Breakfast with Santa

Our gym put on a Breakfast with Santa this morning. We haven't taken Kaleb to see Santa yet so we thought this would be great. They also had a train to ride on and a great breakfast spread. It was really nice. As soon as we got there, Kaleb wanted to ride the train and nothing to do with Santa! So we rode the train twice and then made him go inside to try and get a picture with Santa. Here's as close as we got:
The Santa was really nice and tried to get him to sit next to him but Kaleb wasn't having any of it and I don't want to be that mom that puts a screaming kid in Santa's lap
just so I can get a picture. So I took what I could and am happy with it. As I said earlier, Kaleb was obsessed with the train so we rode it about 15 times. The guy even let Kaleb drive it a few times! After we left there, we headed over to Dick's Sporting Goods. We made our way over to the workout equipment area and had some fun with the punching bags! All in all, it was a great morning!

Look Mommy!

Saturday, Paul and I ran by a store to buy my dad his Christmas present. When we got home, Paul went to town to get supper while I put dad's shirt into a box to be wrapped. When I tried to removed the price from the tag, I couldn't, so I decided to just Sharpie over it. Well, Kaleb came in while I was doing it and DEMANDED that I give him the Sharpie. Of course, I explained that he could not have my Sharpie but he could play with his markers in his room. So I took him to his room, got out his markers and a coloring book, and he was satisfied. I returned to my work with dad's gift. A few minutes later, I hear Kaleb yelling "Momma... Oh, Momma". I come into his room, and there he is, looking so proud of himself!

All I could do was laugh and hope to God that I got a picture before he touched anything! I was amazed that he hadn't gotten it all over the room too. But apparently, he was content with just changing his ethnicity status! So, I got my picture, sent it to a few people I thought would get a kick out of it, and then put him in the bath! As soon as he got in the water, it turned a pretty shade of blue from all the black ink. HILARIOUS! He was so proud of himself. I showed Paul after he got home and we both got a good laugh out of it. Oh, two year old boys! If you can't laugh at them, you will drive yourself crazy!

The gym we are members of down here are having a Breakfast with Santa this Saturday so Paul and I have decided to try and take Kaleb to get his picture made. I have been trying to explain Santa to him and he does recognize him in all the decorations everywhere we go, but I don't think he knows he is a 'real' person and he might have to sit in his lap. Wish us luck!

Another thing happened Sunday: typical Rasmussen style! Paul and I have lived in Mississippi for over a year and a half now, but have yet to really put ourselves out there to meet new people. I have really been pushing this since we were so social back home. I get to talk to people all day with my job, but Paul gets to work from home so his only interaction with people is at the gym, and he really hates it when people come to the gym to socialize! Well, a lady from our neighborhood stopped by while we were playing outside to introduce herself and let us know that they were UT fans also (we have stuff on both vehicles and on the house to make sure people know who we root for!). We talked for a while and she said that they were going to do Christmas cookies with the kids at her house at 5 pm on Sunday then go look at Christmas lights at the Canton Square (a lot like Christmas City from back home) and asked if we wanted to come. I said we would love to! So, Sunday comes and Paul and I decide to go riding around, just killing time, hoping to get Kaleb to take a relatively early nap. We get home around 2 and Kaleb is still wide awake! So, we decide to just let him skip his nap so we can go to this woman's house and meet new people. Well, of course, Kaleb decides to fall asleep at 3:30 pm! Really Kaleb?! So, I text her and let her know we might be a little late! She texts at 5:30 saying they were just sitting down to dinner and asked if we could come... Nope, toodle pot is still snoozin! I ask her to let me know when they start the cookies so if he is up, we could head down. At 6:15, I get a text, but still a no-go! He is snoozing HARD! And you do not DARE wake my child from his nap unless you have a sick sense of humor and want to pay for it the rest of the night!  (I was so paranoid about her thinking I was lying that I text her two different pics of him sleeping everytime she text!)  So, I apologized for not being able to come, and sat on the couch like a child that just got told she couldn't go to a birthday party that she had been looking forward to for a week! =) Kaleb decided to finally wake up aroun 7:00!!!!!!! Needless to say, we didn't get to be till aroun 11:30 that night, but he did sleep well after, so all in all, it wasn't too bad a night!

It's Christmas time... in the country

Christmas had officially arrived at the Rasmussen household. I have this funny rule that I don't put our Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving. I feel that Thanksgiving is a very special day that should not be overlooked because Christmas is so close. When we were younger, we used to make my mom wait till after our birthday (Dec 7), because our birthday WAS NOT Christmas. (And we did not appreciate people giving birthday/Christmas presents! I mean what kid wants one present instead of two?) Ha! So, as the years went by and birthdays were no longer something to look forward to, the tree has been moved up to the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
If you have been following along, you know that I am a recent addict to Pinterest. It has really gotten my creative juices flowing, especially for the holiday season. Paul is one of those men that does not appreciate a lot of clutter around the house. He doesn't mind decorations, but every single wall/corner/table does not need something on/in it. But when Christmas comes, the more the merrier. He LOVES Christmas, so I like to take advantage. And with all my new found ideas, via Pinterest, I have added a few more decorations to the house. Take a look...

