family fun and war eagle anyway

we went over to my aunt (Dad's sister) and uncle's in newnan for thanksgiving - great times! we had everyone there but one cousin and his family. this is great considering there are 15 people in my immediate family and 12 people in my aunt's immediate family.

the butlers - love Trip's expression in this picture!
the Edmondson family (minus spouses and children)

uncle brock getting some good henry time

mom/dad with my aunt and uncle. by the way, the newnan cougars won again this past Friday night! they are now in the Georgia state semi-finals. their defense has set the new record in the state of GA among all classes in fewest points allowed in a season. Uncle Bob got his 301st win this past week. Go Cougars! So exciting.

henry loved the swing!

and now to the Iron Bowl . . . the next two pictures are from last year's Iron Bowl . . . Gary wears his orange bathrobe to our tailgate every time we play Bama at home. Last year he got up on the RV and waved the Auburn flag (yes, he was stone sober) to get fans fired up about the game.

this year he figured Auburn needed all the luck we could get so he wore his robe again and got on top of our house with our War Eagle banner. I need to point out that it was pouring down rain and I was the only person outside. gotta love his enthusiasm and team spirit!

he tried to make Henry a matching orange robe . . . we tried to use an old one from my sister (that was pink) and dye/paint it. as you can see, we came up WAY short. seemed fitting given the outcome of the game . . . it's still great to be an Auburn Tiger though.

henry did not like Satan's, I mean Saban's, time out call before halftime. why does NCAA allow timeouts to be called from the sideline?!? ludicrous.

happy thanksgiving!

the list is quite long of things for which gary and I are thankful . . . to highlight just a few:

a gracious and giving God; a healthy family and extended family; an unconditionally loving family, friends and four legged children; jobs that provide for our needs; and a country that, despite its economic and political turmoil, is still an amazing place to live. there are many more but I won't bore you - we hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and safe travels to those on the road or in the air. for those family members we won't see, we miss you!

bricks is thankful for pillows to curl up on each day
henry enjoyed his first wagon ride today

when he really gets excited, he sticks out his tongue-it is too cute!

henry's week o' fun - from henry himself

my mum is off of work this week (my sitter has gone home for the holiday, so they tell me, and mum had a few vacation days she needed to use before year end), so mummy is all mine! we are having a wonderful time so far.

my to-do list includes:

• kicking back and drinking a B in the pack and play and listening to some Willie Nelson quality dog torture time (savannah so badly wants one of his rubber duckies!)
  
• strange soapy hairdos
  
  

  splashing in the tub
  
  

  swimming in the tub
  
  

  catching back up on eating (haven't felt much like eating since I was sick until yesterday).

  • trying some new foods: papaya, tilapia, yogurt . . . all yummy (not together in case you just went "yuck-o!")!
  • looking at all the colorful items at Hobby Lobby (mummy is catching up on my scrapbook and getting Christmas presents wrapped). I also like to wave and smile at people at the store-they tell me I'm cute so I keep doing it over and over again.
  • laughing at mummy for trying to do some crazy things with our kitchen/dining furniture . . . like re-arranging them. doesn't she realize that there is not enough room to move things around?! she's not the brightest.
  • playing lots of hide and seek games with mummy . . . I'm getting better at finding her now that I'm a speedy army crawler
  • splashing in the dog's water bowl - one of my favorite past times! when I do this I hear the word "no" come out of my mum's mouth. now what is that supposed to mean?
  • going on walks in my stroller
  • helping mummy cook my food and cook for turkey day . . . I am mesmerized by the food processor.
  • helping mummy clean and vacuum . . . I am even more mesmerized by the vacuum. my mum feels the need to run the vacuum many times a week-I think she thinks there is a lot of dog hair on the floor. looks like to me the dogs have all their hair on their bodies, so I'm not sure what she is thinking.
  • taking lunch to daddy at work
  • seeing my crazy cousin's thanksgiving program at her school . . . she is a really good singer!
  • swinging at Felton Little Park
  • trying to find/make a complimentary outfit to my daddy's game day attire for the Iron Bowl (explanation forthcoming)
  • having thanksgiving with the Herring family - let me add that the Newnan Cougars are still undefeated, have made it to round 3 of the playoffs, and have 8, yes 8, shut outs this season! it's couga' time!
  • I'm sure I could think of some more to-dos for the list, but I had better get back to sleep before my parents realize what I'm doing. night night.
    
    
    
    
    

  
  

back in black! actually brown, or gray, or snowman jammies

Henry's fever finally broke on Friday afternoon. Yea! He is still coughing and congested, but his demeanor is back to happy henry and no recurrence of the fever. He enjoyed getting outside for a walk in the fresh air . . .

