Welcome Brandon

My nephew Brandon Taylor Young was born on Nov. 15th. He weighed 6lbs. 3oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. He entered this world with a rough start. After my sister, Becca had an emergency c-section Brandon was rushed off to the NICU because he was not breathing. Becca did not see Brandon until well into the second day. He was on oxygen for a few days, but now he is home with Becca and they are doing great. He is so tiny compared to my kiddos and looks so pitiful because he has a cast on each leg...he was born with severe clubfeet. My kid’s absolutely love Brandon. I can't wait for Becca to go back to work so I can watch this little guy. I am going to be his aunt and babysitter. I know we will be extremely busy around here, but I know I can handle it...with a lot of prayer being said of course.



Zachary loves his new cousin Brandon



Lindsay loves being a little Mommy



Nicholas looks so huge

Fall Fun!

Yesterday the kids played in a huge pile of leaves beside our house. Adam blew the leaves there about a week ago. We have been so busy with the birth of little Brandon and visiting with my Dad and Step-mom, Debbie, that he has not had a chance to bag them up yet. This was a huge blessing to the kids because all kids love to jump in leaves. We had a great time but had to cut it short because it was windy and a little chilly.



I love this picture of Zachary



Lindsay having a blast



All Nicholas wanted to do was eat the leaves

Bounce

Zachary loves playing the part of being a big brother. When Lindsay was old enough to sit in the doorway jumper Zachary would sit by her side helping her bounce.



Now Nicholas is old enough and Zachary again is sitting by his side helping him bounce.



The bouncer is in the same doorway, but you can see Adam's handy work. He put in hardwood floors and got a bigger TV.

Letting it out!

We have been using portrait innovations since Zachary turned one. We feel in love with them and think they take gorgeous pictures. We have never had a problem with them until we took Nicholas for his 3-month portrait. We had to wait for 2 hours until they could take his picture. I was starting to get frustrated because Nicholas was on the verge of a breakdown because he was so exhausted. Luckily, we got him to smile and he took a great picture that day, but we vowed that we would never return on a Saturday.

Now Nicholas is 6 months old and we went back to portrait innovations today (Friday early afternoon). We arrived and the parking lot was packed. I thought maybe it was packed because there are a few small restaurants next to portrait innovations and it was lunchtime. However, I walked into the studio and the waiting room was so full that I had a hard time finding a seat. Adam, my assertive husband, went to ask how long the wait was going to be. They told us an hour. Wait an hour, why did I schedule an appointment? I don't know why but they feel it appropriate to schedule appointments every 10 minutes. That is hardly enough time to set the room up. Needless to say we waited. During our wait Nicholas was starting to suck on his thumb. When he starts to suck on his thumb it is a good indicator that he wants to take a nap. Now I am starting to get nervous again. I just want a good picture. After the long wait we ended with a perfect picture but now we can't pick them up until tomorrow. Portrait innovations have their own printer in the studio and have same day pick up. Not today though.

Now Adam and I are wondering what to do for Nicholas' 9-month portrait and of course Lindsay and Zachary's birthday pictures. We only pay $26.00 for pictures for Adam’s family and mine. That is a steal! They take beautiful pictures and I love using them. However, we have young kids and it is risky to try to wait for an hour or two every time we need a picture taken. I guess we will worry about it when the time comes, but for now I just had to vent a little.

Zachary and election day

This morning Adam and I were getting ready so we could go and vote. Zachary, not use to waking up and going so early in the morning, asked Adam where we were going. Adam explained to Zachary that we were getting ready so we could go vote for a new president. Zachary said in a very exciting voice, "Yay we are going on a boat and we are going to get presents". It was so priceless!!! A three year old does not understand voting (boat) or a president (presents). Zachary was a little disappointed when we told him we weren't going to ride a boat or get presents today.

Halloween Fun!

Every year Adam and I attend the Fall Festival that our church provides as an alternative to trick or treating on Halloween. This year the kids had a BLAST!!! Zachary picked out Adam's dream costume...Jeff Gordon. I guess after watching his Daddy scream "GOO GORDON" every Sunday Zachary could not resist. Lindsay was the cutest little ladybug that you ever saw. She won second place for the best animal costume (there wasn't a bug category). Nicholas was the cutest little bear ever. If this costume looks familiar to some that is because it was Zachary's first costume. It was so cute on him I could not resist the temptation to let Nicholas wear it.



Our kids with their cousins Kayla and Jacob



Our little Jeff Gordon playing jug toss



Yes, folks Lindsay made this shot




Zachary on a horse



Lindsay just loved riding this little pony



Nicholas was too cute