The centerpiece for our kitchen island

Our Tree

My DIY wreath! Inspiration was a $125 wreath from Etsy that I saw on Pinterest. (Only $30 in material and some concentration)

Kaleb still doesn't really get the whole Santa thing yet, and I'm pretty sure it's because I haven't taken the time to really explain it. I am going to get a book from the library this week to try and  help him really grasp that some man in a red suit is going to come to our house with reindeer and presents on Christmas Eve. Hopefully he will be excited, not freaked out. =) I am also going to work on him with the Baby Jesus story this year. We will see how it all goes! We went to Brooks' birthday party (our neighbor's kid and also Kaleb's classmate in daycare) yesterday at a local gameroom type place called Gattitown. It was lots of fun, but we had to work real hard to keep Kaleb out of the cake before they cut it. It was a monster truck cake and he REALLY wanted the trucks and icing! =) But when Brooks was opening his presents, Kaleb sat next to him and attempted to help. He was really excited to open them but was really disappointed when I kept reminding him that they weren't his! Brooks is into big trucks and tractors also, so that's pretty much all he got. And Kaleb REALLY wanted to take them out of the packages and open them! (which we ended up doing later that night at their house! Thanks Karen and Greg for having us over! He LOVED it!) It makes me really excited to see him at Christmas opening his presents. He has never really been that interested in unwrapping things. Even at his second birthday party, it was Paul and I that had to do all the unwrapping. So to see his face when he realizes all these presents are for him is going to be so great!

Here are some pics from the party on Saturday!

Of course he had to ride the 'Tractor'. 

Being silly on the Johnny Rocket game!

He really loves the Whack-a-Mole games! This one was half broken but he still liked it.

Riding Nemo. I bet he rode this thing 10 times! By then end, I was saying 'Cheese' and he was saying 'No Cheese'!

Lazy, Clumsy, Greedy, Vanity, Brainy, Hefty...

Does any of this ring a bell to anybody?! No, I'm not describing anything or anyone we know. How about this: Smurfette, Papa Smurf? That's right. It's the names of Smurfs. Thanks to my mom, Kaleb has moved on from 'Toys' (which is funny seeing I got him BOTH the first and second Toy Story for Christmas), and has moved on to The Smurfs! Not the new, digitally animated one either. We're talking old school, 30 minute episode Smurfs. I forgot how cute and funny these cartoons were. So, it looks like we will be headed to Walmart to buy him the new Smurfs for Christmas too!

UT Game and Random Pics

So, this past weekend, Paul and I got to go to Knoxville, TN and see the UT Vols get their first SEC Conference win. Mind you, it was only Vanderbilt, but it turned out to be a great game. I have been planning this trip for a few months now. Mom and Dad graciously offered to keep Kaleb so I got everything planned out. I found FRONT ROW 50 YARD LINE tickets online and bought them. Then booked a hotel room closest to the stadium so we wouldn't have to drive in the chaos that is Knoxville, TN after a football game. We have made that mistake way too many times in the past. Believe me, it is worth the extra $50 per night! I took Friday afternoon off of work and we headed up for what was supposed to be a 7 hours drive to God's country. Ten and a half hours later (construction traffic), we finally made it to our hotel. We had every intention of going out on the town but ended up crashing, promising ourselves we would take advantage tomorrow. The game wasn't until 7:00 pm so we decided to just walk around and not do much of anything. If you have never been to Knoxville, it is a hilly (no, mountainous) city. We walked probably over 7 miles, but it felt like 50! My calves are still aching! We ended up buying lots of TN stuff since there is NO VOLS gear down here in MS. We walked Cumberland 4 times and the made our way down to Volunteer landing then back up to the Market square area where we found a bar and decided to sit, drink, and watch football. Around 4:00, our friend Wooty called and said they had made it to town and we met them back over at a place on Cumberland. After chatting for a few hours, we left there, walked over to Fraternity Row and made our way to the stadium in time to see the team run through the T. Our seats were great, for a one time experience, but horrible for actually watching the game. I forget the players are all over 6 foot tall, so it was pretty much impossible to see the running plays. FYI: Buy Row U, seats 1-2, but about row 5-10! That would have been perfect! Next time, next time... Below are a few picture from the game and one video from the end of the game when I got them soaking Coach Dooley with gatorade! After the game, we were so exhausted from all the walking and the excitement of the game, we went back to the hotel bar, ate a little something, chatted with Wooty again, then headed back up to the room! We are just too exciting for everyone to keep up with, I know... =) We made our way back home on Sunday, luckily only taking 8 hours this time. But I did ask Paul to stop for lunch at one of my favorite places, The Cheesecake Factory in Birmingham. We don't have one in MS or in Memphis, so when there is one on the way anywhere we might be going, I try to take advantage! It was so good we didn't even eat supper Sunday night!

This is Paul's favorite place in the whole world!

FEAR THE PANTS!

Mom and Dad were so great and took Kaleb back to Covington with them, to spend some time with him until we get there Wed for Thanksgiving, while also giving Paul and I some much needed Mommy/Daddy time. Last night, we actually took advantage of no children, and ate at a local sushi restaurant before heading to see the latest Twilight movie. I was actually a pretty good movie, but I really need to read the book to figure out what is going to happen in the second part.

