Merry Christmas

We were once again abundantly blessed the whole year through and are very thankful for all of our friends and family.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. We have had company staying at our house every weekend in december. We have loved every minute of it. I just love the holidays and the feeling that you get from hearing Christmas songs and the smell of live Christmas trees.

The boys are both up at about 6:30 every morning. Bobby and I were expecting to be up and opening presents by 7:00 a.m. Christmas morning was the only morning this year that the kids have slept in. We ended up waking them about about 7:00. They were so excited. Santa brought them a Power Wheel truck.

Jake drives it and Will sits in the passenger seat and plays with the real FM radio. We are going to have to strap Will in the truck because Jake needs to go to driving school. He just goes straight and runs into whatever is in his way.

We had so much fun for Christmas. We stayed in our pajamas and cooked breakfast and nibbled on sausage balls (our family favorite). We cooked lunch and stayed outside with the new toy most of the afternoon. We hope each and every Christmas is as merry as 2007.

Looking Back....

Jake 1 day old
Jake as a newborn
Jake 11 months (he would always turn his head to listen to what you were saying)
Will as a newborn
Will 10 months old

Will 1st birthday party

Jake and Will playing Christmas Card 2007

Wow time really does start to fly when you have children. I love spending every minute possible with them because I no it will not be like this forever!! I know our home is loud, toys scattered, diapers to change, and someone is always whining it seems like but I LOVE IT!!

The boys are getting a little older so it is much easier to throw them in the car and go. Don't get me wrong it still takes at least 45 minutes to actually get out the door, but it is better than it was when Will was a baby. It would take me all day to get ready to go somewhere and by that time I was so exhausted I did not even feel like going.

Since Jake just had his third birthday it has really had me thinking how fast they grow up. Looking back here are some pictures of the kids when they were a little younger than they are today!!!

Table Manners

For Christmas Papa and Nanny gave the boys a small table and chairs. They love it and so do we. It is so funny though because Jake sits down cleans his plate drinks his milk and then will get up. Will takes one bite runs around the couch then comes back to the table and takes another bite and does the samething. Will is going to be a work in progress on the table.

We are going to have a wait a few months before we begin teaching them table manners. They have to sit at the table and eat.

Jake also loves to sit at the table and color.

Thanks again papa and nanny for the table. We love it!!

The More the Merrier....

We have celebrated the Christmas holiday twice this year already and December 25th is still a week away. We love it though. It is really beginning to feel like Christmas time here now too. It has finally turned cold (at least to me, but I am always cold).

Papa and Nanny came this weekend to celebrate Jake's birthday and to celebrate Christmas with us. We had so much fun with them. We hated when it was time for them to leave. We went and ate lunch at Lambert's on Saturday where they throw the rolls. It was fun and Jake even caught a roll. He grinned from ear to ear the rest of the day.

We miss you already Nanny and Papa. When are you coming back?? We hope sooner rather than later!!! Thanks again for everything, you both are so sweet and we love you!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time..... of the Day!!

Awww... NAPTIME. Some days it can not get here fast enough. Today was one of those days. The boys got up a few minutes before seven this morning and by 7:07 I was counting down the minutes. The kids were both throwing fits. Jake was laying on the floor crying because he wanted Will's cup of chocolate milk. Will was whining and wanting me to hold him for hours on end. He is just too heavy to hold longer than 10 minutes at a time.

By 11:00 they were eating lunch, took an early bath, and both kids were snoozing by noon. Actually, I took me a little nap with them. I figured my housework,etc would still be waiting on me when I wake up.

Wish everyone was required to stop and take a nap for a hour everyday. Wouldn't that be great?

Priceless....

The other night after we celebrated Christmas with Gaga and family. The girls were picking up the house while Daddy and the boys were playing with the new toys. I could not decide who likes the new toys more Daddy or the kids.

When I walked into the playroom this is what I saw...


This is priceless. Bobby was on the floor helping Jake build his new train track. He is just a great dad!! My boys are very lucky.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jake!!

