Keepin' Up With The Jones'

4D Ultrasound of Hudson

2012-02-07T15:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we did our 4D ultrasound of Hudson. I was really excited to see how much he would look like his brother! Once we got in there and she started, she informed us that he is breach. She said since I was already having a c-section it wouldn't matter. His head is right below my right rib and his bottom is resting quite comfortably on my bladder! During the ultrasound, he kept bringing his feet up in front of his face and then moving them back. It was so cool to see that! He looks a lot like Lawson did. They have the same nose and profile. But we will have to see how much they favor once he makes his debut! I showed Lawson the pictures of his brother, and he said "awe, hudson's cute!" Hope he feels the same way in a few months :)

Here are some pictures of our sweet boy!!

Hudson (top) Lawson (bottom)

Hudson

Hudson-what a sweet face!

Hudson with his foot in front of his face! He is quite limber!

First Time Bowling and Circus

2012-02-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

A weekend or so ago we went to circus. Mitch was able to get us some free tickets and we took Lawson along with our friends and their son. Lawson had so much fun. He was mesmerized by the animals and the motorcycles. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures because I left my camera at home along with my cell phone. We were able to make it out of there without an overpriced souvenir but I'm sure next year will be different!

This past weekend we went with some friends to take the kids bowling. It was Lawson's first time bowling and he had a BLAST!! He kept running around saying "my turn" and then would just drop the ball and watch it intently as it went down! Then he would stand up and scream in excitement. Not just for him but for everyone else bowling! It was so fun to watch him! This will definitely be something we do again!! I did manage to take a few pictures of Lawson bowling!

I Passed!!!!

2012-01-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

I passed my glucose test this time! I was diabetic with Lawson and looks like I'm in the clear with this one! I was worried because I had to be put on insulin because of the bells palsy. Praying the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly!!

Happy 2012!!!!

2012-01-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great New Year's! Ours was pretty low key! We took Lawson to the McWane Center that morning to run out some energy. Then went to some friends house for dinner and some small fireworks. It was the first year I actually was up to see the ball drop....even though I was at home, in bed, and it was eastern time, it still counts! New Year's Day we went to my mom's house for dinner. Normally we do the whole traditional dinner but decided to change things up a bit this year. We had a traditional taco bar! And I have to say it was delicious!! My in laws joined us so my parents and in laws exchanged Christmas gifts.

Mitch had Monday off from work so we made a trip to Costco to load up on some things we needed and that afternoon I ran to Wal-Mart (by myself!!!) for the fill-ins.

It was a great long weekend with my family! We hated for Mitch to go back to work! It was so nice having him home for extended weekends the past month or so. We are now ready to face 2012!! This past year has been challenging with my father in law's health. He has just finished his 2nd round of chemo and now we are anxiously awaiting to hear what his pet scan will say that he is having on Monday. We are so thankful that besides just being tired and some joint pain he has really handled the chemo well. We are praying that 2012 will bring us some good news and as my in-laws are saying....and to expect a miracle! And that is exactly what we will do. We also will be excited to welcome our 2nd baby in April. So I know that 2012 will be a great year!!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas went down in the books as a success...I have to say! We had Christmas Eve dinner with my family at Olive Garden. Then we came home and got Lawson ready for bed. We read "Twas The Night Before Christmas" and then Santa made his appearance. Lawson got lots of fun toys and was not sure what to think when he first came out. He was upset because we wouldn't let him in the bedroom so the first picture I got was of him crying for mommy.

Santa came!

This was the face I got!

We opened our gifts and Mitch did really well this year for me!! He got me an hour pregnancy massage and 30 minute facial and a diamond and sapphire bracelet to represent Lawson and Hudson's birthstones. I was really impressed!!! After we opened our Christmas gifts, we loaded up and headed to my in laws for round 2. It was eventful! As my MIL was cooking her casseroles for breakfast her stove caught on fire. The entire house filled with smoke and the smoke detectors started going off. But what is a Christmas without a funny story, right? Lawson racked up there as well! He got tons of car stuff and the high demand Leappad that has been out of stock since before Thanksgiving! My MIL somehow scored one!! He loves it...he calls it his "iPad" and gives us back our iPad. I got a Kindle and some other things for Hudson's room and Mitch got some Alabama stuff along with a gun safe for his pistols!! We ate breakfast and then headed back to our house to put Lawson down for a nap. Then got ready for round 3!

Wearing his new hat and playing with his "iPad"

My family came over for dinner. We feasted on beef tenderloin, mushrooms, salad, potato casserole and green beans. I even made a white chocolate bread pudding, which I have to say was delicious!! After dinner, we opened gifts from my family ( they had already had their Christmas that morning). Lawson got books, new movies, cars, and tons more! I got some clothes (maternity of course), new shoes and a few other surprises. Mitch got some hunting gear, new shoes, clothes and the big surprise was his new shotgun. He got to use it the next day when they went skeet shooting.

I have to say that we are very blessed! The goodies were great but it was even better to be able to spend the day with our loved ones!! Can't believe next year we will have a new little one to celebrate with!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

What's in a name?

2011-12-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well after much consideration, we have finally decided on a name for Lawson's baby brother! His name is Hudson Mitchell!! I knew right away when I was pregnant with Lawson what I wanted him to be named. Mitch couldn't be pressured so he had to sit and think about it forever! With this one, I didn't have a clue and suddenly the name Hudson popped into my mind. I immediately loved it. Plus it goes so well with Lawson! I told Mitch my name and he said he had to think about it. Of course! His middle name is of course after Mitch. So now onto deciding what color to paint his room!

It's A .....

2011-11-28T13:56:00.001-08:00

BOY!!!!!!

We are having another little boy! He is healthy and we already love him so much!! Now onto finding him a name and looking for bedding!!

Turkey Day 2011

2011-11-25T07:59:00.000-08:00

We went to my mom's house again this year! Mitch's Uncle Roger had a long layover in Birmingham so he was able to join us for Thanksgiving! It was a day filled with lots of food, love and of course some temper tantrums by my sweet 2 year old!!

We tried taking some pictures for our Christmas card which Lawson wanted no part of. (see examples below!) But he did cooperate for a few so I will just have to make due.

Lawson rode a horse for the first time! He held the reigns himself and looked like a natural! Mitch also rode and I decided to take a gentle stroll around the arena (side note: it was on the most gentle horse we had and I had Mitch near just in case but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to ride even if I am pregnant!)

Mitch is going on his annual skeet shoot with the guys in the family today while I contemplated going to the mall but soon remembered this morning it was "black friday". I am do like dealing with crazies out there plus I know what I'm getting everyone and already finished Lawson's gifts so I'm going to do my shopping next week while Lawson is in school!

By the way....Monday is the BIG day!! Boy or girl??!! I will post when we find out!!!

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving! Hope everyone had a great day!!

my sweet boy

he posed himself!

trying to get in the pasture but still posing!

my two boys!!

not happy!!

somewhat better!

me and the hubs (18 weeks pregnant here)

Lawson on "Sassy"!

It's a start...

2011-11-22T10:31:00.001-08:00

We have been talking to Lawson about how big boys go to the bathroom in the potty. He will actually tell you that he has to poop but of course that is while he is in the act. So we did a little bribing...we put a kit kat bar (which he had been wanting since Halloween) above the cabinet in his bathroom. We told him if he went pee-pee or poo-poo in the potty he could have that kit kat. It was really hard not to give in when he looks at you with those big blue eyes and says "Momma, kit kat please?" but I resisted! Sunday he was about to eat lunch and he grabbed his diaper and said "poo-poo" so we immediately took him straight to the potty. He pitched a fit so we distracted him by reading books. He sat there for about 15 minutes and said he was done so I got him off the potty and low and behold he had pee-pee'd in the potty!!! We were so excited and he looked at us like we were crazy. He finally got that kit kat!!!

We have not gone again but I feel like this could be a start. We are just trying to make it a routine of him going when he gets up in the morning, after lunch, when he gets up from his nap and before bed. I would really love to have him potty trained by the time the baby gets here!! Here's to trying!!

Halloween and Other Things!

2011-11-10T12:43:00.001-08:00

I'm a little late with my Halloween blog! I have been sick with sinus stuff that I came down with on Halloween and still battling it! The joys of pregnancy and being sick!!

The Friday before Halloween we went to Boo at the Zoo with some friends and their kids. We had a great time! It was fun watching Lawson holding his candy bucket up and then look in it with amazement at the candy! It was pretty cold that day so we didn't stay too long and then went to dinner at Moe's. Saturday we went over to some friends house to watch the Auburn game. Sunday I went to a friend's baby shower and then after Lawson woke up we went to the fall festival at the church where he attends MDO.

Halloween, he went to school in his costume and had fun at his Halloween party. Then my parents and in-laws came over to tag along trick or treating. Lawson had a blast!! After every house he would run up to us saying "I love candy!!" We stayed out for an hour or so and then he was done. I think he would have lasted longer if his candy bucket wasn't so heavy.

This year his was the mail man! I thought he was adorable and he got lots of compliments on how unique the costume was!!

Last weekend, Mitch went to the AL/LSU game. He was gone all day Saturday so my mom, sister, Lawson and me went to Disney On Ice. I wasn't sure how he would do because getting him to sit still for an extended amount of time is next to impossible! He actually did really well! He got a little antsy but after intermission he was okay. He danced and clapped to the songs! I considered it a success!!!

Today we will be putting together Lawson's big boy bed! If all goes well, he will be sleeping in it tonight! Wish us luck!!

