St. Patty's Day and 1st week with Scott

Well, it's Friday! I love Friday!!!! It's the end of the week and it the next two days are family days. Just wanted to post some pictures of St. Patrick's Day and tell you about our week. Yes, there are a lot of pictures, but I couldn't decide. Also, how do you put the pictures on the little slide show thing?? I'd do that if I knew how!

William and Scott just hanging out

William wanted to do tummy time with Scott!

Little Baby Scott started this week and he is just precious! William took right to him and has been so happy around "baby". He's actually tried to say his name a few times and he sounds so sweet. My mom came down early Monday morning to help me for a few days get in the routine with Scott and also to keep William for us to go to our Bible Study Monday night. It was so nice having her down to stay. I enjoy spending time with her and love watching William play with his Maggie. I was still under the weather (strep throat gone, but developed a sinus infection and severe cough) so she helped with everything. My favorite moment was Monday eating lunch with her and William. Scott was napping so we went and sat on the front porch and enjoyed lunch on the swing. She made the best stewed tomatoes and okra and they were delicious. William gobbled them up! He kept asking for more and would try to say "oook" "oook" for the word okra.

yummy lunch face

Bible Study was wonderful...except my bad coughing spells. I enjoy this time every few weeks and get so much from our study. Our group is a small group of 4 couples and 3 singles. We rotate every other week and someone hosts and cooks dinner. We are going through the book of Mark right now. What I love about our group is the diversity and age range. There's such a span of knowledge and point of views that all lead to discussions (sometimes deep) and truly make you think. I come away refreshed, renewed and challenged.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My dear friend, Kayla came down late Tuesday afternoon to visit for a few days. She's doing her student teaching right now and this week is her spring break. I always have so much fun when she comes to town. She's another refreshing spirit! We went to the beach for sunset both afternoons while she was down. It's great when a friend takes your camera and snaps pictures of you and your little one (and sometimes your husband makes his way into a few). She got some very special pictures of us....Thanks Lil'Bit!


Playing outside in the sunshine

Saying "cheese"

Kayla, Lauren and William at Sunset

I love to paint with William. We paint a lot together. There are days when I miss teaching Kindergarten, but I wouldn't trade being home with him for the world. I just pull out the paint and crayons and put on my Kindergarten music (yes, I actually enjoy kid's music) and have a blast with William. As you can tell, he loves painting too! Each month I paint something with his little handprint (whatever the season) and then I let him just play with the paint. I had to make up the Valentine handprint paint b/c we were out of town for that week in Feb. and I just kept putting it off...still cute though. Just wanted to include his St. Patrick's Day paintings. Oh, and the music in the background was actually adult music...gotta love Taylor Swift!

So happy to paint
Somebody is covered in green paint

Philip prepared THE BEST Shepherd's pie for St. Patrick's Day. Have I told you how awesome of a cook my husband is???? He is so incredible in the kitchen and always cooks fantastic food! This time he used ground lamb and it was amazing! After dinner we just hung out on the porch upstairs and enjoyed a bottle of wine late into the evening. Perfect way to end the day~~

Shepherd's Pie...Prepared by Philip

Kayla and I took William and baby Scott out for lunch on Wednesday. It's always fun to go to lunch with girlfriends. Both little ones did great! I took some of the Shepherd's pie for William and he loved it. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine and watched all the young spring breakers riding bikes. After lunch we walked over the the grassy area in Rosemary and let William run and play. He was so happy and all giggles! Kayla went down to the fountain with him and let him put his feet in to feel the water. He wanted to walk on the little ledge..just too cute. Again...what a friend to take my camera and get some pictures of Mommy and William! We wrapped up our outing by getting William a huge cookie! He loves cookies and I just couldn't resist letting him enjoy one on such a beautiful day. It was all over his face, but worth it!

Being silly with my little boy

Enjoying a chocolate chip cookie
Kayla sent us off on a date Wednesday night and she kept William. They had a blast and we enjoyed a much needed date night! (I know my mom kept him on Monday, but we were focused on the group and the study) We went to Pasta Grill over in PCB. It's become one of our favorites. If you are ever down, you should try it! Everything is delicious. We did bring her home a beautiful chocolate dessert :) THANKS LIL' BIT FOR EVERYTHING!! Oh, she brought William a little happy present...an adorable button-up with his initials and the snuggliest little blanket! I can't wait to see him in his shirt! He already is falling in love with the blanket!

