A lot of dust, some pumpkins, and Robert E. Lee

Well my love another busy weekend!! On Saturday we did what every true Southerner does at least once in their lifetime we went to your first Civil War reenactment! Oh yes my friend, we are talking cannons, rifles, horses and Yankees! Unfortunately you were asleep for most of it, and we missed the actual battle because we thought those crazy Yankees and their cannons might be too loud for your precious ears! But you saw horses, soldiers, and your distant relative Robert E. Lee! That is right, you are related to the great general himself so Mommy saw it fitting to have your picture taken with him!



Then on Sunday you had your very first visit to the pumpkin patch!! Mommy has been so excited about this visit, you see when Mommy went last year I had just found out that you were coming into our lives! I kept thinking about how much fun it was going to be next year when we get to bring our baby! And this year Mommy got to bring you!! And of course you looked super duper cute in your pumpkin patch outfit! Once again you were totally asleep for the first part(boy oh boy do you love sleeping in your car seat!) but then you woke up with a big old smile on your face and it was picture time!! Here are my favorites from the afternoon:











We had so much fun looking around at all the pumpkins, you even saw baby goats and chickens! After the pumpkin patch we kept with the country theme of the day and went to Cracker Barrel with the gang for dinner. You did a great job at the restaurant and then it was home to bed! By the way Mommy is so proud of your very awesome sleeping habits!! You are still sleeping like a champ! All in all a very festive fall weekend! Can't wait for Halloween!

A fish fry, your Sunday best and shopping!

We have had a busy couple of days my love! It was a weekend of firsts! On Saturday you went to your very first fish fry! And boy was it tasty!! Unfortunatley you did not get to sample any of the fried food goodness but Mommy did! Maybe next year you can have a hushpuppie or two! Daddy was so cute showing you off to all his friends, and you really looked good my friend in your super cute overalls! You did a great job smiling and laughing for everyone but we didn't stay too long, didn't want you up past your bedtime because the next morning you made your very first trip to Tullahoma to go to church with MawMaw and PawPaw! Now Mommy will be honest I was bit nervous about the whole being quiet during the church service bit and your feeding scehdule but you were an absolute angel! You looked so precious in all your monogrammed glory! (Mommy hearts everything monogrammed!) you even had a monogrammed pacifier clip to match your outfit! You were quite the hit at Highland Hills, there were so many sweet faces for you to smile at! I think you really liked the singing and all the big lights to look at! After church we went out to eat and you were so tuckered out from being so angelic that you slept all through lunch! Poor Daddy though had too much fried goodness the day before and was not feeling well so we headed on back home for a quiet and restful afternoon. On Monday Mimi and I decided that we just had to get your Thanksgiving outfit before all the cute ones were gone (Mimi was convinced that Mommy had waited too late and she was right!) But we found you a perfect pumpkin patch outfit, that will be a blog post all its own! Mimi and Mommy have so much fun shopping for you!! Here is a picture of you after all the shopping!



You are getting so big now! Here are some recent pictures of you in all your cuteness!









Mommy has been working on your sitting up skills in the bumbo, but I'm not sure you really enjoy yet! I love your expression in this picture, this is your cautious look!



You have also discovered how much fun toys are! This was an early Christmas present from Mimi and Poppy! You love to watch the puppy sing and dance! You like to reach out and grab the puppy's foot!



We have lots of fun events to look forward to! We are going to the pumpkin patch this weekend to pick out your very first pumpkin and you are having your four month pictures taken! I can't believe you are already four months old! You are the light of my life baby boy! Mommy is so grateful for your smiling happy face!!

Elmo!

Oh my goodness you love you some Elmo! So Mommy started noticing that you were watching TV when the TV was on (don't worry Mimi we will not be watching too much TV!), and Mommy thought to herself Vampire Diaries is so not appropriate for a three month old! You are way to young to get involved in the centuries old feud between werewolves and vampires (P.S. we are totally on the vampire side, we will get into Jacob versus Edward at a later time) and that two hour special on the Plague on the History Channel would be sure to give you nightmares so we turned on the old standby , Sesame Street! By the way they changed the song and really threw Mommy for a loop! And you loved it! You just smiled and laughed with Elmo! We learned all about how to salsa dance (we even salsaed a bit ourselves in the living room) and our Latin friends to the south. Elmo only kept your attention for a bit but it was lots of fun! Then this morning while Mommy was getting ready you were doing your favorite pastime of staring at the ceiling fan and Mommy thought it might be fun to listen to some Sesame Street songs. Well as soon as your friend Elmo came on you just smiled and talked!! It was so fun to see you recognize his voice! You are getting to be such a big boy!! I think Santa might need to bring you your very own Elmo!

