My sweet boy is 3!!!!!

FINALLY! I have b-day party pics from my sweet little P's birthday. As I mentioned before he had a joint party with his cousin "G". He and P are only 5 weeks apart. P has already turned 3 and G will turn 3 at the end of this month. My sister and I had a great time planning this party and doing fun, cute things to make it memorable. We had it at a neat little place called Rolly Pollies. If you ever are wondering if it is a good idea to have a party there it is!!!!! They do a GREAT job of making your party special, easy, and fun for all the kids. There is a foam pit, climbing wall, zip line, bounce house, trampoline that you run on and then bounce on this big pad, bars, balance beam, and lots of other things that I don't even know the names for. There are 3 instructors there helping the kids do things...but not in their way at all. They provide balloons on each kids chair, the paper goods, and a place for gifts. It was so great! And I think everyone had a really good time...at least I hope so. P had so much fun. However, he didn't feel great(which happened last year on his bday party day...UGH!).
Since there is NO WAY I can take the time to write what each picture is. I do want to say that 1) we got the boys shirts made from a girl on Etsy. The same girl who made M's 1st bday shirt. She is so reasonable and good. Aren't they adorable?! 2)My sister made their cupcakes. How stinkin cute are those?! They looked amazing. My nephew said "My Mom should work for Hey Cupcake!" lol! They were so yummy too! 3)The theme of the invitations was a bright colored Lion with a bday hat on. Their gift bags had (matching to the invitations) writing pad, animal pen, animal crackers, animal stickers, and a blow pop. All the bags were tied with animal print ribbon.




















I have to comment on this picture. P LOVES this hat. It is WAY too small on him. It is like infant size. Lol! My Mom let us pick him out his first baseball hat and she bought it for him for his bday. It is his first Atlanta Braves hat. We went and picked it up yesterday and Derek brought P into the store. I think Derek was a proud daddy getting his son his FIRST baseball hat...and especially a Braves hat. So cute!

An evening on the Lake

We are apart of something called the Freedom Boat Club. It is this cool club where you can hop on a boat on different bodies of water throughout the US. It is really cool. We either hop on a boat on Lake Travis or Lake Austin. This night my whole family minus the kiddos went on Lake Austin. The water in Lake Austin is FREEZING! Which is great during the summer...but at the beginning of the summer before it is super hot...it is a bit cold to get in. We just relaxed and parked the boat at a really cool place called The Hula Hut to eat at. You will probably see lots more pictures of us on the boat this summer.

A very well known bridge in Austin. It is called the 360 Bridge(there is also another name for it that I am not sure of).

L-R Ashley(My sister), Wade(My brother), Kimberly(SIL), Me, My Mom(who got soaked and we were laughing so hard we were crying!)

Wade and Kimberly w/the bridge in the background(that you can barely see...oh well)

Me and My Buddy

So, as you all know P and his daddy went out of town a few weeks ago for 4 days. Leaving me and M to have some fun quality time together. I have never had just one on one time with M for that long. Usually, if I have one on one time with him it is for a couple of hours. I had decided to do nothing too adventurous that week. We pretty much stayed home and relaxed. We did go to lunch with my Mom one day, small group on Fri. night, and dinner with my parents. Then M took his naps at home and played while I checked lots of things off of my list that had been on there for quite some time. I cleaned, organized, finished M's baby book(YEAH!), and played with M. I wasn't sure how he would do not being around his brother...I wondered if he would get bored. But, he did great! He was chatty and so sweet...as always! If you asked him "where's P?" He would look all around...like P was about to walk through the door. Kinda sad!
I loved having that time with just M. It just reminded me of how easy going and precious he is. I love him so stinkin much. I kiss him all the time and can't get enough of him. It also made me realize how much I love my husband and P. I missed them like crazy and couldn't wait for my family to be all together again. Here are some pics I took of M.

I just had taken his outfit off because after I watered the flowers outside he plopped right down on the stair(where him and P sit all of the time) but it was covered with water. He didn't seem to even notice. :)

Mama Lynn, Papa K, Papa, and Mrs. Elaine came to visit! WOO HOO!

