Thanksgiving in Virginia

On Black Friday, instead of hitting the stores, we hit the road and headed to Claytor Lake in Virginia to meet some of my Dad's side of the family. It was only about a 2 1/2 hour trip, and included two long tunnels, so the boys were well behaved. We spent the long weekend with PeePaw, Grandma Beth, Uncle Matt, Uncle Drew, Marshma, Papa, and Beth's brother, Doug, and sister in law, Debbie.

 

 The big boys got in a few fishing trips, the little boys played with their grandparents and uncles a lot, I got to do a little shopping and reading, we all relaxed, and there were even some family Taboo tournaments that we'll be laughing about for years to come. Oh, and did I mention that we ate? A lot! It was the perfect holiday.

 

Luke LOVES his Papa!

Apparently the "no getting on the couch" rules don't apply for Rhett when he's on vacation.

 

Sweet Annie! She was such a trooper with the boys. And, we decided that Luke's hair is the exact color of a Golden Retriever. :)

The boys had so much fun playing with Uncle Drew. The lake house is stocked with all of Matt and Drew's old Lincoln Logs, Playmobil sets. army men, and vehicles that we don't take a single toy. And, the boys are so content because it is all "new" to them.

Luke wants to do everything that Caleb does and mimics his every move. So sweet to watch, as long as Caleb is doing the right thing. ;)

Luke LOVED doing "bump ball" with PeePaw.

Yes, Rhett enjoyed vacation.

Marshma loves to read to the boys and Luke has already picked up on the fact that she'll always say "yes" when he brings her a book.

It really was a perfect Thanksgiving holiday! We are so thankful for all that we have.

Thanksgiving in Charleston

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day in Charleston, West Virginia, with Creed's family. The boys did great on the trip there and even got in a quick nap before dinner. Since both of our boys were sick last Thanksgiving, this was the first time that many of Creed's family got to meet Luke.

Luke and Grandma Kathy

Luke hung out around the appetizer table for most of the evening. He LOVED the fruit bouquet and at one point had 7 empty skewers.  

Before dinner the kids gathered around while Aunt Terri (Kathy's sister) handed out presents. Opening the "first" Christmas present is always exciting.

Caleb & Ava

Our one handed piano player

Aunt Terri's beautiful table! 

The kid table

Luke loves his cousin Ava!

Caleb disappeared and there is where I found him:

 He and cousin William were in the basement playing "big kid" video games. He seriously sat there for almost an hour! (What is it with boys and video games?!!)

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

Caleb won Thanksgiving decorations (plates, napkins, table cloth, etc.) at my school's family night and since we were going to be out of town on Thanksgiving, we used them a little early. While I cooked dinner, Caleb set the table with his goodies.

He was proud of his work and loved his spaghetti pre-Thanksgiving dinner.

Family Night at JRE

A few weeks ago I took the boys to my school for a family fun night. The boys had a blast playing all the games and getting to see where I work. 

First stop: The sucker tree! (Luke LOVED all the treats!)

Playing "pass the chicken," a version of hot potato. Luke just stood off to the side and danced. :)

Caleb took the cake walk VERY seriously and played over and over, yet never won a cake. He was seriously bummed out!

For one of the games they put pictures of teachers on empty cans and kids got to shoot at them! 

His first taste of cotton candy!

Apparently he liked it because he shoved it all in.

Luke- (almost) 21 Months

Luke Michael,

It's hard to believe that in about three short months, you will turn two years old. Where has the time gone? You are such an adorable little stinker these days! You're still our cuddly and loving little boy, yet you have such a temper! You sure know what you want, that's for sure!

Recently you've begun to say a few more words, although your main mode of communication is still grunting. It's funny, but somehow we always know what each little grunt means! Without prompting, you say Mommy, Daddy, Caleb (although it sounds just like Dada), Ball (da), More (ma), moon, truck, jeep, yellow (elgo), blue, ice, here you go (here go), I don't know (don't know), uh-oh, hello (ello), hi, hot (auuut), balloon, and bye.

While you love to play with balls, cars, trucks, and diggers, you also love to just sit down and read. Your new favorites include Goodnight Moon, B is for Bear, Where is Baby's Belly Button, and your lift the flap farm book. You are obsessed with balloons, so much that you carried the one I bought for you at Dollar Tree around with you for a week. You also love school buses and point them (and trucks) out while driving. 

At almost 21 months, you are still a great sleeper, sleeping from 8 pm until around 7:30 am and taking about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour nap. You still drool, but only when a new tooth is making an appearance. Last week one of your "two year molars" popped through, and we had plenty of wet shirts to show for it! You are an okay eater, although I think you are becoming more picky by the day. Fruit, pretzels, crackers, Goldfish, and cereal bars (along with sweet treats!) are your favorites and you don't like meat much at all. And, you refuse to eat anything with a different texture: oatmeal, mashed potatoes, casseroles, etc.

The men in your life seem to take first place in your world these days. First is always Daddy and Caleb- you love them SO much and yell their names when you can't find them. But, now you'll run right past Grandmom to get to Grandpa, ignore Grandma just to get to Grandaddy's lap, and look past Marshma to make sure Papa is walking in the door too. However, I've seen the looks your give your grandmothers and I know the place they hold in your heart! (I know, it's your grandfathers that do all the spoiling...snacks in the living room, Reese Cups, cookies, etc.!) Something also tells me PeePaw will get lots of loving this Thanksgiving! :)

We love you, sweet boy! It sure is fun having you around!

Relaxation and Amazing Views

Today, Creed and I celebrate 7 years of marriage!

To celebrate, we spent last weekend at a cabin in Gatlinburg. Our cabin was an A-frame loft with windows all along the back of the house. Whether we were in the kitchen, living room, or bedroom, this is what we saw:

We spent a lot of time on the back deck, as you could imagine. It was the perfect place to sit back, relax, and drink a cup of coffee.

One afternoon we spent some time on the main street in Gatlinburg. It provided the best "people watching" that I could ever imagine- even beating out the State Fair! (Imagine a lady with her dog in a Baby Bjorn- yes!)

We also took the huge aerial tram up the mountain, and while I am not afraid of heights, I did not enjoy the ride. At all. I tried to focus on taking pictures and not think about the actual ride. And, focus on the amazing views...

While on top of the mountain, we took another chair lift up and rode the alpine sleds back down, which was a blast! We did decide that Caleb would LOVE Gatlinburg and we need to take him sometime soon.

It was the perfect long weekend and a perfect way to spend some time together without worrying about nap time, snack time, or long waits at pancake restaurants. A HUGE thank you to Grandmom and Grandpa for keeping the boys- they are ready to come back! And we're ready to go again whenever you're free to keep them! ;)

Oh, The Things Caleb Says...

I cheer for the Cards! C-A-D-R, Cards, Cards, Cards!

Mommy, I'm so glad you're done tidying up so we can watch the movie now.

 When I grow up, I'm not going to change dirty diapers. I'll let my wife do it.

Good night, Luke. I love you. See you in the morning.

Ahhh! He drooled on my snap blocks! Get that drooly kid away from me!

 Mommy, you look like a wife. I mean, you look fabulous.

What does it mean to be old? It means you've been living a long time. Ohhhh! I thought it just meant you didn't look good anymore.

We have to go allllll the way to the tippy-back of Walmart to get the diapers. (As in "tippy-top." He uses "tippy" instead of "very.")