West Virginia

Last week we enjoyed Thanksgiving and a week vacation in West Virginia. We spent the first half of the week at Trent's parents' house then headed to his grandparent's house for the second half of the week. There is way too much to write about, but I'll try to cover some highlights...

These are Hudson & Anna Kate's 1st cousins on Trent's side...

Trent's parents, their 5 kids behind them & 2 daughters-in-law up front

Hudson & Anna Kate enjoyed playing with their Nana and Papaw

I took my new DSLR camera and enjoyed having some time to practice snapping photos. Here is one of my favorites of Anna Kate.

This little girl started sitting up!

I can't seem to load any other pictures right now...more to come some day.

Some other noteworthy events included:

*Hudson getting to sit on big tractors at Trent's grandparents farm

*seeing my Dad and Stepmom one evening

*seeing my Grandma & some family members for a quick dinner in Columbus

*getting to run a very cold, hilly & slow (but fun for me, not for Trent who ran despite having the stomach bug) 5k race with one of Trent's cousins

*playing several games of Tuck with various family members

*visiting with lots of family members we haven't seen in way too long

*coming back home to blue sky, sunshine and 80 degrees

Fall Festival

This evening we had an awesome time at our church's Fall Festival! There were big inflatables, little cars to drive, lots of games to play, face-painting, balloon animals, lots of carnival type food, a hayride and hundreds of people there. The kids in our community should sleep well tonight.

Playground

We love that we can enjoy being outside in comfortable short sleeve weather!

Anna Kate only enjoys the swing if it is perfectly still.

Mom's Helper

Hudson loves to help me do about anything. Here, he's helping me make some banana bread to take to friends. Don't worry, the stove is not on.

Happy Girl

This little girl is 5 months old now and full of smiles, giggles & attitude about being held all the time. Love her!

Be Prepared

listening for the ocean in a seashell

A few weeks ago I got re-certified in infant and child First Aid & CPR. Today at lunch, Hudson choked on a piece of chicken. Trent had come home from work to have lunch with us. As he was closer to Hudson, he immediately tried the Heimlich Maneuver, but it is not easy with only one arm (since he still has a cast). I took over & after a few attempts, the chicken came out. We were all shaken up, but incredibly thankful that he's ok.

I thought I'd give a reminder that it's always better to be prepared. Go to a reputable website & remind yourself what to do in case of an emergency.

Imagination

Hudson has a wonderful, vivid imagination. We spend a lot of time doing make believe play.

More often than not, this is his yellow lawn mower. He's cutting the grass for us here. :)