8 Years Ago....

2011-10-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

I married my high school sweetheart!!! We have been through ups and downs, twists and turns but there is no one else I would rather go on this journey with!!

Happy Anniversary, Mitch!!

The Little Things

2011-10-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to write this down so I could remember it later when my son has me pulling my hair out!!

Today, when I was taking him to school he was in the back seat singing (which is his new favorite thing). When it was our turn for him to get out in the carpool line, I said to him " Have a good day at school Lawson!". He replied "Thank you, Mommy!" Melted my heart!!

And baby makes 4!!

2011-10-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

I am sure that you can gather from the title that our family is expanding!! We found out in August that we are having another baby but just didn't want to announce it just yet until we got out of the first trimester and heard the heartbeat! We went to the doctor today and got to hear our sweet baby's heartbeat , strong at 160, and I am 13 weeks!! We feel truly blessed to be having another one. For some of you know it was a bit of a struggle with Lawson and with this one it wasn't as hard! Baby #2 is due April 26th but will more than likely be here no later than April 19th (scheduled c-section). We will be finding out the sex (I wish I had the will power to not find out) on November 28th. I will be exactly 18 weeks on Thanksgiving Day and of course my doctor's office is closed that day and the day after!

I have actually felt ok. I wasn't sick at all with Lawson so I thought I was in the clear but around the 7th week it hit me! I had morning sickness, although I wouldn't call it that because every day was different, one day would be the morning, next day would be afternoon or even all day! But around week 11 I started coming out of it! I have started to get my energy back. I remember being so tired with Lawson and I'm sure I was with this one...but it's hard to think about how tired you are when you have an energy-filled 2 year old to entertain!

We are very excited about this new addition! Lawson is going to make a great big brother!!!

The Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a field trip with Lawson's MDO to go to the pumpkin patch in Clanton. It is a pretty good one. We took Lawson last year and he was a little too young but he really got a lot out of it this year! He was able to jump in the bouncy house, pet and feed the animals at the little petting zoo, ride the tractor train and enjoy a hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick out his pumpkin. All in all he did well...only a few minor meltdowns but I guess that is to be expected when a 2 year old has to wait in line.

Once we got down to the pumpkin patch, we searched for a small pumpkin. There was not many little ones to choose from so we got one the next size up. Lawson got upset because he didn't pick out the pumpkin and stood in the field crying. We then headed back up to take the hay ride back to the top where he saw a small pumpkin. He picked it up and said "Mine". So because he wouldn't have it any other way....we came home with a small pumpkin that is pretty beat up. Oh well!! Guess I will be purchasing another one at Wal-Mart! His "umptin" now sits in our living room because if you move it he brings it right back!!

After picking out the pumpkin, we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch and then headed home for a much needed nap....for both of us!!

This is the only picture I got with Lawson and a pumpkin...he refused to take a picture with his pumpkin.

Lawson's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-09-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ok...so I am just now getting around to writing about his party. With him being sick and just life, I haven't had time to sit down and write.

We had his party at our local park. Theweather was GREAT!!! We rented a bouncy house and the playground equipment was there for kids to enjoy! We had a train themed and it turned out perfect. I got some really cute table ideas from Pinterest and the rest fell into play! We had a great turn out! Quite a few of Lawson's friends were there as well as family and close family friends! We could not have asked for a better day and better people to help us celebrate our little man's 2nd birthday!

I still can't believe he is 2!!! He has really come into his own lately! Talking a lot and singing songs...which ironically all have the same melody as the ABC song or Itsy Bitsy Spider! He is VERY independent and does not feel bad when he tells you "No" when he doesn't want to do something. He loves to jump...on everything!! So weare really enjoying his trampoline his Poppy and GiGi gave him. It is just the right size and he stays in it forever!!

Here are some pics of the big bash!!

The birthday boy!

Lawson's worst birthday present??

2011-09-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

Last week, Lawson had a runny nose and running a low grade temp but I chalked it up to the fact that he has all 2nd year molars coming in at the same time. He never missed a beat at his party or never acted like he wasn't feeling well. Sunday after his nap, he woke up crying. I normally let him sit in there a few minutes after he wakes up because if you get him up too early, it is not fun for anyone. But this day, his cry sounded weird. So we went in there, and he started coughing and gagging. The cough sounded like a barking seal, which I knew right away was the croup. I went to call the on call nurse, because he is my first child and I have no idea what to do. In the meantime, Mitch kept calling my name and said he needed help. I leave a message for the nurse, run into the bathroom where they were and saw that Lawson had thrown up everywhere. He was crying and coughing and Mitch was gagging! A few minutes later the nurse called and told me to go sit in a bathroom with the hot shower running for 20 minutes to see if it got better and she was going to call back in 30 minutes. So there we sat in his bathroom...or should I say steam room. He seemed to have more ease breathing when he was in there. I told the nurse that but she said she wanted us to go to Children's South to have him checked out since it was respiratory. So off we went with a 630p appointment. We got back fairly quick...but that was the only thing that was quick. Lawson was so tired that he fell asleep. I swore he was running a fever but waited for the doctor (because he always feels warm to me). The doctor finally came in after 8. We had to wake him up to get poked and prodded. He was NOT happy! Final prognosis...the croup! The nurse came in to give him a dose of steroids then said she'd be back to discharge us. I asked if he felt like he was warm because by this time his whole face was red. She said he felt like he was burning up and got a thermometer. She took his temp and it was 98.2. As she finished, Lawson threw up all over me and him. Since they had just given him meds, they had to find out from the doctor if he needed another dose since he just threw everything up. They came in and gave him another round of steroids just in case. Three hours later, we were leaving!! We get him home and ready for bed and I check his temp.....102.8! Now I guess he could have spiked a fever that quickly (45 minutes) or they weren't checking it right...but a mom knows, right?! So this week we have been at home. It is day 3 and his cough is still bad. He has already missed one day of MDO and I was really hoping he could go tomorrow. Now I'm not sure. His pediatrician has called in more steroids since the cough is getting worse so maybe he will be better tomorrow. So for Lawson's 2nd birthday, the worst gift he got was the croup! At least he enjoyed his party!! (pics and post of that later)

Happy 2nd Birthday Lawson!!!

2011-09-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd birthday to the sweetest boy I know!!! You are such a blessing in our life and every day you amaze us!!! We feel pretty special that God chose us to be your mommy and daddy!! We love you sweet boy!!!!

Mother's Day Out!!

2011-08-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Lawson started Mother's Day Out this past Monday. He will go Monday and Thursdays from 9-130p. We went the Friday before to meet his teacher and for him to see his classroom. He immediately went in and started with playing with the toys so we thought that was a good sign. On Monday morning, I got my little boyall dressed and packed ready to go to school. I talked it up the whole way telling him he was going to get to play with new friends and have so much fun. He even was saying in the car "yay kool". When we walked in he started jumping up and down in excitement then pulling me down the hall. He went right into his room and started playing so I made a quick exit. His teacher said he did great and that he cried off and on but that was to be expected for a few weeks until he gets adjusted. I SOOOO enjoyed my free time. I went to Wal-Mart and got my car wash....ALL BY MYSELF!!!!!!!!

Well, Thursday didn't go as great as Monday...which I expected. He realized that when we goes to school, mommy leaves for a while. So as soon as we walked in the door he started crying and then went into hysterics when I dropped him offin his room. I just kissed him bye and left. I waited out in the hallway for a few minutes just to make sure he calmed down, and he did. I went to pickhim up and much to my surprise he was in the hallway with one of his teachers playing. He decided instead of nap time it was dance party time. The teacher said he was yawning and wiping his eyes and soon as they laid him down and turned on the lullaby music he jumped up and started dancing. Oh well, at least he was happy. They had Kona Ice day at school so he came home with a nice red mustache so maybe he was just hopped onsugar to sleep!

Hoping every week gets better and better!!

Melts My Heart

2011-08-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

The other day I gave Lawson a ball to play with and he looked at me and said "Thank You Momma!" I almost cried because it was so sweet. Then today I gave him his milk cup and he did the same thing! What a joy he is in my life!!!

Lately....

2011-08-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

So I realized it has been over a month since I blogged. So I will just give a quick recap of what's been going on with us.

Right after the 4th of July, we got some bad news that my father in law has lung cancer. So after numerous tests they confirmed that is was a tumor in his lung but that it was the least aggressive and most responsive to treatment. They biopsied his lymph nodes and while doing that they said it had moved to his liver. So now it is considered Stage 4. He just received his 1st round of chemo, Friday, and will receive treatment once every 3 weeks for 9 weeks. After that, he will have another pet scan and confirm that it has not moved anywhere else. Then he will begin radiation. So needless to say it has been quite a stressful few weeks of just waiting to hear what the next step is. Any prayers are appreciated because this is going to be a long road.

We took our annual trip to the beach. We had a lot of fun but most of it was waiting to hear what was happening with my father in law. Lawson and Cole had a blast together. So all in all it was a fun trip!

The next few weekends were filled with a company party, family reunion/wedding shower and birthday party.

We don't have any travel plans for a while but are weekends have been filled with all sort of things to do. We have a birthday party this weekend, Mitch turns the BIG 3-0 on the 20th, then next thing I know, it will be time to celebrate my little one's 2 year old birthday!! Can't believe he will be 2 next month!

That's about it with us. Hope everyone has had a good summer and getting ready for football season and cooler weather!!!

