It's That Time of Year.....

We began our Christmas preparations this past weekend. We picked out our tree Sunday & had most decorations up by Monday night. Charlotte was very helpful hanging ornaments on the tree and we only broke one ornament.... not bad! She seems to enjoy all things Christmas, but she still wants nothing to do with Santa. We are going to a party this weekend where the big guy will be there. We'll see what happens :)

We even made our 1st gingerbread house! It was easy to put together, but I should have known that it was too easy. About an hour after putting it together I hear "uh oh" and see Charlotte standing over the gingerbread house in pieces. Apparently it is not sturdy enough for a 2 year old to pick up & carry around. Then the dogs joined in the chaos & tried to eat it. After wrestling it out of Rosie's mouth, we were able to salvage it & put it back together. It's never boring around here I tell you!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween this year. Charlotte was Princess Leia & Matthew was her Luke Skywalker. When you ask her what she dressed up as, she simply says "Halloween". Common sense huh?

Humor Me....

Ok, I know this is going to sound weird but I thought this was just too odd not to share. Please tell me what you think....

Charlotte & I have a routine of playing "I Spy" on the way to school every morning. We usually have to find a school bus, a motorcycle, fire truck, etc. Last week she noticed Baptist hospital & asked me what it was. I told her it was the hospital where she was born. At 1st she didn't understand what I had said because she was talking about it & she said " Oh boys, I like boys". So I explained what born meant - "You were in my tummy, mom & dad went to the hospital & you came out. You were born." OK. So every day we pass the hospital & she says "I born there". Yes, she got it. Sooooooo...... yesterday we passed the hospital & she pointed it out & started jabbering away about it. Then I hear, "I don't like it. I get out. I upside-down"

Weird right? I know she could have been talking about anything as much as she talks & could have been a total coincidence, but it sure did get my attention.

Thoughts????

Fall Break

Matt & I had a rare school vacation overlap, so we took a trip to Knoxville and Gatlinburg for Fall Break. We were so happy that Katie & Andy & the kids were able to join us! The weekend started off on a good note when the Vols had a great win over Georgia. We all went to the game & the kids made it the whole time! The next day we headed out to Gatlinburg to spend some time in the Smokies. We had a great cabin with plenty of room - even a hot tub :) Unfortunately we had some rain while we were there, but we decided to go underground to explore the Forbidden Caverns. It was a very cool experience & Charlotte enjoyed it because she had just learned about caves at school. She was on the lookout for bears, but luckily we only found a few bats. The last day in town we took a "hike" (or bike according to Charlotte) & got some beautiful weather. Charlotte has really been talking about her cousins a lot lately. It makes it hard to live to far away from all of them because they are the best playmates. For that reason, we had a a great time & we would love to make a tradition out of it - we just need to get the rest of the family to join us next time!

Silly Rabbit!

The Birds & the Bees

We went to the zoo the other weekend to check out the new exhibit at the zoo, "The Birds and the Bees". I was a little unsure what Charlotte would think of birds flying around her head but she loved it. She got to be up close and personal with several birds while feeding them. The exhibit should wrap up sometime this month, and will then become a butterfly exhibit. We will be sure to visit again and post more pictures!

Birthday Finale

Here is Charlotte's big birthday present! She calls it her "playground". Thank you to all of our wonderful family members who chipped in & helped us buy it. We have played on it everyday!!!