I have also added some pictures that has been sitting in my camera for the last few weeks. I have a few videos I wanted to load but am having trouble. Will upload them later. Enjoy!

I have no idea when he started this but he likes to stand up while riding now!

And loves to watch the tires as he drives. I used to be a nervous wreck watching him but now its just funny!

Kaleb's "Cheese" face. I practiced so many times to get him to do this for our family pictures, but of course he wouldn't when time came. This was after we got home from taking them!

Yum... SunChips!

Helping Daddy clean the windows. My little man is definitely his daddy's boy... he LOVES to clean windows, vacuum,  clean up spills he probably caused... Most of the time he just makes things messier, but he loves it so we let him help and then finish it later!

Kaleb and Pop watching "Toys"

Hello, my name is Melissa and I'm addicted to....

Ok, so my BFF Aubrey text me about a month ago about a new website that she thought I would love called Pinterest. I had been seeing posts on Facebook about it but had never really looked into it. So, the other day, I was bored and decided to check it out. OMG! This website is the coolest, most addicting site I have ever seen. I am literally on there a couple hours a day. My crafty self is officially a Pinterest addict. If you haven't checked out this site, be careful. Only do it if you have enough time in the day to spare. It is a virtual pinboard for EVERYTHING! Once you sign up (you have to be invited), they get you to install a PIN tab on your bookmark bar. If you see something on a website you want to remember or share with other people, you click the button, it asks which picture you want to pin, then saves it to your pinboard but also posts it to Pinterest where other people can "Like" it, "Repin" it to their pinboard, or "Comment" on it. There are lots of DIY crafts, Why Didn't I Think of That ideas, Recipes, Exotic Location pics, cute outfit ideas... the list goes on, and on, and on...! I have tried a recipe already and am doing a DIY Magnetic Board for Kaleb for Christmas. I also have a bunch of decoration ideas for Christmas saved. I am getting excited just typing all this! =) Thanks Aub! (Or maybe a big NOT THANKS since I no longer have any free time, haha!)


Sunday was a 'fun' day for me, Paul, and Kaleb. We had set up an appointment for family pictures with a local photographer. We haven't had family photos taken since Kaleb's newborn shoot back in April 2009! The original date was October 23 but it rained that day so it got pushed back to this past Sunday, Nov 13. I know my son, so I am one to start preparing him for big events far in advance (remember the Trick-or-Treat training for a whole year!). So, as soon as I set up the original date, I started practicing "Cheese" with him. Every night, after his bath, I wrap him in his towel, pick him up, and we do "Cheese" face and "Fishy" face in the mirror at each other. He laughs and laughs at our funny faces! Needless to say, I have been super excited to get this on camera. So, the big day comes, we drive out to the meeting site, and get him out of the car. Immediately, he turns into a typical two year old boy. He wants nothing to do with me, Paul, or that scary-looking camera! AGH! I have no idea why I expected anything else, but I really did have my hopes up. I guess I'll know better next time. He finally did open up a little. He started throwing rocks into a stream and just checking out the trees and rocks where we were. He never would really sit with us for a family photo, so I was extremely worried about how they were going to turn out. I mean, I was almost in tears the whole way home. Paul assured me there would be some good ones. And he was right, I don't need 20 good photos on our wall. If it is only 3-4 good ones, that is plenty! That's why I love my husband. He can turn my half empty glass into half full! Right before we left, our photographer told us she would work on them some and hopefully post a sneak peak on Facebook that night. Well, I became VERY neurotic about it and was checking FB every ten minutes! No picture! AGH! Does this mean there weren't any good ones to post?! (There went the half full glass!) Monday, still no picture! Tuesday, still no picture! By this time, I'm pretty sure half my hair is gone, my eyes are turning black, and I'm going to be institutionalized at any minute! I know, I over-reacted by a mile but I couldn't help it! I had been SO looking forward to doing this and for it to go so horribly wrong, I was devastated! Well, Wednesday afternoon, I check my FB and there it was! A big beautiful picture of the three of us!

I can't believe it! How beautiful! The background, my two favorite men, my hair (haha)! Even though Kaleb wasn't smiling, it was still a great picture of the three of us! YAH! My world is right side up again. The sun shined a little brighter on the way home from work (even though it was cloudy!). Now my obsession has turned to her website to see if the rest of them are up! OMG, I might need medication before it is all over with...

To Infinity... And Beyond!

Kaleb's new obsession is Toy Story 3, or 'Toys' as Kaleb calls it. My mom bought it for him when it first came out and he has just now developed an attention span long enough to sit through the whole thing. Over the last 2 weeks, I have watched it a least 20 times! It is a really good movie so I don't mind so much. =) At first, he got too scared to sit through the 'mean' parts. Especially the guard monkey at the daycare. He would cover his ears and whine to the point of almost crying. So I started making fun of the monkey, clapping my hands together like he does with the symbols and calling him a mean monkey. That has seemed to help but he still doesn't like that part.

