Our Crazy Life

Houston: We have some snow!

2010-02-12T22:59:00.002-05:00

I think he needs a bigger bed...

2010-02-07T20:31:00.002-05:00

Caden has taken a liking to stuffed animals and feels the need to sleep with every single one of them. And yes he does make sure they are all in his bed every night and misses one if its not there. He sleeps with the following:
Panna (his panda)
Blankie
Shark
Dolphin
Bolt
Memo (Nemo)
Tiget (his tiger)
And Elphant (his elephant)

Doesn't leave much room for him, but he refuses to get rid of any of them, and definitely doesn't share with Jacob. Every night before I go to bed I check on the boys and there Caden is all snuggled up with all of his animals. I guess we are going to have to get bigger beds sooner than we thought! Sooo sweet!

Elvis

2009-11-22T20:39:00.000-05:00

Look who made a comeback tonight...

Three's Company

2009-11-08T11:12:00.003-05:00

Tristan came to stay for the weekend and the boys had a blast with their uncle.

Guitar with Daddy

2009-11-03T19:32:00.004-05:00

Is it really time for Christmas Pajamas?

2009-11-03T19:25:00.002-05:00

Halloween Cookies

2009-11-03T19:18:00.004-05:00

Trick-or-Treating...

2009-11-02T21:28:00.004-05:00

Woody on our way to Gwen's House

Buzz Lightyear heading out to Trick-or-Treat

Woody and Buzz

My sweet Buzz... who ended up breaking every precious thing in Gwen's house!!! :(

All the kiddos about to go out and collect some candy

This is how Josh and I felt trick-or-treating in the cold rainy weather!!! :(

Jacob LOVED it

And it looks like Caden did too!!

About to go home...

This is how Caden approached each house, "CHOC R TREAT!"

Bed-Time Fuss

2009-10-20T21:06:00.002-04:00

Lately going to bed has been a HUGE ordeal... As usual we read 2 books, one Jacob picks out and one Caden picks out. Then we climb up into the rocking chair sing a couple songs, say our prayers and just rock. But for some reason this is the time they get their second wind! As I am typing this I can hear Caden roaring and Jacob yelling, "Mommy Caden is getting out of bed!" What to do what to do?!?!

Just a second ago I went into the room to find Caden crawling across the floor towards Jacob... I tell him to get back in bed so he jumps up and runs to his bed... I tell Jacob to not talk to him and turn over Jacob responds with, "I didn't tell him to get out of bed, Caden told himself to get out of bed. I wasn't thinking that, he was thinking that!" I asked who was thinking what and he said, "Caden was thinking that, he was thinking to get out of bed, not me!"

Now Jacob is standing beside me telling me Caden is waking him up and I can hear Caden laughing in the bedroom... All of this has happened in a the short span of 5 minutes!

Chocolate Monster

2009-10-20T19:33:00.003-04:00

When I was in Target the other day I decided to get the boys a Halloween shirt to wear to school. For some reason this whole week I have been thinking this weekend was Halloween and knew they only had one shirt to wear, the one MiMi got so I bought this one. Come to find out the 31st is next week in case you were wondering. Anyways they still wore them to school today... the shirt actually smells like chocolate too. Oh and to get them to sit here and take pics I had to bribe them with Reese's Pieces so that is what is in Caden's mouth and he cried because I would not give him anymore...

Clarification...

2009-10-20T19:10:00.001-04:00

"What the flagnod?!" came from the movie Monsters vs Aliens... the alien says it and since it is the boys new favorite movie Jacob repeats that line.

Chucks are Chuck Taylors... the converse sneakers Jacob and Caden wear.

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

2009-10-19T21:11:00.002-04:00

Jacob: "Mommy I love you to the moon and back!"

Jacob:"What the flagnod?!?!"

Jacob: "Can I point with this finger?" As he holds up his middle finger!

Jacob: "But these are not fast shoes, Mommy! I do not want to wear my chucks!"

Caden: "Kinkle Kinkle wittle star!"

Caden: "Are you sweeping are you sweeping Jampa John, Jampa John?"

Caden: "Where did _____ go?" Insert any name here and repeat over and over again.

Jacob: "Mommy, why are you making that noise?" As I am laying on the couch snoring.

Caden: "Watch a mobie pwease."

Caden: "I want Pana, blankie, and Melmo chair!"

Being Crafty

2009-10-19T10:55:00.002-04:00

Jacob and Caden have wooden letters that spell out their name. But since I changed the colors in their room I took them down until I could repaint them. I totally forgot about them until about a week ago when I was going through their closet looking for winter clothes. After looking at their bare walls I decided this needed to get done, so I went down to wal-mart got paint and painters tape so that instead of just a solid color I could do them in stripes. Here are the before and after shots!!! Still a little touching up to do, but I was proud of myself!!

Our new little addition

2009-10-19T10:52:00.003-04:00

To the apartment!!! Fooled ya didn't I? Josh and I decided we needed something for our guests to sleep on... not too comfortable but it works. We found it at target and I got the end tables there too!... the end tables were $9 a piece and I think I am going to paint stripes on them to add character... and since then we have gotten curtains for the window and stuff to hang on the wall. We love it!

My Babies' Babies

2009-10-19T10:45:00.002-04:00

The other day Caden was carrying around this Shrek baby he found in the toy box and was calling it his baby. He kept stroking his head and covering him up with his blankie. So of course Jacob wanted in on it so I found him one too ( I think these came from a happy meal like 3 years ago) and they were both loving on them. I asked them to put them to bed since they had to go take a nap. They placed them in Caden's "Melmo" chair and covered them up after they gave them kisses on the forehead. So sweet!

The Varsity

2009-08-30T22:29:00.003-04:00

So Josh left for St.Louis today to help out a new store for a week. We dropped him off at the Atlanta airport at 3:45 because his flight left at 4:45. About 15 minutes down the road I get a call from Josh telling me to turn around and come pick him back up because his flight was delayed until 8:25 due to bad weather. He was hungry and so were we, so we headed to the Varsity for some dinner. I had never been there and Josh wanted it so I thought, "What the hay let's go." I don't know that I will ever go back... not what its hyped up to be, it was okay. The boys liked the hats so Josh took a pic with his phone... yes I forgot the camera again. I think Jacob is pointing at one of the greasiest french fries I have ever seen! :) Good experience, glad to have it... now moving on. :)

So Big!

2009-08-30T22:07:00.002-04:00

Yes my big boy is only 3 and yes he already has homework! In order to get his class ready for Pre-K next year his teacher has started teaching them the alphabet. Each week they are learning a new letter: how to write it, what sound it makes, and words that begin with that letter. Every Friday he has a folder sent home with him so I can see what he did all week and we get a piece of homework. This week he had to practice the letters A and B. He also had some questions we had to go over. He told me that "A" makes the sound "ah" and "B" makes the sound "buh." He did this without batting an eye and then I asked him what word begins with "A" he said, "Ants" and then I asked what words begin with "B" he said "Bird." Again without batting an eye. He is getting so smart and he did so well tracing his letters. Yes I need to go get new crayons and a pencil for him, for some reason with the move I lost them all. But for now the green sharpie works. He was so proud of himself for tracing so well! Good job big guy!

A Day of Shopping...

2009-08-30T21:59:00.002-04:00

Saturday we met Kathy, Kaylee and Erica in Calhoun to do a little fall school shopping. Of course I forgot the camera... We had lots of fun eating at Cracker Barrel and then shopping around the outlets. Found some good deals on jeans and pajamas! When we got home I put their new pajamas on and took some cute pictures. Thanks MiMi!!

Bridal Party

2009-08-30T21:39:00.002-04:00

One of my really good friends from Augusta, Sarah is getting married in April next year. Her fiance is actually the manager that took over the store after Josh and I left and we are still really good friends. Before we left, she asked me to be in their wedding unofficially before they were engaged. Well now they are and have set a date. A couple days ago she asked for my address for wedding stuff and on Saturday I checked my mailbox to find two boxes, one addressed to me and one to Jacob. These cookies were inside... what a cute way to ask us to be a part of their big day! We are all in the wedding (except Caden-bug) and I am so excited to be able to help her out in any way!

