Preston's First Day

I am about to go pick P up from his first day of Pre-K 4 at LPECC and I literally can't wait to see him and hope he is in a talkative mood.  He was a champ this morning when I dropped him off--already making new friends--and I could tell the kids were going to have a great time!  I don't have a picture of his teacher, though, as her mother is gravely ill and she was out today :(

Enjoy the pics and happy back to school!

9 Months Old!

You are 9 months old today John Cole!  You are growing up so fast right before my eyes so I just wanted to post a little about you and your precious personality.

I do not take you for your check-up until Friday, and since you have been so well all Summer I have no idea how much you weigh.  You were looking like you were slimming up--but now that your tastebuds have changed I think you've put on a few :)  Yes, John Cole, you will eat baby food if it is your only option but it is NOT your favorite.  You will literally eat ANYTHING if Mommy puts a small enough piece in your mouth.  You eat : bread, lunchmeat, cheese, avocado, tomato, watermelon, mashed potatoes, cooked spinach, roast beef, canteloupe, bananas, french fries, you had some of brothers cake/ice cream....I could list all day but basically you like it ALL!  I have always heard of kids that will "eat anything" and truth be told I thought the parents were just exaggerating or something because as picky as Preston is I just thought that was NOT POSSIBLE but you may prove to be like that.  I SURE HOPE SO!

You are still on Enfamil and take 4 (8 ounce) bottles a day.  Also, unlike your brother, you know when to say when.  Sometimes you suck the bottle dry and sometimes you want to play and just take half of it.  Fine by me as I can certainly tell you are growing.  I am really excited about the formula countdown.....three more months....hooray!

You still just have the two bottom teeth showing but you are cutting FOUR at the top right now.  I am not an expert, but I have spent some time looking in your mouth, and I predict that they are all gonna come in right together.  You have been showing some of the classic teething signs--but even on your bad day you are a doll :)

Which brings me to your demeanor....you are a dream!  You are doing better in the carseat since the beach so I don't know what was wrong.  Maybe your little runny nose was making you congested and you couldn't breathe?  Who knows.  Mommy has bought brother a new booster and has cleaned up/bought new covers for P's old carseats so I plan to put you backwards in a big seat this week or next.  I digress.  YOU ARE SUCH A GREAT BABY!  You love to chase your brother and do your best to participate in what he is doing.  You pant when you are really excited about something.  You still love your little blue car and will sit outside and watch your brother for literally an hour just smiling and walking along.  Your main exercise consists of climbing the stairs--and you are quite good at it.  You can do "patty cake" all by yourself when asked.  You do not say any words really....but babble all the time.

Your family loves you so much John Cole!  Happy 3/4 Birthday!

The party must go on....

It has really not rained much here ALL SUMMER--especially in the morning hours--so I did not think one thing about scheduling a pool party for Preston in August from 10-12.  Did not even give it a second thought......maybe I should have.

We woke up Saturday morning to some clouds but I was still optimistic. Sure enough at 9:50 it started sprinkling.  By the time all of the kids arrived the BOTTOM FELL OUT and the wind was blowing the rain in torrents.  At 11:50, as the children were leaving, the sun came out.  Go figure.  But the party went on!!  Thankfully Squire Creeks toy closet was amply supplied with things to do that the kids could play with inside.  Not what I envisioned....but it had to do :)

Not sure what P will remember about this birthday party.  The marker sword wars?  The hula hoop competition?  His birthday kiss from Ally?  I guess I might never know.  What I will remember is how old he looks to me in these pictures, and that it really does feel like he is growing up.

Have a great week!

***HUGE thanks to the extremely talented Sarah Jeffords for capturing these images.  I have 238 if any of you family types are interested in seeing them all :)

Happy 4th Birthday Preston!

Happy Birthday to you, Preston!  My, it's hard to believe it was 4 years ago that I was hooked up to the pitocin drip in the wee hours of the morning watching Olympic beach volleyball awaiting your arrival.  You are VERY MUCH loved by your parents and your brother--even when you are tired. (HA!)  Can't wait to watch you continue to grow...thus far it has been such a wonderful journey.....

Family Picture

Lord, you have blessed me so richly beyond measure.  Thank you for everything--the good days, the bad ones, the in between--that I get to share with these precious men of God.  Please guide my path that it would light the way for these little ones and please remind me daily of your Divine plan for Jeff and my life.

Vacay in Pictures

I realize this is picture overload....but I figured you all would rather see pictures than read commentary....so here they are :)  We had a great trip!  Many thanks to Miss Shelby and Miss Paige for helping out so Mommy and Daddy could have a little fun too!!

Greetings from Perdido!

Had to make a quick stop at the Orange Beach public Library to see our family beach pictures so I thought I'd blog really quickly!  Having a great time and boys are doing great.  Our family pics we took yesterday morning at 6AM (YIKES!) turned out wonderfully and I can't wait to share. We made a trip to the Gulf Shores Zoo yesterday that was a lot of fun. This morning we took P on his first parasail adventure and can't wait to see what more the week has in store.  More later.....

PS--HAPPY BIRTHDAY KK!  Hope it was a great one!

Dog Days

Whew it's HOT!  If you have never lived South of the Mason-Dixon line in August (and September for that matter!) you don't know what the dog days of Summer are!  So, we are making the best of it and coming up with other (indoor) things to do :)

Certainly not just for amusement was our trip down to Ball Wednesday to see the boys great-grandparents.  I am so glad we made the trip because it was so good just to spend time with them. Nana came with us to and although it was a short stay I really feel like they got to see a lot of the boys and we all got a chance to visit.

Yesterday, I got a text from a friend who said a group of moms were going to rent out the indoor jumpy place in town and split the cost and she wanted to know if I was interested....YES PLEASE!  P is a little ball of energy and it's just about to hot even to go to the pool!  So, he went all out for 2 hours--his hair was DRIPPING WET when we left--and John Cole even got in on the action.  John Cole woke up this morning with a runny nose, so letting him get on the jumpys may not have been my best parenting move, but it was hard for me not to because he wants to PLAY!  In the last day, he has started to want to stand up ON HIS OWN!  Of course, he falls flat on his bottom after a few seconds but he is certainly TRYING.  Whew...we really are going to have a walker soon...

I digress.  So after the jumpy playdate we headed to Outback to celebrate Daddy's 35th birthday!  It was, of course, not a relaxing meal but to see Jeff surrounded by his two boys made my heart so full.  We made a quick trip to Academy for soccer shorts and some UnderArmour (I guess I'm getting on the bandwagon :) , hit up the Orange Leaf, then headed home. 

Today is a day of getting ready for THE BEACH!  We leave in the morning.  Please pray for our safe travels and sanity for me in the car....

Hope you are staying cool!