New tricks

Okay, so here is Drew's latest new trick. He is not only babbling "Da-Da-Da" and "Ma-Ma-Ma" and "Na-Na-Na", but now he has learned a new trick with his mouth. It's not very becoming or neat, but he seems to have lots of fun doing it. I'd go into detail, but I'm sure this little video clip will show you exactly what I mean.


Yes, he does this little trick ALL the time! As if his clothes don't stay wet enough with his constant drool, now he has to spit all over them! Hey,at least he seems to have fun doing it :)
Here is our sweet baby boy enjoying some time out in the fresh air.
What a face!
This is his baby ducky bath tub. He doesn't seem too sure about it from this angle. It quacks when you press it beak.
Here is just a funny shot of Princess Raegan mowing the grass in her "swimmy suit".
I just thought this was sweet of Raegan loving on Mamaw Janice. Ben seems to be posing as well :) What cute kids we have!

Today's pick me up...pink toes!

Eight years ago, I could never have imagined where my life would be now.

Elizabeth, Janey and Me

This thought was brought on by a recent mini-reunion with two of my college roommates. I, being the only mom of the group, listened to stories of what life without kids is like. I used to be the girl who could blow an entire paycheck in the blink of an eye. I used to be the girl who would lay out in the sun and paint my toes on my day off. I used to be the girl who kept my house spotless and insisted on cleaning everything at least once a week. I used to sleep in until 10:00 or later every chance I got. That's right... I USED to be her.

But not anymore. Now I watch every penny I spend. The only time I get to spend in the sun is usually spent pulling a wagon, pushing a swing or two, or slathering my kids with SPF 50 so they won't burn. My house is rarely neat much less spotless and I'm happy if I get around to the really major cleaning once a month. I can't even remember the last time I got to sleep in until 10:00!!! No I'm definately not that girl in college anymore.

Now, I'm happily the wife to this wonderful man. (whom I'm still madly in love with!)

And the proud mama to these two little red heads.

My life is certainly busier, full of more surprises, and a lot more exhausting! But this afternoon, God smiled down on me and both my children took a nap together and I got to sit out in the sun and paint my toenails again. I got a few minutes all to myself. No one crying, whining or repeating "MAMA, MAMA" over and over. It gave me time to reflect on how my life has changed and how I've been so blessed with a husband who loves me and two beautiful children. Even on the hardest of days, I love things the way they are now. It is definitely nice to take a stroll back down memory lane at the way things used to be, but I'd never trade what I have now for what I had then. (Okay, maybe I'd still like to have a little more sleep) But for now, here are the new highlights of my life. They may not be glamorous, but they are mine.

This is the sweet face I get to see early (and I mean early :) in the morning.And this little girl is absolutely MY daughter. (she loves to talk).

I can just see that these two are going to be good buddies one day. This picture is SO Raegan. Drew getting to take a bath in the big boy tub with his sister. How cute is that!
The many (cake covered) faces of Raegan.
No, this is not a mishap with hot pink lipstick. Aunt Tammy's b-day cake had hot pink icing... and guess who just LOVES icing?!

My sweet babies enjoying time outside on the swingset. This is by far the cutest single man I've seen since I met Tony :)

Party on!!

We finally had Raegan's make up party on Saturday. We had a cook out for lots of our family and friends. It turned out to be a great party. It was very laid back, and everyone (especially the kids) seemed to have a great time. Here are a few MANY pictures. There are still a lot of pictures here, so don't get bored looking at them. :)

The cupcakes.Lighting her two candles for her to blow out. She has always been afraid of the candles, but this time she actually blew them out.

Several times...
This was her proud moment.
Grandad hanging with little man Drew.
Uncle Scott and Aunt TammyRaegan sharing her icing with "Sha" as Raegan calls her. I'm not sure how many people ate icing off that same little finger :)
Here she is sampling her icing.
Brodie loved his cupcakes! She is such a Nana's girl. :)

Ben and Connor taking Raegan's new mustang for a spin. This little car was a hit with the boys... even if it was hot pink!
Katie definitely enjoyed her cupcake and looks like she was eyeing another one :)
Raegan watching a balloon go up into the sky.
Bye Bye balloon.
Nana Joan and the kids bouncing in the bouncer. No wonder she was down in her back the next day :)
Raegan diving head first down the slide. Such a little dare-devil.
We had loads of fun and got lots of neat stuff. Thanks to everybody who came and celebrated with us!

OOPS! 6 months (a little late)

Okay, so somehow I forgot to post Drew's 6 month pictures. I just realized it yesterday when I was printing all his monthly photos for a picture frame we have. Then it dawned on me... I never posted the pictures. I'm sure it had nothing the do with the weeks of illness, and a two night hospital stay with out eldest child! Regardless, our little man turned 6 months on JUNE 26, and is about to turn 7 months. But, here are his 6 months pictures He caught himself in this one.
Not so lucky in this one. You can tell he was very troubled
He has been sitting up for a few weeks now, and has even mastered leaning over with out tipping over. Here he is reaching for toys without falling over.

2 years old!

Well, party or not, our sweet baby girl turned TWO on Saturday. She wasn't feeling much like partying, but we did get the grandparents together and have a small celebration. Here is how our little girl has changed. This was her at 1 month. Here she is at 1 year.

And here was her 2 year old picture. I can't believe how much she has changed and grown!!!

Here is a picture of our little "Solemn Sally" and her baby brotherc . She wears this lovely expression in most of her pictures now. She is so funny. I'm not sure who looks bigger in this picture. There is only about 5 lbs difference between the two now!
Here is Drew modeling his new hat with Grandad.
Mamaw and Papaw watching Raegan act silly.
Here she is opening up a new baby from Nana.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but she is terrified of the candles. She won't blow them out and tries to get as far away from them as possible. I ended up blowing them out for her.
This was her favorite thing... decorating her cupcakes. We had the prettiest cupcakes ever.
Nana and Grandad just happy to see Raegan running around a little bit.
Big man Drew again.
I loved this sweet picture of my sleepy boy. He was snuggled up to "Doot". (My aunt Anna)

Raegan and Drew were trying out her new sleeping bag. Drew looks a little scared to be this close to his sister :)
Opening presents with Papaw Chris.
Here is our attempt at a family picture. As you can see, Tony and I had to hold both kids still, but it turned out okay.
And of course we ended our fun evening with bath time. This is our usual routine, but Tony always gets a kick out of both kids in their tubs.