Panda

2009-08-30T21:19:00.004-04:00

Sunday afternoon I took Freia and Dad to the mall to see our store and to walk down to the bookstore to get a couple new books. As we were leaving the mall we passed by Build-A-Bear and saw a great deal they were running... a new animal plus an outfit for only $29.99. Freia asked if Caden had one and I said no only Jacob does. So we left and went home to pick up Caden so he could go make one. I let Freia and Dad take him so they could enjoy that experience. Caden loves "Panda" and carries him everywhere and has to sleep with him every night.

Scoops

2009-08-30T21:13:00.003-04:00

There is this little old timey ice cream shop we like to go to down here, so when dad was here he took me and the boys while Freia and Josh rented a movie....

I have some major catching up to do...

2009-08-30T20:46:00.004-04:00

Since we moved here to the beautiful town of Buford GA, we have been working ourselves like crazy! So working 40 hours a week and being a full time mom and wife, it has been hard keeping up with this blog. Now that my husband is gone for a week and the kids are down for bed I think I might do a little catching up... Forgive me for around 5 blogs in one night!

Dad came into town last weekend and he brought along one of the boys' favorite Aunts... Freia. They were so excited to see them and could not wait to get started in on the fun. Saturday we took them to the park...

Their favorite thing on the whole playground! It would go around and around and around and they loved it!

About to go down the double slide... I gave up on both of them looking at me at the same time.

Jampa John and Caden rocking the boat.

They loved this slide.

Playing hard and loving it!

Taking a break in the house.

Climbing up the wall...

Climbing up the rocks... notice a pattern, this kid likes to climb!

Caden loves the slide!

Say Cheese!

Dancing Fools

2009-08-10T22:05:00.002-04:00

Cuddly Little Tiger

2009-08-09T17:24:00.003-04:00

My Little Hot Rod

2009-08-09T17:19:00.003-04:00

I remember growing up and having my favorite shirt or dress that I ALWAYS wanted to wear. In fact I think I still have those things. Anyways I didn't realize it started this early. Jacob now has a favorite shirt that says "Hot Rod" on it. Almost every day he is asking for this shirt to wear and gets pretty upset when he can't wear it. So today since it just came out of the dryer he wore it to run errands. I guess I should have bought more than one... it was on SALE for 3 dollars at the Old Navy Outlet. I guess next time I run through Calhoun I'll have to look for another one.

Funny Faces

2009-08-09T10:50:00.002-04:00

Studio Jacob

2009-08-08T10:46:00.002-04:00

I guess you can figure it out by the Title... Jacob got ahold of the camera and these are the results...

Hot Summer Nights

2009-08-08T10:46:00.000-04:00

A couple of short stories...

2009-08-04T20:56:00.002-04:00

Since Jacob has been home from MiMi and PopPop's house a change has occurred. He has now turned into an old Baptist preacher. He has not once called Caden by his real name, no now he calls him "Brodder." Which in his language its means "brother." When he talks to him its... "Hey Brodder come here," or "Brodder lets play ball," or "Here is your sippy cup, Brodder." Even tonight when he got in trouble for talking back to Josh he said, "Me and my Brodder are tight buddies, not you Dad!"

Tonight while the boys were in the bath I was quickly unloading the groceries when I see a little boy probably around 18 months old running down the parking lot with no adult anywhere near him. I thought to myself he must be a little escape artist. I go up to him and he looks at me and says, "Mom?" I said, "No, but lets go find yours cuz I bet she is worried." All of a sudden I see a Mom all frantic and running down the stairs of the next complex over look at me and yell, "I found him!" She said he ran down the stairs while she too was unloading her groceries and had thought he was in the house with her husband. I tried to reassure her by telling her I had 2 little guys and I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same thing. She thanked me and went on her way...

Yesterday after a week long vacation our freight guy comes in to work to a back room full of old frieght and the UPS guy dropping off 25 more boxes. He had planned his 10 day long vacation the week before tax free weekend, and if it had been any other weekend I could have had it all done. But since I had to be on the floor every day merchandising and to help clean up after the HUGE days we had, I was only able to successfully do 2 days worth. A couple other boxes had been done by part time teammates... but basically Monday morning there was a GINORMOUS mess in the back room and around 40 boxes of freight... So you get a pretty good idea... within each box there are anywhere from 15-60 items in each box. Nick (our freight guy) decides to work til lunch with a very grim look on his face (usually he is a very easy going fun guy) then politely asks for his check and then NEVER comes back!!!! So today I did freight ALL day long and there were about 20 more boxes dropped off this morning... going in at 6 AM to finish it all. And then 2 new freight guys start tomorrow morning. Problem solved, way too much work though...

Our tax free weekend was AMAZINGLY HUGE!!! Numbers were awesome and we are truly blessed to have had the option to move to this store!

Caden is now full on potty training! He was running around diaperless this morning when I see him start to poop... Oh no he didn't!! So I scooped him up and put him on the potty where he finished his business. When I had picked him up from school he was in a dry pull-up and all his "potty time" remarks had a P next to them meaning his used the POTTY!!! Tonight he had an accident but who doesn't?

And finally... MY BOYS ARE HAVING THEIR FIRST BOOK FAIR at school!!! This was always my favorite thing in elementary school bringing home the huge paper book list so you could put your orders in early. Now I am so excited my kids get to do this!! I think way more excited than most.

Oh and... Caden got his first Birthday Party Invitation from a kid at school! We cannot wait to attend!

Caden-Bug pretending to hurt himself

2009-08-01T23:04:00.003-04:00

Visitors

2009-07-21T19:27:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend we had tons of visitors!!! Mom had taken the boys home with her Thursday after the zoo so that Josh and I could enjoy some R&R, thanks Mom. Basically we just lounged around the house, but a couple times we went to dinner and we even spent a ridiculous amount watching Transformers. Can you believe it is $21 for two people to see a movie?!?! Saturday afternoon our BFFs from Augusta, Michael and Sarah, made a trip to Buford, GA to visit with us. We ate at PF Changs and then hung out at home just catching up on things. We have missed them tons and it was so nice to see them. They stayed the night with us and hung out all day Sunday. Sunday morning I met Mom in Calhoun to pick up the boys, and instead of coming straight home to hang with our friends... I spent an hour at the outlets shopping for the boys!!! Can you believe the entire Old Navy Outlet was 40 percent off? They got tons of shorts and tees to end their summer... We headed home and spent the rest of the day out and about with Sarah while Michael and Josh hung out at the pool. They ended up leaving Monday morning, but Aunt Gloria came up Monday night. After I picked the boys up we all met and ate at Taco Mac and then we headed home where the boys got acquainted with their aunt. Jacob even woke up the next morning asking where his new best friend had gone? Now its back to familiar faces and working...

Michael and Sarah

Me and Sarah

Josh and David (he is the store manager in Douglasville... and he worked with Josh in Chattanooga)

Jacob and his new best friend Aunt Gloria

She learned that if she stood in one place Jacob could just crawl under her arm :)

My sweet boys and their Aunt Gloria

Caden turned 2 and a trip to the Zoo

2009-07-20T21:20:00.007-04:00

On our way to the Zoo

Flamingo

It's Pumba!

Jacob and Caden pretending to be Timon

Jacob and Tristan growling like Lions

Very inappropriate but I guess this is how they sleep...

Rhino

Jacob the Lion

Caden was terrified of these statues so I only got the other 2 boys

Love birds

A leemer

Sitting in the Birds nest

This guy was too cute eating his bamboo

Watching the gorillas

Like father like son...

Look at this guy posing!

Petting some goats

Trying to figure out how to get out of the zoo...

Before we even got to the parking lot

Josh has had enough lol...

