Ahoy!

This is Joseph dressed for success for work today. They are closing all three bank branches at noon and having a Halloween party this afternoon! No wonder Joseph loves his job!

He's going to kill me for posting this, but I'll take my chances. Last night we had a run through of the costume to make sure we knew how to tie the ascot, etc., and he wanted to show my parents. He got one of my dad's cigars, filled up his crystal glass with Ford's apple juice, and he got lots of laughs. A little while later we were on the couch watching The Office on TBS and he kept saying he didn't feel right. He said the room was spinning and his stomach was a little queasy. I honestly didn't think much of it because I was really into The Office! Later that night when we were in bed trying to go to sleep he said he still didn't feel well, and then it hit him - he had gotten a buzz off of putting the unlit cigar in his mouth! I guess that's what happens when you're a non-smoker! I don't think he'll be doing that at work today! Wade - are you sure he's really your son?

A Whirlwind of a Week

What a week we have had! My niece Maryn's birthday was Friday, so Ford and I went to Charlotte on Wednesday for the birthday party. It was the first time I've ever made the drive by myself, and I can't say it was the best time I've ever had - 6 long hours in the car, 5 of which Ford spent SCREAMING his head off! But it was definitely worth it! I love, love, love spending time with the Rays, and we had so much fun and many misadventures getting ready for the party. A cake so atrocious we had to throw it away, poop in the tub and the kitchen floor, and a quick shopping trip with enough Godiva to make you nauseous to name a few!

Maryn's party was Friday morning, and it was great to get to see all of their friends and friends' kids. I don't know how many kids were there, but it was A LOT!!! Jennie always throws beautiful parties, and this was no exception. I was videoing so I don't have any pictures on my camera, but I'm sure Jennie is working on a post so check out her blog!

We came home right after the party because all of my best friends from college were coming in town to stay with us for the Ole Miss game! Ford finally got to meet Abby, my friend Ashley's little girl, and she had no problem letting him know who was boss! Wes and Allyson got there too and we all went to a party at the Durham's on Friday night while my sweet parents babysat, and it was great to go out without kids!

We all went to Lenzie and Clay's tailgate the next day and had a mini Chi O reunion. Auburn won, I got to see my favorite people, and I got to eat nothing but brownies, cookies and candy bars all day - my perfect day!! Here are lots of pictures from the weekend!


Abby and Ford in the bathtub - they had a major splashing battle and Abby won!


All the girls - Allyson, Erika, Ashley, Lenzie, me and Allison


Ford, Abby, and Sawyer playing on the game board Clay made - they loved it! Walker, Ashley and Sawyer had to leave early because Sawyer wasn't feeling too well.


Ford crawled around with the orange cup for a good 20 minutes. I'm just going to stop packing toys and let him play with trash!

Ford loves to share his food - he let Abby have some goldfish (and she accidentally bit him!) and he gave Aubie his cookie! What a sweet boy!

Halloween Come Early

What a weekend! Joseph went to New Orleans with all of his college buddies for the game (and yes, I know the game was in Baton Rouge), so Ford and I were on our own. My parents had a wedding party for my mom's best friend's daughter Saturday night, so Shealy and I helped her stuff tomatos and we ran errands. I LOVED hanging out with my sister. Clayton was hunting for the weekend, so Shealy was by herself, too. It hasn't been just us girls in way too long, and I needed a day with her!

The party Saturday night was fun - basically, everyone just got really dressed up to watch the game! It was so fun that the cops came THREE times for disturbing the peace! Apparently, my parents' neighbors go to bed at 8:30 on a Saturday night while the biggest game of the year is on and didn't appreciate us cheering on the Tigers. The cops all thought it was ridiculous and two of them stayed and watched the game for a little bit!

Ford had his first Halloween party on Sunday afternoon. I bought his monkey costume a month ago, and while it looked a bit warm, I just assumed by the time the end of October rolled around, the temperature would probably be at least in the 70's. NOT the case. The party was outside, and Ford DESPISED his costume. He was so hot. Needless to say, we didn't make it very long at the party. Joseph wasn't back yet, so I was there by myself with an unhappy child, and my fight or flight mode read flight! I stripped him down to his diaper, and we met up with my mom and sister and took pictures of him naked in a pumpkin patch. We're going to try again with the costume on Halloween, so hopefully we'll get some better pictures!

Two seconds after this picture was taken he dropped the pumpkin like a hot potato and had the worst look on his face! I'm guessing it didn't taste too good!

Side note...Blogging has brought me a new friend! Shortly after we got to the party on Sunday, a cute mom came up to me and said, "You look so familiar." Turns out she found our blog (we have a lot of mutual friends) and she's been reading! I had actually just looked at her blog about a week ago and thought she had the sweetest little girl (she's the white tiger in the picture). So from now on when Joseph makes fun of me for blogging, I can say I'm cultivating undiscovered friendships!

K-N-O-X

Ford and I went to Dothan to visit the Lanes during the first part of Lenzie's fall break. We had a great time, but I think Lenzie is pretty relieved that Knox won't be nearly as active as Ford is as soon as he gets here! Ford is pretty nonstop these days!

