Our Niece

http://www.ohlooknps.com/vbh/centraview2.asp?id=11868.

Little Isabella Jean was born December 16th after 27 hours of unmedicated labor. Mother and baby are doing phenomenally well.

We love her!

A Harris Family Thanksgiving

Actual Thanksgiving Day was spent with my parents, Uncle Dwight, James, Aunt Donna & Uncle Dennis, and (of course!) MawMaw & PawPaw. We had a great time visiting with them. Elijah quickly learned to saw "MawMAW", "PawPAW", and "Donna." He even passed out our Christmas treats to everyone.
There were a few Christmas surprises for Elijah too during our visit. The first hit was a dancing, singing, spasmodic Christmas dog. You press its paw and off it goes. Elijah loved dancing to it and getting us to dance with him. Some uncles were happy to just watch the dancing action. [Not pictured] MawMaw and PawPaw got down with Elijah and the singing Christmas dog quite a few times.
While not a dancer, Grandpa did get down on the floor to build large block towers.


We worked our way through several Yahtzee cards during this trip. PawPaw apparently had his roll a little off because he didn't win every game! MawMaw was proud to Yahtzee on ones several times, much to Eric's chagrin.
Other highlights of the trip included going for a long walk with Uncle Dwight, walking with Mom, getting our hands on a Phil & Ted's stroller (and the ridiculous poop episode that ensued there), and a delicious Cracker Barrel dinner. Lord willing, we'll be back again real soon~:-)

Bonfire

Our friends, Sandra & Walter, held their annual bonfire recently. Elijah went, sporting his 99 cent Target clothes, and came home with cold hands. Despite the cold, Elijah had a great time playing with Daddy. How can you not have fun with a slide, sandbox, seesaw, and Sandra & Walter???

Our Cabin

For those of you who have asked, here are some pictures of the front of our cabin. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE living here?) We are so blessed!

A Graves Family Thanksgiving

Uncle David, Grampa, Mammie, Aunt Laura, Uncle Matt, and our family celebrated Thanksgiving a little early this year. Food abounded.
Daddy acted crazy.
Elijah loved copying his crazy father.

Wheelbarrow rides took place.
Toys were a travelling necessity.
We had a family swinging session.

Uncle Matt acted crazy.
Elijah walked the high beam.

Grampa got cold sitting on the bench.
Daddy acted crazy in the leaves.
Angel ran away from Elijah...all the time.
Family pictures were taken.

Uncle Matt acted crazy.
Elijah was stuck in a tree. "Tuck! Tuck!"

Daddy and Elijah danced to Hillary's speech.

Elijah left all his fun toys and books strewn throughout the house.
A fun time was had by all~:-)

Baby Megan Visits

This is my brave friend Charlotte.Because Elijah was attacking her new baby with intense curiousity and poking fingers, she thought it would be a good idea to just let Elijah hold Baby Megan. Elijah could not restrain himself from getting as close as possible to her, especially after seeing Matthew cover her with kisses and say "Meggies! Meggies! Meggies!" a million times. So, my brave, wise friend just plopped down on the couch with Elijah and Megan. The excitement over Megan was almost instantly lost after Elijah got to hold her. Here you can see him watching Matthew play with toys instead of staring at his new friend. Good call Charlotte!
*Note: I am neither as brave nor as wise as Charlotte; so do not expect me to let your toddler hold my newborn. Just so you know...

Evenings with Daddy

Elijah is usually waiting at the window, looking for Daddy to come home (after some carefully timed "Guess who is coming home? Guess who is coming to see us?). Daddy changes his clothes and then it's playtime for little Tooskies.
Wrestling: Reading:
"Aaaaagh" from the steps:
Praying (he really likes to do this ALL the time!):

Building car ramps with Daddy:



These are sweet days and fun evenings!

More Wheelbarrow Fun

Doesn't Elijah have fun grandparents?