Jacob laying his head on PopPop

Caden-Bug turns 2

2009-07-18T18:24:00.003-04:00

Flashback to November 2006. Josh and I were sitting on our couch in Cleveland, Tennessee listening to the peace and quiet of having no children in the house. Kathy had taken Jacob to spend the night with her so Josh and I were just sitting at home enjoying the night. I look over at Josh not wanting to say aloud what I had been thinking all day. I was 2 days late, and I knew that I had to be pregnant. I am like a clock, my stuff never changes. I knew I had to get it over with so I look at Josh and say, "I think I am pregnant!" He is in shock just like I am since just 6 months earlier we had had Jacob. He swears I'm not so to prove whether I am or not we drive to Wal- Mart at 11:00 pm and pick up a test, take it home and begin the process. When you take one of these at home tests it says to wait about 2 minutes before noticing the results... As I am peeing it flashes the digital "pregnant." We call our families and let them know and then await the next 8 months for our little Caden-bug.
Fast forward to 1:00pm on Monday July, 16 2007: Josh and I got see Dr. Childs for our weekly check-up (I am 38 weeks so we are going every week now.) Its hot and I am miserable... I beg Dr. Childs to induce me, but knowing that deep down I really didn't want that he promised me that if I didn't have Caden this weekend then he would definitely induce me the next week. My check-up hurt a little bit but no change I was only 1 centimeter dilated and like 20% effaced (prob a spelling error there.) So I go home disappointed and decide to take a nap. I wake up from the nap, which I had to do sitting straight up because of all the reflux I had, and begin to feel cramps...
I am in labor and get to the hospital at 6:30 pm and I am already dilated 8 centimeters. I have horrible nasty contractions until the epidural is put in around7. And around 10:00pm Caden- bug was born 8lbs 1oz and 21 inches long!!!
Fast forward 2 years and you get to meet my adorable little Bug. He looks so much like his Daddy but has a laid back personality like me. He is stubborn, yet loves to be cuddled up next to someone. He loves to read and say his prayers. He loves his Momma, but when it comes to wrestling loves his Daddy. He looks up and admires his big brother Jacob. He will one day become a pitcher or quarterback because Man that kid has an arm. He loves his "blanset" and I don't think we will ever get him to give it up. He is working on potty training, and learning all his words. He loves to dance, and any type of music. He likes the idea of animals, but when they get close he runs away. He is scared of fire and lots of other things. He is a Momma's boy, but can get rough and dirty with the best of them. He suffered from seizures as a baby, but the Lord healed him and brought us through it. He rolls his eyes one second, but shares his kisses with you the next. He loves loves and loves... I am so blessed to have this little guy as my son.

My Caden-Bug 2 days old

Turning 1

Caden on his 2nd Birthday with Daddy at Zoo Atlanta.

Sticker Mania

2009-07-14T19:09:00.005-04:00

Caden got a birthday card in the mail today from Jampa John. In it were stickers!!!! Caden and Jacob went crazy and wanted every single one of them on their body. So what did I do? I covered their bodies with stickers... it was a mixture of Thomas the Train and Madagascar. They were so happy that I had to take pictures... although I think I am going to give up on getting them to both look at the camera or even to give me a happy face. Normally I can count on Jacob to do just that, but not when little brother is pestering him. Thanks Jampa John for the stickers!!! :)

Caden showing me his stickers

They wanted to take a pic of their arms and legs

Jacobs arms and legs

Big brother tries to kick him away

So little brother returns the kick

Look at all those stickers

Sweet Jacob smiles for me

Checking them out

Caden was trying to take Jacob's sticker off

Jacob was trying to tell me he wanted the blue train on him... look at his left cheek he already has one! :)

Ornery Bug

2009-07-13T21:44:00.002-04:00

Our little bug is about to turn 2 years old on Thursday! Boy has his personality changed over the past year; he went from sweet and cuddly to ornery and stubborn. No really, he is still sweet and cuddly but only when he wants to be. I just cannot believe how much he has changed over the past year and he never ceases to amaze me. I thought he would never love to read or learn to talk (yes I knew he would but I was a little worried.) He is now talking up a storm and curious to learn what the next "thing" is. He sits in front of his bookcase and pulls down book after book searching and "reading" through every page. He knows exactly what he wants and exactly what he doesn't want. He can turn it on and off... when things aren't going his way he will let you know and do anything in his power to turn it his way. He is stubborn and wants what he wants right then. He can roll his eyes and kill you with his looks, but then he will turn and give you a smile like he was just kidding and it will melt your heart. You know exactly what he is feeling by the look on his face; his expressions are priceless. Tonight we were rocking in the rocking chair after we read a book and said our prayers... I asked Jacob what he was thankful for and of course he needed the definition of "thankful." So I explained it to him and I told him I was thankful for him and Caden and Daddy. He said, "Well I am thankful for Mommy and Daddy!" I asked Caden-bug what he was thankful for and he said, "My Daddy!" It was so sweet and I think tears welled up in my eyes. Usually this little guy wants nothing to do with his Daddy unless they are wrestling or playing ball (we always joke around with Josh saying Caden is a HUGE momma's boy.) But tonight he was thankful for his daddy, I even asked him if that was what he said and he said, "Uh huh!" You never know what kind of mood he will be in or what he will say or do, but he is one fun kid to be around.

Happy Birthday Josh!

2009-07-12T20:22:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Josh turned 23... what an old man! :) Haha I only say this because all day yesterday he kept walking around complaining that he felt so old. He had to work in the morning so while he was at work the boys and I went to Publix to get him a cake and the fixings for his favorite meal (Rachel Ray's Park City Cashew Chicken.) I picked out a plain cake with some crazy icing and was going to leave it at that until a little hispanic woman in the bakery came up and was ooohing and ahhing over the boys. She asked what the cake was for and I told her it was my husband's birthday and she asked if I wanted her to write anything on the cake. It had never crossed my mind so I just told her to write, "Happy Birthday Josh." So she handed the boys two cookies and then took my cake out of the cart to write on it. Within 2 minutes she hands it back to me and it says, "Happy Birthday Jos." I was just going to let it go but I guess she saw the puzzled look on my face because she asked if it was ok. I told her there was an "h" at the end of his name. I don't guess she understood me because she put the "h" in between the "o" and the "s." So the cake said, "Happy Birthday Johs." So thats that... we went home and shortly after Josh came home and we spent the rest of the day together. I made dinner and it was way to spicy for me so "Johs" was the only one eating it. To him it was perfect! We got the cake out and sang "Happy Birthday" and had Josh blow out the candles. Caden is terrified of fire and pratically screamed as I was lighting the candles. And then as soon as Josh and Jacob blew out the candles Josh clapped super loud and Caden shot up out of his chair screaming and crying. I think this was a little too soon after fireworks... I'm guessing he related the two and was in hysterics. Once he got cake he was fine!

Happy Birthday "Johs"

His candles

You can see where Caden is beginning to flip out

Jacob only wanted to lick the icing off the cake

Big Bite

A mouthful of cake

Icing everywhere!

Yum!

From the mind of Jacob...

2009-07-11T10:07:00.002-04:00

Last night we were reading our book before bed and Caden kept pointing at things and asking, "What's that?" So I would tell him what the things were, but after about 25 times of this Jacob looks at Caden and says, "Stop it Caden I can't hear!" I had to explain to Jacob that Caden was just trying to learn things like he did when he was little. A few minutes later I asked Caden what something was and he told me. Jacob looks over at Caden nodding his head and smiling and says, "Great job Caden-bug!" What an encouraging little brother!

A few minutes ago Caden was running around the house making a grunting noise while he was playing. Jacob comes running up to me while I am folding laundry and says, "Mommy Mommy Caden can talk like a robot!" And then starts grunting like Caden was doing to show me.

I get done folding laundry a few minutes ago and ask the boys, "Who wants to go to the grocery store with me?" Caden says, "I do!" But Jacob has other plans and says, "I'll just stay here mom while you guys go get groceries." I said, "Jacob you are too little to stay here by yourself." He answers, "That's just my job Mom."

Yogurt Monster

2009-07-10T22:04:00.002-04:00

I picked the boys up from school early so when we got home they were ready for a snack and yogurt was their pick. Caden decided his spoon was not getting him the nourishment he needed so he began drinking it out of the cup... this is the result! I called him a yogurt monster and he gave me a grumpy face for taking a picture before wiping his "mouph."

