Happy First Birthday George!

On September 19, our nephew George turned one and a little over a week later we celebrated!  He had a great party and we all had so much fun!  It is so hard to believe that he is already one, and we look forward to so many great years to come!  Here he is with Clay- checking out his party...

Here is Hank with Mama Zo and Julie....he is good to go with some attention and a snack!

I love George's face here!

This was the day after our slumber party with Alex, so Alex got to come to the party!  Here is Chase and Alex playing with George...

George and Chase and Hank ....they love being with each other!....I am pretty sure this is right after Hank took George's goldfish out of his mouth and put them in his mouth!

Hank, Chase, and Alex....and now Hank is trying to get Chase's juice!

Happy Birthday sweet George!

He dove right in!

They all had so much fun on the jump jump!  Hank wasn't afraid of anything or anyone!

Chase digging in to his cupcake!

Mama Zo and Hank...

More jump jump pics...

Chase and Granny...we were all so glad that Granny got to come to the party!

Hank "helping" unwrap gifts...he is just practicing for his special day :)

George unwrapping gifts...Happy Birthday George!  We love you, are so thankful for you, and look forward to many fun years to come!

Slumber Party!

We had our first slumber party a few weeks ago and it was so much fun!  We have been wanting for Alex to come spend the night, so he got to, and it went great!  Chase was sooo excited leading up to it...I went to pick Alex up from school that Friday (Drew had already gotten Chase and Hank since we cannot fit 3 carseats in our car), and Chase and Alex's teachers said they had been talking about the spend the night party all day!  They love getting to be with each other, and Hank had just as much fun as anyone!
Here they are in the bathtub!

Please excuse Hank's little bottom, but I had to put this in...it represents how active sweet little Hank is these days!  No more sitting still to get bathed in the tub!

Sorry....more nakedness!  This picture cracks me up, though, because Chase had to stand on the chair to brush his teeth so he could reach just like Alex.  Usually, we would hold them, but when he saw Alex didn't have to be held, that wasn't working for Chase either!  I went that weekend and bought Chase a stool for the bathroom, and now he stands on that when he brushes his teeth.  Now, when he stands on his stool to brush his teeth, he says "Mommy, go somewhere else, please."

 Here they are in bed....so excited!!!  We wondered how they would do sleeping in Chase's bed together, but they really did well!

They loved Drew reading to them...

Hank was so happy when he got to join the big boys!!!

I think they finally fell asleep around about 9:30 or 10:00.  They talked and we listened to Alex read books to Chase...it was so sweet.  Drew finally had to go in the room around 9:00 and tell them to stop jumping on the bed and lay down and go to sleep.  I really wanted to take a picture of them once they fell asleep, but we didn't want to risk it!

They woke up the next morning at about 6:00...we heard them in there talking to each other.  Here they are eating breakfast.  They both had cereal...Alex changed his mind a few times with what cereal he wanted, and everytime he changed his mind, Chase did too :)

They wanted to go play in the sandbox at 7:00 in the morning, so here they are...sorry this one is blurry!  We cannot wait for our next slumber party with Alex...and Jackson in a few years too!  I know they will have so much fun growing up together!

Trip to the Mountains

At the end of September, Drew took a week off and we headed to the mountains!  My Aunt Kay and Uncle Billy have a cabin near Cashiers and Highlands, North Carolina, and they were so so sweet to let us go stay there.  We had the best time and it was a much needed vacation!  Chase has only gotten to go one time before this (when he was 6 months old) and this was Hank's first time to go.  We all had so much fun hanging out together!  We started telling Chase about going a few weeks before we left.  Everyday he would say, "I'm gonna climb a mountain just like Diego!" (he is into Diego the animal rescuer these days).  He would even move his arms like he was climbing a mountain...it was so cute!  We arrived at the cabin Sunday evening, and what did we do Monday morning?...climbed a mountain just for Chase! (the name of the mountain was Whiteside Mountain)
Here is Hank in the backpack hiker with Daddy going up...Hank loved the backpack hiker; however, he and Drew stayed pretty far ahead of Chase and me because Hank would yell at Drew every time he stopped...and of course Hank got his way! :)

Drew found Chase a hiking stick at the beginning and he was ready!  He was so excited and he wanted to take every step "by myself"

At the beginning...when Drew and Hank were still with us :)

Chase decided he needed a smaller hiking stick about half way up the trail...so he asked Mama to hold his bigger one.  The trip up the mountain was pretty funny.  Chase got distracted a good bit and he always wanted to step on every rock rather than walk around them.  I started telling him to follow me and step where I step..he did that for a while and then he got in front of me and said "follow me Mommy!"  We got slower and slower as we reached the top...at one point, we saw a bird and it hopped up the mountain as Chase and I tried to catch up with it- I think God sent that bird just for us :)

Hank and Daddy...

We made it to the top and got to enjoy the beautiful view!

Hank doesn't care what is going on as long as he is close to his Daddy!

Chase, Hank, and Ruby on top of the mountain...

Chase had new plans for the trip down...

Drew with his boys...

We decided Chase's plan was a great one!  He did such a great job climbing up the mountain all by himself, but we decided if he rode down we could get down a lot quicker.  So, he rode Drew and I carried Hank...we had a great hike!

Later on that night we cooked out hotdogs at the cabin.  This is the view from the driveway..so beautiful!

Hank is getting away and Chase and Ruby are sitting so sweet and still...I have a feeling Chase is going to spend a lot of time trying to get Hank to be still in the next few years! :)

My Uncle Billy put swings under the deck...Chase loved swinging the whole time we were there!

On Tuesday, we went to a park in Cashiers and had a great time!  There was a big grassy area and a playground...everyone had fun!
 Ruby loved running around...she loves doing anything with her family, though!

Hank hung out in the stroller at first and took a little rest...

Chase and Drew on the playground...

Hank loves playing in the grass and eating it!

Chase can hang all by himself!

Chase and Hank swinging...Chase wanted to go to the little swings so he and Hank could swing together :)

Hank's face makes me laugh here!

Chase is also in deep thought...

Our sweet little family....I am so so thankful for each of them!  We had such a great time and cannot wait to go back!