Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


Today my heart is overflowing with Thanksgiving. So many precious things in my life to be thankful for. Hope everyone stops to take a second today to think about what they have in their life and to be thankful!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Visit to the fire station and girls weekend '09

We got back from our girls weekend ( well girls weekend plus Aidan) last Thursday. My camera cord was temporarily misplaced so it took me awhile to upload pics. We had an awesome time with my mom, 2 aunts, and cousin. We always enjoy our time in Gatlinburg. We went to the Dixie Stampede for their Christmas Dinner show, did some shopping, played minature golf ( aidan calls it popcorn golf for some reason) visited the aquarium and ate lots of yummy food! We got the same "cabin" that we did last year. It is right by the creek. The screened in porch is actually right over the creek. We got a ton of rain the last 2 days we were there and it didnt take long for the lovely "stream" to become almost a river with lots of white water. Unfortunately, I didnt even think about taking any pictures of it. Had it continued another day I think the cabin may have washed away.

When we went to the Dixie Stampede they take your picture before you go in. They then attempt to sell you the pictures ( which we usually end up purchasing). When they brought us our pictures they asked if they could use the picture of Aidan for marketing purposes. It was a really cute picture. I signed a "modeling contract" and release and told them "sure". I would love to see how they are going to use the picture.

Before we went on our girls trip Aidan and I had our first experience with the "mom and tots" program here. We went on a trip to the fire station. So fun! Aidan loved it! His favorite part was getting to sit in the fire truck and "drive" it. He actually had a little tantrum when he had to get out because he thought he was such a "big boy". The fireman talked to us, educated us, and were really great with the little ones. The firemans hat was incredibly heavy!

Sitting in the fire truck being a big boy.




so many shiny objects to touch at the fire station! LOL!





3 tots standing on the fire truck checking out the windshield wipers.






playing with the hose.






playing "popcorn golf". Me showing Aidan how to hit the ball.


How he actually ended up playing golf. Walking up to the hole and dropping it in. LOL!





He was so funny. About the 9th hole he just sat down and decided to take a rest. Popcorn golf is exhausting!










Aidan and I at "The Village"







This is where we took pics last year. It was really hard getting a picture of Aidan because he was more interested in going walking in the "forrest"- woods.



















I love this bridge!











The only shot I got of the three of us.






My mom and her sisters. If you look closely between my 2 aunts you will see a red and white flash. Thats Aidan and what he did during the majority of the pictures. He ran away and wanted to go explore!














Gigi and her boy!

















Sunday, November 1, 2009

Around our Casa

We are settling in to life in WV and our new house. I love our neighborhood! There are a ton of kids and everyone is very friendly and neighborly. Our neighbor across the street actually brought Aidan a goody bag the day after trick or treat because we didnt trick or treat in our own neigborhood. How sweet is that? You can tell it is the type of neigborhood where everyone looks out for one another. Again, I love the whole community feel.

I have been catching up with old friends and family. Its so nice to have close friends nearby once again! I have found a toddler group in the area and we are going to our first event on Wednesday. We will be going on a tour of the fire station. I'm sure Aidan will love it! I also want to check out the local library. I think they have activities for toddlers as well.

Things are coming together for Grad School. I have officially been accepted and I meet with Dr. Angel later this month. I am going to talk to him about getting the credits to count towards my degree that I took in 1996. If I can manage to do this it will be a semester and a half under my belt already! In the emails we have been sending back and forth it doesnt seem to be a problem. He just has to work with me to make sure I still know the material and he has to complete some paperwork. I love Dr. Angel! He is the sweetest and really has a passion for special needs kids! I had the opportunity to actually be his graduate assistant in 1996. I am so looking forward to getting back in school. Later this month I will be checking out some day cares for Aidan. I wanted to put him in a Christian Pre School here by our house but I dont think schedule wise it is going to work out. Because it seems most of the classes are offered at night I will need to put him in a place in Huntington and then Cara will pick him up after she gets off work and watch him for an hour or so. Thank goodness for best friends!

Next weekend we are going on our annual girls trip to Gatlinburg. I am really looking forward to it! It will be nice to be able to do the driving for once!

Now here are some pics I have been taking recently around our house...

I love the front porch and would love to get some furniture for it this Spring. Our roses
Burning Bush on the side of the house. The leaves were just starting to change. It is a brilliant red now and the leaves are starting to fall off.



Sunrise that I caught a couple of mornings ago.


Aidan playing in the leaves






I wanted to get a picture of this tree before the leaves starting falling off. It was so beautiful! I couldnt remember to bring my camera when we were going on our walks.


































Aidan playing with his kitchen that Mimi bought him.









One of his favorite toys for the past month! A box. He LOVES playing with this box!







Little Stinker! Everytime I go to wipe his face or hands he runs from me and dives in his box so I can't get to him.