Happy Halloween everyone, and thanks for voting! It looks like the majority of everyone voted for the pirate costume. So per your request Sullivan took his pirate costume to daycare for the Halloween party and wore his pirate costume tonight trick-or-treating.
We have never given Sullivan any candy. So far in his life he's only gotten sweets for special occasions because we know this kid loves sweets and do not want it becoming a bad habit of eating junk food. Tonight, was a special occasion and let me tell you, this kid loves suckers! We had a blast and can't wait to see how much he'll grow in the next year.
Here's a comparison of him this year as a pirate vs last year as a banana.
We have 9 days until the Halloween. Even though today felt like end of November. Yes, in this part of Iowa we had our first official snow fall. It started early this morning with a light dusting of snow before rolling out of the house. By 8:00 am the snow had picked up with big, chunky, beautiful snow flakes. The kind that make you want to stay home, snuggle up, watch movies and have yummy soup and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. As much as I hate driving in it, I have a soft spot for the wet white stuff. It definitely is magical and makes me instantly get holiday cheer. That is until it's January, February or even March and it's way below zero, blowing cold and freezing. Then I'm no longer a fan.
Anyways, to get back on track to the topic of this post. HALLOWEEN! For the past couple of weeks we've been prepping Sullivan with wearing something unusual. Costumes is not in our weekly cycle of attire, at least not yet anyways. For the most part he's grown to be quite a fan of costumes, so we are undecided what he should wear for the big night out. We will be taking your votes until October 29th. Voting poll is along the right side of my page.
Photo on the left is a chicken and photo on the right is a pirate!
For a while now, I've been thinking of taking Sullivan to the Phelps Youth Pavilion in Waterloo. He loves to explore new things and tends to get bored stuck at home. My only concern was if it was too advanced for him an not worth the money.
After our venture out on Saturday and early nap again on Sunday, I thought why not give it a try. Mike had a bunch of extra projects he needed to work on and with us three in the house, it can be a little dificult to focus. I packed up the van and Sullivan and I headed to the Loo. I'm not sure if they do this every Sunday, but when we got there it was discount Sunday, score! Normally it costs $5 a person but when we went it was $3. We could spend as long as we wanted in there and they also opened up a mini golf course in the Cedar Falls Crossroads mall. With our $6 paid admission we could visit the youth pavilion and go mini golfing all day long. Sounds like a pretty good deal if you have kids old enough to golf.
This place definitely exceed my expectations. First thing Sullivan noticed was the fish tank. I had no idea he was so in love with fish. Maybe it was the trip to the Dubuque Aquarium? We will definitely have to look for some aquariums near our area for a little family getaway.
Once I got him in the door a little more, there was a small tractor kids can sit on and drive. This tractor is hook up to a virtual screen so you can steer in the field. They also had a little hay loft with "pillow" hay bales, a cave, little school house, mini grocery store, a fishing boat, a bus, a garden to pick produce and dig, and the most coolest thing ever, a cow to milk. I may have been more fascinating with milking the cow then Sullivan. I'm not sure why, I guess I've never milked a cow before. But this cow squirts out water into a pail that has a drain to recycle the water. Occasionally the cow would "moo" too, which was fun for Sullivan to hear.
The upstairs of the building is geared more for older kids. It has a puppet theater, an art studio where they have classes children can sign up for, a design table, and little niches displaying different countries and ethnicities.
I'm sure we will be making a returned visit again in the winter when we are all cooped up and bored.
Be sure to check out the video at the bottom! (Click on read more first to view the entire blog post) :)
Today was perfect! I wish all days could be like today; stress free, no work, great weather, family time and nothing to do except run errands and play!
The day was gorgeous, in fact, it was way too nice to stay inside and clean the house. So after a easy going morning we all got ready to run some errands. Mike was home which is great since a lot of his Saturday this summer/fall have been spent at Newbo Market in Cedar Rapids selling shirts for his business Red Piglet.
On our list today was to go to Hobby Lobby, Martin Brothers and the dreadful Wal-Mart. I despise Wal-Mart for so many reason and try to avoid it at all costs. But usually every couple of months I need an item and I know Wal-Mart will have a good selection and a decent price. Halfway through our errand running Sullivan decides to take an early nap in the car so Mike stays back while I run in and out of the stores. By the time we got home everyone was ready for lunch.
