Leaves

I'm pretty sure Fall is over. I'm curled up on the sofa with a blanket and listening to wind blow leaves against the window and make the house creak. I shouldn't be surprised, it is mid-November after all, haha. Its just we've been spoiled with the PERFECT autumn days where the sun shines down on crunchy leaves strewn across lawns and brisk air calls for your cutest and comfiest sweaters.

Going outside is our favorite part of the day! I try to go outside everyday but it can get difficult on those days I have errands or chores inside. I taught him how to gather up leaves into a pile and then run through them! He explores, crumbles leaves, and sometimes I can get him to kick a ball around.
 But the sky is gray now and we're supposed to get some freezing rain today. (We'll see if that happens- we all know the weatherman's reputation) All seasons are exciting in their time, so I'm excited for those picture-perfect snow days too. The ones where you play with the kid outside until you're both sopping wet, happily tired-out, and ready to snuggle on the couch in dry clothes and hot cocoa.

Halloween

Autumn is the favorite season for a lot of people, so it's probably no surprise that I love it too. The tractors come out to harvest, the leaves turn crispy and colorful, and the air turns sharp and brisk.

My family didn't grow up celebrating Halloween. We would spend the night together watching a Blockbuster movie. It wasn't until I was in high school that our church started the trunk o'treat tradition and by then I was too old to really ask for candy. Pablo grew up in Mexico, so Halloween didn't even exist for his childhood. As a result, our own family together is a mix of uninterested to curious about it. I mean, should we go trick or treating with our kids? Heck, we've never been trick or treating, haha. So this year was a sort of practice year of sorts on which traditions to keep and which we just aren't interested in.
We carved pumpkins. This is going to be a tradition every October we decided. And the kids can paint their pumpkins until they are older. Isn't that cute? The pumpkin on the left is Pablo's, then mine, then my sister Jessica's on the far right. We put PJ to bed so we could lay out the newspaper on the entire floor and just heap pumpkin guts everywhere without worry. All while watching ParaNorman, which was....weird. Haha.

We dressed up as Rednecks for our church Trunk o' Treat and decorated our trunk with webs and black fabric. I loved the trunks that get really into it: music, fog machines, the vans that you have to climb into, etc. So fun for the kids!

Another tradition that I want to do every year is visit pumpkin patches! There are GREAT pumpkin patches here on the east side of Nebraska. They have pig races, pumpkin chunkin', corn mazes, homemade, hot apple cider, caramel apples, and tons and tons of pumpkins! I've seen pink ones, white ones, smooth and bumpy pumpkins. I just want to collect them all and pile them in random parts of my home, haha.

 

We didn't go trick or treating on Halloween night this year. PJ's still really young to care much and Pablo had classes. So it was a regular night for PJ and momma. Except I did watch Hocus Pocus with my sister:) But here's a picture of our little guy with his cauldron that he carried around for the church's trunk o' treat. Cute!

Walking the Walk

We have a walker! *insert victory dance here* I have been so excited for this milestone!And that's because since he started walking we've been playing outside, on playgrounds, kicking soccer balls, following momma around the house, running to Papi when he comes home (by far Pablo's favorite part of a mobile PJ), and walking up to give me hugs.

He fooled us there for awhile however. The week of his first birthday, we walked from the family room to the kitchen with full audience of Grandma Sattler, los Abuelos Velez, tia Paola, and momma. TWICE! I even have video and pictures. But that was short-lived. He decided it walking wasn't for him and took a 3 week long siesta from it, haha. He walked when we held his hand but wasn't interested in a full-time transition yet.

Then one day he just started walking. As easy as that. Now he's everywhere and I'm in love with the 3-foot boy I have waddling around my knees.

 

 And take a look at this face:

 I think I've found the happiest picture of my life.

Los Abuelos Velez

Pablo's parents and sister flew up to share PJ's first birthday with us and were here for a week after. That meant plenty of time with their grandson, or nephew, in Paola's case. We call them "Abuela" and "Abuelo", which is Spanish for Grandma and Grandpa and Pablo's sister, Paola, is "Tia", or aunt. They sing Mexican nursery songs to him and coo over him constantly. My favorite is a song about a cowboy mouse :)
We didn't plan our days real full while they were here. They were so happy just to be spending time with PJ. So here are shots of our week with los Abuelos y Tia :)

The Birthday

Family birthday dinner at Ruby Tuesdays

 Sunday

 
Henry Doorly Zoo

Visiting Pablo at work

And playing with PJ as much as they could :)

 

 It was hard to see them have to leave home after that week. They love having a grandson to give kisses to, I know it was hard to go. The good news is that we will see them in a month! Paola is marrying in December and there is going to be a great Mexican reception with fancy dresses, catering, dancing, and more. Pablo, PJ, and I will be down on the border for 10 days, including Christmas. Pablo and I even have a list of the taco joints we used to eat at that we have been CRAVING since we moved. So amidst Christmas and wedding parties - Pablo and I will also be systematically stopping by taco stands, haha.

Little Monsters

We had a little monsters themed birthday for PJ's first!

Chocolate monster cakes

Baby snack tray

Chicken salad sandwiches with chips

Monster popcorn mix

Hand-painting craft and coloring pages

Home-sewn Monster party favors! I wanted to keep all them, they were so cute

This Monster here was my gift to PJ to go with his theme: a stuffed Monster that I made for him

We filled the living room with balloons. It was a hit- all the little babies had a blast in there. I am so glad we captured PJ's face on camera when he first saw all the balloons, it was priceless.

Daddy coloring with the birthday boy :)

 After sandwiches, crafts, and the opening of presents, it was time for the birthday cake. I was excited for this part, I wanted to take pictures of him just covered in frosting and stuffing his face, haha.

 Aaannnnd we ended the party in the sink, washing up :)

 Happy Birthday Little Monster ;)

 

Read about his birth story here: http://www.pabloylauravelez.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-big-day.html