Here we come a caroling...

Here's a bonus post of a very memorable Christmas season activity, thanks to some cute photos taken by our friends Wes and Mara. (Thanks, guys!)

As some of you know, we helped start a Young Families group at our parish last year with a few other couples and one of our young parish priests. The group aims to help parents of young children network and build a stronger faith community (since we don't have school activities yet to introduce us to other parents). It's been going really well, and being at church has been so much better when you look around and know so many of the families around you. If you're interested in learning more about our group, check out our Web site (www.stpeteryoungfamilies.com).

The group decided to go Christmas caroling this year (even though none of us had ever been caroling before) -- so we met at church one evening and sung at nearby homes with our kiddos. Oh yeah, and it was 37 degrees. Brrrrr.

We were not very good singers, but the kids had fun. Ryan even clapped after each song, and kind of sung along to Jingle Bells once. Here's two shots -- one of the group (yes, that's Daddy holding the sign), and one of Ryan's cute little bundled up face. Precious!


Couldn't you just eat him up?

Preparing for Christmas

It's been a while since we've posted -- the cooler weather seems to have tamed our schedule of outings quite a bit! Like everyone, we're spending most of our time now doing things to prepare for Christmas.

We brought home our Christmas tree this past weekend, and Ryan has only touched it once so far (and declared a heartfelt "uh oh" when needles fell off the tree). We haven't put up any decorations on it yet, so we'll see how long until he's climbing it. :)

We've been reading Christmas stories, singing carols, dancing to the holiday stations on the radio and yes, we even visited Santa at the North Pole (a.k.a. Chesterfield Mall). Ryan's been starting the "stranger anxiety" thing a bit lately, so I was nervous, but he instantly reached out to grab Santa's hat and just sat on his lap gazing at him. It was so cute.

Of course, he didn't smile though -- he had his serious face on while he studied this stranger. Enjoy a little piece of Trammell family history...the infamous "Santa" shot:


We've got lots of Trammell family coming to visit over the holidays, so we'll surely have a lot to report on shortly. And in case we don't post beforehand, Merry Christmas!

We are so thankful

This Thanksgiving, we are thankful for so many things: the love and generosity that our family and friends show us each and every day, our health, our talents, and most of all, for the sweet little blessing that attaches to my leg screaming bloody murder at least once a day. :)

We spent turkey day at my grandma Jinnie's house with family, eating all the deliciousness that is Thanksgiving dinner. Ryan had a ball, of course -- playing with my cousin's daughter, Natalie, and with all the adults, too.

Here's Ryan modeling a sweet hat for the occasion. This stayed on about 30 seconds, tops:
My grandma's house backs to a woodsy area very close to a state park, so she often has deer come up for a snack just before dusk. This means that Ryan got to see his first deer up close:
Seriously - close.
Last, here's a shot of great-grandma and Ryan. Disclaimer: Ryan was hyped up on sugar from mooching bites of everyone's pie.
We hope your Thanksgiving was full of family, food and fun! Next up...Christmas!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Biiiiirrrthdaaaay deeearrrr Ryyyy-aaaaann, Happy Birthday toooo yoooooou!

That's right, Ryan is 1! We've had so much fun celebrating the past few days, and Ryan is digging playing with all his new toys, eating leftover party food and cake, and dragging bunches of helium balloons around the house. Enjoy some photos of the big day and party below!

We started off the birthday with one of Ryan's favorite breakfasts - pancakes - with a Diego candle. Ryan was enthralled, but I'm not sure if it's b/c he liked the candle, or was concerned that his hero was on fire.
We also went out to dinner to celebrate at Red Robin. Ryan colored for the first time with daddy.
Of course, Ryan totally dug the balloons -- Our meals out would sure be a whole lot easier if every restaurant had them.
Ryan even got his first taste of ice cream as a birthday treat, complete with singing, clapping wait staff.
On party day, the b-day boy models a sweet party hat.
Here's Ryan's mini cake that I decorated -- this was to be his own cake to smoosh and eat.

