Halloween 2013

This year we were able to celebrate Halloween twice: once at Aunt Patty's house with the Busch family, and at home on Halloween night.  Of course, Clay wanted to dress up like a cowboy.  He wore his cowboy boots, vest and chaps (althought the chaps came off for part of the time), blue jeans, cowboy shirt and hat.  It was a pretty easy costume, considering he wears most of those pieces on a daily basis!

We started out with the Pumpkin Harvest Party at Aunt Patty's house.  It was lots of fun to pick out pumpkins in the field!  Clay seemed to like the green ones best...who are we to judge?

 One of my favorites of the Busch family!

 All 13 cousins ready for Halloween and the hayride!  I think this annual party has got to be one of my favorites!

 A few of the sweet girl cousins...

 

 Barb and cousin Lillian.  We are so excited that Lillian and her big sister Eleanor will be big sisters about a week after Clay becomes a big brother!  Congratulations, Schweich family!

 The Beckers...Rick, Sarah and Natalie...

  The Busch's...Terry, Julie, TJ and Sam...

 And the Whited's...Mel, Sandy, and Addison.  I wish we had more pictures of everyone from the day, but thanks again to the Brinkers (Keith, Patty, Eric, Joette and Brian) for hosting such a great evening!

Ready to go trick-or-treating!  Clay makes a pretty cute cowboy, doesn't he?  He really got into the spirit of knocking on doors and saying "trick-or-treat" and "Happy Halloween!"  After the first house or two, we convinced him to wait to say anything until the door actually opened.  He was quite polite, saying "thank-you" (sometimes after a reminder), and we are STILL eating candy from Halloween!  After a few houses, he agreed and said "I got the hang of this!"  Silly boy! 

Of course, no fall season is complete without raking and jumping in leaves!  I didn't get a picture of Clay and I throwing leaves at each other - I didn't want to get the camera full of leaves!  But we sure had fun!  (And thanks to Dad for staying inside to paint Clay's room while we played!)

Fall Fun!

As many know, fall and winter is my favorite time of year!  I'm not a huge fan of hot weather (unless we are swimming), but I LOVE the crisp, cool air and holidays in the fall.  This year is no exception, and we were able to enjoy a lot of fun times outside together.  You may notice a recurring theme of a  little cowboy in a few pictures - Clay generally has at least some part of his cowboy gear on wherever we go (boots, hat, blue jeans, etc.).  We will get to Halloween later, but yes, he wanted to dress up like a cowboy this year.  Surprise, surprise!

 We went to visit Great-Grandma in Lake St. Louis.  They were having a country-western day, so of course, Clay wanted to wear his cowboy gear!  It was great to visit and enjoy the day! 

 In mid-September, my Aunt Marleen passed away and went to heaven.  We miss her very much, and she was so loved by so many friends and family.  To give my cousins Jason and Becky and Uncle Bob some time alone, we brought cousin Jack (black shirt) to visit the farm one Sunday.  Clay idolizes Jack, so he was beside himself with excitement.  Jack seemed to enjoy the day working cows and playing in the hay barn with the other cousins who came over - Andrew, Sam and TJ (not pictured).  The boys were extremely dirty and sweaty, but I think everyone had a lot of fun!  The uncles certainly had plenty of help that day!

 I asked for a silly face...

 We have had so much fun going to Mizzou football games this year!  The first game was the Gold Rush game, and I had a hard time remembering a game as hot as that day.  We started out strong, but only made it through halftime.  Papa and Clay were both ready to go (as were the rest of us), but we enjoyed watching the Tiger victory!  We have actually had pretty good success staying through at least the third quarter or later during the rest of the games.  It's tough to really watch and keep a 3-year old entertained, but he loves cheering on his Missouri Tigers!  He knows the M I Z Z O U chant pretty well, and breaks down cheering at random times away from the football games.  Most recently, he started in the middle of the grocery store.  Good thing we live in Columbia where people can appreciate a true fan!

 The helmet car is pretty cool!

