Tuesday - 5:30 pm

This is what was happening in our family room at 5:30 pm yesterday...

Sweet Cooper would not take a nap yesterday afternoon, so by 5 pm he was done. He fell asleep in my arms about 5:20 pm and slept through Josiah's new favorite activity - playing the guitar! We have an old guitar that he is allowed to play and he is currently obsessed with it! Nevermind that it is as big as he is. Oh what a funny evening...

Pumpkin Pictures

So...I meant to post these about a month ago, but it didn't happen. Better late than never! I think pumpkin pictures are appropriate until Thanksgiving, so I'm getting them on the blog just

in time :)

My vision: To take pictures of the boys sitting happily by their pumpkins.

We had just been on a pumpkin adventure to the Farmer's Market where they had picked out beautiful pumpkins for the front porch. I thought, "Oh what a great moment to capture! This will be easy...sit by your pumpkin and I'll snap a quick picture". I was mistaken.

Cooper was having none of this "sit and pose for a picture" business. So, my creative idea was to put them in the red wagon (with seatbelts) and have them hold their pumpkins for a festive picture. "No way", said Cooper, who refused to hold his pumpkin and looked at the camera ONCE while sitting in the wagon. Josiah was happy to give me the cheesiest 3-year-old grin

imaginable.

Onto the front porch, where I got plenty of great shots of Josiah by himself. Cooper was off mowing the lawn.

I did get one shot of Cooper with a pumpkin...you can at least see his hair growing in :)

And here are the results of attempting to get both of them in the same picture. (Most of them look like the second one - Cooper running and Josiah yelling).

Should I just give up now on getting all 4 of us in a Christmas Card photo?!?

Clean Teeth and a Manicured Lawn

The boys like to keep things neat and clean around here (haha). Okay, so maybe that's not true, but they love to do certain things, like brushing their teeth. We were getting ready to go to Youth Group last night. I got everyone dressed and was changing my clothes, therefore taking my eyes off of Cooper for TWO SECONDS. I found him here...

Apparently he wanted fresh breath for hanging out with the older kids! We won't even talk about how he can climb onto the counter and into the sink now...

We also spend a lot of time outside doing "yard work". They love raking leaves, picking up sticks, and sweeping the sidewalk. Their all-time favorite, however, is mowing the grass. I bought a second lawn mower at a consignment sale this fall and it may have been the best $5 I ever spent! Here they are a couple days ago. The lighting isn't great, but you get the picture...

Here's to clean mouths and yards!

To a sweet friend's mom...

Yes, we are still alive and doing well. We have been slow in updating the blog because we are trying to corral things like this...

I'm pretty sure this was not advertised as a riding toy, but it seems to work!

The past month has been full of school, traveling, sewing, birthday parties, wedding showers, weddings, the NC State Fair, pumpkin-finding, and just running around trying to keep the house in some sort of order, laundry clean, and boys fed. We have been more successful at some of those things than others! More pictures of our adventures to come...

Summer Random-ness

Summer is not officially over according to the calendar, but almost! Yes, I hang on to every last day :) We're enjoying some "cooler" weather and getting back into a routine. Thought I would post some of the random pictures we've taken of the boys over the past month.

Both boys love to play the piano!



Our little clown



Posing for a picture


And the "true to life" shot

YAY! SCHOOL!

Today was Josiah's first day of 3-year-old preschool! We are ALL excited :) It has been a fun summer, but I think everyone is ready to get back on a routine...especially Josiah. He has been excited for a couple weeks now and got to meet his teachers last week. This morning he was a bit nervous before we left the house, but ran right in and didn't even want to say good-bye when I dropped him off. I am so thankful for his teachers and his school and the time alone I will get with Cooper!

The "First Day of School" Pictures

Cooper even got in on the action

Ethiopia

Ethiopia? Why are we writing about Ethiopia?

Our dear friends, known around the house as "Uncle Jim and Aunt Emily" have begun the process for adopting a little boy from Ethiopia! We are excited to walk along this journey with them, as we dream of adopting one day as well. They have a blog that I wanted to share, as they are a part of our fam, so please follow along if you wish. (Reading it often makes me cry, so you might want to have the tissues handy)

www.andiamyours.blogspot.com

Please be praying for them! And, if you feel led to support them financially, I'm sure they wouldn't mind :)

"You have called me by name and I am yours..."

The "Dressy" Family Shots

Here is our attempt at the "get everyone in coordinating outfits and take family pictures" event that is part of everyone's beach vacations. Three kiddos 3 and under does not necessarily allow for fabulous shots, but we were able to capture the moments! Mimi smocked matching crab outfits for the kids (the grown-ups were slightly disappointed that we did not get crab outfits) and they were adorable! See if you can spot the wild child in all of the pictures who would not sit still...

Mimi & Papa with their grandbabies (how did we end up with all of these bald blondies?!?)

The Wood Family

The Alexander Family

The Beach

Vacation...it always goes too quickly! We just returned from a fantastic week at the beach. Great weather, accommodations, food, and time with family. Lots of digging in the sand, playing in the waves, watching sunrises (thanks to early risers) and sunsets, runs on the beach, yummy margaritas, and just hanging out! Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite...more to come over the next week or so!


And we got to squeeze on this little cutie a bunch. Even though she doesn't look happy in this picture, she loved her pool on the beach!

Oh Brother

Silly brothers...

Who knew making hats out of "loveys" would be such a big hit!?!

And yes, I am a sucker for boys in matching pajamas

(I have no idea why Siah has shoes on in this picture...)

Fending for themselves

This is what happens when Momma takes too long to get dinner together...

Cake!

As we all know, the best part of any 1st Birthday Party is the cake. I made bug cupcakes for Cooper's 1st. Josiah helped with the decorating, which really means he got to eat more gummy worms and jelly beans and frosting than he's ever been allowed to eat before. Needless to say he was very "excited" by party time.

Cooper had never had cake or frosting before, so he wasn't quite sure what to do...

But he quickly got the hang of it!

YAY for fun First Birthdays!

A Bug 1st Birthday

Cooper is 1!! Hard to believe a year has gone by already...but it has. Cooper turned 1 this past Friday and we had his birthday party in Richmond on Saturday. We had a little bit of a bug theme, since his nursery is decorated with bugs.

Gram and Pop with their boys.

Mimi and Papa helped celebrate as well!

Great-Grandmommie was there too, and Cooper was quite enamored with her.

It was a fun, relaxed time. We'll post cake pictures another day...