Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My Little Brown-Eyed Boy

4-Wheelin'

Tyler's birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa being tested out in the backyard

My 1st Birthday... Round Two

Last Saturday, we had a big family birthday party for Tyler in Mechanicsburg. Tyler got to see both sets of grandparents, his Nona, his great-Mema, two great-aunts, Aunt Laura, and Uncle Johnny, to mention just a few... Tyler had fun with balloons, all kinds of toys, and most of all... his cake.

Tyler and Bella having fun with balloons

Tyler's new quad...

Tyler taking a rest after much activity

Tyler's cake BEFORE...

Step one: Sample with the finger... mmm... yummy.

Step two: take a big bite!

Tyler's cake after MANY bites... he even amazingly went to bed that
night despite all the sugar.

My 1st Birthday... Round One

Well, Tyler is officially a year old as of December 3rd! We celebrated the evening with some friends at our house and watched as Tyler had his first real experience with sugar.

Tyler taking a break after the festivities

Give Thanks

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I realized I have not posted in a while and happened to catch a few quiet moments after Tyler's bedtime this evening to post some pictures. I am just sitting here reflecting on how fast this year has gone, here we are at Thanksgiving and TODAY was actually my due date one year ago. Wow. This time last year, Matt and I were anxiously awaiting Tyler's arrival.... would I get to eat Thanksgiving dinner, or would I be eating in the hospital? Well, as we all know the end of that story... Tyler arrived one week later, a whopping 9 lb. baby boy. That little turkey cooked a long time in there, and what a blessing he's been in our life. Being parents and sharing all these experiences as a family this year have been one of God's most precious blessings. We are rapidly approaching his 1st birthday, and I think Matt and I are in disbelief.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with family tomorrow, we hope that you will cherish the time you have with your families. God has given us so many rich blessings and Thanksgiving is a special tradition and time to come together and be grateful for His abundance in our lives.

"I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders." Psalm 9:1

Our Persimmon Tree is ready for harvest!

This squirrel sure thinks the persimmons are ready...

Ride Em' Cowboy!

On Sunday, we went to the Malvern Halloween parade with Grandma, Grandpa, Nona, and their dog, Gabby. It was a gorgeous day to be outdoors! Some friends of ours met us in town for the parade. Grandma and Grandpa got Tyler an adorable cowboy costume for the event. Tyler was just mesmerized by the parade as it passed by us.

An Autumn Walk

My Dad and Beth came to our house a few Sundays ago, and I somehow missed posting these pictures of our afternoon walk at a local park!

Daddy and Mommy

Since Matt and I don't seem to get as many pictures together, here's one from this past weekend where we attended my 10-year college reunion. : )

Attention Seeking Behavior

I know some of you who don't know our cat, Elsa, are asking "what is that"? Elsa is our furry feline companion (a Tortoise Shell Persian) who, I think, is feeling rather lonely these days with a baby joining our family. She loves Tyler and really takes a lot of abuse, but I think it is purely because she is so attention-starved. We were out on our deck one evening and she came trotting outside (because she is allowed to hang out on the deck), and she did something out of character... she went from a clumsy persian to a daredevil feline and jumped up onto the railing of our deck and walked the entire perimeter. After she jumped down, she started down the steps (which she was scolded and stopped dead in her tracks).

Little Boys and Their Dirt

Matt took Tyler outside the other week (when the weather was amazing and unseasonably warm) to pal around and do "boy stuff". Matt pulled some weeds and Tyler also tried to help his daddy pull the weeds. It's amazing that, even at this age, kids are magnetically drawn to dirt. Matt could have left Tyler outside all day and he would have been perfectly content. Matt came inside with Tyler, who was covered in dirt from head to toe and just said to me "little boys are just meant to be outdoors"... hence the following series:

Notice the dirt around his mouth

A favorite spot for Tyler, as well as our nephews (under our deck)

Mmmm... tasty rocks

Notice more dirt around the mouth and the wet rock

Daddy's attempt at abstraction : )