Lake Weekend in October

The beginning of October began for us with a family weekend at the lake. We had not been up since Father's Day, so it was calling!! The lake is perfect! It's quiet and away from everything. I love going and just spending time with Philip and William. When we have the chance to spend time with friends there, it's a double blessing.

Hunter and Whitney spent Friday night with us at the lake. They were there when we arrived and were so ready to see William. Uncle Hunter has really taken to William. William loves his "HUNNER" Whitney is also great about playing with William. She'll be so silly with him and makes him laugh and laugh. It was such a great night just hanging out together. We were cooking dinner while all focused on William. At one point we were all sitting on the floor playing. I did manage to get some fun pictures. William stayed up so late, but I didn't care. He was having fun with us and this was our night with Hunter and Whitney.

Saturday morning I had to drive to Abbeville around 6:30ish b/c I had left William's medicine/travel bag at my parents house. Daddy was already meeting Hunter so I didn't feel so bad about having him bring my stuff too. It was early, but I went instead of Philip b/c I felt bad for leaving William's stuff in the first place. Philip and William slept in a little bit before enjoying a quiet morning together. I grabbed breakfast from Hardee's before heading back to the lakehouse. I was ready to see my little boy! We had Sat. morning to ourselves. After breakfast we headed outside for a walk. I love walking at the lake. There is just something in the air up there. William just takes it all in. He loves being outside. Drake went with us for our walk. The cutest part was how William was say "No DAKE, Get you" when Drake would come up to the stroller and lick William. Drake LOVES William. William LOVES Drake...just not too close :) William loves Drake but doesn't like for him to get too close. It's cute to watch. William will call Drake over, then say "NO DAKE, SIT, SIT" or "NO GET YOU-GET YOU, NO GET YOU-GET YOU".

A little after lunch our friends DJ and Stephanie arrived with their twins, Lily and Harris. It's been forever since we have spent any time with them, so they came down to the lake for the night. William was so excited about his new friends! We walked on down to the water to check it out but didn't take the kids' swim stuff...that didn't matter! Before we knew it, Lily and Harris were in the water in their birthday suits! William soon followed, but bless his heart, he had a severe diaper rash (the first SEVERE one) so every time his bottom hit the water, he would cry in pain. I ended up holding him and wading in the water so he could splash his feet. Stephanie and I went on back up to the house with the kids and changed everyone into dry clothes. Lily, Harris and William played and played upstairs until they were 100% exhausted and ready for a nap. DJ and Philip stayed at the house to watch football and listen for the kids while Stephanie and I walked down to the dock to enjoy some sunshine. It was perfect out there! The warm sun, the sound of the water rocking under the dock, the occasional boat...I could have easily drifted off to sleep! We kept "chasing" the sun until we were almost off the dock, which meant it was time to head back to the house. Lily was awake when we got back, so we took her with us to the grocery store. She was too cute. She kept saying it was "Just the girls" and asking her Mommy for "Lipgloss".

Saturday night was the Auburn/TN game, so the wives cooked dinner so the husbands could watch the game. The kids were back and forth between helping in the kitchen and playing upstairs. William was staying right with the twins, not missing a beat! Again, the kids played and played until they crashed, which also meant we all crashed! It was an early night for everyone. It was sad to see our friends leave on Sunday morning, but we made plans to get together again soon.

We took William on another walk with his wagon Sunday morning. He loves his wagon! I think all boys should have a wagon! They are just too cute and too perfect! The wagon walk was a hit! He didn't want to get out, but we convinced him to let the wagon take a nap :) Our time at the lake was perfect! We enjoyed our time away from home. Sunday evening we found ourselves outside again with William. He discovered grasshoppers, or in his words "HOPPERS"

We had the best time chasing hoppers all over the yard. Philip would pick one up and hand it to William, who would laugh and laugh at how it would crawl over his hand. We tried to save the hoppers from the toddler hands, but a few did meet their fate. William thought it was fun to shake the hopper and throw it down. Oh, what a time we had chasing hoppers all over and listening to William laugh. It was the best night!

Monday started with another wagon ride and walk together. William kept asking for "hoppers" and we told him to watch for them as we strolled along. It was time to head home, so we cleaned up and packed up for our trip home. We did stop in Dothan to see Grandaddy for a little bit. William loves his Grandaddy and Maggie! He loves going to their house anytime we get. Maggie wasn't there, so we didn't get to see her. My Daddy had some fresh vegetables from his garden for us, which is always a treat! Poppi stopped by while we were there so that was an extra treat! William played a little while with HO-HO before we had to head on home.

