Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day at the farm in Mansfield. It was the most gorgeous day and I couldn't have picked a better way to celebrate--beautiful location, fun family, and delicious food. Most of my cousins were there and between the three of us with kids, we had seven kids...all boys!! The bigger ones had a blast chasing and hiding and squealing together. Cathie prepared an amazing meal that was enjoyed by all. Thank you Richard and Cathie!

 Quick wagon ride before we hit the road

Perry wanted to play outside the entire day. What little boy wouldn't!?!

 Ryan and Ira took us for a ride on the Mule 

Happy Thanksgiving!

On Friday we headed up to Hot Spring Village to check out the new house and spend the weekend with my dad and his family. We had a really great weekend and enjoyed being with my grandmother, aunts, and Dad and Sheila. Perry made quick friends with the dogs and Mills loved all the extra arms around him.

 watching the LSU game

 beautiful view from the back balcony

 Perry kept saying that he wanted to go play in the water

 cutie pie!

this was our view every night

We have MUCH to be thankful to God for!

Brothers

I love Saturday mornings and I love these cute boys! 

 Sweet brothers!

 They really do love each other :-)

watching Daddy do the yard 

I really needed to take a shower, so I left Mills in his crib with a FEW toys. Perry decided to give Mills every book and trinket that he could reach off of the bookshelves. Thanks Perry!

Perry 3 years

I've neglected to post about Perry for the past several months. There is so much happening with our big boy, mainly in the way of language. I wish I could remember every funny and interesting thing he has said. He is talking SO MUCH more now days and it's such a joy to hear what's on his mind...most of the time. We've definitely heard some interesting commands and complaints that I could do without.
Some of my favorite quotes and things that come to mind are:
-He sometimes refers to himself by name. "Oh no, Perry Burke made a mess". He's not doing that as much anymore.
-He's learning so much at Bible Study Fellowship. He told me, "Adam ate the fruit and play hide and seek with God and Adam obey (probably meant "disobey") God". "God help Noah build a boat".
-If we interrupt or are not paying enough attention to him, he'll say, "No, no, no, no, stop, wait a sec..." and then proceed to say whatever is on his mind.
-"Oh my, oh dear, what happened?"
-"I sit right here, and you sit right there, and I talk to you"
-"No, I need do that by e-self" That's a big one these days! He wants to do almost everything by himself...such a big boy!
-"I neeeeeeeed two candy corn" or "I neeeeeeed two jelly bean". He always asks for his treats in twos.
-Sadly, he's calling Mills, "Mills", instead of "baby Mills". We hear a lot of "No, Mills, that MY choo choo".
-When he does something praise worthy (usually pooping on the potty) he'll say "I really, really proud of you!" or "Momma really, really proud of me!"
-As he pushes a buggy or walks around the grocery store with me, he says "Oh, excuse me" to everyone with a big smile on his face. It's one of the cutest things ever!
-He's been saying "Oh, sorry" all the time to us, even when it's not warranted, and if something happens, he'll say "it's all my fault", even when it wasn't! It makes me so sad to hear these things, so I always reassure him that he isn't responsible and explain what happened. I think he's mostly just saying something that sounds appropriate in an effort to sound mature :-)
My all-time favorite quote:
"Oh, I know! Momma feed (baby) Mills and Perry Burke watch a show! That's fun too!" This was probably his first long sentence. It has become a common thing to hear and he always says it with great enthusiasm like it's the grandest idea. He would watch TV all day if I let him.
Other things:
Perry is a total potty champ and has been for a while now. He wears a diaper at night and stays dry most of the time.
He's growing! Everyone has been commenting on how much taller he is and I agree!
Perry is getting into action figures and super heroes. I honestly thought this wouldn't happen with my little boy, but I'm learning that it's just instinctual. Even the cute little cow we got at chick-fil-a was re-named "Super cow to the rescue".
Perry likes to put his Crocs on all by himself now. Even if he's struggling, he does NOT want anyone to help him.

Looking cute on school picture day

13 months

Millsy,
Here are several things to note about the past month:
You are much more of a risk taker than Perry was. You love sliding down off the couch while holding onto my legs, being thrown around, and "dropped". For fun, you like to collect items (balls, rocks, toys) and throw them a basket. You are standing alone for brief moments and taking steps while holding my hands. You say "mama" a lot. You have another tooth on the bottom (7 total)! Naps are pretty much down to one (even though I keep trying to get you to take two). I guess you are ready to be a big boy. You certainly are starting to look like one!

You love to rock

Collecting

Allergies Confirmed

Well, my suspicions were right. Mills is allergic to eggs and cow's milk.....and peanuts, whole wheat, strawberries, almonds, chocolate, beef, and baker's yeast. We tested for 37 different food allergens and I know we'll have to go back for more before long. I was really nervous about the appointment and what it would be like for little Mills. Thankfully, he did amazingly well. He didn't start crying until they were nearly 3/4 of the way through with the prick test (37 pricks!), so it wasn't complete torture for me. Egg and peanuts were by far the most severe reaction so we will be extra diligent in keeping those out of his diet and as far away as possible. Cow's milk was another big one, which is really sad because we love yogurt, cheese and ice cream around here. And wheat is just REALLY inconvenient! The others vary in severity, mostly being mild-moderate. This news has been a pretty big pill to swallow. It is life changing in lots of ways. I'm praying that he will outgrow most of these allergies eventually, but in the meantime, I'm on the hunt for new foods/recipes that are Mills-safe. I have so many concerns though. Will we ever be able to eat out? What will he eat for snacks? Will he get enough nourishment? Will he be safe at school or others' houses? I have to stop myself and just remember that we will figure these issue out with time. I know the Lord will walk us through this.

 A few minutes after the pricks. We had to wait 15 minutes. Those little whelps got a lot bigger!

Daddy helping distract