Anticipation

I have so many exciting things to look forward to right now! First of all, October is my favorite month. I love those breezy transition days, catching the first glimpses of fall and enjoying the last remnants of summer. It also kick starts the holiday season with Halloween. It's all downhill from there as you speed toward Thanksgiving and my birthday and Christmas. Last October I was in a daze with a newborn and a mean case of the baby blues and exhaustion, so I really didn't experience the joys that this month has to offer. But this year! This year will be GREAT!!

So far I have celebrated Grayson's birthday with family in Atlanta, decorated the house for Halloween while sipping on some tasty pumpkin spice iced coffee, and done some fun things around town like GreenFest and the farmers market. But I have many more exciting things coming up!!

Hanging out at GreenFest...sleepy and listening to the live music :)

He was very excited as we got out the Halloween decor. He carries the pumpkin pail around calling it a "ball"

Me and my brother...throwing on some pieces to costumes from previous years

Enjoying pumpkin spice iced coffee and wearing parts of old costumes! It makes decorating more fun!

Some of our famous decor! ha!

family fun!

Spooky!

carrying his "ball" :)

and here's a sneak peak at his messy birthday face! I'll be posting more pictures from both parties when I do his 1-year post. Speaking of....

** Grayson turns one TOMORROW!! I can hardly even believe this! I know he's already played in birthday cake but it still doesn't quite feel real!

** Tomorrow is my last day teaching my extended orientation class. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was truly a step of faith for me to teach this class. I would say that I am generally a good teacher, but because I withdrew from the MAT program and never completed my certification before abruptly changing career paths, I have always had this negative association with teaching. It's as if I failed at it, even though that was not the case, and that makes me nervous to do anything teaching related at all. But to be honest, I have loved (almost!) every minute of teaching this class! I will definitely do it again! And tomorrow we are doing what I hope to be a fun activity--we're making a banner that says "True Blue Goals" and decorating it with things that symbolize our goals, both personal and academic. I'll have markers, magazines & newspapers, scissors and glue...and then we're going to take a class picture with the banner. Oh, and my peer leader is bringing cupcakes for everyone! I'm super excited to say goodbye to my class in a fun and memorable way! :)

** Grayson's local birthday party is this Saturday! The Atlanta party was mostly for family. This party is most for US! We're gathering with friends and their kids to celebrate the fact that the three of us made it through this first year and we're still smiling! ;) It will be a really laid-back party, just hanging out at our house and grilling hotdogs and eating cupcakes (yes, more cupcakes!). My mom is coming for the weekend since she wasn't able to go up for his other party and my brother's girlfriend will be staying the weekend too. We'll have a packed house, but it should be fun!

** The following weekend is my brother's birthday. Not sure what exactly we'll do to celebrate, but we'll definitely do something! (cupcakes?) And there is a fall festival at a nearby church that we plan to check out with Grayson. We'll also work on finalizing our Halloween costumes. The plan is for Grayson to be Curious George, Scott will be The Man in the Yellow Hat, and I'll be "The Man in the Yellow Hat's girlfriend.." I'm told this is a real thing. Apparently she's a scientist so I just need to find a white lab coat to go with my nerdy/hipster glasses. :)

** The NEXT weekend I'm meeting up with my two very best friends for a Fall Festival at Lane Orchards. There's a corn maze, hay rides, bouncy houses, costume contests, grilled food, live music, the works! Kaitlin lives in The Netherlands and is only visiting, so I'm extremely excited to get to see her and our best friend Hayley (who lives in Alabama) and spend a whole day having fun and letting the little ones run around. It should be super fun!

taken last time I went to Lane Orchards with  Hayley! Back when her oldest was just a baby! Crazy!!

** There are several local events around Halloween that we'll probably check out. Scare on the Square downtown and probably the local trick or treat event at the park... See what I mean about this month?? So many fun things to do! And you don't have to get gross and sweaty doing them! Bonus!

Taken last time we went to Scare in the Square - 2012

 **And of course, the things all of the middle-class white girls are excited about right now (let's just be real!): pumpkin everything! especially lattes!, boots, more boots, scarves, colorful leaves at my feet, and capturing both the boots and the leaves in a single photo. ;) I'm kidding about some of that, but I really am looking forward to shifting into my fall attire and filling my life with the taste and scent of pumpkin spice.

** Beyond this month, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving in Atlanta, my birthday in the mountains of Tennessee, and Christmas in Florida! I'm sure I'll have a whole new list of little events as we draw closer to that season. :)

What are YOU anticipating in this awesome month and season??