Thanksgiving

It has been a long time since we've celebrated Thanksgiving in Florida.  The weather was perfect, and the day was full of family, fun and good food.  We have a lot to be thankful for.

 Henry at his school's Thanksgiving Feast

 Grady Gainer

 Happy Henry

 Cohen & Papa

 Henry & Pop

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without popsicles!

My Boys

This isn't the best picture of my boys and me, but it makes me smile.  Life with Cohen and Henry is the best. Some days are crazy, some are tame, some are hard, some easy.  But no matter what, we have fun together.  Every day is different, and every day they have me smiling.  Last week, we drove to the mall to pick up an area rug.  While David was inside the store, I had to entertain the boys outside on the sidewalk.  To keep them from running in two different directions or into the street, I had to think of something fast.  We took turns playing follow-the-leader, jumping and marching all around.  They had so much fun.  A young girl was watching us across the way, and walked over smiling, and said, "Best thing I've seen all day."  It made me smile because she reminded me how lucky I am to spend each day with Cohen and Henry.  Even when they're testing my patience, I am one lucky girl to call these boys mine.

Hathaways Do DC

This weekend was a special one.  Friday morning, we woke the boys up at 5 am to hop on a plane to DC.  Cohen and Henry were full of excitement on the drive to the airport...it was their first time on a "big airplane, " after all.  Here they are in the parking garage at the airport.

Both boys were good on the plane.  Henry had his moments, but all in all, he was well behaved for a two-year-old.  Cohen loved every second of the ride.  

Getting two boys through Reagan Airport with four suitcases and two backpacks was interesting.  We finally had to improvise and throw them on a wheelchair.

First stop was Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house for lunch.  Having Cohen and Henry finally meet them was very special.  Unfortunately, the boys were exhausted from the big morning, so our visit was rather short.  We all had a wonderful time catching up!

Next stop was the Matthews' house, where we spent the remainder of the weekend.  Cohen and Henry loved playing with "The Girls," Riker and Piper, and David and I had a great time with Wendy and Mike.  Saturday morning, we headed out early to explore a few monuments (Warning: A lot of memorial pictures to follow.).

With three UVA grads in the group, we of course had to visit the Jefferson Memorial.

The kids took turns scooting around and riding in the stroller.  The loop around the memorials is one serious "playground."  

 

 

Cohen and Henry had trouble adhering to the quiet policy inside the memorial, so we quickly made our way to the back, where the kids repeatedly jumped off the big steps onto the ground...

and raced around.

Washington Monument

 Rock climbing at the FDR Memorial

 FDR Fireside Chats

 Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

We did a lot of walking, so Henry decided to relax in the stroller and play Angry Birds after he had seen enough.

Saturday night, a bunch of UVA friends and kids got together to catch-up.  It was a wild, fun time!  

We were all worn-out by Sunday.  Henry never falls asleep randomly, but he passed out on the airplane home.

 It was a special and memorable trip!  We hope to make it back in April for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Lately...

We have been busy, busy, busy lately!  I am ready for things to slow down a bit, but we are having a lot of fun this fall.  Halloween was an absolute blast!  Both boys had parades at school to celebrate.  Cohen was a little shy during his parade, so this was the only picture I was able to take before he had his meltdown.  He was so proud of the giraffe headpiece he worked hard on for a couple weeks.

The playground at Community is the best!  Henry gets so excited anytime he has a chance to play on it (this was before Cohen's parade).

Watching Henry's class at the costume parade was hilarious.  I still have no clue how the teachers were able to make all of the one and two-year-olds sit still for so long.  

Henry went from excited to shy/embarrassed to meltdown.

Trick-or-Treating was by far the highlight of the holiday.  Both boys went nuts, ringing doorbells and collecting candy.  This year, we were able to go around with a bunch of good friends, which made it extra special.  Cohen ditched his Woody costume at the last minute, and opted for Tyler's hand-me-down skeleton costume.

Henry (Buzz Lightyear) immediately tore into every piece of candy collected.

This shot doesn't include everyone, but from left to right:  Kailyn, Dawson, Henry, Cohen, Aiston, Kennedy

Cohen had a lot of fun at his first Jaguars game!  Too bad they lost.

The McCullough family also visited us from Charlotte for the Georgia/Florida game.  We had a blast with all the kids under one roof for a whole weekend!

Last, but not least, "The Cat."  This cat has adopted our family.  It is so sweet, and it won't leave (I am not really a "cat person.").  I started feeding it, so we are definitely guaranteed it won't be leaving our house anytime soon.  Cohen and Henry love it, though, so I guess we should probably give it a name other than The Cat.