 We like to dress up and have fun at home!  I think this was a serenade to the tune of "ABC's."

 We went to a field day at one of the University Farms (South Farm) to enjoy a day of agriculture.  It came as no surprise to us that Clay was excited to put on the big, long glove and check out the cow's insides.  Eww!

 

 He is also getting the hang of milking cows (and goats).  Clay likes to take advantage of any opportunity to work with animals.  We love our little farm boy!

 

All that agriculture and fresh air sure wears a cowboy out!

 Yes, that is my son riding his bike with a Spiderman costume and cowboy boots!  Who says Spiderman can't wear boots?  The best part was walking down the sidewalk with Clay while he was wearing this costume.  The neighbors can't help but smile and laugh!

"Mom and Dad, look how strong I am!"

 Clay and Annie are still pretty great buddies...

..but as Dan and Clay both agree, they are "the best buddies ever!"  It is so much fun to watch these two giggle, play, and wrestle together!  Sometimes  I'm not sure who is having more fun.  Don't worry, I get lots of time to do the same.  If only we can convince Clay that I'm not really his "wife."  Love these boys to pieces!

Birthday Boy!

Yes, I realize I am two months behind on this, but again...better late than never!  We had a wonderful birthday celebration this year, and we were so blessed that Nana and Papa Blossom, Grandma and Papa Busch, Aunt Sandy, cousin Addison, and Uncles Tim, Rick and Jerry could all come to Columbia to celebrate the big day!  Of course, all Clay could talk about leading up to the party was that "Rick is coming to my house!"  He loves all of his family, but certainly seems to have an extra-special attachment to Uncle Rick.  Too funny!  I will let most of the photos tell the story...

 Getting ready to blow out the candles on his "Buzz and Woody" cake (Toy Story).  Of course, Uncle Rick is sitting right next to him!

 Clay and cousin Addison wanted to wear cowboy gear, and they were both getting in the spirit!  Addison makes such a cute cowgirl!

Hamming it up some more!

 Clay had fun scoping out the party hats!  Such a fun time!

 New cowboy boots!  Jackpot!  Thanks, Nana and Papa!  His old boots were getting pretty tight and small, so it was good timing for a new pair.  He wears them nearly every day, and I think it's the only pair of shoes he has actually worn out.  Love my little cowboy!

 A Buzz Lightyear!  Thanks, Aunt Sandy and Addison!  I know I didn't get pictures of all the gifts, but he loved every one of them.  Thank you to everyone!

 A "real" horse that is now named "Orb" (after the most recent Kentucky Derby winner).  Apparently it will only make noises 800-something times, but I'm pretty confident we have beat that record.  He often sleeps with it in his bed at night, and as he is going to sleep, we hear random horse noises.  Precious!

 Here is the sweetest cowgirl ever!

 Clay was pretty pumped about his guitar - he likes to sing and play, generally to the tune of "ABC's" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  I didn't realize he would be quite as excited about the guitar, but he sure is.  He gets a very serious face while playing - no goofing off while making music!

Woody!!  Woo hoo!  Thanks again to everyone who helped us celebrate - it was a wonderful day and so much fun to have family over.

Clay also got to celebrate at his preschool, First Discoveries, with Matt and Annette Bloomfield.  We feel incredibly fortunate to have found such wonderful people to take care of, love, and teach our little boy.  We are constantly amazed at the things he learns and the good habits he develops there.  We also enjoy lots of photos from his time there!  Here are just a few from his birthday:

 

 Clay got to wear the special birthday hat, and sat next to best buddy, Eli!  These two seem inseparable at times!

I know this is hard for most everyone to believe, but he was very excited about showing off lots of emotion.  Annette told me he just kept having fun showing his different faces.  

 Angry...

 Happy...

 Mad...

Silly...

And thinking.  This boy is certainly a thinker!  I just love seeing his many sides and emotions - he is quite good at expressing them :)  I hope this gives you a glimpse into the adorable 3-year old character we get to share our lives with!

