My (Owen's) Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving we went to Blue Ridge with everyone.  It was Clara's first Thanksgiving and Uncle Skylar and Aunt Nichole's first as a married couple.  I did all sorts of things over the couple of days we were there and it was all fun!  One of the best parts was that the weather was so nice that I hardly had to wear my jacket at all!

We started the trip off with a hike in the mountains!

There was lots of time to get cozy and relax!

Aunt Nichole and I played a game of catch in the closet "playroom"!

And of course lots of bike rides!  I couldn't ask for a more flat or straight road!

I found a ramp at the house to go fast on with my bike.  So fast that Uncle Skylar couldn't catch a picture of me!

Dad and I took a break after some family pictures.  Grandpa let me use his camera to take some pictures of my own.

I actually got pretty good with the camera!  I figured out that it works much better to point it at something rather than my own eye (that's how I was using it at Uncle Skylar's wedding).

It wouldn't be a mountain Thanksgiving without some family pictures!  But some of the pictures were on the train tracks so I didn't mind too much!  I got to take a picture with all the "dudes" of the family!

I got to show off my balance beam skills!

I got Mom and Dad to swing me up high!

And then we tried to swing Mom up high - that didn't work quite as well.  I think I need to get a little bit taller and stronger!

Dad and I had some jumping competitions!

There were three different cars for me to play in!  I only left the lights on and broke one of the cars one time!

I got to hang out with Clara of course!  One morning we got to eat breakfast outside!

Dad even taught me how to roast a marshmallow!  I still need some practice!

After we got home, I made Dad proud by having leftover turkey sandwich!  I didn't put all the extra stuff on it that he puts on his, but it was good with just the turkey!

In and ... In!

Don't be surprised if you find Clara and I hanging out inside of a box or a food collection bin!

The box was from our patio furniture - it was the best toy!  It was a garage for a while and then I made it into a bed for Clara and I!  When the food collection bins were out at work, Dad was being silly and stuck me in one of them!

Getting There!

I'm not going to be like my brother and walking by the time I'm 1, but I won't be too far behind him!  I can get around just find crawling and cruising.  And I can even stand by myself for a very short amount of time.  I'm getting there!

Here I am reading a book and hanging out with Owen's car!

Standing at the Marietta Square...

And another big milestone - the first time Mom brought both Owen and I to the grocery store with her!  I had a fun time sitting next to my brother in the cart.  We were good helpers!

I've discovered the lion - here's a video of me trying him out for the first time!

And I found something else I can push around - Owen's car!  Circles is about all I can manage right now, but give it time!

Eating Machine!

It's been a while since I updated everyone on my eating adventures!  I've become quite the eater.  Broccoli is still my favorite though.  And I definitely prefer chicken to steak - although I'm a fan of ground beef.  Fruit can be hit or miss with me - watermelon and apples are good.  Strawberries - not so much.  Any kind of pasta is a winner - ravioli, tortellini, spaghetti, doesn't matter!

This was still in the early days - a little avocado and pasta!

This was some kind of casserole!  Can you tell I was a fan?  And Paul knew where the best spot was in the house at dinnertime! 

Chili is another favorite of mine!

I made sure not to miss out on Uncle Skylar's rehearsal dinner - potatoes and ribs!

I'm not always messy in my high chair!  Sometimes I like to just hang out in it and have a Cheerios snack (or eat my bow)! 

I said I liked apples - and no one needs to cut them up for me!

Here's some proof of my apple eating skills!

And here I am being a little silly at dinner with my food!  It was good!

Clemson Family!

In November I finally got to go to a Clemson game with everyone!  We got to see Clemson beat Wake Forest - well not technically since we left at halftime...  But I didn't fall asleep during the game like Owen did the first time he went!

Owen and I did a little tailgating first.  It was the end of November but it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day!

The game was a "purple out" but all of our Clemson gear was orange so we had to buy some purple shirts for the family!

Owen got to hang out with his friend Mason at the tailgate.  And after Mason left, he decided to just enjoy the day by taking it all in!

Here we are at the game!  Can't wait to go to another one!  Go Tigers!

Leaves and More Leaves!

I learned this fall how much fun it can be to help Dad clean up leaves!  He rakes them into a pile and I jump into them.  Then we repeat that again and again!

Clara got bundled up and came out to watch the show!

Here's my action shot of jumping into the leaves!

I think this video shows just how much fun I was having in the leaves!

Clifford!

I got to go on a date night with Mom and Grandma to see Clifford the Big Red Dog.  I had a fun time and stayed interested in it the whole time!  Afterwards we went to get pizza for dinner!

Here we are at the show!

I had my own seat and there was even a booster seat for me so I didn't get folded up in it!

It's hard to see but Clifford is in the middle of the stage...

The weekend before the show, Grandma took me to the library to see Clifford and some of his friends to get me ready for the show.  We got some Clifford books too so I could read some his stories beforehand.