Family Traditions

Well, we hosted Thanksgiving this year and it turned out great! I was a little nervous about cooking my first turkey, but with Aunt Karen's help, it all went smoothly. Everyone brought a dish which was great. We were able to catch up and spend time with family - DeAnna, Andy & the kids, Uncle Roger and Shirley, Aunt Karen, Mom and Randy, and Grandpa. We missed Laura and Joe, they went to Ohio this year.

Luke was a great help with Dylan while Ben and I were busy cooking in the kitchen.

We decided to pick out our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We got up bright and early and headed off to Sinnissippi with Shawn, Jaime, Adam and Audyn Kemp. At 8:30am we were the 4th family there! We had hot apple doughnuts and cider and then headed off to the frasier fir field to cut down our tree. We didn't know how Dylan would do in the cold, but he was a champ. He hung out in the carrier and even took his morning nap there without complaint.

After picking out the perfect tree, Luke cut it down and Caden pulled it out of the field.

We were so glad we didn't wait until Sunday to get our tree. It snowed all day and night. Ben did end up hanging our lights on the house, but he and Caden did find time to build this cool snowman. Unfortunately, his head was bigger than his middle so it fell off shortly after everyone came inside! Oh well, at least we got some pictures of him before hand.

Halloween and more

After going to every store under the sun we finally found a halloween costume for Caden at home! He went from dressing up as the Huskie mascot, Victor E. Huskie to an old man. We found the mask at nana & papa's house and an old corduroy blazer (that Ben wore!) in our closet. He was a hit! He sat on the porch and scared all the trick or treaters. It was fun to watch!

Dylan has finally figured out how to smile. It is so wonderful to see him respond to us. He has even laughed a couple of times. He is getting big in a hurry, which we hate to see, but he is also getting to be fun. We had to take Dylan to another doctor on Friday to get measured for a helmet. His head is a little flat on one side in the back and the helmet will help reshape it. We found out that he is a little too young to have the helmet so we have to go back in a month. Hopefully his head will start getting better so we can forget the helmet altogether!


Ben, Luke, Caden and I went to the HUBS football game last Saturday and froze our butts off! They ended up losing in overtime, but we had fun anyway. Ben still isn't over the loss. How is he going to handle it when our kids are on the team???? Can you see how red my nose is??? That was a good 20 minutes after being inside!

Papa and Nana babysat Dylan while the rest of us were at the game. They were excited to see how much he smiles now!

Caden loves holding baby Dylan. He loves it for about 5 minutes and then he is ready to pass him to the next person. He and Luke have been great big brothers and are so helpful. I don't know how I would get ready in the morning without them!

If you notice in the picture, Caden has decided that he doesn't want to smile for pictures anymore. Its become a real pain to get a good picture of him!

Football

The boys have been busy playing football and its finally coming to a close. Caden plays his last game this week and Luke has 2 more games. Both teams have been doing well. Cade is #8 and Luke is #16.

As for Dylan, he is growing like a weed! He has been dragged to many football games and pretty much goes with the flow. He is still not sleeping much at night because he is always hungry. I am hoping to get some sleep soon so when I go back to work I won't be a complete zomby! I start Oct. 6th so he still has a couple of weeks.

Here are a couple of pictures of Dylan with his guests at the hospital.

He's finally arrived!

We officially have a new member in our family - Dylan Benjamin Manning. He was born on August 4th at 6:06am. He weighed in at 5lbs 15oz and 19 inches long. He actually has a little bit of brown hair! There is hope for a brown eyed/hair manning yet.

I am having a few issues with adding pictures, but hopefully I will have them loaded tomorrow. Check back soon!

Finally, we have a blog!!!!

Well I thought I better get this going before the new baby arrived. We are counting down and trying to get our house ready for a new member! Luke and Cade are going to share a room for a little while until the basement can be finished. Cade is excited, Luke is less than thrilled.

6 more weeks to go!