Happy Halloween!

Hi everyone. Back again! Hope Halloween was great for all the kiddos!!

Let's see, what have we been up to lately?? A couple of weeks ago we made our first trip to the pumpkin patch at Fischer Farms...as you can see below...we should have gone earlier. Not many pumpkins to choose from out in the fields, but we found a couple of them to take home.


Famous and I celebrated our anniversary on 18th with dinner at Gamma and Papaw's house with Great Grandma Stokes (aka Big Gamma by Chase!!) too. They fixed our favorites....ribs, cheesy potatoes, garlic bread, baked beans, cake, etc. Always too much to eat but oh, so good! Chase loved Papaw's ribs too, but not so much the sticky fingers!! Notice the pinky finger in the air...such class and only 2 years old!


A quick picture one morning....he just looks so grown up sometimes...can't even believe he is not even 3 years old yet! Here he is cheesin' for me!

We went to the MDA's Day at the Game again this year and what a game it was!! Mizzou beating the Sooners was great and the game was so exciting. I just love being at a game in person...so much fun. The tailgate was pretty good too. Awesome food and drinks!

We did our pumpkin carving too. Chase wanted nothing to do with it and just kept saying "eww, yucky, I not touch!". I guess we did a pretty good job with it though, at least Chase seemed impressed!!

Halloween this year went okay. Chase wanted to be a transformer but we couldn't find any costumes that were his size. Nana found the Thomas the Train costume that he seemed very excited about. He liked trying it on and checking himself out in the mirror and we thought we were good. Fast forward to Sunday night....he is throwing a fit about putting it on. Crying, running nose, doesn't want to be Thomas anymore. Being the good parents we are, we told him he had to wear it if he wanted to get any candy!! So he grudgingly put it on but still cried. Lucky for us we had to go through this ordeal several times because we had to take it off and on each time we went in the car because of his carseat...so that was a WHOLE lot of fun!!!

Crying at Nana's house!

His loot at Nana's house...trains, Cap'n Crunch, clothes...is he spoiled or what?

Family picture!

So, Halloween is over and as you can see, Chase is already making his Christmas list!!

Pumpkin Festival

Family Pic

Famous, Chase and Nana

It's "heaby"

Playing with his bubble gun from the festival

Last weekend, we went with Famous' mom to the pumpkin festival in Hartsburg. It was a beautiful day for it...even almost hot! But at least there had been no rain and we have to park 4 miles away! We had fun eating, drinking and browsing the fun vendors booths. They had some neat stuff down there. I don't think it was as crowded as it was last year. Chase had a great time and enjoyed riding in his wagon...at least until he saw any dogs! But I think he is a people watcher too...loved to just watch everyone around him.

He loves to be a good helper and that goes for everything from sweeping, to loading and unloading the dishwasher, cooking and hanging up laundry.

He is a total "jabberjaws" lately and comes up with some good ones. I will list a few for posterity sake!!

• In the car when the sun is shining in his eyes, "Mommy, the sun sees me"
• Trying to stack the newspaper in a pile and I asked what he was doing "Mommy, it's my job"
• When it is time for him to go to bed and Daddy is downstairs, he stands at the top of the stairs and yells "Daddy, it's bedtime"
• When Nana calls the house to talk to Chase "Nana, what you and KK got for me?"
• When walking to my scraproom "Mama, I going to your office to work"
• He has a tough time with constipation lately, so I sometimes try to get him to drink or eat something that might help him like "If you have some apple juice, it might help you poop"....so the other day, he said "mama, can I have a popsicle, it might help me poop"...smart kid, huh?

I know there are a million more of these...I will have to start writing them down for sure!

We don't yet know what he is going to be for halloween...he has several of his own ideas....a dinosaur and transformer are just two. So I guess we shall see!!

Saying Goodbye

Today, we said goodbye to Myth (AKA bubba chubba and kitty too), our first "baby". He had a wonderful 15 years of life and had been with us since he was 6 weeks old. I can still remember the day I brought him home! Famous was not pleased at all, but they quickly became buddies! He was always such a sweet cat, loved to snuggle and snooze with me and love to wrestle and fight with Famous.

We will miss him terribly. Rest in peace.

A few pics of him...have more but will have to go searching.

Napping with me and Baby Chase

He always climbed into our suitcases when we were packing to leave for somewhere.

Taking over Baby Chase's toys!

September happenings

The months just completely seem to fly by these days. I haven't been back here since September 10th...oops!

Since then, we had a great time at the Lake for our Annual Stokes Lake Weekend. The boys had such a fun time together and they really played so good too. Just a few minor squabbles over the same toys, but all and all they did great. It was very enjoyable for us to spend time with everyone.

Doesn't he look like he is on his way to high school :)

Loving on Baby Harper...they would just not leave him alone...they are ready for him to play with them!!

On the run!

Watching for ducks

Best buds...I think Beth got a better picture than I did!!

