3 Years

Has it really been 3 years??

I can still remember heading up to the hospital...well waddling would be the most proper term for it...to bring my first-born into the world.

It feels like it was yesterday.

But alas, 3 years have gone by.  And oh, what a fun 3 years it has been!

In 3 years, Thomas has grown and changed from a little baby to quite the big boy. 

We've tackled some large accomplishments this year. 

We've gained a little brother.

We've said goodbye to the paci and hello to a big boy bed.

Although at times we felt like we'd never get there, we're now almost completely independent when it comes to "bathroom stuff."

Thomas's vocabulary has grown at a tremendous rate.  Not only am I amazed at what he can say, I am amazed by the sentence structure he chooses and the grammatical techniques he uses. (Can you tell that I'm a speech therapist?)  He continues to keep us entertained by his musings and keeps our gray hair growing with his arguing and reasoning! =)

His moral character is also developing, which is a joy to watch.  He's instinctively kind and caring, he's thoughtful and respectful, he's a natural friend to others.  He's honest and trustworthy.  He loves God and strives to have a relationship with Him.  I think seeing these traits grow is by far the most rewarding from our perspective.

He's funny and loves to laugh.  He's beginning to understand jokes (much to our chagrin...better watch what we say now!) and clown around with the best of us.

He's such an amazing big brother to Evan.  While he's learned to share the attention that he once got all to himself, he's never shown any signs of jealousy and is very protective of his little brother.  Getting to observe their relationship grow is very heartwarming.

He started at a new school, in a new preschool class.  He's adjusted beautifully to the new environment and loves going to school. 

Even though the past 3 years have flown by, not a day goes by that I am not thankful for him in my life and how he's blessed both Adam's and my life to the fullest degree.

Happy 3rd birthday Thomas!  And may your next 3++++ years be filled with unimaginable blessings and a whole lot of fun!

We love you!

A Blast of a Birthday!

We took a trip to space for Thomas's 3rd birthday...and it was a blast!

We had some space snacks.

We had cosmic crafts.

We had a "jumpin' Jupiter."

We had gifts galore!

We were so excited to have so many friends and family join us for this rockin' good time!

Happy 3rd birthday Thomas!  We know this next year is going to be a blast!

7 Months

7 months old. 

Time is continuing to fly.

Still as cute as he can be.  Still so sweet. 

Love, love, love this baby boy!

A Chef's Table Experience

I am a Food Network-aholic.

I love watching the cooking shows.  All of them.  It's a guilty pleasure.

I am in awe of the art of cooking and how flavors and textures are combined and presented in a beautiful way.

So needless to say, I was thrilled when my family had the opportunity to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, The Mabry House, and sit at the chef's table for my sister's 25th birthday in July.

It was such a neat experience!  We were given lots of courses...6 or 7, I think, and we were able to watch the chef prepare our meal and explain what inspired him about each meal.

It was an evening of great food and great company celebrating a great girl's birthday.  Happy Birthday Erin!!

An easy, like a Sunday morning, kind of 4th...sort of

We really didn't do anything fancy this year for the 4th of July.  We ate some good food, we swam a bit, we hung out with our family...

It was a good weekend!

On Monday, the actual 4th of July, my parents, the boys and I were enjoying a quiet dinner.  My mom and dad started reminiscing about packing us all up in the car, bathed and in our jammies, to go watch the riverfront fireworks show. 

"How fun does that sound?" I thought.  "Let's totally do that tonight!" I said.

So we quickly bathed the boys, put them in the most patriotic jammies they had, and we all loaded up in the car to scope out the perfect place to watch the riverfront fireworks show.

I felt so spontaneous!

We decided to try to find a spot on the very top of the parking garage at the Boardwalk.  We made it to the top with ease and found a great spot...

"How lucky are we?" we thought, not even noticing the occasional claps of thunder we heard in the distance.

Then the rains came...and they came...and THEY CAME!  A little disappointed, we started the car back up to head home...no fireworks show for us this year...

...then we waited...and waited...and WAITED!

We sat in the same spot on the top of that parking garage, with a perfect view of the non-existent fireworks show mind you, not moving, for ONE HOUR!  I was about to go NUTS! (as were my children)

By that point, the storm had passed and we FINALLY began creeping down the parking garage. 

Right when we lost sight of the night sky and were completely under the parking garage, I heard some strategic "booming."

"You've got to be kidding me!?" I said. 

"No, that's thunder," my mom said.

"Pretty sure that's fireworks," I said.

And sure enough, when we emerged out of the parking garage, what to our wondering eyes should appear but the beautiful riverfront fireworks show...just our luck!

So we pulled over onto the side of the street and watched the fireworks...and they really were pretty...glad we were able to see them. =)

And in the midst of all of this excitement, I was able to get a picture of the boys in their patriotic-wear...I know, I know, it's a stretch...just use your imagination...

Hope everyone's 4th of July was great, grand and glorious!  I am so thankful for the freedoms that I have been privileged to living in the United States and continue to pray for those that work endlessly to keep our freedoms available.  I am proud to be an American!

6 Years

Adam's and my 6th anniversary was June 18.  Has it really been 6 years??

In 6 years, I still remember exactly how I felt when I woke up the morning of my wedding day.  A couple of my bridesmaids spent the night and I remember having a hard time going to sleep...probably a mixture of nerves and excitement.  I woke up with a start and immediately thought, "I'm getting married today!"  Then I felt the butterflies in my stomach...and they didn't stop for awhile...

