Thanksgiving Party

I totally forgot to post pictures from Luke's Thanksgiving party at school.  Andy was able to take a break from work that day and meet him for lunch (unfortunately I was not as lucky).  From what I remember Luke ate some corn and bread and finished it up with a sugar cookie!  I am sad that I missed that fun day, but I am glad that Andy was able to make it.  Isn't he cute in his headdress?

Safety First

One evening Luke wanted to ride his motorcycle in the house, but NOT before he had his helmet and his goggles on.  I love this kid!

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving this year was as busy, as usual, however; Benji decided to throw us a curve ball and wake up super sick.  He was running a fever, squeak coughing, and he had sick eyes for the most of the day.  Instead of letting this illness beat us, we decided to take the day in with a sick kid in tow!  I mean, who doesn't love a cuddly/semi-cranky sick kid on a holiday??

Our first stop was at my cousin Justin's house in Decatur, followed by a stop at Andy's parents, and finally we ended up at Chris & Christina's.  To round the day out nicely, my mom, Sarah, and I did some Black Friday shopping starting at 8pm.  I am exhausted just thinking about that day :)

For the curious....we ended up taking Benji to the doctor the next day and he had bronchiolitis (not RSV). He also bought himself a breathing treatment and a chest xray, too. Not.fun.at.all.

I am thankful for many things, but here are the first 5 that come to mind (in no particular order)....

1. Andy and all that he does for us
2. Luke and Ben, I couldn't ask for better kiddos
3. The rest of my family, enough said
4. Living in a country where I can freely worship God
5. My job, even on the bad days

11 Months Old

This 11 month post is long over due.  I tried and tried to get a monthly picture of Benjamin in the brown chair like ALL of the other monthly posts, but I couldn't.  He was just too busy to sit down SAFELY for a split second so that I could take his picture -- oh well, I tried!

At 11 months old Benji weighed in at 24.4 pounds.  He has been wearing 12 month bottoms and 18 month tops.  He is still wearing a 18 month sleeper and size 3 or 4 shoes, if they fit his WIDE foot. He still eats the same amount of formula (or less) and baby food as he was last month, but he still prefers table food if he can get away with it!

Benjamin is on the move.  This kid can crawl FAST.  He doesn't seem to be interested in walking, but that is the only thing.  If we blink for a second he is out of our sight and climbing up on stools and toys.  He can even climb the stairs to the top (he actually makes a bee line for them if we accidentally leave the gate open).  He is the reason they have straps in grocery carts and high chairs.  He is a dare devil!!

Benji is a loving boy who loves to snuggle and give kisses.  Some mornings he gives me/Andy upwards of 10 kisses within the first few minutes of getting up.  But don't let him fool you, as he has a feisty side.  He has been known to play dirty (bites and hits Luke) and he has a bit of a temper if provoked by his brother.  He is my screamer and fit thrower for sure.   

Benjamin you are spunky and that is one of the many reasons I love you so much.  Please stop growing!!!!!

 Here are a few more pictures of Ben from our recent family photo shoot.

Sweet Sammies

After our family photos we stopped by Sweet Sammies for a treat (i.e. follow through on a bribe).  He is too cute!

Family Pictures

Last month a friend of mine offered to take some pictures of our family to help build her portfolio for her new photography business.  Since I have cute kids and I love pictures of them it was a no brainer!!  I am thankful she offered and I will love looking back at this moment in time. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Feel free to check out her website here.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We spent Andy's birthday weekend in Houston visiting my sister.  We had a really good time just hanging out and watching the boys play.  Sarah was nice enough (since she doesn't like anything from the sea) to let us cook one of Andy's favorite meals, dirty shrimp, and she also made him some whippy fruit and a strawberry pie.  Happy Birthday Andy!  We love you to the moon and back!

 Look at those teeth!

Luke really enjoyed holding Jack while we were there.

Teddy Bear Park

Last weekend we were in Houston to celebrate Andy's birthday.  While we were there we stopped by Teddy Bear Park (not to be confused with a previous trip to a Teddy Bear Park) to let the boys play.  Despite the complete lack of teddy bears, this was a great park for the little guys since they had a separate toddler side.  I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but Benjamin LOVES the slide!  He actually preferred to do it without me holding on to him.  It is crazy how different my boys are!  Luke is really into climbing right now and he actually climbed right up to the highest slide and came right down.  He is growing up too fast for this mama!