Since Sullivan already had a nap we decided to take a little walk and stop at one of our new favorite playgrounds afterwards. A couple of blocks from our house is a church that has a fenced in playground that's "just right" for Sullivan. He can climb in and out of things without needing to much assistant and the slides are nice where he can go down them alone. On our walk down there, we scored a free mini wagon. There was a house that had a few things by the curb with a free sign. This little red wagon was too cute not to pass up and I knew Sullivan would love hauling things around in it.
Today we had a lot of family bonding and Sullivan getting our full attention which is hard sometimes during the week when life is so busy. This little boy is growing too fast. Yesterday afternoon he had his 15 month appointment, be sure to check the tab at the top for updated measurements. I remember thinking this little boy will never be big for his age. He was such a little peanut when he was born and it felt like he wasn't growing fast enough. But like Sullivan's personality, everything happens on his time. He is now growing like a weed and he is in the 70th and 80th percentile for his height, weight and head circumference. He also is above average on the learning chart.
We also have another milestone to document. Sullivan has always loved his paci and seems that whenever he finds it, it always is in his mouth. Now that he's beginning to talk more, I've been having concerns on how his speech will be affected with the paci. Yesterday I decided to hide all of them and not give in at bedtime. I bit the bullet, not knowing if we were going to be up all night, have a crabby kid all day, or if he'd find one and then throw a fit if I took it away. The verdict: he is doing AWESOME! In fact he has forgotten about it except for tonight at bedtime. He usually drinks milk and we rock for a bit before getting laid down. Tonight we did just that except after he drank his milk he seemed to be looking for paci. He didn't cry and quickly got distracted when I told him to give daddy a hug and a kiss good night. Plus today, since we haven't had the paci for at least 24 hours, he's been talking so much more. I can't wait to hear what he's going to say and learn next. He already knows what a cow and a chicken say; he knows how to say Momma, Dada, more, no, hi, bye, and many others he repeats after hearing us.
If you know me best, then you know I am obsessed with Pinterest. This lovely website is amazing! It's perfect for a person like me who is organized, slightly OCD, and loves fun creative ideas/recipes/crafts. I believe I'm past 50 boards by now, but eh, who's counting.
Anyways, Sullivan continues to get more and more active. He gets into things he shouldn't and seems bored with his toys and being stuck indoors. This is going to be a problem since winter hasn't even arrived.
Today, was an over casted, damp, cold fall day and that means staying indoors. After church, lunch and a nap, Sullivan was getting into everything he shouldn't. His latest tricks are standing on the couch and trying to climb over the edge, getting into the kitchen cupboard that has glass storage and climbing onto a small bench in his room to reach the radio and piggy bank on his bookshelf. All these thing make me a worry wart that he's going to fall and crack his head open or break a bone. So while he was napping I was doing my usual and browsing Pinterest. I found some great one year old activities and decided to pick two that I knew I had supplies for. As soon as he saw me putting things together, he got excited and new something fun was about to happen.
Here's some shots of our day. We colored, sang and dance, read books, put big buttons through a slit in the top of a oatmeal container and shoved cotton balls down a paper towel tube to fill up the dump truck.
It's days like these I love, and days like these that make me hate Mondays...
This is a special day for Mike and I. Two years ago today we exchanged vows and said our "I dos" confessing our love before God, our family, and friends. It was a beautiful day similar to today. The weather was nice, the day was sunny and the leaves were about to change their color.
Four of my most memorable moments that day included three important men in my life. First my husband to be, the way he cried with joy in his eyes the first moment he saw me all dolled up and then laughing uncontrollably as he tried to kiss me after we lit the unity candle. Somehow I manage to pull back, not because I didn't want to kiss him, but because I knew we had to wait to kiss until they announced us as husband and wife. Second my father, knowing that this was the last child of his to be married. I knew he was happy for me but a part of me felt he was sad to let go. I'm sure I will experience that someday. I could tell he was holding back the tears as he walked me down the aisle one last time as Jodi Sabelka. And last my brother. It meant so much to me when he came to talk to me right before I was to walk down the aisle. These moments seem like they were just yesterday.
Love is a wonderful thing. Crazy that as we get old and we are married longer how much your love matures and grows stronger. Michael is my best friend. He knows me better than most, yet still loves me through all my flaws. I can be an impatient and "testy" person and he loves me enough to still it out, "go with the flow," and calm me down. He is my anchor.
Here's to many more wonderful years together. More laughs, cries, ups, downs, celebrations and sorrows. I can't wait to have more kids, more adventures, more changes with him. When we grow old and gray, our two year anniversary will seem like just a distant memory. I love you Michael. Happy Anniversary my love.