In 6 years, I still remember how quickly the day flew by.  We went to my aunt and uncle's house for a wedding day lunch, making carefully sure that we timed it perfectly to not run into Adam, who was coming for the second leg of the luncheon.  I was a bit superstitious...

In 6 years, I still remember how each one of my bridesmaids made the day perfect for me by keeping the mood light and fun, making me laugh, making me eat, and nurturing my every need.  They were (and still are) the best!

In 6 years, I still remember realizing that the ceremony was going to start soon and feeling my stomach jump at the thought of my dream of getting married becoming a reality in just a few short minutes.

In 6 years, I still remember standing in the back of the sanctuary with my dad, both of us pretty quiet, taking in the moment.  This was really about to happen...and having my dad by my side to walk me down the aisle made the moment all the more special.

In 6 years, I still remember seeing everyone rise up as I entered the sanctuary.  I was overwhelmed with the amazing support surrounding Adam and me.  I remember seeing so many faces, each one an important part of my life. 

In 6 years, I still remember meeting my mother's eyes as I was rounding the corner to the altar.  She looked so proud and I felt so proud to be her daughter.

In 6 years, I still remember seeing Adam for the first time.  This was such an important day for us as we publicly stood with our family and friends and vowed a lifetime together before God.  It was a holy and magical moment.

In 6 years, I still remember dancing the night away.  Maybe I'm biased but it was the MOST FUN reception!  At one point, I think everyone was out on the dance floor getting their groove on...it was perfect!

In 6 years, I still remember the extreme happiness I felt the entire day.  I truly felt as if I was floating on a cloud all day long.  Every little girl dreams of their wedding day and as I look back on our day, I feel like my dreams became a reality.

Happy anniversary Adam!  Here's to the past 6 years and to the next 60!  I love you!

My Superheros

Who is your favorite superhero??  Are you a fan of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman??

Superheros are making a more prominent appearance in my household these days with my ever-curious and ever-imaginative preschooler.  It's very interesting to watch his interest in them grow as well as his understanding of why they're so special to those around him.

The characteristics that interest him the most about any of these superheros are their strength, their power, their abilities to do cool things, their abilities to protect...all really good life lessons in and of themselves!

June 19 was Father's Day.  Like Mother's Day, it is a great opportunity to reflect on the roles our fathers have played in our lives.  And as of three years ago, it's also become a great opportunity to reflect on the role that my husband plays in our children's lives.

My dad is a GREAT dad...always supportive, always involved, always a source of wisdom and knowledge through a lot of life's issues.  I feel very blessed that he has played such an active role in my life and has helped mold me into what I am today.  In a lot of ways, my dad has always been like a superhero to me.  He's big and strong.  I still turn to him for help with many projects because he's very handy.  He has always and will always continue to protect me from anything life throws at me.  Words truly cannot express how grateful I am for him.

When I met Adam, I saw a lot of wonderful, fatherly qualities in him too.  As I've watched him grow into his role as a father, he has exceeded any expectations I had.  He, too, is a GREAT dad...so hands-on, so patient, so much fun, so supportive, so kind...I could go on and on!  I can see that both of our boys look up to him so much and see him as their "superhero."  It's truly an awesome thing to witness and I thank God continuously for bringing such a man into my life.

Father's Day is only one day out of the year and it is hard to adequately express the gratitude I feel for what I see from both of these men on a daily basis.  But I do hope that they both know the impact they've had on my life and see that, by their examples, they are also molding, forming, and inspiring the lives of two little boys who see them as I see them...as our superheros.

Happy Father's Day Dad and Adam!

6 Months

Back on June 13, Evan turned 6 months old...he's a half-year old!

While I continue to wrap my mind around him already being 6 months old, I'll also share some things that he's been up to lately (well things that were going on back in June...this post is a bit late!):

He is now rolling from back to front.

caught him after a roll to the belly

He is sitting and playing for longer periods of time.

He is all about reaching for things...go go Gadget arms!

He loves to watch big brother play.  He can now interact with him more and it's really neat to watch their relationship growing.

We've been waiting for his first tooth to pop out.  He puts everything in his mouth!

We're on a more defined nap schedule...one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and a small one in evening.

We love to watch and see what new things he'll turn up doing on a daily basis.  This is a fun stage of a baby's life to me because they grow and change so much and so quickly. 

Happy half-birthday little man!  Can't wait to see what the next 6 months have in store for you!

Surprise! It's a Crawfish Boil for Chris!

Back in early June, we were all anticipating a big milestone...

...my dad was turning 60!

My mom wanted to do something to celebrate his big day and thought that getting all of his friends/family together for a crawfish boil would be the perfect solution.

So the planning began...

We all were involved in helping plan the party.  I mean, who doesn't love a good party coupled with being sneaky and figuring out ways to keep it all from my dad??

When the big day rolled around, we set our plan in motion.  The party was over at my brother and sister-in-law's house.  The backyard looked exquisite. 

The tables, chairs and hors d'oeuvres were perfectly placed. 

The decorations were out. 

The beverages were chilling. 

The crawfish and shrimp were boiling. 

Now all we needed was the man of honor...and I think we successfully surprised him...

The party was so much fun!  The crawfish and shrimp were spectacular and the company was even better!

It was really neat to be able to honor my dad and reflect on the last 60 years of his life.  After the party, he kept saying how humbling this whole experience was for him- that so many people would take time out of their busy schedules to celebrate with him.  But as evidenced by the wonderful showing of family and friends, I believe that the biggest testament to my dad and the life he's lived are the many great relationships he's formed and the impact he's left on us all. 

Happy 60th birthday Dad!  And may this next phase of life be filled with even more happiness, more fun, and more blessings.  We love you!