Halloween Book Babies

This morning for Book Babies at the library, the kids were asked to wear their Halloween costumes. Bucky does really well in his so I knew he wouldn't mind. Chase did so much better in his monkey costume than he did at the carnival. You could tell he was enjoying it. Evelyn and Ethan were ducks. All the kids were having a really good time. We went to LH Rec Center after the library for pumpkin painting with our MOPS group but nobody was there and nobody knew what was going on so we left and will figure something else out.

Pumpkin Patch

Monday morning we met Hubbell and Chase to carpool to a farm about an hour north of PC for a pumpkin patch. It was supposed to me a large group from meetup.com but 15 showed - very disappointing...but whatever - we had a good time. There were pigs, horses, chickens, hens, ducks and rows and rows of fruit trees. The kids seemed to have a good time and were so sleepy when we left that Chase and Bucky fell asleep in the backseat. It was so cute!! I think they enjoyed their freedom to run around.

PC Playgroup Halloween Carnival

We had a very busy and eventful weekend. Saturday Bucky and I went to the PC Playgroup Carnival where we met up with a few of our friends. I wasn't originally going to attend but was peer-pressured into it...and I'm glad I have persistent friends. Bucky had a great time walking around in his costume and roaring at people. He even played the game where you dig in the sandbox for a ball to trade in for a prize. We had a time trying to get some pictures of Bucky, Chase and Jimmy together but it turned out better than I thought it would. I finally caught up with Sabrina whom I haven't seen or talked to in ages. Overall we had a really good time. I planned on heading to First Baptist Church in Lynn Haven for their fall festival but it was much smaller than it was made out to be so we were convinced to go downtown for the Festival of Nations. There was supposed to be dancing and cutural stuff but apparently we missed that part and everyone appeared to be killing time until the pumpkin lighting thing. Hubbell and I discussed waiting but decided to head our separate ways. Sunday we ran errands and I started his Christmas shopping. I was also able to get me a couple of small items to help protect my camera lenses against chipping and debris. I got Bucky a 3 drawer chest to put his toys in so I can try to get them out of the living room so it looks like an adult lives here and not just a 17 month old :) . I don't mind the toys but they have started taking over my already small apartment and I'm afraid that if I let it go any longer, I'll be overthrown as head of this household. Anyway, he's asleep and I'm finishing up cleaning for the evening.

Bath Baby

Bucky won another contest for a picture from his first bubble bath!! These are the collages the girl who does the contest made. Aren't they adorable?!?!

Kathy's House

Today, Bucky and I were invited to play at a new friend's house, Kathy (dtr - Mackenzie and son - Jackson). Hubbell and Chase also went. There was a girl that stopped by named Tara. Have you ever seen someone later in life and just know that you have met them before but don't know where? That's what Tara and I ran into today. We both recognized each other but could not for the life of us remember how we had known each other. Anyway - the boys had a ton of fun playing with all the "new" toys and I got some ideas for Christmas. Kathy's kids disappeared for the first bit b/c they had been running around a lot and apparently just needed a break from things for a little while. Kathy made the adults some yummy grilled roast beef and onion sandwiches and the little guys had turkey sandwiches. Bucky gobbled his up - no pun intended - but Chase wanted mommy's sandwich instead. He was very, very tired. They all did very well together once the other two joined in the fun. It's great meeting new moms with kids who are similar ages!!

Oakland Terrace

We went to Oakland Terrace Park on Wednesday with our meetup group. It was a beautiful day - not too hot but not too cold. Bucky ran right up to Hubbell to be picked up; I guess mom is just not good enough these days. Chase and Bucky had a good time playing together. Chase fell down and was bitten by a lot of ants but he recovered rather quickly. Ethan joined them for a little bit on the swinging bench. There were several other moms and kids there. It was great because we could let the little kids run around on the big kid side because there weren't many big kids there that day. We knew it was time to go when a big yellow school bus stopped in front of the park.

Beach Bum

I entered Bucky in a free contest for "Beach Bums" and he won 1st place!! His friend Chase won 4th place. Congrats to both of them!

He also won a contest a few weeks ago "On My Belly." I think Chase won 3rd in this one but there wasn't a weekly collage made.

This last one was entered by Hubbell - it's a picture of Chase giving Bucky a hug one day at the park. So cute!!

Scary Face

Bucky has started doing what Buck and I named "Scary Face." It's actually quite hilarious!! I finally got a decent picture of it today at the park.

That's SGT to You...

I heard from Buck last night and he made it safely back to his destination. Then I heard from him again this morning and was shocked with some good news. Apparently while he was stateside, the paperwork for his promotion went through and he is now officially Sgt. Lawhorn. YAY!!! There is supposed to be a small ceremony and he has promised me that he will have someone take pictures so I can see everything. I'll post them when I get them but I just wanted to share our good news. :)

More Halloween Pics

I tried to take some more pics of Bucky in his Halloween costume yesterday. They turned out pretty good but I am still trying to get him full-length. I have a strong feeling that I am going to have to enlist my mom for some help so he will stand still while I set up my camera. I will crop the pumpkin picture if I decide to use it. The last one I through in because he is just so darn cute!!

Sesame Street Live

Bucky and I invited my mom to go to Sesame Street Live with us on Saturday (18th) at the Marina Civic Center. Hubbell, Kevin, and Chase also went. Overall Review: Mostly entertaining, too long for that age group, and could have done without the individual singing by the girl. There was an intermission about 45 minutes in - they could have charged half-price and made the show that long. Did I mention they sold balloons (for $8!!) during the intermission but did tell the parents to put them under the seat when the show was going. Bucky really enjoyed most of the show and watched very intensely throughout all but 15 minutes of it. He fell asleep before it ended. Poor little fella - it was time for his morning nap.

The Dreaded Day has Arrived

On Friday, Oct 17th, at 8:30 AM we arrived at the airport for Buck to board a plane to go back to the desert. What a blah day. Bucky had fun running from Buck while we were waiting. Bucky and I couldn't go through the checkpoint to watch him board the plane, but quite frankly I don't think I could have. It was hard enough knowing what was going to happen - This was one thing I didn't need to see to believe. I handled it OK until he got in line for security and then I lost it. I quickly regained my composure but it was too late. Buck had seen it. I try not to let him see b/c I know it's hard enough for him to leave. He knows that I will be ok and take wonderful care of our boy so that at least helps some. I was doing ok after Bucky went down for his nap at home but when he woke up and started asking for dada and walking around looking for him, it broke my heart. How do you explain to a 17 month old that daddy is not here right now but will be back? Well, you don't - you just open the doors, let him see for himself, and go on about your pre-visit routine. At least...that's what worked for us. Our boy sure does love his daddy and that made us both very happy!!

Now we all get back to our separate lives and get back to our separate routines but at least we both know they will be one in the future.

Our Day

The Thurday before Buck left was Our Day. We had already decided that everything on this day was for us and us alone. We went to the beach for a couple of hours and played in the sand with Bucky. When we got home, he took a looooooooong nap so we took advantage and watched some "Family Guy" DVDs. Hilarious! We went to Longhorn's for a nice, steak dinner. The service sucked but the food was delicious. After that it was Bucky's bath and bed time so Buck put him down for the last time for a while. We talked for a few minutes and then proceeded to watch some more "Family Guy." It was a relaxing day (which we both needed) and we all enjoyed it immensely. The whole day I tried not to think about what was coming but it seemed like the more I avoided it, the more I thought about it...Oh well, what can you do??