~ps- Hello to Amy at YNH! Get well soon!!
Jon my my old roomate and I crossing the harbor 
The view of the Cooper River bridge from the backside of Sullivans Island.
Elizabeth and Sloan
All the grandchildren... together!
Today we had a snow and sleet storm that caused the John Deere with snow plow to make it's season debut. We bundled up Ike and he got to be a 'Daddy's helper'- he would have stayed out there until he was frozen- he totally pitched a fit when I brought him in the house. We are supposed to get a big Noreaster this weekend with more snow!
The one bummer was we were supposed to do a Polar Express train ride tonight with a big group of friends on the Essex Steam Train but due to the weather we will have to try again next year.
This weekend we decked the halls here on Podunk. On Saturday, we went for our annual hunt for a Fraser Fir. A little history on the tree hunt... down South we always went to tree lots and bought Fraser Firs which I think grow mainly in NC. It is the only tree I will have in my house- nice soft needles, super fragrent and beautiful deep green. When we moved up here I was excited to find out that tree farms do plant Fraser Firs but not many so thus the reason it can be a bit of a "hunt". This year we returned to Christmas Hill Farm in North Guilford up by the cabin that Harcourt and I lived in while we were dating. 
Kyle & Bing picked up their new baby today... a Golden Retriever puppy and she is adorable! Her name is pending but I think they are leaning towards McKenzie. We went over this afternoon for a meet and greet and she was excited to see Ike as he is just her size. I think they are going to be great buddies and she has already found Ike's toy stash at Kyle's house. There is nothing better than a fuzzy little puppy!
Oh I love my Uncle Dean! Dean came into visit for the weekend and we had a blast!
Ike showing off his new bookcase from Auntie Kelly & Kolleen- THANKS!We took Ike to the pediatrician today for his 1 yr check-up and he is doing great! Unlike his mother (I was so small I was never on the stupid charts!), he is nicely riding the "curve" on the growth chart. He wasn't too happy about the 4 shots. In our dr office, the dr gives the shots and he is so funny that as soon as the last shot was done he started juggling tennis balls to distract Ike from the pain- got to love it!
On Ike's birthday we had a super fun family celebration. Mom & Dad, Kyle, Bing & Robert and Maggie (she is a part of our family and Ike's best buddy) all came over to celebrate. Ike got in a good afternoon nap so he thoroughly enjoyed himself :-) The day was a bit emotional for me to realize we made it through the first year of our first child. In some ways, it was a long year.... and in other ways it is mind boggling to think he was a newborn a year ago and now he is walking and looks like a little boy. We are very lucky to have a happy and healthy son and we look forward to the next year! Click here for more pics.
Ashley Fitton made Ike a very cute custom "1" shirt for the big day- thanks Ashley!
Ike's best friend... Maggie!
Wearing his crown that Ms. Terry made for him at school- he loved it!
The gang!
The only time he cried all night was when we gave him the opportunity to "play" with an angel food cake... maybe a cupcake would have been better!
