Shadow Puppets

I found Collier playing with the shadows that were cast on the floor from the sun streaming in through our kitchen blinds.  He had lots of fun watching his hands make shadows on the floor.  And he found it so entertaining to crawl across the shadows to the other side.  It surprises me the things that catch his attention at such a young age!

Hi, y'all!

My sweet little boy's profile

It's a ZOO out there...

Saturday morning, we loaded up our boys and headed north to the Nashville Zoo with Jamie's mom, Debbie, as well as Jamie's brother, Wes, his wife, Haley and their little girl, Madelyn.  Tony, Jamie's dad, was originally going to go with us, but decided to stay behind since his dad, Papa Jim had to be admitted into the hospital.  We arrived at the zoo to drizzling rain, however it was actually kind of nice because it cooled everything off and we weren't dealing with the sweltering heat that we've had the past few days.  Their zoo is set up to imitate the natural habitat of where each animal is from rather than the animals being in different cages.  It was really neat because you could get so close to the animals!  The only downfall to the "natural habitat" was the mosquitos... they were EVERYWHERE and Noah and I got eaten up!  Funny how mosquitos are attracted to some people and not others; Collier and Jamie didn't have a single bite!  Poor Noah looks like he has the chicken pox because he has so many bites.  Their gift shop needs to carry bug spray because they would make a fortune off of it!  Madelyn and Noah really enjoyed themselves and took in all the sights and sounds.  Madelyn liked the meerkat and Noah liked the reptiles.  Collier was perfect the entire time and enjoyed riding along in his stroller.  In fact, none of the kids had naps but all behaved wonderfully.  After several hours at the zoo, we headed to our hotel for check-in.  I was able to get Collier to take a nap but Noah was still going strong so he played with Madelyn and everyone else in one of the other hotel rooms.  We later enjoyed a delicious dinner at the restaurant in our hotel, Omaha Steaks (and bumped in to a friend from college that we haven't seen in YEARS) and then ended the night with cupcakes from GiGi's!  Noah had the BEST time; he was in a great mood and loved being at the hotel with everyone.  After going all day without a nap, Noah finally starting wearing down while we were at dinner and he CRASHED as soon as we returned to our room and his head hit the pillow.  We all had such a great time together and enjoyed the fun memories that were made.  Hopefully, this will be something that we can do each summer with the kids!

         

Happy 8 Months, Collier!

My sweet little baby turned 8 months old this week (on Wednesday, the 22nd)!  Yet again, another month has blown right before my eyes.  Collier is so much fun and has become quite the wild man!  He has lots of energy and if his little eyes are open, he's going non-stop.  He crawls from one end of the room to the other just looking for something to get into.  He loves to head off down the hallway and if I say, "Collier, no no no" or ask him to come back, he'll turn around and give me the biggest smile, then head off!  He's a MESS.  If Noah is ever laying in the floor, Collier will literally attack him, crawling all over him, planting kisses on his face, just about anything to get some attention from his big brother.  It's so funny and sweet at the same time.  Collier has began pulling up to standing.  Already (I kind of wish he would slow down a tad bit; he's still supposed to be my baby!)  This new skill combined with the crawling equals LOTS of bumps on the head!  There are days where he'll bump his head almost hourly!  He loves to crawl under, between and behind furniture. I've had to use pillows to block him from getting behind the end tables in the den because he loves playing with the cords.  He and Noah are beginning to play together some but Collier also entertains himself very well! 

He still doesn't have a single tooth although he chews on everything and is drooling like crazy.  I check his mouth daily, because I expect one to come through any day now.  He is still just the friendliest little guy!  Last week, we ate lunch at Sweet Basil and had several different tables of women come up to talk with him because he kept smiling at them.  If he ever hears anyone laughing, then he'll join in and laugh right along with them.  It's hilarious!  It's as though he thinks he's participating in the conversation.  He babbles constantly and his favorites sounds are "hee" and "gee gee gee" and the occasional 'm' and 'b' sounds but still no words.  He has also begun making this clucking sound with his tongue.  He is now feeding himself puffs and drinking juice and water from a sippy cup.  We've attempted real food (mushed up of course) but he's not quite ready for that yet.  We are still on the same schedule except that we cut out the late afternoon nap about 2 weeks ago.  He began waking up around 5am for a week solid so I decided to cut down to just two naps and see if that made a difference.. it did, thank goodness.  Although the early evenings are sometimes his "fussy" period because he starts getting tired but it's too early to put him down for bed.  Instead, we just distract him with toys, dinner, anything that works! 

