Being Thankful.

Thanksgiving had a deeper meaning for us this year. On November 3, my family lost a dear man - my grandfather. So, even though this Thanksgiving was a sad one for us, it was also a time to reflect and be thankful for all of the wonderful blessings and time together that the Lord has blessed us with. Here are a few pics of Thanksgiving and other things Ian has been doing over the last month.

Ian loved playing in the leaves at Glenda and Wesley's house. He is still asking to go see Maggie!

And here he is saying "cheese" for the camera.

Our little family on Thanksgiving Day.

Look at this handsome little man!

Don't be deceived -- he was not even thinking about napping at this point!

Ian found this backpack and wanted to put it on. Then he said,"I go to school. I ride school bus."

He loves to listen to Frank's MP3 player. He will dance and dance!

Fall is here!

Finally, some cooler weather. Ian and I have enjoyed being able to play outside in the afternoons now that the weather has cooled off some. October was a great month for us! Ian is talking like crazy! He is even making sentences. He can repeat anything you say (I have to remind myself of that often!), and "No" is his favorite word! He has even started singing along with some of his favorite cartoon songs. Here is a little bit of what we did this past month.

We played in the sprinkler. Can you believe it was still hot enough in October to play in the sprinkler?!? Ian LOVED it!

I guess when all else fails, just attack it with the golf club!

We snacked....alot! Here is our little Elmo. Frank brought him this shirt from Minnesota. Ian loves Elmo!

We napped. Notice the bobo on his chin. I still can't figure out where this one came from?

We got clean. Ian loves to "play in the bubbles." But he just doesn't like to get dressed after he gets out of the tub. We are lucky to even get a towel around him most nights!

We invented new toys. You can see here that he turned one of my bowls into a hat. I gave up trying to get it back weeks ago. But he looks so cute when he runs around with it on his head yelling "hat."

And we did some trick or treating. Ian was a puppy this year. He actually liked wearing his costume.

Look out! Here comes one cute puppy!

Vacation....and so much more!

Once again, we went to Orange Beach with whole Whittington crew...and we had a blast! Ian really enjoyed the pool and beach this year. We all had lots of fun spending time with the whole family. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Our little family!

Look at this little diaper model.

What a cool dude! (He must get his coolness from his Mommy!)

Watch out Hollywood!

Chasing the sea gulls......

And chasing......

And chasing! Wonder what he would have done if he had caught one?!?

More of Mr. Photogenic!

My two favorite guys!

Ian was not scared of the waves at all this year. He wanted to just run right out into the water.

Look how sweet! That smile says it all.

Ian also liked playing on the splash pad at the condo.

He was a little hesitant at first...

He wasn't really sure if he wanted to go through or not....

He finally made it!

Here is my future astronaut.

Uh oh! This chef is in trouble!

Ian had lots of fun playing with Uncle Harlan!

My time off has allowed us to start doing little "projects" together. Ian loves to color, draw, count, and sing his ABC's. Here is his first drawing. He made it for his Daddy while he was at work. It is being proudly displayed on the front of our fridge. Looking forward to many more!

I have also let him start exploring in the kitchen. This morning he got the colander out and called it a hat!

He just kept saying "cheese" and smiling at the camera. I think I must have take ten or more pictures of him just standing there smiling! He is such a joy!

Back to school!

Well, if you haven't heard yet, our family is making some big changes. Frank and I have decided that this is a time in our lives when we want to make sure we put our family first. And the Lord has presented me with the perfect opportunity to do so. I have quit my full-time job to teach part-time at Holmes Community College two days a week. This is going to give me lots of time to spend with my precious boys. I can't wait to start this journey! God is so good!


This little man loves ducks! But he was a little frightened at first by the "real" duck. You can see, though, that he has warmed up enough to give the ducky some night sugar. He is so loving!

Speaking of love, he loves his "dip," aka ketchup. He eats it on food, dips his fingers in it, and uses it as hair gel when needed!

What mother wouldn't love this! Every time we come in the door, Ian picks up the broom and gets to work. Maybe he's trying to tell me something........

Way behind!

It has been a wild month! Ian is trying to repeat everything you say and do. He had his first haircut and his first popsicle. His new hobbies include sweeping, dusting, and trying to jump off of things! Here are a few pictures of what he has been up to lately.

Here he is with his first popsicle. He didn't really like it, but he wanted to play with it.

This is his "after" picture from his haircut. He looks like such a little man now.

This is his first haircut. Miss Pam did a great job with him!

This is before his haircut. Look at that hair!

This is my Dad participating in the state MDOT Roadeo. He won first place in his district, so we all went to Gulfport to watch him compete at the state competition.

Ian loved the swimming pool at our condo on the coast. The Sea Breeze condominiums were great. The pool was right outside our room, so Ian really enjoyed that.

Ian looks so serious in this pic. This was before the oil made it to Biloxi.

Look at those curls!

He got really excited when his feet hit the water. I think he was scared and excited at the same time.