Scenes from the weekend

This past weekend was our college alma mater's homecoming so some friends of ours, the Clayton's, drove in from Nashville to spend the weekend with us and partake in the festivities.  Friday evening we met them as they arrived in town, at Buffalo Wild Wings.  With four children 4 years old and under, we needed a place that is loud and where our young'uns wouldn't cause any disturbances.  BWW is just that... very, very loud, so we fit in just fine.  And enjoyed some delicious food too!  Collier had his first taste of macaroni and cheese (which he loved... no surprise there) and gnawed on a celery stalk to soothe the tooth that he is cutting.  After dinner, we all came back to the house to let the little ones play.  The kids had fun... it was loud, wild.  Jamie nerves can't handle that kind of loud (and that kind of chaos) for too long.  He gets overwhelmed.  He told me, "I just don't think I could handle us having 3 or more kids"  I had to remind him that this was four kids 4 and under and it would be impossible for us to have 4 under 4, that even I wouldn't want 4 under 4.  Hannah and Noah were happy to be reunited after having not seen one another in close to a year, although Noah was pretty tired from having spent all day at school.  Collier had a bit of an eventful evening... he got his first kiss from a girl (Hannah) and took a bath with Ryleigh!  He loved playing and wrestling with Hannah and she was so sweet in that she wasn't too rough but let him roll and climb all over her.  We finally got the kiddos settled down for the night and had a little adult conversation with Brett and Chenequa.

The following morning, we got everyone up, fed and dressed for the Homecoming Parade in downtown.  Noah loved the band the best and Hannah was so excited to see the lions.  The younger two hung out in strollers taking in all of the sights and sounds.  After the parade ended, our hubbies took the kids back to our house, so that Chenequa and I could join some fellow Phi Mu's for a reunion lunch at Rosies.  Unfortunately, this year, we didn't have the greatest turnout and there were only 5 of us that were there, however, we still had a great time!  Following our lunch, we visited the hill beside Braly Stadium for a little UNA tailgating but again, the alumni turnout was lacking this year.  I only stayed for 1/2 hour or so to visit with the girls and then went to my parents house to cheer on the Tide to a victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks!  Jamie and the boys were already there, along with my parents, my sis and Derrick.  At the end of the game, I went to visit a friend from high school who was in town with her beautiful 5 month old baby boy.  It was great getting to catch up with her and meet sweet little Cooper. 

The next day, following church, lunch and the usual Sunday nap, my mom and I took the boys to one of Noah's Sunday School buddy's 5th birthday party at Forest Jumps.  Forest Jumps is Noah's favorite place so he always has the best time there.  This was the first time that we've taken Collier where he could actually enjoy it.  They have a Toddler Town jumpy house with blow up animals and a small slide.  He looooved crawling around and going up and down the slide!  I remembered my camera, but sadly left the memory card in my laptop at home so the only pictures I got were with my cell phone.  Collier definitely thought he was a big boy as he was crawling around and right in the center with all the big kids.  I had to keep a very close eye on him to keep him from getting run over or trampled on!  He also had his first taste of birthday cake and guess what... loved it (imagine that!) :)  I also let him drink lemonade from a little styrofoam cup like the other kiddies were doing and it was going great until he tried taking the cup from me and poked his little finger right through the styrofoam, soaking his shorts and socks in the process!  Good thing its okay for babies to hang out in just a shirt and a diaper because we didn't have an extra outfit with us!  After the party was over, we took our crew home and they were exhausted from our busy, but fun weekend!  My only complaint from this weekend is why did it have to go by so fast?

Collier's 1st Kiss

Reunited and it feels so good!

Collier and Hannah wrestling

I love babies in pajamas!

Bath Buddies

Good Morning!

C & R at the Parade

Very excited to watch the parade

What parade? ... I'm playing with my foot

Serious business

Love these two!

Me, Heather, Becky, Amanda and Chenequa

Pearly whites

Collier's little tooth has come through enough where's it's visible when he laughs soooo... here's a picture of my little one's first tooth!

See? There it is front & center on the very top!  Kind of odd to have just one tooth and on top, but still really cute no matter where it is. :)

In just two days, we have made some big changes around here.  Collier is completely OFF formula, bottles and baby food!  Hallelujah!  We were at the end of a container of formula and I decided I just didn't want to buy another thing of it, especially since he likes milk and is tolerating it just fine.  So as of yesterday, he's now eating real food like the rest of us.  While it's much easier than giving 4 bottles and 3 meals of baby food each day, it is MUCH messier.  He prefers to feed himself so (if it's something that you don't need a spoon for) I just dump it on the highchair tray and let him go to town and he LOVES it.  Today's menu consisted of oatmeal and milk (breakfast), macaroni-n-cheese, carrots and peas with juice (lunch), mini strawberry fig newtons bites and milk (snack) and crackers, cheese, little pieces of turkey sandwich meat, pears and milk (dinner). 

Happy 11 Months, Baby Boy!

