Boys and their Quilts

Wanted to share these pics of the boys and their quilts. Jeff's Aunt Wanda is an avid and very talented quilter. She makes many quilts every year and donates them to military service people, children, and also cancer patients. She just sent us one for Greyson that is an adorable cowboy/texas theme. It is just perfect and we know he will love it for many years to come! Also in the pictures is Connor's quilt that she made for him when he was born...boys on their special handmade quilts from Aunt Wanda!!! These are priceless gifts!!! Thank you Aunt Wanda!!!

Family Photo Shoot in Blowing Rock

So we finally had our session with Jody G, our beloved photographer since Connor was born. She is magical the way she captures our family and in particular, our boys! I leave the sessions hoping we got at least 1 good one....and when I see the proofs, I am always blown away. I am in love with every picture!!! As far as location....Jody is willing to go to a location or your home. We have had the last few session in our home and I was wanting a change of pace. So we chose one of our favorite NC mountain towns as the scenic backdrop for our session. Blowing Rock holds many memories for us....and Bass Lake, well, it is just a beautiful lake surrounded by trees....and in the fall, these trees are in just about every shade of the rainbow! This was technically Greyson's 6 month pictures (a month late ;) and it is also the pictures we use for our annual holiday card. If you have never been to Blowing Rock, it is a MUST VISIT...so put it on your bucket list!
Above is a flier promoting Jody G with a few from our session. You can also find a sneak peak of our session with many more photos on Jody G's blog here, you might have to scroll down a bit to 10/22/2011:
http://jodygphotography.com/theblog/

Happy Halloween.....I mean, Moooooo and Oooo-Oooo Aaaaa-Aaaaa

What a fun holiday to share with kiddos...considering we haven't dressed up for Halloween in years....probably since college, even though I love a good costume party ;) It sure is more fun seeing your kids enjoy the fun of Halloween. We had been talking to Connor about it for months. Trying to come up with a cute costume idea.....i dabbled with making them a pair of something....or at least coordinating their costumes. Connor decided after much questioning, that he wanted to be Pooh Bear. Mind you, I am not sure the child really knows anything about Pooh Bear. Pooh is definitely not in the round of shows or movies that he watches....he had seen the trailer for the one that was just in the theaters but didn't see the movie. BUT despite all of this....I ordered him a Pooh Bear costume and thought Grey would look adorable as piglet, except that piglet is pink and he would be mistaken for a girl, so we decided on Tigger for him. When the Pooh costume arrived Connor was VERY reluctant to try it on. After a few bribes, nothing that a few m&ms can't solve, we got it on him. He looked like 32 pounds stuffed into a 5 pound bag. Lol....literally it was WAY too small....so I boxed that puppy up and sent it back. So much for the cute idea of coordinating them....I was so over it...saw an email from PB kids about sale costumes and free shipping, so I went on and decided right then, that Connor was going to be a cow. He likes cows....he sees them as we drive home on most days....he can do a really good "mooooo"....so I knew he would be thrilled. Once it arrived we had a replay of the above trying on scenario....so I knew what to expect....at least this one fit! Grey was getting a hand-me-down costume...Connor's first Halloween costume...a monkey. Figures! The child is always in hand-me downs :) So there it was...not nearly as cute and coordinated as I had thought I wanted....but it will be fine and they will never know or care anyways!
So this weekend we had 2 opportunities for dressing up. Our church hosted a Trunk or Treat on Friday night. We looked at this as Connor's practice...since he is new at this whole thing and we saw how trying on costumes went....we weren't sure how wearing it for an extended period of time was going to go. But once he saw Grey in his money suit....Connor was like, Game ON! Let's do this!!!! He was a champ....he rocked his cow outfit and even jingled the cow bell that Mrs. Cindy let us borrow. Trunk or Treat was a success....and Connor was happy to actually get some candy!!!! So Monday night, on Halloween, Connor did great again. Had a ball knocking on peoples doors and saying Trick or Treat. He was such a good big brother, getting 1 piece of candy for Greyson and then 1 piece of candy for Connor! Grey was, as always, a trooper. He didn't mind his little monkey suit. Thankfully it was chilly weather, otherwise these boys would have sweat in their heavy costumes!!
Long story....but hope you enjoyed it. Here are the pics of our Halloween weekend!



