Happy Halloween

We had an Udderly Great Halloween at the Holden House!Carter has fun playing with the fall display in the front yard while we waited for the trick or treating to start.
Carter got a treat when Grandmommy came over to enjoy the Halloween fun. And he had an even bigger treat when she fixed his dinner he got to eat it in his GT tailgate chair in the driveway.
Despite having a giant basket of candy options, Carter was diligent in finishing his peas.
After dinner, Carter helped hand out candy and watched for planes (his current favorite game).
Since Carter doesn't sit still for long, he had a great time running around the front yard...
playing peek-a-boo with the Magnolia tree...
handing out candy...
and showing off his dancing skills.
He also had a great time shaking the Nerd boxes and making music. The whole family got in on the Halloween fun and we had a mini-Holden family zoo: 2 cows, pig and a chicken.
We had a ton of kids come by and Carter made it pretty late watching the crowds. He and dad were even asked to pose for several pictures with our yard display.
Happy Halloween everyone!

Neighborhood Halloween Festival

Today was our neighborhood Halloween party. Carter had a great time! The weather was beautiful and Carter had fun looking for planes on our quick walk to the party.

We started with an afternoon snack while Carter surveyed the scene. Once he had checked out all he options, he headed for the toddler bouncy house. There were several older kids running around and Carter wasted no time getting in the middle.

The big kids were running and jumping around and Carter did his best to keep up but he wasn't too steady on his feet.
Luckily he thought it was hilarious every time he fell.

When he got bored of the other kids, he had dad bounce him around...

And then he would fall down.
He thought this game was hilarious and made dad play until his arms gave out. So Carter had to find something else to do and luckily there was a slide right around the corner. Carter is quite the climber these days and had no problem climbing up the slide...
and safely sliding down.
After the bouncy house got old, we took a stroll to see the other party guests. Carter was excited when he saw Elmo and gave him a big High Five.
During our stroll, we found the snow cone machine which gave us the perfect opportunity for a quick rest. Carter enjoyed his first snow cone, especially eating off the straw.
After we were refueled, we headed for the playground where Carter tried out each slide.
And even found a few drums to play.It was almost time to head home, so he stopped for a quick picture...

while waiting for the hayride. Dad got another snow cone for the ride and Carter made sure he sat all at the very front to get the best view.

After the ride, we took our little cow home.
What a fun afternoon!

Toe Meets Leather

As the old Tech saying goes, Toe Meets Leather at 8pm on the flats Saturday and being homecoming this meant a very long day for the Holden's. We decided to take the little guy to the homecoming parade in the morning and he was so excited he woke up extra early at 6:30.

We arrived on campus just as the parade was starting. Carter enjoyed the band and cheerleaders before we took a quick break to grab a photo of the Holden men and the Ramblin Wreck.
The wreck led off the classic car part of the parade. After that came the floats. I think this one was Colin's favorite (read the sign on the right first).The theme for Homecoming was Mardi Gras so Carter scored some beads!
After some more floats...
It was time for dad's favorite part of the parade.... the wrecks. These entries can't be powered by the vehicle's primary propulsion. In non-engineering speak, this means people have to come up with clever ways to power the vehicle besides a car engine. There is no requirement that they be attractive looking though.
After the parade, we ran a few errands and then went home for naps. Grandmommy came over to watch Carter so mom and dad could head back to campus. We had a fun time tailgating without children. It's definitely much more relaxing. Also since it was homecoming there were a ton of people on campus and we had a lot of fun catching up with old friends.

Soon it was time for the game, GT got their swagger back this week and put on a fabulous performance against #5 Clemson. There were lots of Touchdowns to celebrate...
And as all big wins require, things ended with the obligatory rushing of the field.
It was a very long but very fun day!

Baby Pineapple Update

Baby is officially 33 weeks along today and to celebrate we had two Doctor appointments to check things out. Our first appointment was our last trip to the Perinatologist. They did a complete anatomy scan and everything looks good. Baby is growing right on schedule and weighs approximately 4lbs 5oz (the size of a Pineapple). He is head down and very squirmy these days. The Dr even pointed out baby's hair. Carter didn't have much when he was born so we'll see how this little guy comes out! Everything looks good with me, no immediate signs of labor at this point but at the Tech said "That Can Change At Any Minute."

Our next stop was the OB. Baby's heartbeat was 150s/160s and I'm measuring right on size wise. We go back to the OB in 2 weeks so until then we are focused on getting things around the house ready for our new little man. We have lots to do and who knows how much time ;)

Carter's Weekend with his Grandparents

While Mom and Dad were both partying it up and relaxing in Florida, Carter's grandparents came down from Wisconsin to watch the little guy.  After spending a night with Mom and Dad on Wednesday, they were on their own from Thursday till late Sunday.

From the sounds on the phone, it was apparent that both Carter and his Grandparents had a great time.  The highlight was a long trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  Carter always has a blast at the Children's Garden and showed Grandma and Grandpa all the fun, including the wood instruments.

He even tried to help show the older ladies (rumor has it that Carter has a little thing for the older ladies - more on that in an upcoming post).

The most fun Carter had was the pumpkin bowling and basketball.

However, Carter could not focus on the bowling and just wanted to play basketball no matter the coxing from Grandma.

Mom and Dad came home on Sunday, and Carter's Grandparents were able to stay till Tuesday which meant another day of fun.  This day Carter, Dad, and the Grandparents headed to Centennial Park and then to the Children's Museum.  Carter's short attention span meant that Grandma and Grandpa got the full tour of the museum two or three times over.  Carter did show a new found interest in the PVC building area.

He then headed over to the moon sand area with Grandma and Dad (bonus points if you can find Carter in this picture).

Carter even showed off his budding engineering skills with Grandpa

The new Fairy Tale Exhibit seemed a bit beyond Carter's years, but he enjoyed watching the birds go by the window in Cinderella's coach.

Then we were off to go fishing!

After a long day downtown, it was time to go home for lunch and a well earned nap.  Once awake, the afternoon proved to be beautiful, so it was off to the park for more fun in the sun (got to do it while we can, winter is soon on its way).

Carter has shown a new found excitement for playgrounds and seems to really enjoy climbing all over them after one of his favorite items, slides!

However, he still remembered to get some fun time in hos old buddy, the swings.

After a few more rounds through the playground...

We headed home and bid Grandma and Grandpa good bye after a fun and extended weekend.  We hope to see them soon as we are not sure who had more fun, Carter or his Grandparents.