the festivities

grouchy pumpkin -- the 2009 version

as i sit here with my mug of cider and my toasted pumpkin seeds, i think i can say we had a very successful halloween.
we started off the morning by purchasing our cider and pumpkin at the farmers' market, followed by an afternoon of watching the buckeyes stomp their opponents something fierce. next we carved the pumpkin, sorted the guts, and made our pizza.
our candy at the ready, we greeted kids at the door. between bites, we enjoyed seeing many cute little ones for trick-or-treat. after dinner, we dressed our little sweetie in his costume, and daddy took him around to the neighbors' houses for a quick-or-treat (it was a little chilly, and sam's got a bit of a cough). sam was highly interested in all the kids coming to our door, so we sat by the front door so he could see what was going on. we ran out of candy shortly before 8, but things had pretty much quieted down by then. all and all, i think it was pretty good.

getting prepped and ready.

what you REALLY wanted to see. sammy as a candy-corn! i think he gave me cavities just by being in the same room with him. too sweet!

needless to say, i was very happy with how the costume turned out. even if it wasn't what i had originally planned, i think it turned out well. maybe we'll ninja-up next year (when putting something over sammy's mouth hopefully won't be so trauma inducing -- wearing a candy-corn costume for 45 minutes was trauma enough for one night!)

apropos of nothing...

autumn eats

after eating all kinds of super yummy fall foodaliciousness at missy's place last week (still waiting on the recipe for those pumpkin cookies and creamcheese/maple/cinnamon icing *hint hint*), i decided i really needed to cook up some of my own. not to mention that sammy ate the pumkin like such a champ, i wanted to see if my luck would hold out.
it was so nice, i could've eaten it twice. sammy, on the other hand, thought once was enough.
joke's on him. i've got leftovers for tomorrow.

missing mississippi

our trip to mississippi was definitely one to remember. seeing oscar, introducing sammy, talking and visiting until the wee hours...what a blast we had! not to mention the corn maze, the pig races, the hay ride, the pumpkin patch, the pecan walk...so much fun! it was hard to arrive home sunday night and be "just the two of us" again.

sammy and i are both looking forward to this christmas when we'll get to see the southern gang again. maybe next time sammy will be able to join in the running around, not just watching and smiling and squealing with delight as his cousin speeds by.

we miss you guys. thanks for having us, and we can't wait to return the favor!

road trippin'

and we're off today to visit this cuteness (well, this cuteness about 10 months later). i can't wait to see how oscar has changed since we last saw him. and so excited to introduce sammy to the fam down in mississippi. sam in his carseat for two days is a little scary though. wish us luck. i think we'll need it!

8 months old

it's almost been a full week since sammy turned 8 months old, and i've finally gotten around to taking his photo. he may not look all that different in pictures, but he's definitely growing (and the box of clothes that he's grown out of is also growing). he's been trying lots of new foods and putting his teeth to good use, and is now getting around quite easily by crawling. he likes to stand whenever he gets the chance, and is on the move before i can get a clean diaper or a pair of socks on him. he's definitely keeping me on my toes.

as much as i hate to leave behind his little baby phase, i'm definitely enjoying "big kid sammy" and all that he can do, and games he can play, and things that he laughs about, and i'm looking forward to what's next on this boy's agenda.

wednesday morning, train stop

in general, i would say that i very much dislike getting up while it's still dark. but when there's a sky like this waiting with me at the train stop, it's not so bad.