1 month

Christmas (part 3)

I have 3 cousins that live in TN so we are not able to see them very often. We missed Jenny, Bill and Kathryn but were thrilled that Tom and Lauren were able to come down for the weekend!!

I sure do wish you would move closer Lauren- you would be a fantastic babysitter!!

It is crazy to see you hold my daughter because I remember going to the

hospital when you were born!!! I think I am getting old!

Tallon loved holding Robert's guitar

Papa with Lauren and Tess

Tallon and Tiff playing match

while Aunt Liz snoozed with Tess

The adults were playing cards and Tallon asked for some Hershey kissies- then I realized it got quiet.... I found him alone in the dining room.. sitting at the table.... evidently he was afraid someone might try to steal 1 of his kissies!

I was trying to get Tallon to take a picture with Uncle Robert and Aunt Tiffany....

silly boy!

Christmas (part 2)

We spent Christmas morning with just our family- Tallon was so excited to see if Santa came- he kept asking where Santa was ( he thought Santa would be waiting downstairs WITH the gifts!)

A new Bible book to read at nightUnfortunately, Tallon decided very quickly that he did not want his picture taken anymore so this is all I have from Christmas morning.
Santa filled Tal's stocking with fruit chews and I think this might have been Tal's favorite gift!
He also received some play food and pots and pans to go with his kitchen and a new game!

We headed over to Reeves's grandmothers home to tell her Merry Christmas and then we headed to my parents' home. My brother and his wife did not come in until the day after Christmas so we pretty much just hung out Christmas day!

Tallon received some musical instruments from Aunt Liz and Uncle Mike... BIG HIT!
Tallon was thrilled to go back to Mimi and Pop's the day after Christmas and open more gifts!!
Watch out- it's Fireman Tallon
and no Fireman would be complete without his firehose!

I love this picture of my Nana!
I guess I should have hopped in this picture too!! oh well!
Look at how big Tess is getting- She is 3 weeks old in this picture!
Papa checking out Robert's guitar for Guitar Hero
Aunt Liz
Aunt Tiffany
Uncle Robert brought his Wii down- Tallon enjoyed playing Maria cars with Aunt Tiff as well as tried bowling and tennis. He was actually pretty good at serving the tennis ball but then he would get distracted so he almost never was able to return the ball!

Finally

All the other aunts and uncles got to meet Tess soon after she arrived, except for my sister and her husband. We were thrilled when Aunt Liz and Uncle Mike arrived in SC last Wed night!!

Pop with both his grands!Mimi and Pop graciously babysit last Wed night so that Reeves and I could attend the Christmas Eve service at church- Thank ya'll!

Christmas (part 1)

We celebrated Christmas with Reeves family the Sunday evening before Christmas! Tallon definitely got in to the "spirit" this year and LOVED opening gifts! He even helped open LiLi and Boom-Boom's gifts. My in-laws were very generous and we are truly Thankful!! Tess got some beautiful dresses and outfits and Tallon received some great clothes as well as a storybook reader (which he calls his "computer" and Geotrax- Thanks soo much LiLi and Boom-Boom!) As you can tell in the pictures... Tess thoroughly enjoyed being in everyone's arms!! Our sweet little girl- she slept all afternoon and thru the evening-hardly making a peep.... then we get home... and she decides to wake up!!!

Makgill is a FANTASTIC BIG Cousin!! He loves Baby Tess!

Tess with her LiLi
Aunt Aron and Tess
Clara Beth is always soo sweet with Tess- she loves to give her kisses
and is so willing to share her baby dolls with Tess

The kids helping Boom-Boom open his gift
Uncle Andrew
Aunt Aron-
We can not wait to meet Baby Caroline in June!
Tallon and Makgill were the "trash guys"- they carried all the trash into other rooms in LiLi's house and decided to dump them out- oh- to be kids with such imaginations!

Reeves and Tallon's favorite gift..... GEOTRAX! They spend hours playing with these!

