Congrats Aunt Rebecca!

Rebecca graduated from Tech on Saturday! Andrew graduated too, but went hunting instead of his own graduation. I hope he doesn't regret that. You get a really proud feeling when they call your name and you graduate from college. Oh well...maybe next time!

Anyway, Rebecca graduated! Me, Mom, and Bennett drove over for the graduation party. We were going to go to the graduation, but they called her name right as we were pulling in to Ruston. I was glad we went to celebrate this wonderful occasion!

Here are Aunt Becky and Bennett. He is wearing blue for Tech!

It's official! She has a diploma and everything!

Richard, Rebecca, and Janine. (calendar-worthy.)

Me, Richard, graduate, Janine, and Bennett. (Neil & Andrew were hunting and missed the family portrait!)

Yay! She got a new TV for graduation.

Congratulations Rebecca! We are so proud of you!

Visit from Indy

We were in for a special treat when our friends stopped in from Indianapolis. We get to read all about them over at the Daily Sweatpants but seeing them was a treat! Leslie and I made a southern breakfast so they would have something to hold them over as they made their way to Houston. We talked about various blogs and how funny it is to "know" people and you have never even met them. It was hilarious to speak of things like "Kelly's Korner, The Joliff's, and Daily Sweatpants" and actually have someone know what you are talking about! For the people who ate with us and had no clue... sorry about that!

Our Southern Feast! On the other side of the table are garlic cheese grits and crescents. I had to have my fall gourds for my tablescape!

Sisters in the Mystic Bond (Yes, I just typed that!)

The Daily Sweatpants and Baby Beignet. (Her nickname for Bennett)

Mr. & Mrs. Ben Knowles

Christmas Tree Shopping

We went Christmas Tree Shopping last night! It would be nice to shop and smell the fresh pine and sap smell, but we went to Lowe's. I like the idea of a real tree, but the upkeep is just too much for me. And I like to keep my tree up for over a month and keep the lights on 24/7. A dry tree and hot lights really don't mix. So, we got a beautiful "real-looking" 7 foot pre-lit tree! Bennett was excited to look at all of the lights too. I plan on decorating my house for Christmas next week while I am off for Thanksgiving Break!

Yes, I realize that he doesn't have on socks. He takes them off and chews on them! Any ideas??

11 months old!

I cannot believe that my sweet baby boy is 11 months old. I also cannot believe that I didn't post yesterday when he turned 11 months. Bennett is growing SO much. He is the smartest little boy with the best personality! We love him more and more everyday. Here are some things going on with our 11 month old!

• He has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom.
• He wears a size 4 diaper.
• Bennett always takes his socks off and chews on them! It is funny/annoying! We seem to never come home with socks or we look like bad parents because his feet are bare when it's cold.
• Bennett is starting to get a little hair on the back of his head. Not much... but we can see it now!
• Bennett has taken a few steps here and there, but by no means has he walked across the room. We think it will be soon though!
• He laughs so hard when he is tickled! It is the best sound in the world!
• Bennett likes to help turn the page when being read to. He has been doing this for a while, I just forgot to write it and wanted to be able to remember it.
• He still loves Arthur, especially when he licks him!
• Bennett LOVES to eat! He will eat pretty much anything I put in front of him. There's really nothing that stands out that is his favorite...He loves everything!
• He is wearing some 9 months clothes, a lot of 12 month clothes, and a couple 12-18 months. I put some stuff on him that is big because it will carry us into Spring!
• He sleeps OK. We had a stretch where he slept all night for like 4 months and now he wakes up a couple times a night. This equals a tires Mommy and Daddy!
• Bennett has all 4 grand-parents wrapped around his little finger! They love him so much and he loves them too!

All in all, the past 11 months have been wonderful! Our lives have been forever changed is in the best way possible!

Camping...Luxury Style!

We had the privilege of being invited to a cabin by the Buteau's. We had a wonderful time with the Montgomery's and Dicharry's too. We just relaxed, ate, played, ate, and ate some more. We literally brought enough food for a week and we were even there 24 hours! ha! This place was so nice...it really was a luxury cabin. We all got cute little appliquéd shirts for the babies. They looked adorable!

All of the daddy's went on 4 wheeler rides and then all the mom's went! I was really nervous about driving the thing, but it ended up being very fun. It was my first time to ever drive a 4 wheeler! After we got back Mason wasn't feeling too well so the Montgomery's ended up going home. Poor little baby. He had fever and just looked so sad. We hope he gets back to his old self soon! We made steaks for dinner and then played Pop 5 after all the babies went to bed. It was a fun, relaxing weekend!

The Fair or where everything you eat is on a stick!

My dad has been taking us to the fair for as long as I can remember. It was always something that we looked forward to and still is. I am hoping that we can continue the tradition with Bennett. The smells and sketchy people aren't the best but the food tops it all.

You want to know what we did at the fair this year? We ate.

Dad and Neil love corndogs. These things are like 12 inches long!

Pizza on a stick the size of my head.

Roasted corn?

And for dessert...Deep Fried Snickers. This is one piece of wholesome goodness you should not pass up!

I didn't get a picture of the cinnamon rolls that we got for breakfast the next day. Talk about yummy!

Bennett rode the merry-go-round too. I sat on there and took pictures of them and got really dizzy. So dizzy that Bennett spit up all over Neil. Poor thing.

Bennett rode the big slide too! I have been wanting to take him on it. We had a lot of fun.

Dad cannot leave the fair without (trying) shooting out the star. He has to try at least 2 times. I have yet to see him do it in all my 27 years. Maybe one day Dad!

Bennett's First Halloween!

Bennett had a total blast for his first Halloween. We spent the first part of the day in Ruston with the Lewis family. We had a really good time visiting with everyone. We got up and Richard made apple-cinnamon pancakes for breakfast. Janine and I went down to the Lewis' Boutique to shop and then we met the boys and Rebecca at Ponchatoulas.

Here are Nana and Bennett at Ponch.

Bennett, Grandmachine, and Nana

Bennett was so excited for Aunt Rebecca to get there. I think this picture is adorable!

We got home and played with this wax mouth. I though this was hilarious! He is even cute with fangs!

We had the privilege of being invited to a house in Long Lake by our friends, the Dicharry's. Erin organized a little hay ride and her dad drove us all around. This was the place to Trick-or-Treat! The babies received full size candy bars in their bags! We all really had a great time for Bennett's first Halloween!

Here are Maddie the ladybug, Bennett the scarecrow, and Georgia the fairy.

Our little Halloween family.

Gammy was so excited to come with us. She loves Halloween and didn't want to miss Bennett's first trick-or-treating! Here she is taking Bennett to a house. He did not know what to think of the witch!

Cute scarecrow!

Daddy taking Bennett to trick-or-treat.

Erinn/Georgia, Erin/Maddie, and Me/Bennett. We had such a good time.

This was one sleepy scarecrow at the end of the night. He still had a little bit of his eyebrows and nose still on!