Random Summer Fun

I realize we are well into fall and I am just now working on a few summer posts, but once again - better late than never!  Here are a few of our fun summer days:

First off, a Monster Truck sighting at Joe Machens.  It was just an early Friday evening event, but one of the best things we have done in Columbia thus far!  Clay was a little scared of the truck at first - but he covered his ears and quickly got into cheering!  The video we shot with the phone is one of his favorite things to watch to this day.

 Another fantastic part of the event was seeing his best buddy, Eli, and his dad.  They both get silly and excited when they run into each other in town, and this was no exception.  They each wanted to show off what they found on and around the truck.  They were able to walk all around before and after the car-crushing, and we did just that for a LONG time!  Boys and their trucks...

 We had another fun afternoon with Eli this summer.  He came over to play while his parents went on a date.  It was beautiful outside, so they enjoyed playing inside and out.  I'm not sure who was more excited to be posing for the pictures, but this was the response to "Show me your silly face..."

 I forgot to take pictures, but in addition to random silliness, the boys were wonderful helpers during cookie-making time.  We made chocolate chip cookies, and they got to take turns dumping ingredients from one bowl to another and stirring.  Of course, they enjoyed the final product as well.

After dinner, we went back outsdie to play a little baseball.  They play so sweetly together - Clay would "pitch" to Eli, Eli would swing, then run and get the ball (that Clay pitched) and throw it back to Clay.  This could have kept them busy for hours!  I am so glad they are friends, and I hope the friendship lasts long after preschool.  His parents are wonderful, and he is a very sweet and fun kid!  We also just found out Clay and Eli will gain baby siblings within a couple months of each other - woo hoo!

 One of our favorite Columbia pastimes is visiting Bass Pro.  They always have fun activities for kids, and who doesn't love looking around at (and climbing/sitting on) 4-wheelers, boats, etc.?!  One particular Sunday afternoon, we went to check out the "Best Cowboy" contest.  I didn't know much about it, other than kids were encouraged to wear cowboy gear.  It was quite a challenge to get Clay to dress up like a cowboy (insert sarcasm) with his cowboy boots and hat, and the vest and chaps Nana Blossom made, but somehow we managed.  Once we arrived, each kid was given a stick horse and they had a parade through the store.  Every kid except Clay simply walked nicely through the store, but Clay enjoyed "galloping," waving his red hat, and yelling "Yee haw!" at every corner.

 The good news for us is that his galloping won him the title of "Best Cowboy" and a nice gift certificate to Bass Pro!  I felt a little bad that the 2nd and 3rd place kids won toys, but Clay didn't seem to notice.  He was much more concerned with the next order of business - riding bulls and roping calves!

 Thanks for a great event, Bass Pro!  All that work sure wears a cowboy out!  We love our "very best cowboy" to pieces! Update: Clay will be appearing as a cowboy on Halloween.  Shocking, I know...

 Anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes around our little cowboy probably knows he has quite an imagination.  We spend a lot of time chasing and "shooting" hyenas" around our house, talking to animals, making up songs and activities, and dresing up.  He LOVES to tell stories, and they usually involved some or all of: a knight, princess, cowboy, dragon, hyena, monster, lion, or tiger. 

Shooting hyenas before church...

 A couple random, cute moments...

Also over the summer, we took a fun hike (on a very warm day) through beautiful Rock Bridge State Park.  We made the trek to Devils Ice Box, and we were very proud of how far Clay hiked with us.  There were a LOT of stairs, both up and down.

 We took turns in the nice, cool, slippery cave...

The most interesting thing about this picture must be the strange green eyes - too funny not to share!  Clay comes into our bed most every morning when he wakes up to tell us, "The sun is up, time to wake up!"  He ususally brings his pillow and a blanket, and when he gets tired of snuggling, he goes to play with Annie.  He likes to ask us to take pictures of Annie and him, and this is what we got one day!

Another fun picture of a boy and his dog...

We are having so much fun watching this boy grow, and every day brings a new adventure!