Christmas Card Photo Shoot

I had Nate's picture taken at the end of November for our Christmas card. There weren't as many good ones as I would've liked, but it is so hard to get him to cooperate! These are my three favorites. I used the last two for Christmas cards. The last one (in the red vest) is my favorite.

The photographer had some Smarties to encourage good behavior (bribe). I thought this was really cute of Nate looking at the candy.

Haircuts

This morning Darren, Nate and I went for much needed haircuts. I have mentioned before that my mom has cut Nate's hair several times. We decided that it might be good for Nate to get a "real" haircut to shape it up a bit. This was taken this morning before we left. His hair doesn't look as long in this picture, but I have some pics of him and I promise it looks like he has wings on the sides of his head.

The same girl cuts Darren's hair and mine. We let Darren go first so Nate would know what to expect. Nate went next and he did great. He enjoyed 2 suckers during the haircut and was surprisingly still - 2 year old still, not perfectly still.

As you can see, we didn't go too short. I'm not ready to let go of all of those sweet curls yet and I'm not exactly sure if I'll ever be ready.

Finally it was my turn! I was so excited and a little bit nervous because I decided that I was going to get a major haircut. I cannot even remember the last time I had a haircut and I have been wanting to do something different with my hair for a while. But, I kept putting it off because I didn't know exactly what I wanted and I loved the fact that I could fix my hair super fast and get it into a ponytail when I was in a hurry. I finally found a short haircut that I really liked that looked cute curly and straight. I made our appointments on Wednesday and I had several days to decide if I really wanted to go through with it. Before she began cutting, Jill asked me if I was sure I wanted to go through with it and I assured her I was ready and I promised her I wouldn't cry. It's just hair and it will grow back. She did a great job and I LOVE it.

Darren and Nate ran to Wal-mart while I was getting my hair cut and they waited in the truck until I was finished. When I got in the truck, Darren said it looked great and Nate said "I want other hair back" and then he started to cry. I never dreamed he would have that kind of reaction!

It's hard to see all of the layers because my hair is so dark, but here are the pictures.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The day started with breakfast with Darren's family. This is the first year that we've had breakfast together on Thanksgiving. I thought it was lots of fun, so hopefully it will be a tradition that continues. Nate had a blast playing with all of his cousins. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures. Later that evening we had dinner with my family. We had so much yummy food. Two years ago (Nate's first Thanksgiving) we started taking a family picture on Thanksgiving. It is super informal. We basically just get together for a family picture so we can see how much we've aged over the year. :)

Our family has so much to be thankful for. We are thankful first and foremost for God's unconditional love that He demonstrated for us in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are thankful to have family close by that we love and enjoy spending time with - not just at the holidays. We are also thankful to be parents. After 6 years of wanting a baby, God answered that prayer and blessed us with the sweetest, cutest, smartest little boy.

I am so thankful for a wonderful husband who works so hard to take such great care of me and Nate. I am so thankful that I get to stay home with Nate everyday. I will never get these years with him back and Darren's hard work allows me enjoy this precious time. Thank you Darren! Nate and I love you very much!

Chickens

Several months ago Darren and I decided we should get some chickens (laying hens). We thought it would be a fun experience for Nate to feed and water them and, of course, gather eggs. Darren did a lot of research on the various types of laying hens and what type environment they should live in. He used a small playhouse that was given to us and turned it into a chicken coop. Then he built a run (pen) to attach to the coop. We went to get the hens today. We got five: two Buff Orpingtons, two Barred Rock, and one Road Island Red. They are 13 weeks old right now and will not begin laying eggs until about 28 weeks.

We put them in a dog crate to get them home. On the way home we discussed possible names for them. I suggested names like Molly and Emily (from Thomas and Friends) and Lucy and Suzy, but Nate didn't like those. Then I started saying silly things like Sprinkles and Cupcake and he liked those. So, we've named them Sprinkles, Cupcake, Cookie, Pumpkin and Brownie. I don't know if we can keep them all straight, but it was fun to give them names.


I have been wanting a fenced in area for Nate to play in outside :)


We were very surprised at how friendly they are. We thought it would take them a while to warm up to us. The family we bought them from has four children that help care for all of the chickens, so I guess they are use to being around people.

Desoto State Park

A couple of weeks ago we went camping at Desoto State Park. This was our last camping trip for this year since it's getting cold. My parents camped with us and we had a great time. The weather was beautiful except for one day of rain.

These pictures were taken at Little River Canyon.

These were taken in the park. There was a huge rock and creek near our campsite. Nate had the best time climbing on the rock and playing in the creek.

His very favorite thing to do was play in the gravel. He LOVED filling his trailers with gravel and then dumping it out and then filling them again.

Walking on the boardwalk

Being silly

Desoto State Park is in Fort Payne, Alabama. These are statues of the members of the band Alabama. They look great, but a little creepy. I also noticed that the chubby guy's (Jeff, I think) statue isn't chubby. Is there a rule against chubby statues?

The day it rained we went to Chattanooga to the Aquarium. Nate enjoyed seeing the fish, but he wanted to see them quickly. He would look at one display for a couple of seconds and then say "Go see more fish." We had a lot of fun and it wasn't crowded, so it was a great day to be there with a 2 year old.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. Nate had a great time trick-or-treating and eating chocolate candy. This kid LOVES chocolate candy! One of his favorite shows is Dinosaur Train. When we saw this costume, he immediately said "Dinosaur Train"and wanted to carry it around. I don't know if it's actually a dinosaur costume, but he sure thought so.

Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins with Nate for the first time this year. Even though he obviously didn't do any carving, he liked helping and watching the pumpkins transform into "jack-lanterns." He also enjoyed cleaning out the inside of the pumpkins. When we took them out to the porch, his favorite thing to do was blow out the candles. He thought that was a fun game for Darren to light the candles and then he would blow them out.