Collier is our little angel.  I'm in love with his happy, joyful personality and his eagerness and curiosity for well, everything!  He's so much fun and such an enjoyable baby.  As bittersweet as it is that his 1st birthday is swiftly approaching, I look forward to watching him grow and learn even more in these next few months.  I'm especially excited about this upcoming month because we have a lot to look forward to... a trip to the zoo, as well as a week-long vacation in Sandestin!

Answered Prayers

My dad got the results back from his bone marrow biopsy a few weeks ago and his cancer is down to 9.5%!  God is GOOD!  Since the cancer is now down in the single digits, dad will begin his stem cell transplant sometime in July. 

Here are a few pictures of my family while attending a friend of mine's wedding reception a few weeks ago.  We've been friends ever since my parents built our house right down the street from her parent's.  Not only that, but our sisters are close friends, as well as our dad's and mom's being friends.  Our families went to Disney World together when I was 15 and used to get together all the time when we were younger.  Our dads even owned a business together. Believe it or not, I didn't take a single picture the whole night, but a friends took these two for us and, even though the sun had already set, I thought they turned out great!  This also happened to be my dad's 59th birthday so I think it was very fitting that we were able to capture a family picture.  I plan on there being many more of these family pictures and hopefully the number of people in them will only keep growing with more children! (hint, hint Lindsay!) :)

Noah's New Tricks

Noah has learned a few things recently and I thought I would share.  For one, he has now begun squatting down, without using any assistance or holding onto anything, and standing back up!  This is a huge feat and requires lots of balance, as well as strength.  We've been working on it for awhile and he finally got it the other day.  He was playing in the bathroom while I was getting ready and he dropped my makeup brush bag... he squatted down, picked it up and stood back up to hand it to me.  I was so happy that he has gotten strong enough to master this task. 

Also, Noah has learned how to clap!  When kids have gross motor weaknesses (gross motor involves the major muscles: back, shoulders, arms, legs, neck/head, etc), it also affects your fine motor skills (fine motor involves all the small muscles like using your hands and fingers).  It also requires a good deal of coordination.  So he hasn't ever been able to clap, point, etc.  He's been working on clapping for awhile and today, while watching cartoons, he began clapping to the music.  These skills are so easy and not a big deal for majority of kids to master but it was so huge watching him clap his hands together after we have worked on this for so long.  I can't even begin to describe the pride and pure happiness I feel for him when he accomplishes something new!  Of course, I caught it on video and sent it to Jamie and called my mom with the good news!

And lastly, Noah has always been kind of scared of cartoons.  I'm not sure what it is but something about fake animals talking, upsets him.... especially Mickey!  He's okay with people dressed up, like Imagination Movers, etc but he's not a fan of cartoons.  However, this morning, he watched Mickey, along with several other cartoons and LOVED it.  He was glued to the tv and clapping right along to the music. 

I'm so proud of him and all that he has learned and accomplished.  It may be more challenging for him to do "normal" things but that just means that we will celebrate those achievements even greater!  I mean, how many people have cried tears of joy over their child clapping?!  ME! :) It's been strange for me having two kids, one with delays and one without them.  Having Collier, I've been able to see just how easy and naturally the different skills progress in children.  You literally, don't have to do much at all for them to begin rolling over, sitting up, crawling, pulling up, and then walking... it all just happens so naturally.  With Noah, we've been working and practicing on these things, literally for years.  We go to therapy 4 days a week.  We do everything we can to try and get him to learn and be able to do these things, all the while Collier, at 8 months old, has almost caught up to his brother on his own.  It's obviously so much easier raising a child without delays, than it is raising one that does have delays, however, I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the things I've learned from my precious Noah!  My two boys complete my world and I couldn't be happier.

Belated Father's Day Post

I began working on this post days ago and just got around to finishing it.  Life with two kids can sometimes result in a neglected blog...oh well, better late than never!