And a few short videos....the first 2 are from the Trunk or Treat in the church parking garage and the last is in front of our home.

Hanging with the Highlanders

Jenny, Josh, and Colton Highlander came to the QC for a fall weekend get away. The Highlanders live in Gainesville, FL home of the University of FL and the infamous FL Gators!! Jenny is a friend of mine from college, and also my little sister in Tri Delta! We have always been close, so this was a wonderful weekend that we had been talking about doing forever! Josh and Jeff get along great....probably because they have already bonded over our countless trips to Gainesville during football seasonsll! Colton, their almost 2 year old, and Connor became the best of friends immediately....if they weren't bickering about who's toy was whose :) they were laughing and chasing each other around. They were great, and really enjoyed each other's company. Connor asked for Colton for days after he had gone home. Other than a few snafu's along the way...a missing backpack (Josh, I swear it has to be hidden in this house some where :) and a bunk NC BBQ fest, we navigated nap schedules and peanut free snacks...and had the BEST time!! Since the HIghlanders are getting ready to be a family of 4 too (I'm sure they took notes from us, on what not to do) we were sure happy they made the trek!! Enjoy some pics of their visit!

Fall with Mimi and Papa

Fall is here...and it is absolutely my MOST favorite time to live in North Carolina. Changing leaves, cooler weather, pumpkins, (jeff would interject here and say "college football") and eating chili! Love it!!!
Mimi and Papa came to visit in mid October after their wonderful European cruise, since they had not seen the boys since August. We kept them busy with a long weekends worth of festivities.
The boys always love quality time with them! Enjoy some pictures from their visit!

Greyson's Half Birthday

Well I was waiting to do this post until we got Grey's professional pics done....but we had to put them off so I will post those when they are done!
So here is the lil munchkin at 6 months big! At his check up, the doctor said he was looking great. He weighed in at 17 pounds, 3 ounces which is at the 45th percentile. He was 27.5 inches long, which is in the 75th percentile. And his head circumference was in the 50th percentile. He is definitely NOT taking after his brother who always is in the 90 percentiles.
The doctor also told me he SHOULD be sleeping through the night...so no more shenanigans and after a few nights letting him recover from the shots, I didn't answer his early morning calls for food...and voila, a couple nights later he was sleeping straight through from 7:30-8 pm until 7 am. I am so thankful to finally have full nights sleep after 6 1/2 months!!!! I didn't have to let him "cry it out" it was more of a whine and whimper and when he realized I wasn't coming....he drifted back to sleep.
He is still not sitting up by himself...he sort of teeters and then falls on his side. He hates food almost as much as I hate feeding it to him :) No, he is really getting better, but he is not a chowhound by any means and spits out his food more than he swallows...and the doctor attributes that to his dairy intolerance...which he still has. He wants to grab anything and everything and put it in his mouth. I guess that is pretty typical. He can move himself around on his tummy to reach difference toys...but no crawling yet. Thank goodness! :) He still has his little curly q hair line which I couldn't help but take a picture of...as someday it will be gone from view, covered with hair!
Here are a few pics of my little photo shoot with him....

The End of Summer

Another month has gone by with no blog updates from us. I know...I know....it's not a surprise...so no excuses here, but let me catch you up. We thought September would be a quiet month around the Doehne house, but somehow we have stayed busy! I have been building a network of other stay at home mommies....and this has kept me very busy during the day. A few playdates a week here and there. But one big commitment I have become a part of is called Christian Mothers United (aka CMU). This group meets at our Davidson United Methodist church twice per month, with lots of other fun activities on the side. Again, I am trying to build more relationships around our children since that is what it is all about!
Connor and I took a trip to Columbia, SC to go to the Riverbanks Zoo and meet up with a sorority sister of mine that I haven't seen in over 10 years. We had a great time with Holly and her daughter, Estella. Greyson stayed home with Daddy and had some one on one time with him. This past weekend we all went to Spencer, NC to the transportation museum where they were holding A Day Out With Thomas. Connor had a blast, as he is very much into Thomas the Train right now. We rode on Thomas, we saw Sir Topham Hat, we rode on the Roundabout, and saw lots of other trains big and small. Greyson was a trooper too, always going with the flow. It was quite chilly....one of the first cold snaps of the fall season.
Here are some pics of the last month. Lots of fun things are planned for October, so check back soon!!!