Pumpkin Carving 2013

As tradition each year we carved some pumpkins just in time for Halloween.  This year we actually did it more then a day before Halloween which is impressive for our family.

Neal picked out a fairly large pumpkin this year and was really excited to carve it with daddy.  His excitement changed a bit once he realized that it was "gooey" and "sticky" inside the pumpkin.  Neal didn't want to get his hands "sticky" so he let Tyler do all the scooping out and would just every once in awhile stick his hand inside the pumpkin to pull out a seed that was easy to reach without getting to "sticky".  

We had a fun time carving "spooky faces" into the pumpkins and loved that Aunt Kate could join us for our fun pumpkin carving evening.  The best part is always lighting the candles inside and seeing the faces glow.

The next day Neal and I continued our pumpkin crafts by painting some small pumpkins.  Neal loved using every color possible and had so many stories to tell me about what he was painting.  By the end of this craft there was almost as much paint on Neal's hands and arms as on his pumpkin.

We are now all ready for fall and ready to welcome the Trick-or-Treaters to our house with our glowing "spooky faced" pumpkins.

Visiting Gwendolyn

A few weeks ago my parents got to come out to NC and meet Gwendolyn for the first time.  We had a ton of fun with them here.  Neal loved having Grandma around every day and we often found him either snuggling her in the mornings, playing games with her on the iPad, or convincing her to play transformers or army men.  

When Grandma wasn't busy playing with Neal she was able to spend some sweet snuggle time with Gwendolyn.   It was so fun to have her around for a few weeks.  

I had lots of help with changing diapers, entertaining Neal and Tyler and I even got to go out on a date (thanks to the free babysitting).  Also, let's not forget about how fun it was with Poppa her too.  Neal got to build a birdhouse with Poppa and Poppa helped him "fight" lots of bad guys throughout the day.

We stayed home most days, enjoying coffee, cookies and just time all together.   The kids also enjoyed some daily walks with Grandma and Poppa around the neighborhood.  

We got to go to Chick-fil-A several times (one of Neal's favorite places to play), visit the Marbles Kids Museum and the NC State Fair.   Gwendolyn changed lots even over the short 2 weeks they were here and she continues to change each day.

We wish both our families lived a little closer so we could see them more often, especially with young kids who change so quickly.   So thankful for Skype and FaceTime so we can see each other lots.

Feeling Blessed

These are the sweet faces that I get to wake up to every morning...

I am feeling so blessed and thankful the last few weeks for the precious gifts that the Lord has given us in our children.  What a gift they are to our family and we feel very grateful to be given the responsibility of parenting these two cuties.

Though some days are harder then others, and some nights are filled with little sleep, I wouldn't want to have any other job then staying home with these two...

She's Here!

Last week on September 26th at 12:10pm we welcomed a new addition to our family,  Gwendolyn Jane Gates (9lbs 3oz and 22 inches long).

What a blessing and answer to prayer this little bundle of joy is to our family.  We feel so privileged to be able to be parents for a second time and are so happy for the blessing and gift that Gwendolyn is to our family.

We are so excited to finally get to hold and snuggle her!  Neal has been a great big brother and loves to make sure that baby Gwen is happy all the time.  You can often find Neal rubbing her head, giving her kisses, tickling her toes and even signing her songs.  He also lets me know the moment she starts to cry 'cause he doesn't like to see her sad in anyway.  I can already tell he is going to take good care of his little sister.

The newborn stage has to be one of my favorite.  I love how they just sleep all the time and are so cozy warm.  Tyler has been home all week and it has been great to have our whole family together at the house.  It has been extra helpful for me to have Tyler home, since he is doing a great job taking care of Neal and helping around the house, so I can nap some during the day and catch as much sleep as possible.  Gwendolyn is also doing her job quite well and is letting me sleep at night for about 2 hour chunks at a time, so I really feel fairly rested for a mother of a newborn.

We are loving our time together as a new family of four but are also very excited to welcome Grandma and Papa here (Laura's parents) later this week.  We can't wait to introduce Gwen to them and I know that they are very anxious for some baby snuggles.

This is the first grandchild that has been born without the Grandparents (on both sides of the family) at the hospital.  It was been different not having family around and I know that it is hard on all the Grandparents to not get to be here right away.  We hope that Gwendolyn will be able to meet her GiGi and Grandfather (Tyler's parents) soon but until then we are sending lots of pictures and daily updates to help them feel as close as possible.