Changes in the Fall

I'm loving the changing weather. I'm sick of the heat and its been cooling off for the last week or so. So nice.
We've been enjoying some outdoor time and grilling dinner in the cool evening air.
Tanner loves to help Dad grill dinner.



Besides the changing weather, Tanner has also hit a big milestone. Well he hit it a couple months ago, but then quit walking altogether. I think he just figured he was safer crawling. But all of the sudden he's started walking everywhere. Not just walking though, walking like a pro. He hardly ever falls, he can turn no problem and I've even seem him walk sideways. Crazy. I guess he was just waiting to walk more once he figured out how to ROCK at it! Oh and he loves to carry his animal cracker box around with him. He's so funny.


Also, I colored my hair last week. I told the stylist I wanted to go "natural" but because of the blond coloring I had in there before, we had to go a little darker than natural. But I like it. Its fun for a change.
Here are a few of my new hair.



We had Tanner's 1-Year pictures taken this week and a few family shots. It was so fun. We had the same photographer who took Tanner's newborn pictures take these. She's great. We've only seen the ones on her blog so far, but I can't wait to see the rest.

Today I watched my friend Tamara's girls so her and her hubby could go out for her Birthday lunch. I love her girls. They are so sweet. I had been playing on doing yogurt finger-painting with Tanner today and so we just did it with the girls too. Tanner was more into than the girls. They got their hands a little covered in yogurt and then wanted to get cleaned up. Tanner however was treating it like a slip-n-slide. He LOVED it. I didn't get pictures of that because I was too busy trying to keep the girls from falling down the porch steps, But I got a few cute ones of three of them on the yogurt covered table cloth.


After that we watched "Little Mermaid" and ate a snack. It was fun.


Its so fun to have other kids around to play with Tanner. Tanner loves it. When they left Tanner cried. He seriously needs a sibling.
But I guess until then, a cousin will have to do. Oh and how convenient- Clark Randall Drake was born last Thursday. He was 10 lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long. He's a total doll. We're so glad he's finally here. Hurry and grow Clark so Tanner can play with you.

Yesterday I made some fun fall crafts. I love to decorate my house for the different seasons and holidays and these just seemed to fit.
First I made the dryer duct pumpkins.


Seriously easy. Check out the tutorial here.
Then I made this Halloween candy jar.

Also really easy. Here is the tutorial for this craft too. Hope everyone is enjoying their fall so far. I know we are.

Baxter County Fair Week

I realize that a small county fair might not seem like a big deal to most people, but I grew up going to the fair and loving it. From the Kiwani's burgers and foot long corn dogs to the fried Twinkies- you've got to love fair food. When I was younger I use to love to waste my allowance on the games at the fair. I'd win all sorts of dumb prizes that I'd lose the next day and I LOVED IT. I have so many fun memories at the fair. However, when I left for College 5 years ago I didn't realize what I'd be leaving behind. (my youth and my ability to not get sick on rides) Last year, after being gone for 4 years, I went to the county fair with Chris. We left Tanner with Nanny and Papa and headed to the fair to eat some yummy food and ride lots of rides. On about our third ride I came to a very very sad realization. I'm getting old! We got off the "Scrambler" and I was sick at my stomach and dizzy enough that I couldn't walk straight. It wasn't the fun kind of dizzy either. Walking was a real challenge. Chris was the same way, so we looked like a couple of drunk sailors. Pathetic. This year I came up with the perfect solution. Go to the Fair. Enjoy the food, the games, the exhibits. Ride the "kiddie" rides with Tanner. PERFECT- no need to make myself sick. So we went, we rode the rides, saw the animals, and it was so fun. Tanner loved riding around on Papa's shoulders Tanner was only big enough to ride two rides- the "Merry-go-Round" and the "Dizzy Dragons" We rode those rides over and over and with Nanny and Papa's help- I got some cute pictures of my little man. First we rode the "Merry-go-Round" I'm not sure who had more fun, Tanner or me.... Such a big boy! Then Nanny and Papa took Tanner on the "Dizzy Dragons" He wasn't too sure what he thought about this one. I was taking pictures and every time their dragon would swing around and face me I would try and snap a pictures... This is the results. Finally a still shot. He sure loves his Nanny and Papa. Then Nanny and Papa took him on the "Merry-go-Round" again. Look Mom- NO HANDS Then we all went on the "Dizzy Dragons" Tanner and I inside our Dragon And we ended by riding the carriage on the "Merry-go-Round" Tanner, Nanny and I riding AGAIN! We took Tanner to see the animals too. That was pretty funny. He liked all the animals that were smaller than him, which included, miniature goat, bunny rabbits, one calf and that's it. The cows and big goats and sheep scared him. Tanner with the bunnies. Tanner checking out the little goat All in all though, I'd say his first Fair experience was pretty good. I can't wait to go back next year when he can ride more rides. So fun! Just as we were leaving the fair Only thing that could have made it better was if Chris could have been there. He's gone for two weeks for annual training for the National Guard. UGH!
Here's a video of Tanner dancing at the fair parade. When the music starts he just can't contain himself. Also this past week we had the County Fair Parade. We went last year too, but Tanner was too little to be able to enjoy it. Let me assure you- this year he fully enjoyed it. Tanner and I walking around...and around and around. This kid loved walking on the side of the road. Me and my boy Sweet face I guess Tanner must have one heck of a puppy dog look- because people marching in the parade kept handing him suckers. Tanner with his loot Tanner eating his first sucker. That's it for the fair. But I have a few more fun picture for the week. Tanner loves to take baths in Nanny's sink because he gets to do this... And this is Tanner folding his arms. We've been practicing this week. He's starting to get the hang of it. Its so cute. And last but not least, Tanner helping me wash the car. He had blast with the hose. Could that picture be anymore ARKANSAS? No shirt, no shoes, no problems! LOVE IT! And here's a video of Tanner on the "Merry-go-Round" with Nanny and Papa. Papa thought I was taking pictures not a video so don't laugh at his funny expressions... well don't laugh too hard.

