Colds, a birthday and some babbling

All of us are sick over here! Boo! We have each had some version of what we believe to be a cold and are weak, sickly and sniffily. Thankfully, Sullivan has the lesser of the symptoms and is doing well and only seems to be mildly discomforted by her runny nose, which she loathes to have wiped clean! Lee is suffering the most as he has not slept much lately due to his call schedule. Please say a prayer for him!
In more exciting and uplifting news, Lee celebrated a birthday on Sunday and is now the big 28! We even got to go out for a little dinner date as our dear friends Shane and Jonathan came over to sit and watch over Sullivan after she went to sleep! So nice! We enjoyed some great Asian food, came home for cake and ice cream and Lee appreciated his numerous gifts from family.

Also, Sullivan has begun to babble extensively in multi-syllabic phrases with sentence-like structure. Something like "dah dah...duh juh...atah atah dah" is a common utterance. This is a huge new step for her! It is really amazing to hear her chatter in her crib or to her toys or even better, to us! She is really growing up!

Frosty weekend

The cold front has come our way and the last few days have been bitingly cold! We snapped some great pictures of Sullivan all bundled up in her hat, gloves, coat and blanket. We are about to switch to her next carseat as we can barely buckle her in her present one when she has a coat on. Sullivan developed an ear infection last week and has been waking in the night...She is on the mend I believe, but it has not been fun for her (or me!).
We had a great weekend together as a family, the first one we have had with all 3 of us together in 4 weeks! We enjoyed it, although it became quite busy! We ate each night with lots of friends, visited with neighbors, made fires at home, and I even got to celebrate my friend Cammy at a Brunch baby shower on Sunday! Very fun!
Above is Sullivan bundled up in her adorable "bunny hat" and then Daddy and Sullivan at Tommy's Ham House for Breakfast after mass on Sunday. And finally a picture from the Baby Shower at High Cotton. Of the 6 girls that were there, 5 are expecting babies in the next several months! We made quite a scene at the restaurant! Ha!

A visit home

Sullivan and I went home this past weekend for our dear friend Courtney's wedding. We enjoyed seeing everyone and celebrating as much as we could, as Lee couldn't join us. Every family member of mine stepped up to babysit so that I could spend time with Courtney and attend all of the events! (Thank you Mom, Lauren, Colleen and Randy!)
Above you see Sullivan with her "Waylo" (my dad) in her handmade (by Gigi) Christmas dress!, then Courtney and close friend Ashley moments before the wedding ceremony and then...the most hilarious ones! Sullivan in her car seat after a long, long journey home! Ha! Picture this...after minute #75 of her crying and squawking and after I had sang every song that I could muster, some how my "go go gadget arm" reached back to find graham crackers in her diaper bag and then dangle them over her until her little paws grabbed them!? The crackers did the trick and I didn't hear a peep from her during the last 25 minutes or so, but this is what she looked like when I got her out of the car! Graham cracker goo everywhere! (I mean, what should I have expected!?) She flailed her legs with delight as I giggled over her appearance...and Smokey enjoyed lapping it all up off of her as well! Ha!

Fall leaves

One of the many reasons we love our home is because of our amazing oak and maple trees, which produce a plethora of colorful leaves this time of year. I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the house and of Sullivan seated among the bounty of autumn! I just had to make sure she didn't eat too many leaves!

Boo Bash!

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Our local public library offers an array of children's programs, and one of our current favorites is a Bouncing Babies class. We love it! We sing songs, rhymes, read books and play with instruments, bubbles and toys. This week they hosted their Halloween Boo Bash and Sullivan, Dane and Evan Thomas dressed to the nines as you can see! We had a great time taking photos, but it was a zoo in there and we quickly had to escape! Hooray for first Halloween memories!

Playdate with Dane and Evan Thomas

Sullivan is one lucky little girl to have two handsome boys to play with! My friend Katherine and her son Evan Thomas graciously hosted a playdate this week for us and Beth and baby Dane. The three of them had a blast and it is always amazing to watch them interact, coo and babble to one another! We are really fortunate to have made good friends here in Greenville...

Gigi and Asheville!

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Well, this week and weekend were filled with good times! My mom, Gigi, came to visit last Wednesday and Sullivan got even more grandma love! This is such a special month in that both Lee's mom and my mom were able to visit. Sullivan and Gigi enjoyed the clutch Gigi-visit activities: going to the Kmart across our neighborhood, strolling, playing and singing, reading books and snuggling. Lee and me in turn were given the opportunity to get away for a while and check out Asheville, NC. Only about 1 hr and 15 minutes away, it was convenient and easy, yet offered us a wealth of art galleries, colorful people, great cuisine and rolling blue mountain vistas. We stayed in a warm bed and breakfast right next door to Mars Hill College just outside of town and felt rejuvenated by exploring downtown Asheville, catching the Mars Hill college football game, drinking red wine, savoring delicious cheese plates and noodle bowls, walking through a Jewish food festival and even getting to share in mass at the Basilica St. Lawrence. A much needed escape for us...