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach for the fourth of July. I was so glad to see the beach back in business, especially since the oil spill last year and the recent fire in the state park. It was so crowded and the water was great! Lawson loves the beach! He had all the necessities...toys, juice boxes, and a baby pool. We ate in every night since we knew the restaurants would be crowded. Saturday night we took Lawson to the Track. It was so weird being back there. We used to go there every year as a kid and now we were there with ours. They have a little kiddy area there with rides for his age. He rode the carousel twice, the train and the swings. Unfortunately the only pictures I have are from my BIL's phone because my camera was dead and my phone was in the car. He loved riding the rides. He kept saying "WEEEEE" on every ride. Sunday we just went to the beach and then ate dinner at the house. Mitch and I took him to the ice cream shop after dinner.

We left early on Monday to try andbeat the traffic. It was a fun and relaxing weekend at the beach!!

Lawson on the train

Lawson on the carousel..the 2nd time!

Lawson on the swings

Trip to Atlanta

2011-07-05T14:53:00.001-07:00

The weekend after father's day, we went to visit Poppy and GiGi for the weekend. Lawson had a new cousin that was born in April so we wanted to visit her as well. We left on Friday afternoon and got stuck in a horrible storm the entire way to their house. It didn't let up once. Then on Saturday, we had a big day filled with the aquarium, playing in the park, lunch at the CNN building and dinner at a pizza place. Lawson had a blast at the aquarium. He would get right up next the glass and just say "wow" the whole time. He saw quite a few turtles, which are his favorite right now. He kept say "yook atutle"! He had so much fun playing at the playground in Centennial Park with his cousin Makenzie. He was a trooper too and conked out on us on the way home. Luckily he wentdown easilyonce at the house for a few hours. After his nap we headed back to the second park. Right by my dad's house, they have a great park area. Lawson played, went down the slide and played on the swings forever. Sunday, my grandmother came over for lunch. We visited with her a while and headed back after having lunch. It was a great weekend!!!

Lawson looking at the fish

he just told us he saw a turtle

Poppy showing Lawson the sting rays

playing with Poppy at the park

Like A Fish

2011-06-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

So Lawson started swim lessons on Monday. I enrolled him in them a month ago and have been kind of curious to see how he would do. I had wanted to put Lawson in lessons because he is fearless when it comes to water and I thought that he would learn some of the basics. He has done really well. He goes under water without a problem. He walks in the water fine and has even starting kicking his feet. He definitely LOVES the water!!

The only problem I have had with the lessons, is I am not sure what the end result should be. The teacher is really sweet....but young. And all we really do is sing songs and push a noodle around. Most of the other stuff is me doing it with him myself. Some of the other mom's starting talking about it today. I don't want to get the teacher in trouble but I am spending $90 on lessons for two weeks and I want him to learn something other than how to do the hokey pokey. Anyone else put their kids in lessons around this age? Suggestions on what to do??

Water, Water EVERYWHERE!!!!

2011-06-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

So about two weeks ago, Lawson was at my mom's. I had gone to the doctor that day and was just going to rest. Mitch got home from work and we were getting ready to go get him and run some errands. I decided that before we left I would start a load of towels. It was not even a large load but I put the dial on medium-large just to make sure. I went on about my business and walked into the kitchen to see if it was done. What I walked into was standing water! I started yelling for Mitch and probably said a few choice words. I ran to the laundry room and opened the door. When I did that, it was like the flood gates opened. Water started gushing out and now I was standing in ankle deep water. Mitch grabbed every towel in the house and we started trying to get it up. We used the shop vac to try and get up some water. Unfortunately it was a small shop vac so it took us quite a few times of sucking water up and then dumping it out. After about 30 minutes we were able to get all the water up.

We called our insurance company on Sunday, because by this point all the floors in the kitchen began to buckle. (We have laminate wood floors throughout the kitchen and living room.) Our insurance adjuster called on Monday and sent out ServPro. The put 3 huge fans and a de-humidifier in kitchen to try and dry up the moisture. Tuesday they came back out and ripped up all the floors in my kitchen. Luckily when we laid the floors, we left the original linoleum underneath so it didn't look too bad. They came on Thursday to pick everything up and I was finally able to get my house back in some kind of order. Friday we got a call from the adjuster and they gave us a really great estimate on what it was going to cost to re-do everything....kitchen and living room!!!! So we have now decided, it was going to be too tough to match the floors in the living room....so we are going to tile the kitchen. We got a great price on some tile and a really good estimate from a contractor to come and install it. This new project begins Monday!

It has been such a headache dealing with this! Last week I had someone at my house everyday looking at the washer, ServPro, ect. I will be so glad when this is finished! Even though it has been stressful to deal with, I get a brand new floor!!

Pictures from the Wedding

2011-06-14T13:36:00.001-07:00

Bridesmaid Brunch/Lingerie Party

Flower arrangements

the bride and her bridesmaids

my mom and us girls

me, Corky and Courtney

Courtney at her lingerie shower

the gift my mom got her

The Wedding Day

the beautiful bride!

Mr. and Mrs. Schlotec

after the wedding

me and my handsome hubby

me, Courtney and Mitch

me and Corey

our new brother in law

me and my sister

the brother in laws

Chelsea and Corky

my parents

Our latest travels...

2011-06-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

So June 1st we headed to the airport to fly to Minnesota to be a part of my sister, Courtney's, wedding. We get to the airport in plenty of time, just hanging around until we had to board. Then the ticket operator comes over the intercom telling everyone that Delta's computer system crashed and they were going to have to re-route everyone to their destination. First of all, she should have never said crash in an airport because that got people moving. After an hour delay we had two flights booked. Our original one and a new one to Minneapolis (which is 3 hours from our final destination). I was starting to get sick and my sister was sick so the thought of having to ride in a plane, the long lay over and then a 3 hour car ride was not helping anything. Thank goodness, when we got to Detroit our original flight was delayed an hour so we were able to get on it....luggage and all. So we got in an hour and a half later so not too bad for a hectic start to the trip.

Thursday, my sisters and I through Courtney her bridesmaid brunch. It turned out really nice and I was so glad. I did everything from down here....flowers, food, venue, ect. She seemed very pleased and I was glad to bring a little "southern" flare to Minnesota! That afternoon, we had the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. It was at a nice Mexican restaurant overlooking Lake Superior. Mitch drove to Wisconsin just to say he did and also realized that liquor prices in Wisconsin are rather cheaper than down here! Our suitcase was a little heavier coming back :)

After the rehearsal dinner, Kali, the MOH, had a small lingerie shower which was a lot of fun! It was great being able to see her get so many nice and practical things to wear! After all of that...I called it a night because the next day was going to be a long one.

Friday, we had hair appointments starting at 9a. We all got our hair done while sipping mimosas! Then we headed back to the hotel to get our make up done, dressed and headed to the wedding site...which was right next door to our hotel! Pretty convenient. As you know, the rest of the afternoon was pictures and just waiting for the main event. My sister was beautiful!! She looked so happy and just glowing! It is wonderful to see her that way! The wedding ceremony was great! My uncle performed it. And afterwards during the cocktail hour, the bridal party went downstairs to the martini bar for an hour or so. We toasted them and all talked before the party began. It was a sit down dinner, which I had never been to before. I guess it is more of a northern thing because it is all they do up there. They rarely have buffets. It was really good food and really quick service. The partying went until midnight. We headed back to the hotel to pack up and go to bed. Our flight the next morning was at 10a.

Saturday, we luckily didn't run into any issues with the computer system crashing or delays. We got into Birmingham, came home, switched out bags and headed straight to the beach. We made it down there pretty quickly...basically we knew the quicker we got down there the sooner we could see our sweet boy!!

Sunday through Wednesday, was basically just a little of the beach, Mitch's meetings and work functions at night, a terrible dinner at a place name Zen and me getting sicker by the day!

It was great to be at the beach with family but I was so glad to get home! Looking forward to our trip in July for 10 days!!

Pictures to come of our travels!

On the Mend

2011-06-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

We have been out of town for over a week....and I came down with this sinus crud the day we left for Minnesota. Finally went to the doctor and got some antibiotics, a shot and a steroid pack. So hopefully I will get to feeling better soon! I will blog and post pictures of our latest travels when I feel a little better!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Memorial Day Weekend and Our Upcoming Travels

2011-05-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

We had a very laid back Memorial Day weekend. We didn't travel anywhere because we are leaving town tomorrow for Minnesota and then coming back Saturday, then heading straight to the beach until Wednesday!

Saturday, we went to my mom's and let Lawson swim. Mitch played poker with some guys. So while Lawson napped at my mom's, me and my sister got some sun by the pool....correction ALOT of sun! I am a little burned but luckily it is turning a brown color instead of the lobster red it was. Sunday we just hung around the house and my in-laws came over. Yesterday we started washing up some clothes and packing.

We leave tomorrow (just me and Mitch :( ) for a few days to go to Minnesota for my step-sister Courtney's wedding. We will be flying back on Saturday and heading straight for the beach. My in-laws are keeping him for us and they are going to take him to the beach on Thursday. We will be at the beach until Wednesday!!!! Really looking forward to relaxing on the beach after a hectic few days of travel!

Keep us in your prayers as we travel! I am not a fan of flying and really don't like to leave my little guy.

What's Been Up With Us?!

2011-05-24T09:15:00.001-07:00

I don't have anything important to say but feel I needed to blog. So this will be very random.

We had a nice weekend. Friday night we went to Chuck's with some friends. It was delicious! My dad, step mom and grandmother came over Saturday to visit. We enjoyed visiting with them and met them for lunch on Sunday before they left town. I went to go see "Bridesmaids" Sunday afternoon with some friends!!! It was hilarious!!!!! We all went to Wing's afterwards for dinner!! It was great to be able to have some girl time!! We are now planning our next movie to go see!

