October Fun!

This year I swore we wouldn't be turning the heat on until November (yes, I'm cheap and I want a low electric bill), but here I sit, teeth chattering, waiting for the heat to take the chill out of the house. The sad part is that it's not even that cold today, I'm just a sissy!

We have been really lucky with all the nice weather we've gotten, though. There have been a few cold days, but it is fall, so I don't have too much room to complain. The first weekend of this month Mason decided to surprise me, and we took a day trip up to Hermann, Missouri. I've been wanting to go for quite some time, and even though it was a rainy day, we had a good time. We started by having lunch at Swiss Meat and Sausage Company, and then spent quite a bit of money on bratwurst. They were just too delicious to pass up!! We did drag Eli along, and got a few looks when we took him with us on a tour of the winery (yes, we are those parents). It was either that or leave him in the car. Somehow I don't think that would have gone over too well either. :) Since it was Octoberfest, it was a bit of a zoo, so we didn't stay long after the tour. We then went to a little candy shop and got some chocolate before heading back home. Even though Eli was a good little boy, next time we go, we will definitely get a babysitter!

My love

As always, my son is so cooperative. :) He was trying to shove goldfish in Mason's mouth.

Just some of the vineyards.

The very next day we took Eli to the pumpkin patch here in Rolla. We took him last year as well, but since he could barely sit up at that point, it wasn't quite as fun. He still didn't get super excited, but he really enjoyed looking at and petting the animals. He just kept giggling! We also went on a "train" ride and Mason took him down the big slide. Then we got on the wagon to go pick out our pumpkins.

Eli with the calves. He loved them!

Having a good time with Daddy!

Quite a height (and weight) difference from last year! At his most recent appointment he was 33" tall and 28 pounds 9.8 ounces!!

I want this one!!

The best one we could get!

The following weekend (October 12th), we went to Iowa again for my cousin, Nicole's wedding. We got to Iowa Friday afternoon and took a pit stop where my dad works so Eli could see him and all the pigs. He was pretty content the entire time, and was even given a Tootsie Pop. As you can imagine, he was a sticky mess!! But he loved it and ate the entire thing!

The next day was the wedding, and Nicole was absolutely stunning! Though it was pretty windy, it was gorgeous out and everything went very smoothly. Unfortunately, Eli refused to sleep in his pack and play like he did at JJ and Bailey's wedding, so we ended up having to leave the reception a little earlier than planned.

Mr. and Mrs. Becker!

He's sure pretty!

Otherwise, we've just been trucking along! I had conferences last week, which went very well. They're pretty exhausting though (just because of how long we're at school), so I didn't do a thing on Saturday. Literally, I did nothing. Then yesterday morning we went to church, ran to the store quick, and then went to Mason's dad's house to celebrate his birthday. It was a very relaxing afternoon and it was nice visiting with everyone.

On a random side note, it's looking like I will have to have my wisdom teeth pulled. Yuck!! I only have bottom wisdom teeth, and the last 4-5 days I've had headaches, some minor neck pain, and a toothache where my left wisdom tooth is. I called the dentist this morning and luckily they were able to get me in this afternoon to check it out. From the sounds of it, I will have a consultation on November 18th, and then get them removed the same day, assuming all goes well with the consultation. However, Mason is most likely going to be out of town still because of hunting season, so I will probably need to reschedule. Naturally, the dentist said my teeth are probably in the worst spot they could be in (right by the nerve and facing some wacky direction), but that I would definitely need to be put out, and that everything would be fine (I hope he's right!). In some respects it will be nice to have it done and over with, but at the same time, it's kind of scary!

Other than that, we're probably going to carve pumpkins tonight since Mason no longer has class on Monday nights. Yay! We're not doing anything big for Halloween except for passing out candy. I considered taking Eli to Trunk-Or-Treat at our church, but we decided that we're just going to stay home. We will probably take him out next year for a little while instead. We're still going to dress him up, but he can just be a super hero around the house! I'll post pictures of him all dressed up at some point!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!! :)

Is September Seriously Over?!