The last weekend in September we went to Oktoberfest in Old Munichberg with Nana and James and Jaime. Chase had lots of fun playing the different games and riding in the fire truck. He won enough tickets to get some books and a pinwheel, so he was happy. He actually got into the bounce house, which is a big first for him, but essentially froze when he got inside. Maybe next time bud!! I got a cute video of him dancing to some German music too.

Holding his ticket and waiting in line to play a game

Spinning the wheel for prizes

Riding in the fire truck...he probably had all the switches and buttons messed up when it was all said and done.

His newest dance video is below....:)

We have been spending time blowing bubbles at Gamma's lately after I pick him up at the babysitters. He loves to chase them and pop them and run into them with his head too. Crazy kid!

A video of him "chase"ing bubbles!!

Weekend fun

Labor Day weekend was a nice vacation, although not near long enough! Seems like the weekends should really be longer!!

On Saturday, we had one last pool party at Stephanie's mom's house, but only a couple of the kids got in the pool. I didn't even bring Chase's trunks (although now I am discovering that they are no where to be found...). But the kids did enjoy running around and playing. Chase loved every single second of it! He was the youngest one there but he loves playing with the big kids and they were great about playing with him too! They played ball, blew bubbles, danced and chased each other. He definitely paid no attention to his parents!!

The all star at work...notice he slammed the tee of the ground in these shots!!

Chase and Harper enjoying snacks (Harper didn't want me to take his picture)

Susan blowing bubbles with the kids

Then the guys decided they needed to show off their basketball skills! I think they probably couldn't walk the next day though. Lots of pushing, shoving and a few falls!

Look at that pro form from Famous!

Sunday, we enjoyed dinner with Nana Joan and Aunt Kay. They barbequed some yummy steaks, beans, pasta salad and more. Very good. We enjoyed sitting outside on a beautiful day!!

Monday, we got out for a little while in the morning but spent the rest of the day at home, relaxing and vegging. Overall, a beautiful and fun weekend for all!

CWC - conversations with Chase!

More CWC from this morning!!

Chase was snuggling in bed with Famous when I got out of the shower this morning. He was yelling "mama, mama, mama" until I finally came out. He then proceeded to tell me "I need a bar and milt" (nutrigrain bar and milk). I told him I needed a kiss first. So he went to give me a kiss but got distracted in the meantime, then he said again he needed a "bar and milt". I asked him "well where is my kiss" and he pointed to his cheek and said "right here mama". Such a stinker! So I stole my kiss from him and told him one of these days he was going to have to get his own bar and milk and he said "nu-uh, I too heaby (heavy with a b)", but stopped in the middle and said "no I too short". He can open the refrigerator on his own but can't reach the shelves yet!! What a smarty pants!

Summer is ending.....

So I can't even believe that summer is ending. It seems like the days fly by (at least the weekends do!!) and it will be fall before we know it. This morning's weather was just fine by me. If it could be fall all year round, I would be a happy camper!!

We spent a little time downtown a couple of weekends ago and I snapped a few shots of the boy. He loved walking around exploring and of course playing in the water fountains!

Chase got his big boy bed this week and he is just doing awesome! I think it really was time for it. He seems to really like it. The transition was a breeze and completely surprised me, as I expected our stubborn little man to be a little more difficult. But he has gone to bed relatively easy each night, sleeps later than he ever has in the past, most mornings we have had to even wake him up! I really expected him to be up and playing after we put him to bed, but he hasn't....at least not that we know of!! Hopefully that all continues!

Ready for bed
Snoozing away!

The potty issue has not been revisited yet. When we tried about a month ago, he went through 11 pairs of big boy underwear in less than 5 hours. I just got the feeling that he is not ready. I feel inadequate in this area with working with him and the sitter doesn't seem to think he is really ready either...so we feel a little lost in this area. I am sure we will try again soon though because he is getting more and more difficult with changing diapers. We try and rationally discuss that if he went pee in the potty we wouldn't have to change diapers...but yeah, not working!!

It amazes me the conversations we have with each other and how darn smart he is. The things he discovers on a daily basis and reports back to us is just amazing. Lately, he has been on this kick where he is noticing "noises" around the house, on TV or outside. We hear "what dat noithe?" about 50 times a day (his pronunciation of S's is pretty cute!!) now and he is so inquisitive. His next favorite question is "what is it?" when he fully knows what ever it is that he is asking about!! So then I have to ask him what it is and he tells me....what a turkey. He loves for us to record him singing or talking and then wants to watch the playback over and over. His expressions watching himself are so funny...he really gets a kick out of himself!!

His favorite things right now are transformers, monster trucks, blocks and sports. He loves to throw the football, kick the soccer ball and try and hit the baseball. Daddy even has him asking to watch Sportscenter in the mornings. Poor kid doesn't have a chance!!

Last weekend, Famous and I went with friends to the winery to celebrate my birthday. We enjoyed sitting outside and chatting and then decided to go play mini golf at Turkey Creek. We had a lot of fun...except for getting eaten alive by the mosquitos...it was terrible!

James and Jaime

Steph and Adam

Looking forward to the Lake this weekend for the Stokes get together! We always have a good time. Hope the weather is nice and we get some pool and lake time!