I have ordered some things recently I am very excited about! I ordered Lawson a new play set for outside. It should be here today! I was watching the Today Show last week and they were doing a great deal segment! They had an iHome on sale for $49...it is originally $160. I thought it would be great to take to the beach this summer!! I also ordered some Spanx....this is for my bridesmaid dress. Not sure I am really excited about that purchase!! Sure hope I can breathe in them.

We are leaving next Wednesday to fly to Minnesota for my step sister's wedding. It will be a whirl wind of a trip because we are flying back home Saturday. Then as soon as we get in Saturday we are driving to the beach to stay until Wednesday! (Mitch has a convention down there) My in-laws are watching Lawson while we are gone and taking him to the beach that Thursday or Friday and Roger and Keefer are coming in too! I'm looking forward to being able to hang out with them without having something else to do!!

So that's it for now....hope everyone is having a great week!!

Decoration Day 2011

2011-05-16T15:01:00.001-07:00

Every May we always go to Decatur, AL for something called decoration day. It is held at the church where Mitch's grandparents, great-grandparents, etc are buried. The church there has a special Sunday service for family members that come up to attend. The day before people spend time re-doing the flowers on the graves and sprucing them up a bit. It's a really great tradition that I hope can be passed on!

While are there we always try and get together with Mitch's grandmother's side of the family. This year we all met at a club house, ate BBQ and visited.

Here are some pics of our weekend!

everyone visiting

me, Joann (MIL) and Lawson

my sweet boy before church

the boys

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up that morning with a VERY fussy child. He had been up since 6a which is really unusually for him. He normally sleeps until 8ish. I am hoping it is just the 4 teeth he has coming in at the same time! Mitch made me breakfast and we all got ready to head to my mom's house for the day. We had yummyBBQ (for lunch and dinner) and lounged around the pool. Lawson had a much need 3 hour nap and woke up in a much better mood! We played in the pool, "played" Frisbee with the boys and then let him run around at my parents. It was a great day....despite the rocky startwith a fussy kid! Guess he didn't get the memo that it was Mother's Day!!!!

Hope everyone enjoyed their day!!!!

the best picture I could get of us

My sweet boy!

Lawson playing Frisbee

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2011-05-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all my blogger mommies!!! Hope you all have a wonderful day with your families!!

Where Were You???

2011-05-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Will you be able to tell you kids where you were..... (mainly for me to remember)

On September 11th? I was in college. I had just gotten up and turned the TV on before getting in the shower. The Today Show was on and I saw one of the towers on fire but wasn't sure what had happened. Thinking it was something unimportant, I changed the channel to TNT to watch ER. I got in the car and headed to school and all the radio stations were on news. So I listened for a bit and realized what had just happened. My class was with Dr. Wittig. He came in the classroom all distraught and told us to leave and get to a TV immediately because history was being made. Mitch and I had that class together so some of us left and went to a cafe that had a TV. We sat there in amazement at both these towers that had smoke billowing out of them. Mitch, his family and I had just been in New York the month before and saw these towers. We were sitting in that cafe when the first tower fell. I could not believe what happened. Then the news started coming in about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. I felt scared, mad and sad. Classes were cancelled the rest of the day. My roommate and I decided to go give blood. The news kept saying that blood would be needed and that UAB would be a place that would send the wounded. Sadly, there were not many survivors. That day will be a day I will forever remember.

On the day we went to war? I was still in college and was doing an internship at NBC 13. I remember my bosses at the time complaining about how this was going to end up costing the station so much money in preempts (spots and money missed due to network coverage on the war). Not sure what that was at the time, I didn't understand. I later found out in my future years at NBC how frustrating it really was. I remember standing in a cubicle watching it all unfold.

On the day they announced Saddam Hussein was captured? We were newly married living in our apartment off 280. It was on a weekend and we were at home. We had turned on the news and saw that he had been found....in a hole.

On the day Osama Bin Laden? It was Sunday, May 1st. We were about to get into bed when I turned the TV on to see some of the coverage on the tornado damage. The local news anchors were on and said that they were getting word that the President was going to make an announcement. They were saying how it must be something big because it was late on a Sunday night for it to be something small. Then the word started coming out that the USA had captured and killed Osama Bin Laden.

First Beach Trip of 2011

2011-05-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, me, Mitch and Lawson headed down to the beach. We have had this little get-a-way planned for awhile and had been looking forward to it. We left Thursday when Mitch got home from work. Friday, we hauled all the stuff down to the beach...which included a pop up tent, three chairs, sand toys, beach bag and cooler. We played in the sand and let Lawson play by the shore. Lawson absolutely loved the water and was fearless when it came to it. On one hand I was glad he was not afraid of the water and waves but on the other it scares me. I'm not one for those kid leash things but it may be a necessity at the beach. We hung out at the beach for a few hours and decided to come up early to let Lawson nap and for us to change before heading out to the outlet mall and dinner. We went shopping for a bit and had a yummy meal at our favorite place, Live Bait at the Wharf. We walked around after dinner and ended the night at Dippin' Dots for some ice cream.

Saturday we wanted to stay at the beach ALL day. So we did just that! Lawson took a nice nap on the beach, while Mitch and I got some sun...a little too much! We packed up all the stuff we took down the day before and headed up to the pool. We swamfor about an hour and headed back to the house. We decided to go get dinner at the Shrimp Basket and walked around the neighborhood.

We headed home early on Sunday. We finished the night by grilling out steaks and playing in the yard!!

The Tornado of April 27th

2011-05-03T14:43:00.001-07:00

Let me start off by saying how deeply saddened I am of the loss and devastation to my state of Alabama. We were luckily spared this time and only lost power for a day, which is nothing compared to the others who have lost everything! The stories and images that are shown on the TV are terrible. So many people have lost their lives and others are still missing. But in the midst of all of the images and stories, I am in awe of the strong faith and spirit of these victims. People are chipping in (even Charlie Sheen...not quite sure about that one) and pulling together to help rebuild these areas destroyed by last week's tornadoes. We don't rely on our government to pull us out and then complain how they didn't do enough for us. We pull ourselves up out of the rubble, dust ourselves off and look around to see who might need our help. Guess that's the way we do it in the south and I am proud to be an Alabamian!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T12:04:00.001-07:00

So Easter Sunday we headed to church. We were quite nervous because the last time we attempted this, Lawson screamed the whole time and we had to sit in the cry room. I love our church but that is the one downside of it. The nursery only goes to a year old and then the children's worship doesn't start until 3 years old. So we have to take him to big church with us and for those of you who have toddlers, asking them to sit still and be quiet for an hour is next to impossible. Because of this reason, we have shied away from going. Not a good reason at all. So we went and fortunately Lawson did great. He read his books and colored and only had two minor melt downs but we didn't have to take him out. I felt so relieved and this will probably not happen every Sunday but at least now we can start going again.

After church, we came home and changed clothes. We headed over to my mom's house. My in-laws joined us and we grilled burgers and hotdogs. While Lawson was napping we lounged around the pool and chatted. After Lawson woke up, we put him in the pool to swim (which he LOVED) and then did an Easter egg hunt! Lawson had so much fun!!! He was on a mission to find those eggs. After he found them all, he dumped all the eggs out his basket and started putting them back in the spots he found them. We all ate leftovers for dinner and then headed on our way!!

It was a great day!!!

YAY for A/C!!!

2011-04-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

After two long and miserable weeks, we now have A/C in our house!! Lucky for us a $2000 fix cost us $60 with our home warranty!! I was really thankful that it went out in April instead of July!!

Hope everyone has a blessed Easter!!

No A/C and a sick boy

2011-04-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

For the past week we have been without a great working A/C unit. We have a warranty on the house since it is over 5 years old. So we called warranty company and they called a A/C company to come out in mid March. They put freon in and said if we had any problems to call them back. Luckily the unit wasn't working too hard due the cooler weather we had. But last week we noticed it wasn't cooling again. We called to have them come out. The company came out on Friday and said we have a bad leak because there was no freon in it. He told me someone would call Monday and set up a time to come out and fix it. Monday came, 2 messages left from me, and messages from the warranty company left and still haven't heard back from them. So the warranty company transferred my service to another company, who came out the next day and determined it was a bad coil and that the return for the unit didn't have a piece around it, therefore letting out more than half the air. He said our bills should have been high but we didn't know any better. Luckily, the $2500 fix is costing us nothing!!! Bad news is the part has to be ordered and will not be in until next Wednesday. So I have an appointment first thing Thursday morning to get it fixed. I think I can, I think I can.

During this uncomfortable time, I find myself realizing how lucky I am that I have a roof over my head and if I have to live through a rough week or so....I still got it pretty good!!

If the no air wasn't enough, my poor baby has two ear infections and a sinus infection. I knew he wasn't feeling great but figured it was just allergies. But then he spiked a fever for a day or so and I decided it was time to go to the doctor. He has a bad ear infection in his right and but the left isn't quite as bad as the right. So he is on augmentin for 10 days. Last time he was on this, I changed about 5 runny, poop diapers a day and the poor thing had horrible diaper rash. Now that I know this is the medicine that will do this, I am taking him off juice and acidic fruits for a while and pushing the yogurt! I am hoping by tomorrow he will be feeling a lot better! He has been so pitiful and it breaks my heart!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

CHS Alumni Baseball Game 2011

2011-04-11T14:31:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday was the 2nd annual alumni game for our alma mater. Mitch looks forward to it because he can see if he still "has it" or not. Typically all the "more experienced players" try to act young but end up paying for it in the long run! Lawson had a blast playing and was so red and drenched with sweat because it was a scorcher!! I forgot how long baseball games were....but around 5 they wrapped it up. This year the "more experienced players" lost to the high school team! Mitch declared himself MVP going 3 for 3 with 3 home runs and a walk!! He did great but of course was so sore before we got home!

