G-man House Making

My parents came in for Christmas this year and we have been having a great time.  We spent the first day together at the Morris Arboretum to see the Christmas trains.  We enjoyed dinner with Pop Pop & Pat, and then we made a gingerbread house together.  Colton had lots of fun decorating it with the gum drops, bubble gum, and sweet tarts - and was only tempted to eat one or two pieces. Happy Holidays!

Holiday Sing

Colton's school had his holiday sing-a-long this past week.  Colton had been singing the sweet tunes of Jingle Bells since he learned it in school. Colton didn't sing any notes at the party because the donut holes were too much of a distraction.  He hung out by the donuts while all the kids in his class gathered to sing.

Trains at Morris

The Turners joined us at Morris on Sunday to check out the trains and all the other fun adventures the Morris Arboretum offers.  AJ, Will and Colton watched in awe as the trains circled around the tracks. We checked out the over sized bird's nest, played high above the trees, scoped out the log cabin, went imaginary fishing, and ended at the fernery.  A fun day out in the fresh air on a December weekend. 

Natural History Museum

Colton plays with dinosaurs at school, so we thought it would be fun to go to the Pittsburgh Natural History Museum to see the humungous dinosaur skeletons. He was quite afaid of them up close, demanding us to go, "that way," which was the opposite direction of where they were. He enjoyed the hands on kids center, the architecture room, and anything else where animals were the star of the show. 

Besties

Rose and Nash

Coming into Pittsburgh means getting to see my best friend Jessie, her husband Craig, and her sweet one-year old babies (Rose & Nash).  It is never enough time, but anytime is my favorite time.  Love them all so much!

Thanksgiving Hike

It was a gorgeous Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh.  As always, while my mother slaves over dinner, the crew heads to South Park for a mini hike.  We walked around the park, visited the game preserve to see the ducks and "but-holes." That was Colton's way of pronouncing buffaloes.  And we finished up the walk with swings and slides.  It was a perfect morning and a day filled with thanks!

Keira & Colt

We had dinner with our good friends last night and Keira & Colton had lots of fun with each other.  They ended the night with a hug. 

Special Visit

My parents came in to visit for just about a week.  It was so awesome to have them here spending time with us. Colton got to stay home from school and spend time with his "ma ma" & "pa pa" as he calls them.  He had lots of fun and Brian and I felt very lucky to have them here.  

The Turner's Annual Post-Hurricane Get Together

From Left to Right: Colton, Molly, AJ holding Liam, Sophia, & Will

Last year, Hurricane Irene happened to interfere with a fun get together of my Kappa girls and our families.  We eventually pulled it off a few weeks after the Hurricane hit.  This year, Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast on a Monday, but since all of us seemed to fair pretty well in the storm, it didn't impact the weekend dinner that Katie & Andy had planned this past Saturday night.  Kimmie & Ryan came up from Baltimore with the girls (Sophia & Molly) and the newest addition, Liam. Devon & Tim joined in with Katie, Andy, and the boys (AJ & Will).  We missed Kelli & Eric as they had a family event they had to attend.  The kids had so much fun together and the food was fabulous as always.

Pumpkin Carving with Pop Pop

From left to right: Mr. Kenney, Julie, Brian, Colton

Carving with a butter knife took a long time

Mr. Kenney & Brian

Since Hurricane Sandy hit, Mr. Kenney's power had been out. He stayed over the one night for a sleep over, and we all carved our own pumpkins. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Parade

I know I talk about a lot of events in Colton's life that are special to me, but seeing him march in his Halloween Parade at school was by far one of my all time favorites.  Brian and I left work early and waited outside the Academy with all the other proud parents. Colton's class was the last group out, and he was all dressed up as "Fireman Sam" as he calls himself.  Brian and I were so excited and, like every parent, were snapping photos right and left. Once he caught a glimpse of us, he started to cry and I became part of the parade as I carried him the rest of the way.  It was lots of fun.

