Happy Thanksgiving Part 2

Zander and I had the day off together on Friday while daddy worked from 7:00-7:00 so I tried to do a little photo shoot by the Christmas tree... it is impossible to get a 19 month old to "sit by the tree" as I kept saying.  He would sit but as soon as he sat, he was back up to find something else to do.  If you ever wonder why most of the pictures I have taken of him lately are in his car seat, it is because that is the only time I can get him still enough to have a picture that doesn't come out blurry.  I think these two pictures turned out really good after multiple failed attempts! ;)

The Bakewells arrived around lunchtime on Saturday and Zander might have woken up from his nap too early..... he was adorable though.... just wanting to be held.  Aunt Lindsey didn't mind him putting his head on her shoulder while we got the food together.  As Lindsey says....he doesn't just sit in your arms as much anymore..... so we have to cherish these moments!

 And a picture from last year to show how much our little guy continues to grow.....

 

 Zander did this hilarious thing most of the afternoon.... if you would start to clap and cheer... he would join you! He got so excited that I tried to capture it in pictures with his great grandparents.  These are such precious moments with three of my favorite people!

Finally, as we were relaxing from a very delicious meal and waiting for dessert, Zander decided to help Uncle Boomer play a game on the iPad.  You can tell that Zander is quite enamored by his Uncle Boom and this modern technology!

Happy Thanksgiving Part 1

We started off our Thanksgiving break by meeting Aunt Lindsey for lunch at Chickfila.  Zander is sporting a cow hat! 

On Thursday, we loaded up the car and headed to Charlotte to spend the evening with Grannie's family.  Zander did great on the whole car trip there.  He even read some books! ;)

 

 Emma Claire practiced some of her photography skills and took some family pictures! Aunt Maude got Zander a basketball that he refused to put down the entire evening.... as you can see from all the pictures of him with the ball.

 

 Zander played catch or fetch (since he is not so good at catching a ball yet) with Aunt A and Jay.

He even got some pictures with the birthday girl, Sadie!!  She is fourteen now!! It is hard to believe I met her when she was four!  Zander loved talking on her phone.  Jacob, Sadie and Emma Claire did an awesome job entertaining Zander so I actually enjoyed sitting down with the family for a little while......it was so nice!

Part 2 will come after Saturday when the Bakewells come to town..... stay tuned ;)

Christmas Came

..... to our house this weekend.  I didn't know if we would be able to get Christmas set up prior to all the Thanksgiving festivities because all three of us have had the stomach bug within the past week.  As you saw from my previous post, Zander started the trend last weekend.  Then, Zack woke up sick on Wednesday and missed two days of work.  I was so proud of myself.... thinking I had avoided the "fun" but Friday night it was over!  I spent the entire weekend feeling nauseous and not being able to muster any energy.  I moved from one couch to another and went to bed extra early.... what a fun weekend! ;) haha.... but we were able to push through and set up our Christmas tree.  Zander would take a limb to Zack to put on the tree as I watched this unfold from the couch.  Unfortunately, he would hand branches that Zack didn't need at that moment..... it was a memorable father-son bonding experience! I kept the decorations minimal around the house this year due to a cute little 19 month old that likes to inspect and move everything.... not knowing if it is breakable or not.... he doesn't care. ;)  Zander loves the tree!  He likes to admire it first thing in the morning and as soon as we get home from "school".  He enthusiastically shouts "ball" as he points to any ornament that is in the shape of a ball.  He is trying to say "tree" but we are not there yet!  He tries to go behind the tree and I am convinced that he might be found underneath a toppled tree before the season is over.... I hope not! 

Another cute comparison to last year..... our little boy is growing so fast!

More Fall Fun!

What boy doesn't want to play in a pile of leaves?! ..... that is exactly what we did after church last Sunday.  Our neighbor kindly raked all her leaves and we let Zander explore in them.  

 We also got a few more of Zander's smiles.... one genuine and the second one maybe a little forced. ;)

We celebrated Burke's 5th birthday on Monday.  We took him to get some frozen yogurt as a birthday treat!  (you can almost see Zander in the back seat)

 Grammy and Grandpa came by for a visit and were able to see Aunt Lindsey's new office. 

We bundled up for what felt like an arctic freeze this Friday.  Zander wore his overalls to keep him extra warm!

We grabbed dinner with our best buds, Chris and Bri.  We realized this might be the last time we can all fit in the same car.  They are going to have a little boy any day now....we can't wait to get the call!!! :)  On the way to dinner, the boys sat in the back and us girls were in the front..... this just cracks me up!

After dinner, we hung out at the house (another thing that might not happen with the Whites in the near future).  Zander chilled by the roaring fire (ok...gas logs) in the new rocking chair he got from Grandpa and Grandma Bakewell.... it even has his name on the back!  He absolutely loves HIS chair.

We were also able to celebrate Grannie's birthday!!  We are going to have to have a "do-over" for her birthday celebration.  Zander had his first projectile vomit in the car on the way to a nice lunch..... we had to remove all of his clothes and clean the entire car seat!  Ironically, we just had installed a seat protector to go underneath the car seat earlier today.  The mess wasn't as bad as it could have been.... but it makes me glad that I always keep clothes in the car just in case.... the pictures below are after our adventures in the car!