Naughty or Nice?

Not sure if Santa is going to make it to our house after this lovely display of affection - Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!

William Bradford Welch

It is with great excitement that we welcome our new cousin/nephew William "Bradford" into our Family! My Brother in law and sister in law Megan and Darren had this beautiful little boy on Monday December 8th. While the early morning phone call to let us know she was in labor came as no suprise (since she has been walking around at 3cm for weeks) -this little boy did come as a suprise since we were planning on a little girl! Yes at her 20 week ultrasound they were told they were having a daughter - much to all of our suprise when little Bradford arrived. Mom and baby are healthy and doing great - Bradford was born at 7lb, 3oz, and 21 inches.

Happy Birthday Connor!

Connor celebrated his first birthday last weekend- We had a great time. It was mostly family and some close friends -cupcakes, an art project and a visit from Santa (AKA Doug Welch) Connor was not really sure what to make of Santa but he definately knew what to do with the cake! (which was compliments of great grandma Irene)He dug it out and loved every bite! Thanks to everyone who made the day so fun!

Visit from the Moores

Just before thanksgiving we received a visit from our good friends Jenny and Tom Moore and their precious son Griffin. Griffin is just a few months younger than Connor and they had so much fun together - Here are a few pictures of Connor trying to convince Griffin to share his lunch! Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the 4 adults- but we did get a fun night out -thanks for coming to visit We love you all!

Family Photo's

Here are just a few of our family photo's we just got back - we defintely hit the peak of fall color and Thelen did a great job as always!

Congratulations Carter and Emmerson

This past weekend Brian and I had the honor of becoming Godparents to Carter Riley - Carter and cousin Emmerson Riley were baptized together in Charleston SC. The weekend could not have been more beautiful and the both babies did wonderful during the ceremony. I have included a picture of Carter wearing the robe to the traditional christening gown that is 103 years old and has been worn by every member of the Riley Family -absolutely beautiful. We had such a fun weekend hanging with our dear friends the whole Riley & Deason Families - Thank you so much Kim and Chris for hosting our crazy crowd and thank you Mandy & Brian for the wonderful honor of being Carter's Godparents! We Love you all!

Happy Halloween

I personal have never been a big Halloween fan, not one to dress up, and definitely not a night owl - but I do thoroughly enjoy the excitement of kids at Halloween -and their precious costumes - and Connor had big plans for his first Halloween to stroll around the neighborhood with the "big" McDowell kids -but instead we decided to stay home with our first ear infection -not fun. We did get to attend the Halloween party at Cherokee on Wednesday before he started feeling bad so i did get a few pictures in his Pooh costume. I really don't let Connor watch much TV, and for the most part he doesn't care much about TV, but his attention span doubles when Pooh is on -it is precious, so it was fitting that he was Pooh for Halloween. I also included a few more pictures below -we have had a crazy few weeks, including one very fun adult night out to the Rascal Flatts Concert, and my mom and I took a girls trip to Chicago for my National ADA conference -we had a blast, I highly recommend Chicago as one of my all time favorite cities, and also highly recommend the Broadway play Wicked - absolutely wonderful! To make the trip even better Brian did a fabulous job as a single parent for a few days and I think Connor loved the "guy time"

Connor's 10 Month Photos

Connor recently had a photo shoot with our good friend Thelen Wright and I wanted to share some. Thelen did a great job and even found some smiles on a grouchy boy that morning

Go Dawgs!

Road trip to Athens - some of us came out ahead of others but we all had a great time. Brian and I went down with Tom and Jenny Moore and thanks to the Rileys were able to stay in an Athens hotel -impossible to find! We had a great time tailgating and even didn't mind fighting the crowds after the game. We also got to spend a lot of time with my brothers Ryan and Brett in town for the game -we tried to hang with the college kids but only made it until a little after midnight, what parenthood will do to you! Connor stayed in Knoxville with his Nonnie and Grandad - (thank you so much for helping!) but he definately was supporting the right team!

Car Wreck

First and foremost -everyone is OK, but yes Brian and I got into a car wreck last weekend, obviously fairly bad -luckily Connor was not with us. We were leaving Margot MacDonald's beautiful wedding reception at Hoslton Hills Country Club and unfortunately chose Magnolia Avenue to travel home - the accident happened right in front of good ole Catholic High where an oncoming vehicle turned left without yielding. Brian did not even have time to hit the brakes -we hit them at probably 40 mph. Brian and I only had some bumps and bruises, the other vehicle did have 2 children in it, one not in a carseat - she was sent to the hospital for observation for 24 hours - no outstanding injuries found. A female passenger also had a injured vertebrae - again released from the hospital. It certainly is a wake up call and reminder how quickly life can change, and how blessed we each are for everyday.

San Franscico and Napa Valley

Brian and I just got back from our first long trip away from Connor - Hard as it was to leave, we had a great time just the two of us! We spent a few days in San Francisco exploring the great city -I would definitely have a tighter rear end if I lived there -hill after hill after hill! We toured Alcatraz, ran through the Golden Gate National park, explored the piers and Fisherman's Wharf and had some wonderful dinners. We spent a little longer in wine country -wining and dinning! we also made time for hiking the Muirwoods -amazing, had a great bike trip through lower Sonoma, and several vineyards tours. It really is amazing how much goes into making wine. It was a great trip we highly recommend but it was certainly wonderful to see our little Connor smiling at us again!!

A trip to the Zoo

This Past weekend the three of us took a trip to the Knoxville Zoo. I think Brian and I enjoyed it more than Connor -since we have not been in like 20 years -but Connor did have wide eyes and waving hands at most of the animals! I also wanted to post a short clip of Connor's new dance move that he does to Mickey Mouse Playhouse. hope everyone is having a great week!