Kaleb's mornings are very unpredictable. Some times he will wake up in the best of moods, and there are other times I just pray for him to go back to sleep! And you can never tell what time he is going to get up, whether it be 5 or after 7. On weekday mornings, I usually am the one getting him up and ready for school while Paul usually takes that duty on weekends and lets me sleep in, which usually means I don't get up till a whopping 7:30! When he does sleep a little later, I try to just change his diaper and clothes while he sleeps and put him in the car, where I have his breakfast waiting. Some times this works well and other times he will lose his mind when I touch him. Thursday morning was one of those cases where he wanted nothing to do with me, clothes, breakfast or school! I ended up running late trying to get him in the car and then dropping him off at daycare was a nightmare. So Friday, when he slept 'later' again, I decided I was going to get him up early and not have to rush. Well, I had the brilliant idea of bribing him with cinnamon toast eggos and 'Toys'. I got everything ready in his room then went to wake him up (he was in our bed!) So, I walked over to him, rubbed his head and told him it was time to wake up. Thru closed eyes, he said 'No!' I offered my bribe of Toys and toast to which he said 'No!' I offered Toys again, just in case he didn't hear me the first time. Still with closed eyes, he said 'No Toys Momma!' and rolled over and pulled the cover over his head! I couldn't help but laugh.

So, I thought hard and decided to try the hungry caterpillar game I have done in the past. He loves the book 'Very Hungry Catepillar' (written by the same guy that did Brown Bear, Brown Bear). So, to wake him up, I tell him the the hungry caterpillar is crawling up and down him looking for food. He eats Kaleb's nose, ears, toes, belly button, etc. All the while, I am running my fingers up and down, tickling him. This worked like a charm. He started giggling and laughing. He was much more open to to Toys and Toast offer from earlier! =) It was also an easier drop off at daycare! Just thought I would give everyone a taste of what mornings are like the the Rasmussen household!

Oh the things we do to make our children laugh! A happy Kaleb means a happy Mommy which means a good day for everyone!

CE weekend

So, in order to keep my license to practice Optometry in the great state of Mississippi (can't type that word without singing the "crooked letter" song in my head!), I have to have 20 hours of continuing education per year. Well, the end of the year is coming up fast and the Mississippi (hump back, hump back, i) Optometric Assocation hosts a Fall Conference to help everybody get their last minute hours. What this means is that from 8-5:30 on Friday, 8:30-6 on Saturday, and 8-12 on Sunday, I had the pleasure of sitting through countless lectures of stuff I have heard dozens of times before. You see, most of these lectures are to update  all the old doctors on the new stuff. Since we just graduated last year, this is just review for us. So, the real reason I go is to see all my friends friends from SCO that I don't get to see often enough! It was so much fun, sitting in the back of class, just catching up!

Friday night, the conference held a reception with a Kentucky Derby theme. My wonderful sister offered to babysit Kaleb so both Paul and I could go and enjoy a night with adults! =) It was great. We had lots of fun and ended up at a bar next door to the hotel where the conference was held. Around 1:00, Paul gets a phone call from my sister who just woke up and realized we weren't home yet and started having a panic attack. She didn't know that a 'reception' was really just a code name for 'party till dawn'! So we paid our tab and came home, which ended up being a blessing in disguise because Kaleb didn't have a great night of sleeping and I had to get up at 5:30 to shower and be at the hotel for registration and classes! I have no idea how I used to do this in college. I was dog tired the whole day! But, apparently not as tired as my friend Mandi who kept falling alseep during conversations.

I really hated not being able to spend the weekend with Kaleb, but it was really nice to be able to catch up with old friends and have adult conversations. The only thing that could have made it better was to have my other BFF Aubrey there. She had the Kentucky meeting the same weekend in Gatlinburg, but we have her convinced to come to our meeting next year! And, we are already planning for the SECO conference held in March in Atlanta every year!

I was the worst person and only took one photo from the whole weekend! As mentioned before, the reception had a Kentucky Derby theme. And what is the most important thing to know about the Kentucky Derby... HATS! They had a contest for the best hat and every table had random hats on it. This is Jimbo, a doctor I graduated with and now work with everyday! He decided this hat was just his style!

Halloween 2011

I love holidays, especially the ones that give me a reason to spend some quality time with my family. So with Halloween right around the corner, I started on my quest to find Kaleb the perfect costume. My son is not your normal, everyday 2 year old boy. He is not into super heros or transformers or toy story. He likes anything on Disney Jr or Nick Jr, especially Dora and Diego. But you can't very well dress your blonde haired boy up like a little mexican girl and not have everyone staring at you (plus Paul would NEVER have allowed it! lol). While searching the internet one day, I happened across the cutest Chuggington costume. I thought it was perfect seeing that Kaleb loves the show and trains. WRONG! I tricked him into putting it on just long enough to get this picture before he threw a tantrum:

Thats me to the left trying to get out of the picture! I mean, how adorable is he?!

