Halloween 2009

Cutest pumpkin I've ever seen

Hayless Hayride

Baby Kate's first trip to the pumpkin patch. Trevor made sure she had the perfect pumpkin.

Trevor and his neighbor friend Clayton

Trevor and Parker

This year Trevor was really into Halloween. He picked out his costume (a motorcyle rider) all by himself. We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, but this time we brought my friend Julie and her daughter Kate - it was their first trip. Tom met us there straight after work and we took Trevor on his first hayride. It was fun even though the only hay was in a tiny pile in the corner of the wagon. What's up with that people?? It's not a hayride if you don't have HAY! And, Trevor's favorite part of Halloween... trick or treating with his best bud Parker!

Trevor's First Trip to the Movie Theater

Right after I finished my 5K, we headed over to the movie theater in Franklin to meet Trevor's friend Owen for Trevor's first trip to the real movies! He was so excited and actually sat through the Toy Story 3D double feature. Owen's mom rigged the 3D glasses so they would stay on because as we all know one size does not fit all. Trevor sat next to Owen and they had a BLAST!

My First (and maybe last) 5K

Some of you know that since Tom and I met, I've secretly wanted to run a 5K. Well I finally did it. This October, I participated in the Race for the Cure. I didn't have much time to train, so I didn't run the whole way.  I did finish it in the time I wanted, so I'd call it a success. It was freezing cold and way too crowded, but I'm glad I did it. Thankfully Tom pushed Trevor in the stroller for me so I could concentrate on making it to the finish line. I'm not sure that I'm cut out to be a runner. I don't mind the races, but I HATE the training. I just don't have the attention span to stay on the treadmill for 3 miles. It remains to be seen if I will ever run another one, but at least I can mark this off my list of things to try. Way to go me!

Trevor's Favorite Hiding Place

When we play hide and seek, Trevor's favorite place to hide is... under the bean bag chair! He thinks it is hilarious and can't stop himself from giggling and giving away his spot.

Let's Try Without Training Wheels

Tom is anxious for Trevor to ride his bike without training wheels. I'm not sure why; he's fast enough already! So one sunny Saturday, we gave it a shot. Trevor gave it a good try, but decided he wanted his wheels back. I'm sure we'll try again soon.

A Trip to the Drive In

This summer we took Trevor to his first drive in movie. We weren't sure he'd be able to sit through the entire movie, but thanks to a big bucket of pop corn we all had a great time!

First Day in Big Boy Class

       

         

Alright, once again I'm embarrassingly late with these updates. This year Trevor moved downstairs to the preschool section of his Mother's Day Out program, or as he calls it -- "his big boy class."  Here are a few pictures of his first day. The preschool program allows 3, 4, and 5 year-olds to play together and this year they have three classes to pick from - each room teaches the same concepts in different ways. The children are free to move from room to room. Trevor is really thriving there. We love it!

Such a big boy

Last night Trevor spent his first night sleeping in his big boy undies instead of a pull up. He's been wearing big boy undies during the day since he was two, but this was an exciting milestone. I was worried that he might not make because he's been a bit stressed out with all the changes at our house because of Tom's job, but... HE WOKE UP DRY!! He was so proud and so was I. Congratulations big guy!!

Sun, Surf, and Sand

We're just back from a fantastic trip to Gulf Shores, Ala. Trevor's friend Parker and his family were there on vacation at the same time. Trevor had an awesome time playing in the pool and at the beach.

Trevor took his first trip to a water park on this trip. He is definitely Tom's son. He went down the big water slides and loved every minute of it. He also fed his growing addiction to race cars (really go carts). They had a place called the Track there and we seriously went there almost every day. We used it as a bribe for taking a nap. Yes that's right, I'm not ashamed to say I bribe my kid! Pictures of the race cars coming soon.

The highlight of the trip were the fantastic pictures of Trevor that our sweet friend Erica took on the beach. If you ever need a photographer call Erica! You can see her portfolio on her web site at www.ericafoleyphotography.com. Thanks Erica for capturing some beautiful memories for us!

