Fall Zoo Day

Austin was off today so we thought we would take advantage of the pretty weather again and take Colby to the zoo! I am loving these fall outtings! We have been so blessed with the weather for a week and a half! I hope everyone is enjoying it because it won't be here forever! I just love fall and its been so nice to actually have "fall" down here in the south! We haven't been to the zoo since May and then it was really too hot to enjoy it! Colby is now learning so many animals and their sounds I knew he would love it!

I think this was one of our best trips yet with him! He was in such a wonderful mood the whole time! He never cried or got mad about anything! He just soaked up the wonderful outdoors! He loved the elephants! He also was really fascinated with the flamingos. I guess their bright coloring and the fact he could get so close! We let him play on the playground too for a little while to get some "climbing energy" out and he loved that! He also enjoyed climbing one of the oak trees that both Austin and I climbed as children. He also played with some other little boys and they ran around in circles making monkey noises! It was hilarious! I do believe though a month ago before he started school he would not have done that! He used to be so shy and wouldn't approach other kids. He did really well walking a lot this trip. He doesn't usually get to walk as much as he did today because of crowds. Today there was just the right amount of people there. It wasn't crowded at all! We rented a wagon for him too though to ride in when he got tired which was nice.

We ate lunch at the zoo and Colby did well there again too! I love that the zoo has healthy options! He seemed to really enjoy his lunch! He had also had a big breakfast too he ate cheese grits and sausage before we left! I guess this nice weather works up an appetite!

It was such a nice day! Once we got home we all settled down for naps! Colby is taking a nice long one! I figured he would after all the exercise he got today. I'm sure the rest of the afternoon we will spend a lot of it outside as well! We love when daddy is home!

Sunday and Monday

Ok so the weather here has been absolutely amazing! I don't remember an early October like this in quite awhile! Yesterday was really nice and cool. In the mornings it starts out in the high 50s and warms up to about low 70s right now.

Yesterday was church which as I always say is a very busy tiring day but usually fun. Well in Sunday School as usual we had Colby, Broc, and Cade our 3 muskateers. They all did really well and many times interacted and played with each other. I got tickled a few times just watching them play it was so cute! I also had extended care in the same room so once again we had the same 3 kiddos. We decided with the pretty weather we would take them outside. They had a blast! We stayed out almost the entire hour. Colby ran around and the other boys mostly swang. Colby even got in the big boy swing for awhile! After church we ate lunch at McAlister's then came home. I had high hopes Colby would take a nice long nap but he had other plans! He didn't nap at all. We enjoyed the nice weather outside though and Austin got home at a decent time so we had fun family night!

Today was one of our unplanned kinda days which I love! I love the days where Colby and I can just go on an adventure and have no schedules or times to be anywhere. Monday is always storytime at the library so that is what I had planned. I decided though to get Burger King for breakfast so I wouldn't have to mess up our kitchen. So we stopped and got that well it hit me its such a nice day we should go picnic in a park! So we did! We drove to Terrytown Playground and ate our breakfast and played! It was so fun! Colby chased me around the baseball fields and we just had a great time! I love the spunk and energy these cool days give us! When he started to get bored I realized we still had time to go to the library too so we drove there.

Today's theme was monkeys. The lady read the book "Caps for Sale". I love that book! Everytime she would say monkey Colby would make his monkey sound and scratch his tummy! So cute! He also liked "If you're happy and you know it". So that has been our day so far and he's already been sleeping for 2 hours which is wonderful! I always feel so much better and he does too after a nice long nap! I'm sure we will spend most of the late afternoon outside as well!

Pumpkin Party

Today our church had the annual Preschool Pumpkin Party. This was actually the 2nd year they have done this. Last year we didn't get to go though due to being out of town. I was glad we could go this year and knew Colby would enjoy it. The morning started out a little rough. My little guy decided he would wake up at 6 am and then cry from 6-7:30 because I made him stay in his room. Then on the way to church he spilled his entire cup of milk down the front of him.

I have to admit though the day quickly got better. It was hard at first to get in the mood and put all that behind me but when I got there and saw how cute everything looked and especially when all the kids started running around enjoying themselves I couldn't help but get in the mood. Colby actually went to every station it was adorable! I honestly can say I think he liked them all. He was also so well behaved he never pitched a fit about anything. He loved the coloring stations especially the markers. He also liked the design a pumpkin face with fruit/veggies. Ofcourse he sat there and ate grapes though. Everyone thought that was so cute though! He really got into icing the pumpkin cookies. He mainly enjoyed eating the icing...I don't know where he got that from haha. There was a bean bag toss and pumpkin bowling and he loved those and would clap and cheer when he did it right! He made a few little crafts and I can't wait to display them and put them in his keepsake box.

