Nathan and the walk-by (video) shooting....

The sound of contentment...

Gingerbread houses at the Grove Park Inn

Mom took us to the Grove Park Inn to see the fantastic Ginger bread houses that contestants from all over the country send in to compete for the coveted "ginger bread house contest winner" title.

In all seriousness, the houses were remarkable (and the smell was delicious!) but I can't imagine anyone taking so much time to create one of these ephemeral creations!

Nathan's first petting zoo

No visit to Asheville should be considered complete without a visit to the Asheville Nature Center.

We were recently introduced to the center by my Mom, so we brought Nathan there to visit the petting zoo and see all the animals.

Nathan really enjoyed the goats, but spent most of his time screaming "moo" (total coincidence) to the very large and hairy cow (no one was allowed into his pen -- I guess his hair made it hard for him to see and he stepped on people?)

Nathan also screamed "caa caa" for most of the visit as well. Which was fitting, as there was plenty of that around.

We took a walk to the "bear" area (which was right next to the deer area and separated by only a chain link fence -- must have freaked the deer out for the first few months) where Nathan got very excited by the big furry beasts. I wish we had snapped a photo of his look of excitement (Alex saw it, I did not as Nathan was riding on my shoulders at the time!)

Nathan eats, acts, then exits stage left...

Thanksgiving with Debbie and Betsy

A Thanksgiving so nice -- we ate it twice!

6We visited my mom in Asheville, NC (we flew Delta -- our new favorite!) for Thanksgiving this year.

In order to make sure we had an opportunity to eat tooooo much (and to have time to thoroughly enjoy each other's company both at the table, and in the kitchen) we celebrated Thanksgiving "en famille" on its proper day, Thursday, and then again with my Aunt Debbie, and Aunt Betsy at Debbie's house.

What we lack in pictures we made up for in videos...which will be rolled out as time permits... Suffice to say that we had a fantastic time seeing everyone, and ate more than our share of turkey!

Nathan... and the case of the excess energy before nap time

Nathan loves the bath...

Walking at the Shakespeare Garden

This weekend was low-key. After a rainy Saturday used to catch-up on sleep, we ventured out on Sunday for a walk in the park.

Nathan practiced walking with Sam and enjoyed the beauty of the Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park.