Christmas is just around the corner

and boy, I do not feel ready at all. Each year I always say I am going to start earlier so that I might actually be able to enjoy the season and I never do. I have the never ending list of things that I want to do, recipes to try, fun decorating and it never happens. Oh well, there is always next year, right??

I made an advent calendar for Chase this year and his is fascinated with opening his gifts each morning. This first couple mornings, he wanted more than just his one envelope, but he is getting the hang of it for sure. Here he is on December 1....he got a matchbox car. By far the candy and the Thomas engine has been his favorites!

I started back to working at Marshall and Co. a month or so ago....just in time for the Christmas party. It was a fun night out, although we always pay for it the next day....and I mean all day. Can't quite recover like we used too. Oh well, it was fun!

Before the party pic

I had decorations up for a couple of weeks before getting the tree upstairs and decorated. Trying to find a free night to get the ornaments on with all three of us was hard to find. Chase really enjoyed putting the ornaments on this year...except he kept putting them all on the same branches. I did mini trees for his room this year with jingle bells and Daddy got a sports tree for his man cave downstairs.



Helping with ornaments

The finished tree

We have been singing Christmas carols in bed instead of reading books for the last couple of weeks and he loves them. I have him recorded but will post that separate. Here he is playing "drums" with his stepstool, ruler and tools. He is very inventive if nothing else!!

It can't be December already

I can't believe that it is December already! Feels like it was just Halloween. Well, the last time I posted it was...oops!!

Chase is just growing like a weed. He went from 37 1/2" to 39" from September to November. We started keeping track by measuring him on the wall in the bedroom and now he has to measure mommy and daddy too. I say it all the time, but he is so dang smart. He just amazes me with the stuff he picks up, memorizes and repeats. He is doing really well with his counting and naming his colors too. He loves to correct me when he thinks I say a word wrong. He says "no mama, not gatorade....it's gatorade" even though both times he says the word it sounds the same to me. But hey, he is the expert, right?? :)

He loves Thomas the Train right now...the trains, the books, the movies. It is just about all he talks about. He knows the songs and the shows by heart. He is too cute singing what he says is "my" Thomas songs.

He really is having fun with "ars and craps"....arts and crafts. We did some hand turkeys for Thanksgiving and he asks daily to do more. We have been trying to go to the library on a weekly basis lately and I have been picking up some books on easy crafts for kids, so he is having a great time.

Time to take down the fall decorations and bring on the Christmas stuff!!

My favorite stuff...my apothecary jars. I just love filling them with different stuff for each season (and placing them on my faux mantle :)

On to my Christmas decor....setting the stage with all the goodies I am working with!

Chase found his "first Christmas" stockings....guess he thought they were socks!! How cute is he?

Don't mind that mess in the background...when decorating with your son around, all bets are off!!

Chase wasn't feeling the best this year at Thanksgiving. I think he had a bug that had his appetite taking a nose dive, but after several days, I think he is finally coming around.

Chase and Aunt KK

Me and my boy

Four generations....Chase, Famous, Nana Joan & Aunt Kay, Great Grandma Ida

The boys at the Stokes Thanksgiving dinner. They are getting so big and grown up!!

This year, I decided to make Chase an Advent calendar. I saw this cute idea to use envelopes for each day. I didn't tell him about it and can't wait to surprise him with it tomorrow.

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!!