OCTOBER

So, what have we been up to lately? I'll start with this first picture of my Caroline. This is how I have been finding her during her naps! When she lays down her bed is empty besides her regular pals! Now it seems that she just plays and plays and plays and hangs off the bed! This morning (5:00am) for those of you that know my schedule........I must have walked passed her five times before I saw that she was on the couch sound asleep. At sometime during the night she got up and walked to the couch. My first thought is why did she not come to my bed, and secondly, what did she do before she got to the couch?!?

I turned 33 this month on the 11th! Happy Birthday to me! My babies gave me pink gum, a pink hair brush and Alice Sebold's new book. Jeremy gave me a heart rate/calorie/fat burner monitor that I had been wanting! Yay!!! I love it!

Eddie picked out my pink funfetti cake with the spiral candles! He certainly knows what his mommy likes! The cake was fun-fetti filled and I even had seconds! My birthday was awesome. I had the day off from work so I woke slowly to coffee and then Jen and I went to Yoga. It was nice to spend the time with her. I'm glad that she was there because there was a point in the class that I needed her friendship! I love taking Yoga but man it makes you think way tooooooo much! Thanks Jen!! I love you and am so glad that Winding River has blessed me with your friendship! Jeremy later on brought us home Sushi and Godiva White Chocolate Macaroon Cookies! A slight reminder of Oahu!

Eddie loves to play on the computer- a new greatness in his life and a great tool for our parenting and bribary! Ha!!!

Here she is, Ms Minnie Mouse!

Trunk or Treat was a lot of fun this year. Eddie was a Ghostbuster and Caroline a Garden Gnome.

Here is Eddie with his friends from school. Keegan, Dawson and Michael.

Eddie has been working really hard and well at school this year. Each weekend I bring him home the work I do at school with my class. I've tried to make his Saturday mornings full of different "centers!"

Really?!? Do I need to write anything?

The great pumpkin carve of 2010 was inside this year! Eddie touched the pumpkin guts and made the craziest faces!

The final Jack-O-Lantern is at the very end of this post!

Halloween Night was awesome........as usual! The group got together around 6:15! All kids well behaved and not one mamma with a stroller!!

I caught her!!!!! It is too cute not to post her picking her nose. Sorry Caroline but you are too cute!

Here comes Kim and Thomas to join us!

What a line up! Eddie, Michael, Caroline, Thomas, the Cross boys.....wait I know that Ava and Andrew are here somewhere.....I'll have to go back and upload the other!

The Cross Boys! Nothing spooky about them!

Miss Ava!

Okay, seriously we are that group of 2o that people dread ringing their doorbell!

Halloween 2010!

South Padre Island

Late July my parents flew to Texas and Jeremy and I picked them up and headed to South Padre Island. We had a wonderful time! The weather was awesome and the beach was beautiful!
South Padre Island looked a little like this each day! Each morning we packed up "the cart" with chairs, kites, beach buckets, snacks, towels, chairs and umbrellas, and A LOT of sunscreen! Our condo this year was incredible and was close to the beach. Jeremy gets a gold star for pushing and pulling "the cart" everymorning and every evening! The beach formed what was like a small pool so it made for a perfect play area for kids!

Dinner was successful a few nights! By the end of the week we either ordered dinner and brought it back to the condo or ordered Ice Cream for Caroline right when we sat down. She's very happy here!!!!









We ate and ate and ate and ate!!! Mostly fish and it was all so good. This is at a restaurant called Black Beards. We had tried to go here last year but the wait was always so long.

Prior to our trip all Eddie seemed to talk about was riding the Big Boy Go-Carts! So here he is in a big boy blue car ready to ride.........

Well the picture looks good but he did not ride these. He made several attempts to ride by himself but he just wasn't ready for the solo ride so he rode with Jeremy later in the week!

Happy Birthday Eddie!! Eddie picked out a Cars birthday cake and we had a small birthday celebration! Yummmy!

Here are the kids actually sitting down and enjoying a meal!

Pop-pop and Caroline! What a pair!!!

Pop-pop and Eddie! If only I had film footage of the the boys! They had so much fun laughing!

This was at Amberjacks. My favorite restaurant on the Island!

Proud grandparents!

Here they are! Daddy and Eddie riding the Go-Carts!

At night grandma would pull-out some sort of game or puzzle from here suitcase!

Let's go Boogie Boarding! Eddie braved the waves!

Look at me! Whew Hoo!!!

This picture was taken on our last night. We went for a sunset swim! My boys!!

I love this pictue of my Eddie!!!

Of course, my mind always thinking about my baby Emily Kate.

Comfy! Relaxing! Oh, the beach!!!

A late night swim at the pool!

In the distance you can seen Jeremy and my dad waving! They were standing out pretty far. You can see Eddie running towards them- NO FEAR!



A close up!

Our condo!

The beach at night.

Can't wait to go back!

birthday

Happy 4th Birthday Eddie!! Wow! Time flies! I can't believe that my baby Eddie is a big boy! He turned 4 on July 24th and makes me proud everyday of who he has already become! As ususal we celebrated a few times this year. On his birthday we woke up early and made Eddie his favorite M&M pancakes! He opened his presents after! I know it looks a little like Christmas!!! But, I love him and wanted to shower him with books! Most of his presents I had bought through out the year from amazing book club sales!

Yum!

We also bought Eddie a Slip -n-slide for his birthday! They loved it.

Love this picture!

Yay for slipping and sliding and really great pictures!


Eddie wanted a Train cake for his birthday so I stepped outside my comfort zone and bought all the supplies needed; the pan and the fancy decorating tools and ALOT of icing! The sadness was that my tools didn't fit the icing tubes all that well so everytime I changed colors a big blob would come out the sides! Jeremy took Eddie to the baseball game and it took me the entire time they were gone to make it! I had to do a lot of it by hand! Can't wait for a new set of tools and the next birthday! Hmmm, I wonder whose?

Happy Birthday Boy with his new Tarheel Hat!






We also celebrated Eddie's birthday with family and friends later that week.

Eddie wanted a Thomas the Train cake! It was so adorable!




A party is never small at our house! All of his friends and cousins came over to celebrate good times at the Howards! We served pulled pork, hamburgers&hotdogs, salad, fruit salad, rolls and coleslaw.


Eddie picked out his decorations!




Eddie ate like a birthday boy champ!

More friends!!!

Although it was Eddie's birthday it was very nice for the adults to get together! Now that the children are getting older they have become more independent and can allow the adults to "catch-up!" It has was a very busy summer for all of us so this was a nice time to visit with friends!

It kind of looks like cirlce time in a Kindergarten classroom! Ha! In my mind I was mentally preparing!

After dinner, cake and presents we went outside to play water guns! A family/friend tradition on Winding River!

Heath, Amy & Isabella stayed awhile after everyone left. It was so nice to see them. We miss Amy & Heath being right nextdoor to us so we don't see them quite as often as we'd like!


Caroline and Izzie are about the same age and played really well together. They did share a few moments................


If pictures could only make sound!!!!


All better!!!