New Landscaping

We got new landscaping in front of the house this week. Yeah! The other bushes were so overgrown and mismatched. And for some reason there were poky holly bushes right by the steps. So it's all gone and we have new Indian Hawthorne and Abelia bushes. They look tiny now compared to the others, but so much cleaner and fresher. The big camelias by the steps are starting to bloom, but once they're done, they will get a significant trim.

Here's the new look:

Here's the before:

Totally unrelated to the house, here's a cute picture of Will. Mimi and PopPop got him this little man hat the other week and he thinks it's great. Jay dressed him in his vest and tie to coordinate last night and he was so proud. How cute!

Fall Weekend Away

Jay and I went on our fall weekend trip to Chattanooga, TN this past weekend. We try to go somewhere each spring and fall, just to take a few days for the two of us to enjoy going on dates and relaxing. As much as we love our children, it's great to occasionally have a little break and remember what it's like to just be the two of us. We don't want to look at each other after they all move out one day and think "who are you?" I really appreciate that Jay puts this effort and energy into our marriage. I'm a lucky girl!

We stayed at the Stone Fort Inn in downtown Chattanooga. It's a small hotel (only 15 rooms) with lots of historic charm and antique details and furniture. And they have a wonderful buffet breakfast! We really enjoyed it.

It was exciting to just have the time to decide what we wanted to do, without having to rush home for a babysitter. On Friday night, we went to a Thai restaurant (one of our favorites) and to the movies. On Saturday morning, we walked around downtown, browsed a few bookstores, took a walk over the big blue bridge. We took naps, read books, and watched football that afternoon. We ate a great steak dinner at a restaurant called Hennen's on Saturday night and then went for a carriage ride (in the freezing windy 35 degree weather, but it was fun!). We had to head back to G'ville on Sunday morning so that Steve and Marcy could get on the road to go back to WV.

Here's the 16 week baby bump. (I think I have as much of a butt bump as I do a baby bump.)

Catherine and Will had lots of fun while we were gone. Mimi and PopPop took them to get Halloween costumes, carve pumpkins, make cupcakes, go out to eat at their favorite restuarants, have slumber parties....I don't think they missed us at all! They were asking to go to bed by 6pm last night though, so they must have been worn out. We are very thankful that our kids have grandparents (on both sides) who love to spend time with them.

It's great to go away, but it's always great to come home.

Just catching up

Nothing major to report, and this is a first for me...a post without pictures! But I just thought I'd catch everyone up on the little stuff and include some cute Catherine and Will stories.

• Will had his first run-in with the police the other week. We were downstairs in the bonus room playing and heard a knock at the door. Jay went upstairs to find a policeman. Apparently, Will called 911. He had gotten the phone off the hook a few minutes earlier and in his random number dialing, called the police.
• The other night I got them out of the bath tub. Jay was out of town, so I was doing my best to get everyone dried off and ready for bed quickly. This is when they think it's best to be super silly. So Will kept running around naked and Catherine kept saying "Will, don't go pee-pee." He then ran back into the bathroom and promptly peed all over the floor. We all actually thought that was funny. So I told them to stand still while I got a towel to clean up. Before I could do that though, Will ran right through the pee, slipped and fell in the middle of it. Now they're both crying and he's completely covered in pee. But I still thought it was funny!
• I love how Catherine phrases things or still gets a few words messed up. For example, she likes to put Vasoline on her lips, but she calls is "gasoline". She informed the other day that Daddy is tall and Mommy is low (I'm assuming she means short). And her new thing to tell us about every morning is what she dreamed the night before. It's usually about mommy or daddy or heaven.
• Will is doing much better with his speech. He's working on putting 2 and 3 words together at a time. His favorite 3 word phrase is "I don't know." It's really cute when he says it. We are having him seen by an ENT in November to have his hearing checked and make sure there are no physical abnormalities in the back of his throat or mouth that would be causing his speech to be slower than expected. I expect that it will be fine, but we just want to be sure.
• Catherine LOVES her dance lessons each week. She is so excited to show us what she has learned--plies, first position, her stretches, etc. It's definitely one of the highlights of her week. Jay took Tuesday afternoon off work this week to take her dance lessons and she was so thrilled about Daddy going with her. It was precious.
• Catherine and Will are both very excited about the baby in mommy's tummy. Will often wants to pray for the baby at night and loves to give it kisses and blow raspberries on my tummy. Catherine is fascinated by the whole process and she has babies in her tummy almost every day. She pretends that she's having baby showers, going to the doctor, picks out names, etc. It's so encouraging to see them excited about God growing our family. We'll be 16 weeks this weekend and are thrilled for this new little one.
• Jay and I are headed out of town this weekend for our fall weekend away. Mimi and PopPop will be here with the kids. I love having some time with just my husband. He's my favorite person in the world!

I'll post more (including pictures) soon. Happy Fall!

Will's Birthday Party

We had a little birthday party for Will this morning with my family. We just enjoyed some time outside in the yard playing with his t-ball set, tennis racket, soccer balls, and any other kind of sports stuff we could find. Will had a great time!

He really enjoyed having his cousins here. These are Amanda's daughters--Kennedy, Maddyson, and Brooklynn. Riley was here too. Will will be excited when he new baby boy cousin arrives next year and he's not the only boy.

Will quickly blew out his birthday candles. These are his "baseball" cupcakes.

He really liked eating the cupcakes!

We had a great time celebrating Will's birthday.

Will is 2!

Will turned 2 years old yesterday! It's really hard to believe that he's 2. He's such a fun little guy and was super excited about his special day. He was at his preschool, so we celebrated by having some special birthday cookies with his class. He loved blowing out the candle and his birthday sticker and balloon. It's so much fun to watch the excitement in his eyes.

He was also very excited about his birthday presents. He was checking out all of the balls on the wrapping paper beforehand. I think he thought that was the present part.

Every time we asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said "nennis" (tennis). So we got the smallest tennis racket we could find and he is thrilled. Jay was a very good tennis player and is excited to teach Will how to play. He also got a t-ball set, a little school bus, and a remote control airplane. He has had lots of fun playing with his new toys today. We're having a little birthday party for him tomorrow with my family, so we'll have more to share later.

Happy Birthday little guy! We love you!

Sky Top Apples

Nothing says fall like apple picking! We went to Sky Top orchard in Flat Rock on Monday with Jill and Eddie. It was finally a beautiful sunny (and very windy) day after all the rain we've had. The kids had a great time exploring the orchards, playing in their playhouses, going for a hayride, seeing the little petting zoo, and of course, getting an apple or two.

One of the best things at Sky Top are the apple cider donuts they make. All of the kids (and mommies) really liked the donuts! yum yum!