This and That

As we have been working to get settled in Knoxville, I have become a little behind on updating our blog.  This post will serve to catch us up on everything we've miss and will include a little bit of a lot of different things! 

First, I wanted to include these sweet pictures of Dawson and his friends.  Right before we moved, I decided to have Dawson's friends over to our house for a playdate one last time.  Every room was in boxes, but we had left enough toys unpacked for the kids to have fun.  When his friends were leaving, he was sweet to give them all hugs.

Dawson hugging either Jordan or Jayden

(identical twins, and I'm not sure

who I got in this picture).

Dawson and Jude hugging.

I think this picture is adorable even

though it's blurry.  The reason it's blurry

is that about 1 second after I snapped it,

the boys fell down as they were hugging...

both got up laughing though!

Dawson and Jackson both had their

serious faces on for this picture.

Then Dawson gave hugs

to Ethan and Austin as they were going

out the door.

Recently, Dawson will do things, look at me, and say, "Take my picture doing this, Mommy!"  Of course, I always go to get the camera and get a picture.  I actually got some good pictures of Dawson when he asked me to take his picture.  Here are some of them...

My sweet, sweet boy!

He's looking like such a big boy!

He wanted me to take his picture

with his hands on his knee in the

window seat a Nana and Grandad's

house.  Silly boy!

When we visit Nana and Grandad's

house, Dawson's favorite thing to do

is jump on the trampoline!

A mischievous grin.

When we were working on unpacking

Dawson got in this crate and requested,

"Take mine picture in mine cage!"

Other than just unpacking since we've been in Knoxville we've been thrilled to get together with our friends, the Gibsons, two times!  Small world...but we met Fred and Andrea through our church in Alabama, they moved in 2009 and ended up in Knoxville.  We're thrilled to be able to hang out with them again!  They had us over for a delicious dinner a couple of weeks ago, and we've also met up with Charlie and Andrea at Gym Bugs for a fun morning for playing.

Here are Dawson and Charlie playing at

Charlie's house.

Another picture by request of Dawson.

John was drying him off after bath time

when Dawson picked up a bobby pin, and

held it to his hair.  He then requested,

"Take my picture with mine girl

hair clip!"  Silly boy!

One morning last week, we were out of ideas

for entertaining Dawson so we took him to

Chuck E. Cheese.  I think he's old enough now

to enjoy it.  He rode this horse about 5 times!

Riding the Bob the Builder ride.

He LOVES watching these "performers"

on the stage. 

Riding the motorcycle with Daddy.  He

thought this was a lot of fun!

John and I won Dawson a few tickets

so he could get prizes.  He got a

whistle and some Smarties.

He was so excited to win candy and

a whistle.  He was holding them in his

hands dancing like this all over

Chuck E. Cheese!

Playing outside, Dawson ran under

this tree and decided it was his hiding

spot.

Bentley and Dawson had been playing ball

every afternoon that it's remotely warm enough

to bundle up and go outside.

Yesterday, I attended my first Sigma Kappa

alum event-ever!  There was no SK alum chapter

in Huntsville, and so I was excited to go on Sunday!

Including myself, there were 9 Sigma Kappas who met

up for cheese and chocolate at The Melting Pot.  Yummy!  We

had a good time!

Our Going Away Party

On Saturday, January 7th, our wonderful friends, the Burns, the Houghs, and the Wayes, hosted a going away party for us in the fellowship hall at our church.  The invitation read as follows:

The Zorio's are headin' em up and movin' em out!

Saying farewell is what this party is all about!

We'll provide the BBQ, drinks, and dessert.  Please bring a side dish to share.

And wear Western attire if you dare!

Our friends know us so well-they know I always love a cute, rhyming invitation :) AND John and I love a good theme we can dress up for! 

