that may be pushing the limit.

Scooby Doo

Scooby Doo had a busy weekend. 

Leland and I hit up the Children's Museum Trick or Treat Street event.  It was fun.

In fact this week with Leland has been lots of fun.
He is getting over his unbearable toddlerness and it becoming very enjoyable.
He is also into doing activities now, more than just playing.
We colored this week, made playdough and then played with it, painted, etc.  I really need to start planning an activity a day like this because it doesn't always last too long but he is starting to really enjoy it.

We also hit up Boo at the Zoo.

Then went to a Halloween Party.  Well I went to an adult party Saturday but it got interrupted by a child that was unhappy he woke up and his momma wasn't there.  Sunday we went to a kid friendly Halloween Party.  When we arrived Leland sat down and proceeded to eat for the first 30 minutes.  Then he was ready to party.   I have been pleasantly surprise how well he has done with his costume.  He hasn't minded it at all, even the head part.  It helps that it has been cold and he is use to wearing a har outside. 

Best part of having a kid around Halloween is stealing their candy.  So Dad, you are forgiven for always stealing my candy because I get it.  Kids don't need that much sugar and candy is delicious. 

July 4th

 This year for the 4th we didn't do much, similar to last year.  There is a parade in our area but it occurs during nap time, so we passed.  I was tempted to buy some fireworks, but passed on that too.  Instead in the morning we decided to hit up some fountains.  Leland of course loved it since there was water involved and a bike ride involved. 

 His patriotic outfit. 

 It is amazing to watch how small things are everything to a kid. 

 Momma did you see that water. 

Climbing up the fountain like the big kids. 

There was also some grilling involved and beer.  

Hopefully we can start shooting off fireworks in the coming years along with attending a parade.  I am a sucker for a parade. 

Joining up with Melissa from Growing up Geeky today with Toddle Along Tuesday.  Go link up and what you did on the 4th!

Father's Day

This is Jeff's second Father's Day, last year we were still pretty new at the whole parenting thing so I wasn't quite sure what type of dad he would be. 

Now I know a bit more.

Jeff is a great dad because:
- He always lets me sleep in on the weekends
- He can't stand for Leland to cry at all (I have toughened up a bit)
- He still calls Leland baby and would prefer to carry him all day (someone is having a hard time realizing their baby is not a baby anymore)
- He will give Leland food off his plate, and share his food (this is kind of a big deal)
- He is always there to take over when I am about to crack
- He wakes up in the middle of the night for some much needed exploding diaper assistance

It has been very interesting seeing Jeff with a kid since he had minimal experience before Leland.  I am looking forward to the continued parenting experience with him and to see how we overcome the many issues of parenting. 

Trip home

Long post and no photos to boot, haven't gotten around to uploading the few photos I took.
 
To sum up the trip back to KC: exhausting

It was good to see family again but it was just too close to our last visit.  I wasn't all that excited to go back like I was when we went back for Thanksgiving.

The first day we were there I was worthless because I felt sick.  I was achy and felt like I was getting strep throat.  I ended up going to bed super early, like 7pm and slept for 12 hours.  Except for the hour of 3am when Leland woke me up vomiting.  It was awesome.  But luckily there was a fresh bed waiting for us in the next room so we didn't have to deal with it too much that night.  And the next morning I felt like a new person.


We crammed in seeing multiple friends, three Christmases, grandparent visits, and an 80th birthday while we were there.
Side note: old people are funny.
We were at my Grandma's on her birthday and her phone rang while Leland was taking a nap in her bedroom. She decided not to answer it since company was over but the answering machine (yeah, she still has one of those) is in her room.  So she answered the phone only to hang up on the person so they couldn't leave a message. She then says," Well I don't know why they are calling today anyway." We all just stare at her, and then she realized they were calling because it is her birthday.

