Collin's First Birthday

Collin had a great 1st birthday! You can see he enjoyed his cake & had a special day! Thanks for the cards & gifts he loved them all!

sneaking a early bite!

Extreme home hair cut

Collin is not a fan of the salon and was in need of a good hair cut. So I decided to try my luck. It was going really well in the tub until he made a drastic move and there was no turning back so- Collin got his first buzz cut! It is growing on us, but I'm excited to get his spikes back soon!

Thanksgiving with FAMILY!!!

We were lucky enought to have guests from Idaho for Thanksgiving this year. The best part was they stayed for 9 days!

We celebrated Collin's 1st Birthday
(more on that later)

We also took them to visit Niagara Falls.

Collin enjoyed his first Hershey's chocolate shake from the Hershey's store in Canada. They are the best!

Brett showing his dad his handy work with the bird.

It was such a great visit! Please come back soon! We miss you already!

Thanksgiving memories

Every year as we approach Thanksgiving, I feel a little sad when I can't go visit Swan Valley, ID. We are lucky enough to have grandparents that live on an amazing ranch on the banks of the Snake River. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. When I was a child I spent endless hours riding my favorite horse Ginger. I wanted to be a cowgirl so bad! As I got older, each year grandpa would tease me and say that "ol Ginger bit the dust" but time after time she was still waiting to take me on my adventures. Sadly one year it was the truth.

I received this picture from my dad this week. He has been scanning in old slides and we have been amazed at the wonderful pictures that we have never seen. It was a great surprise to see this picture of me riding my favorite horse with my grandpa.

Just a regular night

I wanted to share a typical night at home with our families that live far away. Collin is walking like a pro! He is working on tooth # 8 ( from the ring of drool on his shirt)- and as you can see he stays busy checking everything out. I will be trying to post more often!

October Events

I'm sorry that these pictures are all out of order but it has been a busy month for us. We started with the 3rd year dinner group at out house. We had homemade soups, roll and my first attempt at apple pie. I think it turned out well. Here is the recipe for the tomato soup that was a hit. I got it from Amanda

Tomato Basil Soup
1 hour 15 min prep
Serves 8
4 cups canned whole tomatoes or crushed/puree already
2 cups tomato juice
2 cups of chicken stock
12-14 fresh basil leaves
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick of sweet unsalted butter
salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Combine tomatoes, juice and stock in saucepan.
Simmer 30 minutes.
Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, a hand-held food blender, right in the cooking pan). Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

(Brett and I decided after the blender exploded 1 time with hot tomatoes it would be easier to buy puree tomatoes) Anyway it is delicious!

I let Collin play in this cupboard- he loves to take things in and out and roll them around the kitchen.
While Lexi was visiting one of her friends came over to say hi. I love how this picture makes Collin look like he's towering over the other two because he so far forward.

Last night at the trunk 'er treat they had a fun house with carved pumpkins- Brett and I were super impressed with this one! What a talent!

This was at the end of the party Collin was ready for bed.

Our little monkey

It was really cute to see him walking around.

Sorry these are out of order this was last friday when Collin had his fever- you can see he didn't feel too good.

Collin wearing his new jeans- he looks like such a big kid!

Collin & Lexi at Gro-Moore Farm.
We enjoyed having Becca & Lexi stay with us for a few days.

I think Collin was trying to figure out what Lexi was so excited about.

These cut outs were pretty cute at the farm- Collin picked out his first pumpkin.

Collin is now pretty fascinated with the fridge- while Brett was putting away some groceries Collin attacked him to get to the inside! It was pretty funny to see Brett getting taken down by a 10 month old
This is Collin's little waddle in his cotume- too cute.

10 Months

Yesterday we went for a walk down the Erie canal to enjoy the change in the season. It was pretty chilly but very beautiful!

out little polar bear
10 months- wearing 18month clothes!

Collin loves the swings at the play area!