When we walked in to the party we immediately noticed an adorable baby blue cake that said "Carter" on it.  Our friends informed us that not only was this a going away party, but it was also a surprise baby shower!  We were thrilled!  Not only were they so thoughtful to do this, but they also took into consideration that we were in the middle of moving and so everyone brought gift cards rather than gifts that we'd have to pack to move to Tennessee!  (I know, we have awesome friends!)  And to make it even more exciting, a bunch of our friends went together and got us a gift card to Kelly's Closet which is where we've registered for the cloth diapers that Carter will use.  I cannot wait to put these gift cards to use and begin preparing for Carter's arrival!!!

Everything was decorated in Western looking decor and there was some Western/Country music playing (think "Oh Brother Where Art Thou").  We had BBQ, along with several tables full of delicious sides, and Carter's baby cake along with other desserts! 

The best part though was that there were 30 of our friends there (and that doesn't count the kids!)  We had fun getting to have one more party with our friends.  The girls mostly chatted while the guys spent some time playing Corn Hole, and we all just had a great time!  We are certainly going to miss all of our wonderful Huntsville friends.  We have made everyone promise to come visit, and we hope they all will!!

Here are pictures from the party...

All of our wonderful friends at the party.

John, Dawson, and me with all of our hosts

and hostesses (minus Brad who is not pictured).

Thank you all of such a wonderful party.

I don't know what we would have done in Huntsville

without each of your friendships!

Some of the girls at the party!

John and I behind the dessert table.

You can also see Carter's gift card tree on

the table!

You can see some of the delicious food and

Western decor.

The three male-hosts of the party.

Everyone enjoying BBQ.

Check out this adorable cake my

friend Kelly made for the party!

AND we had these yummy cupcakes too!

You can't see it in the picture, but the cupcakes

are in liners that look like red bandannas.

Some of the guys playing corn hole at the party!

Our family at the party!

Check this out-my friend, Julie,

made us this cute Tennessee

burp cloth for Carter!

The Zorio's Are Moving

A few months ago John interviewed for and got a different position with the company he already works for, and that new position is in Knoxville!  So the past few months have been busy with attempting to sell our house and plan for our move. 

We are excited to move closer to family, but we are going to miss all of the wonderful friends we have made in Alabama.  When we moved to Huntsville four and a half years ago, I never thought I would enjoy living there so much or make such wonderful friends!  We have gone through many major life experiences with all our Alabama friends-being newlyweds and starting families all around the same time.  We are going to miss you all, but please come to visit us in Knoxville!

As the move drew closer and we started packing boxes, Dawson had about a million questions a day.  Were we taking his bed?  His covers?  The bathtub?  The ceiling fan?  The toys?  This toy?  That toy? And on and on, I assured him everything was going with us to Tennessee, and said, "Don't worry!"  This is one of his favorite things to tell me, John, and Bentley now.  We will be doing something and he'll randomly say, "Don't worry!"  So sweet!  We told him a big truck would be coming to take all our things to Tennessee, and he was so excited about seeing the truck.  He talked about it for weeks before the move! 

When it was finally time to get serious about packing some of our wonderful Huntsville friends helped by either watching Dawson while we packed (thanks, Stephanie!) or helping us pack (thanks, Kelly!)  for several hours and what a help this was! 

When the moving truck finally arrived we had everything packed (a task that sounds much easier now as I write about it than it actually was to complete the packing) and ready to be loaded.

Now we're attempting to get settled in Knoxville as John prepares for his first day in his new position which begins in about a week and a half.  Dawson likes the house because he can see the lake in front and behind our house-and he asks to swim in it every day (of course, it's WAAAAY too cold!).  Every day when he talks about the lake it makes him think about going to Lake Martin with his friends Jude and Jasper in September.  He has asked us every single day if Jude, Jasper, and Tessa (their dog), is at "Dawson's lake."  I can't wait for Dawson to make some friends here because he's already missing all his friends and talking about them a lot.  Yesterday we put pictures on the fridge of all his friends, and he was thrilled to talk about each friend!   

