Hellooo October

We at the Cutler house have been having lots of fun getting into the Halloween spirit.  I'm not a huge fan of the scary gory side of the season, but I LOVE all the cute stuff.  Pumpkins, dressing up, corn mazes, hot chili, treats, etc.

This is Jaden and Clark all dressed up for Halloween Day at storytime.  We sang and read stories about  trick-or-treaters and little pumpkins.  Cutest little frog and giraffe ever!:)

p.s.  I realize a 27.5  pound baby is not meant for a 12-month size costume.  It was just so cute, we had to have him try it on before returning it to our friends who let us borrow it:)

Indianapolis Zoo rocks the ZOO BOO!  We met up with the Spoerls and had a blast!

The elephant show was definitely a highlight.  We watched as the big guy painted on a canvas and ate pumpkins whole!  Jaden even got to feel his rough skin!

 This year's spooky Children's Museum event was Skeletown!  We met up with the Thompsons and I'm pretty sure our kiddos were in heaven with the never-ending fun!

:spooky haunted house:

Dinosaurs and fossils!  (and yes, I am wearing a dinosaur vest and sitting in the dinosaur nest)

 :digging for fossils:


Jamie and I walking the Barbie runway.  You know it.

:train station:

This was Jaden's favorite part of the whole museum.  Around and around he went!

Riding with Dad, plane ride to Egypt, and Jaden learning to spell;)

:carousal ride, our little puppy dog in the Hoosier doghouse, and Jaden dressed up as a baby cub looking in on the bears:

Coolest ceiling I've ever seen!

Jaden loved the tunnels!

Later on in the week, we were off to the pumpkin patch!

:hay ride:

:climbing mountain of hay:

Cutest little farm animals!!! (Cole is our MIA goat, Adrienne is our sheep, Ella is our horse, Jaden is our cow, and Kiera is our cute little pig!)

Two years ago our little cow was not in the picture...  kind of a funny coincidence, eh?!

You can't have a pumpkin patch without pumpkins!

They also had this creeper dinosaur dude that "ate" pumpkins.  A little weird but kinda fun to watch.  I think the kiddos were spooked out.

Jaden was all over these puppies.  They were huge!

Looking forward to more Halloween festivities!

:just a little bit of this and that:

I love surprises (even though I'm horrible at keeping things a surprise).  I got a call from Cody last week asking me to meet him on campus.  So I loaded the car, and Jaden and I were off to meet Daddy.  Well much to our surprise, one of Cody's classes had been cancelled and so he had planned a little family date for us:)  We rode what they call the "people mover" (an air train) to Creation Cafe which sits on the canal.  We enjoyed a yummy lunch and then walked around the canal.  It was a gorgeous day and so nice to have some time as a family during the busy week.

:riding the people mover:

 :Creation Cafe:

 :the Indy canal:

 Jaden loved it!

 Flash back two years ago when Cody interviewed.  Now in his second year and struttin' the scrubs:)

Did I mention we actually went camping for REALS?!?  Yes, one week following this attempt, we decided to buck up and do some true old fashioned camping.  We roasted dogs & marshmallows, did a nature walk, pitched a tent, and stayed the night!  We went with our good friends, the Jenks, and had a great time!  We didn't bring the camera along, so this is the best we could come up with. 

Loved the lake!

Ever tried a campfire marshmallow?  One word... huge!

 We gave Jaden his first real hair cut.  Not just one little snip like last time.  Sadly, there were several snip snips:(

Ever wonder what Cody's been doing?  This might give you an idea.

 We've been lovin' the weather lately and set up our hammock just to enjoy it that much more.  We see these chillins at our place quite frequently.  Aren't they the cutest!?:)

 If you haven't already heard, our son is obsessed with lids!  ANY lid.  He entertains himself forever just taking it off and putting it back on again... over and over and over.  It's cute until he sees a lid at the grocery store and shrieks until he gets his hands on it:)

So one random pizza weekend, I asked Cody to get the pizza out of the oven and slice it.  I came back to the kitchen to find the table set with two plates... and a slice of pizza on each plate.  Yep...

 ...and that's how we roll.

Enjoying Nature

Some friends and I recently took the kiddos on a nature walk.  The Autumn season is beautiful, so we had to get some photos while we were at it.  

These were the last photos taken before Jaden's 1st birthday... you could say I got a little picture happy:)

 Cole . Jaden . Kenzie . Brody . Kiera . Ella . Adrienne

:the men of the group:

:the ladies (minus Kenzie):

:Jaden and Coco:

:just the little ones:

Jaden and his dear friend Kenzie - too bad Brody has already claimed her;)

:just my boy and me:

  

Thanks for planning this little field trip!  It was fun!

Jaden's 1st Birthday!

Jaden's birthday was a major holiday at the Cutler house.  All the planning and preparation building up to it, the major partying the day of, and then kicking back and relaxing the day after made it feel practically like Christmas!  We had sooooo much fun, and Jaden did too (for the most part)! 

Note: I think I put more details in here than I have for any other party!  I figure Jaden will appreciate it someday!:)

I greeted Jaden in the morning by singing "Happy Birthday to You" probably a dozen times.  He had a special blueberry waffle breakfast and then lots and lots of play time all morning long.  Good thing we did most of the party prep the night before!:) 

:birthday boy eating breakfast:

the theme: 1st Birthday all-star

:the invitation, favor bag assembling, cards received, and birthday boy hat:

The Merkley's came over to watch the morning session of conference with us and help with the food prep.  I am so grateful they did!  They were a huge lifesaver, and Jaden was in heaven with all the attention he got from Mike:)

The menu: variety of deli sandwiches, chicken & noodle caesar salad, fruit kabobs w/dip, variety of chips & pretzels, veggies, lemonade, other drinks, and cake of course!

 :getting groomed for the party and playing with balloons while the guests arrived:

:some of the decor:

 :the cake (and cupcakes):

 We had our guests do a "Who Knows Jaden Best" quiz as everyone was arriving.  It included 30 questions about some of Jaden's favorite things, stats, when he reached various milestones, firsts, etc.  There were also bonus points if they wrote down a memory or thought about Jaden.  It was fun to read through the memories everyone wrote, and Jaden will be able to keep them in his baby book:)  The one and only, Lacey, came out on top with 37 out of 60 points.  She won the very prestigious "You Know Jaden Best" award!:)

:everyone studiously working on their quizzes:

Early on in the party, Jaden found the candy bowl of M&M's.  Pretty sure the rest of the story is self-explanatory.  Can you tell his whole mouth is blue in the pics?

:some of the party guests:

:some of Jaden's buddies who came to play:

I didn't get any pictures of the older kids... they were probably busy with bubbles and coloring!

:a little bit of us:

:opening gifts:

 Everyone was much too generous and spoiled our little man.  Thanks so much!

CAKE TIME!  Hmmm... maybe feeling a little overwhelmed with all the attention?

 A card arrived from Aunt Jess later that day!  To say he loved it is a big understatement.  He couldn't put the dog barking/singing card down for 2 seconds!:)

Jaden enjoyed his birthday cake much more the next morning:)

After his morning cake, we spent the rest of the day watching conference...

 
...and playing with all his new toys and presents!  Thanks again everyone!

A big thank you to Jaden's Grandmas and Grandpas for sending birthday packages!  We got it all on video and it's coming your way soon:)

Happy 1st Birthday to our wonderful and adorable son!  Loves and hugs!