Dressed to Impress

It's always nice to see everyone dressed in their finery...
The kids looked too cute for words!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Turkey Fry 2008

Every year, Bill & Betsy Robinson host their annual turkey fry. This 2-day event starts Wednesday evening with the offical seasoning of the turkeys with Tony Chacheros. There is chili, vegetable soup, desserts and drinks...something for everyone! Thanksgiving morning gets started early, around 7 am, and the turkey frying commences. We normally get to the Robinson's around mid-morning to pick up our turkey. The whole event is a great opportunity for me to catch up with old friends. I'm happy to announce that Porter has attended every year and his brother is definitely following in his footsteps!! Grampa Bud with the host, Bill Robinson
18 years of fun!!

Timing each turkey is very serious business, and Craig was "honored" with this role. Keeping track of 63 turkeys cooking for 3.1 minutes per pound is hard math...thank goodness for the fancy time board!

Tyler...attending his 7th fry!!!

Mimi and Porter

Me with my sister Jen and "sister" Sara

ACK!!!!

This week started out with a crash...of our computer! Actually, it was our motherboard, but needless to say I've been without the internet since Sunday night. Thankfully, I've been able to check emails with the help of Craig's Blackberry, but I have definitely felt unconnected. After we discovered it would cost almost as much to fix the stupid thing as to buy another, Craig brought his computer home from work, and we're planning to go shopping for a NEW LAPTOP on Black Friday.

Bowman also went through his 3-week growth spurt. I honestly don't remember these times bring quite so obvious with Porter...Of course, Porter was always willing to take a pacifier, so I was always able to hold him off just a little longer. Bowman has pretty much rejected the idea of a binky. He almost always gets irate when we offer it, and when he does finally take it we're lucky if it pacifies him for more than 5 minutes. That being said, there has been an awful lot of nursing this week, but luckily only 1 night was affected. His longest stretch is still about 3 1/2 hours...what can I say? My son does not like to miss a meal!!

Our final challenge this week has been an attempt to introduce Bowman to the occasional bottle. We have a lot of family festivities next week and I'm chairing one of the committees for Holiday Market, so these next few weeks are going to be CRAZY! For the last 2 nights, Bowman has not only rejected the bottle but had a complete meltdown whenever it was attempted. I know this is frustrating for Craig, but I commend him for continuing to try. Again, Porter had no trouble switching from the breast to the bottle...guess my boys are going to be more different than I'd imagined!! Looks like a trip to the store for a variety of bottles is on the agenda for the weekend!

Playing in the Leaves

The Fall always means one thing...LOTS OF LEAVES!! Yesterday, Craig and Porter attempted to uncover our driveway and grass. With the help of his new broom (purchased by Mimi,) Porter helped Daddy push a few leaves around. I actually think Porter had more fun PLAYING in the leaves...do you blame him??

Working in the yard!

Helping Daddy scoop up leaves

Bowman -- 3 weeks

It's hard to believe almost 3 weeks has passed since Bowman arrived. Things continue to go well, and we are all becoming adjusted to a 2-child household. Bowman is still sleeping well; his longest stretch is about 3 1/2 hours at night, but I am always comforted with the fact that he goes right back to sleep after nursing. He continues to be a pretty mellow baby -- truly only fusses when he's hungry. And his cry is so quiet...even Jennifer Robinson commented on that fact when we met her for lunch. Bowman loves to curl up when he sleeps...he definitely enjoys being cozy. He takes great naps on his tummy which I always reserve for couch time!
Bowman's 0-3 month clothes are starting to fit better...I'm sure he'll be filling them out before we know it. I'm sure he weighs well over 9 pounds by now; unfortunately, no weight checks for at least another month!

Hanging out in his Boppy!!

Doctor Visit

Bowman had his first visit with Dr. Cabiness today, and I'm happy to say everything went very well. Bowman has definitely bulked up, weighing in at 8 lbs, 10 oz. His heart, lungs, etc all checked out, and Dr. Cabiness was fine not seeing him again until he's 8 weeks old. He asked about Porter, and was pleased to discover how well he was responding to his brother. The only "issue" was Bowman's blocked tear duct, but we went through the same thing with Porter so we know the drill. Hopefully, that will clear up in no time and we won't have to resort to the erythromycin ointment -- ick! Bowman responded well to his checkup...he hardly shed a tear! Hopefully the winter months won't mean sick little boys. Only time will tell...

Bowman: 1 Week Old

It's hard to believe one week has already gone by! Time is flying, and we all seem to be adjusting well to this new addition. Porter is very fond of his brother, and often has to run up to give him a little pat or simply shout out, "Hello Baby Bo!" Bowman is sleeping fairly well. He normally has one 4-hour stretch at night, and then gets up every 2 - 2 1/2 hours. When he does wake up, he nurses for about 20 minutes and then immediately goes back to sleep. I keep waiting for that "up all night" night to come; knock on wood, our son LOVES his sleep!! Hopefully this trend will continue. This picture makes me hope my boys do grow up to be the best of friends!!!!

Meeting Grampa Bud

Introducing Bowman

These last few days have gone by FAST...it's hard to believe Bowman will be a week old on Tuesday! Last Tuesday, Craig and I got to the hospital at 5am. After almost 9 hours of labor (that included an epidural that wore off 30 minutes before he was born!) we finally got meet the newest member of the Rummel family. He measures only slightly larger than his big brother, and we look forward to watching them grow up together. So far, things have run relatively smooth; I'm still waiting for that "REALLY BAD NIGHT." Hopefully it will never come! Getting snuggles from daddy!
Happy but tired...it's already been a long day!

Meeting Pop-Pop

Getting ready to go home!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

With the birth of Bowman, we were a little behind on the Halloween celebrations, including carving a pumpkin. So, when Porter got home from school on Friday, he and Craig sat down to create a masterpiece! Porter was excited about finally carving his "pump." He eagerly waited at the table while we gathered all the necessary supplies.



Of course, when he saw what was INSIDE the pumpkin, he wasn't all that thrilled...

He really enjoyed pulling out each piece of the pumpkin as Craig cut them...but he enjoyed putting them back even more!

Mommy's Little Pumpkin