I can not believe that my baby is 3 years old today!! He says, "no want to be three, I two." I don't argue with that because I am not ready for him to be three either.

However, I do say, "no baby, you are three now!!"

We celebrated his birthday with our family and a few close friends on saturday. He had a Thomas the Train cake that he picked out and got lots of fun toys. Time sure does fly when you realize you have a three year old. I absolutely love his age right now. He is talking and saying very funny things to Bobby and I.

Tonight we ate pizza (per Jake's request) and played outside since it was so warm. It was very fun. Jake kept tackling Will whenever he had the football in his hand. It was fun family time!!

HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY JACOB BENJAMIN!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

This Is Not A Democracy!!

Trying to raise two toddlers is no easy task. Well let me qualify that statement. If all I had to do was keep them fed and watered, it might be easier than trying to teach them manners, to have respect for others, to play nicely with each other and generally to be good little citizens. I love John Rosemond's description of toddlers ~ they are sociopaths! I'm not being ugly here folks, just stating the truth. Some days I feel like I'm just shoveling snow in the middle of a snowstorm, making no progress. But then I have moments of realization that maybe I'm getting through and doing an ok job.

Like the other night. Jake's bedtime is 8:30 and usually never later than 9:00. He started pitching a fit the other night though, crying, not wanting to go to bed and saying he was hungry. He wanted chips. He was screaming out loud that he wanted chips. I stood in the door of his bedroom and told him if he was truly hungry he could have a banana. Otherwise he could go to sleep. More crying, more begging for the chips. I listened for about 2.3 seconds and turned to walk out. As the door was closing he quickly hollers out "ok Mama a nana!" Keeping my word, I got him a banana, watched him eat it, took the peeling away, kissed him and said Goodnight. More crying, but it didn't last long. At least I don't think it did. I went to the back of the house where I could find a quiet place.

Anyway...next night, same scene. Crying at bedtime, saying he was hungry, blah blah blah. Bobby was putting him to bed so in a just a minute Bobby comes in the kitchen and tells me that Jake asked him for chips, and when Bobby told him he would have to ask me Jake said...No Daddy, no ask Mama. I eat a nana and go nite nite!

HA! Success! But of course I had a different kind of realization earlier today when Jake and Will were playing and, apparently in response to the theft of his juice cup by his brother, Jake yelled "NO WILL, NO! YOU. NOT. HAVE. MY. JUICE. YOU GET A SPANKING."

Hey, Chemical Ali. I'm the only Dictator around here and I don't need an assistant!

A Big Thanks

We had so much fun this weekend. We had a full house. Gaga, Granny, Aunt Janet (CiCi),Katelyn, and Yaya came in town for Jake's birthday. It was so sweet of them to take off work and drive down from Atlanta. Needless to say Jake and Will were spoiled rotten.

We went to a Christmas parade on Friday night. We didn't stop the whole weekend.We even celebrated an early christmas with them while they were in town. It was so good to see them. It broke my heart when my mom, who jake calls gaga, was leaving on sunday and Jake was hugging her and alligator tears were streaming down his face. He wanted to go home with Gaga. Please, go home with gaga was what he kept saying to Bobby and I.

We think it is so neat that Jake has such a close relationship with all of them with them living in another state. Jake keeps saying, "gaga r you?"

Here are some pictures from this weekend. We miss you guys... come back!!!!

How to Melt Mommy's Heart

I love the little conversations that Jake and I have these days. They can just make me smile thinking about it.

However, some days as a parent, and mom especially, you feel as though you are shoveling snow in a snow storm or treading water and only being able to keep your head above the water. It becomes the little things that matter to you.

If you overhear your child ask for something and say, "Please" or say, "Thank you" when receiving what they want it really makes you smile as a parent.

Jake and I were laying on the couch today trying to take a nap before I was suppposed to work tonight. I have to at least get a little nap before working all night long.