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had actually been since I was on here last. Two months is definitely pushing it, especially considering all that has taken place! The big things that went on were Bailey's bridal shower, school starting, JJ and Bailey's wedding, my car getting hit, my first 29th birthday (yes, my first), and another wedding.

We had Bailey's bridal shower and bachelorette party on July 27th. Though I missed Mason and Eli a lot, I have to say that it was nice to have a girl's weekend to get away! It went very quickly, however, because as soon as got to town I went to the store and then went over to my mom's to do some baking. After completely annihilating my mom's kitchen, my mom, Laura, and AJ (one of Bailey's good friends) were kind enough to help decorate the hall so we didn't have to do much the next morning. From there I headed to Dunkerton, where I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was Dunkerton Days. I had not been to Dunkerton Days in several years and it was fun seeing a lot of people that I had not had the opportunity to see in awhile. After fireworks we went back to JJ and Bailey's and watched her model some dresses in preparation for her bridal shower/bachelorette party. The shower was a lot of fun and several people were able to attend. Overall, I feel it went very well! Here are just a few of the pictures that were taken at the shower (Bailey, I promise I'm working on a CD for you! :)).

Me with the beautiful bride-to-be!

Bailey and her mama!

Bailey with a few of her good friends!

This was when her mouth was full of bubble gum because she couldn't answer the questions correctly. I know she'll appreciate this immensely!

After the shower, those of us who were attending the bachelorette party headed down to Iowa City for dinner and a night on the town. We had a fabulous meal at the Brown Bottle, and a great evening afterward!

Our pretty little bachelorette!

After Bailey's shower, Mason and I had to get back into school mode, as we started back the end of August. I had several workshops to attend, and Mason had to prepare for another semester of class, in addition to school. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but at the end of last year Mason was asked to switch from being a para to a building sub at the school where he works. Basically that just means that he is at the school everyday and he goes wherever they tell him to go. It's really good experience because it allows him to be in multiple classrooms, which is great for learning classroom management. And so far, he really seems to like it! The school year has been off to a good start for me as well, and I'm really enjoying my group of kids. I feel like I can't catch up, but I think that will always be the case to an extent.

In just two short weeks after school started, Mason, Eli, and I were headed to Iowa again for JJ and Bailey's wedding. We left early Friday morning so we would get there in time for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. After the rehearsal we went back to Ben and Ashley's house to get some sleep in preparation for the big day! The next day, everything went very smoothly, and it was absolutely beautiful out (complete with a smidgen of rain for good luck!)! It was a little toasty outside when we took pictures, but overall, it was so much fun! It's kind of hard to believe that my "little brother" is a married man, but it is great to have another sister to add to the mix!

My incredibly cooperative son posing for a picture! :)

My family! <3

My brother and I

My favorite little mister!

Mr. and Mrs. Steffen!

Leeann, JJ, myself, and Laura

Mason giving JJ a hand with the ball and chain.

The next semi-big thing that happened was that my car got backed into. This actually just happened on Thursday, and since I was at a complete stop, the damage was not nearly as bad as it could have been. I was waiting for traffic to clear out (in the school parking lot), and I was stopped behind a pick-up. Unfortunately, he didn't see me when he started to back out and he ran right into my rear passenger door. It left a pretty good dent, so Mason and I dropped it off tonight so the adjuster can look at it in the morning to assess the damage. Luckily, it wasn't my fault so I shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket.

Saturday was my first twenty-ninth birthday, which was a difficult pill to swallow. I may be an emotional wreck next year, which is why it's a good thing I can celebrate being twenty-nine again. :) We didn't do anything too exciting to celebrate, but we did go to a wedding for Mason's cousin Steve. He got married to the lovely Hannah, and it was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Unfortunately, we had to leave earlier than we would have liked because Mr. Eli was not a happy camper. Speaking of weddings, we have my cousin Nicole's wedding coming up in a couple of weeks as well, so we get to make another trip to Iowa! I'm super excited because Nicole and I were always really close growing up. Another friend of mine (also a Nichole) is getting married in October as well, but because of how much traveling we've been doing, we're not going to be able to make it to hers.

