A Sunday Afternoon Drive

We've had a long week with Maeve who has been battling sickness. She had a viral infection, which equals fever, lots of snot, a rash, and waking up all through the night. Needless to say, we are all tired and weary.

After work on Friday, I drove up to Moo's where she was outside with Cam and Maeve. Even there Maeve wasn't satisfied, just fussy and wanting to do more than she really can. So, Cam was cruising in his "WahWah Monster Truck." I took Maeve over to him and the truck and asked, "Can you ride her in your truck?" He was oh-so proud to be trusted to drive his little sister. And Maeve was just beside herself in awe! She could not stop smiling. As she rode around slowly, she was clapping her hands and messing with the dials on the radio. She kept looking back at us. I don't know if she was making sure we were watching or making sure she was going to be ok. It was such a treat to watch the two of them being BIG together.

On Sunday after church, I had to let Tony in on the treat. So, once again, the two of them set off to riding. I strategically dressed them in Georgia outfits so it would be even cuter in the flag-adorned truck. Got some precious pictures. As they rode off down the driveway, I couldn't help but think: This is going to be a real image one day.

But for now, I'm fine with them just pretending to be all grown up.

8 Months Old

With the changing of the months, comes the realization that our baby girl is adding another month to her age. Eight months already!

She grows and changes so fast. She now has 6 teeth: four on top and two on the bottom. On my birthday, she started crawling like a pro, finally getting those arms and legs in a coordinated motion. She's progressed from waving her whole arm to doing that classic backwards hand wave. We practice this any chance we get throughout the day. She babbles all the time. She started with "DaDaDa" and "buhhh" for CoCo. She is now sweetly saying "MaMaMa" when she wants me or she wants more to eat. Cam is feeling a bit left out since she says Mama and Daddy. He commented, "Why won't she say CamCamCam?" She frequently laughs out loud at him. She already is smitten with that older brother. We'll see how long those feelings last!

Wonder what this month will hold for her? We are already wondering where our Christmas decorations will have to be displayed in order to keep her from harm. I know the trees will be high on her list of things to get in to!

Cuties in their Costumes

Muscle Man Cam and Sock Monkey Maeve

Where are you going, Monkey?

Anna Belle, as Mary's Little Lamb, with her Monkey friend

Muscle Man and Mary Had a Little Lamb

Elvis, Sumo Wrestler, and Muscle Man

Buzz Lightyear and the Three-Eyed Martian

Halloween is not really a special day in our house since Cam LOVES to dress up all the time. He has so many costumes to choose from that it's been really no big deal for him to get all dressed up. The biggest difference is that his favorite food group, candy, is readily available!

Carving Creativity

Tony and Cam carved their first pumpkin this year. We always pick some from the patch, but I usually don't like for them to be turned into jack-o-lanterns simply so that they can continue to decorate for us throughout the rest of fall. I had to concede this year, and let a little boy have that "gutting" experience. He was not as into as I thought he would be. Mostly it was Tony who did all the work. Cam kept coming in to get different spoons to help scoop out the stuff.

Here are their finished products:

The Traditional One

McCullers: Family of Four

Pumpkin Patch '09

We had two little pumpkins to take to the patch this year. With all the rain, a couple of our planned outtings had been postponed. So, the first day the sun was shining this week, we took off to the patch.

I don't know how much fun they had, but I had a LOT of fun having them pose and take some pictures. Cam was a little distraught about not having overalls to wear. I guess from all the pictures of years past, he associates wearing overalls with going to the pumpkin patch. He didn't have any that fit him this year (he's gotten so tall lately). He finally settled on the clothes that coordinated with Maeve's outfit.

They made some sweet memories for Mama.

90th Birthday

Maeve was really happy about her great-granddaddy turning 90!

Edward and Doris waiting to receive their guests.

My sweet Granddaddy celebrated his 90th birthday this month. What a blessing it has been to know and love him and have him part of my life for all these years. We celebrated with a big party. So many people came out to show their love and support. Someone pointed out that he and Granny just might be the oldest living couple in the county. They've been married 64 years and are working on 65! I cannot imagine even living that long, much less being married that long!

It was quite overwhelming to have so many people come out to help us celebrate him. Everyone managed to make it, including the nine grandchildren and their entourage of children that have blessed him with 15 great grands.

He's now planning his 100th birthday party!

Bahama Mama

All year, I've been trying to make the most of the last year of my twenties. Since welcoming Maeve in to the world, having any time to myself has been a rare commodity. So, back in April, I proclaimed that the best birthday gift for me this year would be a trip without the kids. Tony looked around and found a three day cruise to the Bahamas that matched our fall break. So, it was a done deal. We were going!

As the trip got closer and closer, I started to panic. How could I ever be away from my little ones? Up unil this point, I had only left Maeve overnight just one time and that was less than 24 hours. Then, when I thought about how much I would have to pack and prepare, my panic grew greater. I even asked Tony the week before we left if we could just postpone it till summer time. He was a little hurt by my request. I think mostly because we would lose our money, but also because he had planned the perfect trip for us.

So, we left and everything worked out just right. Two days of relaxing and just doing exaclty what I wanted felt like a whole week! It was a break that we all needed. The babies got spoiled by all the time with grandparents, and Tony and I realized that without all the stresses of life, we really do enjoy each other's company.

One more week of being twenty something. Here's to my next 30 years!