So the moment of truth came list night. (I have seriously been practicing the knocking on doors and saying trick or treat since last year when he would not have anything to do with it!) It was 6 o'clock, I had set out our candy for the neighborhood kids (the "take only one" rule does not apply at our house. I don't care how much you take as long as there is none left when we get back!) Kaleb was outside riding his tractor around the driveway when kids started showing up and trick-or-treating. I had tried 3 times to get Kaleb to put on the costume with no luck. He was not having anything to do with it. So, after a quick heart-to-heart and an explanation that he would get candy if he went walking with mommy and daddy, he let me put on the back-up costume and off we went. He was SO cute. He did so well. We would ask him which way he wanted to go and kept explaining that the light had to be on in order to go knock on the door, but he was having a great time. My mom had given him a goody bag when we were in town a couple weekends ago, so I decided that he could use that as his bucket. I didn't realize how big it was until he took off down the street with it. Paul kept offering to hold it for him, but he had a death grip on it and needed no help! The most precious thing I have ever seen was the first house we came to that had a bucket outside to help yourself. I told Kaleb to reach in and get some candy. I watched and laughed as he picked up one little starburst, put it in his bag, said "thank you" and walked off! SO STINKING ADORABLE! We made it back to the house around 7:30 (the temperature dropped really quickly when the sun went down), Kaleb got in the shower with Paul, Mommy hid all the candy, and he actually went to bed at a descent time, and slept relatively good. After much ado about nothing, it was a wonderful Halloween!

Go Vols!

If you know anything about Paul and I, it is that we are die hard Tennessee fans. Pretty sure our blood is bright orange. Saturday night was the UT vs. South Carolina game. And like every other game this season, we had an extremely promising first half, but a piss-poor second half. All things considered (losing both our starting QB and RB, our second string QB being a huge disappointment, and our third string QB a true freshman that has never played a down that has to all of a sudden start against a ranked SC team), we held our own for the majority of the game. I truly feel sorry for our defense. They are the reason we still have hope at the half. They keep the other team from running up the score by forcing fumbles, making interceptions, and forcing 3-and-outs. Then, after working so hard for 10-20 minutes, our offense takes the field and either goes 3-and-out or throws an interception! Back comes the defense for another 10-20 minutes! Talk about tired! No wonder we can't pull it together in the second half, we are just plain tired! 

But the real reason I am writing this tonight is to share a proud, proud moment that Paul and I had that night. A big play happened in our favor and we started hooping and hollaring. Before we knew it, Kaleb started yelling "Go Vols, Go Vols, Go Vols!" It was so cute! He was jumping up and down, pointing at the TV, just yelling his little heart out! It took a while before we could catch our breath we were laughing so hard at him! Later, Paul was messing with Kaleb, getting him to look at his muscles, then scaring him by yelling real quick. Kaleb was laughing and falling on the floor, just being silly. So I went and got my phone to get it on video. After he got bored with that, I decided to try and get the yelling on video! I can't believe I got it because he is usually very camera shy and clams up when he sees it. But it was SUPER cute!

Enjoy!

The most wonderful time of the year!

Ok, so Fall is by far my most favorite season of the year! Perfect weather, beautiful colors, football and fairs, what's not to love?! So this past weekend was a weekend jam packed full of fun things to do.

Saturday night, we had a Fall Festival at our neighborhood clubhouse. They had bounce houses, corn hole, football/baseball throwing, face painting, an outdoor movie, and even a duck shooting game (the kind they use at the MWRA gun permit classes)! It was put on by our HOA. A few months ago, me and Paul had a discussion and I told him that he needed to get more involved down here. We have hung out with our neighbors a few times and of course my sister, and I have bunko once a month, but Paul really hasn't stepped out. So, he went to an HOA meeting and came home as a HOA Board member! He also volunteered us to help with the Fall Festival, which means he will help and I will chase our son around for a few hours! =) But it urned out to be a great time until a kid that lives down the street from us (Charlie) decided to ride his Lightning McQueen car down to the party. And Kaleb HAD to ride it. First, he rode with Charlie, and then took it over completely. When his friend Brooks got there, they both rode it till the batteries went dead (at which point he LOST HIS MIND!). We ended up leaving a little early but our neighbors came over and the kids played while we watched the UT vs Georgia game that we had DVR'd. It was a really fun, and really exhausting night! I took a video of Kaleb and Brooks in the car! (It's really supposed to be a one-person car!)