Happy Father's Day to the two dads in my life...my own dad and the father of my children!  I am so thankful for a dad that loves me and never fails to tell me.  I'm thankful for a dad that would do anything for his family, such as a Wal-mart run in the middle of the night when one of us needs medicine.  I'm thankful for a dad that treasures quality time with his family and wants us to spend our entire weekends with him and mom at their house, loves afternoons on the golf course with his two son-in-laws, and can't go but a just a few days without seeing his 2 favorite little boys.  I'm thankful for a dad that gives great advice, expected us to do our very best in school (and later when we entered the working world), and instilled in me the importance of working hard, respecting others, and making wise and responsible decisions.  There were plenty of times that I didn't appreciate my strict raising (in fact, I'm pretty sure I despised it) but guess what dad, you were right and now that I'm a parent, I DO understand.  I love that one of my fondest memories from my childhood and teenage years is of playing softball; one of the things that my dad and I shared. He would spent countless hours practicing with me in the yard and during the many years I played, he never once missed a game.  In fact, there were several times, where he would leave work to come watch our high school practices.  And during the summers, he would always assist with coaching our summer league and all-star teams.  I appreciate the time and effort that my dad put into my life and the things that I was interested in.  I love you, Dad!

And to Jamie... I'm so thankful for how hard you work to provide me and the boys with a happy, fulfilling life.  I'm so grateful that you are always willing to watch the boys and give me some "girl time" even when that involves me being gone overnight.  I love that you look forward to those times because you enjoy "boys night" with your two sweet sons.  I love your goofy and silly ways.  I love watching you roll around in the floor wrestling and playing with our precious boys and doing whatever you can to hear their precious giggles.  I love how you've become this amazing man that loves the Lord with all his heart. Our boys are so lucky to have you as a father and I couldn't have hoped or prayed for a more perfect daddy.  I know that our kids will grow up knowing that without a doubt they are the center of your world and you love them more than life itself!  Happy Father's Day, Jamie and I love you so much!

Jamie & Noah

Jamie & Collier

iPhone Photos

Here are a few random photos off of my iPhone...

This is Noah "styling" his hair for church Sunday morning

Look who I found under the kitchen table!

 

This CRACKS me up!  Noah is so excited and laughing and Collier is crying.  Noah's hug is more like a chokehold!

Collier sleeps with 1) a heart beat teddy bear 2) an elephant blanket 3) a giraffe blanket and 4) his paci...

Can we say hoarder?!

This is a stash of things I just found behind our recliner, courtesy of Noah!  One of Collier's toys, a bottle of lotion, 2 cups and his toy guitar. 

Monogrammin' Momma

When Noah was a little bitty brand new baby, I wanted his name on every article of clothing and accessory that he owned.  I took a handful of burp cloths to a monogramming store and quickly found out that at $7+ per item, I would have to figure out a different plan.  So, I convinced Jamie that I would SAVE money (and could have a side business) and I bought my own monogramming machine.  Okay, so I'm pretty sure Jamie knew we wouldn't save money but he gave in because it would give me something fun to do.  And it was...I really enjoyed learning how to use it and getting creative with my embroidery and applique designs.  I put Noah's name on everything.  I'm pretty sure that baby didn't use a bib or burpcloth that didn't have his name or initials on it.  And I did follow through and make some extra money by appliquing/monogramming for people.  Plus, I was able to use it to make baby shower gifts.

Fast forward a few years... I did use it quite a bit up until Collier was born but the 'ol monogramming machine has been put away and has a layer of dust on it.  My "work" room is now Collier's room and so my machine got the boot.  Poor Collier hardly has a thing with his name on it.  I'm telling you, it's that second child!  You just don't have as much time as you did with only one!  My sister, to this day, claims she's adopted because there are more baby pictures of me and I have more personalized Christmas ornaments than she does.  Would you believe that Collier only has about 3 burp cloths with his name on them and I've even used some of Noah's monogrammed burp cloths for Collier!  Bad momma.  I say all of this joking around because I KNOW he could care less and having monogrammed items doesn't indicate how loved you are by your parent but I do feel slightly bad..I want to treat my boys equal. And I have a machine so it's a shame I haven't used it for Collier! So, I went to Goodman's this week and found several items  that could be monogrammed.  I also found 2 jumpers that were monogrammed with Noah's name that Collier can now wear.  I removed Noah's name and restitched it for Collier to wear this summer with his name and a cute little summer applique!  I'm proud my littlest boy now owns some clothing with his name on it...although I still haven't gotten around to those burp cloths yet.

(that is brown fabric/thread, even though it looks black in the pictures)

Date Night

My mom and dad kept the boys for us this past Friday to allow me and Jamie a few hours together. Jamie's brother, Wes, and his wife, Haley, joined us and we went to the Marriott for appetizers and to hear a few local musicians. The music was great but the company was even better!





Wes likes to pose for the camera.  Think he's been watching America's Next Top Model?  I'm sure Tyra would be proud of that smyze.



But who could resist coming home to these two sweet faces!