Spiffy new landscaping

Well, after several years of begging and pleading and a Mother's day spent scooping river rocks, Tom finally agreed to hire a landscaper to help us with our front yard. I'm absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. Thank you, thank you, thank you Little Hollow Farms!!

Look out world, I've got wheels

Trevor's scooter and his new big boy bike

My baby is 3!

The infamous Curious George cake

One of Trevor's best buds, Parker

The super cool red scooter

Trevor and Owen

OK, so I'm embarrassingly late with these updates so bare with me there will be a lot.

My sweet baby boy turned three on May 16th. He had a Curious George themed party and was soooo excited about it that he is actually still talking about it. He promptly tells everyone he comes across, "I'm three (three fingers up) years old. Parker, Owen and baby Kate came to my party and I had a Curious George cake and I got a scooter..." He seriously will go on until you change the subject. So, thanks to Parker, Owen, baby Kate and everyone else who helped Trevor celebrate his third birthday.

Updates coming... I promise

Well, I've been a bit lazy about posting, so I hereby promise to update the blog sometime today.

Miniature Trains Oh My!

Trevor and I had a great time riding miniature trains in Columbia. We were there for 4 hours and I had no idea we had missed lunch!

Go Daddy!

In April, Tom ran the Country Music Half Marathon. He did an awesome job and finished in 1 hour 42 minutes! Trevor and I had a great time making a sign for the finish line and were lucky enough to see Tom run right past us. Tom yelled and waved at Trevor and he said, "Daddy ran by fast!" It was so cute.

Mowing the Yard with Daddy

Couldn't resist posting these. Trevor loves to mow the yard with Tom. Now if only there was a real toddler sized mower, our yard would always be trimmed!

Easter '09

We had a great Easter this year. No official East Bunny pictures because while Trevor likes getting presents and candy from the Easter Bunny, he is scared to death to see him in person!

We had an Easter egg hunt at church this year. Now that Trevor has finally realized there is candy in those silly plastic eggs, he is all about the egg hunting. In fact, he got so many eggs, we had to ask him to give some to the poor little kids who didn't have any! Surprisingly, he didn't mind sharing.

He did it!

I'm happy to report that after a long and frustrating week during which I almost started to regret becoming a parent, TREVOR STAYED IN HIS BED ON THE FIRST TRY LAST NIGHT!!! I am so proud of him. He got to pick a prize from his Stay in Bed Prize Bag this morning and put his very first sticker on his reward chart. He was so happy and so was I. Now cross your fingers for many more days and nights like last night!

Outrage at LP Field

Tom and I went to watch the US soccer team play in a World Cup qualifier Wednesday night at LP Field. We won of course. But that's not where the story ends or begins for that matter. We got stuck in traffic on the way there and missed the entire first half! When we finally arrived an hour and a half after we left the house, we still had to pay full price (an outrageous $15) for parking at the field. Poor Tom tried to argue with the attendant that we shouldn't have to pay full price for only parking half the time. That didn't work of course, so we paid and parked. Then we proceeded to pay another nearly $20 for two poorly prepared hot dogs and a bottle of Gatorade! We enjoyed the second half of the game with Tom's friends from work and I learned a really obscene cheer from some lovely fake British fans sitting behind us. Then we headed to the parking lot to sit in traffic for another hour! When we finally got to the part of the line that was moving, the stupid Metro PD had all the lanes blocked and were forcing everyone to go out in one direction -- the direction we didn't want to go! We were forced onto the interstate, which is fine, except that we couldn't take our normal shortcut to avoid sitting in all that traffic in the first place. I don't understand why they don't just let traffic flow with all the available directions and exits instead of bottle-necking everyone and slowing things down. Ugh!

The War Rages On

Well, I never thought I would say this, but I am happy to be at work today. Trevor put up quite an honorable attempt to win his battle for control over nap time yesterday. Four hours later... yes you read that correctly, it took me four hours of putting him back in bed to get him down for his nap. I couldn't believe he had so much stamina. He almost won!