So, as you can see, we had a packed, yet relaxing weekend at the lake. I love going up to the lake any chance we get. It's the best medicine for anything under the sun. Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos!

Pizza with Mommy

Pizza time with Mommy

A random Sunday evening in September. We love making homemade pizza! Yummy!

September in a Nutshell!!

I am still trying to catch up with my blogging, so I am going to do a major nutshell wrap for September. It was a great month, but hectic too!

Things of William:

Sept. 2: said his first 5 word sentence: "Jesus Bwess Daddy and Mommy" (on his own as we were all eating dinner together)

Sept. 8: crawled out of his crib, walked into my room and found me...so proud of himself

Sept. 15: discovered thunder: when he heard it, he said "Moma, that?" I said "That's thunder" and banged my fists together and said it's what happened in the rain when the clouds bang together. The next Thunder, he paused, looked at me, and repeated "thunder, cwouds" and hit his fists together.

Sept. 16: sang "Happy Birthday" to me for my birthday

Sept. 17: when I said "Love you" he answered "Love you too"! (usually just answers love you)

Sept. 21: said "Welcome" to a "'thankyou" w/out prompting.

Over the course of the month (somewhere near the beginning):

He counted to 15 on his own!

Recognized colors: green, blue, red, purple, orange, black

Recognized shapes: circle, square

Said "War Eagle" with the arm and "Go, go Orange"

Fell in love with "Bassetball"

Sang his "A,B,C's" with his leapfrog.

Sang along the entire book "Chicka-Chicka Boom, Boom"

Our September:

I am currently keeping Scott during the day while his mom works. It is going great! William loves "Sott" and enjoyes helping with him a lot. I also had the chance to keep my friend Jenny's little boy Jackson on Sept. 9 while she took Jillian to the doctor in Pensacola. I had such a great time with all 3 boys! Jackson and Scott followed each other around all morning. William loves baby Jackson and baby Scott.

William spent the weekend of Sept. 11 w/ Maggie and Granddaddy so Philip and I could go to Auburn for the game as my birthday present. We had a great time together in Auburn. There was a lot of walking, but well worth it! We visited friends at some tailgate spots before heading on into the game. We sat with our friends, Hugh and Mary. It was great! I just love being in Auburn. Philip and I did buy Dubya a new little Auburn shirt and then Philip bought me a new Auburn hat! So, while we were enjoying Auburn, William "helped" Maggie set up her classroom and then played all day with Granddaddy and HO-HO. They had such a great time with William for the weekend. I heard stories about how Grandaddy and HO-HO played all afternoon long with William and how Maggie just piled in the bed with him instead of puttting him in his crib. William just loves Maggie! That Sunday night while I was still working in Maggie's classroom, Philip kept him at their house...and W wouldn't take a nap. That is until about 6:15 when he just literally sprawled out in the middle of the den floor in the middle of his toys and fell asleep!! Sweet!

I had several girlfriends (and kids) over for a girls dinner the night before my birthday to celebrate. William had a blast with all his little friends! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Jenny and Patrick kept William for my birthday night so Philip and I could go to dinner at my favorite, Cafe Tango! Yum! William had the best night playing with his best friends (Jillian and Jackson) I will say he wakes up most morings asking for "Jenny, Jilly, Jackson".

He loves them so much!

Next was my 10 class reunion. This weekend was a bit hectic at first! We always stay with my parents when we go to Dothan, BUT Holden has the FLU (most likely swine flu) so we couldn't be around him. That also knocked out Maggie keeping William for us! I called Grannymart and asked if we could stay with her. Of course we could! She even babysat William Friday night for us to meet some friends. It was so sweet to hear them laughing and playing when we came home for the night...although it was a quarter to 12~~ Haha! He had such a great time playing with Grannymart! Saturday he kept asking for Maggie, so we went for a walk around the block and called her and had her walk outside to say hey. He was a bit confused, but seemed happy that he at least saw her, and then saw Holden through the window. Uncle Hunter came through for me and babysat him Saturday night. He took him to get Chick-fil-A for dinner, then took him to a friends house to watch the Auburn game. Hunter did bring him back to Grannymart's for bedtime and even gave him a bath and dressed him for bed in his PJ's! I was so impressed! William didn't want to go to sleep, so Hunter stayed until William finally fell asleep on the den floor right at the foot of Grannymart's chair. He wanted Mommy's pillow, his soccer ball and his football. Thanks to Grannymart and Hunter for helping me with William for the reunion. I am so thankful that my Moma didn't get sick and that Holden got better so fast!

