Halloween

It was a bit rainy on Halloween, so we decided to take Ella and Mary Catherine to Haywood Mall to go trick-or-treating. Ella dressed up like a candy corn and Mary Catherine was a puppy dog. It was the funnest thing to watch Ella trick-or-treat. I think she was totally taken by surprise to see all of the other kids dressed up. She had a lot of fun pointing out their costumes and trying to figure some of them out. We didn't get a lot of candy (which was great!), but we had a lot of laughs - made for a great Halloween!

Mary Catherine got tuckered out from riding around the whole mall. Not to mention a little wamr in her cute little costume! :)

Las Vegas

I had a conference out in Las Vegas (SAP Reporting & Analytics). Ella went to stay with Mimi and PawPaw and Clint and Mary Catherine went out to Nevada with me. Well, Mary Catherine and I flew out there together mid-day on Wed and Clint didn't fly out until Wed night. She did extremely well flying - much better than I would have ever thought! She played, she slept, she met a lot of people. It was all in all, a good day.

While I was at the conference all day, Mary Catherine and Clint got to play a lot. They hung out in the hotel, they walked around the strip, they drove around the area. Just a lot of great daddy-daughter time. Can't beat that!!

The conference was at the Rio, but we had to stay at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. I couldn't believe how big it was. There were tons of restaurants and shopping in this one casino alone. It was quite unbelievable.

Thursday afternoon, Clint and Mary Catherine drove out to the Hoover Dam. I thought this picture was awesome. I wish I could have seen it myself. I just sit in awe looking at this beauty that God has given us!

Clint and Mary Catherine at the Hoover Dam.

The Hoover Dam.

I am glad that I can say that I have been to Las Vegas, but I can't say that I am ready to go back. The landscape was beautiful - the rocky, rough mountains were just not anything I ever expected to see. The strip was neat to see - from a distance.

On Thursday night, we walked down the strip to see some light shows at a couple of the casinos. It was pretty cool. But, in general, the strip was so crowded with people - most of which were just rude. It was unpredictably predictable. That's about all I can say about the strip.

I only uploaded a couple of pictures to the blog. There are over a 100 on snapfish - so here is a link.

Click here to view photos

Family get-together at the Lyman's

John and Paula hosted a family get-together at their house. Unfortunately, Mary Catherine had a pretty bad cold, so she and I had to stay home; but, Clint and Ella drove down to Atlanta and spent the day with everyone.

Sounds like we sure did miss some fun though. I think the kids really had fun playing together. I can't believe how much all of the boys have grown!!

Memorable moment:

There is a school not too far from John and Paula's house and apparently there was some sort of game or something going on. When Clint and Ella were getting ready to leave, someone started talking over the loud speaker. Ella stopped and looked around - she said, "Daddy, is that God?"

PS - I thought I had a picture of Graeham posted, but I don't. I will have to upload that a little later. So, if you are reading this post and you don't see his picture, check back in a couple of days and I will add his picture. He is such a cutie - wish I could have met him!!!

Mary Catherine 4 month checkup

Today was Mary Catherine's 4 month checkup. She saw Dr. Poole at the Christie Group Pediatrics in Greenville. Everything went well - he said that she was doing great. She is 13 lbs 10 oz, which is the 35 percentile for weight. She is 25.5 inches, which is the 80 percentile (I would have never guessed that she was actually "tall" - but statistically speaking, she is for a 4 month old!) Her head is 39 cm, which is like only the 5th percentile.

Poor thing had to get shots today, too. She screamed when the nurse stuck her in the legs, but as soon as I picked her up, she calmed down. She fretted for a few minutes, but then was okay. I put her in the carseat shortly after. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and went right to sleep.

She hasn't ran any fever today and has slept off and on all day. She was actually in a good mood and felt like playing when Ella got home from school. We stopped at Target to find some Halloween costumes. Ella wanted her to be a pumpkin, so I naturally bought the 3-6 month one. We tried it on when we got home and even though she is adorable in it, it is really too small. Her legs are too long and they were all bunch up in the bottom of it. Guess I will have to take it back and get a bigger size!! Here is a video of Ella and MC playing together.

Her new found hobby is making noises with her mouth and tongue. It's the funniest thing.

In this video, as she was rolling over, she kind of gets stuck in the middle - probably b/c she was getting tired - but it is funny when she makes over to the other side. Silly thing!!

Ella "riding" her bike

Sunday, the weather was beautiful - a little chilly, but sunny. Ella had a blast "riding" her bike down the driveway. The driveway has just the right incline that when she gets going, she lifts her feet up and cruises the rest of the way. It's fun to watch her - she does get going fast though!

Loud and big bowls...

It never seizes to amaze me what a child can come up with to say. Let me give you a little background so that the following will make a little sense. Since we have moved into the rental house, we didn't take a lot of Ella's bowls and plates. So, by default, she has started eating out of our breakable bowls - and of course, this makes her a super big girl now.

Today while riding in the car, Ella was talking non-stop (really?!)...and she was talking loudly. I asked her if she was ever quiet. She responded, "No...cuz....God made me loud and God made me strong so that I can hold big bowls."

Uncle Jody visits

We had another wonderful weekend visiting with Uncle Jody. Unfortunately, it rained again, but that didn't stop us from having fun spending time with one another. Friday night, Ella and I were upstairs getting her dressed for bed. When Jody had arrived, I told Ella that he was there. She started running and singing, "Uncle Jody, Uncle Jody's here!" over and over. It just brought tears to my eyes - it was just such a sweet sound to hear her get so excited that he was coming over to see her. Just an all and all great weekend!

Fall for Greenville

We had so much fun at Fall for Greenville this year. We haven't been since Ella was an infant, and we were amazed at how much bigger it has gotten in just 3 short years. We also got to experience it thru a child's eyes this year, which was so much more...well, fun!!! It was a blast to see Ella play, ride on the "big kid" rides, dance in the streets, eat cupcakes and pizza - just all around - have a great time.

We had so much fun on Saturday that we went back downtown Sunday afternoon, too. We met the Gardze's on Sunday. The girls had a good time hanging out with one another. Fast friends!!

It just amazed me at how big Ella seemed the whole weekend! She is turning into such a "big kid"! Here she is riding the Strawberries. Ella, Reese and Casey waiting in line to ride the helicopters

What are they all looking at??

The were all busy playing!!

Mary Catherine, on the other hand, pretty much slept all afternoon. I was amazed at how much she slept despite the noise and chaos. Here is Casey and Ella checking on her.

I think she had a great time! :)

Mary Catherine - 4 months

Hard to believe that Mary Catherine is 4 months old! I think I sound like a broken record, but time is just flying by. There are days when it seems like she hasn't changed all that much, and then there are days when I have to do a double take and ask myself, "Is that our baby? Oh my!!" She is such a happy baby. It always seems like she has a smile on her face - especially if Ella is around. She thinks that Ella is just the funniest and most intriguing thing in the world. She will just sit and study her at times. I just wonder what is going on her little mind. Even though she turned 4 months on Oct 4, we don't go for her well baby visit until the end of the month. I can't wait to see how much she weighs and see how long she is!

Since she started rolling over, she LOVES to sleep on her tummy. Even if you flip her over on her back, within seconds she will roll back over on her belly. She still has a head full of hair - as you can tell below. It has thinned quite a bit - but it can still stick straight up!!

The little outfit that MC has on is one of Ella's (which most are) :) In this picture, it is amazing to me to see how much she looks like Ella did at this age!!

Definitely a thumb sucker!!