Ok, I didn't fulfill my promise last week. I didn't post every day. It is a lot of work! Sorry! But, maybe soon I will get to P's bday party.

The week after Easter Derek's mom, dad, Papa, and his wife, Mrs. Elaine, came to visit. We had so much fun like we always do! The boys played, played, and played some more. We usually always do something touristy when his family visits. This time we went on something called a Duck Tour. It is kinda expensive, but it was so fun. You get on a bus(aka the duck) and ride through downtown Austin. The driver tells you all about the history of downtown austin and neat things about different buildings. You also get a quacker. And you will randomly quack at people all around town. Then, the bus turns into a boat. ha. And we went into the lake. It was fun. The boys loved it. I found out more about downtown Austin then I ever knew.
We also visited Steiner Ranch Steakhouse which was delicious! Papa loves going there. And so do we.
We are going to the beach in July with Derek's family. We are excited!

My Day is Today...along w/all other Moms out there. :)

Happy Mothers Day to all you Mamas out there!! Today is such a special day. It is for me. Being a Mom is my passion. I love it with everything in me. It is hard, emotional, trying, joyous, special, bonding, unconditional love, sacrificial, risky, rewarding, amazing, indescribable, breath taking, and the list could go on and on. Being a mom is a gift that I cannot believe God gave me, but He did. And I hope I can do EXACTLY what He wants me to do with my kids.
This morning Parker walks into my room with flowers in his hand. He said he got these for me. :) I also got a gift card to go out to lunch w/my mom or a friend w/out kids. And my fave candy bar. :) Perfect and thoughtful of my husband. And then tonight he surprised me with asking some of our good friends to keep our boys so that we could go to dinner. I still don't know where we are eating. It will be downtown Austin, that is all I know. I love stuff like this. Well, gotta go get ready! Hope all of you feel as blessed as I do to be a Mom. And I hope you all have a wonderful day today!

Here we are at P's 3rd bday party last week.

Happy Easter!!! 2010

Happy Easter Everyone! ha, a little late...I know. :) Growing up my Mom and Dad hid our Easter Baskets in the house and on Easter morning we had to find them. They would play the Hot/Cold game with us. It was a lot of fun. So, this year was my first year to hide the boys baskets. I didn't play hot/cold with them because they are too young for that. But, I think P enjoyed it. M's basket was on the couch covered with a blanket and P's was under a table that sits in between two chairs.
I was in charge of Children's church on Easter Sunday. It was so rewarding. It was probably my favorite children's service I have ever done. It wasn't that great BUT I feel like the kids really understood the Easter story when they left.
That night we went to my brother's house for dinner. We all made breakfast food. My Mom made up this crazy game just for the adults. The kids went outside with a babysitter and we all played this game. Everyone had to search REALLY HARD for three eggs each and there were lots of questions and lots of rewards(candy, dr. pepper, giftcards, money). It was so fun even if my brother won about every prize. :) Mom did a great job! I expect to play that game every year(hint hint Mom!!)
All in All Easter was great. Celebrating Christs resurrection was on my mind the whole week before. P made resurrection bread with my sister and her boys. We read P the story of Jesus' resurrection from the Jesus Story Bible. After church we asked what P learned in church and he said "God and the stone" and "God made everything!" :) Thats what it is all about.

I like this picture a lot. P with his sweet smile in his cute Easter shirt.

M looking Southern! I still dress him Southern every week(not all the time...but at least once every week) despite the fact that people DO NOT dress their kids like that here in Austin. I can't help it...it is adorable!

I have no idea why I couldn't get a good clear picture. But, the fact that my husband is not ever with us on Sunday mornings to help me could have something to do with it. He helps set up and with the sound. So, girls out there...if you have to get your kids ready all by yourself, loaded in the car, and unloaded at church...you are not alone. My sister and I both do it EVERY Sunday!