Justin and Miranda came to Play!

2009-07-10T21:42:00.002-04:00

Justin and Miranda made a quick stop to see us on their way to Dallas. Thursday they came down after work and we all hung out and caught up til about 12:00 am... went to bed and woke up with the kids. Josh and I didn't have to go to work til 2, but to keep the boys in their schedule we took them to school around 9:30 this morning. And then the 4 of us headed out to the pool. We hung out there til for about an hour then headed home to get ready for lunch at El Jinete! They had to leave around 2:30 to make it to the airport for their flight to Dallas... We had so much fun and had a great time catching up with our good friends! Miss you guys!

Temper Tantrums, Wrestling, Sharing,

2009-07-06T19:28:00.006-04:00

From the mind of Jacob...

2009-07-05T11:02:00.002-04:00

This morning Josh and Jacob were laying in bed having a heart-to-heart. Josh was asking Jacob about last night and if he had fun with the fireworks. Jacob then tells him:

"You can't talk to fire cuz its not real. You have to watch out because fire can fall on your leg and burn off your lotion and make you itch. And sometimes it can burn your toes off!"

And this is what my 3 year old says!

Bare Feet, Popsicles, and Fireworks

2009-07-05T10:15:00.007-04:00

Jim and Kathy came down for this long holiday weekend so that we could all go over Steve and Pat Brock's house for a 4th of July cookout. We had so much fun, the boys met new friends, and Josh and I met new friends. We had a great time eating, playing, chatting, and watching fireworks. Caden fell in love with Ava Brockman and Jacob had a great time playing with Kendall Conner and Trey. Jacob even got to hold his first sparkler! You could not tear him away from the fireworks, Caden on the other hand made me take him inside away from all the noise. He was terrified of the loud noise the fireworks gave, but enjoyed watching them through a huge window in the living room. Josh and John Brockman were busy shooting each other with fireworks while everyone else played with sparklers and watched the big ones explode in the air. It was a great 4th of July celebration and we all had so much fun!

Caden+Vacuum= Clean House

2009-06-21T20:23:00.002-04:00

The boys have a pretend vacuum that makes a vacuuming noise. So as soon as I get mine out one of them gets theirs out and "helps" me vacuum. Josh got a couple pics of us cleaning the carpet!

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-21T20:03:00.004-04:00

Unfortunately I got no good pictures! But I'll tell you our day...

We woke up and got ready for church, this Sunday we visited Hope and Life Church. Gwen and Tony Brock pastor this church so we wanted to check it out and see how we liked it. We loved it and had a great time. We got to see Tony and Gwen and their kiddos. The service was awesome and Pastor Tony gave a great message.

Next we headed home from church to make lunch when Josh changed his mind and said he wanted to go to CiCi's. So we changed the directions in the GPS and headed over there. Everyone was happy because who doesn't love pizza? The only pics I took were when we were here...

Jacob and Josh playing video games

Caden still eating while they play games

Jacob throwing a fit for some reason or another!

Then Josh had to go into work for a little bit to get ready for his Manager Meetings next week in Kearney, Nebraska. The boys and I took a nap while we waited for him to come home.

And then we all cooked dinner together, sat down had a family dinner. Now Caden-bug is playing with Josh and I am in the study blogging while Jacob watches Scooby Doo. Great family day and we all had a good time!

Hanging with MiMi and PopPop

2009-06-21T19:23:00.007-04:00

I think these pictures say it all!

Cocoa Bob

2009-06-21T14:14:00.002-04:00

Friday afternoon I went to the Kathy Adams Salon to get my hair highlighted and layered. I have been trying to grow my hair out but was tired of the "flat" look so I wanted some body. I got highlights bangs and a lot of fullness, went back to work and Josh says, "I thought you were going to chop it off!" The entire time I had sat in that chair I debated cutting it off but decided no... his comment was my deciding factor so I went back in and asked Amy (my new stylist) to book me something for the morning cuz it was coming off. 8:00 am Saturday morning I went in with hair below my shoulders and 9:00 I came out with a "Cocoa Bob." And I LOVE it (so does Josh!) I actually think this is the best haircut I have ever had and I am soooo happy!

Slippers!

2009-06-17T20:11:00.002-04:00

Earlier this evening Caden was sitting with me on the couch when he went to get up and got tangled in his legs. What happens next? A crash of course because not a day goes by here that one of my boys doesn't end up with a bump or bruise. This particular fall was pretty bad and it happened in slow motion... the kind where you want to catch them but you can't. Anyways so he falls head first into the coffee table and hits his left eye and cheek and mouth... he cried the kind of cry where you can't breathe and I just felt so bad for him. Unfortunately he will probably have a black eye tomorrow because his the whole top of his left eye is swollen. Anyways to the picture... he wanted to get in the bath right away so we ran the water and washed and dried him off. I went to put him in his pajamas and he saw the slippers he is wearing and went basurk... he wanted those things on him sooo bad! So when he got them on he ran around the house laughing about slippers and showing them to everyone. And of course Jacob needed his on too so I thought I'd take a pic of them wearing them!

And this is a pic of my sweet Jacob who knows how to change out his DVDs without any help. Smart or watches too many movies?

Caden the Bookworm

2009-06-17T20:00:00.002-04:00

Lately Caden has been all about reading books. Every night we have to read two books before bed and anytime in between he is usually looking through a book. Tonight I captured him "reading" the boys favorite book: Firefighters to the Rescue. When we read this book and I get to the part where it says, "Firefighters to the..." Caden screams out, "Escue!" It is so cute and I love that he enjoys reading this much. A couple months ago I thought he would never want to sit down a read a book with me and now that is all he wants to do! He is growing up so fast and it hurts my heart that I really don't have a "baby" in the house anymore.

2nd Time Around

2009-06-16T20:18:00.002-04:00

A couple days ago Caden's teacher at school told me Caden had been sitting on the potty trying to go and had actually done it a few times. I was very surprised and told her I was going to wait until he turned 2 and she said, "Oh honey its never too early and all the kids in his class are in underwear already." Caden is not a late-bloomer he is just the youngest one in his class, and since he isn't talking a whole heck of a lot I just thought I'd wait...BUT I decided to jump on the potty training bandwagon for the 2nd time. I don't think I'm going to be as lucky as I was with Jacob. He literally got the hang of it in like 3 days. So now onto Caden. He LOVES to sit on the potty, even if nothing is coming out. You can tell how proud he is of himself and loves to hear me sing praises to him. Jacob is even catching on and clapping for him (he also wants me to clap for him!)

Lord grant me patience and wisdom!

Virginia Beach

2009-06-14T20:01:00.005-04:00

Every year my Dad schedules a vacation for all my brothers and sisters. Usually we go to Grayton Beach in Florida because this is what we have done since I was about 9 years old. But this year we decided to go up to Virginia Beach because its a beach and that is where my brother and his wife are stationed. We were all excited for a little change of scenery, and have been looking forward to this for most of the year. Saturday morning (the 6th) we packed up the car and readied ourselves for an 8 hour drive to the beach. I had lunch and dinner packed along with tons of snacks, drinks, and movies for the boys. The trip went amazingly well and we actually made it in 8 and a half hours during the middle of the day with 2 little guys in the back seat. About an hour out from the beach I was telling Josh about how I had packed the camera and lots of extra batteries when he says, "Did you remember the memory card?" My face drained of all color and I gasp reaching for the camera. Of course I had taken it out a couple days before to load all the pictures onto our computer and forgotten to put it back in the camera! What a great way to start off the week! Fortunately everyone else had a camera and we were emailed all the pictures today. Most days we spent on the beach or at the pool... we had a wonderful time relaxing and hanging with the family. Although Friday Caden woke up with a horrible temperature and we had to take him to a Doc in a Box only to find out he had Strep throat and a bacterial upper respiratory infection. He got a prescription and has felt tons better. We left Saturday morning and it took us way longer this time... All in all it was wonderful we are all relaxed and ready to get back into the swing of things!

