Movin' On Up

Jonathan finally outgrew his Little Tikes Roadster toddler bed. Bryan and I had been in discussions about whether to buy a new bed or just a frame or whatnot when my mother came to visit and suggested that we just cut the legs off the full-sized bed that was already in his room. Bryan busted out the saw and, voila, a "new" bed.

Jonathan and I immediately set to work finding new bedding. His initial suggestion was Spongebob. I know, shocking. I immediately nixed that idea and offered up my first pick, pirates. We eventually reached a compromise and chose this set.

I ordered everything this weekend and, thanks to Target and their super fast (and may I add FREE) shipping, it arrived today. Jonathan is thrilled with the new bedding and I am happy that it is not a licensed character. Life is all about compromise, right?

Why does he look like he's taking a poo rather than the pretend sleeping as I requested?



Oddly, this is much how I sleep at night. Seriously. I wonder if this sort of thing can be inherited?

Halloween

For the third year running, we trick-or-treated this year with our good friends, the Effingers. As always, our children had a blast hanging out and the weather was perfect for the festivities. As an added bonus, the Effingers' live in a neighborhood that strongly favors chocolate and as an even better bonus, Cindy took charge of the pictures so our photo memories are 110% better than they would have been had I been left to my measly point and shoot.

Before heading out, the kids decorated cupcakes. I found a great deal on a pirate themed set at Michaels, complete with edible images and watercolors to paint on the designs.



Despite the fact that endless whining typically occurs when I ask Jonathan to get dressed on a day to day basis, the prospect of putting on his Halloween costume magically cured him of his professed inability to dress himself:



My youngest sister, Melissa, sent Jonathan a huge box of Halloween-related gifts the week before Halloween. Included in the loot were multi-colored teeth. All three children LOVED them. Us parents did not so much love the immense amount of saliva that accompanied them. Ick.



My handsome fireman. If his career goal stays the same, he may actually dress like this for real one day:

Luckiest

Look at these two--how did I get so lucky?

Untraditional

I know we've not even had Halloween yet but when I saw this on Playmobil's site (we are a huge fan of Playmobil, BTW, and by we I mean all three of us. Their stuff is so cool!), I had Bryan stop at a locally owned toy store that carries pretty much the entire line so that he could purchase it. Jonathan's going to love it because, seriously, what doesn't say Christmas like police and putative defendants?



Day 23 is a toilet, I assume for the jail cell. Love it--the perfect holiday gift for the child of two attorneys! Combine this with our Elf on a Shelf and we are ready for the holiday season. Hopefully two bribe-able items per day will keep dear Jonathan in line!

First Day of Preschool

Even though preschool started the 24th of August, it was cool that morning, so Jonathan had to wear a jacket, therefore greatly diminishing the effect of his super cute Janie and Jack outfit. Not surprisingly, I am the only one in my household who cares about such things. While I know that there are WAY MORE important things to worry about, I wanted the boy to look nice for school. I'm taking full advantage of the fact that he will still pretty much let me dress him the way I want (so long as the Spongebob shirt is nowhere in site. Ugh.)

This is the face I got when I asked him to smile for me. He just wanted to go inside and told me (and anyone who passed us) that I was embarrassing him. Not exactly the look for which I was hoping:



And this is the look I received when I allowed him to go more "free-style." I just love the little booger and can't wait to share all of his fun preschool experiences with him this year:

Vacation in Destin aka Where I Wish I Were Right Now!

Loved, loved, LOVED Destin! I thought I was an Outer Banks girl and I still adore the Outer Banks, but the beach in Destin is so amazing that it's now become my new favorite. In addition, the fact that there is a ton of shopping and tourist-y things to do make the area ideal for a family with a restless four year old to find activities to keep everyone amused.

Case in point--we took an excursion on this pirate ship. There was an actual pirate on board, a treasure chest, booty bags, a cannon, the whole nine yards. It was AWESOME. Oh, and Jonathan liked it too :)



Jonathan overcame his fear of the ocean in about 2.4 seconds but the pool was his real love. The $1 we spent on an inflatable Spongebob ring at Target before we left the 'ville was the best $1 I spent on this entire vacation.



Friends of ours were in Destin the same week as we were so we got to have date night at this incredible Italian restaurant. A bit of wine, a lot of fabulous Italian food and great company made this one of the better date nights we've had in some time. This is reason 147 why it is the best idea ever to take a grandmother with you on a family trip!



See, doesn't this look so much more fun than sitting in an office doing work!? I think I would like to live in Europe and get a whole month off for vacation.





Obligatory family self portrait--the expression on Jonathan's face makes me happy:



Jonathan had his first go at miniature golf. Sadly, I do not think we have an aspiring Tiger Woods on our hands. He thought he rocked it, though.



We had a bit of whining from Jonathan over the course of the trip, which was tiring, but, overall, it was so nice to be able to spend tons of time together as a family. Now if only we could win the lottery so we can actually relocate to a beach climate--this is definitely a lifestyle to which I could become accustomed!

Vacay--First Stop, Rock City!

Seriously, this summer flew by like no one's business. How come you can NEVER say that about the winter months? Except for the holidays, February and March seem to last for an eternity but July and August pass with barely a blink of an eye! Maybe I need to add more winter activities to our schedule. Any ideas?

The second week of August, we took a family vacation to Destin, Florida. Since it's a bit of a drive and we have a four year old, we decided to split it up over two days. The first night we stayed in Chattanooga and visited Rock City the next morning. I have wanted to go every time I have seen the billboards off the interstate in western Kentucky and Tennessee. It's a bit cheesy, but in a good, campy way.

I wanted to buy this hat and dress Jonathan as a gnome for Halloween, but Bryan said that would be mean. But would it? Picture this face but with a white beard:



It's so handy to have a fourth person with us so that our little family can be in a photograph all at once! Bryan's mom came with us on this trip; having a grandmother with you on a family vacation is the best. thing. ever.



Signs like these were everywhere--how is this even physically possible?



This is what I meant by campy--LOVE IT!





Fairyland Caverns was one of the best parts. There were little gnomes tucked into the rocks in all sorts of places:





There was also a Mother Goose village where they depicted scenes from nursery rhymes along the way. culminating in a huge room with a display in the middle with pretty much every Mother Goose scene you can imagine. It was dark and lit up by black light. I adjusted the color on the pictures so you can, hopefully, get the idea:





Jonathan tried very hard to stay "in" the trail, but he became, understandably, quite frustrated:



In sum, Rock City totally rocked!