Sunday we decided to get up and go to the Mississippi State Fair in downtown Jackson. It is a lot like the MidSouth Fair but not quite as big. Every year, Paul and I go to the fair for the food, but this year, we knew Kaleb would be big enough to ride some of the kiddie rides. My sister and her husband met us there at 10, when the gates opened, but the rides didn't start till 12! So we just walked around and tried to kill time, going into the FFA Livestock barn and watching some motorcycle/tightrope walking circus. It was actually kind of nice because no one was there yet and you could just look at things. Of course Kaleb wanted to ride every single golf cart/rhino that he saw (which resulted in a few meltdowns when we said no).  Another reason I wanted to take Kaleb this year was the pony rides. He loves horses and I just knew he would want to ride one. Um... nope! He was scared to death and clung to me for dear life when I even tried to get him to pet it! But then, thank goodness, a kid half his age came in and started to ride. Monkey see, monkey do I guess because Kaleb couldn't get on there fast enough! He was so cute! After that, we went down to the petting zoo. I'm not sure who likes them more, Kaleb or me. They had a huge variety of animals including goats, llamas, scottish cows, mini donkeys, a camel, a zebra, a tortise and some kind of antelope. The camel was by far Kaleb's favorite! We let him feed them carrots and every time the camel would turn to get another kid's carrot, Kaleb would yell "Hey CAMEL! Here!" It was so cute! By the time we were done there, the rides had started. First, I rode with him on a Bumblebee Ride that goes up and down while going in circles. It was pretty fun. The next one was a tug boat the we thought just swung back and forth. Paul rode that one with him. When it started, not only did it swing back and forth, it spun in circles (see the video). I could barely catch his face as he went by but Paul said he was yelling "Weeeee!". So I got on there for a second ride and it was really fun. The next thing was a motocycle ride that he had to get on by himself. After strapping him in, we were shocked to see how fast it actually went, but he loved it. He also rode an airplane ride by himself that was alot like the bumblebee ride (see the video), and of course the carousel. The only ride he did not enjoy (or us either), was the Nascar ride. It was another one that we couldn't ride with him, so Paul strapped him in and he looked excited. The cars went on a oval track, like a real nascar track, not too fast, but when it came time to round the corner, it SLUNG him so hard he hit the side of the car and didn't move! He didn't cry, but he looked scared to death. We were about to tell the guy to stop the ride but luckily, the ride only lasted about a minute and a half. I think if he had been able to hold on to the bar in front of him or if someone had been in there with him, he would have actually enjoyed it. We will have to remember that for next year! So, all in all, it was VERY fun and I was so proud of him for being a big boy. We can't wait to go back next year!
Oh, and all I ate was a pronto pup, one deep fried oreo, fresh lemonade, and another pronto pup on the way out! I can't believe I missed out on the saratoga chips this year but the pronto pup called my name!
Here are some pictures and video. My camera kept messing up on me so I wasn't able to take pictures of everything but I'm happy with the variety I did get.

This was the motorcycle ride that we thought was so fast. He loved it though. After looking at the video, I don't think it goes any faster than his tractor he has at the house!

This is the tugboat ride that he LOVED! Him and Paul are in the last row. You can see Paul in his green shirt and hat pass by but it's hard to see Kaleb.

He loved the airplanes. The guy that was controlling it let them go for like 5 minutes. It was just him and one other girl and no one was waiting in line, so he just held the button and let them ride!

10 years down...

So, today is one of those anniversary's you kind of lose track of over the years, but my wonderful husband seems to remember it every year. On this day, October 3, 2001, Paul and I officially started dating. (although my parents will not recall it beginning till a few months later! shhh!) You see, I was only 16 years old (awful close to 17 if you asked me at the time) and Paul was 21. A definite no-no in any parent's book. It didn't help that he was my brother's age. But, Paul was polite and respectful of my parents and family. He won them over quickly. We have went through high school, college, optometry school, having a baby while in school, and moving 250 miles away from the nearest family member. Needless to say, it has been crazy. He has helped me come out of my shell, push me to become the woman I wanted to be, not the one everyone thought I should be. And me, well, let's just say I tamed the dragon! I taught him that not everything had to be taken so seriously, or with aggression. That it's ok to turn the other cheek at times. We balance each other out completely. We have made SO many friends along the way, each of which has helped us in getting where we are today. We reminisce about the fun/stupid/crazy times we have had over the years. It is a little bitter sweet to know that most of those crazy times are in the past, but that's part of growing up and becoming more than just husband and wife, but mom and dad! Because on March 29, 2009, our world opened up! We saw what true, undying, everlasting, 'throw yourself in front of a moving train if you have to' love was all about. It has been one big juggling act ever since (did you know kids do not come with a instruction manual!), but one of those things where you couldn't imagine your life any different!

So, Paul, our first 10 years were the most incredible, mind-blowing, ten years of my life. I was so lucky to have met you (and gotten you that bottle of coke you asked for! ha). We have been through a lot of highs (graduation, wedding, Kaleb, graduation again) and lots of lows (losing my PawPaw, Aunt Sally, Chad, your MawMaw and your PawPaw). I couldn't imagine spending the last 10 years with anybody else by my side, and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you! You and Kaleb are what mean the most to me in this world. We are going to have our ups and downs, as with any good relationship, but our ability to work through anything is what is going to make us one of the few couples that really makes it to the end. I looked you in the eyes on August 13, 2005, and promised to love you, sick, healthy, rich, poor, it doesn't matter. I'm here with you as long as we both shall live!

I have included a few pictures from over the years. I have tried to put them in order as best I can. Enjoy!

This one is our first Teen Club Dance we went to together. It was December 2001.

This one is from May 2003, right after my HS graduation. For my senior trip, Paul took me to Orlando.

This one is Nov 2003. We went to Knoxville, TN for Homecoming to see the Vols play and too see my sister who was a freshman there.

This one is in May 2004. We decided to take a romantic vacation to Gatlinburg. Stayed in a cabin in the mountains!

August 13, 2005, I was one of the lucky ones that got to marry the person they are meant to spend the rest of their life with!

New Years/January 2008. We went to Copper Mountain, Colorado with my sister. Paul's first time to see the Rocky Mountains. He loved it as much as me!

Feb 2008. SCO's EyeBall semi-formal event

The day our lives changed forever. March 29, 2009. We became parents to Kaleb Wade Rasmussen.

