Our Little Stinker

Friday night our family enjoyed a fun Fall Festival at our church. Zeke was a bit overwhelmed with the carnival activities inside, but seemed to enjoy running around outside while we trunk-or-treated. He really wasn't that interested in getting candy (I think we ended up with about 10 pieces total), but it was still fun to see him excited in general about the festivities of the night.



On Saturday we finally carved our pumpkin! Zeke had fun playing with the pumpkin guts. He dumped them all over our carpet and even tried to taste them, but eventually decided that the pumpkin with candles inside was more interesting than the guts :). He even went up to our pumpkin, squatted down beside it, looked it square in the eye and said, "Hi!" That is pretty much his new thing - to say hi to everyone, whether he knows them or not, and inanimate objects :). We (I should say, Johnny) chose a neighborhood that was perfect for trick or treating door to door. At first Zeke didn't seem to care at all about carrying his bucket or getting the candy, but after a few houses he caught on and was hard to keep up with :). We trick or treated for about an hour, which provided Zeke (and Johnny and I) with more than enough loot :). My mom and dad joined us too and it was fun to have them along. We had a good night with our little stinker :).

WE WON!!!

Many, many thanks to all of you who voted on our behalf. This morning I was contacted by the radio station and was on-the-air as they announced that we had won!

We will be receiving a very generous $1000 portrait package from Reflections Photography. This has made my Friday!

Who knew that such an awkward photo would bring us such a great prize :).

We Need Your Votes!

Last October my sister, Summer, and I tried to get the kids picture taken at JC Penney. What a hilarious disaster it was! If you need a refresher of just how that photo session turned out please click HERE!

Fast forward to last week: Our local radio station set out looking for awkward/bad photos and as I listened to this contest unfold I knew that I had to enter. So, when I got home I dug out the photo, scanned it, and sent it off to Coast 101.3. Johnny and I then got quite a good laugh about it again because no matter how many times we've looked at this picture we always end up in hysterics :).

So, this evening I was checking the radio's website and lo and behold we are 1 of 5 finalists in the photo contest. The photo with the most votes will win and receive a $1000 photo package from Reflections Photography (this is the most exciting part!).

This is where all of you come in: We need you to vote!! If you're interested in helping just click HERE! We are photo #2.

You can vote once a day from now until Thursday, October 1 @ 8 pm. They'll announce the winner on Friday morning.

Thanks Everyone! We'll keep you posted :).

I have no idea why these lines are showing up so just ignore them...they're driving me crazy!

Two

In keeping with our family birthday celebrations (at least until Zeke is 4 or 5) we had a really nice day with our little guy. We started our festivities last night when we had my mom and dad over for homemade pizza and a darling Elmo cake that my mom made. Zeke wasn't quite sure about the candles, but he was a good sport and did his best to get them blown out (with a little help from mommy). He scored a fantastic (and quiet :)) Elmo doll from Grandma and Grandpa and a wonderful sling bookcase (I think I'm more excited about this one than Zeke). It was a great way to start Zeke's special day out.

This morning Zeke woke up to find his easel from Mommy and Daddy set up and ready to go. Judging from the squeals he made as he tried out the chalkboard I think it's going to get hours of use and enjoyment. Later he got to enjoy playing at the park with Daddy and afterwards opened up a few other presents from Great Grandpas and Grandmas. After dinner Mommy and Daddy sang happy birthday one more time and Zeke was pretty happy to have two little cupcakes placed in front of him. This time with some help from Daddy the candles were blown out. Zeke devoured the cupcakes and said, "Mmm, mmm," not even realizing that mommy had slipped some purple puree (spinach and blueberries) along with some wheat germ and whole wheat flour into the batter. Our little family watched Zeke's new Elmo movie and then off to bed went this little two year old sleepy head. It was a good day! We can't wait to see what lies ahead!

730 Days

It's hard to believe that less than 1000 days ago little Zeke Emerson joined our family.

At 7 lbs. 14 oz. and one week overdue he entered the world at 10:25 pm. We were instantly in love with him and have been ever since.

He is a bundle of energy and is quite the little charmer. He will ham it up for the camera and LOVES to dance. This kid hears a beat and instantly starts bopping up and down...even when we're in the crosswalk and there's rap music blaring out of the stopped car waiting for us to cross he stops dead in his tracks and dances. This he inherited from his Daddy and from his Mommy- his sweet tooth :). Zeke would eat popsicles all the days of his life if we let him. I'm pretty sure they are one of, if not his favorite, food. Zeke is becoming more and more verbal everyday and I love just hearing his voice try to make the sounds for words. Just recently he has started to call out, "Mama, Mama..." and then pat the couch for me to come and read to him. He loves books and stories (much to his parent's happiness and delight :) ) . Yellow is his color of choice and Elmo and Thomas (the train), whom he affectionatelly calls, TeeTee, are some of his favorite pals. He continues to be a great sleeper and nap taker (knock on wood) and still wakes up like a happy little birdie every morning. He fills our home with happy sounds and joy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Man!

We love you!

20-0

Since May Johhny has been coaching Nipomo High School's J.V. football team. He, his boys, and fellow coaches have all worked so hard and this past Thursday their hard work paid off during their first game of the season. They played Lompoc at Lompoc and shut them out with a score of 20-0. We were all very excited and look forward to what the rest of the season brings! Way to go Coach Root!

The score board after the first touch down.

Coach Root in action :)

This boy...

is quite a handful, but so fun! He is developing quite a vocabulary and can convey his wants fairly efficiently. He is a climber extraordinaire, which leads me to why right after this picture was taken he went to his first day of daycare. On August 17 I started my fifth year of teaching, my third year with California Virtual Academies. In the middle of an online, live professional development I looked up to see my son on top of the kitchen counter with both the sugar and flour containers strategically open while he proceeded to dump handfuls of both all over the kitchen. This was the final straw! Something had to be done! I love that I work primarily from home, but trying to do it this year with a two year old I knew was going to be a challenge.

So, I fretted about what I could do. I was worried about sending him somewhere, but knew I needed help. Most preschools don't have a program for 2 year olds (or so I thought) so I found an in-home daycare that I felt good about and signed Zekey up. This picture was from his first day and he continues to be happy when he gets to go see Miss Katie on Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30-1. I have been able to get so much work done while he is gone so that when he is home with me I can just work during his nap times. It has been the best decision. However, I am still not sure I want him in daycare since I have recently found a few preschools with toddler programs 2 days a week. I like the idea of a a more structured environment with curriculum, but we will see. We have an appointment on Tuesday to visit one of the preschools so, he may be making the switch to an actual preschool soon, but just having the two mornings a week to get work done has been incredible. I am a much better mother because I can really focus on him when he's home, which is a blessing!