Gobble til you Wobble

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Ruth's house with the Roper family this year. It was just as delicious as always and everyone enjoyed spending time with Gigi and with our family's two newest members: baby Roper and baby Robert. My Daddy has come up with his own personal nicknames for these two: "R. Hank" for Roper Henry and "R. Hudge" for Robert Hudgens!

There are many things I'm thankful for...everything, really. It would be truly impossible to count all my blessings or articulate the many things I'm thankful for. So, instead of coming up with a list, I'll just get on with it and give you people what you really want...pictures from our Thanksgiving feast.







What a funny face!


Mason shared his flower with Gigi...


Then shared a kiss with her...


In return, she shared some peppermint bark with him!

(Let me interject -- Sydney and I agreed that we both love Gigi's sweater. How many people covet their grandmother's clothes? But...it wouldn't fit me. Sigh.)









I didn't get many pictures during dinner, because I was eating {of course}! Robert and Mason sat next to each other during dinner (neither Graem nor I were at the table with him). This was Mason's first experience eating from fine china! When I got married, Aunt Ruth told me that I should make it a point to use my china and silver about once a month. I love to get out the "good dishes," but with small children it doesn't happen nearly as often as once a month -- and Mason has certainly never had the opportunity to eat from them! He has now proved that he is up to the task. Such a big boy all of a sudden!

On the Field

Graem and I were very fortunate to get to sit in the Colonial Life box at the game (South Carolina v. Florida) on Saturday. It is always so much fun to get to sit in the box -- our regular seats are great, but being in the box is always a good time! Food, drinks & a clean, private bathroom make for quite a different gameday experience!

Colonial gets several passes to go down to the sidelines during the pre-game warm-up and 2001...they had an extra pass this week, so they offered it to Graem. My husband might just be the most thoughtful and generous person I know -- he insisted that I take the pass! I know -- he's the best.

It was so amazing! I loved getting to see the players warm-up and it seemed like the band was playing just for me! I was on the 20-yard-line, right next to the entrance where the players come out on the field during 2001. Coach Spurrier and the assistant coaches all ran right in front of me! It was so much fun and I think I had chill bumps from head to toe during 2001.





I got some good pictures of the warm-up...but it was hard to get good shots of the players running out of the smoke during 2001 because the darned band was in the way!



In honor of Veteran's Day, the players wore special uniforms with camo on the sleeves. In a tribute to the sacrifice of our armed forces, the players' names were replaced on their uniforms...











I looked up to our regular seats...upper deck, ninth row...can you pick out Kate and my daddy?



Graem was enjoying himself in the box. Hopefully he'll get a chance to experience pre-game from the sidelines next season!



I'll just stop writing now and not comment on how the game ended...we all know that story...

Tractors

Mason has developed an interest (read: obsession) in tractors. He loves playing with his toy tractors, pointing out real tractors while we are driving around, watching them move dirt, and most especially climbing on them...whether it is a lawnmower at Lowe's or one of the big tractors at the farm.

Our across-the-street neighbors are adding natural gas service to their home, which requires some dirt to be moved. You can imagine Mason's excitement when he discovered this in the street between our houses this morning:



He stood staring out the window, completely transfixed...

Houseguests

The past week was a little bit crazy and a lot of fun! For the third year in a row, we have hosted tennis players that were in town for the Juniors ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournament. We really enjoyed getting to know Shane and Emmett. They are nationally ranked for their age -- Shane (sophomore) at #2 and Emmett (junior) at #12. Needless to say, I spent many hours at the tennis courts over the past week and also quite a bit of time at the grocery store -- I have heard that teenage boys can put away some food but since these boys are athletes they have an even higher metabolism and therefore a larger appetite!

Unfortunately I don't have a picture to post of Shane & Emmett...I tried to get one, but at the time my camera battery was dead. The thought crossed my mind to get a picture with my phone, but the look of embarrassment that flashed across their faces when I asked for a photo op did not go unnoticed, so I just let it slide! You can click on their names above for links to their profiles. They played very well in the tournament and came in second place for doubles (they are doubles partners). I wish them the best of luck with their tennis careers -- they will always have fans here in Lexington!

My personal tennis plug...I started playing 4 years ago and wish that I had started playing much earlier in life. Emmett told me in all seriousness that I should not expect to become good enough to go pro. He obviously has not seen me play. :) Even though he shattered my hopes & dreams of getting a big sponsor, I hope to continue playing for many years. I have actually played doubles against a lady in her 80s...I think she was 82. Most anyone can play -- I encourage everyone to learn to play tennis!

In other news...my baby is losing his hair! I have been noticing this for the past week or so...but yesterday when I changed the sheet in Roper's crib, I noticed that it was covered with hair that has fallen out! Roper's hair has fallen out the most on the left side of his head, where his hair parts...you can see it in the pictures below (better in the second pic).



You can also see how much stronger he is getting...he really holds his head up well now and sits up well when supported.



Mason's hair also fell out at this age...here is a picture that was taken in January 2008, so he was about Roper's age. Looks like they will have similar baby pattern baldness!

Gone Fishin'

Happy Halloween from a fish...


and a fisherman...




We started the day celebrating James's {aka Spiderman's} birthday.


His mom Dorothy went all out: cake, pizza, costumes and even a balloon artist!


Some of the other party guests...
A Red Sox player {Jay}


Chewbacca {Christopher}


Little gray mouse {Betsy}


Bumblebee {Ruth Ann}


Spiderman's little brother {Jude}


Monkey {Judson}


Transformer {Eli}


Heidi & Claire


James wanted to make sure everyone was having a great time at his party, even the babies...


Claire was really into the baby goldfish...she kept climbing into Graem's lap to get a closer look...


We attempted to get a picture of all the children. Easier said than done.


Mason found a few things that he wants to add to his Christmas list...






That evening we did some trick-or-treating at a few of our neighbors' homes, stopped by the homes of a few friends outside of our neighborhood, then watched the Gamecocks stink it up in Knoxville. Talk about scary! That was the biggest fright of the weekend!

Boots

When Mason wakes up from his nap, he typically will play contentedly in his room until I come upstairs to get him. This afternoon I could hear him upstairs playing, but I was in for a surprise. This is what I found...


He had taken off his pants and put on his boots. He was quite proud of himself. Bebe bought these boots for Mason last year because they are similar to the ones that Grandaddy and Uncle Rob wear on the farm. Needless to say, Mason loves them. They typically stay at the farm, but we brought them home for him to wear with his Halloween costume. I can assure you that he will also be wearing pants when he wears them on Halloween.