He also enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies and sprite for refreshment. I am so excited about this event I feel like it was quite a sucess. I think our church needed something like this and all the people behind it did a wonderful job.

The rest of our day has been quite nice. Colby ended up taking a nice 2 and a half hour nap after finally settling down after 1ish. Austin got home around 5:30 which I was soo thankful for after the past week! We were able to sit outside and play with Colby then we watched the USM game together! Its been a wonderful day even though the start wasn't what I wished for! Looking forward to a beautiful day tomorrow in God's House.

Losing Patience

This is just one of those weeks where I feel like my patience is gone. Sometimes I wish I were a more patient person...I feel like I am pretty patient except on these days like today where just about anything makes me lose it! Its been a long week because Austin has been working until 8 every night. Dealing with an active 2 year old from 6:30 am until 8 that night when he goes to bed is HARD work. Now don't get me wrong I am so grateful I have a child to deal with. And I am grateful he is so healthy to be that active. And I am grateful that my husband has a good job that provides for us so that I can stay home. But with all that said sometimes I just want to scream and pitch a fit! The first day Austin worked until 8 Colby was really good. We also went to the park that day. I notice a trend with Colby that if he gets his energy expelled in the morning by being outside or doing something active he is usually pretty good the rest of the day. And maybe I was more patient that day as well.
Yesterday Colby had school so I had somewhat of a break and he took a long nap which was awesome. He was very active after but least I had the first half of the day off! Now today has been awful! I hate that I didn't get him out more but it was just our day of the week where we had to stay home. We usually have 1 day a week like that and it usually falls on Saturday but this week it fell today. We did get out this morning to run to the church to drop off stuff for tomorrow's pumpkin party but that was it. So Colby got to play a little there but not as much has he obviously needed. His naptime was horrible he probably only slept an hour if that and he was just active and into everything today! Some days I feel like he just makes HUGE messes and today was one of those days. I just gave up by about 4 and said the heck with it...I gave up trying to clean up after him! I know I was probably mean today to him but its a hard line to be strict and not let him walk all over me and be mean...today I was mean. I feel guilty but I am mentally, physically, and emotionally wore out. Being a housewife is hard. Don't get me wrong I love it! But sometimes its soo tiring. I feel like I have to worry with the house all day plus keep my active 2 year old occupied and I get no downtime no adult interaction some days. And with Austin working late it just all mounts up. I miss Austin and I hate the evenings where we don't get to hang out as a family! I know this is just temporary but the days just seem so long sometimes! I am ready for a family vacation! We want to go to Gulf Shores before the end of the year just the 3 of us and I think it would do us good just to be away from everything else!
Sorry about my venting tonight but I feel better if I write my feelings down! I pray that tomorrow will be a better day and that God will forgive my ugly attitude at times today and grant me more patience tomorrow.
Tomorrow Colby does have a pumpkin party so that should be fun and hopefully will wear him out! Plus I love Saturdays with college football on tv!

Beautiful Fall Weather!!!

So we have been blessed this week with gorgeous fall weather in NOLA. It seems early to me but I am not complaining. So far it looks as if its going to stick around the next 2 weeks which is also awesome. We have tried to enjoy this weather all week! We ofcourse went to the Global Wildlife on Monday.

Yesterday Colby had school...I'm sure he and his class enjoyed the weather on the playground. Austin and I also spent some time outside that morning then again that afternoon and we all took a walk as a family.. Yesterday was a nice quiet day for us and it was nice having Colby in school that morning and Austin and I got some time around the house. That rarely happens where we are home like that and he is gone.

Today Austin had to go back to work so I figured Colby and I would go visit my parent's and go to Brechtel park. Its nice because my parents live right across the street from this really nice, big park. They have a couple really fun playgrounds so we thought since the weather finally cooled off we could take Colby. I am so glad we went because Colby had a blast! He loved running up and down the hills. He also liked talking to the geese and ducks and trying to pet them! I swear my child will pet any animal haha. He also loved the playgrounds ofcourse! He climbed everything! He was such a ham! It was such a nice day we ended up staying out tehre for over an hour. I have so many memories from that park its fun to see my little boy playing there also! After the park we hung out at my parent's for a little while then came home for lunch. I didn't want to stay gone long since we have had such a busy start to the week. The rest of the day has been pretty nice except the fact its after 7 and still no sign of Austin coming home. Its hard sometimes being alone all day and him working 7 or more days straight and hardly seeing him I just wish sometimes he got home at like 5 but that's in a perfect world right! Tomorrow Colby has school so I plan on doing some more shopping!