Thursday was my official first day alone with both babies. It went well. I did go to the grocery store with them and William was so sweet. I put him in the basket seat and sat the baby carseat down in the buggy. Every so often William would turn around and rock the carseat for "Baby". He just seems so happy with Scott. Hope I'm not speaking too soon!

To wrap up...IT IS FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited! Philip is coming home early today and I am just so excited...can you tell how much I love my husband??? He's my very best friend and the love of my life! We are going to spend the weekend in Destin! Yippee

(thanks to the gift certificate won at the boat parade back at Christmas time)

Hope everyone has a great weekend and you can get outside and enjoy some sunshine.

Beep Beep

William has become so independent and loves to play with his toys. While I was in the kitchen cleaning up, he went into his playroom to play (which he does often). I heard a "beep, beep" over and over from him and I had to go see what he was up to...he's really started to put noises with toys and animals, etc lately. I quickly grabbed my camera and got a short little video of him! He absolutely amazes me! The way he learns and interacts is so incredible to experience. I know children learn like this, but when it's your own it really is rewarding. It's so amazing how creative they are with their play~

Hope you enjoy this little video!

Our Weekend at the Lake

We had such a great and wonderful weekend up at the lake! The weather was so-so, but that didn't stop the fun...and hard work! We picked up my little brother brother on Friday afternoon and went on up to the lake house. Philip grilled drumettes and I made some cream corn for dinner. Delicious!! We enjoyed a quiet Friday night after getting William and Holden to bed. Saturday morning started early...for some reason they both forgot about sleeping in at the lake :) Philip got up and headed out to do some yard work before it started to rain (lucky for us Saturday was no rain day) Holden and I went for a walk and had a great time talking. He wanted to pick up every stick and see how far he could "launch" it and then see how fast he could run from point a to point b. William loved watching his uncle and wanted to get out of the stroller with him! I sent Holden down to help Philip gather sticks and pine cones to start a fire (to clear away the huge piles of trees/limbs on the waterfront) and I stayed up at the house with William for his nap...I actually took a long nap myself and I so needed it!!

Uncle Holden and William

William wanted to eat some Mac-n-cheese b/c Holden was eating it...too cute

Later that afternoon I had to take Holden back to Dothan for the RA Pinewood Derby Race at church. I left Philip at the house to enjoy the quiet afternoon and so he could watch Auburn basketball. Holden's little car did great, but didn't win. We had a great time at the race and enjoyed watching all the little cars zoom down the speedway. Poppi came up to the church to sit with me and watch Holden's car race...actually I think he came just to see William :) He helped me with William so much! William was not all that into sitting and watching...more like up and running all over the gym! A few times Poppi would walk with him around the gym and was so patient as William walked back and forth. Holden even took a turn and wanted to walk with William so he could introduce his nephew to his friends. William loved walking with Uncle Holden! He didn't want to come back to me...but caved when I pulled out his cookie! I was very proud of Holden because he showed great sportsmanship while his car raced. He found his friend how beat him out on one of the races and gave him a high five....Like I said...he's just growing up so fast...but there are moments when he's still all boy and all 8 year old! Gotta love him!

Poppi, William and Holden at the Race

My little brother, Holden

We arrived back at the lake just in time for dinner on Saturday night. William went to bed quite well that night from all our adventures of the day. We enjoyed playing the game "Guesstures" with Holden. It's just like charades, but has the little countdown clicker that pulls the words down after X amount of seconds. Holden did fantastic and Philip was hilarious!! We just sat around the kitchen floor and had a blast together.

Sunday morning was about like Saturday morning...early rising children. They did not get the concept that I wanted to sleep in!!!!!! After breakfast, Philip headed back to his yard work and Holden and I went for another long walk. It was so muggy and I was so ready to take a shower as soon as we got back to the house! I did take William down to the water to see Philip's progress and let William play in the sand. It was fun and will be fun after Philip finishes all the clearing on the beach! You can tell from the pictures how much he accomplished in just 2 days! I'm so proud of him! He was so motivated to get it done. Holden enjoyed throwing sticks for Drake into the water and gathering sticks and pine cones for Philip. He found every reason to accidentally get in the water...all boy I tell you!