After leaving Dothan, we drove up to Troy to meet Leigh's little baby, Tate Jackson (TJ). She had him the week before and was home getting settled in and adjusted. Leigh and Travis have such a beautiful baby boy! William loved TJ and all his baby toys! I was in heaven holding that sweet baby! I am so thankful that one of my best friends is now of Mommy to such a precious baby boy!! He is amazing and so beautiful! Her life is forever changed for the better!

The following week Baby Scott was picked up one day early, then not there on Friday, so William and I spend those days and afternoons out on the beach! We had such a great time together on the beach.

I also had the chance to keep another friend's baby (Baby Jack) for her one day. So, that day, I had 3 little ones here :) It was an amazing day. Everything went so smooth and just flowed so naturally. I just love babies!

We wrapped up the month with a quiet weekend at home together. We also had our friend's, The Hightowers, over for dinner that week. I love Tamara and miss her so much! We met in 2005 at Butler where we taught across the hall from each other. We instantly became the best of friends. It was super hard to leave her at school when I decided to stay home with my baby. She is an amazing woman and such an inspiration to know! She is now the principal at Bay and has moved even closer to us, but it is still few and far between when we see each other. William loved having her over to play as we tried to catch up. You know, the friends that can just pick up were we left off...that's Tamara.

Over the last weekend, a friend of mine from years ago came to town with his wife, child and a couple friend of theirs. Kyle and I met years ago when he came up to Dothan to visit his grandmother, who lived up the street from me. It was always fun hanging out whenever he would come to town. He was like a big brother and somehow we have kept in touch over the years. Anyway, we met them for dinner Friday night at The Loveshack. It was great meeting his wife, April and their little boy, Wyatt. After dinner we walked outside to check out the pool and let the kids play in the little fountains beside the pool. On Saturday, we babysat their kids (Wyatt and Addison) so the 2 couples could have a nice, grown-up dinner date on their vacation. Well, William just took right to Wyatt! They had a great time together. Philip and I took all 3 kids for a quick walk around the block and then just played at the house. Again, 3 littles, NOT A CHALLENGE AT ALL!! I had both Wyatt and Addison asleep when their parents got back. William didn't want them to leave. To this day, he still asks for Wyatt!!

So, that's September in a Nutshell! Sorry for the brief stories, but hopefully, you can enjoy the pictures and videos!

Labor Day in Wauchula

This year we spent Labor Day in Wauchula with Gram, Grumps and Mema. We drove down on Friday and came home on Monday. It's about a 7 hr. drive, so needless to say, we arrived around midnight! William was asleep when we got there, but woke up and wanted to be AWAKE with Mommy for the next few hours. Finally around 3 a.m. we fell asleep only to wake up around 6 a.m. to him having a nightmare! So, rough start...yes, but the visit was wonderful and well worth the trip!

Saturday we all just hung out around the house enjoying visiting and catching up together. Gram couldn't get enough of William! She wanted to be with and playing with him all day :) It was very sweet. There were a few times when he would get sleepy and want Mommy, but that comes with a little boy. Mema had a great time too! She would get on the floor with William and play with his toy cars and books we brought. Philip and Grumps wanted to watch football, but Mema wanted to watch her game shows, so we alternated between football, game shows and cartoons for William. Gram enjoyed playing outside with William a bit too. Once I had William down for his nap, Philip and I went to the cutest little children's boutique downtown to look for some new shoes for William. We did find a pair for him, so it was well worth it! Philip made a great steak dinner for everyone before he and I headed out for a date to downtown Wauchula to try to watch the Auburn game on T.V.

It's a very quaint little town with an adorable downtown area. We like to go the the Celtic Crossings when we are in town. This time the place was unusually slow and quiet (there were maybe 3 others in the place) Only one T.V. was working, so we had to alternate between the Florida game and the Auburn game. What fun! Opening weekend, and we couldn't enjoy the full game, but I guess a little is better than nothing! As the game was wrapping up, the manager of the place came over to ask if we wanted to make a to-go plate of their food b/c they had a lot left over and she didn't want to waste it. I walked over with her to be polite and discovered a ton of yummy and delicious food! I made a plate with the intention of taking just one to Mema, but began talking to the lady telling her about Mema and how she is homebound and alone now since Deke's passing...Well, that woman brought me 2 more boxes and stuffed them FULL and then went and got Philip and had him make 3 boxes too! We left with 6 FULL boxes of fresh vegetables, casseroles, country fried steaks and more! We were on cloud nine walking down the street carrying all this food knowing Mema would eat for weeks on it! We were just so excited we practically ran home to show her! When we explained our story, she began to tremble and kept saying over and over "You mean all this is for me?" "I can freeze this and have homemade food for weeks". She kept hugging us and going back and looking at all the food! This was the absolute best feeling! Most of you know how much Philip and I love to cook and take care of others, so being so far away from family and not being able to just cook for her whenever we wanted, well, this was the next best thing! We were just on top of the world!

