Giving Thanks

We all have so much to be thankful for. Some things are serious, some are trivial, but they all make our lives better, easier, and happier. In honor of the holiday tomorrow, here are some things that we are grateful for:

• Our Families. We wouldn't be who we are without them, and we can always count on them to be there when it matters.

• Our DVR. How else could we watch 8 episodes of Super Why! back-to-back and also keep up with the shows we can no longer stay awake long enough to watch?

• Having everything we need. We may not have everything we want, but our needs are always met. And can you really ask for anything else?
  

• Washable, non-toxic crayons. They are a miracle. Just this week they've been washed off the walls, the floor, clothes, and Hampton's face & teeth.

• Our health. You never think about it until you hear stories of others. We are blessed to have a healthy child, our health, and another healthy one on the way.

• Pizza. It's the world's most perfect food, and has just been classified as a vegetable. Now we can eat it and feel even better about ourselves!

• New friends that are like old ones and old friends that are like family.

• The internet. It allows us to stay up on current events, find new recipes, shop at our leisure, keep in touch with loved ones, and helps us waste endless hours.

Our faith. It has gotten us through some tough times, and it has given us something to be thankful for every day. This is what we want to pass on to our children the most.

A sense of humor. Because with a toddler, we need it!

Baby Boy

Ok, since we're having the new baby in 2 weeks and 1 day (not that we're counting down!), we didn't want anyone to think we aren't excited. Truth is, we're thrilled and can't wait for him to get here! Here are a few things about this little boy....

His name will be Harrison Rolly Howard. We're going to call him Harrison, which is Bo's middle name. This will be the 5th generation of Harrisons in Bo's family, which we think is pretty awesome. Also, Hampton & Harrison will have the same initials, which means we get to re-use all of Hampton's cute monogrammed stuff! (Guess who thought of that idea?)

He is a big boy! Our Doctor said last week that he's already 6.5 pounds, and will be bigger than Hampton, who was 7lbs 11oz. Of course, babies usually gain about a pound a week the last month, so that means he's going to be a lot bigger! Right now, Tanner is choosing not to focus on that last fact! He's also really funny at the Doctor's office. They can rarely find his heartbeat, but he always kicks them while they try! We must have a prankster on our hands.

He's also just as wild as Hampton was. He gets hiccups all the time, and you can watch him move from across the room. Loud noises don't seem to bother him, though, which is wonderful since he's going to around a lot of them! He seems to really like fruit tea, which Tanner loves. It's way easier to justify having it around the house when more than one person drinks it! Tanner has had non-stop heartburn this time, so we can't wait to see if the old wives' tale is true. If so, this little boy is going to have one head FULL of hair!

Even though he'll get to re-use most of Hampton's baby stuff, we've been busy making sure he's got plenty of his own cute stuff. Bibs, burps, outfits, and toys.....we don't want him to feel neglected, now do we? (Not that we're just using that as an excuse to shop!)

Our Doctor also said that there's a good chance that Harrison will arrive before the 7th, but we're determined to make him wait. We've still got too much to do before then! We guess we'll just see who is stronger-willed, Tanner or Harrison........

a baby must-have.....multiple holiday burp cloths

an outfit to match his big brother's

Weekend Update

Well, we had a "to-do" packed weekend these last few days! On Friday, Hampton spent the day and night with Grandpa & Grannie. That gave Tanner & Grandi the chance to finish up some monogramming projects of our own (now that we're done with customers, it's time to kick it into gear for these boys!). It took all day, and we're still not finished, but we made TONS of progress. Then, Bo and Tanner were able to try a local restaurant that we'd been wanting to go to for awhile. It was delicious, and the best part is that it's right at the end of our road! We'll definitely be going back.....we're dying to try their breakfast now!

Saturday was filled with grocery & gift shopping errands before picking up Hampton. We also succeeded in getting all the Christmas decorations out of the attic. We aren't really going to decorate until after Thanksgiving, but we did haul the tree inside so Hampton could get used to it. We're hoping that will keep him from messing with it too much once it's decorated (yeah, right!). He has found it to be a great place to hide his crayons, though, so we'll see. We did manage to sort through all the Christmas stuff, and have found lots of stuff to give away. We also tackled wrapping the gifts, which Tanner has almost finished. Add in some craft projects that got started, and we were quite productive this weekend!

Oh, and we almost forgot......we made time to turn the living room into a temporary dance floor for Hampton. Here's a shot of one of his signature moves. This boy loves to dance!

Friday Photo and Week In Review

Some other random events from the week....

Our normal 20-minute Doctor's appointment took 1.5 hours yesterday, making both of us thankful that Hampton was NOT with us! We did laugh about the fact that a few minutes of his antics in the office would be great birth-control for others!

Tanner had her November Junior Women's Club meeting Tuesday night. It was fun catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones. However, she realized that eating a meal while a Doctor is talking about health issues is a bad combo!

FINALLY.....the last order from The Monogrammed Monkey has been finished and delivered! Yes, we know that it's like 6 weeks after we quit taking orders, but we had quite the backlog of last-minute needs. What a relief it is to be done with all that....now, on to doing some stuff for the boys!

Bo has been having major computer issues at work, but this week one of his tech buddies finally came to the shop to fix all the bugs. Bo is much happier now that he can get on Facebook check his work emails.

Wednesday night church this week was great fun, seeing as how we didn't have to teach! The kids all made Advent Wreaths, and they turned out great. Add in a little game of "cookie, cookie, brownie" (which is just duck, duck, goose renamed), some homemade snacks, and it was a great night! We only have 1 more week working with them on Wednesday nights before we both go on Maternity Leave through the winter.....that is, if Tanner's co-teacher lets us leave her alone with all those kiddos!

Christmas Village at Bass Pro Shops

Upon the advice of our friend who is the event planner at Bass Pro, we decided to visit the Christmas Village early this year. For one, who knows what we'll be able to get done after the baby arrives, and second, we were hoping to miss the crowds and the breakdown that was Santa last year!

Well, this year couldn't have been more different than last! We pretty much had the place to ourselves, and Hampton loved getting to play with the motorized train set and the remote-controlled cars. He also loved Santa. He talked to him, smiled at him, and even tried to visit him again while he was visiting with other children!

Petting Zoo

Hampton LOVES animals of all kinds, so when we saw the one at Heritage Harbor Days, we knew we had to let him visit the animals. He loved chasing the ducks around, feeding the goats, and trying to coax a bunny out from under his hiding place. As much as Hampton loves the animals, we may have to move to a farm!

Thomas the Train

The annual Heritage Harbor Days festival in Foley had a special guest this year, Thomas the Train. Since Hampton LOVES trains, we definitely thought he'd love seeing him. We were right, however, we didn't really consider how much Hampton does not like waiting in line! He had no patience for waiting his turn in the VERY long line, but he was quite happy to see Thomas once it was his turn. So much so that he didn't want to leave! Luckily, there were lots of other interesting things at the festival to distract him, or we might still be standing there with Thomas!