Heading out for our walk

Uncle Holden and William

I just loved this expression!

William and Daddy by the soon to be fire pile...

It did start raining around lunch and we had to head inside. Hunter and Whitney came up for the afternoon. We played another round of Guesstures with them and just hung out together inside while it rained. Funny thing about rain...when you think it clears up and you can go back out and you get all the way down to the dock...it pours...HARD! So we all were soaked to the bone and had to change clothes. William loved the rain and wanted to go back outside. Whitney entertained him for me so I could clean the house and pack up. She was a lot of help on a rainy afternoon.

Walking in the rain...barefoot, mind you!

This was one of Hunter's old outfits... just had to include it!

Uncle Hunter, Uncle Holden and William

We did get to stop by and visit with my grandparents for a short while before leaving Dothan. They were very surprised to see us! She had baked some cookies for Joanna and her boys (who were arriving in late that night) and she happily shared some with William. He gobbled them up and ran back to the counter and started saying "more, more, pease, pease" We all just laughed and laughed! My little boy is totally a cookie monster! He LOVES LOVES LOVES cookies! Chocolate chip are his favorite...he doesn't like icing or sprinkles though.

Grannymart, Lauren and William

Granddaddy, Lauren and William

I'm so glad we were able to spend the weekend up at the lake and enjoy Holden. He is so dear to me and I do miss him a lot. We are 18 and half years apart. He is so much fun to watch with William. William just loves following him around and trying to do whatever Holden does. I'm also thankful Philip was able to get so much work done in the yard out by the water. It looked awful b/c of the previous clearing and all the sticks/trees/vines just left piled high. I thought it was snake heaven and wanted it cleared. He worked and worked and worked. It was a great stress relief for him. Thanks Philip!!! I love you!

The pile before...

and after...clear beach with only a little left to do!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures! Have a great week!

I'll post tomorrow about little baby Scott and my Mom coming down to spend a few days with me to help out (I'm still under the weather). I'll also post some St. Patrick's Day stories and pictures too!

I included this cute video of Holden feeding William mac and cheese! So much fun!

The Lake and Baby Scott

It's finally Friday! We are headed to the lake this weekend and I can't wait to leave! We are going to pick up my little brother, Holden on our way through Dothan and have him spend the weekend with us. My parents are going to a marriage retreat provided by the Army National Guard so we get to spend some time with Holden :) I can't wait! I miss my little brother a lot and he's growing so fast it seems. He's in the 2nd grade and he's 100% all boy! My other brother is going to come up on Sunday to spend the day with us and help Philip in the yard, if it's not raining too much. I think the weather report shows a chance for rain...bummer! But, I still love the lake even when it rains...sitting on the porch, watching the rain fall, curled up with a good book...you get the picture. I'm hoping to get to read some over the weekend, but we will see. I can easily lose myself in a book, but just as easily get too caught up playing with William! It's going to be a great weekend.

This is a picture of Holden with a fish Hunter caught.

Hunter and Holden Green

We had our friends, Wes and Christina over last night for dinner. Philip grilled delicious steaks and we had baked sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus with a salad. It was wonderful! I taught with Christina at Butler before I had William. She's such a sweet person. They have a beautiful baby boy named Scott and he will be 4 months next week. Christina went back to work last week and long story short, daycare was not working for them, so I'm going to have the pleasure of keeping little Scott until school gets out. I am SOOOOO THRILLED about having an itty bitty baby around! I just love babies!!!!!!! I cannot begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to keeping him during the day! I think maybe this will give me an insight to having another baby...hmmmm??? No, I'm not saying we are going to be having another yet, but it will be good to see William around a little one.

