THE Saxophone

ALL of Alex's friends are potty trained...every. single. one. I thought it would never happen. Everyone said don't worry till he's ready...one day it will click...boys take longer than girls...you have a new baby don't worry. I agreed with all that to a point, even the pediatrician said he is not worried until he's three. He will be three in January. I felt like time was running out and I had one trick left in my bag of tricks. He really wanted a trumpet. He talked about it all the time and we always told him when he pee pee'd on the potty he could have one. Nothing else had worked...not the potty chart, not the Elmo potty chair, not peer pressure, not candy, not verbal praise, not stickers, not snacks, not new underwear-nothing. So last Tuesday morning I went to order "the" trumpet. I found it on amazon and called him in to the computer room to see it and so he would know it was coming. I was going to put it on the mantle and not let him have it until he went to the potty. I knew I would have to be strong because he would want that trumpet so bad. BUT I was ready for it-he was going to be potty trained by his 3 year appointment. Back to the computer room, as I'm about to order the trumpet he sees the saxophone and says, "no momma, I want the saxophone." I said, "No, you wanted the trumpet, look I'm about to order it." He was adamant that he wanted the saxophone. As I was about to order the sax I remembered Mimi and Granddan had gotten him one for Christmas. We were going to their house for lunch later that day and I thought I would just ask them for it. Mimi had the saxophone. I snuck it home, he took a nap and when he got up I showed him the saxophone. It was on the mantle in the box. He tried to go before swim lessons, but we didn't have much time to sit and wait so we really didn't work on it until the next morning. Wednesday morning he woke up and I put his underwear on and he went to the potty. He got his saxophone! It was that easy! I thought, surely not, it's gotta be harder than this. I originally told him that he got it only when he went to the potty but soon changed it to you get it until you have an accident because he can sit on the potty for a long time. He was 4/8 the first day, 2/3 the second day and then 2/4 the third day. He didn't have any accidents Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Today he had one with Russell at the park, because he didn't get down the slide fast enough. But he has done awesome! I wonder if he would have done this well if we had gotten the sax two months ago. Who knows...but it sure is great! I'm glad the day has finally come!:)

The infamous sax! It's even kind of lost it's appeal but he still uses the potty!

Halloween

Halloween night we left Avery with Jimmy because she had RSV and we took Alex to church for Trunk or Treat with Caden. They are hilarious together! They played in the bouncy house forever, finally broke for dinner and then after a little bit more of the bouncy house for Alex we hit the trunk or treating. We just went down one side and then we went out to do some "traditional" trick or treating.

With his cousin Abbie, the go-go girl.

He kept saying, "one more time" when he would come off the slide.

Getting candy from a witch.

The bumble bee and football player. He was Elmo last year and kept saying this year he was going to be Elmo again. But I had to keep reminding him he was going to be a football player. He finally agreed:) Avery was only in the costume for the pictures and then she was back to her regular clothes. Thanks Ally for the costume!

The first house. After every house, Alex would say, "Now, where we gonna go next?" It was ridiculous! They couldn't get enough. Last year I think we only made it to like 7 houses before they were "taking a break" on the curb. This year there was none of that. They ran from house to house and we had to cut them off and tell them two more houses.

Caden was a cowgirl riding on a pony. Her legs were the back legs of the horse. The helmet restricted his vision too much so it didn't last too long.

Jack Glyien's parents did a trunk and so Alex took a little break with him. He wanted to sit and play on the fire truck for a while.

This guy was sitting in a duck blind, I guess. It was very creative!

This is how we found Avery when we returned to get her. She really enjoyed her 1st Halloween!:) Thanks Jimmy for keeping her!

Avery is 4 months!