Hopefully in the years to come, the alumni team will grow! It just started so they are hoping it will grow each year!!

Lawson walking around

Joey and Mitch discussing strategy!

Mitch after his homerun

Lawson giving daddy "five" after his homerun

Lawson and Emory watching their daddys

Lawson playing on the baseball field

running around

the old gang!!

It's a Mac World

2011-04-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

So I posted a few weeks ago about how excited I was about getting our new computer.....I am now recanting that statement! We had previously bought a Dell and got a good deal on it. But since day 1 of having it, I had constant issues with the printer. I was seriously calling them every other week with some issue with this printer. Their customer service was terrible. I would be transferred to different people and no one knew what they were doing. Finally on Monday, they told me (after 3 hours and 2 people) that I needed a new printer and they were going to send me one. That night I went to get on the Internet and poof! we got a virus. We called Dell again to see if they could help us and they said "of course but for a fee of $129". We were told we had a year hardware warranty and 60 day warranty for software...but viruses were an exception. So after another 3 hours we were done. I called and wanted to return this stupid computer and printer and get my money back. They then told me I couldn't because it was out of their 21 day return period. So we were furious!!! The next day I got a phone call from Dell wanting to know if I was able to have my returned processed and I told him no and the reason and he said that they could go ahead and do it and he was going to transfer me to the return department. The return person had no clue why I was transferred but since someone from Dell initiated the call, they were going to have to return my computer! BEST NEWS YET!!!!!! So we returned it and are getting a full refund for the computer and the crappy printer.

Yesterday, we went to apple store. We purchased a new iMac and couldn't be happier with it so far!!! The people in the store knew so much about the computer and were so helpful! Then when I got home, I was trying to figure it out and called the tech support. I got an American on the phone (don't get me wrong, I'm all for equal opportunities but it is really nice to get someone on the phone who can understand you and vice versa). She was so helpful. Then she emailed me all these great, helpful documents on getting to know my mac. Talk about customer service!! I'm really happy about our purchase!! Now I want an iPad 2!!!!

Biased Opinion

2011-03-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

I know he is my child but I think he is the most adorable thing I have ever seen!! My friend came over and helped me figure out how to use my new camera (yes the one I have had since October). I needed to get Lawson's 18 month pics done and she was sweet enough to come and help me out and shoot some with her camera too! Thanks, Melissa!!! You Rock!!!

Here are few!!

New Kicks and New Digs

2011-03-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last week, I went and got Lawson some summer clothes. And on Saturday, I cleaned out and reorganized his closet. Lawson got tons of clothes but my favorite purchase was his new New Balance shoes. He looks like such a big boy in them!!

Here are some pictures of Lawson this past weekend...

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

2011-03-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a play group to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! We stayed and played for a few hours until all the kids starting loosing it! So Lawson and I got in the car to head home. We weren't in the car for maybe 5 minutes and he started fading fast. I don't really like for him to nap in the car, because in the transfer from the car to the his crib he sometimes will wake up and think nap time is over. Yesterday, I was lucky enough that he napped in the car, stayed asleep while I ran inside to turn off the alarm, get his room ready and put the dog outside. I put him down and he fell right to sleep. I had to wake him up!!! Today, different story. I figured it wasn't worth it to try and keep him awake so I thought it might work again today. WRONG!!! Before I even turned the car off, his eyes popped open. So I took him straight in and put him down. He actually laid right down and was still for about 20 minutes. He then used the rest of his time (all 2 hours) to sing and talk to himself. You are probably wondering why I didn't get him up??? I was hoping he would fall asleep. No such luck!! So the rest of the afternoon made for a very cranky kid!!

We went outside and played...where he fell not once but twice on the sidewalk. He already has two nice cuts on his forehead from where he fell into his lego bin. He now has a scraped up elbow and thumb as well as a cut lip! So this made him even more of a delight to be around!!

Despite some of the drama, it was a good day! Mitch got on the roof and fixed the shingles that had come off in one of the storms....which saved us $300!! We grilled burgers for dinner and I just put my little leprechaun to bed!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

my little Irishman!!

Helping Daddy fix the roof!!

All Dogs Go To Heaven

2011-03-14T15:26:00.001-07:00

So today was a sad day. My childhood dog, Houston, had to be put to sleep. He was 14 and was not doing well. He had been throwing up for the past week and the doctor's said his xrays looked like he had swallowed something metallic, more than likely a coin. But the doctor said that if they went in and removed it, the likelihood of him making it through surgery was not good. We have known this day has been coming but always hoped he would just go on his own. He had epilepsy and a few times we thought he wasn't going to make it but he kept on going. But the old dog just didn't have any more fight in him.

So we all discussed doing the humane thing, which would be letting him go peacefully, or the selfish thing, in him having the surgery, hopefully making it through just so we could have him around a little bit longer. We chose to go ahead and let him go. My mom didn't want to be there when it happened and was just going to let the vet do it but I really wanted to be there. I could not imagine him leaving this earth without knowing what a good dog he was and being around loved ones. I know he was just a dog....but he was the BEST dog. I felt like I was living my own "Marley and Me" moment. I will never be able to watch that movie again. So my mom decided it was the right thing to do with us being there.

We all met up there and visited with him for a few minutes. He looked bad. He had lost 16 lbs in the last days and he could barely breath. So we told the vet that it was time. My mom and I were on both sides of him when he passed. My sister and step dad were behind us. We just told him over and over that we loved him and he was the best dog. About a minute after the vet gave him the shot...he had left us.

Houston was part of our family. He was a big fluffy dog that we laid on, swam with in the lake, cuddled next to when we were sick. He will be missed!!

We love you Houston. You were a great dog!!!

Happy 18 Months Lawson!!

2011-03-11T09:54:00.001-08:00

So yesterday my baby boy turned 18 months. I now have a 1 1/2 year old. It's crazy to think of how it was not that long ago that he was born! We recently started to upload some videos we have of him from 3 months old on and we can't believe how much he has grown and changed in that short amount of time.

He is down to one nap a day. That was a bit of a rough transition but he has done so well at it. It took him about a week to get adjusted to the new schedule but now he will nap one time a day for about 2 1/2-3 hours!!! He gets up around 730-8a depending on the day and goes to bed around 8ish.

We have been able to take advantage of the nice weather (up until this week) and spend most our day outside. He loves to walk up and down the street and stop and talk about what he is seeing. He loves the park especially the slide. He likes to try and climb up the slide instead of down. I recently took him to Pump It Up and he loved the big slides...mommy not so much! If anyone knows me, they know I do not have an adventurous side and sadly the heights of inflatable slide that little kids can handle...kind of made me nervous! But I rallied through and we went down the slides together.

He is still a good eater. He likes to stick to things he knows but that's ok for now. We try to incorporate veggies when we can. He also has a bit of a temper. We have started putting him in a "time out" chair so we will see how that goes.

He can say quite a few things (these are from memory)...

dada

mama

tant tu (thank you)

teese (please)

dog

ball

ook (book)

dut (duck)

wow

what's that

alright

okay

shi (shoe)

gin (again)

nana (banana)

yum

ca (car)

hey

uh oh

here

At his 18 month check up he got his last shot until he turns 4!!!! He is 31.5 inches (25-50%) and 22.8 lbs (25-50%). The doctor said he is still on the smaller side but looks great and is consistent in his weight gain and height! He just was never a big baby!

I have registered him for MDO starting in the fall! It is bitter sweet but I know he will LOVE it and it will give mommy a break during the day two days a week!!

Happy 18 months, Little Man!!!

Good Times

2011-03-03T19:59:00.001-08:00

So this past weekend, we had my in laws over for dinner. We decided to have beer can chicken (yum) with some mac and cheese, potato salad, baked beans, my grandmother in law's famous white BBQ sauce and of course, chocolate chip pie (which has become my go to dessert..thanks linds!). Try and follow me for a second, my father in law's best friend's daughter, Emily, her husband, Clay and son, Easton came over for dinner as well. They are absolutely the sweetest couple and every time Mitch and I would hang around them, we would always say how we wished they lived closer because we enjoyed their company. Our wish came true as they just moved here from Atlanta. Clay got the AD job at Spain Park. We had not met Easton yet so we thought it would be fun for us all to get together!

We had a great time eating, chatting and playing with the kiddos!! Here are some pics below of what I could capture. My new camera is fast but so is Lawson. When he is over pictures...he is over them!!

Lawson and Easton

Steve, Lawson and Easton

YAY!!

2011-03-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

So we just got our new computer today!!! I am so excited! My old computer was not up to date on the new technology (pretty sad because it was only a few years old) so we decided it would be beneficial to get a new one! We thought about a Mac but decided to save a few hundred dollars and get a Dell. The Dell we got actually came with a bigger hard drive and bigger monitor. The entire thing is wireless...no more tower=no more Lawson trying to undo everything!

I am really excited because I have taken all these videos with my handheld camera and could not convert them on my old computer because the hard drive was too small and not compatible. It also has a DVD burner so I can burn all these videos I have. It also is better for my pictures!!!

And...it looks SO pretty!! I have all this room on my desk!! YAY for my new computer!!!