So, while we were out that night, Gram, Grumps and Mema babysat William for us. They had such a great time together. They said they watched his favorite movie (Pooh) and played with all his toys. She did get him to sleep for us so that was very much appreciated! Saturday was such a great day for all!

On Sunday, Nellie, Mema's sister, came over to go to church with us. I was tickled b/c William was going to wear the little outfit I made for him for the first time! He looked so cute! He was such a big boy and went right in to the church nursery for us. We enjoyed church with Mema and had the chance to meet the new pastor. She did an amazing job and we left there very impressed. Gram bought something from the church youth bake sale for William (a brownie and a cookie) which Philip and I just had to sample!

I prepared lunch (a bit late) for the family on Sunday. While I cooked Gram again played and entertained William for me. Just as we were all sitting down to eat, he decided he'd had enough and was ready for his nap, so off to the bedroom I went. Everyone enjoyed lunch though, which made me very happy! We all just hung out that afternoon together waiting on William to wake up. Once William woke up we went to visit Deke's graveside. It was very special to be there again with family. William was so sweet and so happy just being outside. I was happy for Philip to have a place to visit. After our visit, we headed on home for dinner then went for a walk with Gram and Grumps. It's just such a lovely little downtown area that we can't resist a good walk. William was just adorable as he kept peering out the side of his stroller checking on Grumps (Dumps). He wanted Grumps to stay close by...which we all thought was soooo cute! I did manage to get him to bed somewhat simple that night (I think he was simply worn out!)

Oh, before our walk, William enjoyed chocolate pudding!! Hahaha!!

I should say he enjoyed painting with pudding!!

Monday morning I did get to sleep in some. That was nice! Gram and Mema played with William until I woke up. They just couldn't get enough of him. Philip managed to get a few videos of Mema and William playing together. It was time to head on home so, after several goodbye's and lots of pictures, we loaded up in the car and headed on home. It's hard being that far away from family. Regardless, we always have a great time with Gram, Grumps and Mema. Thanks for a great weekend together!!

***I will post 2 videos of William and Mema playing together later. I have tried for 4 days now to upload them, and they simply won't upload for some reason. I'm going to go ahead and post and work on them later!***

More Videos of William

September Beach Days

Afternoons on the beach with William

Maggie, Granddaddy and HO HO's visit in August

We ended the month of August with a fun-filled and relaxing weekend with my family. Most of you know, but my moma is back in the classroom teaching again!! YAY FOR MAGGIE!! She started the year teaching a maternity leave in Kindergarten, then accepted a full time position in Kindergarten. So, after her second week back in the classroom, we had them down for a relaxing weekend on the beach!

The sweetest part was that Friday evening. William knew Maggie was on her way down, so he held tight to his toy phone and kept "calling" her and checking in. He stayed pretty close to the front door looking out the window and calling out for "Maggie" or "HO HO" or "GughDaddy" (the 'g' sound with the word daddy) William is still working on saying Granddaddy, but he knows who he is and loves him completely! As soon as the lights turned in the driveway, he started giggling and screaming "HO HO", "Maggie" "HEY" and running in place. He wanted to go out and greet them in the driveway. After hugs for everyone, he became attached to Holden! It was just so precious to watch.

All we did that weekend was cook, hang out on the beach and relax! Philip prepared fantastic food, as usual! I enjoyed some sunshine on the beach with my parents while watching my sweet baby run around and play in the sand. Holden had a great time with William! Holden and Daddy built all kinds of sand castles together and dug shallow "pools" for William. Moma and I enjoyed the sunshine! It felt so good just sitting on the beach! (Can you tell we love the beach?)

The guys did enjoy a cooler full of oysters Saturday night on the porch together. Philip even made a delicious batch of oyster stew for us on Sunday (which Moma and I had WITHOUT the oysters) Can you tell where I get my distaste for oysters??? Haha! We had a great time at church Sunday morning too. It's always so rewarding to have family attend our church with us. We love Destin United Methodist and love sharing it with others.