M and P waiting in our bed for us to get everything ready to come and find their Easter Baskets. P's eyes are pretty swollen in this pic. His eyes are closed...but I can tell how swollen they are. :(

The boys baskets full of goodies. Goodies that I got on clearance that is. Most of these items I got on clearance after Christmas at Target!!! What a steal!

WAY Behind...Where to start??

I haven't blogged in a while and a lot has happened in April. So, I am going to try to start from the beginning of April(late March) and hopefully by the end of this week I will top off all of this bloggy craziness with a big bang...Parker and Gray's 3rd Bday party! :) Here are some pics of randomness around the house. Hanging out with my sweet sweet boys who I LOVE so much!!

This is how "P" is dressed most days around our house if we aren't going anywhere. Yes, my boys are still wearing their Christmas pjs. I love them...they are comfy, and so cute. P's eyes are swollen in most of these pics. He had HORRIBLE allergies where his eyes were almost swollen shut some of the time. He is now on Singulair. And has been feeling MUCH better! Thank the Lord!

Sweet "M" just eating a snack. Ahhh...that boy is C-U-T-E!

I LOVE this picture. Except if you zoom in M's eyes are closed. :( The flowers on both sides of the boys are so pretty. I cannot believe how pretty they have stayed. I hope I can keep them up...considering today I came home and they were wilted. The heat is getting to them. I gotta water them more!!

I had to ask P to put his arm around M. Love matching outfits. Won't be able to do this for too much longer.

Just eating a snack outside in this beautiful weather. M does so good with sitting at this table. He is a very messy eater. I thought this was a good idea bc I didn't have to clean up the mess. Well, I was wrong. I found that out when I came outside later and there was a line of ants all the way up to the leftover food on the floor. Oops.

Melts my heart. :)

Matching outfits again. On our way to the Easter Egg Hunt. P insisted on holding M. :) My camera died right after this pic. So that is all I got.

Random Thoughts By Me :)

Hello Bloggy World. I have been gone for quite some time now. :( Sorry! I have a gazillion thoughts that I would like to jot down on my blog today. So, I hope that is ok. They are totally random. Just a warning:

-I have a THREE YEAR OLD!!! Parker turned 3 last Sunday. I cannot believe it. He was gone from Thursday until Sunday(his bday) with his Dad in Georgia. That was a first for all of us. Me sending Parker off without me. Derek taking Parker without me on a long trip. Parker flying(he has flown but he couldn't remember) and he was SO excited and loved it!

-I have a "new" car!!!! We sold our Volkswagon a month ago. We drove one car for a month. Which, in the grand scheme of things is not a big deal. But, thank goodness for our wonderful friend/neighbor who let us borrow her car some and for my family who definitely went out of their way to make sure we had a ride places. Oh yeah, the new car we have is an Expedition. It was Derek's parents car. It is older, but it is in GREAT condition and it is so roomy! It has a 3rd backseat and air vents through out the car which I love! Oh, did I mention that Derek drove it back from Georgia? With Parker in the backseat and it took them almost 20hours!! They didn't stop overnight. They drove it straight! Wow! My hubby is amazing!

-4 days without me and spending almost all of his time with his Mama Lynn and Papa K is WONDERFUL, HOWEVER it is NOT so wonderful when he came home. :( We have been going through toddler bootcamp to whip this boy back into shape. And no I am not talking about working out shape...I am talking about obedience in every way possible. Wow! It is all worth it though.

-While Derek and Parker were gone I got some great one on one time with Micah. And I was able to organize things, put things in the attic, clean the WHOLE house, finish Micah's baby book(AHHH! That is so great to finally be able to say that!), and spend some time with my family. :)

-I got a new laptop! Actually, it is a netbook. But, I love it! It is perfect for me in every way. It didn't cost as much money but has almost all of the same features. The only thing it doesn't have is a CD/DVD drive which I am going to buy(if I can convince my husband that I need it, which I do). My husband got a new laptop too. He got a MAC. Oh, no...are we going to be MAC snobs now?? Well, not me for right now. Maybe one day. But, for now...this cute little netbook is perfect for me.

