Halloween 2009 - Razorback edition

Our Halloween the past 2 yrs. has consisted of simply taking Kennedy around to a few close neighbors' homes as well as any family members/close friends that live near us. However, this year ended up playing out a little differently.
We were unable to sell our season tickets to the Razorback f.b. home game on Halloween night, so instead we decided to just find Kennedy a ticket and take her w/ us! Horrible date/time for a home f.b. game! : (
Will stayed nice and warm @ home w/ Leah (my cousin's sweet wife), and we were very thankful! Although we had a blast w/ K & Mom/Dad @ the game...it was certainly pretty chilly. We actually didn't have to put on our heavy coats until the last 30 min's. of the game, but still too cold for Bubba for that many hrs.

We got some pictures of Kennedy w/ her close cousins Taylor (black cat) and Courtney (Dorothy - Wizard of Oz) on Halloween when they came by the house during some tailgating fun w/ my family. But unfortunately, Will was still taking his afternoon nap. We were thrilled they came by to show us their costumes though! Later, I got Will and Kennedy back in their costumes and took some pictures of them together. And I think I got some great ones! Will wasn't in a huge smilin' mood, but there's always too much too look @ when we're outside. Plus, I've got the rest of his life to get a smile...and I just love his eyes in the serious face he makes!

Kennedy was an Arkansas Razorback cheerleader this yr. and Will was (appropriately) an Arkansas Razorback football player. ...the cutest ever I must say! He let me stuff under his shoulder pads without so much as a whimper, and was quite the trooper through it all! And he didn't even look annoyed by his costume one bit thankfully.
Kennedy's costume worked well w/ the Razorback game that evening too, and with some added layers underneath...she loved wearing it! We were going to put a HOG tattoo on her cheek, but we couldn't find them @ the last minute. Therefore, I tried to be creative in the pictures of the 2 of them together. Her favorite part was probably shaking her pom-poms @ the f.b. Halloween night. But, she enjoyed the "interesting" halftime show as well! It contained music, acting and characters from Batman/James Bond/Ghostbusters and of course our beloved Razorback mascots. It was hilarious to watch, and pretty appropriate for a home game falling on Halloween. We moved to some open seats around my Uncle Jim/Aunt Pat and Mom/Dad right on the 50 yard line @ halftime, so that made the game even more enjoyable. Fun memories!



(Halloween visit from our nieces/her cousins:)






(Football game pictures:)











(More pictures of the 2 of them:)













(And just b/c I couldn't pass it up...here are some "behind the scenes" shots I got while trying to maintain both kids' attention. These would fall under the 'Bloopers' or 'Deleted Scenes' category on a t.v. show or movie. Pretty funny stuff in person!)



Infatuated w/ Big Sister's pom-poms



Will appearing as if he was tackled after falling back into the grass

Carving our pumpkin

Kennedy is now @ the age where we thought she would have a lot of fun carving a pumpkin together as a family. Therefore, the week b/f Halloween, that's just what we did! She helped Momma pick out the pumpkin, helped clean out all of the seeds and slime (though hesitant @ first), and told us what shape of eyes/# of teeth she wanted the face to have.
The unfortunate part of this story is that neither I nor Patrick ever thought to take a picture of our simple, awesome looking pumpkin...and now it's sitting in a landfill somewhere. Sad day.
But don't frown too much, b/c I did find a picture w/ the pumpkin IN it! While going through Halloween pics, I stumbled upon pictures of our pumpkin that I forgot was ever included. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun and hopefully it'll be a new tradition in our household!

Growing more and more...

Oh how we adore that sweet face...

Well, this is almost a month overdue now...but I never announced the exciting new thing Will does now! Right around 5 months old, Will started sitting up! Woo hoooooooooo! I remember loving this stage w/ Kennedy as well b/c they become just a little bit more independent and really begin to LOVE their toys more too! He is SUCH a fan of sitting up and has done well w/ it right from the beginning. And assuming that he's trying to keep up w/ his big sis'...he did it a little earlier than she did actually. Kennedy likes being able to play w/ him a little more too you can tell.

For the last few weeks I hadn't been able to find my cord that transfers the pictures from our memory card to my computer. So after borrowing Dad's cord this past wknd., I going to be doing a little catching-up this wk. Just wanted to post some pictures of our lil' man sitting up so nice b/f he gets any older! Here's our big boy...


This was taken during a 5 month old/Fall pictures shoot Momma took him on one afternoon.

It's so easy to just set the boppy pillow around him when I'm needing to get some things done, b/c he can raise himself back off of it when he falls. What a great abdominal workout!

This is how he ends up after trying to get a toy out of reach from the sitting position. Kennedy thinks it's pretty funny!

Keeping Momma company upstairs while doing laundry...

His big sis' likes to put as many toys as she can find around him while he's playing, but he always tries to steal her babies. Here he is eyeing one of them...

Straight to the mouth of course!

Boy does he love his teethers.

Quick trip to Nashville, TN and a visit to our State Capitol

A few weekends ago, we headed to Nashville for Patrick's cousin's wedding. Although more like a "celebration of life" due to the many trials Caleb has overcome...Caleb and Corinne joined their lives together in a precious ceremony right in the heart of Nashville. The church bldg. they were married in (also where they attend church) was a former private school, and it made for a beautifully unique backdrop for a wedding. Patrick's Uncle June-June (Caleb's father) officiated the ceremony and made it extremely special to be a part of. We were honored to be invited and to witness such an important event in their lives.









Their reception was on the top floor of an OLD car dealership bldg. IT. WAS. AWESOME. And the view of downtown Nashville made the location that much neater! The setting fit Caleb and Corinne SO well, and we all had a lot of fun! Since he's the drummer in his band in Nashville, his cake was a complete drum set. The food was an incredible southern meal, sweet tea was certainly flowing, Kennedy had a BLAST dancing w/ Daddy, and there were so many great touches. Handmade chocolate drum set suckers to match Caleb's drum set cake, choc./white choc. cake-shaped candies identical to Corinne's classy wedding cake design, bags of coffee beans as party favors on the tables to represent the couples' joint love of coffee...just to name a few.

Oh, and did I mention that we LOVE Nashville?! We've always loved it, but only that the wknd. lasted a little longer so we could enjoy our time there even more! Our hotel was directly across from Opryland, but we didn't have a chance to check it out during such a quick trip. Great hotel room though! (Thank you Phyllis...aka - Patrick's Momma!) Kennedy ADORES staying in hotels...just like her Momma and Daddy do! : )

The kids did fantastic on the road trip, it was so wonderful to spend some time w/ Patrick's immediate and extended family, and even though I had a minor scare w/ my milk acting like it was trying to dry up randomly...it was SUCH a great wknd.! Certainly got us looking fwd. to Thanksgiving now!












On our way home, we stopped in Little Rock to visit some friends whose precious daughter has been battling leukemia @ AR children's hospital. Since the kids seemed a little congested and the entire hospital is full of kiddos w/ low immune systems, we decided it would be best if only Patrick went to visit them up on the floor. Instead of waiting out in the parking lot, I decided to take the kids down the road to see the State Capitol. It was right @ dusk, so we didn't spend but a few minutes out on the lawn to be safe. However, I took a couple pictures of the kids while we were there. I could tell K really wanted to stretch her legs a little after so many hours on the road and Will seemed to love feeling around on the grass a little.
Right as we were driving off, we even witnessed a wedding @ the bottom of the steps leading to the Capitol. It was so pretty!