Ryan was mesmerized by the candle...and the prospect of digging in to his cake!

Then, he sampled some...and some more...and some more.

Don't worry, we fed the party guests a separate cake (that I also made) - and yes, most everyone had blue lips and teeth after enjoying it.

Here's a shot of the fam -- Ryan gave me an icing beard, which was pretty sweet.
Our basement is beginning to look like a toy store -- Ryan received a wagon, mower, slide, ball pit, t-ball set, golf clubs, monster tent, trucks and cars, clothes, sit n spin...and so much more - it's overwhelming, but Ryan's loving it. Here's a cute shot of him in his new ball pit.
We're so blessed to have had so many family members around us to celebrate -- Ryan is one lucky boy!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fabulous Halloween this year -- our day started with cousin Autumn's 1st birthday party, and ended with a trip to trick or treat at Nana and Papa Mungenast's house. Our little blue monster was hilarious...and totally adorable. I could go on and on, or I could just show you the proof.

Here's Ryan and I having a great time. In this shot, I can finally see a little resemblance...ok, a lot. :)
Cousin Autumn had 2 costumes - but her fairy costume was precious! (The other one was an OU cheerleader)
Grandma and Papa Trammell came in town for the week to celebrate Halloween, 1st birthdays and more.
Ryan and cousin Haedyn shared a costume theme...monsters!

This shot was too cute not to share. Ryan and his Nana... Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch!

Dop dap dop. Pllllttthh. Bladda-lada-lada-lada. Psst...are you there? I use that baby babble to fool my mom and dad into thinking I can't talk. Ha! It's me, Ryan - and I'm guest blogging today because I have something fun to share!

While this isn't my first Halloween (my mom and dad brought me home from the hospital on Halloween last year), it's the first one where I can really have fun! Mommy bought some mini pumpkins and gourds recently, and I love oohing and pointing at them on the mantel until she lifts me up and lets me hold them to explore the different colors and textures.

Don't get me wrong, holding mini gourds at home is pretty cool, but today I went to the pumpkin patch and saw THOUSANDS of pumpkins. Big ones, tiny ones -- you name it. Everyone took tons of pictures. Lucky me...that means I can show you some of my fun day!

Here's cousin Autumn and I kickin' it on a big orange bench...pretty cool.

Wait a minute...there's more to see than this mud? Let me just check it out. Hey! A pyramid of pumpkins!

Autumn had a rockin' shirt on just for the occasion. It said she was the "cutest pumpkin in the patch." And of course, she was. :)

Here I am as a scarecrow (being hoisted by grandma). Man, that sun was bright.

Autumn made a cute scarecrow, too.

Then came the best part -- PUMPKINS!

I got to walk through them, crawl on them, pull them -- you name it.

There was even a tractor -- I took it for an imaginary spin.

Here's me and mommy.

Whoa! This pumpkin is giant! We could carve a playhouse out of it. A smelly playhouse, but a playhouse nonetheless.

Aunt Lauren and Uncle Tom found me this gourd. I practiced my mean face so no kids would even think about grabbing it from me. Intimidating, no?

Here's the whole fam enjoying the sun.

What a fun day!

Batman

The Trammell house went non-stop for the month of September. We took advantage of all the beautiful weather and had a lot of playdates (hence the very frequent blogging). We've been taking it a bit easier the past few weeks (hence the lack of posting) -- or at least, staying closer to home. We're prepping for Halloween and Ryan's first birthday, so expect some fun posts later this month.

Ryan's spending most of his time these days walking laps around the house holding onto whatever exciting object he's found (i.e. a tupperware container, spatula, medicine dropper, piece of cardboard, bottle of lotion, etc.) He's babbling and repeating a ton now, too. I still can't believe that he's just marching around....he's not a baby anymore!

Yesterday, he marched around grandma and grandpa's house in uncle Tommy's old batman cape. Super cute -- enjoy!