Halloween fun

This was the first year we've really celebrated Halloween with Nate. He's dressed up for each of them, but at 8 months he was a little young to care, and last year we were in California and he just wanted to follow the other kids around that were coming to the door at Nonna's house. This year he was pretty excited though. He got to go to the pumpkin patch and pick out his very own pumpkin and we let him go to Party City and choose his own costume! We were pretty much giving him free reign since it's kind of hard to find something that will work for a family theme with a dad, a toddler and a pregnant mom. So, he decided on Wilson from Chuggington. I had no idea who this character was and hadn't even heard of Chuggington before that! I'm not sure he had either because he always just said he was a "red engine". I was very surprised that he didn't choose Thomas, which was displayed right next to Wilson, but he really like the red train. And he got to wear it three times - at our neighborhood party, the town "faire" and, of course, for trick or treating.

Hmmm...

This one might be a little big

Perfect!

Peter and our neighbor/friend, Jason, playing "Cornhole"

I took him trick or treating while Peter stayed behind to hand out candy. We only went up and down our street, and unfortunately only 8 houses or so had their lights on. But I really think that was enough for the both of us. When we got back home I let him eat a couple pieces of candy (which impressed my mom!) and he "helped" Peter pass out to the rest of the kids who were still coming around. He definitely had a fun night.

Look at the red train's loot!

Speaking of Halloween... it was my 30th birthday. It started with a surprise birthday breakfast at work. We generally celebrate birthdays with a monthly birthday lunch, but for the big ones (those ending in 0) we do something special. Everyone brought food and we had a delicious breakfast feast. They even invited Peter and Nate to join in. Nate has really been wanting to come see me at work, so he loved it. (And they love him, of course!)

My cubicle - kind of hard to duck under with the belly...

Being silly

Me and the boys

The rest of the day was pretty much taken up by work and Nate, but Peter did have some apple cider waiting for me when we got back from trick or treating, which was very nice. I figure until Nate and Cranberry get past the trick or treating age I will pretty much just have to give up my day to them. So... only 13 or so years to go! ;)

My little photographer

In the last few weeks Nate has become very interested in taking pictures with my phone. I have A LOT of blurry shots, but some of them actually turn out pretty decent.

Here are a couple of the better ones:

And some of the not so good ones:

Nothing comes close to the Golden Coast!

Nate and I had the chance to visit my family out in California in October. It was such a great trip! It seemed like the beginning of the trip went a little slower, even though we had more going on, but the second half just flew by even though we weren't really doing much! Isn't that how it always goes though? Here's a quick rundown of what we were able to do.

Friday night: Flew in late and grabbed a hotel in Irvine. Nate did not sleep one wink on the plane and didn't go to sleep until midnight (3am Eastern). He was a pretty good trooper.

Saturday: Reid family get-together with my mom's side of the family. Lots of love and great food!

Nate digging in!

Sarah at 30 weeks and Katie at 24 weeks (approx)

Sunday: Museum of Natural History in Balboa Park (my favorite SD locale) so Nate could see some dinosaurs, then La Jolla Shores (my favorite SD beach) for some sandy fun. Nate kind of got freaked out by the in and out of the waves, but he at least got to put his feet in and had a ton of fun digging in the sand. Then I got to have dinner with my good friend Megan and meet her boyfriend.

Nate and Katarina doing the penguin waddle

Monday: Sea World! He loved the whale show, but I think a lot of the rest will probably be better for him in a few years. We then headed up to Bakersfield.

Tuesday: NOTHING! We, well mainly I, needed a break so all we did was hang out at my mom's house. We got to eat some Reid Tacos (my all-time favorite food) and homemade ice cream. That's the great thing about coming to CA... getting all my favorite foods, and introducing them to Nate (and Cranberry).

Wednesday: Pretty much nothing... did a little shopping, but otherwise just hung around my mom's house, went to have some Chinese food, then went to see my dad for awhile.

Thursday: Again, not much of anything. We did a little browsing for strollers, had dinner, then I went to my sister's to sort through 3 HUGE tubs of clothes that her daughter, Katarina, is donating to Cranberry.

Friday: Hung out with my dad, had Basque food, then headed out for some frozen yogurt. FINALLY got my peanut butter, and it was better than I remembered it.

Saturday: Met my brother, sister in law and niece in Calabasas for their annual pumpkin festival, then hung out with them for the rest of the night, which included some yummy Italian food (with a Malibu ocean view) then more frozen yogurt! This time Chocolate Coconut.

Nate and his cousin Lindsay

Sunday: Had breakfast then had to head out to the airport. Again, Nate did not sleep a wink, but was a pretty good trooper.

Of course every time I get to go home I don't want to come back, and definitely miss the people I get to see when I'm there. But I know, no matter how long I'm away, I will ALWAYS be a California girl at heart.