Halloween Fun!

I guess we have a new tradition in the StaatsPac . . . We dress up as a family for a quick family picture before I run off to school for "Storybook Character Day!"

Momba = Chubby Dorothy, Daddy = Tin Man (from the waist up at least), Baby Snake was the Lion (in the den), and Augie = the cutest Scarecrow in the whole world!


We had the whole Oz group there . . . at least for the picture.

Then, Gus had the day off, and he and Augie had the privilege of putting on more comfortable clothing.


Momba, on the other hand, got to be Chubby Dorothy ALL DAY!!! And, I lucked out, and there was a group of teachers who had planned on dressing up as the three characters that weren't visible for my day on the job - so it REALLY WORKED OUT WELL!


When I returned home, my boys were in high spirits - especially Augie - Mr.Movement!



And then (skipping over another busy Saturday), we carved pumpkins on Sunday after church. We were a little later than usual this year, but we still enjoyed it!

We drew on the faces . . .



and cleaned and carved while Augie was napping . . .


My pumpkin even had some seeds that were growing roots inside of it - that was a first for me. . .

But we finished and I think they looked great . . .

So we took some scarey pictures with our freshly carved jack-o-lanterns (I didn't know he made the face, but I should have expected it) . . .

and we took a good one . . .

Then, Augie woke up and joined us . . . his favorite was the "baby snake" gourd that we had painted . . .

We had to hide it for the first picture . . .

and were able to sneak it back in for the second pic . . .

and then we let him have his jack-o-lantern . . .

and he discovered that the "lid" comes off . . .

and that the inside is empty and slimy . . .

All together . . . I think he really enjoyed his first pumpkin carving experience!

On to the handing out candy . . . even though we were a little worn out,

we put the candles in the jack-o-lanterns,

and we greated our trick-or-treaters with a smile . . .

until we ran out of candy and went to bed to catch up on our sleep from our overly eventful weekend!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween - and remembers not to eat too much candy this week!

Check Out What I can Do!

This is Augie's newest "trick!"



Today was spent practicing this new achievement - standing up all by himself without pulling up on anything! Just squat and stand!

And just 10 days before he turns 1!

One Busy Weekend!!!

So this weekend was the most FULL weekend that we've had in a very long time!!!

It all started on Friday afternoon. We, Augie and I , participated in the Richardson HS homecomeing parade. Really, I walked, he slept - but it made for a long day after a full day at school.

Got lots of pictures, but of my students - can't post those on here - even though they are the BEST kiddos I could ask for!!!

Then early Saturday morning . . . Gus had to work, but Augie and I still had a FULL day planned ahead of us. We started out by participating in a 5K fun/run walk for under priviledged kids that can't afford dental benefits.
So, we started at the SMILE WALK:

It was a chilly morning.

We still got our group picture in.

And quickly took off our layers as it heated up within minutes of our arrival!

We got to see the airplanes landing at Love Field - it felt like we could jump up and touch them. We were really close to the landing area - it was pretty neat to see.

After finishing the race, we enjoyed the extra activities - including visiting with our new friend "The Tooth Fairy!"

And her tooth puppet/friend - that Augie couldn't get enough of!!! He was absolutely mesmerized by that tooth!!!

And we skipped the balloon animals - for fear of him trying to bite/pop whatever we gave to him. He still got a really cute smiley face sticker and a race supporting bracelet!


After this, we attended a "Brunch and Bling" jewelry party at my friend Jana's house (no pictures - sorry).

Then Augie and I headed home and ended up falling asleep from exhaustion.

Followed by the traditional weekend trip to the grocery store. Augie never knows how long it's going to take, so his "thing" is to lean back and relax while waiting for Mommy to finish the chore!
Too funny, but this is really how he sits and waits for me:



Moving on to Sunday,
We baked cookies with breakfast. Left for church by 8:45. We enjoyed mass, and Augie sang along (loudly) with the songs! It was great!

