A day at Grannie and Pops

On Saturday we finally got down to visit with Grannie and Pops! It has been since early summer that we were there. I am not really sure why it was that long. I guess just vacations, home projects, and the chaos of summer made the time go by. We had a great day just hanging out and we also got to see Aunt Susie, An Am and Uncle Benny, Kim, Summer and Jordan. Pete we missed seeing you this time. Connor got Halloween treat bags from Susie and Kim and really enjoyed all of his treats! We wish we lived closer so we could see everyone on Friday. I guess we will all just have to settle for pictures. We took Connor down to the lake and he loved throwing rocks with Daddy. He also got a good look at his newly renovated cabin. Pops has been working on it and has added sheet rock, windows, a door, and is planning on putting in heating and air and a bed. It started out as a playhouse, but now it will be his little retreat by the lake. Sorry no pictures of that. I will get some as soon as it is finished. It was so good to see yall and we promise we will be back down very soon!...another rock, DaDa!

What a big leaf!

Going on a wagon ride.

Candy, candy and more candy!

Hanging out with Pops

Connor's new Mickey umbrella from Grannie! It rains all the time inside the house now.

A Visit from Grandma (Gigi)

This weekend we got to spend some time with my grandmother from NY who has come down to visit for two weeks. We are teaching Connor to call her Gigi, since my other grandmother is also known as Grandma. I was the first born and for some reason thought it was a good idea to have two Grandmas, therefore adding to a lot of confusion. We went to Mom and Dad's on Saturday night and stayed until Sunday. Since the weather was beautiful and the last of the warm fall days, we spent most of our time outside. I will be honest, it was a little wild and crazy because we had three dogs that weren't used to being together and it added a little chaos to our day. But what would a day be without that? Ha! Brett and Hillary got a new puppy, well lets just say that they rescued it and planned on giving it away but I think we all know how that usually works out. Therefore we have a new baby in the family. Nico is her name and she is so adorable. We are pretty sure that she is going to be a big dog. Mom says she doubles in size every time she sees her. Right now she is only 10 weeks old and is pretty tall. We think she has some English Pointer in her and Brett is determined to make her a hunting dog. Since she is still in her puppy stage she was jumping on Connor and trying to play and lets just say Connor wasnt too thrilled about our new member of the family. Cooper on the other hand wasnt getting along too well at first but then eventually got used to her. Birdie doesnt want anything to do with any of the dogs and it was her house, so that didnt go very well either. Pretty much we spent the whole time trying to keep them split up. Despite all of that, we had a wonderful time seeing everyone. Connor was pooped to say the least from his busy weekend, but had a great time getting spoiled and seeing all of his grandparents!

(Sorry there are so many pictures. I couldnt decide which ones to post!)

4 Generations of the Hill family
Nonna, Gigi, and Connor
Connor loves his Gigi!I love this picture!The day wouldnt be complete without throwing baseball.
Nico (isnt she so cute) and yes the name came from "Lipstick Jungle"

Swinging with Nonna
Connor was hilarious eating his ice cream cone. I am pretty sure it was his first one. He usually eats it out of the bowl. He liked to stretch that tongue way out there for each lick!

Instead of wagon rides, we do "wheelbarrow rides".
Eating his Mickey Mouse pasta that Nonna fixed for him.

I had to share this picture because Connor is sitting in my old "Big Bird" chair. My mother is one that has kept literally everthing from our childhood. She pulled this chair out along with some other toys that I had gotten for my first birthday. We laugh because one of them is an old "rotary" style phone and I told Mom that Connor wouldnt even know what that was since all he has ever known is flip phones.

Before I was a Mom...

My mother in law sent this to me today and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with all my other Mom and expectant Mom pals out there. Being a Mom is truly one of the greatest blessings in my life!

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Sorry folks..

I was changing some things around on my blog tonight and I erased the background template that I had and now the website that I got it from is down. That is why some of the text is unreadable right now. Sorry, it will be fixed by next week. I am going out of town this weekend and I will try and get it back up if I can. Have a good one!

Get Well Soon, Pops!

A few pictures

I attempted to have a photo shoot in our backyard for our Christmas cards this year and lets just say that it didnt turn out exactly like I had planned. I didnt get any for my Christmas cards but did get a few cute ones of Connor. He just wouldnt cooperate. Lets just say that we are in that "terrible twos" stage. When he gets it in his mind that he is or isnt going to do something well, thats it. I guess that is just how all kids are, but he has always been so easy going so I havent had to deal with much of this until now. I was trying to avoid a trip to the photographers, BUT we might just have to do it anyways.

a kiss for Mickey!
What is in here?

My little baker!

Well sort of... Lets just say that I made the cupcakes and he helped me decorate them. I thought they turned out pretty good...good job Connor! I demonstrated to him where to put the pumpkins and he did the rest. He has been so deprived since he was so allergic last year and has only had cake a few times. Needless to say he loves the icing just like his Mommy and Daddy!

Decorating with a few...

...and eating a few too! I'm done Mommy, the icing is all gone!the other half that ended up in the floor!

Neal Annual Bonfire/Hayride

Last night we went to the Neal annual weenie roast. I was really eager for Connor to go back since he was so little last year. As soon as he got out of the car and saw the huge bonfire he said, "HOT!" I was so glad to see that he wasn't very interested in getting too close to it and kept his distance. He had fun watching Dada and Grandy roast hot dogs and marshmallows for us. Mmm, smores are my favorite! We decided to bypass the hayride again this time because it was pretty cold and Connor was tired. We had a great time and my only regret was that my Pawpaw wasnt there to be with us. This time last year he was sick and we didnt yet know that it was the cancer. He was definitely missed. I think my Grandmother had a great time and we tease her all the time that she keeps a tighter schedule than we do because she always has somewhere to go. I am glad that she is keeping busy and am enjoying getting to see her more often. Here are a few pictures of our night.

Connor's best friends

Here are some pictures of Connors favorite companions- Duck, Goofy, and Mickey! Thanks Grannie and Pops, Goofy and Duck have made a great addition to my collection. Now if only I had room to sleep in my bed! We now sleep with Elmo, Pooh, Mickey, Donald Duck, AND Goofy!

Gentry's Farm

On Saturday we made our first trip to Gentry's Farm in Franklin. We were going to go to a local farm here in Spring Hill, but after looking into it we decided that going to Gentry's would be better for Connor. We are so happy with what we decided because they had so many neat things for toddlers. It was quite warm, so we skipped out on the hayride but had a great time with all of the other activities on the farm. Connor was so excited to pick out a "punkin" as he calls it. As you will see from the last picture above, he was quite proud of "his" little pumpkin. I cant wait to carve them with him this year! Here are some pictures from our trip.