Poop and Water

2011-02-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

So this past week I have been trying to get Lawson adjusted to a new schedule. He was not really interested in taking two naps during the day so we have been working on dropping one and just taking a long one in the afternoon. We had a playgroup Monday at Gymboree so he got really good and tired. On the way home, he started to go to sleep but luckily it wasn't until we got into the neighborhood. I brought him in and changed his diaper. I decided to not put his jeans back on because I was afraid that would get him out of "nap mode".....BIG MISTAKE!!!! I put him down, with NO crying. And off to sleep he went!

About 2 1/2 hours later I heard him stirring. He wasn't crying so I went and made him a snack and then went into his room. The smell knocked me over. Then I noticed a diaper next to him....with poop in it. Upon further investigation, I realized he must have been dancing, stomping, and who knows what with the poop. I ran a bath because it was EVERYWHERE. We did a thorough cleaning in every nook and cranny, then got him dressed for the second time and then my second cleaning began. I had to take off the bumper, paci's, blanket, sheet and stuffed animal and straight to the wash. It was awful! I have heard that little boys will play in the diaper but I had never experienced so I felt lucky.

So as I am cleaning everything, I hear Lawson playing and laughing with the dog. So I thought "he is out of mischief".....think again! I walk in to the kitchen to find water ALL over the floor and my child sitting IN the dog's water bowl. So I cleaned the water off the kitchen floor and then took my child into his room for his third outfit change of the day.

Luckily, I was going out to dinner with a friend that night because after all of that....I needed some "mommy alone time"!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is spending this day with loved ones!! I have spent the day with my little valentine playing outside in this gorgeous weather! Tonight, I will be celebrating V-Day with both the men in my life with dinner out! And later hopefully watching Michelle get kicked off The Bachelor!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Snow Day

2011-02-13T13:05:00.001-08:00

So we finally got some snow at our house!! Thursday we woke up to white! The last snow/ice storm we had we basically just got ice and it was gone by the next day. Mitch's office was not opening until 10a in case the roads were bad so we got up that morning, fed the little man some breakfast and headed outside for some time in the snow. Since this was Lawson's first time in the snow since he has been walking he didn't know what to think. We had him bundled up like the kid of a "Christmas Story" so he just kind of waddled around! He enjoyed it though. Mitch got home from work at a decent time so there still some snow on the ground so we headed back outside for a little bit. Our backyard has a good hill so Lawson was going down the hill in the laundry basket. He had a BLAST!!

Only in Alabama, can you have snow one day and then enjoy a nice day at a park..in the same week. There is one thing I am thankful for is, is that we don't get snow ALL the time. It was such a hassle to get Lawson into all the "snow" gear and then taking it off was just as much as a challenge. So I will gladly take the snow one day and 60 degree weather to enjoy outdoors another.

Here are some pics from our snow day!

A Great Weekend

2011-01-31T14:50:00.000-08:00

So this past weekend was one of the warmest we have had. So on Friday, I spent most the day cleaning my rather dirty house and when Lawson woke up for his nap we headed outside. I pushed him down the street in his cozy coupe car (he likes to be pushed than do the actual manual part himself). After we were finished...he refused to get out of the car. Pitched a fit is the right term. So I just let him sit there...so he sat and sat and sat. He stayed in the car probably a good 20-30 minutes. I then was able to get him out of it and we started walking up and down our street. Mitch got home and I ran inside to clean the playroom. Mitch walked him to the end of the street and started visiting with neighbors. I think we stayed outside for at least an hour and a half.

sitting in his car

such a happy boy!

The next day, we met some of our friends and their son and nephew at the McWane Center. We played there for a couple of hours before heading to Davenport's for some yummy pizza. Mitch dropped me off at my car (which had work done on it) and he headed to my mom's house to shoot his guns. I came home with the intentions of Lawson napping (which he didn't) and then I cleaned the inside of my car out. When I went to move it further in the garage, my battery was dead (which is one thing they told me I needed on my car that we did not get at the dealership). So my nice neighbor came and jumped it off for me and then me and my napless child headed to Wal-Mart to get a new battery. While we waited, we had the best time playing in the toys. We then headed to my mom's for dinner.

playing with his buddy, Cole

climbing in the fire engine

Sunday, my sister and I went to David's Bridal to get fitted for our bridesmaid dress and Mitch took Lawson to get my car washed and then to the park.

We really tried to take advantage of the gorgeous weather since it is going to get down in the 40's in a few days.

Hope everyone else was able to enjoy the beautiful weather!!

The Terrible Two's Already??

2011-01-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

Lawson just turned 16 months and I already feel like we are beginning that terrible two stage. Lately he has been falling on the ground and pitching fits. We try to discipline him when he acts this way but all I know to do is walk away. He is a very strong willed child and I almost think he gets frustrated that we are not on the same level of communication. If he can't figure something out...he just throws the toy on the floor and and cries. And then a few minutes later he is laughing and cutting up.

I have to say that I think a little bit of it is he gets bored. It has been so cold lately it is hard to take him outside to play and we have been under the weather that I have not wanted to chance us getting sick again. So even though I do enjoy the cold weather....bring on the sunny, warm days!!

Spoke Too Soon...

2011-01-26T11:45:00.000-08:00

Well a little bit ago, I posted about how our house hold had been sick lately. I guess I spoke to soon because now I have another sinus infection along with a side of bronchitis. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and have been put on my 3rd antibiotic in a month. Unfortunately, I am allergic to the "good" cough medicine so I am having to manage with the over the counter stuff.

Hopefully this will knock it out and I will be well.....for awhile!!

Sick, Sick and Sick

2011-01-14T12:24:00.000-08:00

The Jones house can not get well. I got sick the Friday we came home from Disney. I started a 10 day antibiotic and was feeling better right before New Year's Eve. The day before NYE and one day after I got off the antibiotic, I got sick...AGAIN!!! Got another round of antibiotics for 10 days. I am finally feeling better so hopefully two rounds of antibiotics has knocked it out.

Then Monday, Lawson spiked a fever of 103.4. Bless his heart, he just sat in my lap and had no energy. We called the nurse and she said just to watch him and if it got to 105 call and take him to Children's. Luckily we didn't have to take him because I was not sure how we would have gotten there with the roads being icy. Tuesday morning, he was acting better. He ate a good breakfast and his temp was down to 99.7. Then after his morning nap, he spiked a fever of 104.3. I called the doctor's office and they said to bring him in. Luckily his flu test was negative and his blood work came back normal. The doctor said his right ear was red so it may have been the beginning of an ear infection. So he gave us an antibiotic just in case. The next day...he was a different kid. We have been fever free for 48 hours!!!

Then on Monday night, I think Mitch got a touch of the stomach virus. He was really sick on his stomach and couldn't really eat anything for a day or so. Luckily, that has not spread to us so maybe it was just something he ate.

I am hoping that now that we have all had some kind of illness the past month....we can stay well for awhile. I am listening to my mother...and taking my vitamin C. Hope that helps!!

Trip to Sylvania

2011-01-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

So last Wednesday, the 5th, we packed up the car and headed to down to a small town called Sylvania, GA. It is where my family is from and it is always fun to go down there. This is our second time to go down there this time of year and the reason being because so the boys can hunt. We stay in this great guest house that has a real cabin feel to it and it has this great fireplace that we keep going all weekend long.

melts my heart

Thursday we went over to my great Aunt Pet's house to have dinner. Some of my cousins came over along with my great Uncle Billy and Aunt Betty. That night my cousin Jason was coming in town so Mitch and Brian decided to go and stay with him at the "hunting club". Needless to say we did not see them the entire weekend.

Friday we visited some more and then went to dinner at this quaint little restaurant called "Browns Kountry Kitchen". I think we were related to half the people in there which made it fun. I ordered a rib eye which was probably hands down the BEST steak I have every put in my mouth. Leave it to little hole in the wall places to have some of the best food. Mitch ended up coming home that night just to sleep and get new clothes and then headed back into the woods on Saturday morning.

Saturday, my mom, sister, Lawson and I headed down to where they were hunting to see my cousin and also see the boys since they pretty much had been MIA since Thursday. I got some cute pics of Lawson and Mitch and then we all headed back to the house to put Lawson down for a nap. We decided since there was an impending snow/ice storm coming to Alabama we might as well get bread and milk in Georgia since that is the first thing flying off the shelves when anyone mentions snow. Later that afternoon, we went to the cemetery where my family is buried and then went over to my cousin's house for dinner and visited for awhile.

busy, busy, busy...man on a mission

Lawson and Mitch...in their camo

We were supposed to meet my dad in Atlanta on our way home for lunch, but we all thought it would be better if we just headed home before the roads got too bad. All in all it was a great trip. One of my friends always rags me because she says we have more family reunions than anyone she has ever met. Although I do have to agree...I feel really fortunate that I am able to be in the family I have. My great aunt and great uncle are the last "heads" of the family we have. I love being able to spend time with them because it reminds me of my childhood. It is a good feeling being surrounded by those that you love and that love you!!

***side note-Mitch did not kill a deer again. He was so excited when he got his hunting rifle and didn't even get to shoot it. He said they didn't even really see anything. He is planning a trip in October to go back.

Lawson 15 Month Check Up

2011-01-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

So Lawson turned 15 months right before we left for Disney and with the Christmas and New Year Holiday hours at our doctor's office, he just now had his check up yesterday! The doctor said he looks good and is developing right where he needs to be. He weighed 20.14 (5-15%) and is 31 inches long ( 25-50%). He is still on the lower end of the weight scale but the doctor said he is not worried about it because he never was a "chunky" baby and he has been consistently gaining weight at each appointment. He got 3 shots and only cried for a few minutes before getting distracted with something else. He is still a good sleeper. He is still at two naps but doesn't do too bad if he has to miss his morning one...he just takes a longer afternoon nap.