Eli is continuing to get huge, and is FINALLY walking without us prompting him to do so! He definitely likes to do things in his own time, even though we know he can do more. He has a stubborn side to him (totally have no idea where he gets that from.....;)), but he loves to eat, read, and take baths. It's so adorable because he will go to his room all on his own and stay in there for a really long time just "reading" to himself. I've put those books away so many times it is unreal! But I'm definitely thankful he enjoys it!

Eli with Daddy on the first day of school.

Look at those big blue eyes!

Reading away!

Trying to play with his cousin Carson.

There are no words! :)

Other than all that, we've been trying to relax and enjoy this beautiful weather we've been getting. We did get a bit of bad news tonight, however. There's the possibility that Mason's student teaching may be put off for another semester. He sent in his application for student teaching not long ago, and he found out tonight that it has been denied. There are two classes that his paperwork specifically stated he could take while he student teaches. However, he received an email tonight stating that he was supposed to take one of those classes prior to student teaching. Needless to say, we're very frustrated right now, especially since he did exactly what he was told to do as far as classes were concerned. He has sent some emails and made a call or two to try and get the situation fixed, but all we can do is wait to see what happens. This definitely has the potential to put some kinks in our future plans, so if you would, please say a few prayers that everything gets figured out and he can still student teach this spring. We would definitely appreciate it! :)

I think that's all I needed to ramble about, and since it's after 8:30, I need to start getting my stuff ready for tomorrow and head to bed. Yes, I am that lame. ;)

Eli is One!

Our other exciting news is that Eli has officially turned ONE! It was bittersweet for me, but I'm very thankful we have a happy, healthy, growing boy. We celebrated his birthday on July 13th, the day after his actual birthday. Though we tried to keep it small (Eli's grandparents, aunts and uncles, my godparents, and a few of our close friends), we still had a big turn out, which we appreciated immensely. It's always fun to have a houseful of people, and it was great visiting with everyone.

On Thursday my dad and step-mom and my brother and Bailey made their way down to Missouri, so we got a little extra time to visit with them. Friday I spent most of the day (with a lot of help from Bailey) getting everything prepared for Saturday. We also picked up Eli's cake, which was super cute! I ordered it from Cakes by Candace here in Rolla, and I was very impressed with her work. I know I posted a picture on Facebook already, but here's another!

I'm really not going to post a lot of pictures from his birthday since I already put most of them on Facebook, but we truly had a wonderful day. The rest of our out-of-town guests (which included my mom, step-dad, my aunt, uncle, cousin, Mason's mom, sister, and nephew-- I hope I didn't miss anyone) arrived on Friday or early Saturday morning. Eli was incredibly well-behaved, especially considering he didn't have much of a nap. He ate like a champ, which didn't surprise me, and went to town when it was time to eat his cake. He didn't really know what to think about opening presents, but he certainly liked playing with all of his toys once they were set up for him. He made out like a bandit, and to be honest, I don't know where we are going to put most of his stuff! He's very blessed, and so are we to have such thoughtful friends and family!

After the majority of our guests left, we just lounged on our deck with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and my aunt, uncle, and cousin. We ended up starting a fire and had some smores as well. It was such a great day and we were so thankful to everyone who was able to come or that sent gifts for Eli!

Us with the handsome birthday boy!

