Holiday Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Bye, Bye to a good friend

About two weeks ago, we found a new home for Shelby, our dog. Brian got Shelby when she was 6 weeks old -- she's nine years old now. Shelby was not really getting the attention that she needed at our house now and the boys were getting too "playful" with her. Shelby has a new home with a loving family we know. Benjamin was sad and a little lost for the first few days. He's better now. We took these pictures on the day we took Shelby to her new home.

It has been an adjustment for all us without Shelby. We look forward to a time when the boys are older and can help take care of a dog.

Thanksgiving at our house

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house. I made my homemade apple pie (complete with crust from scratch). I wait all year for this pie. MMMMM! I am eating the last piece of pie with ice cream as I type this!

For those of you who don't see pictures of the 4 of us....

I got two of these Southern Living Sconces over a year ago and have done nothing with them. A week ago, I filled the sconces with silk flowers and greenery and Brian and I hung the sconces in the dining room, along with 3 tin punch panels.

Papaw finishing up his mashed potatoes. Ethan tried mashed potatoes for the first time and loved them. He also love the carrot souffle.

Brian carving the bird!

It was so nice to have everyone at our house. We loved not having to pack up all the boys' toys and stuff and transport it to someone's house. We are so thankful to have such a wonderfully loving and helpful family!

Field Trip

Today, the boys and I took Papaw on a field trip with us. We went to a kids educational place call Imaginations at Play -- http://www.imaginationsatplay.com/

We all had a great time and it's not far from our house. They have several stations of educational activities.

Here is Ethan in the baby section. As you can see, he is standing pretty well, using the table for support. He is now pulling up to standing. When he does not want to go to sleep, he will pull up and cry -- he is not sure how to get back to laying down yet.

Here is Benjamin's painting with nice fall colors. They had an art station and he loved painting on an easel with a paint brush.

No kids play center would be complete without a sand station. They used "moon sand." It was easier to play with and did not get all over the place!

Benjamin doing some grocery shopping -- he stocked up on strawberries and peaches. He loves them both!

And, last but not least, the water station. He made a huge mess. In fact, as soon as we got home, I had to change his pants and shirt -- they were soaked. But it was worth the fun he had!

Hope everyone is staying warm. Have a great weekend!

Busy fall day

Yesterday, while Ethan was napping, Benjamin and I took advantage of the nice day and played in the leaves.

When Ethan got up, he did a lot of this:

and, last night even managed to pull himself up to standing. I am sure it will not be long before he is taking steps and walking.

Splish, Splash, Splish

This was a great Bath Day. As I have mentioned before, since the day we brought Ethan home from the hospital, Benjamin has refused to sit in the bath tub. In fact, the night we brought Ethan home, Benjamin's bath consisted of him screaming as we put him in the bath tub and he stood and screamed for the three minutes that it took us to bathe him. He has gotten much better but still wanted to stand. We never pushed it. As of Thursday night, Benjamin just sat down and started playing the tub. Tonight he did the same. Gosh it is nice to see him having fun in the tub. He stood for every bath for 7 1/2 months!

Smile for the Camera

This morning we took Ethan for his first professional pictures. We thought that since we were going to get Ethan dressed up, why not get Benjamin dressed up and in a few pictures. We were very surprised at how great the pictures turned out. In fact, we were able to get the Holiday photo -- means that I don't have to take a Holiday photo!

As you can see, Benjamin was a great big brother -- he was kissing Ethan in the first pictures.

Breakfast with the Big Boys

Ethan sits with us while we eat, and, sometimes, Ethan eats with us. This morning, he was not ready for his baby food. I gave him a few puffs to entertain himself with. (Puffs are like Cheerios) So while he sat with Benjamin and I, Ethan managed to get a few puffs in his mouth. This is the first time he has been able to get food in his mouth!

As Brian and I were saying goodbye this morning, Benjamin said "bye, bye Dada." He has been saying bye bye for a long time but just recently started putting words together.

I sat in amazement of both boys this morning. They are growing up so fast! (It also looks like Benjamin may be giving up his morning nap -- mama is sad about this!)