The Very Busy Day

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Clemson University. Bobby's department had a Thanksgiving luncheon so I loaded the kids up in the pouring rain and off we went to eat some turkey. It was fun though. Hannah loved the attention and the food was excellent! I love all of Bobby's co-workers but Hannah & I are particularly fond of June :) It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without lots and lots of Cool-Whip and cake.

Then I took the kids home for naps and thought Bobby would be home in time for an early supper. But he had a lot to do and couldn't come home before we went bowling. So, I again loaded the kids up in the pouring rain and we drove to the bowling alley. We went non-stop but the kids didn't mind and it was just one of those fun, albeit, challenging days!

Sammy is 10 months

As you know it's the 23rd so Sammy is now 10 months old. He's growing up so fast - I'm excited but sad at the same time. Now he has 5 teeth, loves solid food and refuses to eat baby food, and is standing alone for a few seconds at a time. He'll pull up, let go and clap for himself. It's so cute. He's saying a few words but his favorite is "MaMa!" He adores Hannah and follows her everywhere she goes and wants to play with whatever she's playing with.
Also, Sammy refuses to go potty on his Baby Bjorn potty. He only goes if I put him on the big potty. Perhaps it's because that what he's seen Hannah doing but who knows?

No More Pull-ups!

As many of you know, Hannah has been using the potty since February of this year. After watching "Potty Time Elmo" over and over and over and over and over.... and seeing Sammy using his potty, she just decided to start going. But until recently she still wore pull-ups to bed. For a while she'd wake up wet and then there were dry spells. Recently I noticed that we were throwing away pull-ups simply because she'd worn them 2 or 3 days in a row. So last Friday Bobby & I made the decision to let her wear underpants to bed. She's doing great and I think she likes it a lot better than those bulky stiff pull-ups. My little baby is a big girl...sniff sniff.
So in closing..."Way to go Hannah and so long pull-ups!!"

What a Zoo!

We began November with a trip to Atlanta ,GA. My best friend Michelle (who I haven't seen in 2 years) lives two hours south of Atlanta so we decided to "meet in the middle" with our families. We went out to eat Saturday night (our hotel was right next to a Cracker Barrel so we just walked over. Yum-o!) After supper all the kids went swimming in the hotel pool while Michelle and I went to buy snacks for the zoo - and to spend some "girl" time together.
Sunday we all went to Zoo Atlanta - which was so much fun. I think I was more excited about going to the zoo than Hannah was! The weather was perfect, the animals were amazing and even Sammy was good the entire day.
Hannah wanted to see all of the animals from 'Madagascar' and was a little disappointed that they didn't have a hippo. But she did enjoy the zebra's, lions, and giraffe's. In the World of Reptiles she saw a yellow eyelash viper that she'd read about in her snake books and she worried that the Komodo Dragon would eat her. We rode the train and the carousel twice. Hannah loved the petting zoo - she brushed every animal in there! And was very excited when we saw a kookaburra. She loves that nursery song and couldn't believe that there was one at the zoo and "it was taking a bath!"
Here are some pictures from the zoo...

Hannah and her "best friend." She cried when I made her get off so we could move along.

Hannah, Will and Wesley. Once again she's the only girl.

Me and "Clucky" (my nickname for Michelle.)

Hannah loved petting the animals. Especially the pig.

Sammy pets a sheep.

Wesley wanted Hannah to ride with him in the stroller. He called her the "pickiest puppy." (After hearing us call her the "pokiest puppy.")

Mei-lan the panda.

Hannah & Bobby pose with a statue of Willie B.

Boy does he look grumpy!

The giraffe's were mine & Hannah's favorite part of the zoo.

Hannah, "And the elephant was eating..."

Hannah, "Phew!!! They're stinky!!" She preceded to pull her shirt over her nose and walk away.

The Tale of Halloween...

This year Hannah wanted to be Spongebob for Halloween. I checked our local stores but did not find the much desired costume. So I turned to the Internet. But all of the costumes I found were either for adults or too pricey for our budget. I was talking to Emily about the trouble I was having and she said that she could make a Spongebob costume and it wouldn't be a problem at all. Boy was she right!! She is very talented and creative (as you can see from the pictures below.) In a little over two weeks she had it ready and Hannah was so excited. She wanted to wear it every day! At first we were planning on Samuel being Plankton but after all of the work Emily put into Spongebob we decided to recycle Hannah's Dalmatian costume.
We always go Trunk or Treatin' at Wal-Mart. Hannah was the only Spongebob and everyone -adults and kids- were constantly pointing at her in awe. One lady even gave her a "prize" for having the best costume!!
Hannah actually understood Halloween this year so she was very excited about her costume and getting candy. She would walk up to the cars and just stare at the people and wait for her candy. It was too cute!