Mountain trip

I need to start trying to catch up in here. About a month ago, we went to the mountains of North Carolina (near Brevard) for a lovely weekend at my sister-in-law's family's home with my parents, and my brother and his family. We never seem to make these sort of getaways, so it was very welcome. Trey had to fly into Asheville (from working a project in Colorado) to meet us there, but it was a great weekend.

It was a great house, and the boys had a ball...




The view from our bedroom in the guest house...


On Saturday, we only had a limited amount of time to play before we needed to get back to watch the Gamecocks play the Gators (and they ALMOST won!), so we went to check out a nearby waterfall in the Pisgah National Forest: Looking Glass Falls.








Thomas and his cousin Eliza checked out the falls...






And then we went to a nearby fish hatchery and let the kids feed the fish.








Later that evening, after we recovered from the heartbreaking loss to the Gators, the boys built a fire and we sat around and enjoyed that. Later on, we even roasted some marshmallows. Thomas got to come out and enjoy a little bit of the fire before he went to bed.






The next morning there was a little bit of playtime before it was time to head home. I didn't get any decent pictures of that and my brother (hint hint) has yet to post his pictures to a place where I can steal them. :) So until then, this is all I have...


I'm so thankful that we were able to go and even more thankful that Beth and her family so graciously opened up there fabulous house to us. I hope we get to return one day!

First haircut

I begrudgingly took Parker to get his first haircut today. Though I made it quite clear to the person wielding the shears that I was not interested in a major cut, just a little trim to hopefully satisfy my husband (who has grown weary of the "What a beautiful girl!" comments from apparently blind and idiotic folks) a little bit. I knew Trey would say she didn't cut enough (he did!), but I'm okay with the result! Besides, Parker twirls his curls as if it's is security blanket, so how could I take that away from him?

Here he is, ready to go in the fire truck chair:


He never cried, but he was a little confused about the smock. He just held his arms out like he wasn't able to put them down. But then we gave him a lollipop and he was just fine.


The first cuts (I'm sure Trey will love this picture!)...


Interestingly enough, she said it was nearly an inch longer in the back on the left side (the side he twirls). Perhaps there's a science project there...does hair twirling promote hair growth? :)


The lighting there is a bit odd...


And in the end, this was the result:


Just for a comparison...this was before:

And this was AFTER:


And again, here's a (night) BEFORE shot:


And AFTER:


So yes, not a huge difference, but hopefully it's a little more tame. Though the first thing Trey said was, "It looks like he got a perm." Not sure why he hadn't noticed the curls before. :-)

To me it's subtle...and subtle is very good in this case.

Thanksgiving fun

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day full of family, fun and plenty of little ones! There was great food, including the obligatory turkey. From the look on Dad's face, it must have been one impressive bird.


There were plenty of happy faces sitting around... Like Eliza:


And Parker:


And Thomas (who was most thankful for the plate of cheese and crackers that Andrew & Beth's friends who joined us for the celebration brought to share):


We were joined by some of Andrew & Beth's friends. Their relatives are not nearby, so we invited them to join us. They have a young daughter who is about Parker & Eliza's age and she fit right in with the crowd. Though when the kids ventured down to the lake to play in the sand, she was the first to check out the water. From what she reported (and her mother reported), it was cold! Luckily Parker had a pair of pajama pants to share until her pants dried. :)

The kids had a ball down by the lake.








We weren't ready for dessert right after dinner, but eventually managed to find room for what has easily become my family's favorite dessert during the holidays-- banana cake! Yummy!


Especially at Thanksgiving, we are reminded of how many things in our lives that bring us joy...and these children are number one on the list (Taffy's banana cake must be high up on that list too). :)

Edgefield family reunion

Last weekend we headed up to Edgefield, SC for a family reunion with Nana's side of the family.  We met at the old family church grounds for a delightful picnic.  It was there that I got to see (and use!) a first...a real outhouse! 


And it still works!


After lunch, we drove over to the old "homeplace" and set off in search of the rock where Nana and her sister and cousins liked to play as children. 