Frankenstorm Firemen

We are supposed to get a hurricane over the next two days that will most likely rain out Halloween.  So we took advantage of the early Halloween festivities in the Keswick Village and went treating with the Earharts.  Both Patrick and Colton were firemen - although Colton did not want to wear his fireman coat.  I had been reading a firetruck book every night for the past two weeks and pointing out how the firefighters must wear their coats to stay protected. I thought it would eventually sink in and I would have brainwashed him, but it didn't work.  They had fun walking around and enjoyed a lollipop.

Pumpkin Patch Tradition

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend.  I just went back to the 2010 blog post called Pumpkin Time to see if I had the picture of Colton on the scarecrow. He was such a little peanut and would let us do anything like plop him down in front of the pumpkins to get a shot.  This year he was afraid of the scarecrow - so I could only get the above shot with him looking over the bench. There is no such thing as a planned photo in the pumpkin patch - so the best one is above.  And he was afraid of the hayride - so he didn't want to do that.  The goats, big tractors, and soft pretzel were his favorite things.

Churchill to Copper Beach

Our major hunk at the playground

Thumbs up - kite in air

Kite flying at Copper Beach Elementary

I reminisce a lot about my childhood because it was a good one.  And having a child makes you relive so much of it while creating your own new memories together.  It is better than any gift out there and hard to explain if you don't have kids of your own.  When I was little, my dad would take my brother and I to Churchill where he taught us to ride our bikes, where we played basketball, where we went to the playground, and so much more.  I do remember my dad taking us to fly a kite, so this last weekend we went to our version of Churchill and hit up Copper Beach Elementary to do the same.  Colt didn't want to participate in the kite flying this time, but I had lots of fun with it.  We then enjoyed the slides, and all the other fun playground activities. A fun family weekend indeed.

Fire Prevention Week

Our little fireman was really excited to go to the Weldon Firehouse in Glenside for fire prevention week.  They had an open house with lots of activities for all the kids.  Colton was super excited to see the firetruck with the ladder extended very high.  He kept pointing to it exclaiming, "Yook Yook, Yadder Yadder!"  There was tons to do, but the thing that caught Colton's attention was the fire extinguisher and a little activity to try to extinguish the fire.  It took him a few times to get up enough courage, but once Bear took the lead, it was hard to peel Colton away.

Cheers

Pop Pop joined us for dinner tonight.  Brian and I typically do a quick toast when we go out to dinner on the weekends and Colton has picked up on it.  He always picks up his sippy cup and clinks his cup against ours. Colton & Pop Pop joined glasses tonight for our brisket & potato pancake dinner.  Say prayers for Pat as she hasn't been feeling well enough to join us for dinner. 

Pumpkin Patch Birthday Party

Our former colleague invited us to her son & daughter's birthday party.  It was in Malvern at a pumpkin patch.  The day included a hay ride to pick out pumpkins, a hay maze, and cupcakes, and singing.  Colton was the only child too afraid to go on the hayride, so he spared us the bumpy ride with hay poking our behinds.  He couldn't get enough of the big tractors and enjoyed his cookie with all the other boys and girls.  It was a really nice day together.

Stone Harbor 2012

Great Grandma & Colton

Kylie, Colton & Alexa

The twins: Grace & Marissa

Colton checking out the baby turtles at the Wetlands Institute

Colton & me checking out the birds at the Wetlands Institute

Brian & Colton leaving the Wetlands Institute

Kylie & Addison

My sweet Alana

Nancy & Kylie

David, Mom, & Brian

Great Grandma holding Addison

Brendan

Stone Harbor 2012

Grandpa, Grandma & Colton

Gavin &3 David

Jessa, Addison, & Aunt Marilyn

David, Grandma, & Me

Potential holiday card

No happy shots of just Colton & Val this year

Give the boy a watering can and sit back and relax

Our sweet Val

Jimmy & Abbey came to visit for the day

My dad was so excited to see Jimmy

Colton flying a kite all by himself

John, Brendan, Josh, & Ryan

Grandma, Alexa, Aunt Marilyn, Aunt Charlene, & my dad

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect week down at the shore this year.  We had gorgeous days in the mid to upper 70s.  We hit the beach everyday and filled our days with sandcastles and ocean air.  We visited the Wetlands Institute, rode bikes, and spent lots of time with family.  It was another great year filled with lots of cherished memories.