I'm Ready for my Close-Up...

My Pastor's Wife, Alisa, took these pictures. She is so talented!! Thanks Alisa!!!!

James at Night

James has a book that he absolutely loves called Snowmen at Night. It's an adorable little book, and explains that snowmen look "a fright" the day after they're made because of the mischeif they get into at night. Well, sometimes I wonder what my little boy does at night to end up in these positions!

Sometimes he just doesn't want to go to sleep in his bed!

He loves his trucks and trains so much that he puts them in the bed with him! (I swear I did not set up this pic...I really found him like this!)

Just another Sunday Afternoon

We had a wonderful Sunday last weekend...I caught some priceless pictures that I knew I just had to share!

All smiles!

So Happy
"I Baby," James says while playing in his sister's carrier.
We were getting ready to go back to church, and this is how James helped Sam get ready. It was so cute to see him place her bow on her sweet little head!

We talked with Gi-Gi and Grandpa this past Sunday, and James got upset when we had to hang-up the phone. To make saying "good-bye" easier I promised him some ice cream. Then I found out we didn't have ice cream so I had to substitute a cookie. The following pic is to prove to my parents that I do occasionally give James a treat!
Sam and I in our "Sunday Dress"...we matched!
In her blue-jean jumper...notice her "sock shoes", they're socks that look like shoes. They're too cute!

Fabulous Friday Five

One of my friends does a "Friday Five" post and, as with all good ideas, I decided to copy it! So, here is my first Fabulous Friday Five! This week it's my Five Favorite Foods:

1. Spaghetti ~ Mainly because it's so easy to make! Andy likes his with lots of noodles, and I like mine with lots of sauce...what can I say? Even in spaghetti we complete each other!

2. Baked Chicken ~ There are so many ways to bake chicken. Also, I enjoy preparing it, putting it in the fridge, and then baking when I'm ready!

3. Chicken Tacos ~ SO easy! Just put chicken into the crock pot with salsa(I use one package of chicken breasts and a small jar of pace picante); cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low (this is according to my pot...yours may differ); remove chicken and shred; place back in pot and add a small container of sour cream; heat for an additional 30 min- 1 hour; serve with soft shells, cheese, lettuce, etc. and ENJOY! Our family loves this!

4. Pot roast ~ although I'm still perfecting mine

5. Chicken, rice, and broccoli 15 minute skillet ~ The name says it all...a full meal in 15 minutes!! Woo-Hoo!

He loves her

The floor gym was James' favorite toy when he was little. Now he's teaching Sam how to enjoy it! He plays the music for her and shows her the toys by saying, "Look baby". He loves his "little Sisser" and he loves being her "big Broffer"!

And yes I was VERY close by during these pics!

And yes, James does have a bruise under his eye... He ran into the bleachers at the playground, and I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen him do it myself! I guess he just didn't see them...even though he was running straight for them.

The Office - Quote of the week

"I have been salesman of the month for 13 out of the last 12 months. You heard me right, I did so well last February that corporate gave me two plaques in lieu of a pay raise."

~Dwight Schrute

Water, Water Everywhere but not a drop to drink??

The Atlanta area has really been struggling this year with drought issues. Of course my friend who's lived here all her life said they've had "drought issues" for the past 12 years! What gives??? Atlanta has two major lakes that feed it's water supply. Lake Lanier is the one that is closest to us, and the one that has been hardest hit this year with the intense heat and lack of rain. Well, the girl on the radio reported this morning that Lake Lanier only has enough water left in it to supply Atlanta for the next 121 days....what?!?!? Yes, you read right....121 DAYS! Okay so I mean this just didn't happen overnight...has the water board been sleeping? Now the Atl area is on a total water restriction - no watering at all - period. Even the Atl Braves got in trouble for watering their fields (they thought they were exempt b/c they're a business and they use recycled and storm water). And they're thinking of imposing very strict water usage guidelines, like you can't even put your house on the market to sell unless it's been inspected and passed for water conserving appliances. If you don't have these appliances, then you cannot put your house on the market. They have also proposed closing businesses that use large amounts of water. Great, so let's throw out the economy with the water!

Slinging my baby....I made it myself!

Samantha enjoys being held, and frankly I like holding her. I mean when I look at James and see how quickly he's grown up...how he's such a little man now, and rarely lets me hold him....then how can I not spend all the moments I can enjoying holding my child?? I know people say it spoils them..."all they'll want to do is be held"...but as my mom says, "You don't see anyone in college still asking for their mom to hold them" (and she's been right about many things in my life, so I trust her words). Also, Samantha doesn't mind not being held much during the day, but at night it seems like that is her time to be held and cuddled.

