Halloween

Halloween was exciting this year. We went to The Smiths house for their annual party and trick or treated with friends there and we also stopped by to see some church friends who were having a party. Everyone loved my costume! I was happy with how it turned out since I thought of it and made it just 2 nights before Halloween. Perry was an astronaut, Mills was an army man, and I was a concession worker with a bag of popcorn.

 cutest little popcorn head around! Yes, it was real popcorn!

Beach Trip

On October 18-25 we went to Florida for a family beach trip with Cheetah and Papou and all the kids/grandkids. There were 20 of us total...and we were in one huge house. It was a really great trip! The weather was gorgeous (it never got too hot); there was a lot for us to do (pool, beach, riding bikes, visiting the little communities on 30A); and we were able to spend quality time with Alex's family. Perry and Mills absolutely loved playing with their cousins. On the way there we drove through the night--left Shreveport at 9:15pm and arrived at the beach house at 6:15am. We made amazing time since there was no traffic slowing us down. Neither Alex nor I got any sleep that night, but I think it was worth the sacrifice. Mills slept the whole way; Perry slept most of the way; and James was off and on. On the way home we stopped overnight at Joanna's house in Madison, Ms. It was definitely a new experience traveling with 3 kids, but we survived, and managed to have a great time along the way.

 We went to Seaside on Perry's birthday and he got ice cream for a morning snack

Cheetah made a delicious cake and we celebrated all the October birthdays--Perry, Mills, Katie and Brody

We went to the little villages near our house to shop, eat, and sight see. Alex pulled the big boys on the bike and I pushed James 

 Rosemary Beach town center

 James and sweet cousin Jace

 the kids loved cuddling and watching TV in the evenings (Mills, Aidan, Miles, Bree, Perry, Lizzy--6 of the 9 grandkids)

 Papou and the kids loved playing in this sand hole

 Perry and Mills loved chasing the seagulls 

My big boys had so much fun!

Our night in Jackson was a lot of fun for everyone and gave us a much-needed break from the car. We went to church with the McNeels on Sunday and then headed home.

 We showed up and the boys just happened to be coordinating in their fall/halloween shirts

love this sweet friend of mine!

James 4 months

I can't believe James is 4 months old. Not much new is going with him this month. He still smiles, talks, and laughs a lot. He has a really sweet temperament and is usually pretty laid back. He is getting close to rolling over, but hasn't rolled yet. This month he has started sitting upright in the bumbo and jumperoo and is really enjoying it. I think he's even teething right now...we'll see. He always has his fingers in his mouth, usually gagging himself. The "wandering hand" has emerged. This is a term for what babies often do while nursing (and all of mine have). James loves to move his arm all over while he's nursing--he'll grab my shirt, rub my chest, or hold my hand. I just love how much bonding goes on with breastfeeding. He's not sleeping as well as I would expect, but I know we'll get there. He just likes that 4am feeding a lot. Some nights he doesn't wake at all, but most nights he does. We will start working on eliminating that feeding soon. At his check up this month he weighed 14 pounds and was 25 1/2 inches (definitely our longest baby). We are all SO in love with our sweet baby James.

 Everyone loves his spikey hair

 a Mommy and James selfie

Birthday Party

I had Perry and Mills' joint party at Louisiana Cheernastics. We invited the boys from each of their classes as well as our best boy friends. It was such a fun time for them. They ran around the gym, ran down the trampolines, and played on the big bouncies. Perry was so sad when it was over...and I have to agree with him, the time did go by way too quickly.

 Mills was being timid at first, so Mae Mae ran around with him

 He eventually warmed up and had a blast!

 It was seriously just a sea of blue running around the entire time. I couldn't even get a picture of Perry because he didn't stop for one second. 

 James was a perfect angel during the party, especially considering he was missing a nap. I love how he looks bothered by this whole situation though.

Perry turns 5!

The other birthday boy had a fun month of celebrations. Perry's birthday fell while on our beach trip, so we celebrated there, but prior to the trip we celebrated his birthday at school and at his and Mills' joint party. Perry was super excited about turning 5 years old! It was a fun thing for us to experience his enthusiasm. Perry seems like such a big kid these days. He is becoming more independent with every passing day and it's been pretty hard to see how he's growing into a little man. He probably thinks he's more independent than he truly is though. Perry is full of energy and spunk. He absolutely loves going to school and being with his friends there. He has become pretty outgoing and talkative and thinks EVERYONE is his friend. I love that he loves people! The other day we saw one of his friend's mom and Perry asked her, "How is JW doing?" So cute! Perry is all about weapons, fighting, bad guy play these days. Everything he touches turns into a "power blaster", "gun", "fire shooter", etc. Thankfully he can still be super sweet and thoughtful. He absolutely loves baby James and is the best big brother. We have seen a lot of spiritual maturity in Perry recently and are greatly encouraged by the work of the Holy Spirit in his life.
Birthday at school:

 such a cute chapel leader

 We love you soooooo much, Perry!!!

Mills turns 3!

Our sweet Mills is growing up! He is just as precious as ever, but does have a little 3-year-old attitude every now and then (most people don't believe me when I tell them this because he has a reputation for being perfect). Mills loves pretend playing with people/figures and vehicles. He is such a content little guy who will sit and play quietly for hours, but he enjoys playing with his brother/friends too. Mills loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone and is often heard saying "wait, wait....I'll miss you" to anyone who leaves our house. He is such a kind, tenderhearted little boy! He is doing very well with being potty trained and about 4 months ago he decided that he wouldn't nap any more...Momma didn't like that decision. He's still in speech therapy and making lots of progress there.
On his birthday, Mills had a birthday breakfast and then we all went to school to celebrate more.

 excited to have us in chapel with him

 celebrating with his class

 Mrs. Blanchard and Mills

Mae Mae came over and brought Mills a new toy that he loves

We love you SO much, Mills!!!!!!!!!!!