Kicking off Christmas

The Christmas season officially begins in these parts with the Christmas parade.  Sam's preschool had a float in the parade, but he didn't want to ride on it and miss all the other floats.  So, we were spectators for Sam's very first Christmas parade.  He was so excited and talked about it all day long.

We found a great spot right by the main entrance of the horse show grounds and set up to wait for the show to start.  

We waited. And waited. And waited. First the 5k runners came by,

 and we cheered on our friends, the Watsons, in their first race as a family!

Finally, the parade came to us, and Sam was really into watching all the fire trucks and police cars.  He was so great at waving, especially when he realized it bettered his chances of getting candy.  He would wave and say, "Merry Christmas...candy please!"

After dinner and bath time, we started our first night of: 

"Counting Down to Christmas" - Burtram style

I've been scouring for great deals on Christmas books all year at book sales, yard sales, school book swaps, and finally acquired enough books!  I wrapped up 25 Christmas books, one for each night in December, to help count down the days until Christmas.  Each night, Sam will unwrap one, and we will read it together as a family.  I love the idea, and I can't wait to try it out this year!  

Our first book chosen:

The First Snow

So far, so great!  We loved it!

The tree is up, the books are wrapped, the rest is soon to come.

Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year!

Horse Crazy

Every morning and evening on the way to and from Sam's school, we pass these guys....

(the horses I mean, not the owners)

Finally, after talking to them through car windows for weeks, Michael and Sam stopped and met these beauties in person.  The brown one is Buddy, and the black one is Dutchess.  And the sweet lady that takes care of them is Ms. Foster.  She was immediately impressed with Sam and revealed the secret to charming these horses...apples.  Now, taking treats to Buddy and Dutchess is a regular date for us, especially on the days that Sam goes all day at school with NO POTTY ACCIDENTS!!  

This time, we took Kayden to join us for a visit with the horses.  Turns out, they love carrots too!

And, Dutchess even let Sam give her a little kiss this time.

Since Sam's imagination is full-throttle right now, his rocking horse is now called Buddy (because Buddy is brown too), and he frequently cooks "eggs" in his sand bucket and feeds them to Buddy with the shovel.  I so love watching him pretend and imagine...

Amanda and I took the boys to the Christmas Village Horse Show, and of course, every horse there was either Buddy or Dutchess.  These little cowboys were in horse heaven watching the animals prance around the ring.  As tired as they were, they could have stayed all night to watch the Tenneessee Walkers.  They were moving so fast, the horses are a blurr, but the boys were down front in their ring side seats loving every minute.

"Baby Duck"

When we started asking Sam whether he would like a baby brother or a baby sister, his origional response was, "No."  He has not been the least bit interested in a little playmate in the house.  However, lately, his answer has changed.  Now, if we ask him what he hopes this baby will be, he replies, "a duck"!  That's my boy, thinking outside the box.  

I fear he may be a bit disappointed though...

It seems my belly is growing a lot faster this time around than when I was pregnant with Sam.  It might have something to do with all the sweets and junk I seem to be craving this time around.  Otherwise, this has been a super easy pregnancy so far.  No morning sickness, not one day.  In fact, I feel my best in the mornings.  Not too much fatique. No headaches. No baby acne.  Smooth sailin' so far; I'm crossing my fingers this continues.

                            16 weeks - Sam                                               16 weeks - "Baby Duck"

Halloween 2012

I took a page out of my friend Jenne's playbook for Halloween this year.  At school, we had our very first Vocabulary Costume Dress Up Day at SMS.  Our costume had to be a word that was closely related to our curriculum.  I showed up dressed in this:

Thing 1 AND Thing 2

And, being a R/LA teacher, my word was "plural."

It was Sam's first year to actually go trick-or-treating, and I wasn't sure how he would do.  We started at  Mo and Chad's house.  Mo had special treats prepared for a few special kiddos.  Sam got a glow in the dark axe, a whole treat bag, and some witches fingers (popcorn in a glove) that he was scared of.  But, by the time we left the neighbors', he had this trick-or-treat thing down and was ready to roll. 

Fireman Sam poses for a few pictures before we head up the street.

Kayden went as a cowboy.

Cameron went as Santa Claus. 

(He picked his costume all by himself.)

Cameron makes that Santa suit look cool, huh!

Turns out, Sam's a trick-or-treat natural.  I explained once that if he knocked on a door and said, "trick-or-treat," he would get candy.  Oh, my word, he had a whole trick-or-treat dance and shout number complete with a "thank you" that earned him extra candy at multiple houses.

We ran into our buddies, Ava and Gwen, and I tried to get a group picture

 of all the kiddos in their costumes.  This is a good as it got...

We ended our evening at our own front door where all the boys earned extra candy from their Kimmie who was kind enough to stay home and "keep the lights on" and hand out candy for us.

After all the trick-or-treating was done, Sam had to do a little night-time trampoline jumping with his friend Mia.  Their hair is my absolute favorite part of this picture.  

Static electricity anyone?!

Spooktacular 5K

It's a misty, cold, autumn morning, and what are the Burtrams up to?

We participated in another 5K race, the United Way Spooktacular.  Sam was bundled and ready to run this race (from his stoller) until he realized how cold and wet it was outside this morning.  When our neighbors showed up, he quickly chose "I stay Mo...in the car."  I have to admit, I was pretty excited about NOT having to push the stroller today.  Thanks Mo!

My superhero husband beat me... again.  

But hey, I'm out of practice and 15 weeks pregnant. 

I was just proud to finish with a smile!

Here's the real competitor in today's race, our neighbor Zain.  He got second place in his age group with a time of 31.10!  We are soooo proud of his natural running talent!  And, thanks for letting Sam hold your winning ribbon; it made his day!

Fall Festival - Preschool Style

Sam's preschool hosted a fall festival for all the kiddos today.  I wasn't able to make it, but Sam and Daddy had a really big time together on this sunny fall day.  

First up, pony rides.

The better part of Sam's morning was spend here... riding ponies.  This is Scout, the pony.  At first, he was a little nervous and unsure about actually getting on the ponies.  But overall, Sam LOVED riding the ponies.  He rode every horse there!

Next up...bounce houses.

What kid doesn't like a good bounce house?!

Then, he moved to face painting.

A baseball on one cheek and a football on the other.

He was laughing and saying, "It tickles." while Ms. Devon painted.

And, then back to the ponies again.  My boy loves him some animals.

Finally, he finished at the "pumpkin patch" where he searched for 

the perfect pumpkin to bring home with him.

And alas, he found it!  The perfect pumpkin!

Thank you Barnyard Kids for a wonderful Fall Festival!  Sam and all the other kids had such a great time.  You helped make today (and everyday) super special!