Bookstore Photoshoot and Great-Grands

Well, we had another crazy week on our hands!

Thursday, we went to Adam's 18 month check-up! He's doing great and surprisingly did pretty well getting three shots. 24 lbs (48%), 30.75 in (7%) height, and 18.25 in (22%) head. He's definitely a short little guy, but the doctor says he's perfect. We don't have to go back until he turns two - which seems like a very long time, but also too close for comfort.

That same day, my parents and grandparents from Florida came over to visit and for my grandparents to see our house. 

Oh, and whilst at the pediatrician, we talked about moving to a front-facing car seat and decided it was an okay thing to do. Adam loves being able to see everything!

Friday, we went to my parents' house for dinner to see my grandparents again before they head back home and to celebrate my mom's birthday. We, of course, had to take a picture of the whole group.

Saturday, Adam, Rusty, Julie, and I went to a church down the road because they were selling pumpkins. We let Adam run around and play with all the pumpkins and then we adults picked out pumpkins for ourselves (Adam already has one from the previous patch). 

Sunday, we went to church, Adam got a nap, THEN we went to a bookstore, The Book Nook, in Marietta to do Adam's 18 month photoshoot with my sister, Katie Cooper Photography. She posted a couple of sneak peak pictures and I LOVE them all! I can't wait to see the rest! Doing them at the bookstore, which shows Adam's and our whole family's love of books, was a perfect choice!

Monday, after dinner, we began singing some of the songs Adam likes from Toddler Time. He's been picking up a lot of new things lately and while we were singing "The Little Green Frog", he even did the "blink blink blink". It was really cute and cool to see him learning so quickly.

Yesterday, Adam and I had a lunch date at Chick-fil-a. We actually ran into Rusty's cousin, who apparently works there. We said hey but didn't want to bug each other. Adam decided to wear his sunglasses the entire time! He's something else.

Today was pretty low key after Toddler Time.

Finger Paints and Greedy Goats

Last week, as part of our Fall Activities Calendar, I decided to let Adam finger paint. It was a huge mess - and yet, that made it a huge success!

Adam turned 18 months old! This is probably the last half birthday we'll be so excited about, but it still shocks me as to how much he's growing.

Another fall activity we did was having brinner (breakfast for dinner) with Pumpkin Pancakes. Even Rusty loved them (he's more of a waffle guy).

The next day, it was apple cinnamon cookies!!

Yesterday, Adam and I picked up Emma and we met my mom with her preschool at a pumpkin patch. Adam was able to pick out a pumpkin, feed goats, ride a hayride, mine for "gems", play in a giant corn box (think sandbox but with corn), and meet a "pioneer woman". He had so much fun (and so did I)!

Afterwards, we stopped by my parents' house because my grandparents from Florida are staying for the week. We picked up some lunch and Adam got to spend some special time with his great-grandparents.

Today, when we got out of the car at the library for Toddler Time, we got two see two beautiful deer running down the street - in the middle of town!

Baby Reveals, Weddings, and The Georgia Aquarium

What a week! Seriously, it's been crazy! Our falls tend to be super busy and this fall has started off on the same foot! Our October is filled with so much!

We started by decorating the house for fall. This is part of our fall activities calendar that I made for Adam and myself. I'll post another blog just on that, because there is literally something to do every day.

Friday, we packed Adam up to spend the night with Grammy and Grandpa (Rusty's dad and stepmom). These are only the second people he's spent the night with, but I should've known he did just fine. He didn't cry or whine and was so relaxed with them. They have asked for this for a while and I'm hoping it will improve his relationship with them.

While the baby's away, the parents will... go see a movie. Rusty, Julie, and I went to see The Martian. We had all read the book earlier in the year and I HIGHLY recommend it and the movie. I can't say that much because movie adaptations are normally never as good, but this one really was great. Go see it!

Saturday, Rusty threw a gaming party for his friends. so after I picked up Adam and let him take a nap, he and I skedaddled so that Rusty could feel free with the guys.

Adam and I went to The Sullivan's for their Baby Gender Reveal party and guess what?!? IT'S A GIRL!!! I knew it! I called it from the beginning and am super excited! Here's Adam with Meghan's niece, Charliegh, at the party.

We left there to spend the night at my parents' house so that Rusty and the guys didn't have to worry about being quiet because of a baby. We decided to go to church with them the next morning so that I could take pictures for the website since I designed the website and handle the social media marketing for their church.

After church we had to hurry back home to change and get Rusty and James for my cousin's wedding about 45 minutes away. We left early, which was planned because we needed gas, but when we were about ten minutes from the venue we get a notification about tire pressure. Wouldn't you know it - we had a flat tire! Ahhh...