Last few days of Summer

Tanner and I have been trying to enjoy the last few days of Summer, before it gets cool outside. The past few days have been heavenly- 75 degrees and sunny- perfect park weather. Too bad Chris had to stay home and study for his classes! :(
Tanner had a blast at the kiddy park on Friday.
He rode the bike and the horse spring toys


He played in the swing for a while. He loved to lean forward when the swing came forward and then slam himself back when the swing went backward. Such a weird kid!

But the main attraction was definitely the slide. He loved going down it.

And playing around the base of it where he could bang on the shiny part with his fist.

He has really been walking a lot lately and he had to discover the hard way, how hard it is to walk on the little rocks in the playground. He fell down and banged his head on the slide. And because his skin is so fair, every little bump shows up as a huge purple bruise. Poor kid!
Then later that night he crashed into the piano and got another HUGE goose egg on his forehead. I swear I don't beat Tanner, but by the looks of him, you'd think I do.

Yesterday we kicked off football season with an awesome HOGS game. Growing up with my Dad, you learned about the importance of Razorback football pretty early. We learned to call the hogs at a very young age. So in preparation for the game, I decked everyone out in Razorback RED.

Tanner looked so festive. Aunt Stephanie sent him this jersey and then I dressed him in these windpants and Nike tennis shoes. To finish the look we had to add the black to his cheeks. He was so ready for GAME DAY!


Then we put this HOG SNOUT on him. He was so funny with it. He really just wanted to chew on it, but he cooperate for a few cute pictures.



He was pretty good during the game. He thought us calling the hogs was pretty funny. And laughed a ton when Papa snorted at him. But in the end, he loved snuggling with his Great-Grams the best.

It was a great game- we kicked trash. We even brought in our 3rd string quarterback at the end to give him some game time. We were pretty comfortable with the score at that point- up by about 40 points. What a way to kick off the season!

A Romantic Weekend Away

A week ago Chris and I took off on our first "getaway" since Tanner was born. My parents advised us, when we got married, to go on ATLEAST one getaway a year. Its good for your marriage and helps you remember you were a wife or husband before you were a mom or dad. I'd almost forgot what it felt like to dress up. Chris and I do pretty good about going on one date a week. My parents HAPPILY watch Tanner for us whenever we need/want and we feel SOOOO blessed to have them near.
But no date night can compare to this 3-day getaway. It was A-MAZING! Completely awesome.
We left Thursday at 12:00 and drove up to Springfield (2 hours away). We ate lunch at Cheddars (YUMMY) and then went to JoAnn's, Best Buy, Michaels, Target and Bass Pro Shop. Crazy romantic right? We had a blast though. Then we ate dinner at this sublime sushi place. For the first time in history- Chris and I couldn't finish what we'd ordered. There was so much of it and it was soooo good. (Don't worry- we got a to-go box, and I ate it later that night)
After dinner we headed down to Branson (30 minutes from Springfield) and checked in to the Radisson. After a little bit of musical rooms we got settled in.
The next morning we ordered room service for breakfast and then we went to a tour of this timeshare resort we would love to buy into when we have the money. It was awesome! Someday we will vacation there. (Because we did that tour our hotel room was completely free and we had a $100 Bass Pro Gift card to spend-not bad right?)
Then we headed off to Silver Dollar City. We got there around 11:30 am or so and spent the entire day there. But the best part was- we got in TOTALLY FREE. As our shuttle pulled up we got off to go buy tickets (which are about $60/each) and on our way to the ticket window a lady stopped us. She said she had buddy passes that she couldn't use but they would get us in free. The passes were only valid for a few days so she just gave them to us. How awesome is that?
Then we get into the park and its pretty empty. There are NO lines. We could have ridden the rides over and over if we wanted. The weather was perfect- about 75 and sunny. We ate a ton of yummy food and when we were thoroughly exhausted we headed back to our hotel.
Once there we headed down to the pool to relax and then hit the hot tub. Later we went back up to Springfield to make one last JoAnn's run and ate dinner at "Texas Roadhouse." We were going to go play mini golf and ride go-carts but after walking around the park all day- we were too tired. ( I know- we're getting old)
The next morning we ordered room service again and lounged around until check-out. Then we went shopping at the outlet malls. Got all of our Christmas shopping done for Tanner. Then we ate lunch at "Famous Dave's" and then we headed home because we missed Tanner like CRAZY.
We had such a good time. It was romantic, rejuvenating, and restful. We slept through the night, slept in and slept well. But all that being said- I don't know how much longer I could have lasted. I think I called my parents 3 times a day to talk to Tanner and check up on him. That little boy is our life and we missed him so much.
It was good to get away, but felt even better coming home to snuggle our little bear. The 3 days away definitely made me appreciate Tanner more. This past week Chris has been gone for work and so its just been Tanner and I. Luckily the novelty of being back with him hasn't worn off and I still think most everything he does is adorable.
I highly recommend every couple get away for a few days each year- if not more. I am more in love with Chris than ever before and for those few days it was almost like we were newlyweds again. Too corny? Well its true anyway.
But now we're home and back to real life..... oh well- at least I have a great life to get back to.