When Kaleb was only a few weeks old, we had the same photographers that did our wedding do a photo shoot with us and Kaleb. Beautiful!

December 2010. Party with our Covington friends that we miss so much!

March 2011. Our first cruise!

Our most recent family photo at my sister's wedding. September 17, 2011.

Tractor!!!

So, if you haven't picked up on it yet, Kaleb LOVES tractors! It was one of his first understandable words, and he says it at least 20 times before we even make it to daycare in the morning. I have been known to bribe him to do things with tractors, from going to bed to eating to peepee-ing in the potty! So, when it came time to switch his toddler bed over to the full size conversion, I knew I had to find a tractor comforter. I searched and searched, and finally landed on this one:

It is from JCPenney. At first, I was not crazy about the design. I mean, its a brown plaid with 6 tractors on it. But, after Paul explained to me that it was not MY room, and that Kaleb would LOVE all the tractors, I saw that he was right and went ahead and bought it. And OMG, was Paul right! We brought Kaleb home after putting it together, and he went crazy! "Tractor, Momma, Tractor!" Jumping up and down! He has also learned that the one closest to the pillow is a combine, not a tractor! I am planning on doing some new canvas paintings with his name and tractors. So I will be sure to post pics of those when I get around to doing them!

One problem did happen that I should have thought of, but unfortunately was too wrapped up in how much he would love his new tractor bed... He is more interested in saying 'tractor', over and over and over, than he is in going to sleep! (It is actually reversible with the other side having about 50 tractors printed on a dark brown plaid!) But he eventually calmed down, and went to sleep.

He still doesn't sleep all through the night, but we have only had it a few nights, so we are still hoping that having his own bed will: a: help him sleep better, and b: keep him in his own bed! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it when he sneaks into our room at 4 in the morning to cuddle with me, but after about an hour of being kicked and hit and head butted, you just get up and go lay on the couch and give him the bed! So, this is our solution: give him a bed that is just as comfortable as ours (even if he does continue to come to our bed, at least I have somewhere else to go besides that couch!)

And, just for giggles, I wanted to share a couple videos from today. The first was from this morning. We had the radio on while Paul was ironing some clothes for a trip he has to take next week. Kaleb decided to show off some moves! The second was from this afternoon. We ate at Five Guys for lunch. It is located at an upscale outdoor shopping area called Renaissance. They have a water fountain/jets that the kids can play in. We have taken Kaleb to it a few times but he has never really been that interested in it, but today (when we had no intention of playing in it), he decides to get SOAKED! It was a really nice day, weather wise, so we let him have fun. When he was done, we stripped him to his pull-up and went home! Overall, it has been a really great day!

(Oh, and those 'big boy underwear' were his choice after peepee-ing in the potty this morning... Bad idea  seeing that he poopoo'd in them about 10 minutes after this video!)

Oh, and one more thing: GO VOLS! =)

Eat This, Not That... Yeah, Right!

As I have mentioned before, Kaleb is a picky eater. He hasn't always been that way though. When he was a baby, he ate pretty much any baby food and would try any of our food. I have no idea the exact date the switch happened. I guess it was gradual. First went the macaroni and cheese, then went the hot dogs. Slowly, my son began to eat only a handful of things. As a mother, I worried myself sick if I was doing the right thing. Why could I not get my son to try new foods. I just knew that if he would try it, he would like it. (I have the Yo Gabba Gabba song in my head right now... "Try it, you'll like it. Just try it, you're gonna like it!" I mean, what kind of kid doesn't like mashed potatoes! Well, my son HATES them! If you somehow trick them into his mouth, he cries and holds out his tongue until you wipe it off! When he would eat hot dogs, it wasn't just any hot dog! It HAD to be an Oscar Meyer Weiner. And there was no tricking this kid. He would pick up a bite, look at it, feel it, taste it, and throw it away if it wasn't right! I have no idea how he knew, but he did. But he doesn't even like them anymore! The funniest thing is getting him a happy meal at McDonalds. It is a PLAIN hamburger with a small fry. He will take the meat out, hand it to you, and eat the bun and fries. He forgot to take out the meat one day, took a big bite, and completely freaked out! I guess he just doesn't like the texture of meat... I have no clue! 

Here is a collage of his favorite things... for now:

Breakfast is by far his favorite meal of the day, and mommy's too. It is the only meal I know he will sit down and eat. If he doesn't eat breakfast, I am ready to call the doctor and find out what's wrong! And it is the easiest meal to find him something to eat. We have gone through phases of dry cereal with cup of milk, Cinnamon Toast Eggos, Nurtigrain Bars, mini-pancakes, and now we are on the Eggo Chocolate Chip Waffles (I found the Fiber Plus Antioxidant ones, so that makes me feel better!) We also give him his daily vitamins in the morning which are his 'gummies' and he loves those. Found ones with DHA which is great for brain and eye development! 

After worrying so much about his nutrition (the only meat he eats is chicken fries), I have finally decided to just let him eat what he will and throw in healthy options when I can (Fiber plus waffles, Nature Valley Granola bars with Dark Chocolate instead of cookies, almonds, yogurt instead of ice cream, V8 fusion juice instead of soda, etc). I even made zucchini bread mini-muffins once and he actually liked those. 