Global Wildlife Center

Today Austin was off and his parents had plans of coming to see us. It was also the first cool day we had of the fall season. All of these things fell into place and we decided to take Colby to the Global Wildlife Center. This was his first time there. We have talked about going for over a year now with him. But honestly I am glad we waited until now. I can't imagine that trip a year ago with him. Maybe before he was mobile would have been easier but still I think 2 years old is probably the earliest you would want to take a kid. He has more of an attention span now and also knows/understands more about animals. The Center is about an hour and a half drive from our house. Luckily Colby slept for about half the trip. He was very good in the car he never fussed a bit which I was glad b/c sometimes he gets antsy in long car rides.

When we got there he was immediately excited about seeing all the animals. He was ooohing and ahhing from the car. He loved walking around the grounds and seeing the trucks, fish, animals, and kids. The weather was perfect today too! It was in the high 60s when we got there and in the 70s by the time we left. Perfect blue jean and t-shirt kinda weather! I also have to say he did great with his pottying today...no accidents with the long car ride and long tour and long ride home I was worried but he stayed dry and made 3 potty trips during the day while we were away.

The wagon/feeding part was very fun. Colby loved looking at the animals. He loved tossing food from the wagon and seeing the animals eat it. He also loved touching some of the animals which made me a little nervous but he is soo brave and loves animals it was adorable! Now all that said he did get antsy and honestly the tour could just be an hour long for his age. Today it was all kids his age they were probably 2-3 year olds mostly on the tour. I think in this case they could have made it shorter but I guess they didn't want to cheat us. I mean school age kids can handle that long ride but younger ones do not quite have the attention span. We had to pull out the goldfish, juice, and trucks before the ride was over to keep him occupied. But for a 2 year old I think he did really well. He had 1 small and 1 major meltdown. Both were over the fact he couldn't wander around the wagon while it was moving.

I am glad we went ahead and took him though I think by the time we take him back he will be really into it! I will probably wait until he's 3 though to go back when maybe he has a longer attention span and can understand a little more.

After the tour we ate lunch before we headed home. Colby was very good and then on the car ride home he sacked out again. I knew since he slept so much in the car a good nap at home for the day was probably out. He slept all the way until we got home and when we got him out the car he was not happy at all. I hoped we could lay him in his bed and atleast get an hour out of him but it never happened. It was hard since Austin's parents were here too he was too excited. We let him get up around 3:15 and play. Ofcourse he was a little ill mannered due to no good nap so he landed in timeout 2 times. I felt bad but I can't let him be bratty just b/c grandparents are in. I know some people would probably think I am too strict but I think rules need to be enforced and consistent always no matter who is over or where we are. We did have a fun afternoon though watching him play outside. Until he flipped out of the swing that was a tragedy. He also rode his tricycle around tonight since the weather was so nice. He looked so cute. He also ran into a little boy and girl from down the street riding their car toys. It was like a toddler parade so cute! We had a good dinner tonight with my parents and Austin's. We cooked white beans and rice for them. It turned out really good! I am so thankful for our families and that we were able to share a special day with them! It was really a fun day with so many good memories! We are all tired now though I hope we can catch up tomorrow! Colby has school but then we all have hopes of a good nap that afternoon!

Sunday & Saints

Today being Sunday is ofcourse one of our busiest days of the week. We had Sunday School first thing ofcourse. Today it was Colby, Broc, and Cade as usual. Mrs. Shirley my usual co-teacher is out for a month so Lisa the new helper was there. It was a little chaotic at first b/c Lisa was late and all 3 boys were there and we were trying to figure out who was going to stay with me. During all of the chaos Cade fell and hit his head pretty bad. He was ok but we decided to get his mom to let her know. I know I would have wanted to know had this happened to Colby. The boys mainly just played today I felt a little out of sorts. I had brought a new kitchen set in our room and bought some play food this week at Target. They all seemed to enjoy "cooking" for us.
Colby and I left right after Sunday School because of the Saints game at noon. Traffic is always horrible on Saints home games and I did not want to sit in traffic for an hour with a 2 year old. Plus I had a meeting this afternoon so my afternoon was already cut short.
I had things to do around the house as well because Austin's parents are coming in town tomorrow. This afternoon thanfully Colby took a good nap I was able to get an hour nap as well and I watched most of the Saints game....it was a dissapointing loss now they are 2-1 but I am just hoping they can redeem next week with the Panthers! Its always hard to see your team lose but we haven't lost a real game in so long but I guess it had to happen sooner or later!
Tonight I had a Preschool Team meeting for church. A bunch of us (mothers & teachers) have been asked to be on the team. Tonight was our first meeting so we basically brainstormed! I am excited about the upcoming events for our church and preschool. I pray we are able to reach out to the children and their families and that we are even able to draw in some visitors! Colby stayed with my parents then Austin got in to relieve them before I got in. I think he had fun with the grandparents and with his daddy. Then we just spent the evening eating dinner and watching football!