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.

Just Waiting...

So, my due date was about 6 days ago and we are finding ourselves still waiting to meet our little girl. She is healthy and doing great, just comfortable where she is and not quite ready to come and meet us just yet.

Because we have kept our calendar free for the last few weeks (just in case we have the baby), we have had a lot of free time together as a family.  We have managed to have a lot of fun family outings and family nights while we are still a family of three.  This is how we have been passing the time the last few weeks...

Family dates to Krispy Kreme 

Hanging out making silly faces to the camera 

After park days, walks, and outings to downtown Raleigh you might find Neal like this...Passed out in the back after a day of fun. 

I know Neal is excited to have baby sister come 'cause he talks about her all the time.  The other day he leaned over and talked to my belly saying "baby sister it's time to pop out".  

What really made my day was a few weeks ago when Neal came home from Awanas with this art project...

The little heart near the top says "Sister & Mommy" -  This was the first time he made something and decided on his own to add "sister" to it.  I know he is going to love his sister and I cannot wait to see him as a big brother.   He sleeps with baby girl's blanket every night, and talks about how he is going to sit on the couch and "snuggle her" and "play peak-a-boo" with her.

So, baby girl, you can come join us any day, all three of us are ready and anxious to welcome you into our family and we want to share all these fun family days with you.

AWANA

I can hardly believe that Neal is already old enough to be in Awana.  He started Cubbies a few weeks ago.

His first night there he was a little unsure.  Our church doesn't offer Awana so we signed him up at another church in the area so with unfamiliar faces and a new location Neal was a little nervous.  Tyler stayed with him the first night.  Tyler sat on the outskirts of the room while Neal played games, ate snacks and listened to the story but said Neal kept looking over to make sure he was still there the whole time.  The next week Neal went in and stayed all by himself!  

He loves his Cubbies vest, and has been doing a great job memorizing his verse each week.  I'm excited that not only Neal will be memorizing scripture but that Tyler and I will get to memorize right along with him as we work on the verses together as a family.

It's fun to see him so excited to go each week, and I hope the enthusiasm for it stays all year.  I also like the fact that now Tyler and I can drop him off at Cubbies and go on a coffee date once a week while he is there...It's great for all of us :)   Next time any of you see Neal ask him about Cubbies, but be prepared to hear all the details, as well as listen to him recite his verses, he loves to talk about it.  

From the Mouth of a Toddler

Neal, like all toddlers, is always making us laugh as he says things and discovers new things.  I think it's about time I wrote some of his fun sayings down so that I won't forget them.  Every day he seems to grow up more and more and once baby girl arrives I am sure he will seem way older compared to a new baby.  So here are few fun things from the mouth of our 3 year old....

"Don't worry mom I can save you all the time, 'cause I'm a super hero" 

"Stop squishing on my dadddy"  - he says this often when we try and snuggle him

"Mommy do you know I love you" - always followed by a big hug from him and big smile from me.

Neal loves to look at the map on my phone while we drive places and when Siri tells him what way to turn you can hear him reply "Don't tell me what to do Siri" 

While at the pool this year Neal learned to hold his breath and put his face in the water.  Last time he did this he said, "Mommy watch this, I can hold my breathe for 16 hours" 

Looking out the car window one night on our way home:  "The moon is following me mommy.  It's following me all the way to mommy and daddy's house" 

When he wants to talk about how fast or strong something is (or he is) he will say, "Look, I'm stronger then strong"  or "Wow, that's faster then fast"

The only clothes he ever wants to wear are either his batman or superman shirt.  When he first got his batman shirt he told me, "When I Skype with Tia I want to show her my batman shirt, she'll say 'Neal, I can't believe my eyes, that is awesome'"

A few of his favorite things:

1. Fruit Loops (he would eat these every morning and be happy)
2. Sweet Tea (a southern boy already)
3. Playing Go Fish (we play it at least 3 times a day)
4. Being a superhero (everyday he is a new superhero and is always acting out some action scene that he has created)

5. Reading stories.  He can sit and have you read him books for an hour or more.  The library is one of his favorite places to go.