Mommy, Help Me!

Wesley and I love our house. It is in the perfect location and we have great neighbors. The only drawback is it is getting a little snug. We have become very creative with our space and every corner of the house is used. In fact, I am writing this blog from Wesley's home office - in our Master Closet! As I said, we have become very creative.

When we were trying to figure out where to put Miss Elizabeth, we realized her nursery would have to double as our guest room/Philip's napping spot. We needed a place with a real bed that I could put him down each day. So, Wesley got creative and fixed up the guest room closet to house her crib. It looks really cute and will look even better once I get a few final touches completed.

It has worked out great. Philip loves to nap in Elizabeth's room and he hasn't touched her crib...until this week.

At the end of rest this afternoon, I heard "Mommy, help me!"

I had already been in there once and told him he could come out once he left his paci in the bed (Yes, his paci is back. I thought he was "over" them so I showed him one as I was cleaning out things for Elizabeth. He was NOT over it and hasn't let it go since! I am trying to be good about it but well, he really sleeps sooooo much better with it so I have let him have it at bed time... Go ahead, insert judgmental thoughts, here...it doesn't bother me! I enjoy the peace! I figure if I fight it now, the issue will just come back up once he sees Elizabeth with one in a few weeks. I will fight the battle after she arrives!)

Anyways, when I went in the first time, I told him, he had to leave his paci in the room. I guess, he got creative and threw it in Elizabeth's crib. He must not have liked that action because when he was calling for help, here's how I found him....

He had climbed in the crib and thrown the paci out (see it on the floor). He figured out how to get it out, but he couldn't figure out how to get him out!

I helped him out with a plea for him not to do that again! Here's hoping he takes my advice to heart but at least now I am 100% sure, he will not be left alone anywhere near Baby Elizabeth once she arrives!!

Eric Church

Wesley found a Country Music special on TV last week and taped it for me. I forgot about it and just got around to watching it with the boys.

About halfway through, I could tell Philip and Jackson were really interested in the performances - especially when it was a song they knew....and sadly, they knew most of them!

Their favorite was Eric Church's Springsteen. They jumped up on the coffee table and started dancing along.

Then, Jackson asked for me to pause it. He returned with 2 guitars. He put his in an unusual place and then helped Philip do the same. It took me awhile to realize what he was doing.

I restarted the song, and took notice of what he was mimicking. Can you see Eric Church in the frame below playing the piano with his guitar turned to the back?

They notice everything!!!!

Grammy and KD come for a visit

Monday after rests, Grammy and KD came for a visit. The boys were so excited to see them! We had a wonderful visit and filled the two days they were here with lots of fun!

Monday night, after a delicious dinner that Lynne brought with her, all 6 of us watched the premiere of Dancing with the Stars. It was a star-studded show that did not disappoint!

Tuesday, Lynne went with me to drop off the boys at preschool. Jackson loved showing her around.

 

After the boys were situated, Jack and Wesley went to work on Elizabeth's nursery. They started making a beautiful drawer to fit under her crib. Lynne and I headed to the outlets where Elizabeth and I both got a few new things for her upcoming shower at church. We all met up for lunch at Firehouse Subs for the first celebration of Wesley's 33 birthday!

After lunch, Lynne and I picked up Jackson and Philip and ran a few more errands. It was so nice to have her help. She watched the boys as I ran into three places to return things. It would have taken me an hour to do with the boys what I was able to do in 20 minutes with her help!

After the errands, Grammy took the boys to Humpus Bumpus, a local used bookstore. Philip had been wanting to go and I suggested he ask Grammy to take him. Funny thing was, Grammy had thought of this plan as well! It was a win-win for all!

That evening, we headed to the Avenues to Mellow Mushroom to celebrate Wesley! It was such a treat to have his parents with us on his actual birthday. 

Jack and Jackson worked intently on a crossword puzzle.

Can you guess who was out in the garage with Wes and Jack all afternoon helping with the building project? He picked up a carpentry skill - pencil (or in his case, crayon) behind the ear!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Jackson showing Wesley what he got for him - A Darth Vader flash drive

And the Avengers Movie

Happy Boys! 

 Making Funny faces...lots of them! 

KD, Philip and Jackson

Yummy birthday treat!

Philip and KD
This was Philip's happy time. Right after dinner, we walked around the Avenues and in our first stop, Philip walked into a glass shelf! OUCH!  

Bender Party of 4
What we like to think we look like... 

What life's really like! 

Before KD left, Philip had to hear the ketchup story! 

And he LOVED it!
I actually overheard him telling Jackson the story a few days later. He did pretty good until he changed the point of the story from "No more Ketchup" to "No more jumping on the bed" Guess he hears the later more often!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

When an old-fashioned, "Happy Birthday!" isn't enough...

You have to belt out the song! 

Look out American Idol. We may have just found your 2025 winner!

Random Pictures

I found these pictures and had to share:

I have NO IDEA when this was taken. It just appeared on my Iphoto account and I thought it was adorable.

One day before school started back, Kate and I took the boys to Monkey Joe's and Moe's for a special treat. What a cute lunch bunch! 

What do you do when you find a pink bucket in Target?
Put your brother in it and ride around!

