A few fall photos

It's been a fun fall with the boys. Andrew has been feeling SO much better - praise God! After he had his tonsils and adenoids removed and started his allergy medications, he's only been sick once and that was when he had pneumonia. That was not a fun week, but since then he's been well! He's also been sleeping good. Every morning when he wakes up, one of the very first things out of his mouth is "Mama/Dada, I sleep good." Bless his heart. Wilson and I really think that this is the best he's felt in his 2 years of life. Thank the Lord that he is finally feeling well and sleeping at night.

The fall has been full of lots of activities and fun. These are a few things that I have missed in previous posts...

• Making Turkey cookies for "school". Andrew LOVES going to "school". He is so active and loves going to play with his friends. He's also starting to really enjoy helping me in the kitchen. He was all about the sprinkles for these cookies!
  

• Playing in the leaves! Our sweet neighbor, Caroline, came over to play with us one afternoon. She showed Andrew how to gather the leaves and throw them in the air. Forrest loved watching what they were doing and playing with the leaves himself.
  

• Freedom Fest. We love Madison and the great things it offers for families. Every October we enjoy Freedom Fest. It was fun to watch Andrew enjoy more activities this year. His favorite was definitely the pony ride. He was thrilled to ride the pony and cried when he had to get off! He also loved walking around with John Keil. We saw our friend Lemly there, too!
  

Kathryn's wedding

How great is a wedding?!! I just love them! Seeing a dear friend get married to a wonderful guy... spending time with sweet friends... reflecting on fun memories... we had a great time celebrating Kathryn's wedding a couple of weekends ago in Nashville. Kathryn is a precious friend and was my college roommate - I am so happy for her and Charlie!!

At the Bridesmaids luncheon - the girls: Ellie, Mary Austin, Me, Kathryn, Mary Katherine, Kristi

Before the wedding - Kathryn looked gorgeous!

The reception was at the Hermitage Hotel and it was wonderful. The boys came for a little while. My mom, dad, and Rebecca came for the wedding so they took the boys home from the reception early so that Wilson and I could stay. Thanks y'all!

Fun in Nashville

We had lots of fun while we were in Nashville for Kathryn's wedding. We left a day early to "spread out" the driving time. It worked out great because we had time to do some fun things in addition to all of the wedding activities.

One morning we went to the Opryland hotel and looked at the Christmas decorations. It's always fun to see! We went on the boat ride thru the hotel and the boys loved it!




We also went to the ICE exhibit. This is quite a site - everything is carved from ice. This year's theme was the Grinch. You put on these huge blue coats because it's freezing in the exhibit - of course it has to be, to keep the ice sculptures from melting. :) The sculptures are huge. The Grinch exhibit was very fun and whimsical. They color the ice, too, as you can see from the pics.

This picture is of Wilson going down the ice slide! He was trying to convince Andrew to do it. He went first, but Andrew never went. I thought the one of Wilson sliding was worthy of posting!


At the end of the exhibit is a carving of the nativity. It's worth going to the exhibit just to see this - Beautiful!


This is just a cute picture of Forrest playing in the hotel room.


We took the boys on a stroll downtown one day. We were staying downtown so we enjoyed walking down to the river and seeing some sights. Really just being out and about in a big city is fun for Andrew - and for us!

And have I ever mentioned how much we love our double stroller? WE LOVE IT! There are so many times we have said that we don't know what we would have done without it. It's a Baby Trend, jogging stroller. I highly recommend it.




I wish that I had some pictures of the day that Wilson took Andrew and Forrest BY HIMSELF to the Oprymills Mall. Yes, he did it all on his own! He said they had a great time. I think they spent the majority of the time in Bass Pro Shop... by the way if you have a little one, Bass Pro Shop is definitely a fun place to take them. There is so much to see - great, free entertainment! Of course, Wilson enjoyed it as much as the boys did and he even bought Andrew a cute, new coat. I was so proud of them for fending for themselves for the day so I could spend time with the girls! I think he was pretty proud too. He said he got lots of comments from other shoppers about how good he was doing. :)

It was a great weekend. We love Nashville!

Outside Time

My last post tonight...
A couple of cute pictures that Wilson took of Andrew. You can see that Wilson dressed Andrew this day, too. :)

7 months old & Brothers

Forrest is 7 months old! In the last month he has become so much more mobile! He can definitely get around and manages to scoot over, pick up, and put in his mouth whatever he sees and wants! Last weekend we were in Nashville for Kathryn's wedding (pics to come). I'd put Forrest in the middle of the hotel room floor - where I thought he was far enough away from what he shouldn't be playing with. Before I knew it, he'd have somehow gotten to the shoes, the trash can, Wilson's computer cords, etc... At that point it was more of a process for him to get stuff. In the last day or so, he's starting to actually crawl a little on hands and knees. It's about to get really busy over here!

Forrest also has his 4 top teeth now - that makes 6 in all! His hair is growing nice and thick. He's super fun and sweet as he's always been. He's eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and he's on a great schedule for eating and napping - very predictable which is oh, so nice. Of course, it will probably change tomorrow since I've said that! :) Probably the most fun thing to have watched in the last month is how Forrest and Andrew have begun interacting more. They are so, so cute together. They giggle and laugh at each other - by the way, they laugh the same way - it's hilarious! Is this true of all siblings?!? They are having lots of fun together and it's just been too cute to see.

Here are a few pictures I took of the boys looking at books before bedtime the other night...

