Welcome Home!

I have been sort of Bloggy MIA for a little while because we moved! We just got the Internet up and running so I wanted to make a quick post.

Here is our new house before the yard got it's much needed TLC!

And after...You can barely tell that it is different, but it was so overgrown because the house had been vacant for almost a year. You can see sneaky Neil making a silly face in the window in this one:

We have spent 2 nights in our new place and it is already starting to feel like home. We are so excited about our 'new normal.' We are so thankful for yet another blessing being given to us by the LORD!

Embrace the Camera

Here we are using the hold the arm up to try to get a picture of us together. I thought they turned out pretty cute!

You can almost see me in this one!

Shower and Birthday Parties

This morning I hosted a baby shower for my friend and college roommate, Merideth. She is due with Molly Caroline on December 19th. That was Bennett's due date, so it is extra neat-o.

Her mom made this cute diaper cake.

I ordered the cupcakes from a guy I work with...his wife make cupcakes and they are fabulous.

Amy, Rebecca, and I made the favor. They are just rice krispy treats on a stick. They were easy and tasted pretty good, too.

The Maple girls. (We lived on Maple street in Ruston!) Amy, Merideth, and me

The hostesses: Alicia/Callie, Amy, Merideth, Me, and Shelby

The Scott girls!

I got home just in time for Bennett to get home from birthday party #1. Mom took him to the Demole twins birthday party at Gymboree. She said he had a good time at the party.

Daddy had to go hunting so we went to a fun Superhero birthday party for Shep and Caroline. Bennett wore his "Super Bennett" cape and got his face painted with a little mask. So cute.

I thought he looked so cute in this mask!

Lindsay always makes everything so cute. Look at all of the superhero cuteness.

Mmmmm...cupcake!

23 months

I have skipped these monthly updates for the past few months so here goes...

Bennett, I cannot believe you will be 2 years old in only one short month. It baffles me how fast time flies. You are the joy of our lives and we love watching you grow and learn everyday.

What have you been up to?

• You LOVE to play with balls. You will make anything into a ball...even pumpkins.
  
  
  
• You talk so much now. Your speech is getting so clear. Sometimes, it is still jibberish but you are learning!
• When you see football on tv you used to say "feetball!" Now, you say "football!" or "go go go!"
• You love to bring books to us to read to you. Sometimes, you will go get a book and "read" it yourself.
• You still LOVE milk. You would drink it all day if we let you.
• You are really attached to your "babies." You have 3. You love to carry them around in the mornings.
• You wear mostly 24 months clothes. Some are pretty long, but they work.
  
  
• You wear a size 5 diaper and are not looking like you will be potty training anytime soon. You will tell us "poo poo" sometimes.
• You cannot seem to grasp your colors. I think you may be colorblind because you say that everything is green. I have been trying to drill colors with you for months. You know the names of colors, but cannot identify them.
• You started saying Gammy finally! It sounds like "Damy," but it works. You said it on 10/28/10...I know this because it was Aunt Rebecca's birthday.
• You speak some in phrases like: "Look Mommy," "Here Daddy," "Want some," and others.
• You have been moving your little chairs over to this toddler play table like your own little work area. It is so cute.
  

• You have started loving "The Mouse!" You say either "the mouse" or "Me Mouse" in the mornings. Dad sometimes plays it for you while he is getting ready for work. You dance around saying "hot dog, hot dog, hot dog."

You are pretty much the most handsome, sweetest, perfect boy we could have ever asked for! We love watching you grow into such a sweet boy. We love you.

Christmas Card Decision.

Amy was so sweet to take some pictures of us today for our Christmas card. She did a great job of taking the photos...maybe she should go into photography! One of us happened to be doing something silly in each of them though.

Would you mind helping us choose a picture for our card? I would love to be able to Photoshop a smiling face on a non-smiling face, but I don't have the capability. So, these will have to work! Please help us decide by voting for your favorite. The numbers are above the pictures.

#1

#2

#3

#4

Thanks so much for helping us decide!!

This was when he was so NOT into the pictures!

And just so I will remember...this is Bennett's Christmas outfit from last year. He has gotten a little bit taller! It is almost capris! ha!

Cheddars or Bust!

I was so excited to not have any set plans this weekend. I love having lazy weekends. Neil went hunting bright and early this morning. With this new family hunting property, I think we are going to have a lot of Saturdays of just Bennett and me. It will be so nice when the camp is built so that we can all go out there and stay. I know Bennett will love those woods! We got up and had breakfast, bath, and play time. Amy stopped by on her way to work out because she loves to visit the sweetest boy. We had a fun day of me, Bennett, Rebecca, and Amy. We all headed to Cheddars for lunch. Since it just opened, there was a 45 minute wait that we were just not willing to wait.

We headed to Fairfield instead. Bennett looked so cute in his little scarecrow shirt today. He was so good at the restaurant.

We took Bennett home to Neil for a nap. While he napped, us girls went shopping. We covered a lot of ground today! We got home just as Mom was picking just Bennett. She has been really wanting him to spend the night with her so we said Saturday night would work. She took him to the fair and he rode 2 rides. I bet he loved it. She said she took pictures...I can't wait to see them! This is what she got for pictures. It looked like fun!

Later on, Neil, Rebecca, Amy, and I tried to go to Cheddars for dinner. Again, there was a 45 minute wait. I am thinking this restaurant must be amazing with all of the people always there.

And again, not wanting to wait...we headed to Anvil Bar and Grill...a new restaurant in town. It was pretty good. The service was the best part.

So, not too much going on here this weekend...and I have loved it! I guess we will go Cheddars in a few months when all of the hype has calmed down.

Please Vote!

My friend, Amanda, is passionate about helping others. She entered in a contest to try to win $1000 a day for 5 days from Dave Ramsey to give to others. The money she wins will go to Legacy Park in Ruston, Missionaries in Ethiopia, and other deserving people! Please do her a favor and go vote for her once daily. Here is the link:

http://www.daveramsey.com/specials/great-giving-challenge-entry/entryId/159/