Christmas Baking

The boys have been out of school all week so Adam wrote a schedule for the week with a different Christmas activity for each day.  Yesterday was cookie baking and gingerbread house making day.

 I assembled the basic parts of the gingerbread house, but then I stepped back and let the boys do the rest all by themselves.

 Colton was very helpful with eating half the candy and dropping the rest on the floor.  I am surprised there was anything left to decorate with.

 Please ignore the cans of beans holding up the roof...

Please also ignore the fact that Colton was still in his PJ's...

 

When this beauty was finished, we got dressed for the day and moved on to making Candy Cane Cookies.  Colton loved rolling the dough.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning all the messes and I am still finding little candies all over the floor, but it was s fun day full of good memories.  The boys were so proud of their gingerbread house and I have caught Colton trying to eat it several times already.  Not sure it will make it through Christmas.

Oh Colton

Oh Colton

Do you know what the item in the picture below is?

It is a key…a key to my SANITY! 

Each morning after Mark and Adam leave for the day, I start my routine of going around the house and locking all the doors.  Especially all the bathrooms and Adam’s room.  I have had to resort to this after realizing I cannot keep up with Colton and all the messes and danger he gets into if I turn my back for a second.  I then have to carry the key around with me in case I actually need to get into a room.  What has my life come to??

Colton has recently decided he likes to wake up at 5:30.  Most kids wake up a little sleepy and might just sit on the couch, drink a bottle, watch some cartoons.  NOT COLTON.  This boy wakes up ready to seek what he will destroy.  He goes full force as soon a his feet hit the floor. Have I ever mentioned that I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON?  Anyway… it is only 9:00 am and I have already had to clean up several incidents and save him form jumping off the table 2 times.  At one point this morning I looked at my computer and saw this…

YUP!  Someone popped my keys off AGAIN!  I went searching for a very quiet boy and found this…

He was putting all the computer keys in a ziploc baggie.  How nice and thoughtful of him to be so organized!

When he saw me, he just looked up and said “hi mom”…when I came back with the camera he smiled and said “cheese”. He was proud!

This is going to be a awesome day…

School Pictures

We got Colton’s school pictures yesterday.  They turned out so cute…and so funny.  I have no idea how they got him to hold still and look at the camera…but I would love to know their tricks! So, Colton was having some allergy issues the week of school pictures and I gave him a little dose of Benadryl before sending him to school this particular day…you will notice his heavy eyes.

This studious pose with the books made me laugh.  Eye’s are getting heavy.

And the best one…(I distorted the other kids faces because I was not sure if it was appropriate to post it. But check out Colton in the bottom left corner)

You can tell the meds were kicking in when class pictures started.  He looks completely out of it.  Ha!

And then there is this classic school picture…

Bless his heart.  He wants longer hair so bad, but no matter how we cut it , comb it or how much gel we use, it all just falls straight forward into a bowl cut. It grew to this length and then it just stopped…seriously!  It stayed this length for a few months and would not grow past this stage.  His hair was CUT OFF shortly after he brought this picture home.  Much better now.

My Little Community Helper

It was Community Helper Day at Colton’s pre school.  All the children were asked to dress up for a parade and a little party.  Colton was a fireman thanks to a hand-me-down costume from my sister.

When I fist got there he didn’t see me and it was so fun to just sit back and watch him.  I was shocked that he was actually walking in line with the other kids.  It was so cute.

He loved the party and especially the food!  His teachers told me he had been the only child trying to get into the food that morning before the party.  He had even stuck his finger in one of the cupcakes and so they kept saying that cupcake belonged to Colton.  Oh…that’s my Colton!

This picture makes me laugh…his head was a little too big for the hat, but he insisted on wearing it.  He was so hot and sweaty.

Feeling Like Fall

Saturday was the PERFECT Fall day!  I met up with my mom, Uncle Tommy, Aunt Carrie, Liz & Gracie…out in the COUNTRY… for some free pinto beans and cornbread at Old Mill Primitives!  Oh, it was so fun and YUMMY!  We were on the hunt for some more Chalk Paint and old blue Mason Jars so I can make some of THESE.  I didn’t find any jars! Boo.  But we did all walk away with some Chalk Paint.

Then the ENTIRE Brewer clan met up at Layman’s Farm for more Fall festivities. Fried Oreos, pumpkins, cow train rides, apples and CHAOS! 

Good times and great memories!

Colton is ready for Pre School!

Colton is going to Pre School 2 mornings a week.  Could you just EAT HIM UP in this picture!?!?  This is the first picture he has ever stood still and posed for.  I was so excited.

Today was meet your teacher day and he was so excited to finally use his new “Pack Pack”.  He has been carrying it around the house for 2 weeks now.

While waiting in line to get in the class room, he started getting a little nervous (note the finger sucking and belly rubbing).  And guess who was the ONLY child in the class to SCREAM HIS HEAD OFF for the first 5 minutes?  Hope next week goes better.

His favorite thing in the classroom was the play kitchen.

I’m not going to lie…I am looking forward to these 2 mornings a week so I can run errands and get some things done.  But I will miss that little stinker and be happy to see him at lunch time!

Brother Love

This is the welcome Adam gets EVERY DAY when he gets off the bus.  Sorry, there is no audio, but just imagine Colton yelling “Bubba…Bubba…Ohhhh Bubba”

Oh Colton!

Well, we have had the dog for 2 days now and it has already opened up a whole new world of possibilities for Colton.  He is not particularly interested in the dog, but is really obsessed with the accessories that came with the dog.

Do you think this big boy could fit in that small crate…unassisted?

We watched in amazement as Colton put himself in the dog crate…

At this point I thought he would for sure abandon the idea and get out of the crate…

We were is shock!!!  And I promise and assure you we did nothing to assist this process…

In and out ...in and out….he could do it all day long!

   I know!  It is gross and unbelievable.  I cant stop him.  Every time we turn around he is trying to get in that thing.  And is so excited when he is successful.

Colton The Blanket Hoarder

When Colton was a baby he did not have a favorite blanket or paci…or anything else to help soothe him for that matter.  Oh how I wished he did at that time.  However, in the past few months he has slowly acquired a collection of blankets (6 to be exact) that must all be with with him in order for him to sleep.  He can sense right away if one is missing.  Even in the pitch dark.

Some of them are his baby blankets and some are throws from the couch that he steals and claims as his.  The old Mickey Mouse one belonged to my little brother and my mom passed it on to Colton recently so he could add to his collection.

Now, there are different levels within the 6 blankets.  While 4 of them remain in the crib most of the time, the 2 blankets pictured below have been selected as the ones that get carried all over the house and out shopping…everywhere we go.  Yes, 2 of them!  These 2 are called “hanket”. 

And if you are thinking his crib is looking a little weird in the pictures, you would be correct.  We have resorted to moving the mattress to the floor and turning the crib backwards and up against 2 walls to prevent him from climbing out 20 times a night.

It did not work.  He still crawls out.  He has super human strength and determination.  His room is very bare and I have decided that I am not decorating it or doing anything until he is out of this stage and in a big boy bed.

First Day On Vaca

We are having a great time in Myrtle Beach.  We originally thought the weather was going to be bad while we were here because of predictions for Hurricane Emily…but it was perfectly sunny and hot today and they say it will be the same tomorrow.  Yippppeee!