Dance Party

The kids were supposed to be in bed but were clearly not tired enough to go down yet. We put the Elmo Hokey Pokey on and let the kids go crazy. I love that both of them seemed to have so much fun dancing and jumping around.

Costumes!

Our friend Vara, who was a skeleton butterfly

Woof!

We had a great time on Halloween this year. Friend of ours usually trick-or-treat in their parents' neighborhood, so we and several other friends joined them for Avery's first trick-or-treating experience. She had so much fun, though it took her a few houses to realize she actually was allowed to take candy from the people who offered it to her. She had a blast! Adam joined in the costume wearing, but we held him for most of the walk around the neighborhood. I think both kids had a ton of fun getting dressed up. Adam also enjoyed seeing me dressed as a cat (Avery asked if I would be a cat like her, so how could I resist?). He laughed every time he noticed the whiskers on my face.

Three Year Old

I can't believe Avery is three! We had a pretty low-key day on October 12th, but I tried to make the day about her and what she would like to do. We spent the morning at the Botanical Gardens and then had lunch with Paul at Chick-Fil-A. We had quesadillas for dinner (one of her favorites) and then tried to go to the park for a little bit of swingtime. Avery LOVES swinging at the park. She could sit in the swing the whole time and not feel a bit disappointed. Unfortunately, we arrived at the park right when they were closing down, so Avery was devastated. The family quickly rallied and headed to Barnes and Noble and all was right with the world again. Playing with the toy section and the train table will do that for a three-year-old. We loved the gifts that several of you sent from far away places! Thank you notes are in the mail soon, I promise, dear family!

Here's a few pictures of my three year old (and her 16 month old little brother).

This might be my favorite one of all. This is a pretty typical Avery expression.

This is what Avery did when I told her to look up. Apparently I told Adam to look really tired.

Adam saying, "Cheese". He's one of the funniest people I've ever met.

Walking Man

Adam has been walking for a few months now, but I came across this little video of his first few steps. Little guy went about learning how to walk in a very different way from Avery (big surprise). He never wanted to hold our hands until he knew he could walk on his own. He fell all the time, but he always seemed eager to try again. He's very steady on his feet these days, so it's fun to watch him toddle. I must say one of the things I love in this video is his long hair. It's so much shorter now.

Family Pictures

We had a great time visiting the entire Judd family, although it did take several days to see them all. Avery loves her cousins and aunts and uncles, and she was especially excited to see Nana and Papa. Here's a few pictures with the family....

Anna, Mary Scott and Avery played on the water slide the last day of our vacation. Mary Scott did not want to be photographed, but we did get Anna in on the action.

Avery adores Katie Beth. It's so sweet!!

Bath time at our house a few weeks ago...

...then at Carter's house a few weeks later.

Paul insisted on bringing Avery and Adam to the park he want to as a kid. I think Paul enjoyed the nostalgia of it all.

Nana and Papa!

Georgia Aquarium

Paul and I planned a vacation to Georgia, so I took the kids to visit Brian and Monica and then Mark and Heather and Katie Beth. Paul met me in Atlanta, and we decided to spend an extra day being tourists. I have never been in Atlanta other than driving by on the way to Macon, so I was really excited. We took the kids to the Aquarium and then headed across the street to see the Centennial Olympic Park. This was probably one of the major highlights of our trip. Both kids loved the aquarium and there was a cute little playground at the Olympic Park we all enjoyed. When we got out of the car, Avery said, "Mommy, I'm so excited to see the fish." Boy, did she see a lot of fish!

Our Porch

During the week of Adam's birthday (yes, that was way back in June), Scott and Cathy came to visit us and help us put together a new look for the front of the house. Scott worked three solid days and then some to make our porch go from this:

to this:

Yay! We love it!! It makes our house look so much better. Now I have to make some pillows, paint the front door and the shutters, and we'll have a completely new porch.

Gene's Wedding

Paul's wonderful friend Gene got married over the fourth of July weekend. It was on the Eastern Shore at this beautiful bed and breakfast, and Paul and I were able to have a vacation as well as help Gene celebrate. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed being on the groom's side of the aisle. The day of the wedding was surprisingly relaxing.

We had lunch at The Crab Claw, a local seafood restaurant in town. How many brides can say they had an amazing, casual, lunch with friends the day of their wedding? I'm telling you, the groom has it made.

Once we returned from lunch, we saw the workers getting ready for the ceremony. It was a beautiful setting.

The groomsmen minus one.

Gene!!

The beautiful bride

Paul and Gene's Best Man, Chris

Pretty handsome groomsman, huh?

Congratulations, Gene and Katherine!!