Big Boy Thomas

On November 4, Thomas turned FIVE!  To celebrate, we had our traditional birthday dinner at Mamaw's with friends Gable, June, Luca, Liam and their families.  Lance's parents even stopped by on their way to Florida from Ohio.  Unfortunately, Thomas's friend Anna was sick and couldn't attend.  For this year's feast, Thomas requested spaghetti and meatballs ("make sure it is LONG pasta, Mommy") and chocolate cake with chocolate icing.  He racked up on some cool gifts too: a jar of saffron, hand-knitted bean bags, a wooden knight and dragon, gold watches, and lots of keys, including one to the front door of the University of Cincinnati from Grandpa K.  Hopefully everytime that Thomas sees one of these gifts, he will remember that "big boys" are also helpful boys!

Gable, Thomas (with birthday crown), and Luca

Big blow!

You did it!

Big mouthful of cake

Opening packages

The dragon's cave

Watches!

Saffron and keys!

Fossils from Aunt Kim!

Fall Colors

This post is especially for Lance, who has requested to see the fall colors on the farm.  Unfortunately, this year's showing was kind of drab, maybe because of the early snowfall, which made many of the leaves just drop from the trees before showing their brilliance.  In my opinion, though, even a lackluster East TN autumn is far more beautiful than the desert sands of Afghanistan.  

Pocketful of Cricket

This year for the Storybook Character (Halloween) parade at Child Study Center, Thomas was Jay from the book "Pocketful of Cricket."  Jay is a little boy who lives on a farm and loves to put things in his pocket: hickory nuts, buckeyes, beans, fossils, arrowheads, feathers--and a cricket that becomes his special friend.  This character is particularly fitting for Thomas, as he is also prone to storing "valuables" in his pockets (that often times come out in the wash.)  He also enjoys sticking his hands down other people's pockets to see what treasures they may have hidden in their clothes.  

Below is also a picture of Thomas with his cousins from this year's Halloween party.  With Daddy gone, we made it a much smaller affair this year, but it was no less fun to celebrate the harvest and ghost and goblins with friends and family.  (Thomas, who was supposed to wear his "Pocketful of Cricket" costume for the party, decided at the last minute to don his red velvet cloak and be "The Bloody Hand."  I guess a cricket just isn't scary enough.)