"We have a nice family!"

Tis The Season

This happened tonight......

 

Jingle Jams, Christmas Music, Polar Express & a Cozy Fire!!!

Talk about curing the Monday Blues.

Only 44 days till Christmas...Eeekkkk !!!!

November already ?!?

Wow !!! Hard to believe it is already November. The month of October FLEEEEEW by. The Fall Season is a favorite in our house and we were busy every weekend. We spent October at the Pumpkin Patch, Apple Orchard, Boo at The Zoo, Friday Night Football, Family Fall Photos, Celebrating an Anniversary, and a special trip to the Schott for Disney Jr. Live. Nick and I also had a long weekend away in sunny Florida and Nolan got to spend some special time with Auntie, Nana & Grandpa Gallagher.

 

 

(Disney Jr. Live - Jake & The Neverland Pirates!)

 

We've since then started our Christmas Countdown. It has been fun teaching Nolan about the Spirit of Christmas. He knows who Santa is and can not wait to point out Nut Crackers in every store we visit. Hoping to get up a tree soon :)

It's unbelievable to me how much a child can change in just 30 days. Since my last post Nolan has "grown up" so much. He is talking in complete full sentences. Some of the words and phrases he uses, baffles me. We have been told my several people that he is very smart. I know I have said it before, but he is hilarious. His sense of humor is great. And that imagination that little boy has... WOW !!!! I think 2.5 is by far my favorite age. He is doing great with potty training. In fact, Friday he wore big boy undies ALL DAY with NO ACCIDENTS. We are so proud of him !!!

We are now loving Dinosaurs. Everything Dino. Hats, Tshirts, Jammies, Underwear (HA) Toys, TV Shows.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hidden Creek Farms

This past weekend marked the first day of Fall. Bright Blue Skies, Sunshine, Crisp Fall Air... It was gorgeous!!! We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and took our neighbors up on a trip to Hidden Creek Farms for some Pumpkin Picking! With the exception of just a few other families, we had the farm to ourselves. This was great as the boys were able to run wild without causing much disruption. We will have to remember to go Opening Day next year :)

Nolan got to pet a newborn calf (only a few days old) and visit the Hen House where he clucked at the roosters. He spent a lot of time in the Corn Kernel Pit  digging and playing with trucks. Hidden Creek also has a HUGE slide. With no fear, Nolan climbed right up and went down. Again, and again, and again. He had a blast.

 

We also took a tractor ride to a field filled with pumpkins. I think Nolan loved the tractor ride more than anything. This was a pretty cool experience. We got to pick the pumpkins right off the vine. Nolan picked out all of the pumpkins - we ended up with a Daddy Pumpkin, Momma Pumpkin and a lil tiny baby Pumpkin.

We got to load up on Fall Goodies before we took off. We brought home Apple Cider, Apple Crumb Pie & Apple Butter.

Nolan was filthy so we stripped him naked before was knocked out. I think the fresh cool air and fun wore him out :)

"Daddy, It's so good to see you!"

Nolan and I met Nick for dinner last Thursday after I picked him up from Meme's. He ran to Nick with open arms and greeted him! "Daddy, it's so good to see you!" I know Nick's heart was just beaming. I mean how sweet !!!!! That is true emotion. All unprompted too.

I have noticed how affectionate Nolan is starting to be. Sunday evening we were laying on the couch and Nolan looked at Nick out of nowhere, "Daddy, I Love You". He then turned to me, "Mama, I Love You!". He also got really emotional when my parents left after visiting last Sunday. He came into the house just balling. Biggest crocodile tears ever...... "My Grammy,Papa/ My Grammy,Papa". Talk about bittersweet.

We had such a fun filled weekend. Friday evening the Twins came over to play. It was all trucks, planes & trains. They enjoyed a picnic and a movie on the big screen.


Saturday, Nolan & Daddy hung out and watched College Football all day. Saturday evening our neighbors were having a big party we got invited to. There were 8-10 kids all Nolan's age running everywhere. The Bucks were on outside, perfect fall weather & lots of fun. It was cute to see him play with other kids. He was particularly smitten with a sweet lil girl named Ansley. Caught the two of them holding hands :) And even went on to pose for pictures. Nolan had a total blast and was up way past his bed time.

 

 

Sunday Baby Carter came over to play & watch the Browns. Usually the lil ones try to mimic the older kids, however this was a lil different scenario. Nolan crawled side by side and mimicked Carter. They played pretty cute together :) We took a break for a lil lunch. Both boys sat at Nolan's table and chowed. And then chowed on applesauce !!!

Bad Reputation

Nolan must really love Joan Jett or just doesn't give a d@mn about his bad reputation! He broke into a full dance party at lunch yesterday! Boy definitely doesn't get his dance moves from his Daddy.....; )

Our Labor Day weekend was pretty labor-less. Which meant lots of good eatin/family/snuggle/movie time. We did make it to Cookie Cutters for a stylin new haircut and a trip to the outlets for some new duds. Let's just say Nolan will be pretty QC this Fall.

Cape May

What a fabulous Beach Town and Great Vacation!  We're actually en route from Cape May back to Ohio as we speak! It's a 10 hour drive.....Fortunately for us Nolan has been excellent in the car!!! We left last Friday evening and drove till Harrisburg PA where we met my parents and stayed the night. The next morning we took off about 9:30am. After fighting both Philly & Cape May traffic, we arrived at Exit 0 and checked into the Blue Pig (Pip's 300 year old Beach House) at 1:30pm. Pip is a very special friend of the family and we couldn't wait for her & Nolan to meet. We were glad she was able to spend so much time with us!

 

As soon as we got in town we changed and headed to the beach. Despite the cloudy weather we couldn't wait for Nolan to see the beach, afterall we prepared him for the ocean for the last month. He loved it!!! He ran and giggled and splashed and kicked and giggled even more !!! Very cute to see and brought a big smile to all of our faces! Later Saturday night, Nana, Granpda, and Auntie finally made it. This was our first big family vacation. We had an awesome week full of great company, good food, beach walks, sand castle building, wave jumping, salty kisses,  seagull chasing,  LOTS of ice cream, porch rockin, seashell collecting, boat dock walks, beach napping, lots of laughs, sunshine, coloring, and sweet family time !!!

 

I think everyone had a great time and we already can't wait till next year! As we said our goodbyes today, Nolan told Pip he loved Cape May. I can only hope this becomes a yearly tradition  :-D

 

Now off to sort thru the 2500+ pictures of our trip......