Dorsal Fins or Tricks?

2009-06-11T21:15:00.005-04:00

Earlier this week Josh and I bought tickets for a boat ride to see the dolphins. We thought to ourselves how much the kids would enjoy seeing dolphins jump and flip around, so we went ahead and pumped them up for the trip. Jacob has been talking about riding on a boat to see dolphins all week long, and quite frankly I have been pretty stoked about it also. So today was the day we picked for the boat ride. It was a gorgeous day, bright blue skies, sun beating down and the water was pretty calm. We head down to Winston Salem Avenue to board the Rudee Dolphin Boat and head out onto open waters. We were warned to get there 30 minutes early... we got great seats but had the sun beating down on us until we were sweating and decided to move downstairs under the canopy. The boys are so excited and Jacob cannot wait to see the dolphins and then we hear the announcer lady say, "This sure is an unlucky crew, we can't seem to find any dolphins anywhere!" Josh goes, "Well we better be lucky enough to get a refund!" Finally we hear her tell us to turn to 10:00 (which of course Josh and I have no idea what direction that is) because there is a group of dolphins. All we saw were the dorsel fins... these were definitely not trained dolphins because they did none of the fun things I thought they should do for the boys like jump up and do flips and splash the boat... not they just showed us their fins if we were lucky... which there are no two the same of. The lady even says you can take a picture of one and identify it by the fin. Who cares... I wanted to see tricks. I expressed these feelings to Josh and he brought me back down to Earth by saying, "Courtney, this is not Sea World." I guess if you want tricks thats where you have to go. The boys did love seeing the fins and even got a kick out of them. All in all they had a great time... wish there had been a little more excitement!

PS You moms will appreciate this: I had to change a bad diaper in a bathroom the size of an airplane bathroom while going over huge waves... don't ask me how I did it, but I'm sure you can picture it!

Fun in the Sun

2009-05-31T19:16:00.005-04:00

Jacob hanging from the monkey bars

Sitting on top of the monkey bars with a little help from GiGi

Uncle Tristan taking a break

Swinging from the monkey bars

Some help from GiGi

Freia was supposed to be pushing Caden... but instead she was texting.

Mom swinging with Caden

Jacob and Tristan swinging

Me and Caden swinging

Having fun

Mom pushing Caden in the swing

Walking across the wobbly beam

Going down the slide with GiGi

Jacob peeking through the slats

Tristan trying to climb on the side of the jungle gym

Caden going down the slide

Swinging some more

Tristan hanging upside down

First Day at a New School

2009-05-26T18:32:00.005-04:00

I woke the boys up early so they could eat their toast and sausage before school. Neither one of them were really interested so they ate about half of it and then at the breakfast at school... Biscuits, yogurt and fruit.

Look at Caden-bugs fluffy hair! I just love when he looks like this when he wakes up!

Jacob all ready and watching cartoons before we left.

Caden saying "Cheese" and showing me his belly button.

Walking out to the car with Daddy. It really wasn't this dark outside, but for some reason the camera made it that dark.

Sitting in his carseat ready to go to school

Jacob giving me a sideways glance.

Their new school!

Jacob unbuckling to get out and go to school.

At school they are learning the letter F. He made this picture today and practiced writing the letter. He told me F stood for "flower" with a little help from his teacher. Both boys had a good report (2 hour naps!) and they were happy as could be when I went to get them, playing with their new friends.

My Little Fish

2009-05-26T18:24:00.002-04:00

Jacob was squirting a bug with his water gun.

Running into the pool

The "hot" tub... yeah right it was not even as warm as a bath!

The pool... the part closest to us is only 3 feet with a step all the way around. Perfect for the kids!

There is our apartment from the pool!

Yesterday we spent most of the day at the pool swimming and playing around. Both the boys love the water and I had to pry them away when it got close to dinner time.

Man Overboard

2009-05-25T09:25:00.002-04:00

So the bad thing about our porch not being flesh with the ground... is the boys can throw things over it! Our apartment is on entry-level but there is another apartment above us and below us. Those people have to use the stairs. So this morning Freia and her friend MaKayla (who are staying with us for the week) realized there were some toys on the ground below us (ones I had not seen.) So they ran down the huge hill to retrieve them... falling up and down it.

Cute pic on their way up

Close up

Running up the hill

They were throwing the toys back to the boys

Which was a bad idea because the boys threw them back!

Our New Apartment

2009-05-24T09:41:00.008-04:00

This is our living room

Other side of living room (I have no idea what Jacob is doing)

View onto our back porch

Our porch overlooks the tennis courts and one of the pools

Our HUGE kitchen! Way bigger than my last one and I am so happy about it!

Dining room- the walls are bare throughout the house because we do not have anything to put on them yet. On our list of "Things for the house."

View from dining room into living room (that door goes out onto our porch)

My HUGE landry room

Guest bathroom

Jacob's bed

Caden's bed

Boy's room (the walls are bare... I have to repaint the things that were on their walls because we changed the colors of their room)

Boy's closet

Their new bedding

Study/ Playroom/ Guest room... yes it is very messy the boys play in here all day!

Messy corner

Train table and TV stand

Another view

Master bedroom (the walls still bare I know)

Another corner

Our closet

Master bath

Our garden sized tubs! We love them soooo much!

Sleepy Time

2009-05-23T21:51:00.003-04:00

Tonight Caden had a hard time going to sleep and kept coming out of his room. I rocked him for a little bit and then went to lay him down; he pointed at Jacob's bed and said, "BED!" I asked him if he wanted to lay down with Jacob and he said, "Huh uh!" Which to him means "yes." So I asked Jacob if Caden could lay down with him and after a couple seconds he agreed. Josh and I were in the living room and we did not hear a peep for over an hour. So we went in to check on them and this is what we found! What a sweet big brother! I went ahead and moved Caden back to his bed and rearranged Jacob. These are the moments that make my heart melt.

The Finger

2009-05-23T20:38:00.003-04:00

This morning while I was in the kitchen cleaning Caden comes running in with his finger in his mouth. For some reason his finger was green so I made him pull it out of his mouth ASAP. On his finger was a green warty witch finger with a long red nail painted on it. It made me laugh so hard and then Caden started laughing and then Jacob joined in. It was so funny and I actually had one exactly like that when I was younger... I think I won it out of a gumball machine. After I stopped laughing I asked where they got it and Jacob said, "It's from Tristan's room." So that made me think that it actually might have been mine from years ago. They have had a blast all day playing with it so tonight when Caden had it on his finger I said, "Caden show me your finger so I can take a picture." He wouldn't so I kept saying it over and over again, finally Jacob held his finger up to me and told me to take a picture. I guess he didn't realize I was trying to take a photo of the green finger. Here are the pics:

My Beautiful Big Boys

2009-05-22T21:05:00.004-04:00

The Hottest Place to be according to Jacob

2009-05-22T20:40:00.002-04:00

Tonight we were trying to find a place to eat and so I asked Jacob where he wanted to go. He immediately said, "Umm Cracker Barrel!"

Jacob's Haircut

2009-05-22T20:38:00.002-04:00

And this is how Jacob gets his hair cut.... propped up and leaned back! What a funny little guy.

Caden's "First" Haircut

2009-05-22T20:14:00.003-04:00

So technically this is not his first haircut, but it is his first haircut in a salon.

Both the boys were looking a little full-headed so today I decided to take them to a salon to get their haircut. This was done so that Josh could not buzz their hair off which he tends to resort to if their hair begins to look at all scraggly. And so today was the day we took Caden-bug to the salon. And might I say he did amazingly well! He literally did not move or try to wipe his face or even fuss for that matter. My little guy sat in the big chair draped with an apron and sat still as a board. He did so well and I was so proud of him! Now he is going to look super cute and fresh for his first day of school on Tuesday!!

Overwhelmed!!!