MSU v. Kentucky

We took the boys to the MSU v. Kentucky game. Andrew went to one game last year, and this was the first (& only) one they made it to this year. Even though the Dawgs didn't win, we had fun tailgating for Bubby's birthday and enjoyed our visit to campus. Here are a few pictures from the day...

Ready for the game!

Andrew loves "Izzy" and "Unc Dawg"

Helping Bubby open his birthday present, an electric train

Forrest playing in the pack n' play - he was so good, as always!

One tired boy... He was asleep before we left campus!

Pullin' Up!

Forrest is pulling up! This started a couple of weeks ago. He's also scooting around. Before we know it, he'll be on the go. I can hardly believe it!

Happy Birthday, Wilson!

Wilson celebrated his 30th birthday on October 22nd! We had a lot of fun celebrating with family and friends throughout the week. His birthday was on a Wednesday so he got lots of birthday wishes at church and some of the youth even decorated his office - very fun!! I am so sorry to be so late posting about such a big day. Wilson is a loving, dedicated husband and father. The boys and I are so very blessed to have him leading and caring for our family. Every afternoon we look forward to that time when Wilson walks in the door from work. It's always so fun to have a couple of hours to spend together as a family. Andrew and Forrest adore him... and I do, too! Love you babe!

Trick-or-Treat

Our boys are definitely TREATS!! We had a lot of fun dressing up this year. It was the first year for Andrew to go trick-or-treating. We read books and talked about it the past couple of weeks so when tonight rolled around, he was ready! He loved going to our neighbors' homes saying "trick-or-treat" and putting candy in his jack-o-lantern. Forrest enjoyed riding along for the fun. He loves anything that he does with Andrew. Yes... they are definitely TREATS!!

little brown bear

little train engineer

Wagon-ridin' and trick-or-treatin'!

Peek-a-boo

This video was taken a couple of weeks ago. I know it's not the best angle and I tried to move during the filming to get a better view. It's still so cute and fun to see the boys interacting with each other. They are really having fun together. Forrest laughs and laughs at Andrew. At the end of this video, you see a little mischievous Andrew! :)

Our Biggest Bobo yet...

We've had our fair share of bobos and with 2 boys, I know there will be many more to come. This, however, is our biggest bobo so far. Andrew fell at May-May and Bubby's house Thursday afternoon. As Wilson says, it's a "busted face" - as opposed to a busted lip. His little upper lip was swollen out past his nose. :( When my parents brought him home, we had to fight back the tears. He looked miserable. I know it must have hurt so bad. It's a mixture of bruises and scratches on the outside and inside (of his mouth). He did tear the tissue that connects the upper lip to the gum but our friend, Nathan Beavers (who is a ped. dentist), looked at it and said he'd be fine - no stitches needed. I think he was lucky not to have any missing teeth or a broken nose! He's been very brave and tough about it and we are very proud of him. I decided to post about it since there will probably be some pictures I'll be posting where you'll be able to see it. Now you won't be looking and wondering what happened - boy, we've sure gotten our fair share of looks lately!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch again this year and had a great time! We met the Beavers there and the boys enjoyed being there together. We suffered a little after the fact because of the hay and allergies but I think the boys would still say it was worth it. :)

Andrew and John Keil were so excited!

The 4 boys! I tried to get one of all the boys looking at the camera but it just didn't happen. From left to right - Forrest - 6 months, Andrew - 2, John Keil - 4, Ross Harden - 3 months

The family - fun to have a picture of us! :)

Forrest and I before the hay ride!

Andrew loved picking his pumpkin! Whew, it was heavy!

Forrest

We are in love with our boys! Forrest is such a joy. He has a way of always bringing a smile to my face and joy to my heart. He is a gift, and I'm thankful to the Lord each day for the precious boys He has given to Wilson and me.

The 6 months since he was born have gone by so quickly. I'm one of those sentimental ones that actually wishes that my babies could stay little for longer. It is even easier for me to want that for Forrest because he is just so sweet and happy.

He is doing great. As I mentioned in an earlier post, his 6 month's measurements show he is growing well. :) He's also sitting on his own. He's at that great stage where he'll sit in his crib or on the floor and play by himself. In the past week, he's starting to want to pull up in his crib. Tonight, May-May was over at the house and he pulled up onto his knees in the crib. Time to lower the mattress! He loves to play with toys and gets upset when I take a toy away. I think he must feel like he's a big boy (I guess he gets that from watching his big brother) because when he's not sitting, he wants to be standing in your lap. He thinks he's way too big to need to lay down - like to get a new diaper! :)

He rolls back and forth from front to back and will try to get on his hands and knees, but he hasn't quite mastered that yet. I think that his favorite thing to do is to jump in his "jump and go". He LOVES it! I keep trying to get a video of him jumping but every time I pull out the camera, he just wants to smile at me. I love it. :)

He has a good bit of light brown hair. And I think his coloring is going to be fairer than Andrew's. He cut his 2 bottom middle teeth the week before he was 6 months and he's working on the top 4 now. Poor guy has a constant wet shirt because of all the drool! And he always has something in his mouth!

A few pics taken around his 6 month b-day...





It's been fun to see the boys interacting more. They are definitely boys! Already tumbling and wrestling - how do they know to do this???

Andrew was leaning over on top of Forrest, but Forrest knows how to fight back... pulling a little hair. :) He knows he got him, too. Look at that smile!

I love this... Andrew helping give Forrest his juice one night during dinner.

Sitting and playing on the floor by Dada. (Wilson is at his desk behind them.)

Andrew