Coming soon

Lots of pictures and maybe a few words to come..... SOON! It has been a busy few weeks, but we have had a wonderful time hanging out with our families over Christmas. Tess is continuing to thrive- she will be 4 weeks on Wed- YIKES- where is time going. She loves to eat and is filling out quite nicely! ( I might get that chunky baby I wanted after all.....) Tallon still LOVES being the big brother, although he has been extremely clingy to Reeves lately. We are starting to get into a "routine" ( if you can call your days anything like that with a newborn!) I am beginning to feel more like my normal self every day which is nice! Reeves' grandfather passed away this past weekend so we all loaded up and headed to Greenville yesterday for the visitation and funeral. We actually survived traveling with 2 kids as they both took a nap the whole way up to Greenville and Reeves and I got a chance to talk!! I will try to post pictures soon....

2 Weeks

Wow- I can not believe that Tess is now 2 weeks old. We had her 2 week check up with Dr Ben this morning and Tess now weighs 8 lbs and is 21 1/2 inches long. She definitely is enjoying her meals!! She has been sleeping pretty good at night- giving me atleast 1- 4 hr stretch at some point each night. She is starting to have 2 or 3 alert times during the day- looking around and checking things out! Tallon continues to LOVE baby Tess and is always trying to tell her a story or what is going on or give her a kiss! I am enjoying keeping her dressed up in girly clothes and Reeves seems to love the evenings when he gets his turn to cuddle with Tess after Tallon goes down for bed. We are extremely thankful for our families. My mom- cooked, cleaned, entertained Tallon and helped me with the baby all last week. I have been lost without her this week but am soo glad we live in the same city vs being 18 hrs apart this time around!! My dad-totally spent almost 2 days cleaning up all the leaves that were in our yard and has been soo helpful with Tallon!! Thank ya'll!! Reeves family has provided dinner and lots of snuggle time with Tess as well as helped with Tallon- Thank ya'll!!!! Uncle Collin and Aunt Aron have already taken Baby Girl's picture several times and I am soo thankful that we have them to help us preserve these memories of our sweet little dark haired child. Our small group has graciously offered to bring meals over the next few weeks and I am soo Thankful!! You do not realized how wonderful it is to NOT have to worry about fixing dinner at this point in our days!!

Tallon stayed close by Pop's side "helping" do yard work. He helped pick up leaves and even pretended to use his backpack as his "blower"!! such an imagination!
Nana and Papa dropped by for a short visit to see Tess.
We are definitely enjoying the milder weather right now! I have several cute videos of Tallon- he asked me to take his picture in his jeep and than after this he asked me to take his picture "praying to God" and he hopped on the ground, bowed his head, folded his hands and started Praying- I asked him what he was thankful for.......

His response..... My Jeep!


Mimi and Pop with Tess! Mimi and Tallon made Christmas sugar cookies 1 afternoon!

My first outing- Reeves and I got to go to Tallon's school Christmas party- He loves his teacher Mrs. Floyd and I enjoyed getting to hear the kids sing several songs and visit with the other moms!
Aron graciously offered to handle getting Mrs. Floyd a Christmas gift from both Clara Beth and Tallon- THANKS Aron!!! Tallon absolutely loves being in class with his cousin!
Mimi came by yesterday evening and we managed to take a few pictures with Tess in 1 of her Christmas dresses. This is the dress Mimi made. I can't wait to take pictures of her in the dress that LiLi bought her- it is beautiful red silk and she and Clara Beth have "matching" dresses!!
Mommy with her 2 kids!!Tallon wanted his picture with Tess in front of the tree...

We have yet to get any Christmas cards out, but let me tell you that is has been a HUGE HIGHLIGHT of my days to go to the mailbox and open Cards from soo many of you! We hope that you and your family have a Merry Christmas!! As we are enjoying the blessing of the new baby girl in our family- it has made me so thankful for the Blessing of the Birth of Jesus- our Savior so many years ago! We celebrate Him- His Life, Death and Resurrection this Season!