Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank Goodness Its Bath Night

Actual quote from Samantha, as she sat soaping up her hands with peanut butter: "I'm like a pretty, pretty princess with peanut butter hands!" Now if you will excuse me, it's bath time.

Meeting our Angels ... again

Mommy Wins!

"Do you normally allow your child to sleep on the floor in the hall?" you may ask. Why yes, some days I most certainly do!!

Are we crazy? Why yes, we are!

6 years, 6 months .... and 6 weeks? Steve attended his first UT game at the ripe old age of 6. Tennessee lost to Duke. Samantha attended her first UT game at 6 months. Tennessee lost to Wyoming. As homecoming dawned upon us this year, young Andrew was all of 6 weeks old. Do we take him and risk a loss? Or do we see if he can change our luck?

We knew we wanted to continue the homecoming tradition with Samantha, but we debated all week whether Andrew was ready to make his first appearance in Neyland. (By debate, I mean Steve said "please" and I said "you're crazy".) Guess who won? The weather was perfect, and Papaw was game to go with us so we'd have an extra set of hands. Since the game was a noon kickoff, we decided to give it a whirl, first game records notwithstanding. Worst case scenario, we head home if he melts down. The game wasn't the highlight of the day anyway!

We started our adventure by tailgating with Ryder and the McMichael family. Andrew was quite a hit and got lots of good snuggle time with various ladies. Samantha enjoyed playing with old friends, meeting new friends and eating chex mix and donuts for lunch. We made it into the stadium to see all of the pregame festivities. Andrew, once again, mostly saw the back of his eyelids. We stayed in the stadium for about a quarter before we decided to throw in the towel. On our way out, we visited the new statue of General Neyland and the Torchbearer. (The Torchbearer, incidentally, was blessed tonight during Samantha's prayer time. He must have made quite an impression.) After a few photo ops outside the newly-renovated stadium, we headed home to watch the rest of the game from the comfort of our sofa.

We all survived and had a wonderful day! I'm glad Steve won the debate, just don't tell him I said so.

"I'm dressed and ready! Why is everyone else still in pajamas?"

"Come on, Samantha, get up! It's my first gameday!"

Ready to hit the road. Yes, Andrew is already asleep. I guess he got tired of waiting on us to get ready.

Papaw and Samantha heading to the tailgate.

Chatting with new friends at Ryder's tailgate. Thanks a million for the tickets, Donna! (By the way, you got blessed during prayer time, too. Samantha knows where her bread is buttered!)

Hanging with her buddy Katelyn and the McMichael family.

So very proud of my girl! She was great today!

Andrew hits the bottle before heading into the stadium.

Looking for Smokey and getting ready for some football.

Yes, he was really there!

A very happy and proud Papaw.

Daddy's girl.

The new statue of General Neyland that was unveiled yesterday. It's incredible!

Andrew's first "celebrity" sighting. We ran into basketball Vol Tobias Harris outside of the stadium. Look how big he is ... Steve is 6'4"!

By the time we made it over to the Torchbearer, Samantha was a little tired of having her picture made. Can you tell?

Probably one of my favorite pictures of the day. We found a grassy spot where Samantha ran around and burned some energy. She wanted to hold Andrew, so we found a nice little spot for her to sit with him for a few minutes. So sweet!

Our Big Orange babies.

One last family photo before we head for the comforts of home.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Last week we had a special Mommy, Daddy and Samantha date night. She has been so good (most of the time, anyway) with a new baby in the house that we wanted to do something fun with just her. One of her favorite shows is Yo Gabba Gabba on Nick, Jr. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend that you check it out. It's grown on me and Steve ... strange at first, but highly addictive! When we found out a live show was coming to Knoxville, we knew we'd need to check it out. We were not disappointed! I think the reason the show is so great for Samantha is because the focus is on music and dance. Steve was smart enough to get aisle seats, so Samantha had plenty of room to cut a rug. It was a fun, fun night!

We didn't tell Samantha where we were going, only that she had a big surprise. She was very happy to see all of her friends in Gabbaland!