So, back to keeping Scott...Philip and I talked about the decision together and we decided to pray about it. Last Friday night we were out on the upstairs porch enjoying the night air and letting William run back and forth and we were talking about the possibility of my keeping Scott. I reached over for Philip's hands to pray together and half way through the prayer, William walks over and takes each of our hands and joins us...bows his head and everything! That melted my heart. We have been saying the blessing like this at the dinner table together for a while now and he gets the concept of sitting down, reaching out for hands, bowing heads, being quiet while we pray, etc... but for him to see us praying and come over to join us really moved me. I know Jesus is working in us right now and I thank him for this tiny example of his love.

This week we've had to get up in the attic to get the "baby" things down I'll need like the swing, bouncy seat, carseat, tummy time mat, etc. That was fun. Philip rarely lets me get up in the attic, but he caved and let me go up and locate the things so he would know right where to go...he gets easily frustrated up there :) While up there, I saw a box of Holden's old clothes I had forgotten I had stored up there! Philip brought it down for me and I was like a kid at Christmas!! I had so much fun going through it and picking out the outfits that will fit William now! There were only 3 little church outfits that he had already outgrown, but I'll save them for maybe next baby. I'll take pictures of William in some of the outfits and post them later for you.

Now, everything is washed and ready for little Scott to come over next week. I start keeping him on Monday, so please pray for a smooth transition for all of us. William was happy last night with him over and wanted to either "rock" the carseat or "share" his sippy cup and cookies...just too cute!

Here's a video of William eating his "beirrbies". Hope you enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

My parents and little brother at his Valentine's Lunch

Berries, Stew and Speckle

Well...I'm finally over my strep and pink eye! Yikes! That really knocked me down! I slept most of the day Friday (while William slept) and pretty much all day Saturday. Sunday I felt a tad better so Philip and I took William for a little walk down to Seaside to enjoy some sunshine. It was a nice walk, but was exhausting for me. We ran into some of our friends (both Sprenkle families) and enjoyed watching the little ones play with we talked. The sunshine felt soooooo good! I was so missing my sunglasses! I had to wear my regular glasses b/c of pink eye, so it was BRIGHT!! Kinda funny how you get used to sunglasses, huh? William and Kate are a week apart. Kate is just precious and was following William around giving hugs (more like body squeezes) and he wasn't so sure of it! They ran around together and giggled as the dad's chased them. Very sweet!

As we were leaving, I wanted to find the playground at Seaside, so we went off exploring on the back roads of Seaside. We found it and it is just perfect! It's tucked away nestled in some pine trees and very shaded. William loved climbing the steps and sliding down the big slide! I do mean BIG SLIDE! It really is for older kids, but there was no stopping him! I did hit my head pretty hard on the little castle part and have a knot now, but it was worth it! He loved the swing and did not want to leave. I told him we would be back soon. I can see us going there more often now that I know where it is. It's just so cute!!

My wonderful husband smoked some Boston butts over the weekend and they were DELICIOUS!!! He is the master of the grill and always produces incredible food! What can I say...he spoils me! He took one of the butts and made a huge pot of Brunswick stew on Saturday. It was absolutely amazing and oh so yummy! I think Brunswick stew just might be one of my favorite slow-cooked meals...it's so scrumptious and fulfilling! He added baked chicken to it and all the right veggies. You get the picture...it was the best Brunswick stew I've had in a while! The best part...William loved it! He gobbled it up (especially the Lima beans)! That made Philip happy b/c last week William would only eat my vegetable soup! Maybe I can get the recipe for the stew and post it later...I'll check and see :)

Here's William eating the Brunswick Stew

He's saying "mmm" in this picture...love it all over his face!

So, Sunday afternoon I noticed William felt feverish...103.8!! I can't stand it when he gets a fever! He had a low fever all morning, but when it jumped up even with Motrin/Tylenol, I got worried! We gave him the lukewarm bath and Popsicle (that's all he would eat on Sunday) and monitored him for the evening. By this point I felt as if I gave him strep b/c he had the worst sounding cough and would cringe when coughing. I cuddled him so tight and wanted to either sleep in his nursery or have him sleep in our room, but made it through the night just fine. I did take him to the doctor on Monday just to get checked out and discovered he just has the crud...and that it would have to run it's course. I try not to go to the doctor too much, but I was just concerned b/c I had been so sick.