Travelin' Man

You are becoming a world traveler! Well just really the state of Tennessee, but it's a start! This past weekend your Daddy's birthday celebration continued with a trip to Pickwick! Daddy's whole family was there, you got to hang out with KK, Grandaddy, Uncle Lee, Aunt Leigh (or Lolly as we are trying out, we thought Leigh Haley might be too hard to say!)and your cousin Ryan! And boy did you and Ryan have fun! You think he is hilarious!! He likes to tickle your toes and smile at you and you just eat it up! Grandaddy took some great pictures of the two of you together. I can't wait for you to get a bit older so you guys can really play hard together! Who knows what sort of mischief you two may get into! Here are some of my favorite Grant and Ryan shots!







Ryan even introduced you to his favorite movie, Finding Nemo! You wore your shark jammies in honor of it! (never too young to coordinate events with outfits!) The weather was absolutely perfect and you had a great time strolling with Mommy in your stroller down by the water to see all the boats! There was a perfect spot for us to swing on a swing together and watch the boats sail by, you even saw your very first sailboat! Mommy had so much fun swinging and talking with you! You have become quite the chatter with Mommy and I heart it!!

And you went to your very first museum!! Now as you will learn Mommy and Daddy heart history and museums! Better get used to the History Channel now my friend! KK and Grandaddy took us to a really cool Civil War Interpretive Center (that's fancy for a new museum with lots of abstract exhibits) you learned all about the battle at Shiloh and the fight for the control of the railroad in Mississippi. It was very interesting and just the beginning of fun filled history themed excursions!

All in all you had a wonderful time hanging out with your KK and Grandaddy (and of course you took a great nap on KK's lap! You never turn down a lap to nap on!) You did all your tricks for them: talking, laughing, smiling, and sticking out your tongue! We will all be together soon for Ryan's big birthday party!!

There are no words...

Well my love I wasn't quite sure how to title this post because it is all about your first real and major meltdown! Let me start at the beginning. After a fun-filled day out about with your Mommy and Mimi we came home and chilled for a bit together. Then Mommy, Mimi, and Poppy decided we needed the OG (that's Spring Hill speak for the Olive Garden) so Mommy picked up Mimi and Poppy and we were off! Now when we headed out for our dinner adventure you were happy as a clam! Laughing and talking to Poppy in the backseat but no sooner had we left the neighborhood that the meltdown began. You cried and I mean not just a small whimper but a full on real tears cry fest! Then the high pitched screaming began, and oh my goodness do you have a set of lungs on you! Of course it is rush hour so we are hitting every stinkin traffic light on the way to the OG. Poppy is trying his very hardest to calm you down and you are not having it! Poppy said that you just kept staring at him like "why are you not taking me out of this car seat!" Mimi and Mommy are in the front talking to you and Mommy is convinced you are hyperventilating back there but Poppy is taking this the hardest! The screaming is so bad that Mommy misses the turn for the OG on the round about and has to go back on the main street and turn around! When we finally reach our dinner destination you have calmed down to a small whimper but we all rush to get you out of that crazy car seat and hold you! I'm sure we were a sight at the OG parking lot all fawning over a now calmed down baby! So we think the worst is over, you proceed to totally crash out and sleep through dinner, while poor Poppy thinks you will hate him forever since he couldn't get you out of the car seat while we were driving! But then we head back to the car and I guess you started having flashbacks and it began again! This time Mommy rode in the backseat but you didn't care! You wanted out and were going to let everyone know about it! Mommy was going to take you home after dinner but you were so hysterical we got out at Mimi and Poppy's and gave you the emergency bottle Mommy always packs in your bag ASAP! Now this is when the evening takes a comical turn, you proceed to suck down your bottle and then magically you awake from this tantrum nightmare with a great big smile on your face! It was then that Mommy stopped worrying that you had contracted some unknown crying disease and realized that your little personality was coming out!! And oh my goodness people think Mommy is dramatic! I've got nothing on you my friend! Poppy was very happy to see that smile and you two had much needed bonding time as Poppy walked you around the house just grateful that you had forgiven him! Mommy then had the nerve to change your diaper and put your jammies on and it began again, you see when you get really sleepy you fight sleep! Mimi had the magic touch though and finally you drifted off to sleepyland! Well needless to say all three of us were tuckered out by then, good thing Glee was on and they were singing Britney Spears songs!! (more on that when your older) Mimi and I have been laughing about last evening all day long! We love you!! (even when you are bit dramatic!)Here is a picture for Poppy! You really do love him!

