We love the Fall!!!

Fall is almost over already and I have not posted any pictures of all of the fun we have had!!  Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt and cousin Carter invited us over for a Fall dinner and party a few weeks ago!  The kids got to pick out pumpkins and decorate them...which was a huge hit!!  We had yummy chicken and dumplings for dinner and just had a fun time hanging out...below are a few pics of the three kiddos all dressed in their Halloween shirts for the party!!

The next day, we decided to go down to the pumpkin patch at Huber's...this is one of our favorite traditions every fall!  We love it down there, and the kiddos had a great time picking out their "perfect" pumpkins!  Glad Auntie Mamie, Uncle Matt and Carter could join us this year!!

Below are just a few pictures of the kiddos playing in the backyard...they LOVE playing in the leaves and swinging on the rope swing!!

Perfect

"Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness." Wisdom 4:13-14

As I sit here and try to find the right words, I realize there are no words to describe how this last month has been.

Today, it has been one month since our best friends lost their baby boy, Alexander Clayton...or Allie, as his family and close friends call him. He was 15 months old and absolutely perfect in every way. He was the most beautiful baby boy I have ever known, both inside and out. He was such a content little boy - always smiling and happy! He was loved by so many people, especially his Mommy, Daddy and two older brothers.

Little Allie, in just 15 short months, has made such a huge impact on so many lives and will continue to do so on many, many more I am sure. Of course, there are a million questions everyone asks themselves as to why Alex was taken at such a young age. We may never know the exact reason, but we have to trust that this was his plan. His job here on Earth was carried out, and he was called back Home. It is so hard to try to find peace in what has happened, but our faith is what is going to help us through. I truly believe that Heaven is a happier place with little Allie up there.

Little Allie was his mommy's cuddler - always nestling his head into her neck as she held him. His mommy happens to be my best friend, and I just absolutely hate watching her go through such a tough time, knowing I can't say or do anything to make it better. I can never say that I understand what she is going through or how she feels, and I never feel like I have the right words to help her through the day. All I can do, though, is be there for her and her family to talk to and try to help out in any way that I can.

I have been wanting to write a post for Alex, but every time I started to, I couldn't find the right words to say. After many failed attempts, I realized there are no "right" words to say...just a million various thoughts that I needed to write down. Please keep our best friends, Adam & Sarah, and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Here are just a few pictures of sweet little Allie.

Dear Alex,

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of you and remember your perfect little face - your porcelin skin, big beautiful brown eyes, long gorgeous eyelashes, sweet perfect little smile and little Buddah belly.  You have forever changed my life, and I thank you for that.  I feel incredibly blessed to have been lucky enough to have known you, and I will carry you in my heart every day for the rest of my life.  I love you, sweet little Allie, and I miss you very much.

Love,

"Aunt" Holly

My sad attempt at updating...

We have had an extremely busy few months, and I have been horrible at updating our blog!!  Here are a few from back at the beginning of the summer of the kiddos on their new playgym their Daddy built for them in our backyard - this has been used on a daily basis over the past few months!!  I don't know what we would have done without it this summer!!

We drove the Jeep down and met the Anderson family in Brown County one day for a Subway picnic at the park and a pony ride!!  Our kiddos are all so close in age, so they LOVE to get together!!  Ceili is just 9 months younger than Tommy and 7 months older than Nate...and then Keaton is just 4 months older than their youngest, Alex...they will all have so much fun growing up so close!  Ceili and Tommy are the best of friends, and you can almost always find them walking together holding hands...just like the last picture below!  So cute!!

I've got a million more things to put on here, but I will keep posting a few at a time and hopefully get up to date rather quickly!!  Keep checking back!

