November 2009

The boys can sometimes drive me crazy (like this past weekend), but the rest of the time they make up for it with their cuteness! Sam is SOOOOO talkative, he has the largest vocabulary! He tells me things in long sentences and can analyze and remember better than me sometimes! It's a good thing that Joseph and I are pretty smart cause he is going to give us a run for our money! I was giving Eli a bath (cause Sam likes to take showers now, so they don't take baths together anymore!!! I don't know of too many two year-olds that like showers) and I asked Sam to go tell Daddy "Get Mommy a towel". I thought that was a simple enough direction for him to follow. So he goes into the kitchen, tells Joseph to turn off the dust buster he was using and then says, "Daddy, Mommy said she needs a towel to dry off Eli!" Wow, we sure think he is smart!


Eli is trying to imitate his brother so he says "Bye", "Ba-ba" (bottle), "Dada" and "Momma" but it is so random I'm not sure if he is really naming things or just babbling. I think Eli will be like his brother in his physical development because if you offer Eli your fingers he pulls up and wants to walk!! Big Bro Sam walked at about 9 months so I'm guessing Eli might too! He already loves chasing Sam around the kitchen in his walker. Don't worry, I try not to compare them too much! Eli has definitely developed his own little personality and my goal is for him to feel like he can be himself and not just "Sam's little bro". Here are some pics of the boys horsing around! Enjoy! :)

Every once in a while I try to get the boys to sit still long enough for a pic...this is the best one out of about 10 even though Eli isn't smiling!!! I included some of the funny ones below that didn't turn out! haha
I have no idea what Sam is saying here!

I think Eli sneezed in this one! haha

This pic makes me wonder if this is what my Dad and his brother would be like if they had digital cameras back then and could take 50 millions pics!

Sam grabbed one of my "silly" magazines from the living room. (I say "silly" because it was one of those celebrity gossip/snooping magazines that my sis and I get every once in a while to read about what they think certain celebrities might be doing and we really love the pics that are so incredibly grainy you know they were taken at least a mile away with a huge telephoto lens!!!haha) Anyways, this is where we found him, hiding in his room, reading about Matthew McConaughey and his son! hahaha We thought it was pretty funny!

Georgia (and some South Carolina) Mountains

We drove up to Demorest, Toccoa, and Clayton, GA and even into South Carolina last weekend to see the leaves. I love the colors of fall and always relish the opportunity to ride through the mountains gazing at the changing leaves and usually listening to bluegrass. The only difference this time is that we were listening to the Eagles, and had two talkative (and sometimes fussy) kids in the back. We visited my grandparents and went to lunch. Then Joseph, me, Sam, Eli, Emily, my Uncle Clay, Aunt Pam and cousin Lauren all headed out to take a walk and go apple picking. We first went to "hike" (I use that term loosely since it wasn't really a hike) to see the falls. The water is usually clear but because of the rain it looked a little muddy. Then we went over to the Bryce Apple Orchard and had a great time.

I love Fall. But I think I love the change of the seasons the best. I know people (like my Dad) who would rather live in one type of weather. In his case, Summer all the time! Like on an island in the Caribbean in shorts on the sand. But me, I love the change, especially the change here in GA. I would be happy in GA, north AL, TN, SC or NC and maybe even KY cause they all have about the same weather. A mild winter, with a possibility of snow, a cool fall with beautiful changing leaves, a wet spring with flowers and a hot summer great for swimming! Thank you God for putting me in the South! I am fortunate to love where I live and can appreciate God's miracles in nature. Enjoy the pics!

Sampling the apples

Don't even ask what is up with my hair :(

The Clay Townsend Fam, complete with dog, Tebow!

Sam kept picking up the rotten ones and putting them in his bucket,

I guess it was easier than picking the ones from the trees!

The only decent family pic of the entire day!

The boys aren't looking and I look haggard...

It's sad that this was the best one! haha

Tebow stopped digging long enough for me to take pic :)

I think this is the Chatooga River (not sure though)

Aunt Em, Sam and Tebow

Getting ready to hike!

Pumpkin Patch

Went to the pumpkin patch yesterday. I needed a pumpkin for Sam's birthday party Saturday. Last year my sis, Jenny, carved Elmo for his b-day, and then I carved a Georgia "G" for our Church's trunk-or-treat. So this year, his b-day theme is Tractors. I'm going to attempt to carve something John Deere, we'll see what happens. Here are some pics from our pumpkin-scouting outing! We were the only ones there, but I think it was because it had rained all day and the smart ones stayed at home until everything dried out! Enjoy!

Daddy and Eli

Sam stood still for 2 seconds but never would look at the camera! haha

Sam and Eli

(we had to bribe Sam to stay in the wheel barrow with Eli!)

looking for a pumpkin

We are in Ft. Walton Beach, FL right now. Unfortunately it's rained off and on the entire week. Here are a few pics from the times the sun came out and we were able to get out and do stuff. My parents came over for a few days and Joseph's parents and aunt and uncle stayed in Navarre, FL. The beach pics are from the beach in front of their condo. The pics of the wharf/marina are from the restaurant Giuseppe's Wharf in Niceville, FL. We also visited the Air Force Armament Museum with my parents and I included pics from that, too. If we are able to get out and do anything else before we leave, I'll post some more pics! Enjoy :)

Labor Day

Sam, Eli and I recently visited my parents in Chatom, AL for Labor Day weekend. Although I didn't take a single picture, my mom did and sent them to me. Here they are...

Eli (Monthly Pics)

Eli is four and 1/2 months old! Who told him he could grow this fast? It sure wasn't me! He's doing a great job at sitting up in his bouncer and bumbo seat. He loves to lay on his tummy and pull his legs up under him so it won't be long until he's crawling! His favorite activites are playing in his walker and bouncer, but most of all watching Sam run around. We are convinced his first words will be "No, Sam!" haha He is so easy going that we take him everywhere. He is just one content and smiley little baby, especially when he can pull his legs up to suck on his toes!!! Here are some pics to show how much he's grown! :) Enjoy!

One Day old!

One Month old!

Two Months old!

Three Months Old

(we were in FL so I couldn't take a regular "chair" pic)

Four Months Old

Sam - housewife in training

We think Sam is sweet and smart, so I thought I'd share a story about what he did this morning. While I was feeding Eli, he went and found his Curious George doll and proceeded to "take care" of it. He first put it in Eli's bumbo seat and handed it a toy and told it to play. Then he picked George up looked at his "bomum" (bottom) and said "diaper change". Then my sweet little almost 2 yr. old laid the monkey on the floor lifted up it's legs and pretended to change it's diaper. At this point I'm envisioning the future where Sam babysits Eli and I just lay on the couch eating chocolate! haha Sam quickly destroys my dreams by bodyslamming George as he's laying there on the floor!!! Oh well! At least he tried! Fortunately George survived and was later told to sit in Daddy's chair while Sam counted his toes. Unfortunately, although Sam can count to ten with help, when trying to count by himself it comes out something like "one, two, one, two, one!" He sure is entertaining to have around! Plus, he already likes to help unload the dishwasher and cook so my "couch" dreams may one day come true! But I'm not getting my hopes up! :)

Here's a pic of him feeding his baby brother (He was extremely upset that Eli was in "his" highchair until I told him that he could help feed him!)

Here are some pics of my little chef

(of course you have to "taste test")

Look alikes

Everyone is always saying how either Sam and Eli look so much alike or how they look so different. They definitely look related but have different features as well. I decided to play with my Picasa some and do some comparisons. You can decide whether they look alike or different!!
I also included Eli's baby announcement that I made with Picasa.