2009-05-13T20:03:00.002-04:00

Some of you have already heard about this, but I am going to write about it anyway. About a month ago the Mall of Georgia store opened up expectantly when the manager left. Josh and I heard about it and we were thinking about putting our name in for the store. But then we realized some things about percentages and such (too much to explain.) So we told ourselves that we were not going to put our name in for it. Although the pros outweighed the cons at the moment, we knew our best bet was for the company to call with an offer. We decided against putting our name in for it and said, "If we get called about it then we will move forward, otherwise we sit tight and enjoy it here in Augusta."
A few weeks ago they offered the store to a manager Josh knows who is in the Little Rock Arkansas mall. So there it went and we knew it was not meant to be. Last week that manager came down and spent a week here and decided the place was not for him. So Saturday May 9th Josh gets a call from Daniel (our area manager) who tells Josh that him and Darren (our district manager) were talking and really want Josh and I to take over the Mall of Georgia store.
So now to the present... Josh and I are in Buford right now spending the week in the store trying to make a decision. He is working with the team as if it was his own, and I am merchandising the store as if it were my own. We have talked with Darren to weigh out pros and cons on the business side of it and now Josh and I are seeing the potential the store could have if we are in it. Basically they want us to make a decision by the end of the week and then move to Buford next week and then start up the week after.
Talk about overwhelming!!!! Lots of me wants to be here in Buford... but lots of me still likes Augusta. I was just feeling settled in a town, with good friends and knowing where everything is. I am nervous to start all over in a new town, but also this new town is a lot closer to my family in Chattanooga.
Needless to say there is a lot of praying and talking going on with me and Josh. So if you could join us in prayer please do! WE DESPERATELY NEED THEM!

Love you guys!

Babies and Fathers

2009-05-03T21:33:00.002-04:00

Blurbs from Jacob

2009-05-03T18:39:00.002-04:00

I was laying down for a nap and Jacob comes running in saying, "Mommy! Daddy got hit in the head with a balloon and he is hurt, come quick!" What really happened was Josh sliced his toe open on the vacuum and then hit the balloon cuz it hurt so bad.

I have been taking the boys to the pool and Jacob is an excellent swimmer but sometimes forgets. He wanted me to get his toys that had floated away, so I told him to swim and get them. He looks at me and says, "Mommy do you really think that is the best idea?"

Double Cleaning!

2009-05-03T18:34:00.003-04:00

Last night while taking a bath Caden decided to poop in the tub. I didn't realize this until I went back in to wash them both. On a normal night I let them play for about 10 minutes before I go in and wash them. So last night when I went in with washcloths I find a surprise. I immediately yell for Josh to start the shower in our bathroom while I pull the boys out of the bath and send them in there to be re-washed. Josh turns on the shower and sets them in it. And they loved it! They had so much fun in the shower and got all clean!

Woodcrest Lake Monster

2009-04-29T21:33:00.003-04:00

JJ and Tyler came down for a visit and have been hanging out with the boys while Josh and I are at work. Two days ago I had to go in for a long time so they were occupying the boys by taking them to the pool. JJ had to go get swim diapers so she left them with Tyler. He got bored and decided to take the boys to one of the lakes on our property. While they were there, Jacob fell head first into the lake and Tyler had to fish him out by his feet. JJ took pictures of what he ended up looking like. Luckily he is safe and still enjoys swimming (in the pool.)

Jacob after falling in the lake, notice how Caden was dressed.

Yucky Face

Ewww!

JJ and the Boys

2009-04-29T21:27:00.003-04:00

Out with the OLD and in with the NEW

2009-04-21T19:33:00.003-04:00

Today we said goodbye to our Tennessee tags and got Georgia ones. How sad it is to know that now every time I will be looking for my car I won't be able to distinguish it from others by the license plate alone. Oh well I guess now I will have to find a different defining characteristic! Goodbye Tennessee Hello Georgia!

Funny Sayings from a 3 year old

2009-04-20T12:05:00.002-04:00

Recently Jacob has been running around the house with his hand over one eye yelling, "Oh my eye, I got berry juice in my eye!" This quote is his interpretation of A Bug's Life. The part in the end where the ants are trying to scare off the grasshoppers and they make the fake bird. The stick bug puts a berry on his eye to make it look like the bird poked his eye out.

This morning while everyone was calling to wish him happy birthday he put his hand on mine and said, "No one can stop us now! We have a princess to save!" I have no idea where this one came from.

He asks, "Mommy what does a space ranger actually do?" And then answers his own question with, "I know he flies around in space and saves people from Zert." Zert is the bad guy from Toy Story 2 (can't remember his real name.)

He tells me, "Mommy you have beautiful hair!"

Dad was here a couple weeks ago and he kept calling me Princess. Which is his name for each of his daughters, I think its cuz he can't remember our names. :) So after dad called me Princess Jacob said, "Mommy you are not a Princess!" Thanks for the wake-up call Jacob.

Jacob spent the night with dad and when Dad said, "I think you need to go poop." Jacob replied, "No I don't think so." That same night Jacob told Dad that, "PopPop says 'Don't poop any frozen biscuits'." You'll have to ask Jim about this one! :)

And Finally Jacob asked Dad where Freia was and Dad told him she was downstairs. Jacob asked, "If I crawl under the chair will I be able to see her?"

Balloons from MiMi!

2009-04-20T11:51:00.002-04:00

Look what came knocking on our door this morning! Jacob was so excited and can't wait to eat the M&Ms ( I told him he had to wait til after his nap.) Thank you MiMi!!!

Yes I know he is wearing a huge T-shirt, but he loves to sleep in it because KayKay and Erica gave it to him.

Which leads me to another point... yes we are still in our PJs, we have no place to go! :)

It's Official Jacob is 3!

2009-04-20T08:46:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe it has been 3 years since this wonderful bundle of joy came into our lives. Although being a mommy can be tiring, I could not imagine my life without this sweet little boy. As a baby he would always reach up and play with my hair while I rocked him. This started when he was about 2 weeks old and to this day he still needs to play with my hair. It is so sweet and makes my heart bubble up with joy when he crawls up in my lap, pulls my hair out of a ponytail and just runs his fingers through my hair. In 3 short years my baby has survived 8 different moves, 3 stitches, giving up his "tassy," becoming a big brother at 15 months, potty training, and much more. He is such a strong intelligent little guy and I am so proud of who he is becoming. He reminds me to pray before we eat and he makes sure we pray every night before we hop into bed. He loves to sing songs about Jesus and read his Bible. What a mighty child of God. As I am writing this tears are coming to my eyes because I was the one God entrusted to care for Jacob and I am so blessed for it. Happy Birthday dear Jacob!

Jacob at 2 days

Jacob's first birthday!

Jacob's 2nd Birthday

Jacob's 3rd Birthday

Jacob at age 3!!

Night Terrors...

2009-04-19T15:34:00.002-04:00

Jacob has been potty trained for almost a year now, but I have nee too scared to let him sleep in underwear. He still sleeps in a diaper; until recently. A few nights ago I thought to myself, "He should be able to sleep in underwear and not wet the bed." So from then on I let go of the fear and let him wear underwear to bed. So the past couple of nights he has ended up in our bed pretty early (around 4 am) and I just put it off to he needed to go potty so that woke him up. Well last night he was in our bed and I wake up to Josh leaving the room, I just figured Jacob had pushed him out and he was going to go into the living room to sleep. Well 8:00 rolls around and here comes Caden-bug crawling into bed with us. This wakes Jacob up and he tells me he wants to go watch cartoons. He goes into the living room and Josh turns on the cartoons and then comes to lay back down with me and Caden. Josh lays down but then sits up real fast and says, "Courtney the bed is wet right here." I answered with, " I think I was really hot last night and I sweated a lot because my whole back is damp." Josh looks at me really funny and says, "Jacob felt wet are you sure he didn't pee in the bed?" I assured him that it was just me overheating. He still didn't believe me so he leaned down and sniffed the bed. His face twists into a sour expression and at that moment I realize that in fast Jacob had peed in the bed and I had been rolling around in it all night. I jump up fast strip the bed and Jacob; I start a load of laundry and then jump in the shower (with Jacob) to get the pee off of us.

Oh my life is never dull.

My Baby is Turning 3!

