Sippy Cup 101

I know what is coming when we take Gibson to the doctor on Friday...he is going to say that he needs to be drinking out of a sippy cup. So, today, we introduced the sippy cup with water in it. Okay so, he actually stole LeLe's cup of Tea so I decided to let him have his own. The next thing I knew, he had drank all of the water out of the cup!! Today, the kids and I were a little under the weather. But, we felt well enough to meet our friends, Johnny and Kandie Baker for lunch at Jim n Nicks. We always love seeing Johnny and Kandie when they come down from Albertville. They have been my friends for over 15 years now. Wow! I am getting old. It is amazing how things change. I remember keeping their little guy, John Christian when he was Gibson's age

Visit from the Cousins

Anne Reaves and Saxon spent the night with BoBo and Pappy. Laura brought them by on their way home. I convinced her to clean out my closet since I put in my resignation on Thursday at Blue Cross. It took her several house but she got through all of it....or shall I say...got rid of all of it. After it all was said and done, we got rid of 18 LARGE black garbage bags of clothes. I am embarrassed to say how long I had been holding on to some of it...and some of it...still had tags. But, let's face it...I probably haven't worn some of it in years.

LeLe enjoyed playing with the older girls...and Gibson did too! They all got in my bed to watch Horton...of course, Horton the stuffed animal had to join too!

Big News Thursday

Mother and Dad had planned on going to North Alabama today to visit some of daddy's friends. So, I ended up taking the kids to school and then my sweet neighbor, Kim Meadows, picked them up and brought them home.

LeLe and Gibson didn't quite know what to think about me taking them to school. However, they are going to have to get use to it because I have decided to quit.

Today was a really hard day for me but I talked to Brian and turned in my notice. We may try to work things out for me to work less hours but right now, it looks like my time is up at Blue Cross. Daddy really needs/wants mother to be there during the day so she isn't going to be able to continue to watch them. Matt and I have always said that if she didn't watch them, that I would stay home. So...now is my chance!

I am excited about the opportunity and I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful supportive husband. I do think that between all of the kids activities and my sewing that I will keep myself busy. I will miss several of my friends at work but hey, who says that I cannot go out to lunch??

Pancake...Princess

Every time that LeLe wakes up and finds her daddy in bed, she asks to make pancakes. This morning, they let me sleep in. When I came into the kitchen, this is what I found!! Cinderella and her prince making pancakes...not just any pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes.

After the pancake party, LeLe, Gibson and I went over to the Alexanders to a pottery party. The kids had a great time playing with the other little people and painting.

This evening, we had the Alexanders over for dinner....a laid back dinner. We had a wonderful time with them as usual.

Princess on Ice!

Matt had convinced me to purchase Disney on Ice tickets. While I knew that we would be close, I had no idea that I had purchased some VIP passes which gave us a table to sit at and some food/drinks. The show started at 10:30 and we got there early so that we could check out the dresses on display. LeLe got a glimpse of Cinderella but really didn't get to see her very close up before the show. Matt got there before us and had already reserved our seats and ordered our meals (that were included). We still ended up dropping no telling how much money on things that well, we could not live without...like a light up Tinker Bell wand ($20), Tinker Bell Cup ($15) and a few other knickknacks. However, it was totally worth all of the money as LeLe was just in amazement. I am not an emotional person but the look on her face when she saw the first princess (which happened to be Tinker Bell) brought tears to my eyes. She truly believed that those princesses on the ice were real.

As you can tell from the pictures, I let her dress herself. She picked out her Cinderella dress and her Cowboy boots. Not sure if I have ever seen cowboy boots on a princess but that is what she wanted. Oh! When I went to get her ready this morning, she told me that her name was "CinderLeLe". I guess it is pretty close as we always tell her that she has Cinderella hair.

After the show, LeLe and I met Gibson and Kim at Christmas Village. They had a ton of the same stuff that I do (applique shirts, ruffled pants, etc). I did get the kids a couple of Christmas ornaments and I also got some waterproof labels and gift stickers for them. We didn't get home until almost 5:00 and the kids were absolutely exhausted.

Happy Times

I decked the kids out in their Halloween attire to go to school today. As you can tell from the picture, LeLe was thrilled to be having her picture made. Like her momma, she isn't a morning person.

Bobo continues to watch the children each day. She comes over in the morning to get them ready and then takes them and picks them back up from school. LeLe is really starting to enjoy it. Gibson, well, is just always his normal cheerful self.

Laid Back Monday

Today, the kids and I slept in. We had to go get Sadie from the vet where she had had surgery on her ear. We were not prepared for the extensive stitching that was done on her ear. While waiting in Dr. Fuller's waiting room, LeLe enjoyed playing with the 2 puppies that were there and then the resident cat. For some reason, she thinks that all cats are called Jinxy (like Aunt Lisa's cat).

She had the best time holding the puppies. Gibson had the best time getting the attention of all of the nurses. We ran by Pappy's house to help him fix his computer. Pappy fell a couple of days ago and looks terrible. LeLe wasn't scared of him though as we thought.