Well, I never purchased a sling with James, and I had never done any research on them either. Then, recently I have gotten into reading a blog that is done by friends of mine called Prayer of Hannah (it's on my links list). This past week they did a section on slings, and Leah taught us about different types of slings (what they are, pros and cons, etc.). She also pointed us to her other blog where she demonstrates how to make your own. It's so awesome because when you start pricing slings, you realize you can drop a lot of money on these crafty pieces of fabric. I had been looking at hotslings which are upwards of $50.00 or more! (And that's a lot of money for me!) So, I went to Leah's website (http://www.slingyourbaby.blogspot.com/) and she had recently posted a no-sew sling! Well, since sewing is not on my list of skills, this was perfect for me!!! I followed her instructions and ta-da, I made my own sling! Now this may not seem like a big deal because the instructions are soooo easy, but when you consider that I was able to make a sling for $10.00 that is like the ones that cost $35.00+ ....I was so excited!!! I even made Andy take pictures!!!!

So, here I am hands free!! I was even able to do the dishes while holding my sweet baby (and I mean dishes by hand), and she even fell asleep by the time I was finished!

Thanks for the blog, girls, and thanks for the sling instructions, Leah! Ya'll are awesome!

Favorite Toy

James loves the movie Cars...He thinks it's the greatest thing ever! For a while he requested to watch it ALL the time, and I had to say over and over and over, "James we're not going to watch Cars." Well, my family knows of his love for the movie, and they have blessed us with Cars books, stuffed toys, and his newest love, the racetrack. I am so thankful for these things because they save us from having to watch the movie!

First smiles

Well, my baby girl is now almost 7 weeks old. I can't believe how fast almost months has flown by! I've realized that it is truly a different experience with the 2nd child. It's like I know now how quickly James changed and grew, so I want to make sure I cherish these "baby" moments now. I know I'll practically blink and they'll be all grown up....oh, that makes me emotional just thinking about it!

I went to a MOPS meeting the other day, and the speaker was talking about how we all remember as mothers the first time our baby smiled. So, I thought it would be nice to share my little Samantha's first smiles with you...and just for fun I threw in James' first smile picture...do you think they look alike?

Samantha

James

No Pictures Please!

This is not a happy face!

What is that flashy thing?

I guess the dog needed to be rocked too!

Must love trucks

The other night before I went to bed I went in to check on James and found this...

He had actually gotten out of bed, got his truck out of his toy box, and fell asleep cuddled up with it. I couldn't resist the "Kodak moment".

And yes, his ear is very red because a mosquito attacked my sweet baby's ear...trust me, he met his maker!

My funny little boy

James is at a wonderful and challenging age right now. He is funny and frustrating all at the same time. Some days he is the best little boy on earth, and other days...well, let's just say there are "other" days... :o) What can I say? He is the epitome of a little boy. He loves running and climbing, he loves football and tackling his daddy, he loves getting into things. In fact, just today he learned a whole new trick! He has a firetruck push/riding toy, and he realized that if he pushed it into the kitchen next to the counter that he can almost reach things on the counter.

Well, What really happened was that earlier while Sam was sleeping we had gone outside to do sidewalk chalk. I had the monitor with me, and I notified James that we would have to go inside when baby sister woke up. So, of course when the time came to put the "colors" (as he calls them) away, he didn't want to and started whining/ fake crying. We then picked up the "colors" and went inside where I put the chalk on the kitchen counter (I should have put them in the cabinet where they belong, but I was hurrying to get Sam b/c I knew she needed to eat and she'd already been crying for a few minutes). Anyways, later on James was pushing his truck all through the house as he normally does, when suddenly there was silence (never a good sign with a toddler).

So, I called for him. "James..."

No response.

"James, where are you?"

Still no response.

Get up, put down Sam (who's now asleep), and go searching for son.

I find him in the kitchen standing on the firetruck, reaching for the chalk bucket. He looks at me, points at the chalk, and says, "colors, wee (please)" I hurry over to him and take him down off the truck. We have a small talk about how standing on the firetruck is dangerous and he could hurt himself. He seems totally uninterested in our talk and totally interested in finding a new way to reach the colors. Such is life...

Well, then I had to go to the grocery store when Andy got home. I quickly fed Sam and left Andy with both children...his first time pulling double duty alone. However, our laundry room is on the way to the garage, so I stopped to check the bathroom rug that had just finished in the dryer. It was still mildly damp, but not wet enough to run the dryer again so I took it out and laid it over one of my laundry baskets so it could air out (It's way to heavy to hang). Then I officially left for the store. I came home to find this....

James had figured out how to climb into the basket (which is almost taller than he is), and was sitting on top of the bathroom rug that was supposed to be drying! Upon seeing him I said, "Andy, are you watching your son?"

Andy: "Yes"

Me: "Do you know what he's doing?"

Andy: "I know he's around the corner where I can't see him and he's been quiet"

Me: "In the future when he's quiet, that probably means he's doing something he shouldn't and he needs to be checked on"

That's our little boy! Always keeping us on our toes!! Here are some more pictures of him at snack time with his favorite snack, cheerios and milk.

Showing me where the cheerios go.

Trying to show me the cheerio in his mouth

How can you not love this face?