Thankful!

I am always so thankful for many things, and wanted to list a few before I show the pictures of my little butterball turkey :)

I am incredibly thankful for my husband, Tim.  He cooks dinner for us if I need help, helps vacuum, changes diapers, feeds Jack, takes Riley to school, reads the Bible to him every night, is a wonderful spiritual leader for our family, treats me like a queen, is thoughtful, warm, loving...it goes on and on!  I'm thankful for Riley because he always makes me smile!  He is smart, sweet, loving, helpful with his baby brother, very protective of Jack, makes wonderful grades, is very polite, always says yes ma'am & no ma'am to his teachers, plays hard and has fun all day long!  I am so blessed to have 2 wonderful sons and even though I thought I wanted a baby girl, I'm so glad I have two boys.  Rough and tumble, rowdy, dirty boys. (I'm also thankful for having NO MORE babies - I miss my sleep, lol). I'm thankful for my parents because they raised me to be the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc. that I can be.  Also, they treat Tim like he is a real part of the family and has from day one - he thinks of them as blood family, not just "the in-laws!", they are always there with support for us, and let us live our own lives.  I'm also thankful for my church and church family, my many wonderful friends, our home, our vehicle, the food we have to eat, the fact that Tim works so hard to provide for us so I don't have to work, Jesus, because without him there is no chance for any of us to get to heaven, my extended family (especially my amazing Memaw), my health, my families health, and my brother, who is one of mine and Tim's best friends - he is always good for a laugh and is SO, SO good to both of his nephews!  I'm thankful for so much more, but this seems long enough already :)

Last weekend my parents came and stayed Sat. night with us and we went on the bayou tour.

I am SO in love with Jack's overalls and matching hats...he reminds me of a little 50's newspaper delivery boy :)

My little butterball turkey!

Riley and Mamaw before our yummy Thanksgiving lunch

I LOVE his turkey britches!

My Mom and hers - my Memaw

Tim, Jack, me...

...and Riley - he wanted his own picture!

4 Months Old!

I can't hardly believe Jack is already 4 months old...at 4:52 this afternoon!  He is such a sweet, good natured baby, smiling all day and talking to me.  He's getting to be such a big boy, trying to sit up if he's laying down, scooting all over the place, and if he's on his tummy he will push his whole bottom half into the air!  He has been rolling over for about a month now.  I love when I come into his room in the mornings and he's laying on his back looking up at me, always with a big gummy grin on his face!  He talks all the time now, he's hardly ever quite anymore and when he gets mad at me sometimes it sounds like a little MA sound is coming out.  I don't want him to grow up too fast, but I can't wait until he says mama for the first time!  He loves his big brother so much, when he sees Riley he can't stop smiling and he talks up a storm.  He normally has his last bottle any time between 8 and 10, just depending on when he's eaten that day, so he still gets up around 4 or 5 some nights, but he has also slept until 7 in the morning.  I can't wait until he's sleeping all night long, I don't remember what a good nights rest feels like!  He loves to swing, sit in his Bumbo and watch me cook, go for walks in his stroller (he loves to be outside) and sit propped up on our legs and talk to us.  His favorite noise is the "dove sound" and likes hearing me and Dad make that sound, and he always makes it back.  That was Riley's favorite sound too!  He has made our lives complete and we love every minute of being Jack's Mommy and Daddy - even at 4 in the morning!

He has the sweetest gummy grin I've ever seen!

And he loves his swing...for about 10 minutes.

I love this look - like a deer caught in the headlights!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I'm not too crazy about this maroon business, but Daddy loves it!

I know I'm a week (and a couple of days) early, but I probably won't be posting again until after all the festivities are over.  We went to a play at the high school last night (The Music Man), a couple of our youth group were in it, and it was a lot of fun!  Danny and Tanner did a great job, Danny was the male lead and Tanner was the only one from the middle school choir who had a speaking part, so we were so proud of them both!  About 1/3 of our members were there, and half of them weren't even related to the two guys...these are such great people!

Saturday afternoon my parents are heading here and we're taking Riley on the little bayou tour then they're going to stay the night with us and hear Tim preach on Sunday morning...we're all really looking forward to their visit!  After lunch on Sunday the littlest boys and I are going home with them to spend all of Thanksgiving week and Tim will be heading there after Wednesday night church.  Thanksgiving day we will get to see all of my Mom's family and it's always so much fun when we're all together!  That weekend Tim has got something planned for me - I keep asking, hoping he'll forget and answer me, but he never does :)  Whatever it is, I know it will be a lot of fun and I'm really excited about it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and a safe holiday!
Love, The Campbell Family

TO: Mamaw and Papaw

Dear Mamaw and Papaw,
     We love you so much!  And not just because you buy us stuff and take us places.  Even though we really like going to Atwood's and Taco Casa and Wal-Mart.  We love you because you treat us both super special, give us both our own attention and you never play favorites.  We know you love us more than anyone else (except for my Mom and Dad) and we think you're the best grandparents that any kids could over have.  We love you!
Love, Riley and Jack

Mamaw with Jack the day after he was born.

Papaw with Jack, also the day after he was born.

Mamaw with Riley on the last day of Kindergarten.

With Papaw outside one of their rental properties.

What is it about baby boys in overalls? (Thanks for those Mamaw!)

The two most beautiful Campbell boys ever!

And just because this is hilarious:  This is where Jack started out...

...and this is where he ended up!

Happy Halloween

We have all had such a great time for Halloween this year!  This is the first time we've lived somewhere where it was feasible to trick or treat, apartment complexes aren't great for that.  First, we went to the Fall Festival that was downtown in the historic district.  They had a cake walk, trunk or treating, face painting, free food, a little "train ride" and games with prizes.  Riley had a wonderful time, and the rest of us did too.  Once it cooled off a little more we headed back downtown to trick or treat with friends from church and their little boy and they had the best time.  Riley got a pumpkin full of candy (no candy corn though, so I was disappointed!) and even won a cake on the cake walk.  He declared it the best Halloween ever!

Marshal Deadwood

Howdy pardner

Mom with her little Marshal

She cackled, stirred in her cauldron and talked - he thought it was very cool.

He was totally in character and so funny!

Boo Bones

And Mom with her sweet little skeleton!

On a totally different not, I finally saw Jack roll over! He's been doing it for almost 3 weeks now and was such a stinker. Any time I tried to record it, or even watch, he would play possum and just lay there like he couldn't do it. I still can't get him to let me record it, but at least I finally saw. And he is also laughing now, but he won't do it very often. Mostly he just laughs at his ceiling fan :)

This just makes my whole day!