Pumpkin pickin'

We took our annual pumpkin pickin' trip with the Beavers family a couple of weeks ago. The pumpkin patch wasn't giving hayrides that day because of all the wet weather so we went to the Ag Museum instead. We road a hayride around the "old town", petted the animals in the barn, and walked around a bit. Then, we loaded the wagon again and rode over to where the pumpkins were. The boys had a great time. They loved the hayride and exploring the old town, and they even did a little wrestling in the pumpkin patch! And what child doesn't love picking out the perfect pumpkin?

Hayride time!

Andrew and me - with friend, John Keil beside Andrew

Hmm, which one?

Forrest's pick!

Andrew, playing in the pumpkins. He and John Keil rolled around in those pumpkins -
it was so funny!

a family picture on the hayride

the boys on the 'largest rocking chair in MS'
Forrest, Andrew, Ross Harden, and John Keil

What a fun day!

Santa's in town!

HO! HO! HO!
Andrew told me a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to be Santa for Halloween. This boy LOVES anything Christmas! He sings and listens to Christmas music year round, so I have to say that I wasn't all that surprised when he chose this as his costume. What a cute Santa!

We had our Reformation Party at church on Sunday night. I decided since Andrew wanted to be Santa that the rest of the family should go along with a Christmas theme!

So, Forrest was Rudolph....

and Ann Evelyn was a gift!

We had so much trick or treating with our little ones. We walked to a few of our neighbors' houses. Andrew loved it. He wasn't shy at all, and he loved showing our neighbors his costume. He walked right up to the doors, knocked, and said "Trick or Treat!" Forrest had fun, too. He followed his brother's lead, and we came home with too much candy!

On a side note, this year Andrew has noticed the "scary" things. As we were out tonight, we saw a little boy wearing a scary costume. Andrew did not want to be close to him! Andrew said, "He's scary. I wait until he leaves (the house we were walking up to) because he's scary!" He was very serious, but he says the word "scary" so cute... I hadto be careful not to smile when he said it. :)
Happy Halloween!

Beach Photos of Boys

Our beach pictures are usually just "fun" pictures. I have always thought the pictures of children dressed in their white on the beach were precious, but I've never braved the dressing up of my boys to take this kind of picture. However with Andrew having just turned 3 and Forrest 18 months, I decided that this might be a good time to take some sweet beach pictures. So, we put on the linen and took lots of pictures. Wilson had left the beach at this point to go to a meeting in Atlanta so he missed all the fun. Thank goodness for Bubby. He was a huge help in keeping the boys close and not letting Forrest dive in the ocean in his button-on suit. :) Andrew was in a great mood for me. Forrest was a little less enthused, but overall, I still was happy with how they turned out. Here are some of my favorites!

Beachtime is Funtime!

We love our trips to the beach! The boys have the best time in the sand and water. They love it all, and so do Wilson and I.

9 weeks old and loving this bouncy seat

enjoying May-May's yummy beignets

big boy chowing down - he never leaves any food on his plate! :)
when did he get big enough to eat with utensils?

I love the hand holding

it's so fun to run at the water's edge.
when did he get big enough to run so fast?

Loving the water!

Trendsetters?

What's your guess... are my boys trying to be trendsetters?
or just being silly boys?

Heels for boys?
(love it with the tool shirt!)

Bandaids as "tatoos"?

Undies over shorts?

Watercolor as face paint?
(yes, this is red watercolor)

Naked fishing?

One thing is for sure... they keep us smiling! :)

Tiny Friends

Ann Evelyn already has some precious, tiny friends. It's so much fun for me to have friends with babies so close in age to my babies... it's nice to share the adventures of parenting together. :) Baby Girl has had a couple of little playdates.

The first picture is Ann Evelyn and Meredith Stuckey. Meredith's mama, Kristi, and I have been great friends since we were little. Our baby girls are 6 weeks apart. Kristi and I have so many fun memories together, and I'm so excited about all the fun that we'll have together with our babies!

Here are some little boy babies that will be growing up at church with Ann Evelyn. Little Henry Sirmon is on the left. Henry was born a day after Ann Evelyn, and he and his parents were right across the hall from us in the hospital. Miller Marks is on the right. Miller is just 5 days younger than Ann Evelyn. Aren't they handsome little boys?!

She's growing...

Baby Girl is growing! I know that I haven't been a very good blogger the past few weeks. So I thought I'd post a picture of Ann Evelyn from each week of her life. She has already gotten so big! Wilson and I were saying last week that we don't feel like we're holding a little baby anymore. She's stretching out in our arms (and when she's laying down), she's having a lot more awake/alert time, she likes to face out and watch her brothers, and she loves looking in your eyes and smiling. I feel like I have such sweet conversations with her - just talking with our eyes. :) We took Baby Girl for her 8 week check-up last Thursday (she was 8 wks that day), and her doctor said she was doing great. She weighed 13 lbs, 7 oz. This was more than what Andrew weighed at 8 weeks! She's above 100% in her weight. She was 23 inches long - 90%, so she's grown 2 1/2 inches since she was born. We are so thankful for her growth and health.

1 day old

1 week old

2 weeks old

3 weeks

4 weeks



1 month old

5 weeks

6 weeks


7 weeks


8 weeks

3 little ones

I can hardly believe Ann Evelyn is 2 months old today. Where did August and September go? Do we really have 3 sweet little ones to call our own? God is good, and we feel so very blessed. The days have flown by so quickly since Ann Evelyn was born. I am enjoying my sweet baby girl so much and look forward to each day with her and her brothers. She is such a good baby. It's a good thing that she wasn't my first - I would have been spoiled if she was! :) She sleeps well and is so good natured. I hardly hear a peep out of her! Maybe she's listening to her loud brothers and doesn't want to give her Mama any more noise to hear. What a sweetheart!

She's really fallen right into a little "schedule" that blends well with the boys' schedule. For the 1st 5 or 6 weeks, I was so blessed to have an extra pair of hands to help out with the crew. My parents were wonderful! Thanks May-May and Bubby! Around the time Ann Evelyn was 5 or 6 weeks, I began to feel ready to handle everyone on my own. The boys love their sister and seem to understand the changes that have taken place. And with Ann Evelyn being such a good baby, the transition from 2 to 3 hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought that it would! Now, that's not to say that it isn't crazy busy around here, because it most definitely is! It's just that it already was that way before Ann Evelyn arrived, so there is just a new dimension added to the busyness.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of Ann Evelyn and her brothers from the past several weeks.

A hug from Forrest - Ann Evelyn is 3 weeks

She looks like her brother I think :) - AE is 4 weeks

Some tummy time for AE (4 wks) - Check out ALL THE TOYS that Andrew got out for her!! What good entertainment these boys provide for their baby sister!


Ann Evelyn (5 weeks) looks like she is smiling as her big brother kisses her forehead!