Gratitude

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving--not the least of which is a healthy pregnancy that resulted in the birth of our second happy, healthy, beautiful baby. But I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to a few people who have done so much for us this past year and especially these past few months: our parents.


Matthew and I are both lucky to have incredibly supportive and helpful parents. We have always known this, but lately they have really outdone themselves. Both sets of parents have visited several times in the months before and after Luke was born, and every time it was like a mini-vacation (or at least as close as we get to that around here!). They cook, they clean, they hold babies, they do laundry, they babysit, they run errands. They take on bigger tasks like pulling the ivy off our house, trimming hedges, mowing the lawn, baby-proofing drawers and shelving units, painting big-girl beds, and assembling swings and pack-and-plays. They host surprise second-baby showers. They bring my grandparents to visit. They take Myla to the zoo, a baseball game, or the park, to make her feel special and show her a good time when little brother has been getting lots of attention or even when Matthew and I were at the hospital.

In short, we have the best parents and our children have the best grandparents we could ever hope for. Nana, Pop, Baw Baw, and Grandma--we are so thankful for you!

Mamaw & Papaw Visit

In October, my Mamaw and Papaw Highbaugh came up to visit us and meet Luke. Luke is their seventh great-grandchild (all boys except for Myla!). It was so good of them to make the long trip--especially since Papaw had to stay in a hotel, which he doesn't like to do! We really enjoyed our time together, and Luke and Mamaw got along particularly well. :)

Pumpkin Patch Slide Show

There's nothing like a pumpkin patch for great pictures. Here are some from the 2nd and 3rd patches we visited this October. In addition to these favorites, I made a little slide show for some of the overflow. Click on it (at the bottom) to see the show.

Shots of Luke and Myla. I love that the scary pirate on Luke's shirt has a happier expression than he does.


Myla and Matthew on the cow train. This was a highlight of Myla's Halloween season. I am not such a fan, since my tailbone still hurts from being bounced around in that tiny car when it was my turn to go with her!


Finally, this picture totally cracks me up. Look how much fun I'm having and how terrified Myla looks. Who said these things were for the kids?


Here's the slide show if you're ready for more:

First Tub Bath

The 10-day posting marathon has ended, but we still have a few things to share. Here are a few pictures from Luke's first bath in his little tub. He really loves his baths and is such a cutie when he's all soapy and clean! :)

Buddies

These two are really starting to enjoy one another. Here, my only attempt (thus far) at matching outfits:



Myla loves to hold Luke, until he starts kicking her or she says he's "too heavy" (in her defense, he's a chunky monkey).


Tummy time. Myla likes it much better than Luke does and always wants to do it with him. Lately we've been having tummy time in Luke's activity gym, which Myla calls his "tippy tippy gym."

Fun Day at Home

Here are some pictures from the last week before I started back to work part-time. It was a really nice day, Myla was home from schoool, and the three of us had a great time at the zoo. (Luke doesn't look like he was having much fun in this picture, but he was.) Although by the end, Luke had had it with the stroller and Myla was wanting to walk--so I was looking pretty silly holding one kid and chasing another while pushing a huge double stroller with nobody in it. :)



Later in the afternoon, Myla kept herself busy with her Lego magic while I took care of Luke. The girl does really incredible things with those blocks!

Pretty Fall

Pumpkin Patch #1

This October we made no fewer than four trips to three different pumpkin patches. Here was our first one. It was a gorgeous day, and they had the best selection of pumpkins. Myla loved it. And I love this picture of her.

Luke took a little snooze; riding in style.

Myla picking out her pumpkin and driving the tractor.

Big cheesin'.


Myla on the ride home, with her very own pumpkin.

Jonny and Maria visit

On Halloween weekend, Matthew's brother Jonathan and his girlfriend Maria came to visit us. Myla was thrilled to have both of them here, and Luke got to meet them for the first time. They also bravely took on babysitting for both kids so we could go to a Halloween party Saturday night--thanks guys! Maria is a NICU nurse so we knew they were in very capable hands.

Here are some great photos from their trip. In the first one, Myla and her "Uncle Jonny" put on just about every winter accessory we own. Which is a lot.

Ice Cream with Pop

One of Myla's favorite things to do with Pop is make--and eat--homemade ice cream. Here are some shots from our last batch of the summer.

My Gang

Some goofy pics from when Luke was about a month old.

2 Months

Luke had his two month appointment today, and Dr. Sanders confirmed what we strongly suspected--Luke is a big boy! At 15 lb., 8 oz. and 25.5 inches, he's over the 95th percentile in weight and height. And most importantly, he's healthy.

Here are the pictures from his two month photo shoot. Love those smiles!

Jennifer & Matt Visit

Around the end of September, Matthew's sister Jennifer and her husband Matt came to visit us and meet Luke. They have visited us before, but this time Matthew's parents kept their daughters so they could visit us solo. And while we love seeing Anna and Megan, it was really nice to have some time with a higher adult-to-kid ratio! Jennifer posted some great pictures of their visit on their blog, and here are a couple I took. Thanks Matt and Jennifer for making the trip, we all had a great time!

UNICEF Thank you!

Halloween is over, and while there are still a few UNICEF donations rolling in, it looks like we've blown our goal out of the water! At last count the total was about $357. We have been so impressed with the generosity of our family, friends, and coworkers that we have decided to match the donations to make it count even more. So that brings Myla and Luke's contribution to over $700--click here to see the amazing amount of good this can do!

As a thank-you to all our benefactors, we will be having a 10-day posting marathon, starting today! We'll begin with trick-or-treating photos and then look back at some of the other fun things we did in October.

First, here are Myla and Luke in their costumes again. Every time we asked Myla what she wanted to be for Halloween, she said "Christmas." So we made it happen! You can't tell in the photo but the lights really worked and the costume had bells and ornaments on it. Myla had a blast wearing it. Luke went with the theme as an adorable Christmas present.



Here we are trick-or-treating. At one point I suggested we call it quits, but she wanted "more houses!"



Our trick-or-treating was based out Nick and Anna's house for the third year in a row. Here, Nick gives Luke his first official trick-or-treating candy. Anna, Kimber, and Jill hand out candy to the masses.



Luke slept through most of trick-or-treating. He only woke up when his costume started having technical difficulties. So cute!