We LOVE the State Fair!

Fall has always been my very favorite season for so many different reasons, and one of those reasons is the North Carolina State Fair! I grew up in this state and the Fair has always been something I've looked forward to attending each year. Now that I'm married with children, it is even more fun to see everything there through Joshua and Leah's eyes! My mom always comes up on a Thursday night, and David takes that Friday off so we can all go to the Fair together--so fun! Going on a weekday morning is the best because there is a lot less of a crowd to deal with, and the weather was perfect! We ate lots of yummy food, Joshua enjoyed the rides, we saw animals and exhibits, and got the kids home in time for naps. Mom and I went back later in the evening to see the News Boys in concert--they rocked it out! Already looking forward to next year :)

David taking a picture over his shoulder

of Leah on his back :)

My little camera ham--love that big toothy grin

and crinkly nose!

Joshua and Mommy on a car ride

Joshua on a hot air balloon ride

Grandma and Joshua on the train

Love these two SO much!

These two are so cute together--

two little peas in a pod!

Hugs from Grandma

Me with the best mom in the whole wide world

Tickling Joshua to get a smile out of him

for the camera!

So lucky to have her :)

Cutest. picture. EVER.

Family shot taken by Grandma--

such a fun day!! :)

Playtime and markers

I found these pictures on the camera this morning...David must have taken them during some playtime with Leah-bug.

They love to play hide and seek :)

Cheesy grin!

Looks like someone found a Cheerio

she dropped during snack time...

...and apparently it was still just as tasty. Sigh.

And this is what happens when Joshua gets

his hands on his markers unsupervised.

And apparently Leah got her hands on a purple

marker herself...and tried to eat it. She did a

little makeover on her face instead.

I guess that's what Mommy gets for trying

to unload the dishwasher while letting the

kids play in the living room alone :)

Joshua's birthday party

I can't believe my little guy is 3 years old! Where has the time gone?! I'm so proud of what a sweet, bright, loving boy he is and we are so grateful that he's part of our family :)

We had a big cookout on his birthday and all of David's local family came, along with my mom, dad, and brother. We grilled out hot dogs, my mom made her AMAZING baked beans (seriously...I promise they are the best you have ever had, and I have many Isgetts willing to vouch for that!) and potato salad, and chips. I made my first from-scratch cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery (in NY) recipe for their Vanilla Vanillas (the recipe is on the Food Network website) and they were awesome! The kids all enjoyed playing outside in the backyard and all the adults enjoyed chatting it up :)

Joshua wearing two birthday gifts: a new

UNC cap from Mommy & Daddy and a

new ECU jacket from my Aunt Sydney

(Grandma and Leah are lurking in the

background)

Sweet cousin Ellie (who will be turning 5 next

weekend!)

Handsome cousin Will :)

Doesn't Janie look so inquisitive here?

(I love that you can see Joshua chilling

behind her in his new Cars camping chair)

**Sarcasm warning**

I'm not sure if you can tell in this picture,

but Leah is a TOTAL camera ham ;)

And she loves her big cousin Sydney

(who is a high school freshman this year!)

What a cheeser! :)

Joshua loved this musical card from

Grandma and Grandpa that played

Rascal Flatts' version of "Life is a Highway"

(I've been hearing this card A LOT this past

week between Joshua and Leah!)

Mommy and Joshua "oohing" and "ahhing"

Leah enjoying all the gifts and wrapping

So...Joshua cries every year when we sing to him.

I think it is just too much attention for him.

I held him as we sang this year and he was doing

okay (although, he was whispering "Hi, Mommy"

as we sang, which is what he does when he's nervous).

There were no tears during the song, but when

everyone cheered and clapped at the end, he burst

into tears and sobbed into my shoulder.

Maybe next year...

And just so we don't end this post on a

sad note, we took the kids to the Farmers'

Market yesterday and let Joshua pick

out a pumpkin for our front steps...

here we are with the chosen one! :)

Haircut Voyeur

Who needs a fancy concert or a new movie when you can watch a haircut in action? That may not sound like your idea of good entertainment, but Leah-bug would beg to differ :)

Paying rapt attention to Daddy cutting

her brother's hair on the back deck

She seemed to find it necessary to get

closer to the action...

Oh hi there, Mommy! I didn't know

you were watching all the excitement too :)

Love these three!

Leah-bug turns one!

We had the most wonderful Labor Day weekend down at my parents' house! My brother was also in town, and we had lots of fun spending time together. Leah's pink eye got a little better each day (thanks to the $50 antibiotic and the $130 eye drops...ouch), but she was still quite the little pirate for her birthday cookout on Saturday. My dad's brother and his wife, Craig and Ann, came, as well as my mom's sister, Sydney, and my grandmother. My dad cooked some pork and chicken on the grill, and Mom made her delicious baked beans, potato salad, and coleslaw. For dessert, we had Mom's banana pudding--the perfect ending to a Southern birthday dinner!

Grandma with her favorite little one-eyed

one year old :)

Leah was NOT a fan of the way the grass

felt on her bare feet!

Grandma kept trying to lower her feet down

onto the grass, but Leah was having none of it--

we were all cracking up!

Great-grandma, Mommy, and Leah

Handsome little Joshua with Uncle Craig

in the background

This is what David got when he asked for a smile

This was the slightly more forced smile he got

when he asked for another one ;)

My aunt Sydney got Leah this little ECU Pirates

dress as part of her birthday present--it says "Leah"

across the chest on the front and is just adorable!

And honestly, with Leah's eye, it couldn't have

been more fitting :)

She also got Joshua an ECU shirt, and he has

asked every single day since Saturday to wear

his "pirate shirt." For those who don't know,

my dad went to ECU, and my brother is in

school there now; Aunt Sydney's husband is

also the Dean of the medical school at ECU.

We'll root for the Pirates when they play, as long

as they're not playing the Heels!

The sweetest grandma in the whole wide world!

Just like her brother, Leah loves to swing!

My pretty little pirate :)

Part of my mom's gift to Leah was 3 pairs of

butterfly wings to wear and also to hang on the wall

to decorate her room.

Have you ever seen a cuter, squinty-eyed

butterfly? :)

This face cracks me up! She's laughing and playing

with a protein bar wrapper...she LOVES crinkly

paper.

We met up with David's parents at Chili's for

dinner when we got into town last night, and there

was a balloon guy there who made this car

balloon for Joshua. It is big enough for him to

wear around...and he loves it!

LOVE that smile! We had fun at dinner and Leah

loved her presents and the singing waiters who

brought her a brownie sundae, which she kindly

shared with the table :) What a wonderful weekend,

full of family, food, and fun!