Pun-kins, umm not so much!

Last year we took Gus to a small pumpkin patch that is run by a local Boy Scouts troop in the area. The boys grow their pumpkins and then sell them to make money for their troop. Last year we found some really nice pumpkins and it was not overly crowded so we figured we would give it a go again this year. We call our pals to come join us and off we went. This first picture of Gus sums up the pumpkin patch.....pumpkins rotting and covered in stink bug looking insects is what we were greeted with!! We decided to get a few pictures of the kids since the sky was just beautiful and call it a scratch. Gus and Endi were so excited about the "pun-kins", but neither wanted anything to do with these pun-kins!! Hopefully next weekend we can see some nice plump pumpkins!!!

Happy Father's Day!

I know Father's Day is to honor the daddy's out there, but I sure do enjoy the good food that comes along with it!! We had a nice relaxing day. We slept late, had a good breakfast, swam, took a nice nap, swam some more and had yummy steaks for dinner! It was truly a great day.

You can just see the pure happiness on Gus' little face. I am so glad that he loves the water, however; he does not have very much fear. Please excuse the potty in the background.....potty training and that comes with the territory!

Lending a helping hand to Pops!

Salsa Sunchips are the bomb!!

And so is Pinki's homemade Guacamole! Down to the last bite!

Happy Father's Day, Jake! We love you and hope you had a great day! Thank you for all that you do for us to make our lives comfortable, fun, enjoyable and entertaining! You kick ass!!

A little entertainment by Gusley....he loves to wear "goooo-gles"!

Buttercup not very thrilled to be in Gus' pajama shirt, but I thought it was cute! The shirt says, "Can't Catch Me", which is very fitting for her!

He's got the beat!

Check out his foot on the foot pedal!!

Concentration......

I just love this....looking at him through his drum! He is having a great time with his drum set!

Daddy helping him with the beat!

Notice the school bus in one hand and a washcloth in the other!

Daddy, that song is really funny! Thanks for the fun times this evening!!

There really is a Santa Claus!!!

Christmas morning was adorable. We all got up around 9am (I know for the next 10 or so years he will be waking us up at the crack of dawn) and Jake headed downstairs first to get the video camera ready to get Gus' reaction to everything. He called up to us when he was ready and down we came (while Jake got every step Gus took!!). Gus was a little curious as to why the camera was in his face, but he soon realized when he rounded the corner!!! He was a little shy at first but quickly went to every single item and checked it out. Then he made a second round. I think it is safe to say that he was a little overwhelmed!!! The rollercoaster was his big gift and he is really into music, hence the drum set and he loves to draw and color and doodle so he got an easel, colors, markers, chalk and a few coloring books and he got his very own kitchen with pots and pans and food to go with it! Here are a few of my favorites from Christmas morning.......

Christmas Eve!

Usually on Christmas Eve we go to my grandmother's house to exchange gifts and enjoy yummy food and a homemade red velvet cake!! This year we decided to stay put and start our own tradition. Aunt Beth and DJ came in and Nanny came over and we exchanged presents and enjoyed each others company. This year was really fun with Gus as he was really into giving out the gifts and opening his and everyone else's!!

Though we started a new tradition some things remained the same like the homemade red velvet cake and Aunt Beth's famous homemade cheese cake...holy moly that was some good stuff!! After a fun night we had to head home to get ready for Santa Claus. We exchanged a few presents as a little family. I made Jake a desk calendar with pictures of he and Gus and things they did/shared together throughout 2009 and they gave me a fabulous new robe!!!! We were both surprised with our gifts and it was so cute to watch Gus give us each our present!! So after more presents, Gus had his bath and wore his snuggley Christmas jammies that Pinki made for him and off to bed he went as visions of M&M's danced in his head!!

I have waited my whole life to take on this special role of Mr. & Mrs. Claus and our time has come and it was delightful!! I loved every minute of it. Getting the presents out of hiding, setting everything up, doing a test run on a few things and stuffing the stockings!

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve at mom and dad's. Gus apparently wanted to take a look and see if Santa and the reindeer were flying over because he insisted on going outside to check things out. With his hat of course!! His faces throughout the night were priceless. Each gift he opened it was like his little face beamed with joy and he was thinking "for me?"!! He would tear the paper into small pieces and peak through then he would tear it in bigger sections....keeping the element of surprise a little longer? In most of the pictures you will notice him holding a little tin can. This is a can of cocoa that Aunt Beth brought with her and he became attached to it the minute he laid his eyes on it and he held it tight through the holiday!! Could it have been the size of it or the fact that Santa Claus was on the front of it? I think a combination of both!! Enjoy the pictures and I hope your Christmas holiday was as joyous as ours!

Santa + Baby does not equal Santa Baby.....read on...

After we wrote Gusley's letter to Santa Claus we thought it would be appropriate to go see Santa Claus! Hahaha....a 2 year old and Santa just don't jive. The pictures do the talking......from a distance Santa was a very cool guy, but up close and personal, well you will see!!

After the traumatic Santa experience (for both Mother and child) we headed over to this really awesome Toy Store in Nashville. In the store there is a huge model train set up where the kids can press buttons and the bridges come down or the train switches tracks, etc.....very, very cool. There is also an 'observation deck' where the kids can look down on the entire setting. Gus climbed his way up there and had the best time watching the train go round and round and round. Looks like a train set may be on next years list!!

In the tower, a little apprehensive about coming close to me (he knew that meant it was time to get down)!

This was his expression up in the deck as he watched the train go round and round!

You can just see the excitement on his face!!

As visions of sugar plums danced through his head.............