A Spooky Weekend!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Although this was not Arlo's 1st Halloween it was the 1st Halloween that we really got to celebrate with him.  I love this age, because I love watching him as he does new things.  I love watching him learning and growing and just being amazed with the world around him.

So here are some pictures of all the fun we had together!

I made ghost cookies for Arlo and his cousin Lani.  And then I gave them frosting and knives and let them go at it.  As you can plainly see they probably got more frosting in their mouths than on the cookie, and believe it of not both boys sat there and decorated their cookies for more than 30 minutes!  They were loving it!

On Saturday, our church had a "trunk or treat" party where there were games, a chili cook off (I didn't win;-() and then trick or treating out of the trunks of parked cars.  We got there in costume at about five, and watched as our little Dracula ran around and terrorized just about everyone and everything!  We ate our dinner and then had to run off to another party.  At this party, Arlo spent most of his time making ghost noises to all the ghosts that were EVERYWHERE!

I did slick his hair back, but we had been going for about 3 hours at this time so... I am just surprised that his costume is still clean!

Then on Halloween we got ready one more time and went out trick or treating for the very first time!  It was hilarious! Arlo tried to walk into every house that had a dog, he tried to give back candy that was given to him, he would not walk up to a few people and blew kisses to just about everyone!  He was such a charmer... everyone kept commenting on how cute he was.  (I knew it was not just me who thought so!) But really, it is his personality that charms everyone.  He is so independent and loving and strong headed about what he does and does not want to do, it just makes everyone laugh!

For trick or treating I did slick Arlo's hair back and paint it black.  I had to do it in his eating chair, while he was eating because he would not sit still otherwise.  And when it finally got done, he looked at himself in the mirror and laughed and then started chasing his dad with his head, so once again, the hair did not work out to well... but he is still a cutie.  Tim and I were super cheesy and bought sesame street shirts from good old walmart.  Arlo loved them, he was probably the only one.  But what do you expect from me being 37 weeks pregnant, I was not much in the mood for dressing up.

We also carved pumpkins!  Arlo loves cats at the moment so we carved this spooky black cat for him, and it didn't turn out to bad!

Overall, our weekend went by way to fast, but we had a wonderful Halloween!

Great Weather = Outdoor Adventures

Arlo is at the stage right now where he LOVES animals.  He can make most animal sounds and he loves to read about animals.  Put that together with the absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather that we have been having lately and we HAD to go to the zoo.  Tim agreed... and even though he just had surgery a week earlier, he still came with us.

We went to the Phoenix Zoo, and luckily for us so did the rest of Arizona!  It was so crowded... but we still got to see a few animals.

 

We fed the giraffes

We roared with the tiger

We LOVED the rhino

We rode on some sort of deer-goat

 

We acted like monkeys

We tried not to fall in with the zebras.

 

 

 

We rode on the carousel not once, but twice and he tried to sweet talk me into more... but it was enough fun and walking for me and my belly... so it was time to go.

Overall we had a fun filled day!  But our outdoor adventures are not over yet... with this beautiful weather we still have the fair and the pumpkin patch!

New- Old Haircut

This post is long overdue... considering that Arlo got this haircut back on September 17th!  But here are the before pictures of his long beautiful hair.

I really loved his long hair, but it was starting to get too scraggly in the front, and in the back his hair was so long it would not curl anymore. 

When we got to Cool Cuts, Arlo got to sit in a cool car and watch his favorite movie "Elmo in Grouchland" but as soon as the stylist put the cape on Arlo lost it... he started screaming and crying like he was going to die!  So, the the stylist brought out a sucker and instantaneously Arlo suddenly forgot that he was so upset and said as sweetly as he could... "Thank You" which actually sounds like tae-too. He seriously cracks me up how he can go from day to night in no time at all!

 

And here is the after shot of his new, big boy haircut.  What a handsome boy!

Pop a bottle of Martinellis!

It is finally over!!!!!

Tim and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for a celebratory dessert!

Because today is the day that our house finally sold!

What a bittersweet moment!

I couldn't be happier to finally sell that place and be done with it!

But...

It was our first home!

We put our blood, sweat and tears into that place.

And now it is no longer ours.

YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Changes

I was reading a friend's blog and she was talking about how much her baby had changed who is now 4 months old (Thanks for your blog Tara I really enjoyed it!) and it really got me thinking about my boy and how much he has changed since he was born.  I also realized that in less than 3 months I will get to start it all over again with baby boy number 2.  So I wanted to take a second, well it has turned into about an hour of going through old pictures to do a picture journal of my baby's life!  Birth to present.... enjoy!

Newborn

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

1 year

13 months

14 months

15 months

Now for a side by side...

 

I love my boy!  And I cannot believe how much he has changed and grown this past year.  I still can't fully explain how much joy he brings to my life!  I am so blessed!

Tonight's Entertainment

The video's say it all...

The funniest part of it all, is that he continued this behavior for at least 20 minutes!

Enjoy... I did!

Things I don't want to forget...

Arlo is growing so fast and every time he learns something cute, I swear that I will get it on video so I wont forget it... but wouldn't you now that every time I get that video camera out, all he wants to do is play with the camera.  So, needless to say I don't have anything on video... which is why I am writing it down, so I never forget!

1. Excited scream.  When he calls my name, when he is running through water... it is not a hi pitched scream, it is a low, lion roar voice.  It is so funny!

2.  Blowing kisses.  Whenever I say I love you or goodbye, he always makes sure he shows me (or anyone for that matter) that he heard you, so he will blow you kisses!

3.  Scrunched nose, heavy breathing.  Sounds weird, I know.  But... it is something Arlo does when he wants to make people laugh, or just make himself laugh.  When he does it, he scrunches up his nose and then starts breathing in and out through his nose... quickly. (Try it you will see what I mean!)

4. Ho! Ho! Ho!  Arlo is a clown... this is another thing he does to be funny.  He keeps his elbows at his sides and then flaps the rest of his arm and hands as he yells ho, ho, ho.  And if you do it back to him... he will do it over, and over, and over again.

5.  Bye, Bye.  His new thing lately has been getting into his play car and as he gets in he yells out to me (I am usually in the kitchen as he does this) bye, bye.  He will get in his car and honk the horn and try to move the car with his feet like he is really leaving me.

6.  Kisses.  This one requires some background knowledge.  The last few weeks I have started time out with Arlo.  Usually it is for hitting or kicking, but when he deserves a time out, we (Arlo and I) go sit in the corner together.  I hold his hands and we sit there for 30 seconds or so.  Then, when it is done, I turn him around and we talk about how hitting and kicking hurts and then I tell him how much I love him and I give him a kiss.  NOW, when he gets in trouble and I give him his warning.  I will get down at his level and talk to him about what he is doing is wrong... and he will look at me, interrupt me, start babbling at me like I know what he is saying and then give me a kiss.  Just like I do to him after time out.  It makes my heart melt!  Not only is it so cute, but it also shows me he is picking up on our time outs!

7.  Belly buttons.  Arlo is infatuated with belly buttons!  Every chance he gets he will pull up his shirt and stick his finger in his belly button and yell out belly button like he has never seen it before.  But he also loves to find other people's belly buttons.  When he does find them he will either stick his finger in it or blow on it.

8.  Bronco.  He LOVES Bronco!  He likes to take Bronco for walks, he likes to throw Bronco his ball, but more than anything... he loves to love on Bronco.  It is like there is a magnet attracting Arlo to Bronco, because every time Bronco lays down, Arlo is right there wrapping his arms around Bronco's body and giving him kisses.

The list could go on and on because just about everything Arlo does is cute to me...
EXCEPT his tantrums!