Avery turned 4 months old on 10/17. I am a little behind in this post...I know. Now instead of being barely over 50th percentile she is 90th in weight and height. CRAZY! She was 25 1/2 inches long and weighed 14lbs and 15 oz. She has the cutest little cheeks and nose! On 10/3 we were gone to the KY/Alabama football game and my parents called and said she had rolled over. She supposedly did it again with them another time but I finally saw her do it on 10/23-John says Alex was reading the dictionary at 1 with them so he doesn't trust them :). She will always go from her stomach to her back but I have yet to see her go from her back to her stomach. She'll just roll on her side and stay there forever. She loves to laugh and smile. She has a cute laugh that she started the end of September. I love it! Below are some videos of her talking and spitting. Spitting is her new thing she started about the time we went to Nashville for my cousin's wedding. It cracks me up because she is so serious about it. We started her on rice cereal on 10/26. She wasn't a big fan at first but I think it's growing on her. There are pictures below. Her tongue still usually pushes it out but it's getting better:) She still sleeps through the night and her wake up time is always a surprise. Yesterday I had to wake her up at 8:30 and then this morning she was up at 6:30. She loves her bouncy seat. She pumps both of her legs and gets it bouncing pretty good. She's not a big fan of her bumbo seat just yet but I'm still working on that. Alex still doesn't have a whole lot to do with her but he is noticing her a little more each day. Today she was crying on the couch and I was trying to do a few things so I didn't go to her right away. He went and sat by her and put his hand on her head and she stopped. It's so sweet to see them together. Overall, she is still a sweet, happy baby! First bite of rice cereal.. Looking good... Not so much.
Brother and Sister.
These videos were just taken minutes apart. I meant to change that ugly bib but oh well...

She talks like this alot and you can hear how she rolls her tongue. That must be one of her favorite things to do, because she does it often. I don't remember Alex doing this at so early an age.

Wedding Weekend in Nashville and Cabin in Virginia

The third weekend in October the kids and I went to Nashville for my cousin Mary's wedding. It was Friday morning at Shadowbrook and it was really pretty! We had a great time and then a yummy breakfast reception afterwards:) The night before we got to see our cousins Joyce, David, and Morgan. I only got one picture of Morgan with Alex and nobody else.:(

We tried on the bonnet that mom made for Avery. It's so sweet!

Russell, Avery, and Mom at the wedding. I think Avery looks like a doll in this picture.

After the wedding my Uncle Russ asked my Aunt to renew their wedding vows. How sweet is that? My Aunt Linda was very surprised!

He loved watching the guitarist and violinist. He was subdued and calm the rest of the morning.

Avery meeting my Aunt Tammy for the first time.

The next day we went to Gigi's and got cupcakes. They are huge! The lady told us they were top heavy and they definitely were. Alex wanted a pink one and loved it!

Sunday after church we drove to my Uncle Fred's cabin in Virginia. He found some land he really liked out there and then built this cabin. He named it Blue Tic Holla. It was nice- it has two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, living room, and a sleeping loft. The loft just has some mattresses on the floor. I don't even know if Alex could stand up straight without hitting his head on the ceiling. My cousin Tara drove over on her way to KY and stopped to hang out for a while one day.

Playing in the sleeping loft.

There were two donkeys that just roamed the property. They were definitely the highlight for Alex. Their names are Barney and Elvis-you'll hear him talk about them in the video below.

We also went to see Uncle Fred's goats but they were too far away so we settled for the swing and some chickens.

This is the road coming in or I guess his driveway too. It is very secluded and very much a "hollow.":)

Playing on the front porch.

Excuse the unwashed hair:)

He loved the donkeys!

The cabin.

There was a bathroom inside but he built this bathhouse first...not sure why but I'm sure there's a good reason:). Notice the orange...can you tell he's a Tennessee fan?

We stopped in Knoxville on our way to VA to see my Aunt Wanda and cousin David.

We got there Sunday night and Alex found some toys. He played with dad on the floor for a long time before he went to bed.

Hopscotch anyone?

We drew hopscotch squares out on the sidewalk one day and I was showing Alex how to do it. I think he got the gist of it:) He loves to play hopscotch now anytime he sees anything even remotely close to squares on the ground. He reminds me of a galloping horse!

Caden's 3rd birthday

Caden turned three on October 12th so we went to celebrate at Chuckee Cheese with her, Brenner, and Breanna. The kids, of course, had a ton of fun!


Playing the hunting game with Mr. Todd, Caden's dad.


Ally, Caden's mom, and Avery.

Air hockey with Brenner.

This is my favorite picture! They look so cute. I can see this happening in 15 years-if we would let Alex have a motorcycle:)