Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours. We were in McKinney, Texas visiting my side of the family over the holiday. There are five grandchildren here under the age of 6, so it's a party everywhere you turn. I woke up the morning of Thanksgiving, cooked with my mom (Paula Deen's stuffing-yum-, pecan pie, squash casserole) & then we had friends come over to the house. We ate the big feast around 3pm. Lincoln did great, & with every bite he took, he said, "Mmm, mmm, mmm....it's soo good!" He was quite enthusiastic about eating the turkey. Which, BTW, is named "Modene". The turkey's name has been Modene since I can remember, so Lincoln was super excited about calling the turkey by its appropriate name. Modene was super yummy this year.
Here are some photos that we captured the past few days that we were there:

My mom & I preparing to cook:



Momma & Lincoln reading a fire engine book:



Visiting with family & friends before eating:



The Three Musketeers: Lucy, Tatum, & Lincoln



Papa with Lucy, Tatum & Lincoln:



Here we are hanging out, playing guitar, & just chatting:



And here's the newest member of our family, Miss Charlotte Scott. She's donning the newest fashion trend:



We are happy to be back home. The drive to Texas took about 10 hours each way. It was a very long drive, but also very fun with the boys. Lincoln & Levi played very well with each other...Lincoln made Levi laugh so hard. Although it was a very long ride, it was also really great family time.
I pray that your Thanksgiving was great too.
Post ya later,

santa baby

Tell me this isn't the cutest Santa Baby you've ever seen. I just want to dunk him in my coffee.
Feast your eyes:

Happy Santa:


Profile Santa:


Backwards Santa:


Close-Up Santa:


Sleepy Santa:


Cute, Cute, and More Cute. I'm completely in love.

Happy Christmas Tag

This is a fun Christmas tag in which I was tagged by Court. Wanna know my Christmas timing/style/decorating? You know you do.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like either one. Gift bags are soooo much easier & quicker, but wrapping paper looks nicer. It just depends on how much time I have to wrap it & get it to the recipient.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I don't like real trees. It sounds like a good idea in theory. But that's where it ends. The watering, the needles everywhere...who has the time?

3. When do you put up the tree? Our decorations have been up for a week now. Lincoln was just too excited to wait any longer.

4. When do you take the tree down? A few days after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog? Ggrrroooosssss.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Baby Talk...it was a baby that talked. That was huge for me.

7. Hardest person to buy for? my brother-in-law, Todd

8. Easiest person to buy for? my sister...we like the same things, so it's fairly easy.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? We do, but it's not up this year, due to the 10-month old putting everything in his mouth. Not a smart idea this year.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, although I may change it up this year.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I got nothin'. (meaning I have no idea, not that I got nothin' for Christmas)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? There is only one ultimate Christmas movie. "It's A Wonderful Life".

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Sure!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Breakfast casserole & sausage balls

16. Lights on the tree? yes, all white.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, & Frank Sinatra's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel either to Texas or to St. Louis. This year, it's St. Louis.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? No, Rudolph is the only one that matters!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? a big bow cascading down this year

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open one present on Christmas Eve, & then all the rest on Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Seeing everyone decorate their homes before Thanksgiving...er, uh...wait a minute...

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? all golds, silvers, bronzes, & whites...can't beat it.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? How can you choose this? My mom is the best cook ever, so anything she makes kicks arse.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Mine & Ben's list has dwindled since we've had kids. We no longer really get each other presents for Christmas...we usually just concentrate on the kiddos. I'm fine with this.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? I have no clue...

27. Does Santa wrap your gift or leave them unwrapped? Wrapped. Unless it's something huge, like a hot wheels track or a bicycle. Then we display it in all its glory.

Ok girls, hop to it. I tag Lindsay & Melissa.

A Day at the Farm!

Brace yourselves, people. This is an extremely photo-heavy post, so get ready! We had a wonderful afternoon today, spending time with our friends Joel & Holly at their house/farm. Their kids Samuel & Lily were there too, & we all had fun showing Lincoln & Levi the animals. They have 2 goats (Martha & Diablo), lots of chickens, 3 horses (Shine, Allegro, & Bono), 3 dogs (Ruby, Sunny, & Luna), and a few cats (can't remember their names). So you can imagine the fun that Lincoln had playing with all of them! He was able to feed the goats all by himself...all the while calling out their names, petting them, & chasing them...