Luckily, between James, Rusty, and I, we got it replaced with the spare pretty quickly and arrived literally right on time. We had do walk in behind the grandparents, but we still made it!

Anyways, it was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful venue. If there is anyone getting married in Canton or Ballground - you should definitely check out Fendley Farmstead. The wedding was originally set to be outside, but because of the rain, they did it in the barn and it was just as beautiful. The venue, the bride, BBQ, homemade ice cream. It was great! PLUS, we got to see all of my dad's family (for a great reason), including my cousin who now lives in Texas!

Monday was a day that the AQUARIUM! I loved the Georgia Aquarium when Rusty and I went several years ago - but there is so much more now! I found out that they have a Toddler Time some mornings that you have a reserve a spot. So after having to wait a while for an opening, we got in and I'm so glad we did. It was an hour and a half of crafts, songs, books, costumed characters, snacks, and interacting with sea creatures (including touching sea stars, seeing the baby belugas fed, manta rays in a toddler-sized tank). Because this area is separate from the main aquarium, you can let your child run around without worrying about strange adults. If you have a toddler in Atlanta, I definitely recommend doing this at least once. Adam fell in love with the all the fish and sea animals!

We had lunch in the aquarium restaurant and met with my brother, James, who took the day off to explore the rest of the aquarium since he'd never been. Again, Adam was in LOVE. The giant tanks that he could just walk up to were his favorite. He kept pointing and squealing and tried to touch everything. We even saw the dolphin show and got soaked - which didn't seem to bother Adam either.

After all that excitement, Adam fell asleep before we even pulled out of the parking deck.

Tuesday was a quiet day of grocery shopping and chores. Wednesday, however, we went to surprise Nana for her birthday! Us, along with Emma, took her out to a Mexican restaurant and they gave her a free dessert and sombrero to wear! Happy Birthday Nana!

I have so much more happening this month and can't wait to continue to share it with you all! 

Taste of Carrollton and Fall Weather

Thursday, Julie, Adam, and I decided to take a day trip out to Carrollton. We left right after breakfast to get there right at lunch. We met my sister, Katie, (who works in Carrollton) at my favorite restaurant out there - The Corner Cafe. Katie had to go back to work right after, but Julie and I walked around the Square and visited some bookstores.

We followed that by going to the University of West Georgia to tour the campus. I'm an alumni there and Julie had never been. I had heard that the campus had changed quite a bit from just five years ago when I graduated. It has expanded a lot and it looks really cool - with a new dining hall and nursing building. I was really impressed. Plus, it was a beautiful day and seeing all the greenery was always one of my favorite things about the campus.

Adam was pretty pooped after being in the car and then in the sun all day, so Katie let us relax at her house until the Taste of Carrollton started. Adam wouldn't take a nap like I wanted, so we just played quietly and Adam got to have some time close-up with Katie's cat.

Our final stop was the Taste of Carrollton! I've been to several "Taste of's" and this one has always been one of my favorites. This year was no different! I had pork and chicken salad, a bagel with strawberry cream cheese and chicken nugget, a pumpkin roll and red velvet cake. Adam and I were pretty full by the end - and it's a good thing we arrived right when it started, because when we spent our last tickets, it began to rain.

It's been getting chillier and chillier over the last couple of days along with the rain. Although the rain is preventing us from playing outside, it's allowed me to pull out Adam's fall wardrobe. He is so cute in his long sleeves and long pants and hoodies.

A couple of days ago, Rusty volunteered to watch Adam for a little while so I could get some cleaning done around the house. After I finished and was ready to give Adam a bath, I walk into Rusty's office to see him playing a video game and Adam sitting right next to him with an unplugged controller. It was so cute because Adam mimicked Rusty in whatever he does. I love it so much!

Yesterday was Julie's last day of freedom before she started work, so I told her we could go anywhere - and she chose 2nd and Charles. For all of you who know Adam know that he LOVES books. He was so excited and wanted them all. I finally got him to settle down to read some books, but he was still overjoyed. Afterward we stopped by the aquarium store and Hobby Town just for fun.

I also got this cute pic of Adam and Kirby looking out the window.

As of today, Julie has started her new job. From the texts I've received, she absolutely LOVES it! I'm glad she held out for this job, instead of jumping on the first one that offered her one. It sounds like a cool company with that start-up feel. Fingers crossed that it keeps getting better!

To celebrate with her, I made a special dessert and it was SOOO delicious (if I do say so myself). You can check out the Cinnamon Cheesecake filled Apples with Caramel Pecan drizzle recipe here. The title sounds more complicated then it actually is.