He also likes the house because we have seen a lot of deer around it.  Yesterday morning there were 4 deer less than 10 feet from the front porch.  Dawson (and Bentley) went crazy, and they prompty scared the deer away.  Since then Bentley has taken a permanent spot by the front window attempting to guard the house against deer, squirrels, and in general, anything that moves.  :)  Dawson has told everyone there were, "Four REINDEER in mine yard.  I want to catch them!!"  :) 

He also likes the house because he gets to sleep in what he calls "a big, big bed."  Last January we moved him from his crib to the toddler bed (which he called his "big boy bed") when he starting climbing over the side and out of the crib.  When we moved to Knoxville, we decided he was ready to sleep in a twin bed (with side rails).  He came up with the name, "big, big bed."  Silly boy!  He loves it, and has been sleeping later than normal each morning, which I love!  :)

We're still attempting to get settled and unpacked, but as we do there will be more updates to come.  As for now, enjoy the pictures below...

Our last family picture in front of our first home. 

We have so many wonderful memories here that it

was really sad to leave it!  :(

(Dawson insisted on wearing his rain boots this

sunny day as you can see in the pictures...not to mention

they were on the wrong feet!)

Family photo in front of some of our

boxes in the garage.

Look how little Dawson looks standing beside

our big moving truck!

Dawson was so excited to see the moving

truck that he had waited on for weeks!

He wanted a picture taken beside the wheel!

After the truck was unloaded, Dawson and

Daddy snuck in the truck for a quick picture!

(Dawson always has to be just like Daddy,

so when Daddy squatted down for the picture,

so did Dawson!)

Dawson's first night in his "big, big bed!"

Look how happy he is!

View of the lake from the front porch.

It's been cold here, and Dawson was

excited to get to wear his gloves.

After we put them on, he requested

we take his picture.

Dawson has enjoyed all the extra attention

he has gotten from family.  Here are Dawson

and Cousin Drew at Aubrey's Restaurant. 

Unfortunately, when I got out the camera

Dawson decided to show off his trick of

hanging a spoon from his nose...

such good manners!

Far away view of the house.

Close up view of the house.

Dawson was thrilled to unpack the

Tennessee gnome he got for Christmas.

So we have a gnome on our porch.  :)

Our Pea in the Pod: Carter at 26 Weeks

We are now 26 weeks along with Carter!  I can't believe how this pregnancy is flying by; it's unreal!  He is growing well (if you can't tell from the pictures below!), and he is very active!  I remember feeling like Dawson moved constantly when I was pregnant with him, but I think Carter may be trying to out do his big brother already.  :)

At 24 weeks we got to have another ultrasound, and things still looked good!  They said that he seemed to be very healthy and growing well.  The ultrasound technician was amazed at how active Carter was too!  At the beginning of the ultrasound he was head up and by the end he was back to his favorite head down position.  It took several attempts to get a lot of the measurements of his bones because he would make big movements as she tried to freeze the frame to be able to measure. 

This ultrasound was a especially meaningful because Dawson got to come!!  I was so thrilled to take him with us, and we had talked about it for days leading up to the ultrasound.  Dawson couldn't wait to go see his brother-he kept talking about it and asking questions leading up to the appointment.  Dawson was wonderful during the entire ultrasound, and his very favorite part was getting to see Carter's face for a long time.  He also liked getting to see and hear Carter's heart.  Dawson is already such a great big brother to Carter!

Enjoy the pictures below...

23 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

Dawson wanted to be in one of the 

23 week pictures too!

24 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

25 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

26 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

Another "it's a boy" ultrasound picture.

He's obviously not very modest at all because

at every ultrasound they have been able to tell

the gender immediately!

Our sweet Carter's profile!

The things that look like bubbles above him

are actually part of the umbilical cord.

Carter's legs and ankles.

Interestingly when they took all the measurements

from the ultrasound every body part on Carter measured

a few weeks ahead...EXCEPT his legs which measured

right where they were supposed to be.  So either

he's going to have short legs or his legs are about

to hit a growth spurt.  I thought this was funny because

Dawson has always been in a high percentile (around the 90th)

for height.

Carter's sweet feet.

His little toes looked so long!

Another picture of his feet!

Carter's nose and lips.

Carter's face.  This was the favorite

part of the ultrasound for Dawson-getting to look

at Carter's face.