Autumn fun

On Friday the boys and I enjoyed a beautiful autumn afternoon together in our backyard. The colors on the trees are amazing this time of year. What a wonderful Creator we have!

Despite the boys' efforts at raking the leaves into a pile, not quite enough leaves have fallen yet for a lot of jumping into. Bryce and Carter had fun making "leaf angels."

Bryce and his acrobatics. We drove by our new house this week and were amazed at the progress. The construction process is almost complete. I told Bryce excitedly that the house is almost finished and that we will be moving in soon. He remarked candidly, "It's not done yet. They still need to put in the playground."

Carter Mountain Orchard

In early October we were able to visit Carter Mountain Orchard in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a gorgeous autumn day and we enjoyed picnicking at the orchard, going on a hayride, eating apple cider donuts (yum!), and apple picking (or at least apple tree climbing!).

Susannah, Brian and Davis eating lunch. A bluegrass band played in the background.

Our cute little worm!

Me and Susannah on the hayride. (The boys didn't want to pose.)

Bryce showing us his balancing skills.

Davis and Brian.

Carter trying to be like his big brothers by climbing the tree.

Our family.

Career choices

The other day in the backseat of the minivan my oldest two boys were discussing their career path. The conversation went something like this:

Bryce to Grant, "After you finish grade number twelve you go to school to be a doctor. I am going to be a doctor."

Grant, patronizingly, "You have to be old to be a doctor. You have to be like twenty."

Overhearing this, and trying to avoid an argument, I asked Grant what he wanted to study in college. "I want to be a basketball player," was his reply.

That's when Carter, wanting to particpate, shouted out, "I'm going to be a T-Rex!"

Fun photos

Our second son loves puzzles. He could put together 80 piece puzzles independently soon after he turned three. He recently decided to put all of our puzzles together to see if they would "fit" in his room. These are some of them. Of course I liked the fact that this kept him occupied up in his room for quite some time...

Brotherly love at its best. Matchbox cars and wrestling. It doesn't get any better than this.

Carter on his very first golf outing with daddy. He had a blast (and I hear he's a natural).

Catching Up

This past month has been a busy one, hence my slacking off on blog updates. So, in an effort to catch up, here are some highlights.

Carter turned three on August 24th! We celebrated with a family party at home. Carter selected an "army" cake for the occasion and was all smiles as he blew out the candles. Some of his favorite presents were a remote controlled Lightning McQueen car, a Cars t-shirt, and a John Deere dump truck.

We celebrated my mom's birthday on August 28th. We had the Waagner side of the family over for a simple dinner and cake. We praise the Lord for bringing her through the trials of the past year--what a special birthday this was!

Brian also celebrated a birthday recently. On September 16th he turned thirty-three. The boys had fun decorating a cake for him--a "golf" cake with a Virginia Tech golf ball--both of his hobbies combined into one cake! They know their daddy!

Another big event of the past month was my 20 week ultrasound, marking the mid-way point of the pregnancy. On August 24th we were able to "see" blessing #5 via ultrasound machine. It truly is amazing to see the baby on the screen--a complete baby, tiny and moving around. Despite natural curiosity and pressure from friends and family to "find out," the gender of our little bundle of joy remains a surprise. We love the anticipation of finding out in the delivery room. For now I am am enjoying those sweet little kicks and looking forward to meeting him or her in January.

On September 8th Grant became a first grader. He nonchalantly took on this new challenge and seems to be enjoying the first grade just as much as he did kindergarten. Due to our move, Grant is attending a different school this year. The transition has been easy for him and he has made several friends already. We are grateful for a very good teacher and are impressed at how much his reading has improved in just a few weeks. The monkey bars seem to be all the rage in first grade (first graders get promoted to the "big kids" playground), and Grant has the callouses on his hands to prove it. He also enjoys music and computer.

Football is a big deal around here in the fall and this year we have two football players in the family! Grant and Bryce are playing flag football and enjoying it immensely. They like wearing their cleats and jerseys and are having fun "practicing" in the backyard. It's been fun to watch them play.

Carter chillin' on the sideline.

Lunch conversation

Boy, sporting his Spider-Man costume, sleeves rolled up, at the lunch table, says to me through a mouth full of potato chips, "Mom, Hulk is not real. But, Incredible Hulk is real."

My littlest guy

My littlest guy, now that he is a big one-year-old, is growing up so fast. He loves to imitate his big brothers and has a real knack for making car and truck sounds. Earlier this week he even held a toy airplane and "flew" it over his head while making plane noises. One of his favorite spots in the house is our playroom where he enjoys playing with our large collection of matchbox cars. He loves to stand at the windowsill and "drive" them back and forth. What a cutie pie!

Camping

Last weekend Grant and Bryce enjoyed a night of camping with their daddy. After much anticipation by the boys, we set up the tent in the backyard and started the fire for s'mores. Grant, Bryce and Carter had fun helping to set up the tent and we enjoyed roasting marshmallows and making s'mores as a family. Then mommy took the little ones inside and the "big boys" crawled into their sleeping bags. It was a memorable activity for Grant and Bryce and they were actually able to fall asleep and spend the entire night in the tent. What a good sport their daddy is!

Duck, N.C. 2009

During the first week of August we were able to enjoy a week of vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For the past several years we have been able to vacation with our friends, the Moores, in Duck, N.C. Once again, it was a fun time. This year, more than ever, Grant had been counting down the days and weeks 'til vacation since the beginning of summer. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the week. Some highlights were: visiting the headquarters of the monster truck, Grave Digger, on the way down, Duck Donuts with daddy, collecting shells on the beach, eating at Rundown Cafe, the boardwalk over the sound, and lots of pool time.

Yes, that's Brian, Grant, and Bryce riding Grave Digger!

Carter on the alligator float at the pool.

Jamie, Grant, and Bryce jumping in!

Little stair steps.

Davis loved the sand and the water.

Carter being a sweet big brother.

Our four in their Duck t-shirts.

The crew: Carter, Kaelyn, Bryce, Davis, Grant, Jamie

The Little boys.

Kaelyn instructing "Taaar-ter" to hold her hand.

Chocolate graham crackers. The perfect beach snack.

Mommy and Davis.

Our group. Our family and the Moores.

OBX 2009

Happy Birthday Davis!

Our sweet baby boy is one year old! Last Sunday evening we celebrated Davis' birthday with a simple family party. We had both sets of grandparents, Uncle Eric, Aunt Susannah, and my Aunt Margan over for a fun evening to mark the occasion.

Susannah and Bryce.

Davis wondering what the video camera was all about.

Eric is a good sport.

Mommy and Daddy with the birthday boy.

All smiles.

Blowing out the candle on his puppy dog cake (with a little help from mommy).

After blowing out the candle, we asked Grant and Bryce to tell Davis his about his birthday surprise. While we found out later that they had already spilled the beans during dinner, the big surprise was that Davis is going to be a big brother! Yes, another baby is on the way! As Bryce put it, "There is a baby in mommy's tummy!" We are looking forward to welcoming a new little bundle of joy into our family next January!

Not so sure about the cupcake at first.

Decided it was pretty good after all!

Davis has been such a blessing to our family and we will always treasure this special first year. We praise the Lord for our sweet Davis Parker.