Fall Fun in Highlands

A few weekends ago the three of us headed to Highlands. For no particular reason, other than it had been a while and I was getting antsy for the roaring fire, the peaceful quiet and the gorgeous fall foliage while it was still hanging on.

Ever wonder what exactly it is that we do up there? A whole lotta nuthin' :) We crunch around in the leaves, we play on the playground on the hill by my parents' house. Matty moves pebbles from a bowl to the table and back. We chase bubbles. We watch for birds, bats, brown bears and wild cats. Yes, I'm serious.

Here are just a few pics from this last trip I wanted to share :)

Ye Down Home Thanksgiving!

What a fun Thanksgiving we had! Ben, Matty and I spent the holiday in Macon for 5 whole days. I cannot even remember the last time we were anywhere for that long, completely unplugged and away from the daily grind. Thursday was spent at a very extended family gathering at Bobbi and Larry Hines in Roberta, Aunt and Uncle to Kevin. We had Brownings, Murpheys, Fussells, Hines and more! Lots of kids running around, climbing tree houses, petting horses, hayrides under blankets, warm spiced cider, gorgeous blue sky and perfect fall weather! And with Kevin's grandmother now convinced she is part Cherokee, truly reminiscent of early Thanksgivings!

Friday Ben went to Auburn for the Alabama game and we tried to rest up for Saturday, which brought another chance for fun outdoors when we all headed to my cousin Clay's "staycation" house on the Ocmulgee River. Less than 15 miles from our house, it's a great place to get away, but not too far away. We ate and caught up, shot guns, drove 4 wheelers, played basketball and ran around until we literally fell down asleep! Great pictures, great memories and a great family. We had such fun being together. One of my favorite moments: shooting Clay's 20-guage and actually hitting my first sporting clay! I should have quit while I was ahead since that turned out to be the only one I hit, but the high is still with me days later!

Matty was trying to steer at one point!

This was right before the clay I actually managed to shoot (luckily, not my cousin Clay :))

Bragging Rights

So I'm realizing in most of my posts lately, they're of pictures and what we've been doing but not too much about Matty and his progress with this whole growing up thing! And we have lots to tell and brag about!

You know I am hardly a career-obsessed working mom, and would much prefer spending all my time home with Matty, but I've also never been able to deny the benefits that DCA has given him. He simply blossoms there and it's been an enormous blessing. But lately it seems he is learning something new everyday and he is truly blowing our minds!

The other day, Ben was crouched down in the kitchen by the fridge, arms spread wide, asking Matty for a hug. Matty turned to him and said "Why?" Ben said, "Because I love you and I want a hug, that's why!" Then Ben turns to me and says, "Uh, he's holding the letter 'Y'." So we experiment, holding up 'A', 'D', 'G', 'S' and about a dozen other letters, sitting there dumbfounded when he knew almost all of them! Little secret-keeper didn't tell us he knew almost the whole dang alpahbet!

Then yesterday, Matty had his 1st H1N1 vaccination and afterwards Ben took Matty for a Happy Meal before taking him back to school. Ben said in the car they were counting to 10. This I in no way believed. Until Matty, with only a little coaxing from Ben, starting counting to 10 during dinner! After he got to '10' we clapped and clapped and totally freaked out at this new accomplishment! So much so that after a little while, he stopped counting altogether and just sat there saying '10' and clapping since it seemed to be getting lots more fanfare than the rest of the numbers he was listing!

In general he is just thriving and learning more and more each day. And it never ceases to amaze me what little sponges toddlers are. The whole world opening up in new ways for them everyday. Watching the wheels spinning as he puts information together in his mind is such a thrill. It's no wonder every parent thinks their child is the most brilliant creature ever created! (Of course in our case it happens to be true :))

Halloween Cuteness!

Halloween is definitely one of my most favorite times of the year! Don't ask me why. For someone who doesn't overly decorate and who feels like an idiot dressing up, it probably doesn't make sense. But I love it nonetheless! Just the fun and creativity and the exciting kick off to all the holiday festivities!

Though, this Halloween did not quite shake out exactly how I'd envisioned it. The weather certainly did not cooperate with us and since Matty did have pneumonia, I was reluctant to say the least to keep him out long in the cold and rain. Nevertheless, he was the cutest sea otter in the neighborhood and even kept his otter head on long enough for me to snap a few pictures (we sort of made a deal). We went "tweat-tweat"ing to the Browning's and one other house down the street. Forgoing the neighborhood hayride since the rain was starting, and I wanted to get him home. But he stayed in his costume (headless that is) all evening, helping me hand out candy to all the gypsies, tramps and thieves who came knocking on our door.

Seriously is there anything cuter than a toddler with a tail?