My First....CANDY CANE!!!

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly! Brian had his first candy cane while we were in TN visiting Nana K, Papa G, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Amy! Nana K didn't think Brian could get to the actual candy, but Momma had to eventually take the wrapper off the candy cane! It was probably one of his most favorite things!!!

Great - Mema Velma watching me closely!

This is GOOD stuff!!

This is MY Candy Cane!!

And the Christmas Joys have begun...

Uncle Andrew's Graduation

We got to take a trip to Nana K and Papa G's house in Fairview, TN for a long weekend! Papa G's birthday was December 18th and Uncle Andrew graduated from Middle Tennessee State University on December 19th!!! We had a great time and Brian's feet barely touched the floor the entire weekend!!! :)

Uncle Andrew walking into graduation
(middle of picture with white scarf thing!)

The program was good!!!

Chris, Uncle Andrew, Kristin, and Brian

Sooooo proud!!

Congratulations Uncle Andrew!!!

The Dog Bowl...

Brian has been crawling around for quite a while now and pulling up on furniture and "walking" wherever he can hold onto something! And for some time, he never left the living room!!! But why would he? All his cool toys are in the living room! Mom and Dad were LOVING it!!! However, this dream state was short lived when Brian threw a toy down the hall and went to find it - and the door to a whole new world opened up! Brian has now found the dining room - and his highchair which he loves, but his favorite new "toy" is Raelin's food and water bowls! He has figured out how to take the bowls out of the holder and he has also discovered the wonderful noise they make as they are clanged together or banged on the floor!! Some mornings are so musical!!!...

OOOHHHH! What's this?!?

Hi Mom!!!

Wanna play with me?

Clang and Bang on the floor!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Brian's first Thanksgiving was wonderful!! We got to see so many family and friends - and of course we ate WAY TOO much food! Brian's first Thanksgiving Dinner consisted of him eating Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, and a cream cheese appetizer (that Brian ate 2 of!!).

We are so thankful for all our family and friends and all the support and love they have shown us this past year! We have been so blessed and are so grateful for all that God has given us!

My first Thanksgiving Dinner! YUMMMMM!

Mimi enjoyed playing with me!!

Having fun with FAB!

Boy, this is good stuff!

Great-Grandparents ROCK!!

Aunt Amy gave me a pickle!!!

I wanted to share my pickle with Papa G!

Daddy and I ate way too much Turkey!!

Nap Time after a GREAT Thanksgiving!

Bonfire!

We had a blast at the Cookout and Bonfire with our Young Adults group and the "Original" Young Adults from our church! Brian had a blast!

Sportin' my Carolina Panthers outfit!!

Community!

Deep Fried Turkey!

It was a BIG Bonfire!

My First Tractor Ride!

Mrs. Sarah let me nap on her shoulder!!

My First Halloween!!!

We were at Holden Beach on Halloween and all our mommies and daddies decided that we were going to go Trick-or-Treating in the house!! Some of the adults went in all the bedrooms with the doors closed and my friends and I went around knocking on the doors and getting candy!! It was a lot of fun, even though I think the adults had more fun than us kids!!

Tigger (Brian), Firefighter (Ben), Superman (Brayden), and Bear (John)

Trick-or-Treat!

Even the Hunchback was giving out candy (spider cupcakes, actually)!!

This is a lot of fun!!

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Beach Retreat

Over the weekend we went down to Holden Beach with our small group from church for a weekend retreat! It was AMAZING! Adrienne and Caleb have friends whose parents own a beach house and they let us use the house for the weekend and only pay the cost for the housekeeping/clean-up!! Such a blessing! Every couple from our group was able to come and we even had babysitters for the kids!! (Caleb's parents graciously agreed to come along to watch the kids so the adults could get together by themselves for a while!) We had such a good weekend and the most wonderful food!!! We pretty much stayed full the entire weekend! Thanks to my awesome husband, meals were outstanding!!! The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire weekend - sunny, warm, BEAUTIFUL!!!

The house was INCREDIBLE!

What a group!!!


The boys LOVED playing in the sand!

Up on the Crow's Nest! It was HIGH!!!

I LOVE THE BEACH!

The boys playing football! (Some of them decided they are too old to still be playing!)

Beautiful weather!!

Such a wonderful view!

God's AMAZING sunset!

Ben and Brian!

Brian found a new place to play!