. . . bundled up in his snuggly and warm coat from aunt deirdre. thanks again d!

we all wore our green this past Saturday in hopes of a Spartan "w" - unfortunately, it did not work.

thanks to gary's mom for henry's doggie longall - too cute.

thanks to aunt shannon for the classic snowman jammies!

one of my biggest pet peeves is not celebrating each holiday at its own time (like stores selling halloween stuff in July, people putting up their christmas decorations after halloween, etc.). I feel like our society just rushes through everything and each day is not celebrated for what it is. so, the snowman jommers are an example of this, but my reason for dressing him in "pre-holiday attire" is that it was pretty darn cold this past weekend and those are the warmest jommers he has. :)

pulling bricks' tail - he's always a good sport.

and our final shout out of thanks goes to aunt allison for the cashmere sweater outfit. it looked so cute on him! as you can see, he is "popping" out of it. ha!

still under the weather

no progress for H man - still sick. his cough seems to be a little worse today, so much so that he got to coughing so hard during his morning feeding that he threw up his milk. gary is at home with him today so I could come in to work. still running a fever. poor muffin.

ten months old and a few updates

Mr. H reached the ten month mark last week. To celebrate, I bought him some new pajamas that were irresistibly adorable. I love these pictures! might be some of my all time favorites. these pics were taken prior to . . .

him getting sick. poor little guy started running a fever on Monday, accompanied by a runny nose and deep, sad sounding cough. this is Henry's first time to be sick . . . we are so grateful and fortunate that he has been spared any illness the first ten months of his life. it is so pitiful to see your child miserable! breaks my heart and this is just a little virus. henry and I are . . .
at home today, as his sickness has gotten worse. for the last 10 days or so, Henry has had trouble sleeping at night. some nights up all night, other nights up for just a bit. we attributed this to his first tooth coming in . . . have heard of people having no issues with teething and others whose children had a really rough couple of weeks. over the weekend he slept pretty well, almost back to his normal self, but last night he had the worst night he has had in a long while. his congestion/virus just had him completely unsettled. how helpless a mother feels at times!


the doctor said give him 3 days for the fever to run its course and another week or so for the congestion/cough to clear up. here's hoping my sweet baby is on the mend soon.

steelers gear and some new kicks

ray and jan . . . henry was waving his terrible towel on Sunday! go steelers!

my sister here in Auburn has so nicely saved many things for henry (and future Vaughan children) from her children. I can't tell you how wonderful she has been to us and to our son in so many, many ways. one of the items she passed down was this pair of nike tennis shoes. what do you think about henry's new kicks?! funny!

UGA weekend

Gary's cousins from San Diego (the ones whose wedding we attended back in May) flew in for the weekend to visit and go to the UGA game. They are so much fun! We had the best time and wished they lived closer. I only took three pictures the whole weekend - shocker, I know.

brrrrr . . . tailgate was a chilly one. fried turkey and all the fixings. yum.
Gary's mom and Jon came down to visit too. It was a great weekend, even if Auburn came up short.

happy today

because we have some good news! two weeks ago savannah had two tumors removed. we received the results back (finally!) and both tumors were both benign. we are so thankful! savannah kept pestering with her stitches, so she ended up getting staples instead and had to wear one of those elizabethan collars for a while. but the staples are out, the crazy collar is off, and she has a clean bill of health and I am so happy!

bedtime at the vaughan house for all the kiddos . . .

and for the video of henry . . . he has become very good at the art of imitation. :)

Today is officially the "Friendliest Village on the Plains" Day!

please read press release below and Auburn fans everywhere, please remember to do one nice thing today for a visiting team's fan! WAR EAGLE!!!

Mayor Declares Saturday, November 8 "Friendliest Village on the Plains Day"
Auburn, Ala. - In support of the Lee County Auburn Club's Friendliest Village on the Plains (FVP) campaign, Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. has declared Saturday, November 8 to be "Friendliest Village on the Plains Day" in the City of Auburn.
The campaign began as a means to promote and encourage the hospitable and friendly Auburn spirit, specifically on football weekends. The program encourages Auburn fans to make visiting teams and their fans feel welcome in Auburn.
Mayor Ham commented, "One of the hallmarks of the Auburn Family is a spirited, but friendly competitive nature. I am delighted to recognize the efforts of the Lee County Auburn Club and encourage all Auburn citizens to take a few moments each game weekend to make our visiting fans feel welcome. I believe Auburn has some of the friendliest fans in the nation and I applaud the Lee County Auburn Club's efforts to make that known. War Eagle!"

Pictured (L-R): Nancy Carlton Bendinger, President, Lee County Auburn Club

Dr. Jay Gogue, President, Auburn University

Thomas Maple, Lee County Auburn Club

Lawrence Hamberlin, Lee County Auburn Club

Mayor Bill Ham, Jr., City of Auburn

Summer Vaughan, Treasurer, Lee County Auburn Club

friday laughs

we have two ottomans that have tops that come off and inside them we keep several of Henry's toys. he likes to stand and hold onto them while pulling toys out of each one. the other day he was reaching in to get a toy and the weight of his giant head made him topple over into the cube. now before you think "why would she leave him there to take a picture?" please understand that this whole process literally took not even a minute and little h did not stay head first in the ottoman for very long at all. I promise! it was really funny . . . he was not hurt or crying or anything of the sort.

he loves zwieback toasts and the complete mess that they make