gnomie

Happy Halloween!

I was actually able to pull-off a homemade costume for my little man this year!

it was super easy, no sewing, all felt, some stuff we already had, and a hot glue gun :)

I can't quite remember how the idea for a garden gnome came about, but it stuck! We also watched the movie "gnomeo and juliet" and that got him pretty pumped up about being, in his words, "gnomie"

my inspiration (a marketing ploy):

So we used a blue shirt and pair of sweat pants that henry already had and I just made a belt and hat complete with snowy white little beard. (Which henry was very excited about after having spent the whole weekend with his uncle george who has quite a surprisingly accomplished, some might say "silky," beard :) now, whenever henry says "george" he follows with "beard")

but i digress.

hot glue.

oh, and i cut up some 3m picture hangers and used them as a sort of velcro to attach the beard to the hat (in case henry didn't like the beard than we could go without) and to secure the belt around the waist.

OH, and I can't forget the nice mushroom accessory that is actually a Christmas tree ornament :)

you can probably see it best in this photo....

we went to daddy's work and then to mugga's work for our trick-o-treating.

btw, i tried to get henry to say "trick-o-treat" when we were out and about, but he would hardly utter it. and what does he say repeatedly over and over in his crib as he is going to sleep?

"trick o treat trick o treat trick o treat"

over and over again on the baby monitor. seriously.

of course we can't forget all the sweeties we swept up. i tried my best to limit his sugar intake. but he was still a little bouncy when got home....AND didn't really eat much of his dinner....

ohhhhh he has no idea what is going on. i know he had fun. i think he was a little overwhelmed though. he very much enjoyed the giant spider on the ceiling and the fact that he got to see woody and jessie from toy story and they gave him candy. but he rarely smiled. maybe he was just stupified by the fact that all he had to do was wear a beard and people suddenly starting handing him m&ms?

then we popped outside for a photo-op in the gnome's natural habitat. too bad there weren't any actual backyard gardens available :)

henry loves "lollies"

and fruit snacks

soooo.....we ended up frollicking and feasting in this little gnome get-up for about an hour.

that's just about right :)

there are a few chocolate stains on the beautiful white beard....

however i'm considering holding onto it for its possible Christmas cheer capabilities....

i hope you all had a fun halloween and ate waaaay to much candy.

brush your teeth.

AND a special extra for those of you who just know:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=bsdZQub7QVE

the great pumpkin

this past weekend we carved pumpkins at gramma deb's (mugga).  this year henry was big enough to help out!  great-aunt kathy donated a big gorgeous gourd, and henry had a ball scooping out all the guts.  and then putting them back in.  then scooping them out again.  then putting them back in.  you get the picture :) it took us a little while longer than usual to get the pumpkin completely cleaned out, but we had a lot of fun doing it!  i didn't take as many photos because of all the sharp tools handy and the necessary super surveillance as a result :)

 hehe.  he was even happy to climb inside and pose for some photos!

 henry painted a smaller pumpkin with mugga's help

 mine and austin's (these are the only two I got a decent photo of, there were more very detailed ones...)

 afterward we enjoyed some creepy cupcakes.  that is, regular cupcakes with halloween sprinkles.  i am a sucker for all those holiday-themed sprinkles...

these are the scariest treats i will ever make for halloween (sorry future henry from halloweens to come). i just can't do the crazy weird treats that look like brains and whatever because they will scar you for life.  when i was little i went to a haunted house that had grape "eyeballs"  

i can't eat grapes to this day.

the texture makes me think of an eyeball squishing between my tongue and molars.

no thanks.

:)

if, for some reason, the sprinkles were to result in a taste aversion (which they never would) at least it would be an aversion to food that isn't healthy for you.

right?

nod and agree with me.

next year.....i think we are going to need a bigger pumpkin.

;) 

thanks webster :)

who likes cheap-as-free art?  we do!  :)

all of the blank walls in the apartment are starting to drive me a little crazy.  so it was time to do something about it.

i got the "hello" letters for my birthday last year, and thought that they would look really cute in an entryway...but, well, apartments don't really have much of an entryway, so it is just placed next to the door :) the hello looked a little lonely and it needed something more though...

 so i painted some plain, boring frames a nice, bright orange.  then i cut a couple of entries from an old dictionary out and placed them on some funky scrapbook paper i had on hand (leftover from henry's first birthday party).  it still needed something more so i added the round stickers to the corners (also already on hand).

 austin liked the compass image, and i chose the bicycle :)

 we dig it.  at first it was going to be just a temporary fix until we found something else...but the little dictionary framed art is starting to grow on us.  

 then, i found this old wine rack at an antique shop, and bought it for 16 bucks! its nice and solid, and has only a few small boo boos.  i have some ideas for painting it, but haven't quite yet decided on the plan, though i am going to convert it into an organizer.  you know, someplace to throw the keys, the mail, cell phones, and all that other random junk that usually ends up cluttering the table or countertops....more on that later ;)

btw, the wall to the right isn't yellow, it just looks that way with the lighting.....i was feeling a little lazy with the photos :)

good gourd!

this past weekend, while austin was gone pheasant hunting, we visited the pumpkin patch!

my little pumpkin on a pumpkin

we met up with some friends/family :)  jackie and kelly anne and their cuties.

ella found henry's chubby cheeks to be irresistible :)

haha, i don't blame her and neither does henry!

 thomas, henry, and ella :)

riding the pumpkin train!

bahaha.  whoever first thought of this whole face-hole phenom was a genius.  it never gets old. 

he gravitated toward the lumpy ones :)

and time for a snack break.  all that pumpkining is hard work.

afterward, we just played outside for a little bit, collecting leaves....

...and then rolling in them :)

potty time!

okay.  before i go any further.  i just thought that i would state the following:

on average, parents spend about $1,600 to diaper one child for two years.  that's about $66 a month.  

and this doesn't include wipes either.  or ointments....etc.

egads.

sooooo.  when henry did some business on the potty for the first time yesterday....i was pretty much almost peeing my pants--haha.  it may have been a fluke because i happened to catch him at just the right moment...but he did it!  he had been sitting on the potty and reading books now and then for a little while with no...should i say..results?..until now :)  (don't worry i won't be posting any photos of "the business") 

to celebrate and treat him for being such a big boy i bought him some big boy underwear, and boy was he excited about them.  i got a pack of toy story ones with buzz and woody all over them (his two second favorite characters after elmo of course).  he picked out the woody ones :)

needless to say, these are very. very exciting times.  :)

ps--speaking of seeing henry in his underoos.......isn't he just stretching out like crazy?  He looks skinny now!  all that baby fat is starting to disappear :(

i won't miss the diapers, but i do miss the fluffy little baby that was wearing them!