2009-04-17T22:06:00.004-04:00

Josh and I decided this year we would celebrate Birthdays a little different than normal. Since we live 4 hours away, we are going to throw the boys a double party in Chattanooga in July. So for Jacob's Birthday Josh and I took him out by himself for a special night. Sarah came over to watch Caden-bug while we went out. First we took him to CiCi's to have some pizza and play some games. He loved driving the cars with Josh while I sat back and took some pictures. Next we headed to Toys R Us to pick out a bicycle for his present. Kathy had told me how much he wanted one during the Egg Hunt so this was what we were going to let him pick out. He was so excited, but once we got to the bike aisle and tried out a few he changed his mind. He was not at all excited about getting one and told me and Josh, "This does not fit my Birthday." He decided he wanted cars so we went to look for them. First he found one of the battery operated life size cars climbed in the $300 Cars one and said, "This fits my Birthday just right!" Too bad it did not fit our wallets! haha! So we kept on looking and he found his two semi-trucks from the movie Cars and said that they fit his Birthday. We tried to add on to the presents but nothing else fit his Birthday, only his two new trucks. Below you will see the picture of a failed attempt to get him a bike and the Barbie skate board he wanted. After paying we headed off to the movie theatre to take him to see Monsters vs Aliens- the IMAX 3d version. Which Josh and I did not know was $15 a person!!!! Luckily Jacob is still under the age limit and got in free. We all loved the movie and laughed quite a bit through it. Jacob had to take turns sitting in mine and Josh's laps because the movie chair kept folding up on him. We had a wonderful night and Jacob seemed to have a great time!

Easter 2009

2009-04-16T21:09:00.005-04:00

Easter Egg Hunting @ TMC

2009-04-16T21:04:00.003-04:00

My Sweet Boy

2009-04-06T19:18:00.002-04:00

Tonight we were all sitting down for a family dinner. A couple bites in Jacob says, "Oh Mommy we forgot to pray!" I leaned over and asked him if he wanted to say it. He said sure and here is how it went, "Thank you for my mommy who made this food. Amen!" How sweet is he?

We Finally find a good Park... and it rains!

2009-04-05T15:56:00.003-04:00

We met up with Jen and Aedan and she took us to a really cool park. Too bad after about 10 minutes it started raining!

2 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

2009-03-31T20:31:00.002-04:00

Great Idea Claire!

2009-03-30T09:19:00.002-04:00

After I saw this on Claire's blog I just had to run to Target and get some Easter eggs, baskets, bunny-mallows, and stickers. So yesterday after church, nap time, and running some errands I got the eggs ready. Since it was so pretty yesterday and our apartment was full of people I figured I'd let them run around outside. So while Josh kept them inside I basically dumped the eggs out on the grass to "hide" them. Some were a little more tricky than others. Once that was done I came back inside gave the boys their baskets and let them run out there. Jacob understood he was supposed to put as many in his basket as possible, Caden on the other hand just picked up the "balls" and threw them as hard as he could. Needless to say Jacob "won" the hunt with the most eggs, but finally Caden started putting them in his basket. They had so much fun and loved the bunny-mallows in the prize eggs. Thanks Claire for the great idea!

The "hidden" eggs

Going to get the eggs

Jacob found the first stash

Caden running to throw some more!

Look how full his basket is!

These were the tricky ones, I ended up having to point them out.

Going back inside after finding them all.

Relaxing...

2009-03-24T21:21:00.002-04:00

A lot of the time my boys are fighting with each other over one thing or another. Sometimes though they are so sweet to each other. Tonight was one of those nights. Jacob's tummy has been upset for quite some time now and so tonight all he could have was crackers and banana pops, Caden too. So while Jacob was whining for food I offered him a pop and he agreed to one, but told me that Caden-bug needed one too. So I got them both banana pops (with paper towels wrapped around the bottom) and then turned on their movie. I came back out into the living room and started cleaning. They were in their room laughing at each other and it sounded so sweet so I grabbed the camera and snuck up on them. They were both sitting in the Cars couch Dad got for Jacob eating their popsicles and watching their movie. I love these sweet moments between the two of them.

Jacob's Thoughts...

2009-03-24T13:38:00.001-04:00

Today as I was putting Jacob's shoes on he looked up at me and said, "You are a good mommy, to infinity and beyond!" How sweet :)

From the Mind of Jacob...

2009-03-23T10:30:00.002-04:00

The other day when I went to use the restroom of course Jacob followed me. I can never have a minute alone in the bathroom. He just stood there and asked, "Mommy does pee come out of your bottom?" I knew where this was headed so I just agreed. Then he said, "No that is not the right word, Mommy what is that word?" He thought for a few minutes more and then I saw the lightbulb go off in his head. "No I know the word... pee comes out of your badrino!"

Ducks, Geese, and Jampa John

2009-03-21T14:28:00.003-04:00

Dad took the picture of us by the lake.

The two geese Jacob fed bread to

Eating a piece of bread

Jampa John helping Caden throw some bread to the geese.

Look how close Jacob got!

Divvying up the bread between the boys.

Jacob accidentally threw the bread on the ground... Jampa John was making sure it got into the water.

I think I was pointing out a duck to him. Who knows?

Dunkin' Donuts

2009-03-21T10:11:00.002-04:00

This morning dad went to Dunkin' Donuts and brought home some delicious dough-nuts. The boys went to town and were covered in chocolate icing! Thank you Jampa John!

Play-Date at the Mall!

2009-03-21T09:56:00.004-04:00

Caden shot me dirty looks when he climbed up on this caterpillar and could not get off!

This is the little guy Caden wanted to hug, but tackled instead...

My sweet Jacob

Climbing on the Lady Bug

Playing together

Going down the slide, he was so proud of himself!

Checking himself out!

Saying Cheese!

How sweet!

Freia and I took them to mall to play and let some energy out. They had a great time; Jacob found a little girl named Amirah to play with, and Caden played with a little 7 month old boy named Nicholas. Jacob and Amirah kept racing all over the play area making Freia and me say, "On your mark get set go!" We played for about an hour, and then Jacob said good-bye to "Mario" yes that is what he called Amirah!

NOODLES!

2009-03-21T09:51:00.002-04:00

Jacob wanted a snack the other day so I gave him Freia's leftover Pastaroni. This is how he decided to eat it... on the couch and with his hands! It was all over him and the couch. Oh well at least his belly got full!

Scar Face Caden

2009-03-18T18:28:00.002-04:00

Caden joined the scar club today. Jacob had play-dough and Caden got ahold of it. Big uh-oh. Instead of coming to me (which is something we are working on) he decided to take matters into his own hands. He pushed Caden and all I heard was screaming. I ran into the room and blood was running down into Caden's eye. He had split his eyebrow open and I started flipping out. I got it cleaned up, but I was afraid he might need stitches so I woke Josh up and he assured me he did not. It has bled a little off and on today, I am hoping by letting it air out tonight it will scab over. Poor guy is always getting hurt.

Safety Patrol Jacob

2009-03-18T18:23:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we were on the porch and Jacob found his tricycle and wanted to ride on it. But he would not go anywhere until I went and got his helmet to put on him. What a little safe guy! Although we were only on the porch he still wanted to be safe. In the background you can see Caden-bug sneaking out the fence. This is the reason we had to go back inside because he refuses to stay on the porch.

Da-Dog

2009-03-18T18:13:00.003-04:00

Mom brought Freia down here to spend her Spring Break with us and since the boys were in town she brought them here with her. She took the five hour long trek in her 7 person car with: Mom, Freia, Tristan, Domino (the dog), and my boys. Poor woman, she was still sane when she got here, but I am sure she was on the edge! Mom and Tristan and Domino stayed the weekend here before she left to go home. Caden absolutely adores dogs, but he calls them Da-dogs. So he had a blast with Domino. He tried to share his juice with him through his kennel- he gave him toys to play with and even tried to share his Den-Den (his blanket.) But the second Domino got out of the kennel to go for a walk, Caden would run and grab onto my leg, once he was back in the kennel Caden would run over and call him Da-dog and play with him. So I sat him on top and he loved it. He was laughing and petting Domino through the bars. I know he loves them but he is not getting one until he is 10!

