Are you ready for this? MONSTER BLOG UPDATE!!!

Alright, so much has gone on lately - I could chop it up into different posts, but heck - I'm throwing it all into one! We have had a great past week - really an awesome past YEAR - but before I get to that, we'll start with Halloween! Matthew was a little blue monster, and what a cute monster he was. He was such a champ - he was dressed in the costume Thursday & Friday evenings, and didn't seem to mind at all. We had a costume party with our Growth Group on Thursday, all the kids were adorable. Then Friday we went trick or treating - a few houses in our neighborhood, a few houses in my old neighborhood, a few in Josh's old neighborhood, visited Josh's brother & fiancee and Matthew's great aunt & uncle. A lot of driving around -but Matthew seemed to have a good time :-)

NEXT was Matthew's 1st birthday party! Josh and I slaved away the day before, prepping the house, making electric guitar cookies, hanging streamers, making a cake and cupcakes - then the day arrived and we had so much fun. We are blessed with our friends; they made Matthew's day so special. There are just a few pics here - we were too busy enjoying the party, but Grandpa & friends got pics that I'm sure I'll see soon - I might have to update the post later ;-) One of the pictures, however, is of Matthew's dedication, performed by JD Larson at North Coast Church. It was really special.
Finally - Matthew turned one this past Monday, on November 3rd, a day full of fun and reminiscing over the past year. Each day has been full of surprises - most of them fun, some challenging, but all a wonderful. It's amazing how much he's grown and developed, astonishing that only a year ago he was brand spankin' new. I love being Matthew's mom! Okay, enough gushing - we celebrated by taking Matthew to the zoo. He really seemed to enjoy the animals, and we really enjoyed being with him. Here are the highlights:

My brother, Matthew's Uncle Greg, flew in yesterday to be here for Matthew's birthday. We're celebrating with family later this week. It's been great to see him again - it's been awhile, and Matthew has changed so much. I feel so blessed to have the family and friends I have - I love you all! It's been an awesome past week, and year - I can't see what is in store for the year to come!

PS - to make a long post even longer, here's a cute video to share :-)

Welcome Cousin Kylian!

Josh's sister Amanda & her husband Ryan welcomed Kylian Ryan Hunter in to the world at 4:27am Sunday morning, October 19th, at 7lb 8oz 20 1/2 inches! Josh & I were excited to meet our first nephew, and Matthew got to meet his first cousin last night. He is such a cutie, so tiny! I can't wait to see them grow up together - and all the future cousins as well. Yay!

Pumpkin Pickin', etc!

Today we met some friends out at Bates Nut Farm, way out in Valley Center, to go pumpkin picking at the pumpkin patch! I haven't been since I was young, so I really didn't remember what it was like. There was a petting zoo, a pony ride, a place to feed ducks and geese, a hay bale maze, tractor rides and carnival booths galore. Of course the main attraction, and really the only thing we did today, was go out to the pumpkin patch and pick (or choose, really) our pumpkins! Josh and I got a medium sized one, and Matthew got a mini pumpkin all his own. I look forward to making this a tradition - I think Matthew will really enjoy it in the future - I just hope it's a little cooler next year!

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Not pumpkin patch related, but here's a little video just for fun!

Oops, we did it again. . .

We nerdified our little boy, again (check out Nerd Alert)! So we plopped him in his highchair, gave him lots and lots of cheerios and threw in a Baby Einstein and we went to work - chopping away at his hair. First of all, I looked up tips on how to cut bangs - but I looked it up AFTER I cut them straight across. Then, the back was looking pretty good - just needed a little thinning in the length - but Josh and I had a miscommunication, and, well. . .let's just say the back is a bit crooked now. Oh well, hair grows back right? He has no idea, he's just having fun and that's all that really matters. He's still adorable to me! He was making his silly face when I was taking these photos - I just love his silly smile. I'll have to post a video of it soon!

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A Day at the Aquarium!

This past Friday we had the pleasure of going to Birch Aquarium with our good friends Andrew, Jessica & Samuel. Matthew enjoyed playing with the "lobsters" and pointing at all the sea-life. We had fun just watching him! His favorite, however, was the encased pengiun towards the end - he thought it was great! Lots of fun - we can't wait to go to the zoo on his birthday; he just loves animals!