Oh, Dear...

For those of you following the soap opera that is my life, things are looking up. Brad and I are working things out and life is slowly returning to normal. Fortunately, Lawson is too young to be terribly affected by all of this craziness. Or so I thought....

We spent last Sunday with my sister-in-law, Jill, celebrating her 30th birthday. Lawson loves visiting her house because there are so many toys to play with. However, since Jill has two little girls, her playthings are a little different than what Lawson has at home.

Okay, so yes, the boa was my idea, but um....he loved it. He kept it on most of the day. He also loved the black Tinkerbell purse. He put it over his head and carried that all day, too.

Oh, and yes. He did enjoy the beauty kit, too. He brushed his hair and even let Jill put rollers in his curls. And the minute I pulled out the fake lipstick, he held out his lips.

So....no damage done here..... I'm definitely keeping these pictures and pulling them out for blackmail when he's being a teenaged toot.

Korean Food

I haven't eaten Korean food since I went there in 2006. I never ate it before my trip, so my only experience with it has been in its originiating country. I hadn't done the Americanized version. Plus, I got a little worn out with it after two weeks and I swore I'd never eat kimchi again. If you haven't seen my Korea blog, there's a link on the left side of the screen - I talk a lot about food on there.

Well, two years is a long enough break and I was anxious to have some again. A new Korean restaurant opened up near my parents' house and we went there Thursday night. YUMMO! I had bulgogi, which was my favorite thing we ate on our trip, and this restaurant got it pretty close to the real deal. It's kind of like Korean fajitas - beef, grilled up with veggies, but with a really distinctive flavor. In Korea, we wrapped the meat up in a lettuce leaf, but they didn't serve it that way here. It was so wonderful, though! I did have a little kimchi just for old time's sake....

Lawson LOVED it! He was completely enraptured by the idea of chopsticks.

I also discovered a bowl of sticky rice and a pair of chopsticks will keep him busy and quiet at the table for a long time....

He scarfed down chunk after chunk of bulgogi. Despite this weird look on his face, he loved every bite.

Yesterday, Lawson and I drove up to Sherman, TX to meet with another one of my Baby Board friends. Her Marine hubby is stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, but they're from Oklahoma - just across the border - and they were home visiting family. It was so nice finally meet Brittni and her little girl, Avy. We met up at a Cracker Barrel where we had a yummy lunch and then we let the kiddoes play on the porch with the rocking chairs. It was hard corralling both of them at once, but we got a couple of cute pictures.

Brittni bought this Jack in the Box for Avy in the store and both kids got such a kick out of it!

I wish I knew what sort of contraption this is, but Lawson liked running around it...

Lawson, the Dancing Machine

My sister, Mary Beth, is turning 29 this weekend and so my Aunt Nita sent her a card a few days early to celebrate. It's one of those music cards from Hallmark, and while we adults got many laughs out of it, Lawson is the one who truly went nuts. I've mentioned how much Lawson loves music and you've all seen videos of him dancing. Well, this one takes the cake. He's totally into it! Enjoy!


Lawson Dancing

Celebration Park

We had a little down time today, so we took Lawson over to this really amazing park in town. He rode a swing for the first time, but he didn't really like it all that much. He did love the slide, though...

The best part was this small water park right on the playground! It was a warm day, so I stripped Lawson down to his diaper and let him run around in the fountains and misters. He thought it was the greatest thing ever!

And, yes, that's my kid... running.

Flowers

My mom has a huge flower garden in the backyard and Lawson LOVES to run around outside and help his Grandma pick flowers. He usually gets one of his own and he carries it around until he destroys the poor thing. It's so fun having these fresh cut flowers in the house all the time.

More Virginia Fun

Not only did we enjoy the beautiful fall weather in Virginia, but we loved the scenery, as well. Lawson is quickly becoming an "outdoor kid" - he's just so happy when I let him roam free in the grass! He also learned about walking and running when there's elevation - those hills were a little tricky at first...

He also got a chance to spend some time with Cora Conway, born in February to two of my good friends, Tony and Amanda. Lawson and Cora don't know it yet, but we've already talked about an arranged marriage.... They seemed to like each other a lot, so hopefully they'll deal.

If things don't pan out with Cora, Jordan Osborne is waiting in the wings, as well. Eric, Iana and I are totally okay with being inlaws. Lawson ran laps around Jordan all day, so we don't have a good "playing" picture. Such is life with Lawson....

And last, but certainly not least, my dear friend, Susan, took some pictures of Lawson. She is a brilliant photographer who has recently opened her own business. Her work is truly outstanding. We've known each other for 20 years now and while our love for the New Kids on the Block and Wil Wheaton has diminished (but only slightly), we still have lots in common and have a great time together! I'm including a link to Susan's website where she posted her gorgeous pics. Check it out when you get the chance.

Susan's Blog

Hill High Farm

Fall is my favorite season, hands down. It was so much fun to take Lawson to a farm this year to pick apples and play with pumpkins. The sun was so bright and there's a nasty glare on all my pictures from our day. Grr... I've got to learn to be a better photographer!

All the cousins....

Lawson loved picking apples off the trees....

He loved eating them even more....

He really liked this International Harvester tractor...