After mass though, was the most enjoyable part of the day. One of my college roommates, and favorite friends, was in Dallas (from Ohio). I hadn't seen her since the wedding - and that was BRIEF - can't imagine why. So, we met up with some other friends from college, and we all enjoyed some Cafe Brazil and some GREAT COMPANY!

Augie loved Jess right away and sat with her for a lot of breakfast - the colorful plate that she had ordered was quite the attention getter for him as well. I think that he picked out the colorful peppers and dropped most of them in her lap. Wonderfully unforgettable!

It was SO GOOD to see you Jess!

Straight from there, we went back to Jana and Jason's to enjoy the Falcons/Eagles football game. It was a little shorter than expected - they cut the game short to show another game.

It shortened our time there, but it worked out. Because from there, we drove to Flower Mound for a Pumpkin Patch. It was a really good one with a lot for free and the rest of the profits going to charities. The pumpkin patch was extremely crowded. There were LOTS of people enjoying the same things we were.

There were LOTS of great photo opps. I'll just put the best though:






After that . . . dinner, bath, and bed!
We're all still exhausted today!
BUT . . . I had to get this in before the week got into full swing
. . . It'll be just as busy as the past 2 days, I'm sure!

Hope everyone else has a productive, yet restful, week ahead!!!

The Adventures of Augie - My Little Man

Our little man is getting big!

He's crawling, pulling up on things, standing on his own for a few seconds at a time, babbling like crazy, has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom), and has one strong personality!!!

Just a preview of the fun we've been having with our little man:

After not being able to visit Temple for a month, we were more than ready to go see Pops and Gamma and our cousins last weekend! Happy Birthday Natalie, Nico, and Anna (21)! It was a BLAST!!!
We enjoyed gorgeous weather and the best company anyone could ask for!

Played with Pops and Alexa . . .

Learned what FUN a cardboard box (house) could be with Elena . . .

Decided to try for our self . . . time to close the door guys . . .

And then there were three "little bears" . . .

Augie LOVED IT (especially opening and closing the window and playing peek a boo)!!!

Alexa enjoyed 2 popsicles . . . Had to put this picture because it cracks me up. Her and Augie are our little eaters. Food is their friend!!!

And when nothing else is entertaining enough, and the cake is eaten, and the presents are opened, and the kids aren't ready to go yet . . . Pops pulls out the tractors!

This time we piled into the trailer that was attached to the tractor (just like we used to do when I was a kid)!

I was flattered that Alexa wanted to sit with me . . . Augie just wanted to eat her little antenna pigtail!

So pregnant sister and pregnant sister switched their children - and Marci got to enjoy "having a boy" and I got to enjoy "having a girl!" FYI: It was short lived!!!

Augie wanted Momba back - and I didn't hesitate to take him - and attack to get some extra smiles!!! I can't begin to express my love for this little man!!!
For now - he's Momba's boy - and I'm going to soak up every last second of it!!!

Back to Augie and his accomplishments though . . .
He LOVES playing with the Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba (we're guessing he's meaning ball of course)!



And he's learning how to maneuver in shoes - since it's getting chilly outside, and he HAS to wear them. He enjoys playing with the Velcro, we're just still mastering crawling and standing in them. I would say he's getting pretty good at it!


He enjoys taking a power nap on the way to Mrs.Rosa's (the nanny) in the morning. I hate to wake him sometimes. He is so peaceful!


He also found a new favorite toy - socks! He played with these 3 sock pairs for about 2 hours and had the time of his life!!!
He hid them under the ottoman of Mommy's chair.

He tried to get them back out.


Was successful!


Decided that it was time to put them on top of the ottoman - and tried to pull up with his hands full.

Again . . . successful!

And there's always time to soak in the glory of triumph - mainly by eating our "toy!"


Then, it's over to the door to look outside and practice our standing. I know it looks like his hand is on the door, but that's just the socks getting in the way! He was standing by himself, and he held it long enough for me to get a picture!!! Go Bubby!!!


He is almost 11 months - just a couple days shy . . . then he's going to be turning one!
November 12th is sneaking up fast, but, no matter what . . . My little man will always be MY LITTLE MAN!!!