Happy Thanksgiving

Some holidays are filled with grief, loss, remembering the past and what was....others are filled with delight in the moment and soaking up the joy of that gathering. As the baby of the family, I remember years of real sadness that the days of my siblings all being home for the holidays were coming the an end. This year was one of those rare years that was ALMOST perfect (just one sister and her family were missing). Rather than give you a written play-by-play, here is a visual summary.

 Family picture.

 BIG family picture...Byrds, Hartmans, Potts on Thanksgiving Day...more food than we could eat (3 turkeys), lounging in the sun on the front porch, throwing the football, watching football, and more eating.

 Friday we celebrate James turning 1 and Isaac turning 30! Isaac was delighted to celebrate his birthday with a one year old.

 Cake!!

 He squeezed it, threw it, and then devoured it.

 The Byrds, Brownlees, and Hannah made the trip over to celebrate with us. What a rare occasion to have both grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins around to celebrate such a milestone!

Lots of cousins around to play with....James is going to have a hard time this week with just me!

God has been so good to our family. As my grandfather often said..."look at all of these nice people, and they are all related to me!"

what a year

Well, this time last year, I was sleeping, reading, watching t.v. and pretty ready to get up and move. Today, I'd love to spend this rainy day sleeping, reading, and watching t.v. It's amazing how things change. 


I will admit there have been quite a few times in the last year when I've looked at Isaac and thought "what have we done..." such as when I was on magnesium, when I was on bed rest for way too long, when I was waking up every 2 hours with a crying infant, when James has been sick...okay you get the picture. 


But...


The other side of that are days when I think, how amazing to have this little person to enjoy, watch grow, laugh with and at, to cuddle, to bring such delight and joy, to get excited about things to come. 


Oh, I am loving this age. James is so curious. He thinks the strangest things are funny. He is a little wild! He makes our days quite exciting.


I'm tired most of the time; he is a busy man. But, let me tell you, it's a good kind of tired! 


So this Thanksgiving season, the Byrds have a lot to be thankful for....this month, we celebrate the birthdays of my two favorites, Isaac and James. More to come on that later. Isaac is really excited about celebrating his 30th with a 1 year old!

 At Parents' Day Out, James' class is making a scrap book and asked for a "family picture." I am now realizing that James' first year is mostly pictures of him ALONE. So, I'm resolving to get more family shots, if for no other reason, than to have one for his "class project."

This one at least has Isaac's legs...

Fall

Don't you love fall. The leaves changing color, pumpkins, hot chocolate (yes, even in the 60s). We have been soaking up fall here at the Byrd household. James and I spend most of our days outside. This boy loves being outdoors. I have decided that we will just continue to bundle up on pretty days, regardless of the temperature....we get along much better after a little fresh air.

In contrast to last fall, the last couple of months have gone by so quickly. James is growing and changing so much. He took his first steps recently, and I think will begin walking soon. It's amazing to see him begin learning and remembering things. He favorite activities include: putting things in and out, playing tug-of-war with George and his toys, pushing his riding toys, corralling a ball (thank you PTs for that term), putting his toys in very random places, and climbing on pillows on the bed. Most activities end in a loud bang and crying (yep, his head). At the moment he has ~3-4 bruises or red spots on his head. Poor guy...he's destined for the emergency room.

I need to upload some new pictures of this guy, but until then, here is some of my recent footage. James is scooping sand at "My Big Backyard."