Yesterday Aaron turned 31 and we had a full day of celebrating. The girls prepared a short cheer for him in honor of our gift: tickets to the NC State football game on Thanksgiving weekend. We were able to get it on video to remember and share!

Thanks to Granddaddy and Grandma Carolyn for the cheerleading outfits, and for Ansley letting us borrow her pom poms. I have no idea why Kate insisted on holding her little kaboodle suitcase for the cheer...

   

 We dropped the kids off (all 3!) at my mom and dad's and went for a long lunch date. 

We went to a restaurant called Bulls and Bones Brewhaus based on a recommendation and it definitely met the expectation (thanks, John and Dawn!). 

It was a sports bar and grill, but new and upscale, and they had the State game on while we were there...it worked out so perfectly. 

We took our time and watched the game for a while after we finished our meal. Then we headed over to a spa for a couples massage :) So relaxing! 

Hank did great for his first babysitting experience. I am so thankful that we live near my parents and that our kids have them to love on them! 

And last night, some guys came over for a friendly poker game. 

Like I said, it was a full day! 

Tonight we drove to Christiansburg for another birthday meal at Due South BBQ with my mom, dad, and Joey. The girls were hyper and silly, and Hank was exhausted and cranky (great combo for a high intensity dinner!). 

I finally did a little shopping for some fall clothes, so I feel a little more organized and prepared for cooler weather now. Kate was excited about her new shirt this morning (which was a blessing for me...she has been becoming more and more peculiar about her likes and dislikes... I never know what will set her off, and we've had our fair share of tears in the mornings while getting dressed) and asked me to take a picture of her. Sister joined in of course!

I have been waiting a long time to make this post and share these pictures with you!

I made a baby quilt for Hank with a great and patient teacher, Pat. We are in church together and I so loved getting to know her better while putting this quilt together with her. 

She is a master quilter! She is always working on multiple quilting projects at one time. 

The backstory behind this quilt:

I started it more than a year and a half ago! Yes, even before I was pregnant, and definitely before I knew it was a boy!

I originally just had a desire to learn to quilt, and wanted to make one with Pat for that reason. So I chose to do a simple pattern baby quilt and was planning to give it to the next friend who happened to have a boy. 

We worked on it every Wednesday for about 5 months. Vivian went to preschool and I took Kate with me to Pat's house to play and watch Elmo DVDs while we cut fabric and pieced it together. 

After it was pieced together and she showed me the basic idea for quilting it, I was on my own. I didn't need any more step-by-step help because it was just a matter of making time to do the actual quilting. Hmmm...making the time. :) What time?!

That's when I put the quilt away, thinking about it at night before I fell asleep...you know those things that you want to do but just keep getting put on the back burner because everything else seems more pressing? 

Then, I found out we were having a boy. I decided it was time to get motivated and get it done. Joyfully, of course. ;)

 (notice the change of clothes? had to change him halfway through the photo shoot because he pooped while I was taking pictures and it got on his pjs)

I had several months, so no problem, right?! So I kept making goals for myself...one square a week. Then it was one row a week. Then four rows a week. Then finally, a few weeks before Hank was due, I got serious. Aaron started a series on TV (Swamp Loggers, just so I remember), and I sat with him on the couch and quilted each night for about 2 weeks. It worked so well, I enjoyed it so much! I was sorry that I had procrastinated so much! It was so relaxing...something mindless but also being productive with my hands. And I was also hanging out with the hubby. Win-win! Some nights I stayed up too late because it was addicting. 

The week that Hank came, I called Pat and told her I was finished, and ready to learn how to put the binding on. We made plans to meet on Thursday to do that. Hank was born on Wednesday morning. :) I called her to tell the news and cancel our meeting, and she graciously offered to come get the quilt and finish it for me. I love that woman.

She not only finished the binding, but she added a label to the back of the quilt. She asked what I wanted it to say, and she designed and created it, and embroidered his name. It is so perfect. 

I am really proud that I finished, even if the stitches are all different sizes or may be crooked! The whole experience is definitely something to be remembered.
This project in no way reflects my ability to do crafty things, or even to sew. It was a one-time thing and Pat had to show me every tiny step. Aaron asked me to put a button back on his shirt the other day and I have no idea what to do! haha

 Two of the little girls had already left when I got the camera out. But this gives you an idea of how cute they are in their little leotards.

I really like the teacher, who is also the director of the company. She announced yesterday that the spring performance will be Cinderella. Vivian was beside herself with the squeals.

 And here is the little buddy with his bathtime. He is quiet and calm for baths...we give one right before bed. He has been going to bed around 7 or 7:30. Vivian usually helps me with the bath. Every night she asks to wash a different body part. "Mom, can I wash his knees tonight?" And then she's responsible for dumping the water on him to rinse, and for getting me a towel.

