Decking the Roughen Halls in 2013

This past weekend, we made lots of progress towards decking the Roughen halls on Norwich Circle.  

We visited Home Depot and picked out the perfect tree and wreaths.  Then, we trimmed said tree with shiny ornaments and anything else that Tripp could get to stick to it -- rope, string, gift tags, etc.  Finally, we (and by "we" I mean Matt) strung lights in our yard.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  

And a few pictures...

The finished product:

Hope your halls are decked & that you are ready for the holiday season!

Meg

Ho Ho Ho

Our first visit to see Santa Claus with both boys was a success.  We took advantage of a cold day to visit a Santa who was camped out in the great outdoors of the Atlanta Food Truck Park off of Howell Mill Road.  Not surprisingly, there was no line and no waiting, so Tripp had a chance to warm up to the jolly guy before having to get in a photo with him.  He wouldn't go as far as to get in Santa's lap, but he did stand still and smile, which is an improvement over years past.  Also not surprisingly, Baby Hill was unphased by the whole ordeal and cooperated beautifully.

As for Tripp's gift requests, he asked Santa for a truck, a football helmet, and a fish like Elmo's friend Dorothy.  

We also told Santa that we would be leaving Tripp's pacifier out to trade for his gifts.  Santa said that was a good trade and agreed to take the pacifier and let one of his elves use it.  I consider it Tripp's first of many charitable donations.

Ho Ho Ho!

Meg

Baker, Baker Holiday Cookie Maker

Just as the sun was setting on this year's Turkey Day, we moved into the Christmas season and did some holiday baking.  It was fun to watch Tripp mixing the batter, watching the cookies rise in the oven, and decorating them with such creativity (and help from mom and dad).  Below are a few pictures of the fun afternoon.

... And the final product!

Hoping that your holiday season is off to a festive start!

Meg

Belated Gobble!

Hoping that you and yours had a great Thanksgiving.  Lots to be thankful for this year and always!

Especially this...

Happy belated Turkey Day!

Meg

Welcoming Baby Hill!

On November 8th at 8:04 am we welcomed the newest member of our family.  Named after my great grandfather, Hill Ferguson Roughen came into the world weighing in at 9 lbs, 7 oz and measuring 20 inches long.  We are overjoyed about his arrival and big brother Tripp has enjoyed teaching him the ropes already.  Below are some photos from Hill's first week with us.

In the recovery room with Mom, just an hour or so after birth.

Roughen, party of 4, in the hospital room.

Meeting the Grandparents

We want to thank our parents, Tripp & Hill's grandparents, for helping us during Hill's birth, hospital stay, and the first week at home.  We are lucky to have such loving, caring, and willing-to-help family.  These boys will feel the love of these special folks for their entire lives.  Thanks, grandparents & Aunt SuSu, too!

Meeting Pops Roughen

Meeting Grammy Roughen

Meeting Papa and Shug Ferguson, and big brother Tripp (2.5 years)

If you look close enough, you can see Shug's cast on her left arm.
She broke her wrist 2 weeks before Hill's birth and is still healing.  

Sweet Baby Hill

Such a good baby so far!

A little peanut

Helpful & Excited Big Brother Tripp

Big Brother Tripp, with the crane truck that Baby Hill picked out just for him...
and a big brother upgrade captain's hat from godfather Chris Epps.

We are delighted that Hill is here and cannot wait to introduce him to all of you!

Meg, Matt, and Big Brother Tripp

Happy Halloween!

... from our little Waffle House Cook!

Hope you get more Treats than Tricks!
Meg

"Accuse me while I kiss this guy" and other mis-heard lyrics, words & phrases

Just like many misinterpret the famous Jimi Hendrix lyrics "Excuse me while I Kiss the Sky," we have our own little lyric-mis-interpreter.  He loves to sing, so many of them are actual mis-heard lyrics to your classic children's songs, while others are just mispronunciations of everyday words.  I'm capturing them here because I surely do not want to forget them in months or years after this phase has passed us by.

Below are some of the classics that Tripp has repeated incorrectly, much to the delight & entertainment of his parents.  Hope you enjoy, I know I will!

• "Mama, may I be accused?":  Often said when he'd like to be excused from the table after a meal, a valiant attempt at being polite has me giggling every time.
• "Dot Dogs & Hangburgers":  What daddy cooks on the gree-ul (2 syllable of the word 'grill') on the weekends.
• "... Oh what fun it is to ride on a one horse super sleigh":  The lyrics to the classic Jingle Bells tune that is sung year-round in the Roughen household.
• "A,B,C,D... W,X,Y and Z.  Now I mom, ABCs.  Won't you come and sing with me":  Mis-heard classic alphabet ender.
• "Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any... I'm sorry, goonk":  This sometimes comes out in the middle of any song.  Not sure what 'goonk' is, nor why he's apologizing for singing a cute song, but it's funny nonetheless.
• "Lellow Taxi":  Just like the color of all taxis.
• "Chick A Lay":  you know, the yummy fast food restaurant

That's all I have for now... more to come, I'm sure.  Happy Hump Day!

Meg

Resolution #9: The Roughen-Moon vacay, Panama City Style...

As a book-end to our summer this year, and for Tripp's Resolution #9 for 2013, we embarked upon the 2nd annual Roughen-Moon summer beach trip to the Sample house, just outside of Panama City Beach, Florida.  You may remember this house from last year's post.  We had a ball watching Tripp and Caroline play together and ringing in football season.  It is amazing to see how much they have grown since the last time we were there... hard to believe Tripp had just learned to walk and now he's such a big boy.  Time flies!

Below are some snapshots from our fun time.

 

Lunching with Caroline (2.5 yrs)

Beaching with Caroline

 A boy and his beach

There's not much better than a gulf coast sunset... ahhhhh...

As an added bonus, my New Orleans native college friend, Betsy, and
her family were staying just a few minutes away from us, so we got to
catch up and I got to see her 3 cute boys for the first time!

Here, Tripp and I are pictured with Betsy and her youngest, Liam, who is 15 mos.

Fun week!
Meg

Ann Fulton Turns 3!

We recently celebrated Ann Fulton's 3rd Birthday!  I cannot believe how fast these kiddos are growing up.  We gathered at the Dexter Ave Ferguson abode to celebrate the little princess and watch her open all her princess-themed gifts... lots of fun!

 



Waiting Patiently for Cake & Ice Cream
Ann Fulton (3 yrs) and Tripp (2 yrs)

Thanks for my Thomas the Train hat, Aunt MC!

 

The Birthday Girl & her candles!

Finally... the goods!




Tripp exploring the cake & ice cream a little further...

The whole Ferguson crew
Front Row:  Shug, AF, Tripp
2nd row:  MC, Hamp (8 mos), Meg, Papa
Back Row:  Gil, Walker (8 mos)

Missing in action:  Matt, who had to stay back in Atlanta.  We missed him!

 

 

We were so happy to be a part of the celebration.  Happy Birthday to AF!  ... and many more...

Meg

Coming Soon: Tripp's Baby Brother

Tripp's Baby Brother is due to arrive in early November!

Here I am at about 30 weeks... Can't believe he'll be here so soon!

Holy
Cow.

Meg