Beach bound!

See you when we return....

Rollerskating

Beach trip countdown

Our annual family beach trip is at the end of this month, and it's a close competition to determine who's the most excited around here. But Jackson may be the winner with his 'Beach Trip Countdown Calendar'. Each night before bed, we pick out a beach sticker to mark off that day....and then we count the # of empty squares that remain, so Jackson can say

"Only ___ more days 'til we go to Teddy's beach house!"

(Sorry, Grandpa. You don't own anything...it all belongs to Teddy)

Mother's Day Tea

On Monday, Jackson's Pre-K had a Mother's Day Tea to celebrate Mother's Day. I really didn't think much of it. We had had events like this before. It wasn't too big of a deal. We'd show up for the last 30 minutes of class, have a little snack, get a present, and go home. I was wrong. It was a big deal. I arrived a little early and was waiting in my car until it was time to go in. Other mothers began to arrive and file into the building. I hardly recognized half of them. Their hair was fixed, they had make-up on, and they were all dressed up...I mean dresses, skirts, heels. And everyone had a camera.


And then there was me. No camera. Not dressed up. No heels. Dirty, no-nap, hungry, 1 year-old on my hip. I felt a little ashamed that I did not take this event more seriously. I have learned my lesson for next year....that is, if I get an invitation to return. My saving grace was that at least I had showered that morning and had on real clothes and some make-up :) And I had just come from having Luke's portrait made so he was somewhat presentable too.
My shame only continued as I entered the building. There was a beautiful table set up outside the classroom with a vase of roses, punch bowl, strawberries, fancy cookies, little finger sandwiches with the crust cut off (where was the giant bowl of goldfish and the apple juice in little shot glass sized cups I was expecting?). We were instructed to get our name tag, fix a plate, and enter into the classroom where we found our precious angels waiting oh so quietly on the circle time rug, and found our place to sit at the table where we would enjoy a little concert they had been working on (how in the world did I miss that this was such a big deal?...and how did none of the other moms seem to miss that?)

It was precious. I was able to beg one of the other moms to take down my e-mail and send me copies of the video and some pics. I will never leave my camera at home again. Below are the videos from the "performance". Jackson is in a blue shirt and khaki shorts, and is directly below the 2 rectangles on the wall. His is the voice you hear above all the others :)

"Bringin' Home A Baby Bumblebee"

"I Love Mommy"

"Happy Mother's Day To You"

After the concert, we snacked with our little ones and were presented with our gifts. It was such a precious and wonderful morning and I'm so thankful to their teachers for putting it together. Poor Brad...I think he'll have a hard time topping that on Sunday ;)

My gifts

Bathtime photo shoot

Bathtime is a definite favorite at our house. Both of our boys love the water and any excuse to get wet and splash. We took some cute pictures of Jackson in the bath when he was about a year old and have them hanging in his bathroom. So we decided that we needed to add some of little Luke too :) Here are the pictures from our bath photo shoots...from 2006 and 2009. I promise we don't really try to take the same pictures...but it's neat to see how it just works out that way :) Jackson is on the top/left, Luke on the bottom/right.

Sweet, sweet boys.

Happy Birthday, sweet Luke.

April 29, 2008

1 year old.

My baby is 1 year old today.

I know people always say they can't believe how fast time goes, but I REALLY can't believe it. It's been a year?! Luke, you have been such a joy in our lives over the last year. You are so easy going, funny, and my goodness...you are oh so sweet.

On Sunday, we celebrated with a monkey party for our little monkey :) Thanks to all the family and friends who helped us celebrate this precious little life. Here are some pics below...

Here is a video of our little toddler on his actual birthday.

Luke didn't really dig into his cake too much at his party. Honestly, I don't really think I gave him enough time with it to have the chance. So we brought it out again tonight for his actual birthday, and he really got into this time :)

Hope you had a great 1st birthday, Lukey! We love you!

A door just my size...

Happy Birthday Pup!

Today is our oldest child's birthday. Gus, our sweet dog, is 7 years old today. Brad and I got little Gus right after we got engaged in 2002. I still remember the day we went to get him. He was the smallest in his litter and a little sickly :) I think that is why we picked him...we felt bad for him and he was just so darn cute! Gus has definitely been an interesting dog, which anyone in our family can attest to. He is all beagle for sure...from his howl, to his love for trash of any kind, to his uncanny ability to catch a scent, escape, and be gone for good....we love him still :) While his place in the family has undoubtedly changed since the boys have been born, his place in our hearts hasn't budged one bit.

We love you Gus...and hope you're around for many more years to come!

Happy 7th Birthday, Pup!

Happy Birthday Teddy!

Happy Birthday Teddy! Today is my mom's ?? Birthday (I wouldn't do that to you, Mom :)). Yesterday we went up to Lilburn to celebrate with everyone. We had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather and playing with all the outside toys. Jackson and Allie found (and tortured) numerous caterpillars, jumped on the jumpy thing, rode cars, and of course had fun playing with, Jackson's favorite....the big giant beach ball. Hope you have a great birthday, Mom. We love you!

This is Jackson's favorite game to play with the big giant beach ball. Notice how he falls down every time...and that his timing isn't quite right :)

Happy Luke...just hanging out

There's something not quite right about this picture :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Strawberry Patch

Yesterday we made our annual trip to Elliott Farms Strawberry Patch just outside of Macon. It was hard to believe that durning last year's trip I was 9 months pregnant with sweet little Luke. We picked strawberries, chased the animals, had some strawberry ice cream and went on a hay ride. It was a very fun afternoon spent with some special friends. Here are some pics...

Sweet brothers...picking strawberries together :)

Our crew, left to right...Elcee, Mary Kate, Naomi, Luke, Jackson, Nathan, Catch

On the hay ride

Yearly pic of the boys in front of the tractor wheel

Last year's picture

Mabye we'll get lucky next year and get them to all look at the camera at once :)

Easter pics

Easter Celebration

On Wednesday we went to our church's annual Easter Egg Hunt/Party. The weather was gorgeous and our church did such a wonderful job preparing fun activities for the kids. Here are some pictures...

Planting a flower

Cookie decorating with friends, Catch and GainesEgg on a spoon relay race Listening to the Easter Story...I think this must have been the part when Jesus died (doesn't he look concerned?) On the hunt...

With his best buddies...Catch and Nathan

Luke 'hunting' eggs.

Eating at the picnic table with the big boys

Like mother like son...he spent most of the time visiting with the cat :)