We quickly figured out that whoever holds the bag of tortilla chips is Martha's favorite! Here's sweet Lily getting jumped on by Martha the Goat.



Lincoln kept trying to feed Diablo, who is a very shy goat. Lincoln would run at him full speed, screaming with a chip in his hand saying "Come here Diablo! I've got a chip for you!" This was Diablo's reaction:



Lincoln & Momma feeding the goats a chip:



Here's Holly holding Levi, helping Lincoln feed Martha:



After we fed the goats, Lincoln rode a horse for the first time! He LOVED this, & thought he was super cool. He rode a horse named Shine, & Holly walked him around the farm while Lincoln rode him. Every time Shine would stop walking, Holly would tell Lincoln to kick Shine to make him start walking again. He would kick him & say, "Yee-haw!" Hilarious.







We thought we should put a helmet on him halfway during his ride. I got a little nervous, afraid he was going to slide off Shine. Doesn't this hat make him totally look like a jockey? He's about the same size, too.







After that, Lincoln got to go to the chicken coop to chase the chickens & he even got to get two fresh eggs. He thought this was quite possibly the coolest thing ever. He named them #1 and #2...how original. He kept them in his lap the entire way home from the farm, telling us "Ssshh" anytime we talked because "it would wake up the chicks."









Holly let us ride in her ATV. And she even let Lincoln 'drive' by himself! He loved it, but he liked honking the horn even more. Here's him & Holly:



Sweet Levi had a good time too. He was held by everyone, but here are some cutes ones with Ben & Joel.




We had a great day & tonight when we put Lincoln to bed, I asked him what he thought of it all. He said, "It was so much fun at the farm. I like Miss Holly. She's my own best favorite cousin." Huh? I think he's trying to navigate his way around the meaning of friend, cousin, brother, grandmother, wife, husband, & all the other relationship labels. So that, in Lincoln terms, is what he calls a good friend.

Hope y'all are having a good weekend. We sure are.
Post ya later,

Quite the Stud.

Lincoln had his school pictures last week. He wore a tie for the very first time & frankly, had no idea what it was when I put it on him. He said, "What's this? Why's it hanging down on my shirt?" Funny boy.







Thank you Memaw & PawPaw for the shirt & tie!
xoxo

Buzz Lightyear & The Itsy-Bitsy Spider go out on the town.

Happy Halloween! Lincoln dressed up as Buzz Lightyear & Levi was The Itsy-Bitsy Spider. They both looked so cute! To start the festivities off, Lincoln & I made cupcakes to take to the Broadgate neighborhood party down our street. Have I mentioned how much I love where we live? We celebrate out in the cul-de-sac & it is so much fun with all the kids. So here is Lincoln, so very proud of his cupcake decorating skills:





Here the boys are all decked out, about to go to the party:






Does anyone else think Linc is excited?!



We grilled out, ate good food, drank good beer, watched the kids play in the fog machine while they chased each other around, & got pumped full of candy.



Lincoln with all his neighborhood friends:





After the party, we loaded up the wagon....



& went down the street to begin trick-or-treating:







What you are seeing in this one is Lincoln walking through a foggy haunted "house" in the neighborhood. I know, I know, they really go all out for Halloween! It's the greatest. He loved it. We could only get the back of him though...I didn't have much luck getting a smile from him because he was a) spooked; and b) running around so fast in there.



And here was the main entrance to the 'hood haunted house. Each kid stuck his head through the hole so the parents could get a money shot of them being a candy corn. How cute is that.



And last, but certainly not least, here are some pics of the brothers together as they are, with Lincoln loving on Levi, no matter what Levi's reaction is.





"Levi, just look at me..."



"No seriously...punk, just look at me."



"There! gotcha!"



I can't remember ever having a better Halloween than this one. Lincoln is at the perfect age to enjoy it, & Levi is content to just sit in his wagon & take it all in. He had the best seat out of everyone...he just chilled in the wagon & drank his bottle, while watching all the pumpkins & other costumed kids run around. What could be better?!

I hope your Halloween was just as festive & celebrated as ours was.

Ghosts, Goblins, & decorated cupcakes,