Walking

...And we officially have a walker.

For close to the last two months,

Anderson has gotten stronger and braver.

He started to stand for a few seconds at a time,

then he mastered the squat-stand-squat move.

He was a professional cruiser.

He would tentatively take a few steps before 

deciding crawling was faster.

Within the last week though, 

his confidence {and balance} 

improved drastically.

He now toddles and teeters

and can walk wherever he wants to 

if he wants to.

Yesterday, we watched him stop in the middle of the floor, 

take three steps side ways, two steps backwards,

and then resumed his path

{most likely toward a ball!}.

Mama still loves to snuggle - and probably can be blamed 

for him waiting until 14.5 months to walk.

It's much easier to carry him {which he likes} and I still love the Ergo,

especially when he falls asleep in it in the middle of life happening!

I am in no hurry for Anderson to grow up.

My baby you'll always be.

Good job, big guy.

We are proud of you,

and we are so excited to watch 

you explore your world!

Favorites from the Farm

Hall Family Farm 

is one of my favorite 

fall destinations.

With Mia in town, 

we had to share it with her.

We corn-mazed, fireman-slid, 

wagon-rode, and much more.

Memories were made!

It's {finally} Fall, y'all!

A New Friend

Fourteen Months

What a joy!

Opinions Re: Donkeys

Perhaps the most random picture in Ashe County

with the most random, opinionated babe.

An impromptu trip lead us to the mountains

to visit Mia and Gruffalo.

Since we didn't give much notice,

Mia had work obligations even though her favorite boys 

were in town for the weekend.

We visited Mia at the store where she works,

and after canvasing the store several times,

Anderson picked up a donkey figurine 

from a nativity scene.

He hugged the donkey, held it to his chest,

and would not let go of it.

To avoid a mini-meltdown, 

we borrowed the donkey and took him on

an adventure to meet some giant cows.

Random, yes.

Hilarious, maybe.

Worth it, sure.

Of course by the time we got back to the cabin,

Anderson was thankfully over hanging out with the donkey.

Hopefully the donkey will find a good home

with another family, and will not resurface

come Christmas time.

First Day of TK

Sweet, sweet moments this morning as we were getting 

our oldest ready for his first day of school.

Aside from not wanting to wear a button shirt at first,

Alekzander was amazingly cooperative and in a great mood.

Not a hint of uneasiness, nervousness, or fear.

He was most excited about using his new lunchbox

and eating a yummy lunch away from home.

We had talked about his teachers all weekend,

prayed for him to make friends and 

to be a light to those who might have been scared.

He is most certainly a light in our lives

{and ridiculously cute}!

On the way to school, we sang,

"Oh happy day, happy day,

Alekzander's going to TK.

Oh happy day, happy day,

it's Alekzander's first day."

{Love that Alekzander is looking up 

to make sure his brother is happy!} 

  

 Not a tear was shed this morning

except from Anderson.

We'll pretend he was sad 

knowing that his brother would be at school 

for four hours a day - to fight the tears,

Anderson and I had a dance party

so we wouldn't miss Alekzander too much!

{Photobomb by Syra}

She may have missed her little master too

or more than likely took a peaceful nap!

Panthers Fans

Best Works

Our best works

after 9 years.

Happy Anniversary, love.

I got you some fingerprint smudges

on the front window ...

maybe a little slobber too.

Let's do something really romantic tonight

involving the boys' chariot,

your best running shoes,

and a few dozen sweaty strangers.

I love hanging out with you...

{and our two best works}

no matter what we do.