Closer to 2 than 1

Our little guy is now closer to 2 years old than to 1 year old, as he is a week over 18 months old now!! I can't believe how fast time has gone by with our little man - can he really be 18 months old already?!?! Keaton has changed a TON in the last 6 months - he is such a big boy now! He is now a whopping 24 pounds and 32 inches tall!! He is in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height! Here's a list of some of his favorite things and characteristics at 18 months:
- His Mommy: He is a 100% Mommy's boy, and I mean 100%! He will not let me get more than about 6 inches away from him without throwing himself on the floor, kicking and screaming until I pick him up! He wants to be on my hip 24/7, even though he has a house full of fun toys to play with!
- His Lovey: He carries at least one with him ALL THE TIME!! He may even be more attached to his than Ceili is to hers!
- Firetrucks: He absolutely loves his ride-on firetruck and just about every other firetruck he sees! Maybe we have a future fireman?!?
- His doggies: He really loves his doggies...however, he is NOT fond of other dogs at all at this time!
- His Sister: Ceili & Keaton really are so sweet together, even if 98% of the time she is pestering him and he is screaming because she is touching him!! The little bit of time that they get along, they are the best of friends! He loves to follow her lead, and I just love it when she is sitting on the floor watching a show and he lays down next to her on his belly to join her!
- His Daddy: Although he doesn't typically prefer Daddy over Mommy, he does get extremely excited to see Daddy when he gets home or comes in from working out in the yard! As soon as he hears the garage door open, he gets excited and runs around saying "Da Da, Da Da!!" It is so neat to watch him interact with his Daddy, and I am so lucky to have chosen such a wonderful man to be the Daddy to my kiddos - there truly is not a better man I could have chosen!!
- Cuddles: He is such a cuddly little guy and loves to just sit and cuddle...he reminds me of how I was when I was younger. My mom always called me her Laphound...and I constantly find myself calling him MY Laphound!! If you ever are in need of a hug, this little guy is the one you want around...that is, if you can get him off my hip first!
- Purses: He absolutely loves to carry Ceili's purses around on his arm, perfectly situated in the crease of his elbow! He is so proud of himself when he shows you that it totally melts my heart every time!!
- Babydolls & Dollhouses: You can definitely tell Keaton has an older sister - when I am upstairs doing laundry and he walks away, he can almost always be found in Ceili's room playing with her babydolls or dollhouse! He will be such a wonderful Daddy someday!
- Swinging: He loves to swing on our playset in the backyard - he already swings on the big boy swing instead of baby swing! He wants to sit and hold on like the big kids, and he actually does a great job!
- Eating: Keaton loves to eat just about anything!! Such a difference from his sister, he will eat almost anything you put on his plate...except mushy stuff like mashed potatos, applesauce or macaroni and cheese!
- Straw cups: As much as I hate these cups because they leak all over the place, he absolutely loves to drink out of his straw cups! I think he likes to use these because Ceili uses straws in a lot of her cups...and he will do anything to be like her!
- Music & Dance: Keaton loves to listen to music and dance!! It is so fun to watch him dance to ANY music he hears...even if it's just my generic ringtone on my phone! He loves to listen to his lullaby CD before bedtime - as soon as he hears the music start, he calms right down and listens to it as he falls asleep! He also loves it when we sing - especially Daddy's favorite song from his childhood, which goes a little like this:

"I'm a little pile of tin...Nobody knows what shape I'm in...Got 4 wheels & a running board...I'm a 4-door, I'm a Ford...Honk, Honk, Rattle, Rattle, Crash, Beep, Beep!"

- Books: Keaton is constantly bringing us books to read!! He would just sit on your lap and read books for hours on end!
- Talking: He doesn't say much yet, but the things he does say are "Mama", "Dada", "Nana", "Dog", "Down", "Done", "More", "That". He also knows that a lion says "Rrroarr!!"
- Body Parts: He know most of his body parts, including his head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, ears, belly, belly button, hands, arms, feet, toes, and legs!
- Peek-a-Boo: He loves to play peek-a-boo, whether he just hides his face with his hands or hides behind furniture! He could play this for hours and hours, if only adults could stand to play peek-a-boo that long!!
- Toilet paper & Trash: Whenever Keaton does wander away from my side, he likes to go in the bathroom and unroll the toilet paper and drag it all over the downstairs of our house! He also loves to throw things away - whether is really is trash or one of his toys! I always have to check the trash before I throw something away to make sure no toys are on top!
- Climbing: He is a great climber and can get up the stairs in about 10 seconds!! By the time I realize he's by the stairs, he is already up them by the time I get over there!

Wow! Those are just a FEW of Keaton's favorite things! He is a shy little guy, which I am hoping he will overcome within the next few months. He has a huge phobia of strangers...which I guess isn't a horrible thing, but it sure does make working out at the gym difficult! Keaton has such a big smile and an even bigger personality! He is such a joy to be around, even if I never have a moment to myself while he's awake!! He's got the same beautiful blue eyes that his big sister has and hair that his about as blond as can be! He is definitely such a blessing to our little family, and we are so lucky that we were chosen to be his Mommy & Daddy!

Below are a few snapshots of Keaton lately...just being Keaton!!

(notice his lovey even sits with him at the table!)
(he decided to pull the entire roll of toilet paper all the way from the bathroom, through the kitchen and into the living room one night! again, notice lovey is in his hand here too!)

(here he is playing peek-a-boo with his empty snack bowl! again, lovey is in his free hand!)

(here is our little guy that we thought would never walk - he proved us wrong and is EVERYWHERE nowadays!!)

(here he is playing in the baby pool one HOT day...he loves to splash and play in whatever water he can find!)

There are a lot of other pictures I need to post from all of our recent activities, and with luck, I will get them up soon!! Stay tuned for pictures from Ceili's birthday, vacation, the Louisville Zoo, riding in the Jeep, Ceili's soccer, and a lot of other fun things that have kept us BUSY lately!!