So far behind I don't even know where to start...

Gah, ya'll. I have gotten so far behind in my blogging that the very thought of trying to catch up (nearly impossible at this point) made me want to run for the hills. Just so dadgum (or "big-gum" as Alex says) overwhelming. And when I say I'm behind, it's not just in writing; it's also in catching up on my favorite blogs and leaving comments for my favorite peeps. Thank goodness for the iPhone where I can at least read when I have a minute or two of down time even though I hate using the phone for commenting. Don't ask why - it's just something about that tiny little keyboard that deters me from wanting to type anything longer than a sentence or two. Anyway, hoping to get back into the swing of things in the next few days.

So to kick it off, here are a few random pics from our goings on. And please don't judge that there are no proper transitions to make this post flow smoothly. It's late, I'm tired, and I'm too far behind to worry about that right now. 

While not blogging, we've been soaking up all of the fabulousness of fall. The leaves have been MAGNIFICENT in our neck of the woods! I have loved pulling onto our street every day and admiring these beauties.

We also did a few crafts to gear up for Thanksgiving. Alex made an Indian headdress and a drum.

He also had fun with some Thanksgiving stickers and turkey pancakes.

Oh, and for his Thanksgiving party at school, I made these cookie turkeys for his classmates. Gobble, gobble.

Recently, I helped host a baby shower for a friend, and just as the shower was kicking off, I noticed that Alex put his touch on things...

Now that we're headed into the Christmas season, our mall has their holiday train up and running. Alex loves this thing!

Alex was invited to a birthday party for one of his friends a couple of weekends ago. The party was at Pump it Up. I thought for sure Alex would be intimidated by the big slides. I couldn't have been more wrong about that. Wow! This kid was in heaven! I will be taking him back during "free play" this winter when we need some good activity to keep us busy. Check out that smile...

We race cars A LOT in our house. On any given day, our living room floor looks like this:

And the cars that don't race all that well end up in here, "benched on the sidelines":

A family picture. Does this ever happen to anyone else? You get everyone dressed, you have such high hopes of getting that perfect picture, and then it seems nearly impossible to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time, let alone with smiles on their faces. Yep. So frustrating!! So you just have to take what you can get.

And here are a few more pics of "Mommy's Lil Man."

Make that, Mommy's Lil Men.

We took the boys to a children's museum this week, and Alex got to play with/see two of his favorite things: a water trough and a box of one million "pen-pens" (that's pennies in Alex-speak). He could have spent the entire time at these two stations in the museum and been perfectly happy. Well, almost. He wasn't too happy that he couldn't get his hands on those pen-pens.

 

And finally, we got to spend Thanksgiving with Jerry's family. Such fun times - especially watching the cousins play together. They were precious!

Alright, that just about brings us up to speed. I'll try to do better about staying on top of things, though I make no promises. =) Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

A visit from Noni

Noni recently had some business to tend to up in our neck of the woods for the {amazing} work she does for Historic Tyler. On her way back to Texas, she made a little detour to Roanoke, and we packed in the fun until we were just plain worn out at the end of her visit.

We had a picnic in the park. We had porch swing photoshoots. We visited Lexington for the day (which if you're ever in this area, I HIGHLY recommend - it's a great historical town). And we attempted the pumpkin patch, although it was bitter cold so we left within 10 minutes of our arrival. Lots of great fun (although, Pop Pop, we missed you), and we are already looking forward to our next visit in the days ahead.

McDonald's in the park. A favorite treat of Alex's. (And mine, if I'm being totally honest here.)

Each year Noni buys our little crew Halloween gear, and we wear it almost every day. We washed and wore these the majority of the week she was here. We are proud of our Griswold tendencies. =)

Freezing our tails off at the pumpkin patch. The pumpkin patch was only open on weekends, and would you believe that we had beautiful weather every single day Noni was here except for the two days the patch was open? Oh well, the boys sure did look cute in their pumpkin hats.

Hurry up and let's get these pictures done. Too cold to stay put!

Bundled up for the patch. Roo is modeling Noni's handiwork with the first sweater she ever knit for Alex and the cute hat.

Lexington - the cemetery where Stonewall Jackson was buried.

More from the cemetery in Lexington. Noni has more pictures from our excursion here -
hopefully she'll share on her blog soon. =)

Halloween 2011

We had a much better Halloween this year than last. Last year, Alex was down for the count from some kind of terrible sickness. This year, we were germ-free and managed to hit a small festival and a few houses for some candy, too. Alex had two costumes, so he wore one to the festival and the other for his big night of trick or treating. Roo-bear was a cute little bee. Without further ado, here are the pics...

Little Puppy at the festival at his school.

Gearing up for some trick or treating in the neighborhood.

The boys on Halloween night.

Bzzzzzzz.

Getting his first candy of the night at his friend Sully's house. (Sully is the monkey.)

Pounding the pavement to find more candy.

Trick or treat!

The puppy and the bee.

Getting an up close and personal visit with the alpaca. SO soft!

In line for our free hot dogs and chips at the festival with Alex's friends Ellie and Caleb.

Woof!

Happy Birthday, Noni!

Do you have one of those people in your life who – through their actions – lets you know how much you are loved, wanted, accepted, and appreciated? Someone who's example inspires you to attempt more, be more, and give more in life? Someone who encourages you, challenges you, laughs with you, cries with you? Someone who – just by knowing them – brings immeasurable joy to your life? We are so very thankful that we do. Happy birthday, Mom! We love you to the moon and back, bigger than the sky.

Roary & Roo - 5 months

Spending time with this little guy is like a slice of heaven. Oh so good!

If I could sum up the milestones for this month, they would be:

• Cuddling. Roo will occasionally put his head on my shoulder or chest to cuddle if he's tired. And don't you know that I wish I could just stop the clock and get lost in that moment in time.
• Serious sleep issues. For more than seven weeks now, Roo has been getting up two or three times a night. He goes to bed at 7p and on many nights has gotten up at 10:30p, 1:30a, 4:30a and 6:30a. And he wants to eat each time. I finally took him to the doctor this week, and the doctor prescribed Zantac for reflux issues. Hoping this will do the trick. Unfortunately Roo now has another cold, so he's waking up for stuffy nose/breathing issues as well. We'll see how things play out in the next couple of weeks. Please, Lord, let this help because I am running on fumes these days and need him to turn a corner soon.
• Starting solids. We gave Roo his first cereal when Noni was here visiting. All in an effort to help with the sleeping issues. He loved it. Ate it right up. But it did not help him sleep longer. The doctor did say to continue on with solids because many times that will help babies who have reflux issues.

Sweet Roo-bear is still enjoying the little exersaucer, too.

While Noni was here, she graciously agreed to take some pictures of the boys and me. I'm often the one behind the camera so I treasure having these. Thank you, Noni!

Alright, I have to sign off. We're gearing up to attempt our Christmas photos this afternoon. Wish me luck!