Big Brother

A friend of mine embroidered this shirt for Micah & gave it to me at my baby shower a couple of weeks ago. Micah is going to be a wonderful big brother & I can't wait for him to meet his this little munchkin!

We Love Fall!

Fall is my absolute favorite season. The cooler weather, the beautiful colors, the chance to wear sweaters and boots...I look foward to it every year. After two straight weeks of rain, the clouds broke and what emerged was sunshine and cooler temperatures. The air conditioner was turned off, and the windows were open. On Saturday, we took full advantage of the arrival of fall & had lots of fun! We have a membership to the Memphis Zoo, and this Saturday they opened a new exhibit to members only and opened their gates earlier than normal to members only as well. We left around 7:00 that morning & headed to the zoo to see the new grizzly bears. We were expecting to see full grown grizzlies but they were actually cubs. So adorable!

The exhibit also has timber wolves & will eventually have elk as well. Micah loved seeing the animals. The temperature was in the upper 50s and there was NOBODY in the rest of the zoo as the main gates still had not opened to the general public. It was our best zoon trip yet! We did a little shopping before we left town since Memphis has many stores that aren't in Jackson. Then we headed home to watch a little football.

Later in the afternoon, we brought some dinner to a friend and her husband who have recently welcomed their first child into the world. I held the baby for quite a while. It was good for me as I had been getting nervous about forgetting how to do everything! :) After our visit, we set off to get fall decorations for the house. Pumpkins, hay bales, mums...it was difficult not to overspend! Micah loved the pumpkins & found a little one that he could carry himself. Of course, he would not put it down so we got it for him since it was only a couple of dollars & we weren't in the mood to endure the fit that would surely ensue!

After the decorations were purchased and set up, we set out again to find an outdoor fire pit. Joe has wanted one practically since we got married so we got one to enjoy these fall evenings. Joe set it up after dinner & lit the fire. It was past Micah's bed time & pretty dark by this point, but we had to let him stay up to enjoy his first s'more! While Joe set everything up, Micah wanted to play on his swingset. He had a blast playing in the dark! Then we pulled out the marshmallows and started roasting! Micah loves sweets so I had not doubt he would love s'mores and I was right :)

We had discussed camping out in the backyard but decided against it...a wise decision as it ended up raining that night anyway. All in all, this was one of the best and most memorable days we have had, & I can't wait to have more days like it!

A New Toy

Joe & I have been mulling over the idea of a play structure for Micah. But the more we looked at them, the more we decided that these swingsets were ridiculously priced. Also, Joe thought most of them looked pretty unsteady & he could build a better one himself. So, this past weekend, Joe's parents came to visit & his dad brought a bunch of scrap lumber he had lying around the house. They came up with a plan & went to work. It has rained here the past 2 weeks & it continued to rain during the building process. After everything was complete, the sun finally came out & Micah had a chance to play on his brand new swingset. Unfortunately, he has the flu & hasn't been able to play on it as much as he would like. But the weather is finally cooperating & will hopefully continue to do so once the little guy is feeling better