Fire Engine Update # 3

Next step - carrying it upstairs. Needless to say this part of the process required far more muscle than I have, so one of our dear friends come over to give Brian a hand. I captured this photo while the two of them were trying to develop a strategy on how to maneuver the stairway. Reminds me of a "Friends" episode.

Fire Engine Update #2

Progress report as of September 9th.

And a very excited little fireman.

On another note, we painted Claxton's new room a few weeks ago. We have a bed set up in the guest bedroom that Claxton is currently sleeping in. We now have a routine every morning when we get him up that we must go look at his new room. "Mommy and Daddy, go see new room, go see new room." And of course the evening routine is that we take a peek into the new room before getting in bed.

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

In early September we had a family fun day at Imagine It! Claxton was elated with all of the fun things to see and do and Julia just took in as much of it as she could.

Music to my ears

First word "mmmmmama"!!!!!

It's hard to believe she is six months old already. She is full of life and keeps us smiling all of the time. At her check up she weighed in at 15 lb 2 oz. She loves spending time in the exersaucer, rolling around on the floor, "talking", watching and mimicking her big brother, cuddling on the couch with Daddy, scooting around on the floor, pulling Mommy's hair, grabbing at anything in reach, smiling and laughing. and now eating all kinds of yummy fruits and vegetables. What a joy she is. We' are blessed.

Claxton is telling her about the snowman on the box.

Fire Engine Update # 1

Update as of September 1.

Fun in the Sun

Better late than never. I'm finally catching up with what's been going on in our world over the past month or so. In August we had a wonderful vacation at the beach with Brad, Anne, and Kyle. It was a great opportunity to hang out and have fun and get to know each other a little better. Claxton and Kyle played really well together and we enjoyed watching them interact. Julia mostly ate, slept, splashed around in the pool a little, and got loved on a whole bunch. We spent time playing in the ocean and sand everyday, played games, watched a few movies, napped occasionally, cooled off in the pool, relaxed as much as possible and the guys even got in a round of golf one day. Here's some of the moments we captured. Enjoy!

We have not fallen off the face of the earth

Thanks to those who have asked if I have quit blogging. I have not. Long story short various computer issues over the past month or so have limited my ability to make any posts or do anything else on my computer. I now have my computer back. It seems to be functioning okay so let's hope that it lasts. I am way behind on many things. Be on the lookout for some updates in the days to come. I guess I have quite a bit to catch up on.

Hope you are doing well. Fall is in the air here and it is nice.

Julia's Five Months Old

New things over this past month:
1. Her laughing has increased, like bust-a-gut laughing to the point she makes Claxton laugh too.
2. Has become very vocal and animated.
3. Made her first trip out of state.
4. First trip to the beach (with one of her friends!).
5. Everything she gets in her hands goes straight to her mouth.
6. Loves the exersaucer.
7. Stares at and plays with her hands and feet all of the time.
8. Loves to smile.

Home Publix

Every time we are in the car and come within a mile of The Home Depot or Publix, we hear from the back seat "Home Publix, go to Home Publix". I thought about this and came to a couple of conclusions:

1. We frequent these two stores way too often.
2. Maybe we are on to something here. We have Super Targets and Wal-Mart Supercenters where we can buy groceries and many other household items. So why not have a "Home Publix" where we can buy groceries and all supplies needed for any do-it-yourself home remodeling projects too.

Umm, maybe we have an entrepreneur in the making.

Not feeling the love

A conversation in the car yesterday.

Me: "Claxton, are you excited about going to the beach?"
Claxton: "Yes, Mommy, yes!!"
Me: "Are you going to take walks on the beach with me?"
Claxton: "No."
Me (very surprised): "No..?"
Claxton: "No, Mommy. I walk with Kyle."
Me: "And Mommy too?"
Claxton: "No, walk with Kyle. And Daddy too."
Me: "And Mommy too?"
Claxton: "No, just Kyle, and Daddy."

I'm thinking it's time for the lesson about knowing which side your bread is buttered on...or something like that.

(Brian not saying a word, but grinning all the while)

How many things can you do with a pool noodle?

Two for certain.