Leland also decided to stop eating solid food while on the trip.  Thankfully he is back to eating solids.  We made kale pesto with mushrooms and he scarfed it down.  Maybe he doesn't like eating crappy too?  He has refined taste buds for an almost 9 month old.

The trip ended with Leland become very clingy to me, I think the mass amounts of new people made stranger anxiety develop quickly.  He also started to teeth like crazy and go through a growth spurt.  The last night there and first night back in Denver he woke up more times then I can remember wanting to eat.  He also wanted to eat every 2 hours during the day, needless to say I am sore.

He started crying after being around people for extended periods of time, he was just ready to be back to our normal routine, and so was I.  If we were in a room with a few people and he was crying, as soon as I would leave the room and go some where quiet, he would be fine.

As I said before, we won't be doing two trips that close together again.  It is just too much.  But I wish the trip would have lasted one day longer because our new baby niece was born the day after we left!  If Laura had gone into labor a few hours earlier I would have stayed around, but we didn't know she was in labor until we arrived back in Denver.

So that was the trip.  Glad to be back home and in my own bed.  (And so is Leland, boy took three naps yesterday!)

Christmas food

Delicious foods we made over Christmas.

Cookies:
Christmas Cookies
Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies- I used half chocolate chips, half white chocolate chips
Gingerbread cookies

Christmas Eve spread:
Filo dough with roasted veggies
Roasted chickpeas with cinnamon and honey, we added almonds
Truffle and Parmesan popcorn
Hummus
Fresh Bread
Jalapeno Corn Dip
Pizza Puffs - made it vegetarian by using yellow pepper and mushrooms
Mushroom Risotto Balls - made it vegetarian by using mushrooms instead of sausage
Trail Mix and Pomegranates

Christmas morning:
Cinnamon Rolls with cranberry and orange
Bacon

Apparently I am trying to gain some weight.

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful relaxing day.
Started off with cinnamon rolls, a stocking and some gifts.
Then we hung out with some friends for a delicious brunch.
Stopped by another friends' house.
Ended with a quiet dinner at home with some much needed playtime.
Great day, great Christmas.

Peace on Earth

And goodwill towards all kitties.

O Christmas Tree...

An ode to our tiny little tree. Hopefully we will snag a bigger one the day after Christmas this year.
And the only being that had to be placed in front of the tree was a little baby. The cats are pros at posing.

Christmas decorations and a Santa!

Last week was successful in checking off to-do list items, such as visiting Santa and making salt dough ornaments.

(please ignore the extra blob of white next to his toe)

First we made some ornaments, using the recipe from here. And of course I messed a few up. Somehow there were air pockets in a couple so they puffed up while baking. But they still turned out okay, I just tell myself I am making memories by doing this.
I really wanted to do Leland's hand print but about two seconds into that decision I realized I was being stupid and dealing with a 7 month old, so instead we did a foot print. I also used cookie cutters to do Santa, Christmas trees, candy canes, and stars. But the fun didn't end there, later that night once they had cooled Jeff and I painted them. Why is painted so fun? And why do I never do it? Jeff wasn't feeling as creative as I was, so I did most of the work (and I was being a little controlling but in my defense he did one Christmas tree that I won't even show you- it is that bad).

I am most proud (meaning it looks the best) of the K-State Santa.

Here is MJ's cute ornament from the vet office.

And here is Leland first Christmas ornament.

Oh and we visited Santa at Bass Pro.

Leland could have cared less. He wasn't unhappy but he wasn't excited. Ehh, at least he didn't cry. I think the whole Bass Pro experience overwhelmed him, it happens to the best of us baby.

'Tis the Seson

We may not have Elf on the Shelf but we do have Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo.

And Leland was enjoying playing with him the other day.

He is actually an ornament that was in Jeff's stocking one year. But for now, he is a toy because I have yet to get the tree up.

Christmas Photo

For our card:

P.S. Thanks Jenny!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Here is what I am thankful for:

My kitties

My baby, and my hubby

And of course my family.