Dinner with the Dyes

My apologies for the blog delay. We've had a busy 9 days on the road, and I didn't bring my USB cord. But now you get several days in a row of picture catch-up!

We're going to stay chronological! Before we left, we had Jonathan's Uncle Jim, Aunt Lois, and cousin Charles over for dinner. They live here in Birmingham, but we've been pitiful to wait this long to invite them over for dinner.

Charles is 13, and Josiah loved playing with him! We got to have a real, adult conversation, because he did such a good job entertaining him.

Uncle Jim had Josiah belly-laughing at the end of night. I can't remember what he was doing exactly, but Josiah thought it was hysterical.

Camp Dismukes

We went to the Internal Medicine picnic today, which is called Camp Dismukes. It was out at a 4-H camp far away, but it was nice to get out of the city for a bit.
Josiah chowed down some corn on the cob.

Handing to some gravel to this little boy. I think the gravel might have been his favorite part.

That's Jonathan in the outfield in the kickball game. He got two triples and a single. Way to go, sweetie!

Loving on Mrs. Erin's tummy. He always asks to see the baby that we tell him is inside.

Exploring the putt-putt course.

More Pictures from Atlanta

Here are some more pictures from our visit to Atlanta.

Pa was gone on a very long errand and came back with some new Thomas toys for Josiah. This is one spoiled grandchild (but very happy with his trains).

To his credit, Josiah came running to hug Pa before he knew there were gifts involved.

Uncle Ronnie practicing for his two upcoming grandsons.

Sitting inside the track.

Josiah loved chasing Smokey all around the house, saying "No, Cat." He was scared of Sandy, but attacked the poor cat.

Susan's Baby Shower

Last weekend, I got to attend a shower for my precious friend/family member Susan. She and my cousin Ryan are expecting a baby boy in early November.
Susan's coworkers Leann and Julie hosted this shower. Mom and I had planned to throw a shower for her a few weekends before, but had to cancel because of the death of my great Aunt Jean (We miss you!). Leann and Julie graciously let us "help" host this one too, though our contributions were minimal to this incredibly fabulous shower. No stone was left unturned!

(Above) Julie made this poem with a picture of Ryan as a baby and Uncle Ronnie. Everyone cried when they read it.
(Below) The place settings with china and chocolates.

The gift table with numbered gifts for baby bingo.

We wrote a message on the diaper to give Ryan and Susan a laugh when they were changing Baby Parker.

Loved this idea. They had laminated prayer cards, and each one had a bead attached. We went around and told what we would be praying for Susan about (i.e. "Susan would have a smooth recovery" "Baby Parker's salvation", etc.). We gave the bead to Suz to string together and kept the cards to remind us to pray.

The fabulous hostesses with the mama of honor (who looks amazing by the way!).

Susan with the Moms: her mom Bette on the left and mom-in-law Gail (my aunt) on the right

Mom, Susan and me

Getting the rundown on the amazing food:
Gorgonzola phyllo cups, Chocolate Chip Dip, Cucumber Party Sandwiches, Egg Gorgonzola and Pancetta sandwiches, Parmesan, Basil & Lemon Wafers, Chocolate Hazelnut Dipped Fruit, Finger Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Veggie Tray.

Someone gave her eggs. Just kidding, they had really cute socks inside.

Part of Parker and Rachel's gift. It's handmade by a ministry for people with special needs. She cried through most of opening this gift. Rachel has a knack for giving heartfelt gifts.

Check back later for all the fun Josiah had during the weekend.

Gardendale Fall Festival

The Thompsons invited us up to the Gardendale Fall Festival on Friday night, and the Faulkners were able to come too. I love a small town festival! There were rides and games and food - so much fun.

This was Josiah's favorite; it actually went really fast!

Then they tried the toddler bouncer. This is how Jack played on it.

But Josiah decided to stay close the nice supervisor lady. Jonathan was able to get him to walk around the perimeter, but he preferred to watch from a distance. My sweet, cautious boy.

Our family.

The Thompsons

The Faulkners (Josiah can say Bailey now too).

The whole crew

We tried to get the boys to do this. Thanks to Jack for "wearing" the dress :)

Erin's Baby Shower

I am way behind on blogging now! Last weekend, we threw a shower for my friend Erin here in Birmingham. We had some great food and played two games: celebrity baby name match and a new one where I read the line of a children's book, and they had to guess the title.
Me, Jenn, Erin, Jacque and Victoria.

Erin has been such a precious friend over the past year. We live really nearby, and it's so great to have a friend that I can call up whenever to go for a walk, snag a free deal somewhere, or even just run errands together. Things will change a little when they welcome Baby Grubbs at the beginning of December, but I'm excited for this new phase.

She's modeling this burp cloths I gave her, which happened to match her outfit perfectly.

We hung outfits on a clothesline in the window for decorations.

Overalls

Fall is here! We busted out Josiah's winter overalls, and he looked so very cute that I had to take some pictures.

Spontaneous Trip to Montgomery

We decided spur of the moment to take a trip down to Montgomery to see the Moseley great-grandparents for the afternoon. We enjoyed lunch with them.

Great-grandmother giving him a sip.

Josiah was really sweet on his great grands.