It was a little hike...


But before too long, we reached "Buffalo Rock."  Thomas and Umpa checked it out...


Parker got in on the fun...


And then we all got up for a family picture with Aunt Beth:


It was a fun day...


And a good time was had by all!

18 months old!

Okay, so he's closer to being 19 months at this point, but I can't miss his 18-month update. Parker is 18 months!




He is a strong-willed child. He knows what he wants and he is very insistent about it. If he doesn't want something, he grabs one arm at the elbow and turns his body (like he's shaking his whole body instead of just his head) and says "no, no." But he is also a happy child. He loves to laugh and he loves to smile, and he loves to make others laugh, too.

He talks a lot (usually one word at a time) and though everyone might not understand what he is saying, he has many, many words (I'd say over 40). Some words are not as easy to decipher as others....like "Am-may" is "ambulance" and he calls cats "meow" instead of saying "cat" (and sometimes "meow" sounds like "milk"). For some reason, he calls Thomas "Poppy." And if he sees a cow, he says "Boo" (instead of "moo"). Many times I don't realize he knows a word until he uses it and I look and see what he is seeing and say, "You are right!" He is very observant of the world around him. At his 18-month well check, the doctor said he is way past where he should be in terms of his language development (he should have 5-10 words).

Though his language is advanced, he still hasn't mastered the skill of walking. He walks fine, but he is still a little wobbly sometimes. He doesn't really run; his fast-walk is still a bit flat footed.

He is a good eater and will eat many things, but not vegetables. He will not eat anything that is a vegetable, except for sweet potatoes (and sometimes mashed potatoes, and always french fries (not that that is a "vegetable")). He loves bananas and other fruits though. He also drinks his milk well (not something his brother will do). He is a bit hit-or-miss with meats at dinnertime. I don't know what it is, but he often times won't have more than a bite of meat at dinnertime.

I think this is about the age that Thomas started learning his colors and letters. Parker takes a more creative approach. In the bathtime every night, instead of telling me what the letters are, he tells me instead that the "F" when laid on its side is a "choo-choo" and the "V" is a "boat." The "L" is also a boat. It's funny. It's hard to find that line between encouraging creativity and teaching the fundamentals!
He loves to go outside; though sometimes he prefers to push his tricycle than try to ride on it. He loves bubbles and playing with our dog, Sully. He gets such a hoot out of throwing her ball to her and watching us do the same.

He is still a great sleeper, though lately he's been testing me a bit. We went to the mountains last weekend and he learned that if he stood up and cried, someone would come back to comfort him. So he did that pretty much every night this past week (I'd put him down and he'd go down easily, and then moments later he was standing up crying. I'd go back and comfort him for a few minutes and then say, "You ready to go to sleep now?" And he say, "Yeah" and lean into bed.). Hopefully this won't last much longer. I love my rock-star sleeper!

He pretty much only naps once a day now. I'm not so much this was his own decision as much as something born of necessity because we are always out and about in the morning, but it has been an easy transistion for him. And generally it means I can put him down around 1:00 and he'll sleep until around 4. Then he goes to bed for the night usually sometime around 7:15-7:30.

He is such a love. He is so sweet and loving and he just melts my heart. The best start to my day is walking into his room to a jubilant shout of "Mommy!!!!" Every day it's like he couldn't be any happier than to see me walk through his door in the morning. It's a great way to start the day.

He wasn't much into taking pictures this month. In fact, he was pretty set against it:


But I finally got him to calm down and smile a little bit:

He still has not had a first haircut. Some days I'm ready to take him, and other days, I just can't do it!


When he is tired, he sucks his right thumb and twirls his curls in the back of his head with his left hand. I'm afraid that if I cut his hair, it will be like taking away his favorite blankie and he won't sleep again!

Such a little love!


Parker is a beautiful, loving, kind child who has blessed our family in so many ways. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get around to this update (and it's probably because these boys who I love so much wear me out each day!), I'll try to do better next month!