I keep telling myself that he will grow out of it, and I know eventually, he is going to be the teenage boy that eats me out of house and home, and I will be dreaming of the days when he wouldn't eat anything. But for now, I am his mother, and I am going to worry! 

Going to the chapel... Well, the metal museum.... and they're gonna get married!

So, Saturday was the big day! The day my sister married the man she loves and became Melodie Cromwell Goodwin! We have been waiting and planning, and planning and waiting for this day since he proposed on our birthday, Dec 7, last year! After deciding to have a traditional wedding, instead of a small destination wedding, Melodie knew she wanted an outdoor location overlooking the Mississippi River. She finally decided on the Memphis Metal Museum for September 17 and it couldn't have been a more perfect location and date! The weather was PERFECT, the sunset was PERFECT, the flowers were PERFECT... are you noticing a theme here?! Everything was PERFECT!! Even Kaleb walked down the aisle without a fuss! Like I said before, just PERFECT!! Don't get me wrong, there were things that I kind of freaked out about (one particular photo before the ceremony that I was not informed was going to take place where Melodie and Chad were on opposite sides of a tree holding hands.... I thought she was coming out and had no idea Chad was there, FREAKED out, and then was explained to what was going on, and it was the cutest picture ever).

I want to say a special thanks to two people: My husband, Paul, and his mom, Judy. They had the extra special responsibility of keeping Kaleb while I did my Matron-of-honor/only bridesmaid duties! I really appreciate both of you stepping up and keeping an out-of-control two year old!

Another thing I love about weddings is that I get to see all my extended family that I love so much but never have the time to visit with during our two-day trips home! It really makes me miss living so close to everyone. I hate that there were some family that couldn't make it, but things happen, and you move on.

One thing that did happen that was a little nerve racking for us, was we witnessed a wreck the day before the wedding after getting mani/pedi's. I turned out to be Melodie's old neighbor from when she lived in Memphis. Everyone was OK, thank goodness, but we had to stay and give a statement to the police because the guy that caused the wreck was trying to say it wasn't his fault (FYI: you can't turn left in front of a car, just because you have a green light... the oncoming car has a green light too, idiot!). The scary thing was that they were behind us right before the wreck. We were behind a bus that decided to slow down to turn and they went around us before we had the chance to change lanes... It could have been us in the wreck! Like I said, thank goodness everyone was OK.

We had the rehearsal Friday night, with the rehearsal dinner at The Arcade in downtown Memphis. This is pretty cool seeing that The Arcade is just a breakfast/lunch place, but will host parties in the evening! All out-of-town guests as well as immediate family were invited, which ended up being about 100 people! But what a great time it was! Everyone stood up and congratulated the cute couple and also told stories, lots of funny stories! Afterwards, the younger crowd decided to hit up Beale Street, ending up at Silky Sullivans. It was a great time had by all. And to my surprise, the Bride and Groom decided to turn in early (11:00), so they could be fresh and ready to go for the big day!

After a restless night for everyone, we headed over to the museum to help set up and just make sure everything was going smoothly. The flowers were there and looked gorgeous! It was just such a beautiful day, when we headed back to the hotel to start getting ready, we looked up Carrie Underwood's 'How Great Thou Art' on my phone and praised God for the weather. After getting ready, we headed back to the museum to take pictures with the family. I can't wait to see all the pictures! The wedding and reception were wonderful and everyone mentioned how beautiful everything was and how much fun they had! Melodie and Chad decided to make an early exit (about 10:30), so we decided to break down the reception equipment and head over to the hotel for an after party, which was just as fun as the reception!

One memorable and very emotional thing did happen right before the ceremony. Me, my sister, and my dad were waiting in a room for the ceremony to start and my mom comes running into the room. She assured us everything was ok, but my Great-Aunt Patricia had brought something that she thought my sister would want to carry with her down the aisle. It was a handkerchief that my great-aunt Sally had when she was alive. Me, my sister, and my mom all burst into tears, trying not to ruin our makeup. You see, my Aunt Sally was a hoot-and-a-half when she was with us. She was my maternal grandfather's sister. I remember, growing up, she would come over to babysit us, and we would have the best time. Friends would beg to sleep over when we knew she was keeping us. She would dance, play hide and seek (like hide in cabinets, or on top of the fridge, things like that!), etc. I thought she was AWESOME! It wasn't until I was older that I really realized how old she was when she was doing this (in her mid to late 60's), which made her even more awesome! She would always tell us, straight up, if our new hairstyle was good looking or not, if we were dressed cute or not, if our new boyfriends were good looking or not...! She was just the most incredible person I have ever known! Her favorite saying was "If you see a silly card, send it to Silly Sally!" She was there for my brother's wedding in 2004, my wedding in 2005, but got very sick shortly after, and eventually passed away. It was very hard to see her go, and very hard for her not to be there physically with us for Melodie's wedding. We had her listed along with other grandparents that have already passed away at the register's table, but to have something of hers there for Melodie to wrap around her bouquet and carry down the aisle with her meant SO much! We love you Sally and know you were watching from above!

So, in summary, it was a great weekend, spent with great people, celebrating a great love between two people!
Here is the link for Wedding Pics! that I have uploaded to my facebook!