He was watching Stuart Little on DVD and kept moving around, flopping up and then laying down, turning from side to side, taking all the covers.... you get the picture. After about an hour of this and knowing if I didn't get to sleep soon that Will would be waking up and naptime today would only be a dream.

After the accidental elbow in the face I told Jake to please go cut the tv and dvd off we were going to lay down for a little while.

He turned everything off and returned to the couch. When he layed down he put his arm over me and whispered, "I wud you mommma."

"I love you too Jake." I replied.

I just layed there and smiled until the time that Will woke up while Jake ended up falling asleep.

It made my heart melt. That one little sentence makes the endless job of being mommy to two toddlers all the worth while.

I am still walking on cloud nine......

Bobby said I wish when I told you that I love you it made your day like Jake did today. I replied, "It does honey but you have been telling me that for about ten years now."

Storytime

Last night Bobby and Jake were helping someone move while Will and I went out shopping. Wow, what a difference there is with one child and two. Anyways, when we got home we ate dinner and I gave Will a bath. When I got him out of the tub I sat him on the rug while I went to get a towel. When I came back he was gone.

I turned and went into their bedroom.... No Will.

I started to panic. I walked into the living room and just around the corner this is what I saw......

Weekend With Uncle Wes

This weekend we had Uncle Wes come and visit us. It was actually a surprise. He called on friday morning to see if we had any plans this weekend. We didn't so he came down to see us. It was so much fun!!! He hung out with bobby and played with the boys.

We watched football on Saturday and decided to load up the troops to go eat that night. Everyone did great and fun was had by all.

We were sad to see Wes go home. We wanted him to stay and play with us another day. It was so good to see him and we miss him already. Bobby was trying to recruit him to come work for him at one of his stores. Needless to say, he didn't take the offer.

Maybe I should have tried to recruit him to stay and babysit??

Just a thought...

Power in Numbers

From this day forward I am a firm believer in the power of numbers. I will have to admit that I have not always given bobby credit where credit is due with the kids. I always felt like I did more, he could help with this that and the other, etc.

I have realized there is power in numbers because the nights that bobby works past dinner time our house is total and utter chaos. However, when bobby is home before we eat things seem to run much smoother. He plays with the kids while I cook dinner and we each have one child that we are in charge of at the time.

He may not always clean up, give a bath, read books, or just snuggle the way I do with the kids but he is a great dad and we love him dearly.

Maybe one day he could stay home and he could be mr. mom..... actually I don't think I could leave my babies to be a career woman at this point in my life.

Morning Wake Up Call

Most people are able to get up in the morning by several different ways. Some people use alarm clocks, a kiss by their spouse, breakfast in bed, or just sleep until they wake up on their own.

Not around here. My side of the bed is closest to the door so I can hear the kids and let the cats in and out during the night, etc. Lucky me huh? I get woken up each and every morning between 6:00 and 6:15 by Jake.

He stands really close to my face and says, "momma, wate up, i had stinky. I wand dia...per changed."

He will stand there until I get up and change his diaper. I go from a deep sleep to a wide awake state in about 10 seconds due to the smell of his "stinky."

Maybe I should move to the other side of the bed and let bobby get woken up with this greeting. He would probaby in his sleep just say, "ok go back to bed."

Things that make you go hmmmmmm....

The Christmas Card

Well it's that time of year again when you put together your Christmas card and photo to send out to family and friends, old and new, to show off your children or update everyone on the goings on of the past year. Christmas cards, I could take them or leave them, send them or not. Before I had kids that is. Once you and your friends start having kids though everything changes and THE CHRISTMAS CARD becomes one of the landmark moments of the year. It's your one chance to show off those precious angels, in their perfect holiday outfit, in front of the perfect tree that you've decorated....or perhaps in their perfect ski outfits from that perfect family vacation you took last year.....or maybe you get creative and send out the picture of them in their perfect non holiday outfit in a cotton patch (Merry Christmas Y'all) or in their perfect swimsuit in the sand in front of your new perfect beach condo (Warm Wishes or Have a White Christmas)....you get the picture. Because you've received that perfect card. Perhaps just in yesterday's mail. But it wasn't from me.

