Cute Little Baby Mellow

Carter Daniel Mellow was born on December 7, 2010. Seriously Adorable!

Danale was such a good sport while we had what seemed like a small family reunion and goofed off while she was in labor!

Justin, ready to play catcher!
It's time!
Danale with her Dad, Danny

The crowd shrunk as she got ready for "the main event", but I think the nurses were a little surprised by how many of us she wanted to stay in the room. Danale did amazing and was so strong! Little baby Mellow was born about 20 minutes after the hard part began. I thought of Ronna right before he was born. I know she would have loved to have been there, but in my heart, I imagined she was taking care of our little ones, just waiting to send them down to us. I imagined her kissing him goodbye and sending him to be with Danale.

Danale, Justin and Carter
Me, getting to know my new nephew

Aunt Linda and Danale (Can you believe she just had a baby?)

I LOVE my sister in law and I am so glad I could be there on such a special day!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving because I love traditions and family.

I love all the yummy food
I love all of the family that comes together. I even love all of the chaos that and noise that comes with it.
I love all of the happy faces and full tummies after we eatAshlynJeff and JenMy aunts, Michelle and Debbie

This year, I was grateful for my Thanksgiving pants with the stretchy panel! (and my sister who is pregnant with me)

I love the memories that are captured and just being together

I love watching the kids grow up (some into teenagers!) Cousins, Chris, Wes and Austin

I love the traditional after turkey nap
KatieJanelleI even love laughing at those who don't get such a peaceful nap! Little girls are so creative!Brynne putting a princess hat on my dad

The little girls wanted to see how many things they could pile on Jen and Jeff before they woke up...

I love looking over the Black Friday ads and planning our attack. Even if there isn't anything I am dying to have, I love to go out and brave the crowds and get a few good deals.

My mom This year, Old Navy opened on Thanksgiving Day, so we had to make a quick run over in the evening.

Thanksgiving always leaves me with a fully tummy, a full heart and a smile on my face.

Family Pictures

We are so excited about he newest member of our family- our Canon Rebel T2i!! I have always wanted to learn how to take good pictures, but I have known that I need to start with a camera that is capable of that first. Jason has always had a great eye for taking pictures, but after his guys trip in early November, he came home with more appreciation for great photography, as he saw his buddies taking some amazing pictures and capturing some great moments.

He had been researching cameras for a while and came across a great deal (Has anyone ever known Jason to not find the best deals ever?!). We decided to buy each other an early Christmas gift and dive into this hobby together. This little baby showed up on our doorstep the day before Thanksgiving. It has been so much fun to play with. I have loved walking into a room and seeing Jason crouched on the floor taking pictures of some random thing or whatever person happens to be around. He is getting really good and trying to teach me what he knows. I can't wait to take a class and learn more, but I am already amazed at what it can do.

We decided to take advantage of Janelle being in town for Thanksgiving, and had her take our family pictures Thanksgiving morning with Jen. We thought it would be fun to try out our new camera too!

Getting everyone ready at the same time for pictures is always a little crazy, so I called for reinforcement and had Kristin come help out with the girls.

Jason has been so bummed that Ashlyn's curls haven't been the same since this summer. She has always had such pretty natural curls, but it has become more of a wave and only a few little ringlets remain. I have been blow dying her hair straight, but he wanted her curls for our pictures, so Kristin had to add a few curls with the curling iron.

I was so glad that Jason had the camera to play with because it kept him from getting impatient while I was getting ready! He walked around the house taking pictures of the kids and then found me in the bathroom putting on makeup. Normally, I would have shooed him away with a camera in his hands, but he was preoccupied and happy and I realized it gave me more unhurried time to get ready, so I let him snap away.
When we were all ready, we headed to a cool downtown spot Jen had been to.

Lauren cracks me up! She loves the camera! Whenever it comes out, she is the first to jump in front of it and strike a pose!

Ashlyn wasn't so sure about posing by herself. (I love her cardigan though!)

Her eyes are starting to turn green like her dad's! Love it!

laughing at Ashlyn

I love this picture because it captures our happiness, but I don't love me in this picture.

I was bummed this one was a little blurry, because I think it's a nice picture of us.

This was probably the easiest session we have had trying to get our annual family picture. Nobody was grumpy and the pictures came out pretty good!