wordless wednesday

fireman

Bryce loves wearing his fire truck shirt. It has lights on it that blink when they sense movement. It FINALLY rained today so I put Bryce's rain boots on him since they are fireman boots. The outfit wasn't complete until he added the hat!

Happy Monday!

family tradition

We made our annual trip to Carter's Mountain to pick apples today. Bryce looked forward to the trip all week. I can't lie, I was also VERY excited about going. I love doing festive things, especially with family and friends. It was very hard to decide which of the 197 pictures to use, but I picked a few. I'm going to do a second post once I get my friend Beth's pictures.

A trip to Carter's Mountain is not complete without a taste of the apple donuts.

A Bryce sized pumpkin. He tried to pick up a larger pumpkin, but he told Jason it was too big, ha!

That pumpkin is SO big!

Retrieving the first pick.

I couldn't resist this shot.

Bryce picked his very own apple.

He was quite proud.

He enjoyed every bite of it.

He was serious about eating that apple.

Bryce did not want to leave the worm hole. He could have done that all day. You may remember this post last year. Boy has he grown.

Our attempt at a family portrait. It sure is hard when you have to wrestle a little boy in position. He was not going to have any part of cooperating. All he wanted to do was to get back into the worm hole in the apple. We had the perfect day. We went on a hayride, picked apples, ate apple donuts, and enjoyed wonderful fall weather as a family and with great friends. I love traditions!

19 months

Another month has come and gone and our little man continues to grow up so much. I felt like he was 18 months for a long time, which is good because it didn't feel like time flew by as fast as it normally does. Sometimes I just wish time could stand still so Bryce will stay this age, although I look forward to what he will become in the future!

Bryce knows most of his colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, brown and pink). He still doesn't get white. He has been able to spell his name and tell you how old he is (and hold up a finger) for a while now. We have been working on shapes and he knows circle, square, triangle and star. Today I drew a heart and he said "heart beat". I wasn't sure what to think! He recognizes a few letters and can tell you that D is for Dada and Dog, M is for Macy and Mama, and B is for Bryce. Just this week he has been taking the C magnet off of the fridge and saying "C...Chase". When I sing the ABC's and stop on certain letters he can tell me what comes next.

We have been working on potty training, but it has been very hit or miss. He goes through stages when he tells us he is pooping and we can get him on the potty in time, but then other times he goes in his diaper and never says anything. I tried to get in the habit of putting him on his potty when he wakes up, but I have to admit that I'm a little lazy because he wakes up at 5:45 every morning and all I want to do is get him in my bed as fast as I can so I can catch a few more minutes of sleep. However, he goes through phases where he doesn't want to have anything to do with the potty. So obviously he is not totally ready, but we try to work on it when he does show interest. And he really enjoys getting a gummy lifesaver when he uses the potty!

I could just eat him up!

singing

I happened to be whistling "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" today without realizing it until I heard Bryce singing along in the background. It was just too cute so I had to get the camera to capture the moment.

Bryce loves to see pictures and movies of himself. I showed him the first video and he loved it. I tried to get him to sing more, but he was too worried about watching himself some more. I added this video so you could see how well he is talking these days!

we got a contract

We got a contract on the old house today! If all goes as planned this time, we will be closing on October 29. This is good news and sad (not bad) news. We are absolutely thrilled to finally be rid of this house, but I'm so sad to be displacing my parents from another house before they can move into their new one. However, we have been waiting for this since April 2009. I guess it's just bittersweet.

We got a call from our agent on Saturday saying a family wanted to look at the house on Sunday night. They had a few stipulations for what they were approved for and what they wanted in closing costs (a little negotiating took place just to convince them to look at it). After running the numbers, we figured being out a few thousand dollars to close now rather than out a lot of thousands later, was worth the gamble. Looks like it paid off (so far). The new well process is finished and we are hoping it will pass closing without a hitch. Only time will tell, but we are VERY hopeful. And for the record, I'm getting a SOLD sign this time!

a day at the lake

We have not been out on the boat with Nana and Pap since last fourth of July. We decided to meet them at the lake today before they put the boat away for the winter. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. It was still a little cool when we got there this morning, but it warmed up to the perfect temperature.

This was the first time we were able to get Bryce to wear his sunglasses for an extended amount of time. I guess he realizes the value of them.

Helping Pap drive the boat and watch for fish on the fish finder.

one cool dude

He even tested the water. Much calmer than the ocean, but not nearly as interesting to him.

Even Macy went for a swim. She just loves the water!

teacher appreciation

Today was Teacher Appreciation Day at Arby's. We went for dinner and enjoyed a free combo meal. I think it's great that places in the community recognize teachers. I just love a free meal and especially a meal I don't have to cook!

ride 'em cowboy

MeMaw bought Bryce and Chase cowboy hats today. They were a big hit. When I picked him up today he was very adamant that he was going to "ride a horsey tonight"! Rudolph was all I could come up with for a horse ride, ha!

One tough cowboy!

carnival

Our church put on a carnival for the community today. Jason was in charge of the bounce house. It worked out well for Bryce!

We convinced Bryce to go down by himself.

I think he did o.k.

He felt a little better going down with Dada.

Bryce went with Chase most of the time because I had to help serve lunch in the kitchen.

I didn't get many pictures since Jason and I were both busy, but I'm pretty sure Bryce had a great time. He went right down for a nap with no fuss at all.

happy birthday papa

We celebrated Papa's birthday today and Bryce was so excited. He came home from Kelly's house talking about Papa's party and eating cake and ice cream and blowing out the candles. He couldn't wait!

Papa had LOTS of help opening his presents!

Bryce was excited about cake and ice cream, but what he really wanted were the M&M's. Here he is eyeing them from a distance.

He managed to get up in the chair to get a closer look.

He knows how to get what he wants. Notice the full mouth!

Happy Birthday Papa!

sick

No pictures today. I am just too under the weather to take a picture or upload a picture. I went to bed with a sore throat on Monday night. Not a great feeling the night before the first day of school. I woke up with the sore throat, but I felt fine. I felt worse as the day went on and I ended up going to bed by 9 on Tuesday night. The stuffy and runny nose started on Wednesday and I felt horrible. I woke up this morning and my whole face hurt. I'm pretty sure it's a sinus infection. I'm going to suffer through and try home remedies and over the counter medicine because I just don't have time to be sick and go to the doctor. I have been so busy at school trying to catch up. It's amazing how you can start the year on track and in 2 days be SO far behind. If it weren't for the weeks worth of lesson plans I have to write tomorrow after school, I would probably call in sick, but I just can't. So enough of my pity party. I'm sick, but I'll get over it and life will go on! Just glad tomorrow is Friday and it's a JEANS day (we rarely get a jean day at my school).

first day of school

The new school year has officially started. I had a great first day and I think I have a pretty great class. It was harder leaving Bryce today than it was last Monday when I went back for teacher work week. I know it will get easier, but we just had such a great summer and I wish everyday could be like our sweet summer days.

This was us before school this morning. I swear I look super tired in this picture, but I actually slept better last night than I do most nights.