On a sad note....I never got to tell you about my precious goldfish, Speckle. I got him last Monday and thought he was just perfect! Well, being sick and all I didn't feel up to blogging, so I decided I could tell you about him this week. I'm sad to say that Monday after we came in from sunset out at the beach I found Speckle (tishy to William) floating. I was devastated! William was having fun helping feed him and would walk into the room and point to him and say "tishy, tishy, doldtish". Philip "disposed" of Speckle for me and said he would get me another one. William was a bit confused Tuesday when he couldn't find "tishy". I think I will name the next one Speckle again b/c I think it's such a cute name, but it's nickname will be "tishy".

This was taken the night I got Speckle..he was so cute!

Yesterday, when William got up from his nap and I went into his room to get him, he greeted me by saying "beirrby" (strawberry) with a smile. He continued saying this through diaper changing and all the way down stairs. He stood at the fridge door and said it over and over. I asked him if he wanted strawberries and he smiled and said "yes, beirrby". How could I resist! I told him we had to go to the store to get some, so he went to the front door. I grabbed my purse and keys and started for the door. He frowned at me and ran to the rack where I hang my purse and his bag and stood there pointing to his bag. He kept repeating "baaaag, baaaag" until I grabbed his bag. He then ran to the door and clapped! I just can't believe how much he comprehends! It's amazing! We went to Publix, got his berries, picked up a movie for me at the movie store, picked up Philip's dry cleaning and came home...to eat berries! He ate 4 huge ones and 2 tiny ones. He ABSOLUTELY loves strawberries! I told him he was going to turn into a berry!

William with his "beirrbies"

Hope you enjoy the pictures! I'll take more this week and share with you later.

Hope you all have a great week!

Strep Throat and Pink Eye

The past few days have been quite rough! I started feeling cruddy late Tuesday night but chalked it up to allergies. Wednesday was not so hot...felt awful, hurt to swallow and a very irritated eye, but still thought maybe just allergies b/c I had no fever. Thursday morning I woke up with a completely crusted over eye and could barely talk my throat hurt so bad. Basically it felt like I had swallowed about 10,000 razor blades and someone lit a torch in my throat! Off to the doctor I went, with William non the less. He was sweet, for the most part. My appointment was at 8 and we got there on time. I was not called back until about 8:40, which is torture trying to entertain a toddler in an adult waiting room. They do have a small pediatric waiting area with a t.v. for kids...so thankful for Dora and Diego by this point! So we finally get back to the little room. While the nurse takes my blood pressure, checks my heart rate, etc..William sits in my lap. He looks over and notices a picture of some football players and immediately throws his arms up and announces "TOUCHDOWN". The nurse had to stop and laugh! She couldn't believe he could associate the two. After the AWFUL throat swab (with nothing to drink to soothe my soar throat, we wait another 30 mins. William was going stir crazy by this point! He had walked all over the room, climbed on the chairs, colored on the white paper, balled the paper into a ball to throw, danced with mommy, you name it, we tried it! He began having a meltdown and just as I was ready to leave and say I'm done, I open the door in the doctor's face! We both are surprised and embarrassed. He apologized several times and talked to William briefly to calm him down....by this point, I'm hurting so bad I'm almost in tears! So, a quick check over and a confirm from the strep culture (the fast version) I'm told I have STREP THROAT AND PINK EYE!!! I've only had pink eye one other time in my life (first year teaching) and I can't tell you the last time I had strep throat!!! Dr. John tells me about the meds I'll need to take and asks me if I want a shot. Now most of you know how TERRIFIED of needles and shots I am...I cry at the tiniest prick and usually have to hold someone's hand. I'm a wimp when it comes to this. No matter how hard I try, I get light-headed. FUNNY WHAT BEING A MOMMY DOES TO YOU!! Before the question was out of his mouth I moaned YES. I need to get better fast and I know the shot is the fastest way. He laughs at me and says the nurse will be in briefly. I have a peptalk with myself while waiting. The nurse comes in. I sit William up on the bench table thing, bend over and try to smile at him. The nurse starts to tell me "here's the prick". William peeks around and look at her with a frown, looks up at me as if to say "I'm sorry Mommy". He rubs my cheek with his little chubby hand and leans in to give me a hug. My precious little boy is comforting me and I feel totally blessed! Turns out having William there with me was just what I needed!

