The beginning of winter!

October has really been a mix of weather..... anywhere from 30s to 70s. It has been quite bizarre. But it does appear that we are headed into the winter months. As tradition at the Breedlove house, cold days mean lots of fires. And the boys LOVE the fire. They love everything about it - the popping, the warmth, and most importantly, helping Daddy build it. Tonight it was used as a warmer after bath time. What a great place to get your "jamas" on!

How can you not love pictures of two brothers warming themselves by the fire!

A little late

... but not forgotten!

Sam turned 2 on Friday! He has felt like 2 or awhile to me.... great tantrums, 5-9 word sentences, and doing everything his brother does! We had cupcakes at the park with friends and then a quiet dinner (as quiet as a meal with 5 kids can be) with a cake and presents to culminate the evening.


I know I should put lots of statistics about him. But Sam cannot be summed up in words. He is adorable, has a joy for life that is hard to match, is often mischievous (and yet since he's 2...is rather obvious about it), and pushes the limits of everything.... he is a 32 pound bundle of joy. We love you Sam.

From the Same Genes You Say?

My sons are as different as night and day. This can really be seen on many levels - attention, attitude, obedience, smile.....a good example of this surfaced in our annual pumpkin patch visit.

As you can see, by the pumpkins they chose....
I have a predictable child....

and an.... um... somewhat less predictable child. This child was INSISTENT that this was the pumpkin he wanted. And oddly enough, the funny looking one cost more because it was "original." Much like it's future owner.

But odd or normal - they were both good enough for painting!
Nana BB came up, and we had lots of fun in beautiful October weather.

We climbed at the park.

...enjoyed new yard tools from Nana and Poppy for Sam's birthday (which isn't actually until Friday).

...and enjoyed a new bike helmet...

... just like his brothers!

Thanks for coming Nanna. It was a breath of fresh air for all of us!

Apple picking

One of the great perks of living in the Mountains is the beautiful fall weather! The amazing leaves, the crisp air, and the fresh apples! The county south of us is one of the largest apple supplying counties in the US. There are TONS of U-Pick farms and today we headed out to one for a family apple picking adventure. It was a ton of fun. We were only there 1.5 hours and we picked an entire bushel, and this was at toddler speeds. My personal favorite was an apple I'd never heard of before today called a Blushing Gold. They are delicious! It was a beautiful warm day and the boys had a great time.

There were plenty of apples at their height, so they had tons of fun.

Sam had an apple in his hand the ENTIRE time. Pretty sure we won't have to worry about constipation over the next few days. They both ate at least 4 apples a piece today!



Gotta love the head cut outs.

We're a little short for the one below.


This one's for you Beth.

Shirtless In October

Who ever would have thought it would be warm enough again for this based on our cold snap at the beginning of the week!

We got Steven a new bike last weekend at the Veritas Flea Market. It has been all the rage. And both boys have loved wearing the helmet (much to my dismay).

Why always on Friday after 5?

At 5:05 to be exact... Steven Edward fell off a swing that we have hung from a tree in our back yard. At first it seemed like any other fall - there was a long pause before the cry for a "wind up," but that can happen for a normal fall. We went through the normal actions. No one ran... no one overreacted or stressed... we stayed calm. Then I noticed blood flowing down his neck. I no longer felt calm. My insides started jumping and I ran frantically to find the phone to call the doctor before office hours were over. Luckily our doctor has amazing after-hours and I was able to get into the system and wait on hold. After getting a look, we decided he probably needed stitches.... so off goes the husband with the bleeding son, and left behind is the mother with the not bleeding son. Turns out that the not bleeding son comes down with a fever in the hour they are gone.... so for sanity's sake, we administer Advil and put on a movie (Cars of course). Steven Edward comes home with 2 staples in his head (for the second time) and a smile on his face. Evidently he didn't even flinch when they put them in.... the Doctor said he was the bravest patient he'd ever had! I bet he says that to all of them, but I'm going to pretend he meant it. So for a fun evening we ate our pasta in front of the TV and finished it off with chocolate ice cream. Man, what an evening.

Bleeding boy excited about ice cream and Cars

Temperature boy not watching the movie and giving you a good fake smile to show off his chocolate stains.

Asheville Citzen Times Half Marathon

In April 2006 I ran a half marathon in Charlotte with a friend. I'm not sure I'd have made it without her support. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done and I swore I would never do that again. Well..... never say never.

My goal after having my boys was to have at least one race season where I was in shape enough to actually run races. This season so far, I've run 6..... 3 5ks, 2 mudruns, and as of today... a half marathon (13.1 miles).


The course is/was ridiculous. I know I live in Asheville, but there have to be easier places to run 13.1 miles. According to their own website, "the Southeast's most scenic and challenging run, voted as one of the top best half marathons in the Southeast by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine" Either way...... it was incredibly hilly and I was running with a friend who had never run one before. My goal was to be a support to her (like a good friend was to me 4 years ago), to help her finish, to run the entire thing (no walking on hills! yea!), and to finish. We did all those things with flying colors. And even though this half was post baby, higher altitude, and incredibly hilly, we only finished about 13 minutes slower than my first!






We had an AMAZING fan club. I had friends and family cheering me all along the course. It made for such a fun day and was a huge testimony to how much they love me! Thanks for your support guys!