Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Last year my mom got Loch a bear that told the story Twas the Night Before Christmas...he didn't think much of it! But this year, as we were unpacking our decorations, we came across the bear and turned it on in front of Loch. He was mesmerized!

Thanksgiving with the Harris Clan

We've had a very busy month of November. The beginning of the month was warm and all of the leaves were on the ground. Loch and I took some time and had a picnic at the park. It was a special treat of MacDonald's french fires and hamburgers...yum!

November also brought Thanksgiving and we took our annual trip to North Carolina to see the Harris clan. Tammie and I planned out a big photo event for the kids that was painful...well for me anyways. The kids had matching outfits and looked so cute...but Loch was the ultimate factor in the outcome of the photos! It's pretty hard for an 18month old to “pose” for pictures! Jake and Raegan looked adorable and we got a few shots that will work.We had a good game of Scrabble, it was nice to relax and spend time with one another.

I also took Loch to get his pictures done once again so that I had something to give at Christmas. I'm pretty happy with these ones, he loved the train and had a hard time keeping his hands off of it!

Apostles Learning Center Halloween Parade

oct30-08

Click on the link above to view the short video....

Loch's daycare had a Halloween Parade on the 30th and all of the kids marched around in their costumes. It was quite an undertaking considering how young the children are. I didn't have a good angle for this video, but it gives you an idea of how Loch just "goes through the motions" and does pretty well with such a large crowd! And the teachers weren't so bad themselves...that's why I don't work in a daycare...what a nightmare!

The Halloween that Seemed to go on Forever!

It's Halloween night and Loch is all tucked in his bed while the doorbell is still ringing with trick-or-treaters. I was extra prepared this year for Halloween and ordered his costume ahead of time online. It seemed that we talked about what he was going to dress as for about 2 months! Seriously, it doesn't need to be that difficult! Last year we put him in a little pumpkin outfit from his Aunt Tammie and a hand-me-down Pea in the Pod outfit from Jill. It was much more simple when he was a "baby".

Halloween 2008 brought excitement in knowing that Loch would actually be able to collect candy, run around with excitement and maybe even eat some of his treats! First, we had to think of a costume: pirate?, fireman?, cute lion?, bam-bam????? AARRRRUUUGGHHHH! And then we needed to create a "theme" since he'd be trick-or-treating with his friend Ava. They OBVIOUSLY had to go as a couple! Peter Pan and Tinker-Bell was the final costume decision!

We had a great time at Trunk-or-Treat at our church. It was a nice introduction to the craziness of this holiday since we were only in a parking lot and the kids were able to wander from car to car. Our trunk was decorated for the occasion with pumpkins, fall flowers, spider webs and even a bloody hand or two. The kids were WILD and had a great time randomly zig-zagging all over the place. There were bouncy blow up castles, food and spooky sounds to set the scene!

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

A few weeks ago we took a trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the scarecrow exhibit. It was a beautiful day (around 80 degrees) and Loch was ready to run through the gardens for a few hours!
Ava, Kristalyn and Brenda joined us on our adventures. In the children's garden there was a storyteller with bongos and shakers and all things fun to bang on for kids. He was an enthusiastic storyteller and captured the children's attention...even Loch and Ava's!
Throughout the entire gardens, there were really unique scarecrows to get us into the Halloween spirit! The flowers were beautiful and I even got a few shots of some garden wildlife!
I can't wait to see what it's like in the spring...enjoy the photos!

Here are some of the scarecrows throughout the garden....

Cool sculptures and ponds...

Some of the wildlife in the garden...

Can you see the hummingbird?

Here are some pics of the little man...

Cagle's Dairy Farm with Papa

I had a wonderful visit with my Papa and Wendy this weekend! The weather was gorgeous and we went to Cagle's Dairy Farm for the day. We went in the corn maize, pumpkin patch, went for a wagon ride, saw many, many cows, goats and pigs too! What a great way to spend the day!
My Papa and Wendy stayed for 3 days. I was sad to see them leave, but Christmas is just around the corner!

I sat on my Papa's lap during the ride...it was bumpy!

Riding on the wagon was a lot of fun! We got to see the dog round up the cows for milking time!








I picked out my own pumpkin for Halloween...but I really liked the little ones the best!

A Day in the Life...

Loch has been going to daycare for almost 7 weeks now and loves it! Every morning he sings in the car all the way there and twirls his little feet! He's happy to see his teachers upon arrival and rarely gets upset when I say goodbye. There are 8 children in his class (6 girls and 2 boys) all around the ages of 12-24 mos. They are so much fun at this age that when I go to pick him up I end up staying to play with the kids for about 20 minutes or more! I'm sure the teachers are already sick of me, but I can't help it!

The daycare is in a church and it's well used!!! I've seen aesthetically nicer places, but the people are exceptional here! He eats breakfast, lunch and two snacks at a table and chairs...toddler sized! They have an indoor and outdoor play area. He naps on a COT...for about 3 hours everyday after lunch. They do arts and crafts, sing songs, have circle time and play with cool toys!

Here are a few pics of Loch at daycare from the other day...he looks a little messy since it's the end of the day! Enjoy!

My Morning Ray of Sunshine!!!!

I'm pretty lucky to have such a happy boy in the mornings! Loch usually gets up around 6am (if he isn't already awake!) and starts his day with a smile, lots of laughter, running around, and out the door to school! Here are a few pics of us in the morning!