2nd half of October, without Halloween

Halloween should get it's own post, right?

And, SO SHOULD THIS PICTURE!! Have you ever seen anything so perfect?

Max..in his wolf suit...ready to cause mischief and start the wild rumpus...Oh, be still my heart. 

I just keep looking at it and sighing/grinning. 

 Optimus Prime and a slightly more concerned Max right before Boo at the Zoo! (Note the Transformer bag, which we left on a bench later that night...with all of the candy in it. Anderson was so sad and it was one of those moments in childhood where you try to teach your kid a life lesson about perspective and "The memories of getting the candy are more fun than the candy." He was a trooper, especially considering it was our fault. Luckily, he learned a greater life lesson the next day called, "Daddy will fix it when someone turns it in and the police officer working security knows him.")

 I seriously think that I became a mom solely so I can find moon bounces to play in, build forts and go to Boo at the Zoo. It really is fun. We jumped in the moon bounce(of course), learned about bats (he was fascinated and had a lengthy conversation with the bat keeper person about how bats are nocturnal and some eat fruit ,thanks to the bat book from Bobble Cole), got his face painted, acquired a light up sword, got a lot of candy, watched a 'mad scientist' explode a rocket, etc. I loved it.

 I got 5 inches cut off of my hair. It was time. This is maybe 1/10 of the total amount she cut off. There is so much I can say about my hair because it really is such a huge part of my life. It always has been. Our (twin speak) hair is sort of 'special' in the sense that it requires a lot of effort and space because it is rather large. As an adult I have learned the beauty of styling products and a hair dryer, but it still is sort of its own world. My mom won "Best Hair" in high school and Nicole & I were always so confused as to where that genetic perfection left us out to dry (Dry...pun).

 Anderson came with me to a football game one Friday night and he had the greatest time ever. And, as I look at him sitting in the press box with his snacks, playing with my walkie talkie, I don't really know why. I mean, what a rough life.

 He got to high five the players and be on the field and wanted to play football with me the entire time. I kept explaining that I was at work and he was totally not buying it.

 Perhaps God gave me boys to teach me about logistics and spatial awareness through legos? (This is a free thing once a month or so at Toys R Us and this one was incredibly complicated. I was a bit nervous, but Anderson looked at the pic and helped. Seriously, the 3 year old told me how to do it.)

And, yes I see that grinning boy!

Bop's lap with chocolate animal crackers. Rough times. 

 I.love.this.kid. (And, Publix.I also love Publix.)

 We went to a fun birthday party for Sunny at Chuck E Cheese! Clearly, I should rent myself out as a professional photographer because great quality pics like this take skills.

Not sure what Anderson is doing here, but I do love the availability of FaceTime when one of us have to work late. Family time looks so different in 2013 compared to "back in the day", right?

 GG is alway on the lookout for something fun for these boys. Anderson loves his Halloween tree and spent forever decorating it with the ornaments. Bats, pumpkins, ghosts, creepy cats, spiders...his kind of fun.

 So, I was going to take a pic of him on he first day of school every year with his life ambition at that time and I am just a few months behind on this one. Pinterest and I are not friends. (Again, with the made photography skills, right?)

 Speaking of Optimus...here he is winning a cupcake at his pre-school's Fall Festival.

 We have not see nearly enough of the Brimers this month. This "job" situation that Clare & I have is really cramping our style. But, we did have fun decorating yummy cupcakes that Clare made for them!

 And, because no weekend is complete without a moon bounce, we tagged along with Bop to an event sponsored by a Humane Society to raise money for their shelter. Bop, the Balloon Man, was, of course, the biggest hit! (Do our kids realize that their grandfather is the Balloon Man? And, that this is not routine for most kids? #epicchildhood)

 Speaking of epic, thank goodness for our Noni! Look at this guy snuggling on her.

 Chloe went as a police dog in one of our many dog costumes (I stumbled upon a Target clearance bin of $1 dog costumes about 5 years ago and went a little crazy) and made us proud in the peanut butter eating contest. Anderson was cheering her on the entire time and it was really cute. Well, until she pooped on the playground. Chloe will always keep it real.

 Playing with all of the fun toys at GG's house!

 YMCA fall festival with Noni! (I have lost count of the moon bounces at this point)

 Pumpkin carving is totally Brandon's thing.

 I give Chloe a hard time, but clearly she totally enjoys life.

And, to end the month, Mr. Max decided he needed an extra day to snuggle with his Bobble, so he developed his first ear infection. He was so cute waiting for the doc that I just could not resist snuggling him to pieces and taking a pic. 

The first half of October

A side effect/perk? of my constant hours at work is that I occasionally get to bring Bug with me to sporting events. We had to play soccer the entire halftime and he then became obsessed with soccer for awhile. Based on his size, I think he is going to have more luck on the soccer field than the football field, anyway.

Soccer with the sister and the dad.

Birthday party at Pump it Up for a kid in his class.