He can say:

dada

mama

dog

nana (banana)

what's that?

what?

wow

yum yum

juice

gen (for again)

ball

huh?

ook (for book)

tank tu (thank you)

He likes to:

terrorize our dog

play in his new playroom

stack things

play ball

throw hands up when you yell "touchdown"

rub his belly when you as where his belly is

take baths

dance

clap to get attention/recognition

He dislikes:

getting his diaper change

when he can't figure something out

when he doesn't get his way

He is a little chatter box and half the time we think he is speaking a foreign language. He is into every thing and is every where. Every day he amazes me with what he learns and figures out. I am so lucky to be his mommy!!

On a side note of something weird that happened in his check up. My doctor takes in residents and interns and he had two girls that were with him that day. One looked to be more advanced than the other , hence the white jacket. They all came in and we were chit chatting about Lawson and how he was doing. The younger girl was standing with her back against the wall next to the door. All the sudden she got the strange look on her face and started stumbling towards the door. The other girl asked her if she was okay. Her face went white and then she passed out. She hit her head pretty hard and had a big knot on it. I think she was out cold for a couple of seconds. I had thought she had a seizure. Dr. Jolly got on the floor trying to get her to calm down, asking her all kind of questions about when she last ate, was she diabetic, was she epileptic. I felt so bad for her. She started crying and apologizing. She was able to get up and a couple of nurses helped her out. She looked at me and kept apologizing. I told her it was not problem. I know she was probably so embarrassed. It was pretty scary there for a second, but thank goodness she seemed to be okay. I guess the doctor's office is the place to be to pass out. So needless to say it was a pretty eventful doctor's visit!!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas began with going to dinner with my parents and sister and BIL. We met at Olive Garden and had a nice dinner before coming home and getting ready for Santa's big arrival!

Christmas morning, we got up and saw all the goodies Santa brought Lawson. We had our Christmas and then headed over to my in-law's house to have Christmas and brunch with them. As we were heading over there, it began to snow! Needless to say, I was not prepared with the right attire for myself or Lawson to really enjoy it but it was still pretty to watch from the window. We opened presents, had a great breakfast and then headed back to our house to put Lawson down for nap before heading to my parents for dinner.

in his Christmas jammies

What Santa brought

opening gifts

What's this??

my sweet boy!

Christmas at my in laws!

Lawson opening gifts

Lawson's new table for his playroom (post on that later)

After Lawson woke up we went to my parents house for dinner. It was delicious!!! Lawson got spoiled with tons of presents and Mitch was surprised with a new hunting rifle (which will come in handy when he goes hunting with my cousin next weekend). I got the usual but was really excited with my coin sorter. All you do is put the change in it...and it counts it for you!!! I have already used it and am now $58.61 richer!!! It's the gift that keeps on giving!! After dinner, we loaded the car down and made our way home before the roads got icy!

opening gifts

YAY!! It's a piano!!

Noah's Ark Little People

Mitch and his new hunting rifle

The next day, Mitch's uncle Roger came in from Texas for a late Christmas visit. Roger and Mitch's family came over for dinner and of course some playtime with Lawson. Roger and Keefer got Lawson the cutest rocking horse...you push the ears and it makes the sound of a galloping horse!! So cute!!

Lawson on his new horse

Lawson and uncle Roger

It amazes me every year how truly we are blessed with an amazing family!!! I am one lucky girl!!!

Disney 2010-Part 2

2011-01-02T14:35:00.001-08:00

Thursday we headed to the Animal Kingdom. By this day (and also the day we went to Magic Kingdom) the weather became GORGEOUS!! It was borderline warm that day but we were glad! We went on the safari which Lawson was not quite sure about but then when you were done they had a mini zoo where you could go see some of the animals. After that we had some lunch, walked around a bit, did some more rides, met Pluto and ended with the Circle of Life show! Which was awesome! Lawson danced the whole time! He had a blast. After that, we headed back to the room and started packing up stuff and then had dinner in the restaurant and called it a night.

The Tree of Life

Corky, Kimberly, Donna and Domini (from L-R)

me, Lawson and some character (can't remember her name)

Lawson and his sweet cousin, Makenzie

my silly boy!

Sometime during that night, I got sick. I started running fever and felt awful. But we had plans to go the Mickey breakfast to meet the characters. So I loaded myself down with Tylenol and decongestant and off we went. It was the last thing we were going to do before going our separate ways home. Lawson did not know what to think. Again, my child was more interested in stacking his pancakes and stealing his cousins bacon then the big duck coming up behind him. But I did get quite a few priceless pics of him! We had our breakfast and said our goodbyes and headed back to BHAM! We got home around 5ish and after unpacking all the stuff we brought home...I called it a night!

Goofy, Mitch and Lawson

me, Minnie, Lawson and Makenzie

Poppy, Pluto, Makenzie and Lawson

the gang with Mickey Mouse

the one is priceless to me!!!!

It was a great trip! And although Lawson may never remember this, I have tons of pictures to show him!

Disney 2010-Part 1

2011-01-02T13:53:00.001-08:00

With Christmas and me being sick I have found it hard to find the time to post anything...but here goes a post on our trip to Disney.

We left on December 10th and drove to Atlanta to have a before Christmas dinner with my grandmother. Then bright and early on the 11th we headed down to Disney World. It was a smooth trip for the most part...mainly stops to eat and use the restaurant. We arrived at the All Start Music Resort around 5ish and has just enough time to settle in before heading off to Ft. Wilderness for the Hoop-Dee-Do Review. We had a great dinner there while watched a show and then headed back to the room to get a good night's rest before our big day at Hollywood Studios.

Makenzie and Lawson eating cornbread at dinner

We headed to Hollywood Studios that Monday. It was pretty cold so we had to bundle up. Mitch had a blast riding the Aerosmith ride..which he said was the best roller coaster there. We enjoyed some Mickey Mouse shows and a few others before calling it a day and heading back to thaw out.

Hollywood Studios

outside of Aerosmith

Tuesday we headed to Epcot. It was REALLY cold that day. But luckily a lot of the stuff we did was in doors and as the day went on the sun warmed things up a bit. We walked around the different countries and had dinner in a great little Italian restaurant. Lawson enjoyed the Figment ride and walking around the area that had lights when u walked on the floor. That night in the American Village they had 3 choirs singing Christmas songs and Steven Curtis Chapman was there telling the Christmas Story, which was really cool. We stood there long enough to hear a little bit but then started to make our way out of the park because we were FREEZING!!!

Epcot

Lawson playing with something in the science place

Lawson playing in Figment's place

The Gang at Epcot

Wednesday we went to the Magic Kingdom. I think Lawson got the most out of this one because there were rides that he could go on and enjoy. He rode Dumbo, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, the Carousel and some others. Plus there were characters everywhere so he just had fun looking at everything! We stayed till after the park closed because we had reservations at the Royal Table. We had a great dinner there and got to meet 5 princesses....all of which Lawson showed no interest...more interested the roll he was eating! But we had the best seats in the house to watch the fireworks!! We got to see them from the window we were next too...while warm and eating dessert! Who could ask for more!!

Magic Kingdom

Lawson and Daddy Riding Dumbo

me and Lawson riding the carousel

me, Lawson and Corky about to get on It's a Small World

Lawson playing in Mickey's Toontown

waiting for our reservations at the Royal Table

the castle at night...it was so pretty!

Long time, no see!!

2010-12-19T18:41:00.001-08:00

I just now noticed that I have not blogged since middle of November. The holidays have over taken my house...and brain. Here is a brief over view of what has been happening with us.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with all our family! My sisters, Courtney and Chelsea, came down from Minnesota. Courtney brought her boyfriend down to meet all of us. They are now engaged and are planning a June wedding!! So excited for her! Chelsea was here with my nephew, Oliver. It was so good to spend time with them and have Lawson and Oliver play together. They are only 6 weeks apart. We had friends over to watch Auburn defeat Alabama in the Iron Bowl!!!!!! And wrapped up the weekend by with outside Christmas decorating.

The weeks in between then and now, have been spent Christmas shopping, Christmas parties, celebrating Auburn's so far perfect season, a child with pink eye (who just turned 15 months old) and a trip to Disney World (more to come with pics on that). Now...we are in the home stretch for Christmas!

In case I don't blog until 2011...Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!

Lawson 14 Months

2010-11-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

Lawson turned 14 months on the 10th of November (I am little late). On that same very day he took his first steps all by himself (see blog below for video). Since then he has gotten a little bit braver each day. He now will just take off walking....but he still stays close to me or Mitch. He is still the happiest little guy ever. He talks...ALOT. Although we are not sure what he is saying, we still try and carry on conversations with him. He says "dada", "momma", "do" (for dog), "nana" (for banana), "hey", "wow", and a few others. He laughs ALL THE TIME!!! He is still a good eater....wanting to try everything we eat. He takes a great afternoon nap and the morning nap is hit or miss. It just depends on the day, his mood and how he slept that night. Which we have been so fortunate so far with his sleeping. He goes to bed around 8ish and doesn't get up until 730 or 8 in the morning....sometimes later.

This month we had also had our 2nd ear infection. I feel pretty grateful for the fact he has been a pretty healthy baby. And if I hadn't just gone with my gut, I would have never known he was sick unless I took him to the doctor. He now has 10 teeth and new ones pop up it seems every day.

