Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I love about fall...

1. CLEMSON FOOTBALL!!!!

2. Leaving the windows open and smelling the crisp fall air. Haven't been able to do this yet because it's still hot as Hades here...rumor has it that it might start to cool off soon, and you can bet that our windows will be open!

3. Wearing jeans.

4. Burning "fall" candles---pumpkin spice and other similar scents that aren't appropriate any other time of year.

5. Playing outside with Grayson.

6. Going on walks---again, once the temp drops a bit. It's nice to go walking and not feel like I'm going to smother in the heat and humidity.

7. Did I say Clemson football? GO TIGERS!!! Tommy had better get those Tigers in line before we play the Gamecocks next month---things aren't looking so good for our big rival game...

8. Going to the mountains! We go to the mountains every year to enjoy the beautiful foliage and get a taste of "real fall" that we just don't have here on the coast. We're going to NC next month with the O'Neals and Steeles and we CAN'T WAIT!!!

9. The pumpkin patch. Going tomorrow morning, and it probably won't be the only time we go this fall!

10. Mums and pumpkins on the front porch. There's nothing prettier than fall decorations on the front porch steps. :)

11. Halloween! I just love dressing Grayson up (and this year Emma Claire, too!!) and seeing all of the other adorable children in their costumes.

12. Shopping!!!

13. Oyster season! The oyster roasts are about to start and I'm soooo excited. Since I was pregnant last fall/winter I had to skip out but this year I'll make up for it!

Wordless Wednesday!

Pimpin' my blog!!!

I'm so excited---I'm having my blog "pimped" and in a few days it's going to be BLOGALICIOUS!! New favorite word, by the way. :)

I'm also going to be making some content changes to the blog. I've been checking out some other blogs and have been inspired to be a little more creative in my posts. I'll be adding "Wordless Wednesday" and "Thursday Thirteen" as well as a few other things.

Stay tuned for my new and improved blog.....coming SOON!

Trip to the zoo!

Last week Grayson, Emma Claire and I went to Columbia to visit our friends Laura, Steve, and Delainey, and to go to the zoo! Grayson hadn't been to a zoo since he was 6 months old so this was a brand new experience for him. He had a blast---he loved the "monk-ninks" (monkeys), the "hih-hoe" (hippo), the bears, and the elephants. When we were looking at the elephants, he kept saying "nose"...it was so cute! He had such a serious face whenever he was watching the animals---no yelling, laughing, or pointing---he just sat really still and took it all in. I love it! Emma Claire was a trooper---it was about a million degrees and the poor thing was sweating like crazy but she did the best she could.

Grayson and Delainey loved playing together! Delainey just turned three and Grayson thinks that she walks on water---he followed her everywhere she went. They loved chasing each other around the house and dying in a fit of giggles...what a wonderful sound!

Thanks, Laura, Steve, and Delainey for having us!! We love y'all! :)

Date night

Gibson and Emma Claire had a date last week---don't they make the cutest couple?! :) If we ever sell this house of ours, the thing we'll miss the most is living next door to Christie, Brad, Tyler, Sanders, and Gibson. We have had SO much fun being friends and neighbors for the past few years. It's especially nice eating dinner together a few times a week---it's great to have a couple nights off from cooking every week and even more fun to hang out with our buddies!

New pictures

Not much going on with us lately---just the usual school, naps, playdates, and everything else that keeps us on the go. Grayson now ADORES his sister and won't leave her alone. He constantly stops what he's doing so he can give her a kiss or tickle her feet....it's very cute, unless she's taking a nap when he decides to do this. :) Emma Claire thinks that Grayson is the greatest thing she's ever seen---even when he's yelling, "MY TOYS!" at her, she has the biggest grin on her face just because he's talking (shouting) to her. I hope they end up being great buddies!

Pretty girl

Getting bigger!

Emma Claire is growing like crazy! She used to look so TINY next to her big brother but not so much anymore. Grayson has really picked up an interest in EC recently---this day he was "sharing" his trucks with her by running them into her head. She's going to be a tough kid after Grayson gets through with her! :)

I'm home!!!

After spending the week in the hospital with something called ischemic colitis, I am so happy to be home. I'm feeling so much better and am loving being with my babies again. Emma Claire and I are trying to get back on track with nursing since she has been fed formula since my frozen milk supply ran out on Tuesday, but once we get over that hurdle then things will finally be back to normal!

Thank you to everybody for all of the thoughts and prayers---I needed them and appreciate every single one. We could not have made it without the help of our mothers (GeeGee and Nannie, to Grayson and EC), who came and took over running our house and taking care of our children at a moment's notice. THANK YOU, Mom and Nancy!!! I have no idea what we would have done without y'all! Also, a huge thank you to Carroll (Ben's dad) for driving across the state of South Carolina TWICE in just a few days and to my dad for giving up Mom (and getting her a plane ticket ASAP) after only having her back in Colorado for a short while. We thank God every day for our wonderful family.

Also, thank you to our wonderful, amazing friends---Kat, Erica, Meg, Burke, Silvia, Jen, Lindsay, Brooks, and I know I'm forgetting some---for the emergency babysitting, delicious meals, lawn-mowing, schedule-organizing, litterbox-changing, milk-buying, errand-running, and everything else you did to help out during this crazy time. Thank you to everybody else who called, visited, and sent cards and flowers---I was truly overwhelmed by the amout of support we received! Y'all know I'd do the same for you in a heartbeat! We are blessed by an awesome circle of friends! :)

I almost forgot! The biggest thank you EVER goes to Ben, who hardly left my side the entire time except to run home every once in awhile. It must have been the most boring week of his life and he never let it show---he was constantly there doing whatever I needed him to do, even if it was just listening to me complain. He definitely deserves the Husband of the Year Award. I am very lucky, indeed!!

Okay, now that I'm finished being all mushy I have some pictures to post! I took some really cute ones of Emma Claire before I got sick and never posted them, so here they come! :)

Afternoon at the beach

We took the kiddos to the beach for a little while on Sunday--it was Emma Claire's first time at the beach! Grayson had a great time playing with Daddy and chasing seagulls and Emma Claire had fun sitting in the shade and hanging out with Mommy.