It's Fall!!

I'm beyond thrilled that Fall is finally here.  It is by far my favorite season of the year!  One of our favorite October traditions is to visit our favorite little pumpkin patch.  They have animals you can feed, a hay maze, a hay ride, food, and of course...pumpkins!  This is our third year in a row to go and it has turned into a tradition of sorts.

October 2013

October 2014

Check out how much Evan has grown in the past year!  I was able to get so many more pictures of Evan last year.  Nowadays he won't stay still and he doesn't want to smile when you ask him to.  He is definitely independent and will let you know it!

Evan was scared of the longhorns and only wanted Matt to feed them.  He eventually found a nice, safe spot on Matt's shoulders. 

The goats were a different story.  I guess they were less intimidating.  After much coaxing, Evan put food in his hand and fed the goats.  He was so very proud.  My mom LOVES coming with us to the pumpkin patch.  I think it will be a tradition to also bring Gaga along with us.  My mom was kind enough to stand behind the camera and capture some family pictures.

Confession:  I seriously cannot believe I have a kid who has BLUE eyes.  I've always wished that I had blue eyes...but boring brown is what I was given.  I know that James is still very young and his eyes can change any day, but I will soak up these blue eyes for as long as I can.  And then I'll cross my fingers forever in hopes that they stay blue. 

I attempted to get a couple of brother pictures.  James was all for it.  I mean, he was even okay with the dangerous lean your kid against some round pumpkins act.  He's a rebel I tell you.  Unfortunately, Evan would have rather followed the cute little kitty that was wondering around in the background of this picture.  I'm the mean mama that set him down next to the pumpkins and wouldn't let him chase it.  He punished me by whining and refusing to smile.  Touche Evan.  Touche.  

I'm loving this Fall tradition of ours.  I mean, I'm an Aggie.  We love our traditions!

Wagons, Crawfish, and Easter Eggs

 I ended my four mile run with an exhilaration that doesn't come often.  It wasn't quite like a runner's high (I'm guessing because I don't experience these too often)...it was what I can only imagine is even better.  I was so happy to find myself in one of the greatest places from my childhood: Grandma's House.  Some might pass right through Crowley, Louisiana and think nothing of it, but this is where my childhood memories thrive.  

My cousin Claire captured the essence of this place beautifully in her blog post and it is true..."My cousins, siblings, and I all agree that our grandparent's house is a place of solace for us.  Maybe it's because we spent weeks during the summer staying up late playing on the computer while my grandmother did crossword puzzles on the sofa in her robe.  Or breezy walks to the park a few blocks away over cracked sidewalks.  Or perhaps it's the secret hiding spots beneath the bushes where we used to escape the afternoon sun.  Whatever it is, I associate their house with a peacefulness I don't often feel."

It is very important to me that Evan experiences the magic of Grandma's house.  I want him to run down the stairs after a night's rest and find doughnuts sitting on the the kitchen table.  I want him to learn the proper way to crack open a crawfish and dip it in butter.  Matt knows just how important this is to me.  We plan to make the 7 hour trek once or twice a year. Despite the fact that Evan acts like he is being tortured in his carseat, the trip is worth it.  A million times over.

Evan's first Easter Egg hunt

Happy Easter Baby

Every Easter our family enjoys a large crawfish boil.  Thank goodness Evan likes crawfish.  He is a picky boy.  But he has some Winston blood in him.  The Winstons love crawfish.  Thank goodness Evan fits right into our family.  I didn't want to have to ask him to leave.

Precious Cate with my cousin Anne

He studied the crawfish and then ate 6 tails!

One of the best parts of this particular trip was seeing my brother and amazing SIL, Kathryn.  We don't see them often enough and Evan misses his Tio and Tia!

In the afternoon we took a walk to the park.  We loaded the babies up into a wagon.  I am now trying to convince Matt that I need this wagon.  I don't care if it costs $145.  Our family outings depend on this wagon.  How lame is it to ask for a wagon for my own birthday?

We had the opportunity to take some family pictures on Easter Sunday.

Matt and I braved the drive home with a cranky baby and a bad rainstorm.  We were blessed with a 40 minute nap from Evan.  Will we make this drive again?  Absolutely.  Until we can all get together again, I can look back on this memory and smile.

The Grandkids and spouses minus Nanny's children

Evan's 1st Christmas

This Christmas was very special to us because not only was it our first Christmas in our own home, but it was also our first Christmas as a family of three!

We decided to stay put this year since we did all our traveling over Thanksgiving. This was actually my first Christmas EVER to not travel!  Crazy, I know.

My parents drove up the Saturday before Christmas and stayed with us until Christmas Eve.  

We enjoyed lots of cooking, baking, and gingerbread house decorating!  We opened presents on Saturday afternoon while Evan was still alert from his recent nap.  He loved all the gifts he received from his Grandma and Pappadeaux.  Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of pictures while they were here.  I tend to get caught up in the moment and forget my camera.

We had to set out cookies and milk for St. Nick, but we had him use the front door because we had a fire going in the fireplace!

On Christmas day we opened gifts after Evan woke up and had a bottle.  Evan's favorite part of the morning was definitely waving all of the tissue paper in the air. He did a pretty good job of opening gifts after we helped get him started. 

We enjoyed the warmth of our home the rest of the day and welcomed the snow that started falling around 2:30. One of the reasons why I love living where we do is because we typically see snow 1-2 times per year.  That is the perfect amount of snowfall for me.  It keeps the snow feeling special and magical.  We were really surprised with how hard the snow was falling.  We tried to go out a few times and get pictures...

When Evan woke from his nap we took him outside.  He did NOT like the icy wind.  We stayed outside just long enough to snap a few pictures for memory's sake.

Later that evening we enjoyed a fire, Christmas dinner, and a happy baby!

Matt's family came a few days later and we enjoyed Christmas all over again!  We had Christmas morning again.

Evan got to spend some quality time with his Nana, Poppi, and Uncle Shane.

And for our third Christmas dinner, Matt fried a turkey for the very first time!

It was delicious! 

We don't return back to work until the 7th so we are getting a few projects done and enjoying time with our favorite little guy!

We hope your Christmas was wonderful and memorable too!