Hangin' out with Daddy

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Luke is a Mama's boy...and I do mean that in every sense of the words. It is truly something to be witnessed...he will tuck his head in my shoulder, tell his daddy "no", and push him away if Justin tries to get near him.

Except lately they have something in common..."side". So for the last few weeks Justin has been making an extra effort to take Luke places...check on cows, ride in the truck, etc.

I know the day will come when I'm only good for meals and clean clothes, so for now I'm trying to enjoy every single second of him being a Mama's boy...but it sure is nice to be able to have some girl time every once in a while while the guys to their thing! :)

Sick

We had a pretty good streak going. Luke hasn't been sick since early last fall, but a few weeks ago his coughing resumed. It wasn't all day long or anything, so I started the Vick's again and started giving him some breathing treatments. Yesterday Ashley and I went to Cottontails and met Justin and the kids back in Anniston at Hudson's party. When they got there Justin said Luke had coughed all the way there:(. Since our doctor's office was nearby and they work until 6PM on Saturdays I decided to run him over there. Basically he has a chronic/seasonal bronchitis. We dealt with the same thing last year, so the doctor resumed his breathing treatments twice a day until we see Dr. Ray again in about a month. We stayed home from church today and the poor guy has hacked and coughed all day long...but it hasn't slowed him down any! :)

Big Sis has been taking excellent care of this guy...



His Daddy's boots aren't the only thing he's been

into today...he definitely makes me earn my pay;)

Just because I love them so...

3 weeks until Spring Break:)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

(and Hudson and MaKenna:)

This week they have been celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday at daycare...

So we decided to make some cookies for Emma to share with her friends today...

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose!

-- Dr. Seuss

Luke: 17 Months

Luke, you are seventeen months old!
(Sort of...I couldn't decide if I should do this post on 02.29 or 03.01. Last year I went with 02.28...
this year I'm going with 03.01 because, honestly, I just plain forgot to take pics yesterday!)

• You weigh 27lbs. 6oz. and are 33.2 inches long!
• You are wearing some 12 and mostly 18 month clothes and size 5 diapers...although I'm planning to move you up to size 6 when this box runs out (the biggest size E ever wore...potty training in our future? I hope so:).
• You are a great sleeper and an okay napper.
• You are still a good eater, but you're becoming a little more finicky. You have started refusing foods...mostly because you can't feed them to yourself. I'd say your favorite foods (ones you never refuse) are grapes and yogurt.
• You are still into everything...even more so. I can't turn my head for a second.
• You love to get Emma's stool and try to get things off the counter...nothing scares you...absolutely nothing!
• You are so smart, and you can do small tasks when instructed...such as taking something to the trash can or laundry basket, putting away toys, etc.
• Your vocabulary is growing so much I can't possibly remember every new thing you say. Your favorite word is "side" (meaning outside...which is your favorite place to be).
• You still have 14 teeth.
• Luke Joseph...you are a MESS! Your personality is really starting to shine, and I love watching you grow and change. I love you to the moon and back. Happy 17 months!

The Walmart Store

Have I mentioned my love/hate relationship with Walmart? I love the things inside the store, but I hate going. I love browsing through all the gadgets and new foods and cheap kids' clothes, but I hate how putting "just a few things" in the buggy turns into at least $100...and that's a good day.

So, I usually avoid going at all costs. But there are some things that can't be purchased in good ole CC. I keep a running "Walmart list" and I usually go once every two or three weeks...sometimes I make it a month:).

Another thing I hate...wasting a Saturday at Walmart. So Friday afternoon I picked the kids up and we headed that way in attempt to beat the "Friday night finest" (those of you who have been to WM on a Friday night know exactly what I'm talking about...those who haven't...well...don't:). I'm happy to report that the trip was a success...

In other weekend happenings...

We went to Cheyenne's birthday party Saturday, and Emma insisted

on wrapping the present and making the card...I thought she did a

pretty good job with very little assistance, I might add:)!

This is the only picture I have from the party...which actually came from Christy's FB page:). Jaxon is interested in the older women...run, Jaxon, while you still can!! ;)

Other pics from this week taken on my new handy, dandy iPhone.

Can anybody enlighten me on why the pics are fuzzy when you turn

the lens to take a pic of yourself (and your kids:)?

This pic is from this morning...Emma used to climb in this same spot and "hide"...Luke gets in there to mess with the plugs. Also, take special notice of the busted lip...he fell at Cheyenne's party yesterday.  What am I going to do with this little mess!? :)

Let the countdown begin...4 weeks until Spring Break!! :)

A Special Gift

Have you ever known someone who makes you want to be better? A better person...a better mother or father...a better daughter or son...a better wife or husband...a better Christian...a better friend...a better teacher...just better.

Shortly after Justin bought the barn we met Clay. Over the past few years Justin and Clay have become pretty close, and he is a very special friend to us. Emma adores him, as I'm sure Luke will as he grows older.

For us, Clay is that person. Simply being in his presence makes us want to try harder...to do better...to be better.

A few weeks ago Clay's Granny got sick and passed away. Justin and I went to visitation at the funeral home...for no other reason than to show our love and support for Clay. He's just a special friend to us. We met many of his family members, and they were all so sweet and friendly. His parents thanked us for being such good friends to Clay (we should have been thanking them for raising such a fine young man...one who has become near and dear to our hearts...one whose qualities I hope to see in my own children as they grow).

A few days later Clay sent Justin a text and said that his mother would like my email address. That night I received an email from her saying again how much they appreciated us coming and our friendship to Clay and that his great aunt who sews would like to make something for our children.

Tonight Justin came in with a gift bag, which held these...

How precious are these gifts?! Not just because I adore them and know they will look precious on my babies, but because somebody took the time to hand make something so special for children they met one time. The world is full of generous souls...and sometimes they happen upon you when you least expect it. :)

One of those days...

Yesterday was just one of those days. While it started off pretty good (no school AND we slept in until 8:30:), it just didn't quite stay that way. Actually it wasn't all that bad until Emma woke up from a 4 hour nap (yes, you read that right). One would think that four hours of rest would be engergizing. Sadly enough, the only thing it energized was her whine...sigh:/.

So...she laid in the floor screaming whining while I attempted to cook supper (which was a fail all in itself...I tried a new Pinterest recipe for cheese sticks...let's just say you're better off to buy the frozen ones...or better yet eat them out:).

She did settle for a second, which had me a bit worried. I turned around to notice that she was feeding Luke some applesauce...no big deal, right?

Wrong...

The next thing I know, she is playing baby dolls in the living room, while Luke paints my kitchen with the aforementioned applesauce.

No lie.

It. was. everywhere.

At 6:30PM, the kids still hadn't had baths or supper (Luke is usually in bed by 6:30 and Emma is soon to follow). The kitchen was a disaster area. I was in tears.

Justin came in, and luckily, was in a helping mood. I finally sat down around 9PM, after wiping the walls and mopping the floor, and uploaded these pictures from the last few days to my computer.

Although I wasn't feeling that way in the moment, I wouldn't trade these days for anything in the world. Too soon I will look back and wish I had little people laying in my floor whining and painting my walls and floor with applesauce.

And yes, I still want more babies;).

We got new iPhones for V-Day, so I've been experimenting:)

Emma fell asleep on the way home from watching all my kiddos play Upwards...

These are the moments that make me think I could have 10 more:)

And just so y'all know...I'm already working on mother-in-law of the century;)