Back in the Saddle

We didn't fall off the map...it is just taking awhile to get back into the swing of things after our East Coast vacation.

It was a glorious 10 days! We departed sunny Tucson and landed in the Steel City on September 29th. I questioned my parenting skills as I fed Knox a drive-thru dinner of Chicken McNuggets and fries as we traveled I-79 North to Corry.

It's always good to be home.

Knox and Grammy practiced walking.

Knox spent some quality time with Grampy.

And he adores his Auntie Am.

He had a First Birthday...

...complete with a Dairy Queen cake!

Auntie Am & Uncle Matt tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony.

And Knox looked quite dapper in his sweater vest. He had no shortage of dance partners at the reception.

Then we bade Pennsylvania goodbye and our adventures took us to New Hampshire, where Grandma Maria picked us up at the Manchester airport.

She hung a swing for Knox in the apple tree, which he LOVED!

He and Grandma Maria had lots of fun! She had so many great toys for him to play with and had stocked up on his favorite foods. She also made him the fantastic USA quilt for his first birthday. She and I made her famous eclairs and looked through old photo albums. We spent some wonderful time together!

Knox and Grandpa Vernon played ball. And, in the evenings, Ib and his dad watched some concert DVD's together.

Knox got to meet his Great-Grandma Gael.

We took an overnight trip to Vermont to see Ib's oldest friend, Jason. He made sure Knox had a giant bowl of strawberries for breakfast.

We got to play in the leaves. New England was beautiful and it was so nice to spend time with family! It seemed like all too soon we were headed back to Arizona.

But the adventures didn't stop! Knox started walking a few days after we got home. We went to the pumpkin farm with the Rawn family. We took a tractor-pulled wagon ride out to the field where Knox sat on some pumpkins and ate some dirt. And he pet a donkey, a goat and an alpaca at the petting zoo. He played on the giant haystacks with Maddie and Hailey, and chewed on a piece of hay just like Grampy does.

We went to a Halloween cook-out and he was the best dressed chicken there.

Maybe next year we'll let him trick or treat, so he actually gets the pay off from wearing a silly costume.

Miss Jeriann made him a little Halloween goodie bag with socks, a book, some bubbles, a car and other cool stuff. And she made little ghosts from tracings of his feet: His first art project! She's the best!

It has been a busy month since we've been home, and there is no sign of things slowing down any time soon!