He Needs A Hug

I am not sure exactly what was going on here. But I could hear Sydney from the kitchen saying "Oh he needs a hug! Oh He needs a hug!"

Its not like he was screaming mad he was just a little fussy. She like a little mother hen. He seemed to enjoy being hugged by his big sister wonder how long that will last! I am just very thankful she has taken to him the way she has. Your the best big sister Syd!

Some New Stuff

Last week we were lucky enough to get some new things for Anderson. Well they are new to us. Sydney's teacher from last year Mrs. Hill was really nice & gave us some larger baby items. So now he has an excersaucer & a jumperaroo. Needless to say our living room looks like a daycare with all his stuff. He has tried them both & though he cannot reach all the toys he seems to like them both alot. I realize he does not realize how to make the jumperaroo bounce but he does do it even if by accident. He has turned halfway in the excersaucer. It is really funny to see the looks he gives when he makes them move. Sydney has been kind enough to show him how all the toys on both work. She is such a good big sister.

Being cute.

I think he looks funny with his legs hanging down.

Showing great concentration playing with his toys.

Sweet Dreams

Today Anderson & I went into Kittanning to eat lunch with our cousin Chris. He has become quite chatty lately. This is the first time he has talked in the car it was funny hearing him from the back seat. Of course it was an extended lunch as Chris & I have not been together for awhile. So he took a little nap woke for a quick trip to Walmart. Then chatted to himself on the way home. He & I then went to pick up Syd from school. It is Book Fair week so he went & charmed all his PTO lady friends. He was wide awake when I got him out of the car. When I got to the house which is not far at all he was totally passed out. I guess

shopping & lunch wears a little guy out!

Watermelon & Tomatoes

At the beginning of summer Steve bought Sydney a watermelon plant for fun. None of us figured anything would actually happen. Man did that thing take over it even grew up into my tomato plants. Which is a story in its self. Well as summer progressed there were tons of blossoms. We did end up with one good sized watermelon. We noticed some others but they disappeared. The fruit of their efforts.

I am sad to say when I cut it thought it was not ripe all the way :(

This watermelon was a late bloomer that was hanging from the tomato plant.
Syd took the photo so it is close up. But it is about 5-6 inches long.
Unfortunately, our tomato plants did not fair as well. We or at least I (no one else eats the tomatoes) was really hopeful. The plants were huge & had tons of tomatoes on them. Well we ended up having a "blight". They say many things factor in to cause a blight. Most seem to think our overly wet summer did not help things. Needless to say tomatoes are in high demand around us because everyone were bad. The Cherry Tomatoes were just fine though. You should of seen me slicing them to put on a sandwich pretty funny.

Starting Early

Anderson was quite busy this morning after sleeping through our daily walk he decided to do his own exercising at home. He almost made a complete circle. He tore down his toys with his feet and started to make his rounds.

After his tough workout he decided to start the cool down portion of his morning with a good book. He sits and stares at the pages. He even turns his own pages. Who would of thought "Where's Elmo?" could be so interesting. Maybe he will follow in his sisters footsteps she loves to read.

On Sunday September the Rural Valley community dedicated it newly finished Shannock Valley War Memorial. The memorial is located at our community park. It was an amazing day it was really hot but fortunately we had a wonderful breeze. There was several hundred people there it was great to see so many people there to honor our veterans.

The ceremony started with flags being raised and the posting of the colors. Everyone joined in with singing the Star Spangled Banner & saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Kittanning Firemen's Band played all the songs from the different branches of service. They had everyone who served stand when there service song was played. I am not sure of his name but one of the soldiers that was up front helping was from the Army, when they played their song he stood out front and sang. It was great totally spur of the moment and you could hear the pride in his voice.
They had several speakers all boosting every ones patriotism.
I am so glad that I was able to go and see the dedication. It is hard to put into words how thankful I am to of all the servicemen who have made the commitment to serve our country. With so many of my relatives having been in the service and my brother in law and many friends in the Middle East right now I realize what a sacrifice it is. These people give up being with their families. Several of them are away from there children and are missing out on watching them grow.
Somehow saying thank you does not seem like enough!

Flags being brought in.


Mourning procession for the fallen soldiers.

The Kittanning Firemen's Band

Rifle Salute


The Shannock Valley War Memorial
The memorial has the names of 87 local servicemen who did not return from duty. These names on the black wall in the center. All around on the floor of the memorial our bricks that have been engraved with the names of servicemen.
The kids and I walked back down Sunday evening to get the photos of the memorial & bricks. There was so many people there it would of taken me forever to get photos.


Our grandfathers brick.

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

Did you ever get Highlights magazine as a child? Well I did & so does Sydney. Inside they always have a page of can you tell what's wrong with this picture. When I saw Anderson like this it was the first thing I thought of.

What in the heck is going on in his crib at night? Obviously, some major leg kicking. And believe me this is not a one time occurrence. Sometimes in the morning he is all the way at the top laying vertically. He is always pretty happy about it too. When I walk up there is always a huge smile to greet me. Can only imagine what he will be doing next....