Mommy, Daddy and "D.J. Lance" Samantha

Great seats!

I wasn't joking about Samantha dancing in the aisle!

Samantha and Daddy doing the "potato dance."

For all you children of the 80's ... this is THE Biz Markie of "Just a Friend" fame. He does a segment on the show, "Biz's Beat of the Day", where he teaches the kids to beat box. He had kids come on stage with him to do some beats. He reached for Samantha, but she chickened out. Steve and I were so sad! Isn't it every parents dream to have their child beat box with Biz Markie?

There's a Party in My Tummy! So Yummy, So Yummy!

Many thanks to Papaw, who stayed home to bond with "D.J. Lance" Andrew so we could go.

Calgon, Take Me Away!

Yesterday, 1:30 in the afternoon, Samantha: "But Mommy, I don't want to take a nap!"

Yesterday, 3:00 in the afternoon, after much "vocalizing" by Samantha, Mommy concedes but says we must have quiet time and not put a fight when we go to bed early.

Yesterday, 5:30 in the afternoon:

Out like a light!

And where was my other child during this impromptu nap, you may ask, the one who should have been sleeping .......

Yes, We Have a New Baby

I'm sure some of you are wondering if Steven and I have fallen off the face of the earth. Not yet! We are still trying to figure out Andrew's schedule, all while parenting a very active (and sometimes stubborn) toddler. The few free moments I have I spend either showering or sleeping, not necessarily in that order.

Needless to say, we have had a very busy October. Lots of visitors, adventures and family time. Samantha is a WONDERFUL doting big sister, and Andrew is, well, Andrew. He is a generally chilled out little guy, unless he is hungry. We're still working on a good sleeping schedule (one that does not involve me being up with him 2 hours in the middle of the night), but he just kind of goes with the flow. Not that he has much of a choice. Steve and I laugh at how delicate we were with Samantha and how he seems to get manhandled!! I guess that's part of being the second child ... we know they don't break easily!

Enjoy some pictures of Andrew's first month in the world. Big sister has had plenty of fun, too!

Hanging out on his playmat in a family heirloom ... a gown (Steve prefers that I call them "pajamas" for Andrew's sake) previously worn by cousins Will and Caroline and big sister Samantha.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Andrew, taken on a quilt made for him by my great Aunt Jean.

First adventure out of the house ... visiting Daddy at his office.

Checking out baby chicks incubating at Down on the Farm, a new pumpkin patch/corn maze in Knoxville. Isn't the tutu perfect farm attire?

Getting ready to head through the corn maze at the farm with Big Guy and Grammy.

Riding a horse with a little assistance from Big Guy. I was shocked that she did it!

Relaxing with some Froot Loops on the way home from the farm.

Another favorite of mine - big sister and little brother.

Caroline came to spend the night with us during her Fall Break. Samantha adores her, so I was very thankful to have her here! They made brownies while she was here.

Now for the fun part - decorating!!

Putting the finishing touches on a culinary masterpiece. I'm sure you can't tell it was decorated by a 2 year old.

Andrew loves to lay on Samantha's bed. I think he likes to look at all of the bright colors in her room. He goes with me most days to get her up from her nap.

Tummy time! Andrew is very strong. He started trying to hold his head up when we were still in the hospital. He can do quite a few head turns during tummy time on his playmat.

Photograph by Samantha.

Samantha has been fascinated by the reappearance of all of her old toys. She likes to help Andrew out and play with him.

Perusing the Sunday paper while she waits on Mommy and Daddy to finish her breakfast.

We surprised WaWa at school last week for her birthday. Samantha and Andrew were a hit with her second graders!

A very proud WaWa! Poor Andrew didn't open his eyes the whole time we were there, which might have been just as well. I'm not sure he knew we ever left the house. He fell asleep in his carseat while we were still home, and he didn't wake up til we were back home.

Samantha showing off her baby brother.

Wrapped up after a bath. After I saw this picture, I briefly thought of dressing Andrew as Mother Theresa for halloween instead of a pumpkin!

Showing off their "treats" from Gran and Grandaddy.