-Micah has a double ear infection. :( I debated all day on Tuesday whether or not to take him to the Dr. I was almost positive that he had an ear infection. However, there is always that small % of doubt that crosses your mind that I could be wrong. I don't know what changed but I decided that I really thought he had one so we went to the doctor and I was right. For some reason the antibiotic they give Micah does not kick in immediately(like it does for Parker). It takes a few days. So, I have been running on not much sleep at all for the past few days. I am tired. He is tired. But, for the first time in 3 days I think this morning he had a turn around. He acted a lot more like himself. And is taking a nap. Lets pray tonight is lots better!!

-Parker is having a birthday party this weekend. He already had one in Georgia that his Mama Lynn and Papa K gave him(I cannot get over how sweet it was for all of Derek's family to come to this party...cant.get.over.it). This party is special because Parker and his cousin, Gray, are having a joint party. They are only 5 weeks apart in age, they are best buddies, and they live 5 houses away from each other. This is a big deal to them too. Ashley said that Gray kept running in the culdesack in front of their house and Ashley told him that he could get hurt if a car came and he was in the street. And Gray followed that with "And I couldn't go to my party with Parker?" Lol!

-Derek and I have our 5 year anniversary in May. cArazy!!! I can't believe it! It has been SO wonderful! I tell people who are about to get married that it doesn't die down after you get married. Maybe it does for some people. But for us, it has only gotten better. I love being married to my wonderful husband! And I am happy to celebrate 5 years with him.

Ok, thats all that has been going on with us. I will post pictures probably next week after Parker's party. Hopefully I will have some good ones. If you made it to the end of this blog. Thats awesome!! :) Thanks for reading!

Baby #3 is going to BE here in December...Yippeeee!!!

Ok, trying to be catchy. ha ha. We found out on Easter morning that we will be expecting baby #3!! We are super excited! We told my family the night of Easter by writing in a casserole "10 N '10" which means my parents will have 10 grandchildren in 2010 ALL under 10yo. Crazy!!! I told a few friends b4 Wednesday night...but Wednesday night we told Derek's parents and his Papa and Mrs. Elaine. It was perfect because we have never been able to tell Derek's parents in person before. They had planned on flying here the Wednesday after Easter for a while. They were really excited! Then we posted it on Facebook/Twitter to let our world of friends know.
I don't have an official due date from the Dr...I won't be going to the Dr until about 9 or 10 weeks probably. But, if the calendars are right online(which they always have been for me) I am due December 12th. As of now I feel great. I am tired and moody. And picky about what I eat. But I am NOT queasy. I read back on my blog when I was pregnant with Micah that I started to feel that way at around 6 weeks. I am still praying to feel great all the way through.
I have tried telling Parker about the baby but he does not get it. He gets that the baby goes in my belly. BUT he keeps asking me if Micah goes in my belly again. ha ha. I just got a new computer so I will upload pictures soon. I have to download Picasa first.

Clumsy...or just bad luck?

All I can say is "Really? Wow? Ugh!!!"