No, sir. It wasn't from me. You see, I bought THE Christmas outfits a while back, envisioning the precious picture....Jake lovingly holding his little brother, surrounded by the overflowing Christmas presents under our gleaming tree. You would almost be able to smell the pine...taste the cinnamon....hear the crackling fire. Oh how I was longing for the holiday season. And here we are. But there are no presents under my tree because the kids would tear them up. In fact, there are no presents wrapped, the tree is fake...yes I said FAKE....so the only smell of pine is from the tiny unlit votive out of reach of little hands which, if it were lit, would be the ONLY fire crackling in our house because we don't do fire until the kids are in bed due to them trying to climb in the fireplace. The tree is only partially gleaming because there are no decorations within reach of said little hands. As for the gingerbread house....r...i...i..i...i..ght.

So the pictures above were my last attempt to capture the spirit of the season while they both were in good moods today. I haven't been able to figure out how to photo shop out the door in the background and runny noses. Or how to photo shop in the loving, charming scene I had pictured in my mind. This isn't even taking into consideration that trying to get a 2 year old and a 17 month old to cooperate and sit still for a picture is like herding cats. Herding cats with socks on. An exercise in futility.

I'm not giving up the dream though. Perhaps next year we'll send warm wishes from some sandy white beach somewhere. For the time being though, and in case you don't find something from us in your mailbox in the next few week or so, using the theme of the pictures above....Have a Nutty Christmas! We sure are.

All aboard

Jake and Will ride together on the Winnie the Pooh train. They get going too fast and someone bails off the side. From the looks of it they need a bigger model for both of them.

Clean as a whistle

Bobby and Jake made brownies the other night. Bobby kept eating the mixture before he put it in the oven. We decided that Will should get to try some of the mixture too. We gave him the wisk and the bowl. He licked it clean. He even put the bowl on his head to try and lick more out of it. It was hilarious. Jake kept saying, "Wook at Will's face." He enjoyed every bit of it. It was so clean that you could not even tell what had been in the bowl.

Next time my dishwasher breaks I am just going to pile the dishes on Will's highchair and let him go to town.

Any other takers?

Photo Shoot

While the kids were napping I had this great idea that I would take their pictures in front of the tree for our family christmas cards. I was cleaning up and trying to come up with different poses and props to use for our afternoon photo session.

Jake and Will wake up around the same time and and tackle Will to get his pants and button up shirt on and do the same with Jake. Jake is crying because he wants to wear jeans and then will is trying to take his shirt off.

I pick both kids up, one on each hip and off we go to the christmas tree. Will is kicking and Jake is pouting. This should turn out so cute.

I stand Jake in his place and tell him not to move. I run around the couch chasing Will. I catch Will and stand him up right beside his brother. Ok, they are standing there just looking at me.

I brushed off my shirt, took a deep breath, opened the camera, and....

THE BATTERY IS DEAD.

The camera would not even come on. The kids are running around again at this point and I just lay there and start dying laughing. Next time, step number one.... CHECK THE CAMERA.

Anyone have any batteries??

Photo shoot postponed until further notice.

Bath Time

"Stop playing for a second and say cheese"

The boys really love bath time. They splash themselves, each other, and anything else close to them. I love bathtime too. They are contained and playing. Everyone is happy. Somedays we take 3 baths when nothing else seems to be working. All I have to say is "wanna take a BATH" and they go running. I mean sprinting to the bathroom. They are excited and I keep thinking, yes... peace and quiet for 5 minutes!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great thanksgiving at our house yesterday. Bobby and I got the opportunity to cook the turkey, dressing, and all the other side dishes together... ALL BY OURSELVES. We had so much fun.

We started cooking on wednesday night because I had this great idea that I would cook granny's dressing. For those who have not had granny's dressing you don't know what you are missing. It is a long tedious process. However, it is well worth all the work.

