Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

On Thanksgiving Day, we left my brother RJ's house at about 5:30 and took the train to Grand Central Station.



We arrived into the city around 8:00 and took a taxi to Central Park and walked through the park to the other side. We were almost immediately disappointed because there were so many people. And not just people, people on ladders! We knew it would be very difficult to see well, but we were thankful that the weather was good...no snow, sun shining and about mid 40's. So we waited. People were pushing and making excuses about why they needed to move up closer! It was amazing how many people had "family" that was already there that they needed to meet up with.
This is how we started out.
Jonathan was in this great backpack carrier that we got on Craigslist for a steal!

The parade started a few blocks down from where we were and as soon as it got to us, the barriers on the sidewalks were opened and everyone who was crowded in, slowly and pretty calmly, moved down along the parade street. We were then about 3 people back from the street! It was amazing!
Thanksgiving float- Now you can tell we got very close. It was so worth it to go!

Smurf

Georgia Tech Marching Band

Miley Cyrus

Dora

Santa's float

RJ, Dad, Mom, Ashley, Nathan, Jonathan, Becky & Aunt Cokie

We walked around the city afterward. It was such a beautiful day! It really couldn't have been more perfect!
Jonathan was exhausted! He was excellent, though! He was so easy going and just went with the flow!
Here he is posing in Aunt Cokie's hat on the train ride home.
Possibly, the best part of the entire day was that Thanksgiving dinner was waiting for us when we got home. My mom cooked the entire thing the day before. She heated it up when we got there and we devoured it! It was delicious.
We also celebrated Jonathan's birthday with the Nobles side of the family. Uncle Ron got the cake for him. You can also see the sports gift he got for Jonathan. Jonathan loves it!
Jonathan did great with the cake, but Grandpa was worried about him when he started wiping the frosting in his eyes!

I think everyone was in bed by 8:30! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Visting Santa and Playing with Vera

Jonathan and I met Mary and Vera at the mall to visit with Santa. See the results below:


We decided to cheer them up by taking them to the play area. It helped them get back in the Christmas spirit.

Raking the Leaves

While we were away for Thanksgiving, one of our neighbors kindly started raking our leaves for us. Here is Nathan working to move piles on the tarp and then out to the curb.

Jonathan wanted to help. He needs some work on his technique.
Playing in the leaves with Daddy!

Time with the Ashley Family

Last week we traveled to Western New York to spend time with Nathan's family and see some of our friends. We really enjoyed our time there.
Here is Jonathan checking the weather with his Papa.
We celebrated Jonathan and Hannah's birthday's while we were there. Hannah was very patient as Jonathan took an hour long nap in the middle of the party! Hannah waited to eat cake and open presents until he was up so they could do everything together!
Here is Hannah with her Hannah Montana cake. Happy 8th Birthday!
Nana made this cake for Jonathan.
This sums up how he felt about it!

Four generations of Ashley's
Four Ashley grandkids

Our Baby is ONE Year Old!!!!

It is hard to believe that Jonathan Patrick is already one year old. It is amazing how fast it has gone by! JPA is a delight and we just love him. It is hard to imagine life without him!

We know this is mean, but...

The Reveal!

Here are the pictures of the paintings hanging on the wall and how they match the bedding (part of the inspiration). It is hard to tell, but the walls are yellow and in the same scheme as the orange from the pillow and quilt. It is just magnificent!
I really couldn't be happier. I love the art work, but most of all I love that I got to spend time with Karey and Ashley. Can't wait to do it again!