I am blogging about nothing to do with my boys(for the most part). Today, I am blogging about my clumsiness. That I don't often deal with. I don't even consider myself clumsy. However, the last 2 days you would probably say differently. What is up with me?!?!?! Here is the story:
It all started yesterday morning. My sister, her two boys, me and my two boys decided to go to the mall. They were riding with us and I had given her a time I would come pick her up. Well, of course, I was running behind. Big SHOCKER(being sarcastic)! I tried my very best not to run behind. I was actually doing great on time until I decided to throw dinner in the crock pot. I thought the recipe would be easy, however it was a lot of measuring. I needed minced garlic, which I didn't have, so I minced fresh garlic. I have one of those chopper things specifically for mincing garlic. For some reason, I was chopping away(the clock was ticking at this point) and I decided to pick up the chopper. The minute I did that the bottom fell out and so did all of the gooey, chopped garlic. ALL OVER MY KITCHEN FLOOR! On top of the fact that my boys were playing in the kitchen taking all of my pans out and bringing all of their tools in there to somehow combine the two and do who knows what with. At this point I am frustrated, stressed, and getting snappy with Parker. Ok, so we survived and were a few minutes behind. Oh well, let's fast forward.
My sister-in-law meets us at the mall and all three of us split up with plans to meet back together later. The boys and I are walking somewhere and I decide to take the escalator down to the bottom floor with the Joovy(not a single stroller). Parker loves the escalator so I told him to go in front. Micah was in the stroller. I knew the minute I stepped on the escalator I was in trouble. The stroller was leaning forward and I was having a hard time keeping it level. We got to the bottom and I can't get this huge stroller over the hump at the end of the escalator. I am starting to freak a bit. Within seconds I had fallen on my butt with my back smashed against the see thru side of the escalator(oh what a pretty sight that was) My ankle is twisting because the escalator is still going and I can NOT get my stroller to move!!!!! A guy at some random kiosk sees me and starts coming over(a little too slow) to help me. I am sweating, totally embarrassed, but finally get the stroller to move and get up. I definitely made that guys whole week! If I was him, I would have told everyone I knew. I was laughing too, but more like "I cannot believe I was just that person...oh my word" nervous laugh. Surprisingly, there was no one around in the mall and either people felt so bad for me they didn't stare or I really don't think anyone else saw me. I still cannot believe that happened to me. Ugh!
Fast forward to today at about 7am this morning. On Wednesdays I get up really early and go grocery shopping. Derek has a networking meeting at 9 so I am able to go without the kids. It is well worth getting up early for. It is a little wet outside/drizzling and I just threw on something to wear. My mistake is that I threw on Old Navy flip flops which are the WORST in rainy weather. I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen in those stupid flip flops. Of course on my way into Walmart I was praying I would not fall. It is still dark outside. There is hardly NO ONE there. But, of course, the minute I walk through the entrance where 3 people are chatting I slip. I didn't fall, but it was one of those "Oooo...Ohh!" slips where everyone reacts. This is getting really old. Later on I go with my sister to Sam's Club. We are loading all the kids in the van and I drop the big drink I had just purchased that spilled all over the bottom of my jeans and I even had a puddle of Sprite in the cuff of my jeans.
The last straw for me is when I got home. Parker was drinking that same sprite at our kitchen counter. I take it from him and when I do, I drop it AGAIN. On the floor where the hardwood floors meet the carpet. Somehow, a whole punches through it and Sprite is gushing out. I cannot believe it. At this point. I was thinking "I have to blog about this". Do any of you have days like this? What in the world? And the thing is, it can't frazzle me, because I have two little guys I have to take care of. I can't just shut down. I have to keep going regardless if I fall a million times or if I spill things on me all day. I can't cry about it. Kids will definitely bring great things to to your life like realizing things are not a big deal, and even if they are...you keep going. :)
Sorry this is soooo long!!!

Just to say something about my boys since this blog is about them. This little guy has not had a morning nap the last two days(he is still taking them but we have been gone) and he has been SO good. I cannot believe it! I am so impressed with him. He hardly makes a peep.

Naps are Fading Away....

I am so sad to be saying that statement. Well, not really...but sorta. Micah's morning naps have been slowly getting shorter and shorter. It was like one day I was waking him up after 2 hours of napping and then next he was only sleeping an hour! I called my sister for a quick reminder that this does happen at his age. Parker dropped his morning nap at 16 months. I love my sweet Micah but I also love my time in the mornings to let Parker watch Playhouse Disney and I get things done. His naps are about 45min-1hr. I guess I better get used to it. Because soon enough he won't even be napping in the mornings anymore.
Naps are not just fading for Micah. But Parker's afternoon naps are getting shorter too!!!! I mean, I do realize he will be 3 in one month but STILL I LOVE having a good 2 hours in the afternoon with complete peace and quiet. Parker still takes about 1hr 1/2 nap. My sister has taught me this concept called "rest time". It is awesome. When her boys get out of the nap taking phase she makes them go into the play room and have rest time. They cannot come out for 2 hours. They can watch a movie or just read...they do not have to go to sleep but they have to be quiet and rest. Her boys STILL do this in the summers and her oldest is 9. It just gives her some time to chill out and collect her thoughts because we all know that the worst part of the day is sneaking up. Well, that is the worst part of the day for my boys.