So after checking out and heading to pick up my meds at Publix (making sure William gets a cookie for helping mommy) we finally get home. About 9:45ish William is out like a light for a nap. I crawl into bed myself. I take a long nap and finally wake up. William slept until almost 2!!!!!!! How wonderful for me! I was able to just stay in bed and rest. Philip came home around 3 for the day. He told me to stay in bed and he took William down to the beach to play. They went to the grocery store to pick up dinner and then came back home. He gave me about 2 hours of peace and quiet. I just love my husband! I was missing William, so I asked if I could see him. William crawled right up in my lap and cuddled for a while with me. (Don't worry, I was very cautious not to let my face get too close) Philip cooked dinner, kept William downstairs for a while, fed William, gave him his bath, dressed him in pjs and then handed him over to me to get him to bed (my favorite part of the day).

I'm feeling okay this morning, but still cruddy. My throat still hurts. I had a severe migraine in the middle of the night, but it's better now. I'm just going to take it easy today and try to get better.

I'm posting some of my favorite moments from last week to cheer myself up (and to catch you up on William) since this post was all about me being sick. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

As you can tell William loves to snuggle with his animals and blankets!

Too Sweet

Coloring with Daddy

Coloring with Mommy

Moving on to painting...so much fun!

Going outside during the freezing weekend to swing

(This was the day it snowed in Alabama)

We were all bundled up snug and warm. His little hat is just too cute!

I love this picture! Look at his face! Notice Drake in the background...

I made a pot of homemade vegetable soup...this is what he thought of it....

He ate it all...the cutest was when he would taste a butter bean. He would take it out, hold it up to me and say "butter bean", then back in his mouth it went!

He kept saying "more, more"! Perfect way to end a cold day!

Hopefully I'll feel up to posting again tomorrow. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Visiting Aunt Babs

William blowing kisses with Aunt Babs

We went over to Navarre on Friday for a short little get-away trip to visit my Aunt Babs. We love getting to go see her and have such a great time every time! Philip had a business meeting in Pensacola/Gulf Breeze that afternoon, so he dropped us off on his way over. Aunt Babs live in Navarre and has a beautiful bay front home. It's incredibly relaxing and peaceful there. Aunt Babs is my great aunt on my dad's side and is a very special lady. She is such a joy to be around and we are so blessed to be close enough to visit often.

William LOVES going to her house! He immediately goes to her back door and says "side, side, side"...it's so cute! We walk around her yard and check out all the flowers and bushes. He is discovering how to pick up the sticks and throw them over the fence into the water. He is so cute doing this! He acts like he's all grown up and wants to walk ALL over the place by himself. He will sit down by the gate and watch the water. He'll tell me bye-bye and wave for me to leave :) It's just adorable! The absolute sweetest surprise was when he walked over to me and handed me an azalea flower (bud) and said "moma"...I just about cried!! I have it pressed in a book right now as his first flower for mommy!!!

William posing for pictures...right before bringing me a flower (on his own)

After naptime he wanted to go back out"side" and kept saying "pease, side, pease"

Sailor's Grill is my favorite place to eat in Navarre. It's a unique little restaurant/bar on the sound. It's the oldest restaurant in Navarre. The outside looks like a tiki hut and it has a porch overlooking the sound. So relaxing. We took Aunt Babs out to dinner for her hard work in therapy (for backpain). William loved it because he could color and talk as loud as he wanted. He ate some bites of my grilled chicken and several strawberries. As we were leaving, she stopped by the old bakery...now bar...and bought the BEST loaf of sourdough bread.

After bathtime...I love little hoodie towels

It was a great visit...although too short! We sat up a while chatting about this and that with her before retiring to the upstairs porch to enjoy the peaceful night. Philip cooked breakfast the next morning and it was delicious...especially the toast!! Our zoo trip was postponed due to the weather coming in...the wind and thunderstorms :(

Thanks Aunt Babs for having us over for the night! We love you so much and can't wait to come back soon!