Our little pool!

2009-03-18T18:04:00.003-04:00

Freia is spending her Spring Break here in Augusta with us and we are so delighted to have her. She brought her swimsuits because it is 80 degrees here and our pool is open year round. Well of course the past two days have been gorgeous and the pool is CLOSED! The sign says it is being treated, but does it really take 2 whole days? So we have our fingers crossed that tomorrow will be beautiful and we will be able to lay out in the sun! So having swimming withdrawals Freia put her swimsuit on and got in the tub with the boys. They loved having Aunt Fweia in there and they completely soaked her! I'm not so sure she will want to spend next Spring Break here!

The Squirrel we never had... or did we?

2009-03-18T08:33:00.002-04:00

This morning Freia was telling Jacob about the rabbit she used to have and that he preferred celery over carrots. Jacob then told her that he used to have a squirrel. This was news to me! He started to describe him with such a vivid imagination. Stuck the Squirrel (yes this is the name he gave him) was black and white and had a very stinky tail. And of course everyone in our family loved him and loved to pet him. Unfortunately he ran to another hole... I do not know where he gets this stuff! Here are some more funny things he has said lately:

Freia was cleaning up his cars and he was in his room saying, "This doesn't make any sense!" Freia asked what didn't make sense and his reply was, "I just don't know the word!"

Last night we put his pajamas on him and I accidentally pulled them up too high and we all started laughing. Amidst his laugh Jacob says, "I look like Jampa John!"

Last week when he was with Jim and Kathy they were all riding in the car and Jim and Kathy were talking back and forth. Jacob thought they were arguing so he said, " MiMi stop fussing at Pop Pop and Pop Pop you stop fussing at MiMi because MiMi is a good MiMi!"

He never fails to amuse or surprise me!

Feeding the Ducks

2009-03-09T20:06:00.004-04:00

My What a Lovely View!

2009-03-09T19:00:00.001-04:00

On our way home from church this is what we saw! I thought I would share this with you all and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Serving the World

2009-03-08T12:37:00.002-04:00

This morning we got up and went to the 10:00 church service at Steven's Creek. The service was awesome, as usual, and the message was on serving the world. They had a cute little skit in the beginning about church volunteers that lead into the message. This morning Kevin gave the sermon, he is the youth pastor, and I loved it! It was all about how our whole mission in life is to serve the undeserving and to put a light into those lives. Lately I have really been wanting to do more with my life, but didn't know where to start. So they gave us these cards at the end of the service asking us where we wanted to serve in the church. As I was reading down the list my eyes ran over middle school and high school ministries and I knew that is where I want to be. So I marked it off and I can't wait to hear what they want me to do! Josh is going to start playing drums on a rotation, and I am so excited about building new relationships in this church! Today was a great day!

Aunt JJ, Cupcakes, and Ear Infections

2009-03-06T20:36:00.002-05:00

Today was a very loooong day. It started out with me waking up at 4 am and getting ready for work. I got to the mall and realized I left my work keys at home, luckily it only takes me 5 minutes to get to the mall. So I turned around (after calling the mall security back to tell them I would be back in about 10 minutes) and went home to grab the keys. Got back to the mall and went into work. I haven't had much time to work this week because Josh has been putting in a lot of hours, so I was afraid that when I got there this morning it was going to look bad. Surprisingly though the team did amazing and putting the store together while I was not there. I guess I have trained them well! Ok so I work until 10:15 and then head home to make the boys lunch and let Josh get ready to go into work. I don't know how men have not mastered the art of multi-tasking, maybe it comes with age! :) So around 11 I make the boys and I lunch then get them dressed and head off to the Doctor. Caden has been coughing and has had a runny nose and a touch of fever so I figured it was another ear infection. Yup I was right... 45 minutes later we are out and heading to Walgreens to fill a perscription for Amoxicillan. Normally we would head home for naps, but not today. Jen, our freight girl, is leaving to go to a new job so Josh wanted me to pick up a card and some cupcakes. So we drop off the perscriptions make a quick trip home to grab the double stroller (remember I only live 5 minutes from the mall and doctor.) Then we head to Kroger where we find diapers cupcakes and a card. Next we head to the mall and we get everyone to sign the card and we wait for Jen and Aedan (her little guy) to come in. We have a few cupcakes and then go shopping with Jen to find her some new work clothes. We finally leave the mall around 3 and I'm thinking that the boys would not take a nap... thank you Jesus they did. They both fell asleep in the car and a quickly moved them into their beds. As I lay down on the couch to snooze Britt calls and I talk to her for a bit and then I get a text from JJ saying she was going to be driving through Augusta. I call her and she decides to stop by and eat dinner with me and the boys. Tyler is wrestling in Charleston so she is on her way there. After dinner we run by the mall to get Josh's keys so she could borrow the GPS so she would not get lost in the dark and I gave the boys a cupcake (see pic at top of page.) We came home, took baths, and they were in bed by 8:15! Now I am going to R-E-L-A-X!

DaDa or Momma?

2009-03-06T15:51:00.003-05:00

Caden has been calling me DaDa and refuses to call me Momma. So I have been practicing with him on this picture. Dad framed this and mailed it to us a couple weeks ago and it sits on one of my end tables. So everyday I grab it and point at me and say Momma and then point at Josh and say DaDa. He just laughs and points to me and says DaDa. I am so frustrated, but I think he can sense that and is now just being stubborn and not calling me Momma. I have heard him say it several times, but he won't do it for me. So when I am gone at work or running errands and Josh is home with the boys Caden stands at the door and cries for DaDa. Josh will then say I'm DaDa and I'm right here. Caden responds with, "No I want DaDa!" And so they banter back and forth for a couple minutes and finally when Caden gets really frustrated he goes and picks up this picture, points at me and says, "NO I WANT DADA!" So if anyone has any tips to make him call me Momma I am all ears. I joke with Josh and tell him he is going to be out with Caden and he is going to say, "I want my other DaDa," and people are going to look at him really weird. Oh well I guess one day he will catch on and call me Momma, until then he has two DaDas.

Papaw and Cheese!

2009-03-04T18:13:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks when we were in Chattanooga we went to my grandparent's house. While we were there my Mamaw did our taxes and the boys played outside. Once Mamaw was done they came inside and Mom was asking Caden to say Papaw so he started saying it. He said it once and we all clapped so he kept pointing at Papaw and saying his name. So before we left Mamaw went and got a wallet size photo of her and Papaw and gave it to Caden so he could have a picture of Papaw. He was holding it in the car pointing and saying Papaw, then he would point at Mamaw and say "Cheese!" I guess he thought that was her name because she was smiling in the picture. So now he carries the picture around and points at the picture calling them Papaw and Cheese. The picture is all wrinkled up because he loves to carry it around and look at them. How sweet!

Cracker Barrell... the place to be!

2009-03-01T18:28:00.003-05:00

Last night Freia and I took the boys to dinner and then we were going to go to Chuck-E-Cheese. It was rainy and cold so we couldn't really go anywhere else so after a yummy dinner at Chili's we head over there. As we pull into the jam-packed parking lot I take one look inside and I knew we were going to have to do something else. The line was out the door and all I could see was a million parties going on. So I tell Jacob a little white lie, "Oh no Chuck-E-Cheese is closed tonight!" I know I'm horrible, but there was no way I was going to go in there. The mall was packed so I knew that play area was out of the question. I asked Jacob where he wanted to go and his reply was, "Let's go to Cracker Barrell!" Freia and I look at each other and start laughing I asked why and he said, "Because they have sausage! And they always give you sausage when you ask for it." I guess endless sausage is his idea of a great time/

Diving Like a Penguin

2009-02-26T19:28:00.003-05:00

Last week Jampa John took the boys and me to the aquarium where the boys met the penguins. They absolutely loved them and now they like to reenact what they saw in the bathtub. So here are my sweet boys diving like penguins! At the end you can hear Caden-bug say "ove ou."