I've never felt so defeated and like such a poor excuse for a mother. Tom and I decided that we wanted to try to discipline Trevor without spanking. It just doesn't work on him. Unfortunately, sometimes parenting patterns from both of our childhoods (mostly mine) take over. Yesterday was one of those days and it makes me sick! During that four hour battle, I did everything I said I didn't want to do. I screamed, I spanked him and I ended up in tears over it all. How is it possible that he can push my buttons so quickly?

I did eventually win and he went to sleep in his bed. The night battle for bed time was much shorter only about 20 minutes. Thankfully, Tom took a turn last night.

We're going to a World Cup qualifying match tonight, so I'm sure tonight's clash will be amplified. Wish me luck!

Bed Wars 2009!

Tom and I won the first battle of what I am now calling "Bed Wars 2009." Trevor was really excited about his new bed. He even helped Tom put it together (well, technically Trevor used his play hammer, wrench and screwdriver, but he thought he was helping).

Tom got the mattress home just before the storms hit last night. The storms -- that should have been my first clue as to what nightmares lie ahead. We ate dinner together and I started bath time, while Tom finished up the assembly of the bed rail. Trevor was wound up! He had to be removed from the tub for purposely splashing water all over the floor. Then he was so excited about his bed he couldn't make it through story time. Already frustrated, we told him goodnight, turned on his music and left the room.

I didn't even make it all the way down the hallway before he was out of bed and running giggling toward me. I took his hand and led him back into his room into bed and said, "It's bedtime pumpkin." Then down the hall I went... and so did he, over and over.

At first he thought it was funny. Tom and I remained calm and continued to take him back to his bed without a word. Then things really started to get ugly. He started throwing toys at us. No big deal. He's done that before. Then he found my camera that I had forgotten in his room and threw it straight up into the air. Regrettably, he got a spanking for that.

But, he wasn't done yet. He continued to throw everything that wasn't nailed down. So, we took everything that wasn't nailed down out of his room. The battle continued for nearly two hours, but sometime between 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. he finally went to sleep and stayed that way until about 6:30 this morning.

Tom and I won the first battle and are preparing for round two. Today I made a Stay In Bed Reward Chart. Maybe it will help. Wish us luck!

Today's the day!

Well, it is official. My sweet little pumpkin face (yes, I really call him that) is getting his new big boy bed today. Tom is on his way to pick it up now and if all goes well, Trevor will be sound asleep in it all night tonight. I'll post pictures later. Now start praying people! I don't want to stay up all night putting an almost three-year-old back in his bed!

Basking in the glory

Well, Tom and I had our first date of 2009 last night. It was wonderful and much needed. We dropped Trevor off at church and went to Bonefish Grill for dinner. I ate way too much! I'm amazed at how strange it feels sometimes to be out without Trevor. And, I'm sorry to say that for a while we just stared at each other because we had no idea what to talk about! I guess that's how it is after you have kids. It seems like the only thing we talk about any more is Trevor (not that I mind talking about my sweet little pumpkin face, but Tom and I need to find our groove again I think).

Today I helped out at the ministry fair at church and then watched Trevor throw a huge tantrum when I came to pick him up from the nursery. He didn't want to leave and decided that the best way to handle that was to destroy the train set he didn't want to stop playing with. Almost three-year-old logic isn't quite straight line thinking.

After our nap, I went for a jog (only made it for 1.1 miles because of the stupid bradford pear trees in every yard from here to Texas). Then we all went for a walk together and we let our dog Molly pull Trevor on his tricycle. Trevor just squealed and laughed the entire way. Molly didn't think it was quite so funny.

Here's hoping for a fantastic week ahead!

I've finally given in...

I've resisted the blog thing for a long time mostly because I'm very private and I usually only write for myself. I'm not sure what you will find when you read this, but there will probably be a lot of talk about my rambunctious son Trevor. He's almost three and has literally taken over our house. There will also no doubt be a significant amount of space dedicated to my fantastic husband and maybe some about freelance writing.

Remember that three-year-old I mentioned a bit ago? Well, he's crying about something, so I'm stopping for now.