Tonight, LeLe prayed for Pappy's head and Sadie's ear. She was very concerned that we couldn't find a bandaid big enough for both of them. :)

She took a 4.5 hour nap but almost never went to sleep tonight. Gibson went with Kim Meadows to visit her parents and gave Matt and me a break.

Happy Halloween!

We were invited to the Wilkins house to celebrate Halloween. This is the second year that we have enjoyed Halloween with the Wilkins. LeLe loved seeing all of the other children and didn't even get scared of some of the scary characters. She played flag football with the older boys too. She even threw the ball to the right person!

After having a quick bite to eat, we headed out to go Trick or Treating. Gibson never made it out of the stroller and it didn't take long for LeLe to figure out this Trick or Treating stuff. One lady took so long that LeLe decided to take a break and sit down on her doorstep until she arrived. LeLe wouldn't wait until we got done though to eat her candy. I think that she went through a few boxes of Milk Duds before we even made it to the second door.

When we got home, Gibson played a little while on his table. Isn't that the cutest little lamb that you have ever seen?

Children's Hospital

We were invited by the Alexanders to visit Children's Hospital's trick or treat event. The kids had a wonderful time looking at everyone in their costumes. Gibson and LeLe were entered into the costume contest and WON! They came home with some fabulous prizes. Most importantly, we felt so blessed to be so healthy.

Happy Birthday Me!!

Today is my 33rd birthday. Isn't it sad how birthdays don't mean as much as they used to? This year, I just wanted my kids to sing to me and give me bunches of kisses. I really didn't want a present or even folks to acknowledge that I am getting older. Regardless, I received 100s of Happy Birthday notes from all of my friends and it made my day really special.

After work, we dressed the kids up for the Trunk or Treat that was held at Hunter Street Baptist Church. Since the weather had been so bad, they moved the trunk or treats inside. I think that the entire state of Alabama was in attendance. While the church is HUGE...the attendee list was too! The kids enjoyed getting candy. LeLe told each and every person, "may I have some candy please" and then proceeded to tell them thank you. It was very sweet. She was very excited to watch her basket fill up with goodies. Little Gibson just took it all in. He was the cutest little lamb that you had ever seen. I bet 100 people took their picture.

After the trunk or treat, we went to eat at Beef O Brady's by our new Target. Our sweet neighbor, Kim Meadows, met us to go to Trunk or Treat and then ate with us. We had a great time!!


When we got home, I put Gibson to bed. The next thing I hear is some squealing and laughing. I go into his room and find LeLe and Gibson jumping in his bed with the light on. I didn't have the heart to get onto LeLe as it really was precious!

Big Day for the Kids

This morning, we woke up bright and early and our dear friend, Mark Wilkins from B3 Photography did some photos of the family. While I would say that I have some patience, not near as much as Mark. I was about to beat LeLe for not sitting still and smiling and before I knew it, Mark had her doing just that.

Matt left about half way through to go run to pick up our sister-in-law's dog from the vet. On the way to pick her up, his car broke down on him for the 2nd time. This time, with smoke coming out the hood and from the tires. To say the least, I think that we are in the market for a new car.

I took the kids to my Aunt Lisa's barn to let them see the horses. LeLe enjoyed it so very much and well Gibson just likes the extra attention. Lisa took LeLe to Bobo and Pappy's house where she spent the night for the first time since I was in the hospital having Gibson. Both Anne Reaves and Saxon spent the night as well. However, I think that LeLe kept them all awake. She woke up numerous times with bad dreams (still of that duck) and then a fire. She then kept them awake by asking if they liked any animal she could think of...

Around 7, I headed to pick up little Gibson. He had been so excited that he didn't even take a nap all day long. He didn't make it to the end of the driveway before he was asleep.

Lisa and Emily couldn't believe how mobile he is...my kids don't lack energy...that's for sure!

Pulling Up and Going Places

Gibson is really getting fast crawling. Actually, I think he can crawl almost as fast as I walk. He has started pulling up on everything including my legs!! This may be one of my favorite ages for little babies as he is such a happy little camper.

He has almost decided that he no longer likes baby food. There are only a few veggies that I can get him to eat. Last night we gave him a pizza crust and he was in heaven! I think he knawed on that crust for about 15 minutes until it was gone.

He get so excited when he sees a bottle. He starts bouncing and breathing real heavy. so cute!!

LeLe had a bad day today at school. She cried for over 15 minutes before settling down. I think that she still has a little bug and just isn't quite herself. She is really becoming such a good little helper. This morning, she actually went downstairs and got me a drink!! Things are looking up!

Catching Up..

Okay, here we go again...my attempt to get the blog back in order....keep checking back as I am updating new pictures (from August)!

Doctor AGAIN

Gibson continues to have belly issues and has been running a low grade fever all weekend. Luckily, we have new friends in the business and they were able to check him out for us. He doesn't have an ear infection so that is good.

We all laid up all weekend in hopes of getting better. Really, I don't think we even left the house all weekend. I called the doctor since Gibson is still having issues and they recommended seeing him. So, we went...he weighed in at 18 lbs 6 oz.