For Momma G and Grandpa

Josiah loves the book "Thank You God for Everything". He loves it because it's his Momma G and Grandpa reading to him (well done hallmark). Every time he opens it he smiles real big and then smiles again when he hears their voices. He thinks that if he pushes the button he'll keep hearing their voices, so that's what he's doing here. I had to open and close it again and again because the first page is his favorite. He LOVES his grandparents! And look at how adorable that smile is!! He uses his whole face!

This is how Josiah eats

What Josiah did today

And here's what he did with the seeds

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch today. It was Layla's first outing (other than the doctor, but that's no fun). We had a really good time. Josiah and Chris went on a little train ride, they pet goats, and we tried to take a family picture unsuccessfully. Here are some pictures from our adventure. Note: Josiah does not like to pose for pictures and when he sees you taking a picture of him he usually frowns or makes an angry face, so these are the best ones we got.

My little 12th Man

 Yes, he did lick the horse apple. Gross.

 This is what Layla did the entire time. Notice her Aggie onesie, compliments of Aunt Elyse and Uncle Carter.

 Daddy and Josiah

 Mommy and Josiah. I am wearing maroon in support of my winning Ags!

 This pumpkin took 1st place. It weighed over 1,000 pounds.

 A pumpkin for Josiah

 Looking at a flying witch

 Yes, I am jealous of my son's eyelashes.

My babies

First, let me just say how awesome Layla is. She is such an easy baby. She still only cries when she's hungry or wants her paci, and only sometimes when she's getting her diaper changed. I am very thankful for all of this. I was so afraid she was going to be colic because so many of my friends have dealt with that recently. I'm so grateful she's not. She is very aware of what's going on around her. She has a lot of awake time with her beautiful blue eyes wide open. She is happy anywhere we put her. We try and put her in her crib before she falls asleep (per our docs orders) to let her get used to putting herself down instead of one of us rocking her to sleep. We rocked Josiah to sleep or let him fall asleep on us for the first 4 months of his life and that was a hard habit to break, so I'm glad from day one (more like five) we've done the opposite with Layla.
The girl can eat! She eats for a good 35-45 minutes just under every 3 hours. I feel like all I do is feed her. I feel sorry for Josiah sometimes because I spend so much time with Layla, but he doesn't seem to mind. He just plops down on the ground in front of us and plays with his cars while watching Cars. Only sometimes does he get his feelings hurt that I'm not paying attention to him as much as I used to. He really is adjusting well to having a sister. He wants to kiss her, tickle her, rub her head and hold her whenever he remembers she is around. It's really sweet. And when she's in her nap nanny (BEST invention ever!) and loses her paci, he looks at me, says "oh no", finds it and gently puts it back in her mouth. And when she's upstairs sleeping then wakes up crying to eat, he runs to the bottom of the stairs, says "oh no" and continues to say that until I've brought her downstairs. He is such a good big brother! I can't wait to see how else he takes care of her.

Alone...

My mom leaves to go back to Dallas today. I am very sad by this. She has been such an amazing help since she got here on the 24th. I literally don't know what I'm going to do without her. She's taken care of Josiah while I've slept and fed Layla. She's held Layla while I've played with Josiah. She's cooked us dinner every night, cleaned the house, did the laundry, distracted Josiah from being too aggressive with Layla, etc, etc, etc. I know I will figure things out when she's gone (I don't have a choice), but it's been so nice having her here.
Our support system in Nashville is very lacking. No family, few friends and even fewer friends who are willing to drive to La Vergne to hang out with us (for those of you that do, we thank you). Chris and I did everything we could the first 2 years to find community and a strong support system, but fell very short. Nothing to compares to the relationships we have in Dallas and the friends that treat us like family and the family that drops everything to come out here when we need them. We're coming to Dallas for Christmas and I can't wait to get my kids together with some of the best people I know.
I wish there were more hours in the day. I wish Chris could get home from work and spent lots of time with both babies. I am very thankful he works so hard for us all the time so I can stay home with my kids for 12 weeks, then only work 2 days a week. I can't imagine being away from these adorable babies five days a week. I don't know how he does it... or any dad does it for that matter. We love you, Chris, and don't know what we would do without you.

My beauty