... And just like that, Collier is 11 months old!  Just 1 quick month and we'll be celebrating his very 1st birthday.  This past year has simply been amazing.  I have fully enjoyed his "babyhood" and love my youngest with every bit of my heart.  He has stolen ALL of our hearts!  This past month has brought on something that I've been anticipating for 7 months... his very first little tooth! I've tried and tried to take a picture but he just won't have it.  The funny thing is that its one of the top teeth.  He doesn't have his bottom 2, which is normally the first 2 to come in.  I'm fairly certain that a fall he took a couple of weeks ago, in which he busted his top gums on the window sill are what prompted this little tooth's apprearance!  At least we now know he HAS teeth! :) 

Collier is still the happiest, most social little boy.  He jabbers NONSTOP.  Seriously.  His favorite word is still "dada" and he has now begun saying "hi" and "bye".  While he's eating, he'll say, "mmmm, mamaaa."  But that's the only time he'll will say my name!  Whenever we are out and about, he will stare down strangers until they look at him, at which point he will smile and begin "talking".  I can tell he's not going to meet a stranger and will more than likely prefer to be the center of attention!  He has also learned to wave his hand from side to side (sort of like a pageant wave) instead of the open & close wave that babies first learn to do.  It's precious to watch!  He is always so excited when Noah comes home from school and misses his brother during the day (as do I); but it is nice being able to have some one-on-one time with Collier and giving him all of my attention.  Although sometimes, I think he would rather stay at Noah's school because he loves "talking" to everyone there. 

He still isn't walking on his own but cruises, uses push toys, and a walker to stay on the go.  Speaking of being on the go, the child moves non-stop.  BUSY BUSY BUSY.  We went to a birthday party for one of Noah's friends at Forest Jumps and Collier had a BALL playing in the "toddler" jumpy house.  He loved it!  It has a small slide that when I would sit him in the top of it, he would turn over on his belly and slide down, laughing the whole time!  I also took him down the BIG slide, which he loved too!  It was as though he thought he was a big kid, trying to get right in the center of the party with all the others.  I definitely had to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't get run over by the 4 and 5 years olds! The other night, Jamie said, "I wonder, if we just let him play without laying him down for a nap, how long it would take him to just crash out of exhaustion?!"  I'm not sure that he would... I just WISH I had the energy that he has.  But the crazy thing is that he knows as soon as I lay him down in his crib, that it's time to relax and go right to sleep.  And that's just what he does!  He's still on the same schedule nap and food-wise although I do give him a sippy cup with milk/water/juice throughout the day.  He gets little snacks here and there but mostly he's still on baby food.  He still has a tendence to get choked so I have to be careful with the things I feed him.  Just in the past couple of days, he's tried macaroni and cheese, pancakes, scrambled eggs, chocolate cake, birthday cake (at the birthday party), vanilla wafers, and animal crackers. He definitely enjoys real food.  I know the more "practice" he has with eating, the better he'll get and the gagging while get much better.  We've got to get him ready for that big birthday cake he'll get to eat next month! :)

Team Powell

This year my family and I are participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Light the Night walk on October 8th in Wilson Park in Florence. The Light the Night Walk is a way to bring together survivors and supporters of those who have been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer, such as Leukemia, Lymphoma, or Myeloma. As you all know, my dad was diagnosed on January 11, 2011 with Multiple Myeloma. He just had a stem cell transplant in August and will find out if he's cancer-free in November. Ironically, this event takes place on my parent's 34th wedding anniversary!

  

My dad's strength, determination and positive attitude has been an inspiration. Because of his 'can do' attitude, we have formed our own team, TEAM POWELL, in honor of him and his fight with cancer over the past 9 months. I am asking each of you to support us and this organization by making a donation. Each of our team members have set a goal of $100, however, as our team captain, I have set a personal goal of raising $150 by October 8th. No matter the amount that you are able to give, even if it's $5, it will be greatly appreciated! The funds raised will go towards: blood cancer research, free educational materials and events for patients and their families, and local programs such as Family Support Groups and First Connection, a peer-to-peer counseling program.

  

To make a donation to our team, please click on this link http://pages.lightthenight.org/al/Florence11/WBrink or you may mail a check to: 1848 Tune Avenue, Florence, AL 35630. Make your checks payable to LLS.

I appreciate your support and thank you so much for helping us raise money for blood cancer research!

Whitney

The big 3-0

My 30th birthday was this past weekend and we celebrated in a big way!  About a year ago, Jamie and I both talked about how we should take a trip together, just the two of us, to NYC for my birthday.  However, once my dad received his diagnosis the future became slightly uncertain so it was impossible for us to plan a trip, with my parents keeping the kids, when we didn't know how dad would be doing and whether or not he would be past his transplant, going through it or too sick to even keep the kids.  So, about a month ago, when we realized mom and dad would probably be home by the time of my birthday, Jamie asked what I would like to do... take a weekend getaway somewhere (not NYC but somewhere within driving distance) or have a party.  My answer?... BOTH! Hehe :)  After talking about it some more, we came up with the idea of booking a suite at the Marriott Shoals, having a party there, and the two of us staying there overnight.  Two birds, one stone!  We had friends join us that afternoon for the Alabama - Penn State game, then we had Dales cater hors d'oeuvres that evening.  I had a GREAT time and we had a big turnout all throughout the day.  I'm blessed to have so many sweet friends that helped me ring in my 30's!

My pretty, DELICIOUS cake from Abram's Bakery

Right before kick-off

 LOVE these girls and so thankful for their friendship over the past 10+ years!