Fall is here!

The weather has been absolutely wonderful the past few days allowing us the chance to actually "play" outside for the first time.  You see, up until now it has been so blazing hot that we couldn't stay out for long.  Also since he just started walking, most of his time outside was spent crawling through muck and over concrete {scraping his the leg he drags as he went},  tasting experiencing nature, and playing on the stairs.  That made for a stressful, not so fun outside time for Mommy.  Tuesday I decided to try taking him to a walking trail we have by the lake and it was so much fun!  There was actually enough wide open space for him to roam without me constantly worrying about stairs, drop-offs, or concrete.  Add to that the unbeatable temp, the fact that he's walking really well,  and the improvement in his ability to distinguish food from sticks, and you've got yourself a fun playtime.  We're looking forward to more days at the park!

 

 

 

 

 Miller called the pine cones, "ball" :)

 Banging the "drum"

We didn't last long once Miller found the lake.  He wanted to walk right in.  We had a solid half hour of playtime before he discovered it though.  It made for one hungry, sleepy baby!

Shoe Shopping

Last week Miller and I were in Birmingham and decided to head to Syke's to get Miller's first pair of walking shoes.  I was so glad we did, because they had a much larger selection than anywhere around here.  Also, they did measured his feet meticulously and actually put him two sizes bigger than a store here did.  Woops.  Miller loves his new shoes and gets excited whenever it's time to put them on.  Just another reminder that the "baby" is wearing off :(

It was tough for me to get a picture of him standing still, but I did my best!  Here he is showing off his new kicks when I said, "Where are your shoes?"...

 

What a big boy!!!

Shhhhhhh!!!!!

Don't tell Daddy!

Waaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr Eagle, Hey!

Mini Houdini

A few nights ago I looked on the monitor to check on Miller and saw this:

Look closely.  Can you see what he's done?  Maybe this next picture will help.  I took it the next morning.

Somehow our little Houdini escapped from his pajamas.  Maybe we should sign him up for some magic lessons.  Or maybe just go au naturale :)

Tailgating on the Quad

Mommy and Daddy took me to Tuscaloosa a couple of weekends ago for the Penn State game.

I got to go over to the quad for a little tailgating and then Nana took me home while everyone else went to the game.  Tailgating was okay, but I could have done without the heat, the rain, the crowd, and the noise.   We finally found Poppy and Cissy's tailgate.

 I even got to see my second-cousin, Olivia.  She's pretty cute.  Too bad we're related.

After that, we went to find Aunt Kate.  I don't know if you know this, but she's pretty important.

By the end of the day I was worn out and ready to get out of there.  Nana strolled me through the crowd back to the car and then it was home sweet home for dinner and bedtime.

Tailgating was pretty fun, but I think the best part of staying with grandparents is the mischief I can get into.

Roll tide everyone!

Our Little Picasso

Miller has come home from Mother's Day Out with some pretty cute "artwork" over the past month!  I'm having a hard time deciding what to do with it all because I just can't bring myself to put any of it in the trash can.  At this rate, we'll need a storage facility just for his paperwork by the time he's in first grade.  So, I have decided to scan it in {we'll see how long it lasts} for now and then decide.  I may just keep a few of these first pieces and then pick a few favorites each year to save in a scrapbook or something.  Any suggestions?

Let me also add that I am not oblivious to the fact that Miller is thirteen months old and therefore not capable of a lot of this "work" :)  I think it is so great that his teacher is exposing him to so much though.  And I'll be the first to say that I'm certainly not brave enough to break out the markers and paint quite yet!  I also think it's cute that she actually gets him to use the "right" colors for things.  See for yourself...

 

As you can see, they are learning about Creation this month :)  By the way, there was a B is for butterfly" page, but for some unknown reason my scanner despised that one and refused to scan it after twelve attempts.  I only have so much patience.

Please comment and let me know if you have any great {easy} ideas for keeping these precious works of art :)

One Year Photos

Back in July we went to Birmingham for Miller's one year photos with Johanna Cosby.  She did an amazing job!  I didn't upload all of them, but here are quite a few for your viewing pleasure!

Labor Day Weekend

On Labor Day we had our annual trip to the lake with college friends.  This was our fourth year to do it {we skipped last year since Miller was just born} and as always, it was a blast!  It was a little crazier this year since we had so many babies in the mix, but it was definitely a good crazy.  As you'll see below, we had six kids there.  We also had twelve adults {plus my parents who hosted us}.  We started having it so that we'd be close to Auburn for the first game of the season and we'd get some lake time in too.  This year no one went to the game because it was just too busy with the little ones.  Times are changing I guess!!!

All of the kiddos!  Hays, Winston, Miller, Sam, Evelyn, and Hunter

Winston is the oldest {3} and he was so great with all of the smaller kids!  He took turns, shared, and even helped the grown ups some.

Obviously Winston is a big Auburn fan.  At one point we had this conversation:

Winston: "Do you like Bamers?"

Me:  "What did you just say?"  {aka, Did you really just say "Bamer"!?!}

Winston:  "Do you like Bamers?"

Me:  "Well, yea.  Actually I'm married to a Bamer."

Winston:  "Why?"

I don't even think I answered him, because I was too busy laughing.

When Evelyn {2} saw Miller crawling, she decided to revert and follow him around while crawling.  I never caught a good shot of both of them crawling, but it was too precious not to mention!

Every year we celebrate Emily's birthday.  Cake by the lake - can't beat that!  Happy Birthday, Em!

Miller also got his first sailing lesson from Pop.  I must also mention that Miller said "Pop" a few times this weekend.  Good thing he's got those P's down since he has a Pop, a Papa Frank, and a Poppy.  Pop was the official chef for the weekend and I'm pretty sure I can thank him for the three extra pounds I'm toting around now {along with Hannah's yummy Cornflake Candy}.  Thanks for hosting us, Mom and John!  And thanks to everyone for making the trip!  I treasure our friendships and I'm so thankful that we make an effort to get together regularly.  See y'all in about a month!!