Thanksgiving

We had a great time with the Nelson clan (my mom's side of the family) over Thanksgiving. The food was great, the company even better, and the weather was beautiful. The boys are becoming great little travelers...3-4 hour trips are a breeze! While at my aunt and uncle's, we skyped with my cousin Kyle, who is based in Italy with the Air Force. I can't wait for Christmas at our house with everyone!

FIRE!!!

I had to call the fire department a few weeks ago. Someone was burning leaves near our house, and it got out of hand. Our neighbor's house would have caught fire had Melanie and I not put some of the fire out ourselves before the fire departments (That's right, four area fire departments showed up; they said it is the largest brush fire they have ever seen!) arrived. Nearly four acres burned. YIKES!


(This is what the fire looked like when I first noticed it.)


(This is what it looked like after the fire department put it out. Multiply this area by 10 for the total burn area.)


(There has been a lot of "fire pretending" around our house since the fire. Carson and Brady are "saving the day" here, as Carson puts it.)


(And here they are "racing to the woods to help!")

MU Football

Nate and I went to an MU game a few weeks ago sans the kids. (Papa Mo and Baba graciously stayed with the boys after we took them out to celebrate their 60th birthdays the night before. Mmmmm, Annie Gunn's never disappoints.) MU ended up beating Texas, which was great (though the game was really kind of boring!). I walked down memory lane with Nate and J Bru in the law school, threw back a few at Bengals with some of Nate's law classmates and walked the campus before heading back to the boys. MIZ-ZOU!

Brady's Vocabulary

I haven't been as diligent at "tracking" the number of words that Brady's has said, so here's a list off the top of my head:

dog
ball
turtle
all gone
more
mama
daddy
all done
go
up
hug
book
car (Carson)
mmm, good
boy
girl

He's also learned to sign "more" and "all done" thanks to his wonderful teachers at school. Although he does mutter the words above from time to time, he's more intently concentrating on his gross motor skills these days - tackling, dancing, running, climbing, etc. THE KID IS FEARLESS THESE DAYS! I think Nate and I are in for a treat with this one. : )

Halloween

Only two of us made it out to trick-or-treat this year. I had a horrible cold in October (I coughed so much I bruised a rib, and it's still not completely healed!) and passed it along to Brady. Needless to say, he and I were home-bound the entire last week of October, so Nate and our werewolf headed out with the Brummond clan for a Legends candy extravaganza. Carson really enjoyed Halloween this year!

Carson-isms

Me - "Carson what are you thankful for this year?"
CER - "I'm thankful for my momma, my daddy and my brother."
(He said this without prompting from me. Aww!)

As I was rushing down the stairs to get Brady up from a nap, Carson yelled down to me, "Mom, you are making a 'stake. You are going too fast and not looking out for me." I responded, "I'm not leaving you; I'll be right back. And I thought you wanted a cheese burger for dinner."
CER - "No, not a steak, a 'stake!"
Me - "Ahh, you mean MIStake."
CER - "THAT'S WHAT A SAID - A 'STAKE!"
(I know what you meant, little man.)

CER - "Guys, Brady is a wrecking crew."
(This one is pretty self-explanatory. And yes, Brady is a little terror."

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We spent my birthday at the pumpkin patch this year (my birthday "activity" of choice! :). The weather was great and since Nate and I both took my mid-week birthday-day off this year, there weren't too many people at the patch other than us. We had lunch at El Maguey (Chips and queso are my all time fav!) and headed home for naps. After we all woke up (Of course I took a nap on my birthday!), we headed to the boys' school for their Fall Carnival. After countless games, raffle entries, chicken-Os and nachos, we took our chocolate ice cream-covered little boys home for the night.

My birthday seems like an eternity ago, so I can't remember exactly how I topped off the night, but I'm sure it was with a glass of cab in hand. I am 34 years old after all. I likely had to drink to come to terms with how quickly life is flying by.

Daddy's Boys

The older the boys get, the more time they want to spend with their dad. (Sniffle.)

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party

We had a small but very-themed Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party for Carson' last weekend. With family and a few friends invited, it was perfect! We enjoyed cake, ice cream and pizza. What fun!





Carson (and Brady's!) favorite gift - a pedal tractor and wagon from Papa & Baba

Carson is 3!

Carson turned 3 on September 29th. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he would say, "A Mickey cake, a Mickey balloon, cars and trucks and trains." How could I disappoint?!

Nate and I both took the 29th off of work and spent a very special day with a our little man. We started the day off with chocolate milk and coffee from Starbucks. We then hit the Museum of Transportation. Carson loved climbing in the trains and especially liked the mini-train ride around the museum grounds.






We then surprised him with an Amtrak ride from Kirkwood to Washington, Missouri. He was so excited!! He picked our seats, bounced between Nate and me, asked the conductor, "Ticket, please." (He kind of had that one backwards!), and found the dining car. Once we got to Washington, Gma and Grandma met us for lunch.






We topped off the night with cupcakes and, what else - a train table for Carson.