1. Go fishing with your buddy.
2. Rescue people.

Five boys and one sweet little girl

That's what we had at our house this past weekend. Aging from 2 to 13. The plans were to go to the pool for most of the day, but it was raining in the morning, so plan B had to be executed. We loaded everyone in the truck and headed over to Jumpin' Jacks. A good start to making sure that they would be tired at the end of the day. They climbed, bounced, jumped, ran, and yelled for about two hours and then they were hungry. By this time the rain had stopped so we ate a quick lunch and started to get ready for the pool. Just as everyone had on their swimsuits we heard thunder again. We knew the storm would pass quickly so we just waited a little longer to go up to the pool. It was during this time that the noise level increased by about a thousand decibels. I just stood and observed for a few minutes. At one point each one had a tool (from Claxton's collection) of some sort playing with it - one was cutting down Christmas trees, one was using the weed eater as a metal detector to mine for gold, two were working on putting the airplane back together, and I can't remember was the fifth one was doing. Of course all the toys they chose to play with were noise makers. Why would it be any other way. The manufacturers obviously have not done a fair analysis of the age appropriateness of the toys. All in our house are targeted for 2-3 year olds, yet it was unbelievable how quickly these older boys were attracted to and fascinated by these toys! Julia's never had so much stimulation. Quite amusing. The storm passed and we made it to the pool after all for a couple more hours of fun. Of course according to them they were not tired at all. Claxton couldn't even keep his eyes open at dinner, so he went down much earlier than normal. Two of the boys went home between 8 and 8:30. I said to Brian after they left we should send the other two to bed by 9 pm. At that time they were occupied with Play Station. I heard them coming up from the basement expecting to hear that they wanted something to drink or something else, but much to my surprise they said "can we go to bed now?". Brian and I looked at each other in amazement. It was 8:45. Mission accomplished!!

Silly faces everyone!

Julia trying to get a break from all the commotion

"Daddy, do dizzy, do dizzy again Daddy!"

The four older boys spent most of the time plotting how they could take Brian down. There was a great deal of effort and energy put forth, but it never happened. All that scheming is probably what wore them out.

There is a big span between the ages, but that doesn't stop Claxton from thinking he's one of the big boys.


Boys, thanks for a fun weekend. We'll see you again next summer!

Packing on the pounds

We took her for her 4-month check up this past week. Yes, that's right, 4 months. It is hard to believe that she has been with us that long already. Thankfully she is as healthy as can be. And rather chunky too. She weighed in at 14 lb 2 oz.

Edisto Trip

So far this is the longest road trip we have been on with the kids. It really went very well. Julia slept the majority of the way which was a huge blessing. Never know what it's going to be like in the car with an infant for six plus hours. Claxton had just about everything he needed: his puppy, some very over-sized headphones, because it was that or none at all and we weren't exactly thrilled at the thought of listening to Veggie Tales for the entire trip, his cup and a travel size pillow. He was well prepared and endured the long journey well.


Once we arrived and settled in it was nothing but fun! We spent most of our time on the beach and one day went to Charleston for a little exploring. All kids including the adult ones played hard every day which made for a great night's sleep every night.

Julia's first beach trip.

This is where Julia and Ellie spent most of their time.

We match.

What could they be up to?

A few more random pictures:

Hiatus

I've been on a bit of a hiatus - from my computer anyway. Some really good friends of ours invited us to vacation with them at the beach. So that's where we were last week. We can never pass up an opportunity to go to the beach! After getting settled from being gone a few days, I wanted to get back to my computer and catch up on pictures and other things. Unfortunately it started having problems (and that's as technical as I can be!). I'm back on today, but my time is already spoken for by other important things that mainly involve the two small ones that live here. So when I have more time later this week I'll try to post some pictures of our trip as well as an update on Brian's project.

Brian's latest project

Brian is in the process of building a bed for Claxton. One in which Claxton is very excited about. It's a work in progress. Here's what he's been able to do so far:

Think you know what it is?

Remember her awkward sleeping positions

We are blessed yet again with a great little sleeper. Any time, any where. She slept like this for about an hour or so.

Which one does not belong?

Finger licking good

Julia sucks her fingers. My sweet little Julia is not going to become a finger sucker, she already is. And I kid you not, she can be heard across the room, "smack, smack, smack" louder than you could ever imagine coming from a 12-pounder. It's kind of funny now, but I'm already worried about how we are going to break the habit.

Undivided attention

We took Julia with us this past weekend. She's a little too young for me to leave just yet. And for the first time she got our undivided attention. And the attention of all the staff and other guests as well. I think she had a good time!

Relaxing out by the pool

Checking out the beautiful gardens

We stopped by to say hello to the animals