We had such a fun Thanksgiving! This is the second annual official 'turkey carving' by me and Dad...okay, so he carves and I'm in charge of reading the directions and the plate presentation. We decided it was just a big slumber party, so we brought all of our mattresses into the living room and slept in there. (The babies were excluded from the slumber party, though.) Fun times. John's parents were supposed to come, but Nancy's been sick. But, they're coming for Christmas.

The boys had a big time with Grandma and Grandpa...and vice versa. :)

They enjoyed bath time...especially when the water was running. They were so confused when the water stopped!

Okay, it's been a while. But, here's the first installment of Thanksgiving pictures! Mom and Easton came up early and we had such a fun time having the boys together. It was really cute.

Happy Halloween! Here are pictures of Aidan in his monkey costume and Easton in his chicken costume. What cute boys...

So, I don't know if anybody looks at this anymore...but we'll give it a go. This is some of what Aidan's been up to lately. John's parents came into town at the beginning of October and we had a fun walk to the park. Aidan has also started falling asleep in his highchair if lunch isn't served early enough! He does it at home or at restaurants. And, finally, I walked into the living room one day to find that he had crawled into his toy box and was watching his Elmo video from his toy box. Craziness. We had trunk or treat last night at church and tonight is fall festival. By tomorrow night, he may be halloweened out. :) Costume pictures coming soon...

Finally, here are pictures from Aidan's birthday! It was supposed to be outside at the park, but weather was not permitting. So, we had it at the youth building at church. Everything turned out really well. Aidan cried during the happy birthday song...jury is still out on whether it was the singing or the lit candle. Anyway, he experimented with the cake, but then decided he really didn't want to be messy. He later had a cupcake with Mom and Dad...when everyone wasn't staring at him. :) There were about 25 people there...Caley came from Freed, Mom and Dad were there, then friends from church. You can see Aidan and his little buddy Garret played some pool. Fun times. When we got home, Aidan ate some lunch and then slept for a few hours...actually, we all did. :)

As promised...here are Aidan and Grandpa playing in the rain! Aidan really wanted to go outside, but alas it was raining. 'Fun and Games' Grandpa took him out anyway and they had a big time...as you can see. :)

Not too much going on in Martin. John's parents were here over the weekend and left on a few days ago. So, Aidan has not been starving for attention lately. :)

He did go for his 1 year doctor appointment last week. He is the weight of a 28 month old and the height of a 23 month old. Is that big? Oh, well. :)

Here's Aidan chillin' in his new wagon. My parents and John's parents bought this wagon for Aidan for his birthday...and he loves it! These pictures are from when my parents were here and we went on a walk. I walked him up to the church building in it one day (takes about 15-20 minutes) and he loved it all the way there...at which point I was tired and we had John drive us back home. :) Good times in store for the wagon. :)

Well, we've had a big week. Mom came and stayed with us for a week and we had lots of fun. We went shopping in Jackson, played games, laughed hard...and Mom kept Aidan one night, so John and I went out to dinner and a movie. Then, Dad came on Thursday and we had even more fun. He and John golfed on Friday and we had Aidan's birthday party on Saturday. Then, they both had to fly home on Sunday. John and I became 'chopped liver' to Aidan...he realized that Grandpa and Grandma were all fun and games.

For those of you who voted on the last entry about Ryan: thanks to your votes, Ryan has decided to move to the cottage.

Coming Attractions on the Blog: Aidan's first birthday party, Aidan plays in the rain with Grandpa, and Aidan's new wagon.

Alright...time for a survey. Good ole Ry-man has a decision to make and I'm taking a poll to help him make his decision. Here are the options and we would appreciate your opinion in the 'comments' section. :)

Should Ryan...
a) stay in his mediocre apartment that has noisy neighbors
b) get into a cool, quiet cottage of his own
c) move back home (but, don't vote for this one because Ryan doesn't want to do it)

Let your vote be heard!!! :)

You know I had to put a naked baby picture on here...well, almost naked. :) The soybean festival parade was all I had expected and more. Aidan didn't like the sirens from the fire trucks, though. We didn't make ANY of the concerts! We realized that they started at 9:00 or 9:30 and Aidan is long asleep by then. Oh, well! Aidan has a new game that he enjoys...playing catch (well, you roll the ball to him and he tries to get it back to you). So, that's fun. And he's walking pretty well now. Hard to believe he'll be one in a little over a week!

I have no reasonable explanation for putting this picture up except for that it's pretty funny to me. He had just had a bath and John and spiked his hair all up. :) So, this week is exciting for Martin...it is the 13th annual TN Soybean festival...held in downtown Martin. When John gets home from Freed today, we're going to go to the parade. The parade has many exciting features including the fire truck, cheerleaders, band, pageant winners, politicians throwing candy to children...and last year Dora the Explorer made an appearance. It really is fun. But, more exciting are the concerts this weekend: the Spin Doctors, 38 Special and Diamond Rio! I'm pretty excited about Diamond Rio. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on the Soybean Festival. :)

Here are some photos of good ole Dust. These are from July when Aidan and Easton interchanged sippy cups regularly and Dustin tried to teach Aidan to stick his tongue out all the time (and obviously had some success). Fun times. I really enjoy reading the comments that yall leave...I must say it is a highlight of my blogging experience so far. :)

P.S. I never expected that everyone who looked at the blog would leave a comment, but I do have a few very 'chatty' friends who have been silent so far (katelyn, amanda, allie). But, I would NEVER use the blog to call you out. I'm just saying...

So, here are some fun pictures. What's the face Aidan's making with John? Notice his poor scratched up face...attack of a puzzle. One of Aidan's new favorite pasttimes is being read to. If I get a stack of his favorite books and start reading, he'll sit for as long as I'll read...even if it's the same book over and over. Fun times. That's it for now!

Due to popular demand and controversy over blog rules in the 'comments' section, I have decided it is time for blog numero dos. :) I think I'll give a shout out to Mom today for her birthday...since I remembered it (Dustin). Happy Birthday!!! By the way, for those of you who don't know, Martin's first ever Super Wal-Mart just opened last week. It's like living in a big city...not really. Anyway, we just got back from Super Wal-Mart where the lady in the deli section was so excited about Aidan that she gave him a piece of popcorn chicken. Nothing like a baby to get some free chicken. (I want some chicken! That was for you, Ryan.) Well, I guess that's it for now. Hope everyone's doing great!

Well, I know a few people who have blogs, so I decided to give it a try...this way family and friends can check in every once in a while and get updates with photos. Aidan's doing great. He's always busy with something. He loves playing with anything that makes noise, dropping toys in the toilet, and being chased around on the floor. John and I are doing great, too. John's semester starts next week at FHU for his master's work. I'm embarking on a scrapbook for Aidan's first year...hopefully I'll be done by the time he's 5. Well, I guess that's all for now. Hopefully I'll be a faithful 'blogger'!