Thank You G.G.

Our week with G.G. was a lot of fun. Unfortunately it just went by way too quickly! Here are some more highlights from our fun week. Thank you for everything G.G. God bless you always!

For Auntie Ashley

Eli loves his Boz and Boz books...especially the pumpkin one with the flaps. He's going to be way too cute in his "Donnie Darko" skeletal shirt too! Thank you so much. Here are some pictures and video just for you. You'll have to scroll down and turn off the music player though if you want to hear my obnoxious voice...; ) 

He also loves the baby owl from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa...

Visiting with Uncle Rob, Aunt Shannon and Cousins

Yesterday we drove up to Boone to see my brother Rob and his wife Shannon and the kids: Jake, Aidan, Luke, Lily, and Maggie. It was a foggy wet day up in the mountains (and my hair went crazy), but beautiful nonetheless. Eli loved playing with his cousins. We ate some delicious soup, hung out, and then took a drive in "Big Red" to see the Fall colors. 

Apple Pickin'

Alright. Here we go again. More Fall pictures!

G.G. is in town! Today was BJ's day off and we thought we'd head up north. We discovered a new section of the Blue Ridge Parkway with an Apple Orchard. I don't think the Fall colors are quite in their prime but there are definitely some yellows and oranges dotting the landscape. 

The Orchard at Altapass is a neat little place. We were given 3 bags and an apple picking device, which looked like a giant hi li stick (remember that scoop and toss game you played in P.E. as a kid?). G.G. got right down to business picking the apples! I haven't laughed as much as I did today in a long time. Poor G.G. did most of the apple picking while we goofed off with Eli and made sure that he didn't try to eat a rotten apple off the ground or roll down the mountain.  I think we managed to pick half a bag! Silly G.G. told me not to post any pictures of her on the blog but I think I managed to sneak some of her into the slideshow...

It was so fun hearing Eli say, "apple" over and over again. 

Fall Baking and a Tribute to Granny

Because Eli ripped the stem off his pumpkin, I figured it would be fun to go ahead and make something with the pumpkin. BJ has always loved Pumpkin bread and since he was gone all day to Atlanta for a youth conference I figured we'd surprise him with some when he got home. I'm usually not an ambitious cook, but we had fun making these yummy loaves from scratch! I even had to grate my own nutmeg b/c all I had was whole nutmeg my mom had given me last winter. 

Also it's always fun to break out Granny's bowl and spoon when I start baking because of all the memories it brings back for me! When I was a little girl I helped my mom bake all kinds of things in this bowl that belonged to my Great-Grandmother. She was such a sweet lady and mothered nine children including two sets of twins! I remember going to her and Grand-daddy's little house in Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida (yes that is quite a name for a place) and she would always be in the kitchen with her apron on! As soon as we went in to see her she would act so surprised to see us and would say over and over, "Oh! Bless your little heart!"

Unfortunately the bowl I have is not the original. I think Granny's bowl broke sometime when I was a teenager. However, while BJ and I were on our honeymoon in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we went to a few antique shops and low and behold in one of them I found Granny's bowl and bought it! My mom had passed down her spoon at my wedding. I know that as she was looking down from heaven today watching her great-great grandson stir with her spoon in her bowl, that she was saying, "Bless your little heart!"

Pumpkin Pickin'

A church here in Hickory sells pumpkins every year as a fundraiser for their youth. We were told that the sale covers all the funds the youth needs for the whole year! Today was BJ's day off and we decided to go over a pick out a few pumpkins and take some pictures. Eli sure had fun! He loved loading and unloading the wagon with pumpkins and pulling the wagon around. He picked out a small one and has already managed to break the stem off of it though!

18 Month Check-Up

Eli went to his 18 month well visit yesterday. He was considerably better behaved this time! He didn't refuse to sit on the scale and he let Dr. Harold listen to his heart for a long time. He was also great about her peeking in his ears and checking his eyes. He only screamed when he got the one shot and his finger poked. At his last visit he hardly cried at all when he got his shot. He'll get his flu shot next month and one more shot at 24 months and that's it (besides flu shots) until kindergarten! 

He weighs 23 pounds and is 33 inches long. I'm not too thrilled about those measurments...because he weighed in at 23 pounds at his 15 month visit and apparently has only grown an inch taller. The doctor said she wasn't concerned though because the weight can level off at this age. She said they are seeing more and more kids at his age that are overweight these days. He is a very active little boy and sometimes he eats a lot and other times like a bird. The other night for instance all he would eat off his plate at dinner was the corn! 

When I look at pictures of him during his first year I can't believe how chunky and plump he was! He was always in the 90th percentile and I think he even skipped wearing 3-6 month sized clothing all together. I guess I just have to trust the doctor on this one and keep offering him healthy foods as much as possible and maybe a few french fries here and there (he loves them)! 

I went through his clothes the other day and took out all the 12 months and most of the summer clothes he has grown out of. It is 55 degrees here right now and he is wearing an 18 month old outfit...and the pants look a little like high waters...I guess it's time to go shopping and get this boy some new clothes for the winter!