To make a long story short Bobby did GREAT on the turkey and my dressing tasted just like Granny's. I was so excited but so was bobby because he ate half the pan yesterday. We ate until we felt sick.

Jake and Will on the other hand did not eat very much food on thanksgiving. The boys are still in the plain food stage such as mac and cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, etc. They were not to excited about eating cranberry sauce and greenbean casserole.

We all had a great day together and even enjoyed the cold weather that came our way on thursday. It really made it feel like turkey day!! We are thankful for each other and our families. We have been blessed.

Thanksgiving Feast

Today at Jake's school they had a thanksgiving feast and the kids dressed up as either pilgrim's or indian's. Jake decided that he did not want to be either one because he is a big boy he says.

All the other children wore their hats with feathers on them.... everyone except Jake that is. He was not having that on his head.

The parents all came to each lunch with the kids and everyone brought a dish. Fun was had by all.

Guess we should be glad that Jake doesn't like to wear makeup and feathers in his hair.... Bobby will be thankful of that since Jake would rather be throwing a ball or playing in dirt.

Catching some Zzzzz's

Jake suddenly thinks he is the boss around our house. Anytime you ask him something he says, "I'm a big boooyyyy." It doesn't seem to matter what it is. I said "Jake are you cold?"

Jake replied "No I'm a big boooyyy"

Ok, I thought never mind I will just bundle you up and you can take it off when you get hot.

Will is ready to take a nap at lunchtime no matter what is going on at that time. He is tired and his belly is full. Jake, on the other hand, doesn't want to take naps during the day anyway.

I thought fine, I will just put you and Will to bed at the same time. Wow, the evening around our home will sure be quiet. We started this new adventure today. While Will is taking a nap Jake has quiet time where he can read books, do puzzles, color, play blocks, etc. but he can not watch tv and he must remain quiet until the timer goes off.

Wish us luck.... here is what happened during our first day of quiet time....



He is tired after all, but he doesn't want to slow down long enough to be still so he will fall asleep. Wish I was given quiet time everyday I would be doing the same thing....

8 days a week

As any other mother would know there is not enough hours in the day or number of days in the week to get everything we need and want to get done.... done. It seems as though as much as I get done on my to do list today there is that much more to do tommorrow. However, I remind myself daily that most of these things can wait. It is much more important to spend time with my children because they will grow up before my very eyes.

I treasure the times I get to spend with them each day. They are truly angels and gifts from god. I am thankful for them each and everyday.

It is so neat to just sit and watch them grow, learn, and explore the world around them.

Bobby and I laugh almost daily at some of the things that Jake says now that he is talking good. It is hilarious. Sometimes when Bobby is driving he says, "Daddy slow down, slow down daddy." He will also say, "No say dat daddy, no say dat" if Bobby tells him something that he does not want to hear or like such as naptime or go to the potty.

Dishes and laundry are going to wait this week while I just sit back and play with my kids this week of thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for and are very blessed.

We Will Miss You Bull

Uncle Billy (AKA Bull) and Will

The whole gang

Three handsome young men

Bobby, Billy, and the kids


On Saturday night we drove over to my in-laws house and went to dinner with the family. We were celebrating an early holiday dinner since everyone was in town!! However, we also were saying our goodbyes and best wishes to Bobby's brother Billy (AKA Bull to Jake and Will). Billy is in the Army and is being sent over to Iraq for 18 months!! We sure are going to miss him. He is the one that we named Will after when he was born. We will be sending him pictures and care packages!!

We support our troops in everything they do and because of them we live our lives with freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Thank you for all you do!!

Mmmmmm Good

Jake and Will both thoroughly enjoyed their cupcakes that we made the other day. Will shoveled his in his mouth while Jake licked the top and used a napkin the entire time. It amazes me each and everyday to see how much alike my children are and yet how different at the same time. They never cease to amaze me.

Needless to say they were up for a while after eating all the sugar from the cupcakes!!