I love the way babies smell when they're clean! And I love the way his hair is soft and fuzzy when it dries. 

We are learning more and more about our littlest!:

He's doing well in his crib at night, but sometimes at the last feeding around 4 or 5, I bring him back to our bed selfishly for some cuddling until about 7, when we start the day. 

He is either really quiet riding in the car or screaming his lungs out. Many times it's the latter. He doesn't sleep well in the car seat like most babies :( He will fall asleep in it but wakes easily. 

He's gassy and stinky! I've noticed he has more gas in the early morning hours.

He is still wearing newborn clothes...even a lot of the 0-3 month pajamas are too big for him. But he hit another growth spurt this week and is taking in more ounces, so hopefully we can get him fattened up :)

My favorite moments are when his fingers are curled around my thumb while he's nursing in the middle of the night.

He is really patient and gives me lots of chances to figure out how to make him happy before he gets straight-up mad.

He seems like he is wanting to smile at us so badly but just can't. My Dad and Granddaddy say that he smiled at them on Saturday, but I've yet to get one out of him! I am really looking forward to that. 

To be honest, it's hard for me to relax and enjoy the newborn phase. It seems like I always have a feeling of nervousness about me, wondering what he needs or what to do next or when he's going to wake up, etc. I enjoy him but I do long for the days of predictability...specifically the 9-11 and 1-3 naps...when is that, again?! ;) But when he is awake I try to make a point of dropping all the tasks at hand to just sit with him, talk to him, love on him, and be moved by how precious he is. The Lord has given grace. 

Shannon took the picture up top when he was 14 days old. Check out more of her photos here.

 Vivian is pretty quiet with him...just holds him and looks at him. I think she doesn't really know what to say to him because he doesn't do anything. Kate is more in his face, talking to him sweetly, but really only repeats things that I say to him. Actually, Kate pays more attention to him than I thought she would...wanting to help burp him, hold a bottle, etc.

 Kate likes getting her picture taken with him. 

She has been a little more clingy in the last month, and we've noticed that she sometimes talks like a baby. Hmmm...

At this point, I put down the camera and intervened :)

Afternoons from about 4 to 6 are the longest parts of our days...getting dinner ready, waiting for Daddy to get home and trying to pick up before he does, playing without fighting or getting too many toys out. Usually getting outside is the cure, but on rainy days we need things like this that take a good chunk of time and focus!

This is good refrigerator stuff.

With his first great-grandson! He had taken a fabulous nap before they arrived, so he was wide-eyed and calm the whole time we were at the house. The grandparents loved that of course.

They brought some gifts for the girls, one of which was this 100-piece puzzle. It's a perfect gift because I remember each summer when we went to the beach with them growing up, she always had a puzzle on the table for us to work on for the week. Now maybe she can have that tradition with our kids, too :)

Gramme held the little man for a few minutes and I had to catch some pictures of it! He is really getting strong to hold his head up.

 Grandma sat with V to do a puzzle upstairs in the playroom (our closet shares a space with their playroom).
Before the girls went to bed, we set up the computer for FaceTime with Aunt Brooke! She is at UNC Wilmington in her second year and we missed having her with us!

 Getting ready to blow out the candles...wait! There's no candle! 

 So Aaron rolled up a paper towel and lit it up for her to blow out. Like I said, the girl is very concerned about this part of the birthday celebration...

The funny thing to me was that she was completely satisfied with his substitute.

 We all think that Kate is changing recently in the way she looks in her face...growing up, I guess!

 Hank slept through his first birthday party. Sweet boy to let his sister have all the attention for her special day.

 She opened some fabulous presents! The M&Ms were a huge hit, as well as a singing Dora doll.

 Here's the best picture...everyone was there! Stephen and Michael came in from Richmond and brought our friend Ashley with them. Mom, Dad, Joey, and Tasha were with us, too. It was a nice little family reunion of sorts.

And I couldn't let you leave this blog post without sharing this beautifully pink-tongued big sister :)

She concentrated on eating just the icing on about 3 cupcakes before it was all said and done.

 Shannon took these awesome pictures for us...this first one cracks me up. There's a little ice cream diva in the front there, and her huge 9 months pregnant mom in the background taking a likewise huge bite out of her cone...that's just about right. She gets it from me, what can I say?!

It's so sweet to see the kids gather around the present-opener, excited to find out what she got! Imagine if we did this as adults when we give each other gifts. HA!

Ashely was kind to take over my camera and get these pictures. 

She got some bubble gum in one of her presents, and Aaron started passing it out to the kids. They got wayyyy too much for their little mouths.

This crying picture shows how the gum thing ended badly...Kate had too much in her mouth and gagged on it, and threw up all over her shoes. She was a sad mess. Poor birthday girl! She got over it quickly, though, when Aaron took the kids outside to play.

I am so thankful that our girls have these friends to grow up with. They are so good to us!