 Foothills Fall Festival with Lily & Jack! This was really fun-moonbounces, laser tag (HIS FAVORITE PART! should I be worried about the gun obsession?), a water skiing squirrel (seriously) and lots of "festivally" activities.  Thankful for Noni who  bought them overpriced snow cones because that was not happening from Bobble/Sissa.

Twiggy the squirrel. Possibly the most random thing I have seen in awhile. 

 A trip to Dollywood with Noni (of course)

 and Saasha & Sunny! It was really fun and Max at 4 months was a million times easier than when we went with Max at 2 months. Proof that some things do, in fact, get easier.

 Nobody wants to sleep at my house, but the second we pull up to Pulblix, everyone is out.

Destroying play doh while being watched by a precious face.

 We celebrated Pappaw's birthday with the whole family! Aunt LoLo loved on Max all night, which allowed me to eat dinner without juggling a baby. That is always a bonus to an outing.

 The birthday boy himself!

 In one of my FAVORITE.THINGS.EVER., Brandon went to Anderson's school for "Community Helpers Month". I am sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that I totally volunteered him for this AND that he loved it AND so did the kids.

Y'all, I am serious, it was SO cute.

Some of the questions they asked/comments:
-Is that your breakfast? (he had a coffee cup)
-Do you take showers? ("I take showers, too. Just like you." was the whispered response when he said, yes)
-Do you have lights on your car?
-I had pizza at my house.
-I live in Tennessee.
-Just like we have cookies!
-A policeman hided and gave my mommy a ticket (this led to many, many stories of MOMMIES being pulled over and given tickets...only Mommies, which I found true because it is generally the mommy rushing to the doctor appt, the grocery store, to pick up jelly beans at CVS because Show & Tell that week was J)
-Show us your poison spray
-You didn't show us your gun!! (He showed them the stuff on his belt but left that part out...I guess my kid is not the only one into guns)
-Is your vest rough?
-One time on my way to the beach, I saw a police car. (LOTS of stories like this one)

He let them all say their name & their age, which turned into where they live, what kind of pet they have, etc.

Then he read, Llama, Llama, Time to Share, which was the book Anderson picked out for him to read.

And that, ladies & gentlemen is why I will never again* complain about my husband's hours or dangerous situations.

*maybe just a little complaining

The class made him thank you cards-precious! Anderson was SO cute during the entire visit, as he watched his world collide. He rarely sees Brandon in his police uniform, so that was a new thing, too. You could tell Anderson was so proud, especially when the kids would ask questions starting with, "Anderson's Daddy!"

My car seat at the end of every day-my school bags, the dreaded a-hole pump, Anderson's backpack and lunchbox, my lunch container, random groceries, bottles and such from Max and who knows what else. This is partially why the end of the day is so exhausting. 

Another visit from the girls-this pic is actually them playing. 

How do people live without cousins??

 And, because no October is complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch, here are a few shots from that outing.

I love fall!!

MAX-5 months

 The boy will not cooperate for a picture.

 I mean, can we get a grin, please!!

It is never too early for me to make my baby into a reader. (A Bobble can hope...)

 Someone loves his brother. Oh, and Max is pretty fond of Anderson, too.

 He sort of looks like me here? His expression? Maybe a little? Like a slimmer faced version of me?

His hair is out of control. I guess that is what he gets from me!

A cute video of Max laughing

This guy at 5 months:

-So cute and perfect and unbelievably mine.

-He rolls everywhere & tries to scoot around, but is NOT crawling. I cannot express how grateful I am that he is not crawling and starting to pull up on things at 5 months like Anderson was. I don't think I fully realized how out of control Anderson was in the mobility dept until I had Max. As their pediatrician said, Anderson was an enigma.

-He is SO good when you do not want to leave the house and will take naps pretty well. Since we are always doing random things on the weekends, he doesn't really have a schedule of any kind at home.

-He eats cereal/baby food in the morning and evening and still takes a bottle 3-4 hours during the day.

-I do not make children who sleep thorough the night on their own. This guy clearly misses me and wakes up hourly sometimes just to check in with me. He literally has only come close to sleeping through the night the 2 times when he was 3 months old that he slept from 8-4. And....I don't really mind. I know, Anderson's sleeping issues put me over the edge, but he slept through the night at this point. His issues started when he was 18 months old and could no longer sleep in his crib because he was a mountain climber. Whatever. I enjoy my time with this boy in the middle of the night.

-He LOVES this ladybug toy at Noni's (this pic was after he had just "won" it from Reese), his jumperoo, Gabbi, Anderson, Daddy, (seriously, I am 4th in our house. Thank God for Chloe so I am not last), rolling, his monkey lovey and chewing everything. Oh, and he is still rocking that "being perfect" thing.

here is a video of them fighting over the toy

There is a bond there for sure.

*LOVES his Daddy!

I am totally, 100% sure that I am going to keep him forever.