Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a welcome break for us all this year!  John-Michael has been studying for a graduate certification called the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) since September 2011.  The exam was shortly before Thanksgiving, so it was nice to take a breather with a few days off from work! We enjoyed great food and fellowship and of course spending time with our cute little turkey! She wasn't too sure about mashed potatoes, but she sure loved sweet potato casserole!

Zoo Adventure

My parents were able to stay most of the day on Monday, so we took a trip to the zoo while JM was at work.  It was a lot of fun!  I had taken Ruth to the zoo once before, but she slept through the whole visit.  It was fun to try and get her to see the different animals this time around.  I'm not sure how much she actually noticed, but she was definitely trying to take it all in.

Ruth's favorite toy is Sophie the Giraffe, so this picture was a must!

Checking out the polar bear

We had fun at the sea lion show!

Pumpkin Patch

Well, it has been too long since I have updated our blog.  Sorry about that!!  I'll be playing "catch up" over the next couple of days.  Starting with my parents' visit to Memphis!  They came towards the end of October, and we had some great fall weather.  We spent the majority of time outside, even taking a trip to Priddy Farms in Bartlett.  They had a great little pumpkin patch with lots of places for photo ops!   They even had stations for kiddos to make their own scarecrows--very cute!  We look forward to taking Ruth back when she is a little older.  Who knows, maybe we'll make a yearly visit out of it!

Ruth was rather interested in the pumpkins on her dress...
This was one of the many tactics used to try and get her to look up for a picture!

She also enjoyed gnawing on the Ruth sized
pumpkins she could get her little hands on

Fall is in the air

Houston has two seasons... Summer and SUMMER. Memphis has much more of a seasonal change, and I have come to love Fall the most. Our dear friends, the Fernandez family, had us over for dinner a couple of weekends ago. Their boys built a fire pit in their backyard, and we had smores for dessert! Since that night, JM and I have gone into major Fall mode. He got us a fire pit, and we had our first fire the night he brought it home (with some spare wood from the Fernandez fam--thank you)! I am just loving the Fall weather and see the fire pit quickly turning into a weekend tradition!

Freidan thought the firewood was for him.

Getting it started!

Football!

Well it is official, I have been sucked into the football culture here in Memphis.  Growing up, it was never really a huge deal.  If it was on, great.  If not, I certainly didn't feel like I was missing anything.  That is definitely not the case in SEC country! Even JM's younger brother's high school football games include tailgating beforehand. It is SO fun and I love witnessing the rivalries that stem from so many SEC schools being close to Memphis. Ruth likes it too... we may have a future athlete on our hands--she is always enthralled when we are watching sports :)

Go Brothers!

Go Brothers!

She wouldn't even take her eyes off the game for a picture!

Checkin' out the game with Papa...
Two peas in a pod right there!

Saturday Mornings

Saturday mornings are a sweet time for our family.  We take a break from the busyness of the week and enjoy a big breakfast, coffee, and just being outside together! I have come to cherish these times and am looking forward to when Ruth is a little older and can enjoy it more with us! She certainly seems to love it now, though!

Baby Feet

We are all about the feet in this house. Actually, we're pretty much about anything we can get into our mouths. Within the past week, Ruth has mastered the art of getting her feet in her mouth. It's quite impressive!