Robertson Family Visit/ James Blessing

So I have some serious blog catching up to do!

Scott's parents were able to come out in October to escort an old friend around Boston.  I believe they all had a wonderful time and it was great to be able to see everyone again!

We had dinner at the Colonial Inn in Concord.  Kind of a funny place.  Lots of weird ghost stories, etc. Perhaps not as funny as the people in the picture.

We also walked part of the freedom trail.  

 And Alan is always thrilled to stop by the playground at Frog Pond.

The old state house is in the background, surrounded by the new... everything.

We were also able to bless James when Scott's parents were here and my dad was able to fly up as well for the weekend too.  It was a beautiful blessing and we we were so grateful to be surrounded by family who all love this little guy a lot!

The man of the hour, on his way to church.

And that is a pretty great group of guys. :)

Thanks to everyone who was able to be there on our special day. 

Foulk Family Columbus Day Visit

So it's a little delayed, but here are a few pictures from my family's most recent trip up here last month. They had a 3 day weekend around Columbus Day, so they graciously came up for a little visit, and we had a blast! Our blog thanks Mom and Megan, as they took most of these pictures!

Jamesy loved to chew on this little toy when we dangled it over him.

On Saturday we took a tour of the Louisa May Alcott House where Little Women was set.  It was so fun and the stories about the Alcott family were incredible.  Surprisingly our boys were pretty dang good on the tour as well.

Also in Concord we visited the North Bridge and posed next to this British Soldier.   The feather on the hat was a hit as well.

Grandma and Baby James

And these two like each other a little bit I think.

Partial family pic on a pretty little path at the North Bridge.

After the North Bridge we went to the South Bridge to rent some canoes!

And we took off down the river!

...

...

To the North Bridge again! 

Evan's victory pose.  Too bad we were only half way, and we  had to go upstream on the way back. :)

It was a beautiful trip, and I'd highly recommend it.  (Grandma stayed with James)

Meg celebrated her birthday up here as well.

Which was a major hit, because Alan is now obsessed with birthdays.   It's amazing the difference 6 months can make.

Uncle Nate and Baby James

Alan and Grandma made some Halloween cupcakes

And decorated some Halloween bowls

And decorated the cupcakes!  So fun.

Megan, Nathan, Dad and Scott got to go to the temple and do some family file Baptisms and Confirmations as well.

And this picture says it all. 

Halloween 2011

Well, Alan is finally old enough to understand what is going on in the world around him and it made for a very fun Halloween this year.  He really enjoyed the whole season and we had a fun time right along with him.  Here are some highlights from the last week in October. :)

Decorating his pumpkin cookie at playgroup

We were supposed to have a trunk or treat at the church which was canceled because of snow.  So instead we had a smashing pumpkin party!  (without any actual smashing)  We made a paper jack-o-lantern...

And a real jack-o-lantern.  And ate lots of candy and pumpkin seeds and played some other games.  Luckily Alan didn't really know about the trunk or treat, so he wasn't too disappointed. 

This is Baby Jack.  When I went to put a candle in the pumpkin, it reminded Alan of birthdays, and he felt that we needed to sing happy birthday to someone.  Since we are lacking in October birthdays, I suggested we might sing to the pumpkin, as it was his birthday, but he needed a name.  After much deliberation, Alan couldn't quite think of a name for our pumpkin.  I suggested Jack.  The reply: "No, BABY Jack."  So Baby Jack it was, and happy birthday to him. (It was a little traumatic when the trash truck took Baby Jack away...but after some consoling, we're looking forward to reuniting with him next year.)  

Our little Lion and Tiger on Halloween night.

Ready to go Trick or Treating!  Alan however thinks we ought to say "Pick a Treat" instead of "Trick or Treat."   I might kind of agree.

Baby James and Mom only went to our neighbor's house.  Then this pair set off to do more of the neighborhood. 

And as long as there weren't too many masks around, Alan had a blast.

And James had a blast at home. :)

Alan is thrilled with all of his candy, which mom is finding convenient to use as bribes for chores.  His room has never been so clean. :) 

And if you want the full experience, you can get a taste for it in the clips below...

First Snow!

Well, we got our first dusting of snow.  We were sitting on the couch late last night when we heard our neighbor call "It's snowing!"  Unbelievable.  I cannot believe it is winter already.

A little managed to stick to the ground and stay the night, and someone was mildly excited about it this morning.  He's been dying to wear his new coat, which I told him we would only wear once it started snowing.  So even before breakfast he went out exploring.  Immediately and instinctively picked up a little chunk of snow and threw it as hard as he could into the neighbor's yard.  All boy.  Fun times ahead. :)

A Little Spidery Craft

So I decided to post this because it was the practically the quickest and easiest craft we have ever done, and I think they're pretty cute, and Alan loves them.  So if you're looking for a boredom buster on these cold rainy days (at least here!) before Halloween, here you go!  We don't even usually do anything this industrious, but I figured you can't go wrong with old lids. :)  Happy Halloween!

I am the 99%

Hi, my name is Baby James, and I'm in the 99(th) percent(ile)... for weight and head circumference that is.  My height is lagging behind and I'm only in the 94th percentile.  I'm quite content to occupy my mama's arms, and I don't really understand what corporate greed is.  You wish you had my life, right?

Matchy Match

We are so lucky that some very nice people buy our boys cute matching clothing so that I can take pictures like these...

And if you really want to see some cute pictures of our boys in matching clothes you should check out our family photos on these links:
http://photographychristybrown.blogspot.com/2011/10/robertson-family.html
http://photographychristybrown.blogspot.com/2011/10/baby-james.html

Sometimes I turn around and look at my baby and swear I've seen that face before...

Can you tell who's who??

Like father, like son.

Like father, like son. (take 2)

And I just love James' face in this picture. We all wonder what that kid under the sheets is up to most of the time.  :)