Special Visitors

On Sunday, we had special visitors. Brandon and Stacey (Raleigh's brother and his wife) stopped by on their way through town. They spent Thanksgiving in Big Canoe with Stacey's family and were on their way back to Birmingham. Here a few pictures from their fun visit!

Weekend Rewind

Last weekend we had a wonderful visit with Raleigh's sister Beth. She lives in Colorado, but was in Atlanta for a work conference. We were so glad to have her here and Beau loved getting to know his Aunt Beth! I didn't take many pictures for some reason, but here are a few from last weekend!

See you soon Aunt Beth!

Beau is 17 months old!

Today we celebrated Beau's 17 month birthday!! I can't believe he is already 17 months old!!! He is such a sweet little baby!

Here are a few things about Beau at this age:

-He folds his hands to pray when we put him in the high chair for meals and we he gets in his bed at nighttime.

-He knows sign language for 'more' and 'finished.'

-He says "mama" and "dada" and "uh oh."

-When we put the changing mat on the floor, he will go and lay down on it.

-He loves to cuddle.

-Beau's favorite place to be is at home. He definitely feels safe and comfortable in his own home.

-Beau is sleeping through the night!!!!!!!! This is probably the best accomplishment of the last month. It is a miracle and I am so thankful that Beau is sleeping. In mid-October Raleigh and I decided to try letting Beau cry for 5 minutes before going into the nursery. We did not take this decision lightly. However, we had not slept for more than 2 hours at a time since July 28th, so we decided to give it a try. We made a plan that when Beau woke up, we would let me cry 5 minutes (but no more than that) and then we would go in and comfort him and help him go back to sleep. Well, we tried it and amazingly Beau only cried about 2 minutes and then he fell back to sleep without us going into the nursery. Now he doesn't even wake up and cry at all during the night. He sleeps from approximately 8pm until 8am. He still HATES his crib, so he sleeps on a twin size mattress on the floor of his nursery. We don't mind this at all and are in no rush to transition him off of the floor.

-Beau is really good at taking his shoes off! If you put him in the carseat with shoes on, they come off in about 30 seconds. Ha ha!

-Beau loves his walking toy and I really think it is helping his confidence! He loves to walk holding your hand(s) and will take a few steps without help.

-About a week ago, Beau stood completely on his own for about 30 seconds. But then he got totally scared and didn't know what to do and started crying.

-He loves sitting at Raleigh's desk and "working" at the computer.

-He has found a new seat that is just his size- the fireplace hearth. We have to watch him carefully since our hearth is brick, but he really loves sitting there.

-Beau is now wearing 12-18 month shirts and he can wear some 12 month pants. (His pants that fit the best right now are Gap and Old Navy size 6-12 months)

-He wears size 4 shoes.

-One day we were driving somewhere and Beau got really quiet for a few minutes. When Raleigh and I looked into the backseat, Beau had wiggled his arms out of his carseat. Ahh! He had a huge grin on his face! We of course immediately tightened his straps so that he can't do any more escaping! :)

-Beau eats really well. He almost always eats what we cook and serve for meals. Last night he ate roasted broccoli, sweet potatoes and chicken. His favorite foods right now are grapes, clementines, vanilla wafers, and pretzels. He only drinks water and milk. We have tried giving him a variety of juices, but he doesn't care for them.

In addition to enjoying Beau's 17 month birthday, we also bought our Christmas tree today. Here are a few pictures from the day.

When we arrived at the farm, I thought it would be fun to take a picture on the tractor. Beau disagreed.

Once we ordered our funnel cake, he decided the farm wasn't so bad after all!

All bundled up and waiting for our turn on the hayride!

Beau likes to explore the outdoors!

Beau enjoyed looking at all of the trees!

family pic

After lots of searching, we just couldn't find the perfect tree at the farm. Plus, their prices were very high. So, we bought a fresh wreath instead and then we went to....

Home Depot! Their prices were much lower and they had a larger selection.

We made it home with our tree!

Raleigh was in charge of the lights!

Beau wasn't quite sure what to think at first.

But he quickly starting exploring the shiny ornaments!

Beau's First Thanksgiving Home!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day! We started the day at home. I love watching the parade each year and Beau got to see a little too. After getting ready we hopped in the car and headed to Tennessee. My mom is one of six siblings (who are all married with children) and we all get together each year for the holidays. Thanksgiving was at my uncle Steve's house this year. It was a perfect location because he has a bit of property with a lake and the weather was so great so we were able to get outside and enjoy the scenery. Here are few snapshots from our day!

Beau started the morning by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Then he did a little "work" with dad!

Getting squeaky clean!

my beautiful niece Cayci and my handsome dad

Beau loves to be outside!

Beau is doing some walking with his Aunt Angie!

my nephew Alex, Beau, and Cayci

Beau loved walking with Cayci!

group shot of the grandkids

After our yummy meal, we walked down to the pond to do a little fishing.

Beau liked watching from the bridge.

Sweet Madelyn loves to play with Beau!

my beautiful cousin Sarah

Alex found a great spot to fish!

dad and my sister Angie

My mom really got the hang of it!

Sweet Isabella was patiently waiting for the fish to bite.

Beau loves to be held by dad!

Cousin Kaitlin was having fun! The weather was so nice!

I love stealing kisses from my sweet son!!

Beau and his cousin Landon were having fun getting to know each other. They are almost exactly one year apart in age. It will be fun for them to grow up together!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so blessed and thankful this Thanksgiving morning! Here is very small sampling of the things I am thankful for this year...

-Wonderful parents that model each day how a Godly marriage should look...in times of sickness and in health. They really celebrate each day! I love you mom and dad!!

-Excellent health care in Nashville for my dad as he fights lupus and cancer!

-Dr. Shih, my dad's oncologist.

-My siblings Angie and Johnny who love sweet Beau so much! And Raleigh's siblings Beth, Brandon, and Isaac who also think Beau is pretty cool!! :) We are thankful for all of you!

-Raleigh! Thank you for loving me so well!!

-Beau!! I have dreamt of having Beau home for Thanksgiving, and that day is finally here!!! Praise God!!! He is the perfect fit for our family! I pray that God will take hold of his heart at an early age and direct his strong little personality to be used for God's glory!

Let's Clean

Yesterday after lunch, I decided to quickly wipe down the front of our kitchen cabinets with a clorox wipe. I placed a wet paper towel on the floor next to Beau, just to see what he would do.

Sure enough, as I started wiping the cabinets, so did he! He especially likes to wipe the knobs!

Look mom, I'm helping!

Cleaning is fun!

Carefully navigating the corner!

(Yes, his legs are that short compared to his torso! He is 16 months old and can still wear 6-12 month pants. Ha Ha!)

I need a break! What's in here?

Don't worry mom! I will clean all of the knobs for you!