Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday in my family growing up and (except for last year when Knox was too small to travel and the year Kyle & I were in Edinburgh) I have never missed a Thanksgiving with my family.

Knox & I headed out early to Virginia to get some quality time in before the holiday.  It was so nice to get to see all of family and I got to spend lots of time with both of my brothers so that was awesome too!  The first weekend we were in town, we took Knox to one of my favorite childhood places in Richmond- 'Maymont Park'.  The park has a petting zoo and lots of walking trails.  I have many fond memories of visiting here as a child and was excited to get to take Knox.

I was excited to see some changing leaves!
Knoxie & Me
My parents & Grandmother with Knox
Knox loved the goats!
It is so nice to have Grandma there to watch out for Knox!  He is a busy little bee.
Just lovin life!
One day while I was in town, I had to take my dad to his doctor's appointment.  So, my mom enlisted her good friend Amy to come over and babysit.  I was a little nervous, because Knox is going through a "stranger danger" phase, but he LOVED her! It was like they were long lost buds! 

Knox & his buddy Amy
Knox was the center of attention from all of his family that doesn't get to see him all that often. Unfortunately, he is in the "stranger danger" phase that I mentioned, so when people tried to pick him up he usually melted into tears. But I did learn that if you gave him something to play with he forgot that he was upset.  So that worked like a charm and my brother and grandparents were all able to hold him. Phew!


Knox & Jonathan 
Cookie decorating party
If you keep up with our blog, you will know that we are the proud owners of not one, but two "vintage" volkswagens.  A beetle and a camper bus.  So, my very thoughtful sister-in-law found cookie cutters in the shape of a beetle and a camper bus for Kyle.  She made the cookies and we all decorated them together as a surprise for him before he arrived on Monday night.  

The finished products- not too shabby!
Aside from our trip to Maymont, we mostly hung out at the house and just enjoyed being with family.  It was a relaxing week and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Knox lounging with my parent's dog Maggie
Knox with his Great-Grandma Charlotte
Knox got to try his first Thanksgiving dinner.  He was fairly okay with the sweet potato casserole (mostly the marshmallows, I think) and the mashed potatoes. The stuffing and turkey were a no go.  However, the real show-stopper was the jello salad.  Knox discovered that there in not much better in his world than jello salad.  To each his own, I guess. 

Knox & Dad swinging in the yard
He loves being tossed in the air- the higher the better
We had a great time and were sad to leave.  Now that we are back, I can't believe that it is already time for Christmas stuff!  We'll be heading off to Spokane before we know it!  

-Stacie 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Knox's Birthday Bash


To celebrate our little man turning one, we had a small birthday party at the house with friends and Knox's Nana (Kyle's mom Sally flew in from Spokane).  It was really fun to have people over who also love Knox and celebrate that he is already a year old! We did a cookies and milk theme and it turned out really well! Knox had his first cookie (which he loved) and his first piece of cake (which he did not love).  You win some you lose some!  Overall it was a success! Although we both decided that when he turns 2 we're just going to invite a bunch of kids to the park and buy cupcakes- that will be much easier! But your first birthday is special and we wanted to do something special for Knox.  
the b'day wreath I made- thank you Pinterest!
the kiddie table
the party favors

Knox's first cake- not a big hit...

family shot

is this all mine? what is it??

I will just have this cookie- thanks...
Knox LOVED the ballons!









Just so you know- this video is long and fairly uneventful so unless you are family, you may want to skip it. Just warning you!

It has been a fun b'day week, but I am glad it's over and we can get on with normal life.  This week Knox & I head out to Virginia to spend some time with my family before Thanksgiving.  We're very excited!

-Stacie

Friday, November 11, 2011

A photo shoot with the Assuntos...

Last weekend I had the privilege of getting to take some family photos for our good friends Ryan & Allison and their sweet daughter Blythe.  I am always excited for the opportunity to take pictures of those who are willing to volunteer!  It took some coaxing and corralling of Blythe, but in the end we got some good ones of everyone.  I can't lie though, it is easy to get good pictures of such a beautiful family! 






Wednesday, November 9, 2011

One year ago today...

One year ago today, after lots of effort on my part, our sweet little Knox was born.  In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday and then in others it seems like it's been forever.  Either way, he is one year old today. Crazy!!
last year on Nov. 9th
1 month
2 months
3 months
4 months
5 months
6 months- with an old man hairdo
7 months with a bow- whoopsies (mom may or may not have dreamed of a girl...)
8 months
9 months
10 months- old man belly
11 months
Today, Nov. 9th

Happy Birthday Knox, we love you!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Knox's first Boo

If you are familiar with me in the least, you may be aware of how much I love Halloween.  I mean LOVE. Not the creepy, scary decorations.  But the cute pumpkins, costumes and an entire holiday that centers around candy.  This is what I lie in bed and dream about at night.  Talking animals and free candy (we can discuss the talking animals later).  So, needless to say I was very excited for Knox to have his first Halloween.  Last year this time I was on my knees everyday praying that he would be born on Halloween. Of course we all know how that turned out.  Not only could he not arrive 2 days early (2 days kid!) but he also arrived 7 days late! Oh well, I had high hopes that this meant he would be super chill and love to sleep- ha!

We decided that we would take our little lion cub out with his friend Blythe for their first trick-or-treat together and then once the kids were in bed the parents would sit in the driveway and prevent everyone from ringing the doorbell a hundred times and waking the babies up! It was a successful plan and fun to get to see the TONS of kiddos that come to our neighborhood to trick-or-treat.

Blythe as a cowgirl
Eating some candy in the wagon
Knox's first piece of candy- he LOVED it!
the caravan
This is one happy lion
Trick-or-Treat!!
Babies in costumes- super cute...Getting babies in their costume- super difficult
the adult table- in the driveway...how do you spell classy?
the mascot- Bella the bumblebee

Knox's first Halloween was a success! Next up- 1st B'day!!