Our main purpose in going was to help Lenzie register for Knox. I remember how overwhelming that was - you don't know what you need and you don't know what half of the stuff in the baby aisles is used for! But I've learned quite a lot in the course of a year, so I just pointed and she clicked and we were out of there in about 45 minutes! It probably would have been sooner if I didn't have to keep feeding Ford Cheerios to keep him occupied!

Here are some pictures from our trip - of course we forgot to take one together, but I did manage to get a bump picture (although not a very good one) of Lenzie! I told her I wanted a picture of Ford and Knox together, but really I just wanted the bump! I'm sneaky like that!

Ford in Knox's crib, with all of his cute monogrammed blankets and onesies! He's going to be very stylish AND know how to spell his name by the time he's 6 months old!

Copper and Piper were so good with Ford. They are going to love Knox!

Bent-over baby bump + crying baby = not the best picture

More Cheese, Please!

Ford's new favorite food...processed cheese! Yum!

Here Mama, you can have some!

And his latest trick - when he's getting in trouble for dropping food from his high chair, he squeezes his eyes shut really tight and then looks at me and smiles. Like, hey, I'm way too cute to scold, lady! He's learning quickly how to manipulate the ladies!!

Paying to Run

The patient, Ford, and the runner

Long time, no post! Things have been a little busy around here! My dad's surgery went very well on Friday - he ended up having two hernias, so the recovery process has been a bit slower than he would have liked. He went back to work yesterday, but basically sat in a recliner all day and watched SportsCenter. So all in all, it was a great day!

We didn't go to the Auburn game since it was so early, but we had a bunch of people over to grill out and watch the Florida/LSU game that night. It got me and Joseph really excited about our new house because we love to entertain and it will be great when we have our own home to do it. Our contractor tells us we'll be in by Christmas, but if we move by the end of January, I'll be satisfied. There doesn't seem to be too much work going on the past couple of times I've driven by, so we'll see!

I had to keep 2-year-olds in church on Sunday. They were PRECIOUS! I've always been in the toddler room, and it's one of those things that I really had to gear myself up to do because it was always slightly controlled chaos. But those 2-year-olds were so much fun! My mom has been a Sunday School teacher for this age for 25 years, and now I can see why. I can't picture Ford that big - but I know it will be here before we can blink!

Joseph had the day off on Monday (thank you Christopher Columbus!) so we had an extra day to spend together. We ran errands and hung out and TRAINED FOR A MARATHON!!! Well, one of us did anyway. Anyone who knows me well knows I am NOT a runner! But Joseph has decided to get back into it so he's starting with a 5K on November 10th. We've been going to a neighborhood in Auburn 4 nights a week and Joseph runs while Ford and I stroll far, far behind him! I'm really proud of his dedication to this. And it gets us out of the house at night, which is great because I felt like we were falling into a bit of a rut. We're used to having projects around the house, but since living with my parents, we basically just sit around watching tv or visiting with them. Which is great, but not every night. Ford and I used to go walking every day, but it had just gotten so hot that I didn't want to get him out in it. I remember last year being so thankful that it was still warm in October because I didn't have to buy any winter maternity clothes! I went into the hospital in shorts and a t-shirt, and the day we brought him home it was winter! FREEZING!

Anyway, the whole point of this rambling post is Joseph is now paying to run! I think his first race is for the Forest Ecology Preserve - we're all about some preservation! I'm also into preserving the budget, so hopefully Joseph won't mind paying for his entry fee with a bag of change!

11 Months Old!

I took this picture as he was crawling towards me trying to snatch the camera from me! He's really started to ham it up for our photo sessions!

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I sure do love this little boy! This month has flown by! It's been a good one - learning to crawl, first plane ride, no more crying when he gets dropped off at Mrs. Pat's in the morning. He's getting one of his top teeth, so the past few days have been a little rough. He hasn't really wanted to eat, and if you've seen his thighs, you know that's out of the ordinary! His favorite food right now is pears, which I absolutely detest! He's learned so many tricks this month. He'll play peek-a-boo by himself with his blanket, make kissing noises back to you if you make them at him, he waves, claps, dances all the time, and when you say, "How big is Ford?", he'll put his arms in the air and you say, "So big!" We stole that one from Maryn. We're working on "Touchdown Auburn"! Hopefully we'll get a lot of practice over the next few weeks!

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I LOVE being his mom. Every day is so much fun. God is so good. It was 2 years ago this month when we got pregnant for the first time, and after we lost that baby, we were devastated. But God knew His plan was so much better than anything we could dream up, because He already knew Ford and knew he was the baby we were meant to have. Our marriage is stronger for what we went through, and we were given the sweetest little baby ever. We are blessed beyond measure! Thank you Lord!

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I have a little prayer request...my dad is having out-patient surgery on Friday, and it's nothing serious, but anytime my dad has surgery it's serious to me! Please pray for his doctor's wisdom, a smooth procedure, and a speedy recovery. Also, you might want to throw in a prayer for my mom, since my dad is not exactly the world's best patient! Thanks!