Little Stinkpot

Micah is my little Stinkpot. I don't call him that all of the time...but sometimes I do. He is a stinker. One darn cute stinker though. :) Here are some pictures of this sweet baby boy. He is about to be 14 months old and I can't believe it!! He is so sweet and funny. He only says two words "Uh Oh" and "Daddy". Which I am ok with. I cannot remember when Parker was saying words(bad mom right?) but I do know that the pediatrician said that the 2nd child doesn't talk as early as the 1st. No worries there. Micah is a CLIMBER! I remember seeing my nephew, Gray, climb into/onto everything. I don't think Micah climbs as much as Gray did BUT he climbs way more then Parker did. He climbs into things and then can't get out/down and whines until I come get him. Ugh! ;) I love this boy so much! The other day my boys and I were walking home from Ashley's house. Parker was riding his plasma car and Micah was in a different car that I was pushing. I was thinking how much I love having my boys. They are so sweet to me, fun, love to play outside...and entertain themselves pretty well. I want a girl SO BAD one day. We probably want 4 kids. But, in that moment I realized that I will be happy with all boys if that is what God wants for us. It was a good moment. A God moment...even though maybe one day it will be me with 2 boys and a decked out in pink girl. :) ha ha.

I have a high chair at the table for Micah but recently I put this little high chair on our bar stool so that Micah and Parker can sit here while I am doing things in the kitchen or eating their snack. I love having them right there. It makes it so much easier for me. This particular day Parker was still asleep. Micah was sitting there so sweet and eating his breakfast. I couldn't help but snap a shot of him being him.

Yeah, here is one of things he climbs into and can't get out of. This big Tonka truck. It isn't dangerous or anything for him to be in it, but he gets stuck. This is him asking for me to get him out.

And here he is waving at me. :)He waves when we say "Hey" or "bye" or even when some random car drives by. ha ha.

Ok, so I obviously have more then one child. With Parker I was so aware when it was time for him to transition into new things. One day I walked into the kitchen and apparently left Micah's plate too close to him. When I walked around the corner he was feeding himself. ha ha! I had no idea he was ready for that. Yesterday I did it again and this time it was with yogurt! What a mess! But he REFUSED to let me feed him. He is growing up!

10 Random Things

My friend, Jenny, tagged me to post 10 Random things about me. So, here goes...

1. I just joined Emealz. And so far, I love it. I love to cook, but this is awesome! It gives me 7 meals for 6-8 people that I can purchase for $80(grocery list and all!). I tweek it here and there to what I need so that I can stay within our budget. You should check it out!

2. We have currently watched all 3 seasons of Friday Night Lights and are caught up to it being live. And we LOVE it!!! It was filmed in Austin which is really neat because we recognize quite a few places.

3. My favorite time of the day with my husband is when the boys go to bed and we can relax and watch our shows. I L-O-V-E it.

4. I know some of you are not van people but I want a Honda Odyssey Van SO bad one day when we can pay cash for it. I love them, especially for traveling long distances.

5. Here is what I am involved with for Free Chapel: Wednesday night girls small group, Thursday afternoon park small group, Friday night small group, Sunday morning I am over greeters and once a month over Children's church. Its a lot, but I really enjoy it!!!! :)

6. B'ham will always have a special place in my heart, but I really love living in Austin.

7. I live 5 houses down from my sister, 5 min. from my parents, and 15 min from my brother and sister in law and love it. My kids love it too.

8. I started running in October. I ran my first 5k a couple of weeks ago. Haven't been great about running since then...but about to start back up again. I enjoy it when I am done. :)

9. I love coke.

10. I love the word "Love" since I said it a MILLION times in this post. :)