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Sunday, November 30, 2014

Thanksgiving and Tree Trimming!

Yowzah. I think I may be almost glad to get back to work so that I can rest some (almost... :) ) 

This long weekend has been crazy! We left for Thanksgivings on Wednesday and spent a lot of good time with our families. We got to enjoy four dinners over 3 days so we are truly stuffed to the brim with food. Luke is getting one year molars in and throw in being off routine and Dillon and I had our hands full the entire weekend. 

We came back home yesterday evening so that we could fix up some things here at the house. We always get our Christmas tree the Sunday after, so we spent some time doing that today as well as several loads of laundry and grocery shopping (we even got to throw in a nap in the midst of all of this!) 

I am so tired this evening and ready to begin our holiday frenzy. I made some chex mix this evening so Dillon and I will enjoy our tradition of watching Christmas Vacation tonight. The next few weeks will be hectic, but I can't wait for all of the festivities. Christmas Day will be so special with Luke and I can't wait until he see what Santa is bringing! I'd like to take Luke to meet the jolly old man next week, but we'll wait and see what his state of mind is. I have a feeling that it won't be as easy as it was last year. 

I hope that everyone has had a blessed Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for all of our blessings, especially that we will be spending Christmas in our new house. 

Trying to coerce Luke to behave...


The spread...

And Turkey!


Luke hides in Papaw Eddie's fridge

Taylor's catch...



The beautiful sunset


Deviled eggs

On our way to get our tree!!!

Luke and Dad pick out the perfect one


We tried to get him to stand in front of our tree that we picked, but he ran to that one, so, um, ok? 



Got it in the house! 

Yep. That's how most of the weekend was spent. 







He's really excited for Christmas! 

Christmas Tree 2014

And finally... a sweet video of Luke helping us decorate the tree. He's really enjoyed it so far! 



Thursday, November 20, 2014

19 Months

Woops, it's been awhile since my last post. I know that Dillon is constantly checking this, so here ya go, Dill! 

Luke turned 19 months old on Tuesday. It's been quite the month for developments for him and it's interesting to watch him grow and learn. He's become very verbal in the last month and can now thank us for something and can tell us what he does and doesn't like. I think the cutest thing he imitated was one day we were running into daycare and I looked at him and said "We have to hurry because it's so cold!" and he looked up at me and exclaimed "It's cold!" 

He loves music, any type of music. My favorite part of the day is on our way to and from school when we listen to music and I'll look in the rear view mirror and he's dancing. 

He's also starting to listen to direction and understand us better. The other morning, I told him that we needed to change his diaper and to please run and get a diaper for me. I was in shock as he walked to the diapers and brought one back to me. Does this mean we may be able to introduce a potty to him sometime soon? Maybe when he turns 2... He was also being incredibly fussy and difficult to handle yesterday and I asked if his teeth hurt (he's getting in those big, ugly molars right now.) He shook his head "Yes" and I gave him some medicine which brought the fussy down a whole level. I think I'll like him being able to explain what's going on with him, it makes things a lot easier! 

He loves playing outside, although the past few days it's been too cold. He likes stomping in the leaves and tossing gravels through the fence. Luke's favorite thing is when Emma runs crazy fast past him and tries to get him to play. 

He likes to rough house with his dad in the evening and then run to me for cuddles on the couch when he's ready for bed. He gives hugs and kisses every day and can be the sweetest little boy around. 

We're getting ready for the holiday festivities that begin next week. I've already bought my shatterproof ornaments for the tree and I've also got some little ornaments to make with Luke that go on clothespins. I'm hoping that with the inevitable interest of the tree, we can protect the older ornaments with the "kid-proof" ones. I've already been in communication with Santa and he's prepared to bring Luke's gifts on Christmas Eve. Mommy and daddy are chipping in on some gifts for Luke, too, and I've got to get to wrapping. Our spare bedroom is crowded with gifts and paper at the moment, a sign that we have been very blessed this year. 

So here's to some turkey and dressing next week. And, please don't fret, Dillon... with the holidays coming up, I'm sure that I'll have plenty of posts and pictures for you to read! :) XOXO



Saturday, November 1, 2014

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, ya'll! We've had a tiring, yet fun, weekend celebrating Halloween. It's been kind of a weird weekend with temperatures falling from the 70's on Thursday to 32 today with lots of snow.

Thursday we started our celebrations with a visit to a local church that offers a huge amount of candy and games. I thought it would be more like "trunk or treating" but you had to play games in order to receive candy and Luke was just too small to participate. He did a few games, but the concept of waiting your turn is still foreign to him. And then when it was  his turn, I felt like the older kids were a little impatient to watch the toddler participate. We still had fun and Luke looked super cute in his costume.

We decided a few weeks ago to come home this weekend because Dillon's dad needed some help with yard work. We figured Luke could trick or treat on Saturday night and we would help out during the day. Well... as you'll see in the pictures, the weather didn't really cooperate with yard work. We woke up to a few inches of snow covering the ground and trees. Dillon and I took a drive up to White Top Mountain (appropriately named) to take some pictures of the brightly colored trees against the stark white snow. We didn't quite make it to the top of the mountain because the roads were covered so we turned around and went back into town.

We had a fun time trick or treating with family today and then at my mom and dad's church, which offered a great indoor place to get candy. I was afraid that Luke wouldn't really understand the concept of this holiday, but he caught on quickly. When the candy givers would turn their back, he would sneak his hand in the bucket and take a few more pieces. I tried to explain we only get one piece, but usually everyone thought it was cute and would give him a few more pieces. That won't be cute forever, son, just remember that! :)

We had some fun last weekend in the leaves (and Dillon got a leaf blower to help!)




Franken-Luke!

<3

Luke, the hobbit, is on the greatest adventure!




Snowy Halloween... the best was under the trees and snow there were vivid colors!





Going towards the top of the mountain




Give me candy or Tina gets poked!




Trick or treating with Gran


Our little hobbit

Playing with Glenda!

Trick or treating with Grandma!

Bounty!


I'll take one of these... and these... and these...