Daddy's Birthday

It's Daddy's birthday weekend! We did lots of fun stuff to celebrate. On Friday the gang headed to Abigail's house for BBQ (your Daddy hearts BBQ!)it was a little crazy with all four kids hungry at the same time! And boy oh boy do you have a friend in Abigail! She gets very excited when you are at her house! She is definitely the little momma of the group! While the big kids ate BBQ you enjoyed your bottle and then it was bedtime for all!! You are still getting used to falling asleep at other people's houses so you decided that it was much cozier to sleep in Mommy's lap, which Mommy loves though it was a bit difficult to eat my ice cream, I actually think I little dribbled on you but a little cookies and cream never hurt anyone! On Saturday morning you and Daddy watched Daddy's favorite Saturday morning show, Gameday! You had so much fun hanging out on the sofa with Daddy and watching TV. Then we were off to Mimi and Poppy's for Daddy's birthday lunch and to watch football. And oh my goodness let me tell you how cute you looked! You were rocking a polo onesie that looked just like Daddy's and you had your brand new shoes on for the first time! Mommy has never been so excited about a pair of shoes before (even better than the shoe clearance rack at Target!) You even got to visit with your MawMaw and PawPaw! Uncle Pook was there with your cousin Charlie the puppy, though Mommy is a bit neurotic about dogs and babies so you just looked from afar, maybe when your older you two can play together! Daddy got lots of fun presents, you even bought him baseball cards, his favorite! That evening we went to Uncle Lee and Aunt Leigh's house for dinner. Ryan was very excited to see you but you were too busy sleeping to notice! (it had been a very busy day you know) Ryan even sang Happy Birthday to Daddy (I think it's his favorite song because he sang it all night long!On Monday, Daddy's actual birthday we sang to Daddy in the bed bright and early! (we were up at 5:45 just waiting for Daddy to get up!) All in all a good weekend! Oh do you know what is even better?? You are sleeping nine to ten hours at night!! Woo-Hoo to good sleep! You are such a sweet sweet baby!


Watching Gameday with Daddy


Check out those shoes!!


Hanging with Uncle Pook


Watching football with the boys


Your new trick, sticking out your tongue!


Daddy's birthday pie, he likes pie over cake! Crazy I know!

Mimi and Poppy's House

So you L-O-V-E your Mimi and Poppy! Good thing too since they live 2.5 miles away from our house! We spend a lot of time at Mimi and Poppy’s house (basically if we are not at our house or Target we are there) so I thought I would tell you about our routine when we get there. First Mommy tries to time our visit around lunch and your naptime, mainly because Mimi always has yummy lunch food (expect for tuna day which Mommy does not like!) and because you always take a super good nap there (probably because someone , Mimi, is holding you!) Poppy always meet us in the driveway (Poppy works from home except when he is traveling, when you get older I bet Poppy will bring you back books from NYC, that is what he always did for Mommy and Uncle Pook and it was one of my favorite treats!) Poppy takes you inside the house and gets you out of your car seat so you can walk around the house with him, oh how you love this! It’s also a lot of fun to watch you and Poppy together because you look just like him! Mommy’s friend Lori calls you TJ for Tom Junior! Poppy and you look out the windows, look at the lights, and then if you are really sleepy (which more than likely you are since Mommy has timed this perfectly) you fall asleep! Then Mimi takes over and you proceed to have a great nap while Mommy eats lunch (a win win for all!) You even have a swing at Mimi and Poppy’s so you can swing away even when we are not home! While you are napping away Mimi and Mommy just talk talk talk (just ask Daddy Mimi and Mommy talk a lot!) For some reason Mommy can't find a good picture of you and Poppy but we will be sure to get one at lunch tomorrow! We have so much fun at Mimi and Poppy’s house!