Baby Grace

What a wonderful weekend!! Our friends, Wes and Cristal, came to Atlanta for an adoption conference and stayed with us. Their two boys, Micah and Jonah, went to Grandmas, but Baby Grace, their 10 week old daughter, came to visit!

What a joy it was to meet and love all over Grace! Grace was born on July 3 (the same day we learned a daughter would soon be added to our family!) She is absolutely beautiful and it was love at first sight.

Wes and Cristal arrived late on Thursday but that didn't stop Jackson and Philip from waiting for them on the front porch. I was so excited to see how the boys would react to a baby. At first, Jackson surprised me by being stand offish with Grace, but soon, he warmed up to her and was smitten. Truly, he would not leave her side.  Philip was interested for about 10 seconds but as soon as he realized she wasn't going to play with him, he moved on to other things.

Friday and Saturday during the day, Wes and Cristal were at the conference with Grace so we didn't get to play. Saturday night they ended early and came back to the house to watch the UT vs. Florida game. The game wasn't great but it was fun to sit around talking with dear friends.

After the game, Wesley and I took the late night feeding of Grace. Wes and Cristal headed to bed and Wesley and I were reminded of life with a newborn!! It was a lot of fun actually as we reminisced about bringing Jackson and Philip home and talked with excitement about Elizabeth's upcoming arrival.

They had to leave very early on Sunday morning to get back to church. It was so sad to see them go. I can't believe how easy we all four fell in love.

We are looking forward to the next time we are together. Hopefully, we will be able to work out a visit with all 10 of us!!

When Jackson and Philip first met Grace. 

Every bit of Philip around Grace scared me!
She didn't seem to mind him attaching her & neither did Cristal who laughed while snapping the picture! It made Wesley & me nervous so we grabbed him and distracted him with a toy! 

Jackson on the other hand, couldn't take his hands off her! He was all about Baby Grace! 

He even helped feed her Saturday night.
Do you think we could train him to get up for the midnight feedings of Elizabeth??! 

Where do they come up with this?

Jackson and Philip are constantly making Wesley and me laugh with what they say and do. They do it not to get a laugh but with the pure innocence of a child.

Here are a few recent examples:

Philip on the phone with Wesley:
Wesley: What are you doing, Philip?
Philip: Us drinking us milk.
 (We are really working on getting English into his language instead of back-woods Southern!)

Jackson and his friend in Sunday school:
Teacher: Who were the three men thrown into the fire?
Jackson: Shadrach,Meshach and Kayak
Teacher: Um, I am not sure if his name was Kayak.
Friend: Yes, Jackson is right. I read it in Phi-le-sians.

Sunday night we were all outside. Wesley was throwing the tennis ball to Jackson and Philip like they were playing baseball. 

Jackson hit the tennis ball over the fence with the tennis racket, yelled "TOUCHDOWN" and ran the bases as if he had hit a home run! Nothing like mixing up your sports a little bit!

Emily and Ryan's BIG news!!

Wesley and I are so excited - we are going to have a new nephew/niece!!

Emily and Ryan spilled the beans a few weeks ago that they are expecting and we couldn't be more excited! They will make fabulous parents and (selfishly) I am excited Elizabeth will have a cousin close in age!!!

Emily, Susan and I all play a game on our Phones/IPads called DrawSomething. We are little addicted to it so Emily took the opportunity to share the news through it.

Here's how the game words: You draw an image on your device and send it to your opponent. Then, the opponent "watches" as you draw out the clue.

Here is the clue I got from Emily:

I was so excited and shocked, I just started screaming. Poor Philip didn't know what to do with me! I called Emily (still screaming) to let her know how happy we were!

YAY!!! We can't wait to welcome this baby to our family in March!

Gestational Diabetes Test

During the middle of pregnancy, the doctors test you for Gestational diabetes. If you pass the initial test, you are home free. If you fail, you have to go back and take a 3-hour test.  I passed with Jackson but failed the initial test with Philip and Elizabeth.

They scheduled my follow up test for today. The boys were in school so the date didn't bother me except this morning was already set for a breakfast date with some of my girlfriends. Instead of pancakes and hash brown casserole at Cracker Barrel, I had a fasting date with this....

Yummy!

The test is three parts and to be diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, you have to fail 2 out of the 3 tests. Thankfully, I only failed one. That one fail means I have to limit my sugar but I don't have to monitor anything too closely.

My interpretation of that - only one Pumpkin Spice Latte a week instead of one a day :-)

Labor Day

We celebrated Labor Day with our friends the Latsons. We invited them over to our place but instead they asked us to come to them. They were having dinner with their son and daughter-in-law (also our friends) and wanted us to join.

It was a beautiful night and the adults and kids had a great time! Here are a few pictures:

Skip & Jane have a beautiful backyard and the boys were intrigued watching the all the birds.

Grant, Philip, Jackson & Isaac

Mrs. Jane let them feed the bird the special worms.  The boys LOVED that part of the evening!

VBS celebration Dinner!

Kate, Katey, Ashley and I have been trying to plan a night out to celebrate a great week of SKY VBS. It took us forever to find a good time for all 4 of us, but tonight, we finally (2 months late!) celebrated at our usual spot - the Melting Pot!

It was so much fun to be back together with these girls and talk, laugh and catch up! Oh..and eat yummy fondue!

Elizabeth is growing!

Here are some belly shots of Miss Elizabeth at 29 weeks!