The other day Mason and I took Eli in for his one year checkup. We found out that he is in the 95th percentile for weight (26 pounds), and the 90th percentile for height (31 1/4 inches), which didn't really surprise us given the amount of food that boy can put away. He also had to get three shots, which he definitely wasn't fond of, but he was a trooper! Then we had to go down to the lab to get some blood drawn to check his iron. We actually just found out this morning that he is slightly anemic, so we are going to have to give him drops for three months to help with this. His number was 10.9 and they want it to be at 11.3, so his doctor isn't super concerned at this point, but she obviously doesn't want it to get any lower. And in another month we have to take him back to the lab to check his iron level again. I guess we're just going to have to buy the kid some steak! ;)

Eli is definitely getting around now! Though he's not walking (yet), he climbs and pulls up on everything, and can stand by himself for a very short period of time. Once he gets that balance down he will be gone! He still doesn't have any teeth, but the doctor said his gums are very swollen, and we could actually see the nubs of where his four top teeth are getting ready to come in, so it shouldn't be long! We've been calling him "Rex" because he has gotten into this stage where he likes to growl when he "talks." It's actually pretty funny because he will hold up his index finger and just yammer away at us. He's still a really good sleeper and usually takes two naps everyday. He has also been sleeping about twelve hours every night, which Mason and I appreciate. :) It's nice to sleep in! Overall, he's a very happy little boy, and we have enjoyed getting to spend the summer with him!

This is Eli's last monthly picture, minus his 12-month sticker. I have no idea where I put it, so this is what I got! ;)

Fourth of July Fun

Well, my intentions of blogging a couple days after my previous blog went right down the pooper. But, I am blogging sooner than I normally do, so I think I deserve some props for that! ;)

We were especially excited for the Fourth of July because we were finally out of school for the summer! I think I mentioned before that Mason and I decided to do summer school. This year it was full days, which really made the days drag, especially with it being summer. We didn't have super huge plans for the fourth, other than spending it together. But we were excited to hear that we were going to have some unexpected visitors! My friends Ashley and Ben came down with their son Cooper and my brother JJ to buy a four wheeler as a surprise for Cooper's birthday. They came down on the third and had to leave by mid-afternoon on the fourth. It was a very quick visit, but good to see them nonetheless!

Cooper and E playing on the floor.

Eli with his Uncle JJ after eating at The Tator Patch.

Me and Ash

The morning of the fourth I ran a color run 5K over at Ft. Leonard Wood with my friend Paige. Mason and Eli came to cheer us on. I'd never done a color run before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, other than I'd get "colored." I didn't realize that the color they throw is actually a powder. There were A LOT of participants (including some of my former students) which made it difficult to truly run at times, but I still managed to beat my last 5K time by about five minutes, which I was very happy about! And I ran the entire thing, which was my main goal!

I didn't think to take a before picture, but this is what I looked like afterward. Somehow I managed to get my birth year for my race number.

Paige and myself

Eli didn't know what to think of all the colorful people everywhere!

Once we got back home and I cleaned up, we went for lunch at The Tator Patch before Ash, Ben, Cooper, and JJ had to head back up to Iowa. Mason, Eli, and I had intentions of going down to the river after they left, but we decided to take a nap first. I was pretty tuckered out and so was Eli. However, once we got down there we took Eli for his first boat ride. He didn't seem to care for his life jacket very much (mostly because it's so bulky), but he loved riding up and down the river. He only got antsy and whiny when we stopped!

He's excited about his first Fourth of July!

Checking out the water with Grandpa Heavin. Eli LOVES the water!

Getting ready for his first ride!

He loved it!

That evening we went back to Rolla for the fireworks. They don't start them until 11:00, so Eli slept for a couple hours and then we woke him up to go watch. He's never really been bothered by loud noises, but we weren't sure how he would react to the fireworks since we were so close to them. Turns out, he loves them too! He would flinch with the big booms, but didn't seem scared.

Waiting for the show to start with his dad.

I sure loved my cuddle time!

The same place where the fireworks were held (it's actually the same park where we had our wedding reception), is where they have the Fourth of July carnival as well. Obviously Eli isn't quite big enough to really ride many of the rides, but we went with Paige, her son Colton, and her sister Madison to enjoy the festivities. Eli seemed content to watch from his stroller, and he thoroughly enjoyed the funnel cake he got to share!

My favorite little boy and I before heading to the carnival!

Checking everything out!

All in all, we had a really great holiday weekend! I'm definitely looking forward to next year when Eli can ride the rides and have a better idea of what is going on!