Happy 14 months sweet boy!!! (a little belated)

'Tis The Season

2010-11-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, I got the "itch" to put up our Christmas tree. I had many reasons to put it up then instead of waiting until Sunday, like I had originally planned. First, I really need to clean my house and didn't want to have to clean it twice and Second, because Christmas music is now being played on the radio and got me in the mood!! Maybe not good reasons, but who cares! I had bought a new topper for our tree that is SOOO cute and we just had our living room painted and I couldn't wait to see how everything looked together! It looks so good!!

I also decided that "less is more" as far as decorations. Especially since I am not sure how Lawson is going to do with it all. So far, we only have one ornament fatality. We are going to wait until right before Thanksgiving to put up our outside decorations. Now we can use our weekends to wrap up our Christmas shopping before we go to DISNEY!!

I love this time of year!

Ready, Set.....WALK

2010-11-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

So after much forcing the walking issue on Lawson, he finally gave in. Last night, my in-laws were over and my FIL was playing a game with him and he would stagger from the ottoman to the couch. So my FIL decided that each time Lawson came back he would move the ottoman a little bit further away from the couch. We would all cheer for him, which he loves, and he decided to walk from the ottoman to me. It was probably about 5 steps but still. He stopped in the middle of it and stood there and the continued on walking. So today, Mitch and I worked with him again and he really caught on. He is hilarious when he starts because he puts his hands up in the air, tongue hanging out, and laughing the whole time.

Now he will not just get up and start walking....but we are getting there. He started walking along the couch but not holding on to anything! I am so proud of him!! He has really figured it out and it is just a matter of time before I am chasing him around!!!!

Here is a little video we got with our phone....sorry for the quality!

Melts My Heart

2010-11-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

My Two Loves!!!

Halloween Weekend Fun

2010-11-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend enjoying the gorgeous weather!! Saturday, we headed out to Leeds to the new outlet mall and then to meet my in-laws for lunch. We came home and put the little guy down and watched the Auburn game.

My little Auburn fan! (daddy is not too happy with the jersey)

Sunday, I put some white bean chicken chili in the crock pot and cleaned the house. We carved our pumpkins that afternoon. My in-laws came over to go with us to take Lawson trick or treating. We had our oh-so yummy chili and corn bread muffins and then got our little scarecrow dressed. We only went to a few houses and then came back and let Lawson play for a bit before calling it a night. It was a great weekend!!!! Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!!

He did not know what to think about the pumpkin carving.

Our little ghost!

Happy Halloween!!

Home after trick or treating!

Happy Anniversary!!

2010-10-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Seventeen some odd years ago...a tall, brown haired boy walked in to Coach Snyder's science class. I looked to my friend, Isla, and said...."I am going to marry him one day". Seven years ago today, I married that tall, brown haired boy from Coach Snyder's science class. We have been together for over 15 years total but married for only 7. We have been through a lot over these past years: the loss of family, many moves and even struggles to have a baby. And through all of that, I feel closer to him than ever. He is my rock and he is truly the love of my life (minus my son). He is a wonderful husband, my best friend, and awesome father to our son!!

I am more in love with him today than I was the day I married him!!! I feel so blessed to have had him by my side for half of my life!!! I look forward to many, many, many more years of happiness!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch, Football and My Birthday Celebration!

2010-10-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Friday night we celebrated my birthday with my family. We had dinner at my mom's house followed by oh so yummy strawberry cake from Joe's Italian. For my birthday, I received a new Nikon camera (now I feel like a mom...or tourist), two lenses to go with it, a photo shop program, a tripod, gift certificates and a shirt and scarf from Express. The biggest surprise though had to come from the knock on the door on my actual birthday! My hubby and son sent me gorgous flowers for me. I definitely was not expecting that! Needless to say it was a great 30th birthday and I am one lucky girl!!!

my sweet boy...playing with my new camera

Saturday, we went and had lunch and I played around with my camera. We watched half the Auburn game and at half time went to some of our neighbors house to watch the rest and some of the Alabama game. We spent the early part of the afternoon playing outside...and of course I was taking pics with my new camera.

my boys!!

Touchdown!!!

On Sunday, my family and us went down to the pumpkin patch in Clanton. We had a great time even though it was really warm. I had a cute Halloween shirt for Lawson but it was way to warm for him to wear it so instead we dressed in our Superman shirt! I got some really cute shots of him and the pumpkins. He will definitely get more out of it as he gets older but we had a blast with him and it was a great way to spend our Sunday!!

my sweet boy and his pumpkin

30....and BLESSED!!!!

2010-10-21T13:58:00.001-07:00

So today is my 30th birthday....YIKES!! But it has not been as bad as I had anticipated! As Mitch reminded me..."age is just a number", and I have to say he is actually right! I have so much to be thankful for as I enter this new decade of my life! I have a roof over my head, a wonderful husband, a beautiful and healthy son, a supportive and loving family and great friends surrounding me!

I am blessed that God has given me another year to enjoy my life!! I am fortunate to be healthy and alive!!! So I am going to enjoy the rest of my day with my husband and son, then celebrate my birthday with family tomorrow night, hopefully watch Auburn stomp LSU on Saturday and then going to the Pumpkin Patch on Sunday!!!

Lawson is 13 months!

2010-10-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Although he....

is into everything...

pitches the occasional fit when you take something away like an oreo

is the happiest little fella'

is the joy of our lives!!

What happens in Vegas...

2010-10-20T08:42:00.001-07:00

Well fortunately our trip to Vegas was nothing like "The Hangover" but we still had a blast! We left Wednesday, October 6th at 1130ish and got to Las Vegas around 140ish. From there we got in our limo that took us down the strip to our hotel. Once arriving at the hotel, we quickly got unpacked and planned the rest of our evening. We decided that night would be best spent by going down to Fremont Street to watch the light show and the make our way back down the strip. We walked from our hotel to Peppermill to eat dinner. We then caught a cab and headed down to Fremont Street. We watched the light show, saw a few freak shows and lost money at slots. We caught another cab and had it take us to the Stratosphere. Everyone wanted to go to the top but my phobia of heights was stopping me...until I thought "I am in Vegas" so up to the top we went. I was so glad I did it because the view from up top was amazing. All the lights were so pretty and you could see for miles. We walked around up there for a bit and then headed back down to the casino. Rachel and I were playing slots and loosing quickly until we saw a neat slot that caught our eye....Sex and the City. The pay out was not great but boy did we have a blast playing....for hours. Mitch headed to the poker room where he walked away up $150 (which he lost later). We left there and decided to head back to our hotel to play in the casino and call it a night.

limo ride

me and Rachel at Peppermill

me and Mitch on Fremont Street

top of the Stratosphere

Day 2:

We woke up early and got ready to head down to the far end of the strip. First stop was the MGM Grand where we saw the lions and then took a tram down to Mandalay Bay and Luxor. After there, we headed over to New York, New York. Brian, Rachel and Mitch rode the roller coaster and I found....the Sex and the City game. Then we all ate a quick bite and we split ways...Rachel and I went to Caesar's to the Forum Shops and the boys stayed back to gamble. We all met back at the hotel to get ready to go see "O". It was great! Afterwards, we caught the water show at the Bellagio and headed over for dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. It was amazing food!!

in front of the MGM Grand

me and Mitch in front of Paris

dinner at Eiffel Tower

Day 3:

We woke up early again and headed to the Venetian. We took a gondola ride and walked around for a bit. Then headed over to the Palazzo, Wynn and Encore before realizing we all wanted a food court to eat in....we needed choices. So we headed over to the Fashion Show Mall to the food court. We ate lunch and then once again..went our separate ways. Rachel and I shopped forever and still do not think we saw everything. We were going to meet the boys at 4p at Treasure Island so headed over there and did a bit more gambling before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We all got dressed and headed over to Caesar's for our reservations at Mesa Grill. It was SOOOO good!!! After eating we went to the Mirage to watch the volcano and then to TI to watch the pirate ship show....or the strip show! We came back to our hotel and gambled some more.

me and Mitch on the gondola ride

me and Rachel with the Romans

about to eat at Mesa Grill

waiting on the volcano

Day 4:

By this day...we were all exhausted. We had a blast in Vegas but were all ready to come home! Our limo picked us up and we headed to the airport. We got in a little after 7p. While we were 30,000 feet in the air our husbands, Alabama fans, found out that their beloved team had lost to South Carolina. Rachel and I being Auburn fans were silently rejoicing but knew it would make the rest of the plane ride and night less enjoyable. All in all, it was a GREAT trip! We could not have gone to sin city with better friends!! Now time plan our next trip!!!

Doctor's Visit and A Neighborhood Tragedy

2010-09-29T12:36:00.001-07:00

Well, on Friday night I started feeling a little "if-y" and when I woke up Saturday morning I felt even worse. So I took myself to the doc in the box to see what was going on. They did a strep test and a sinus scan. The strep test came up negative but the doctor said it could have been because it was too early and that I had a really bad sinus infection. One shot and two antibiotics later, I am still recovering. All day Saturday into Sunday morning I continued to run a high fever. Lawson went to stay at my mom's house Sunday night so I could get one more day of rest and by then I was feeling a lot better. I have a feeling I did have strep because I have had sinus infections before and none of them have knocked me on my bootie like this did. I am still on the antibiotic for a few more days so hopefully I will be A-OK by this weekend and definitely by next Wednesday for our VEGAS TRIP!!!!

Lawson's 1 year check up was yesterday. He is 20 lbs and 29 inches long. The doctor said he looks great and is growing steadily. He had to get 4 shots, including his flu shot, and a finger prick. None of which he was happy about. But he was a trooper and did not cry too much. He is such a good baby. He is always smiling and laughing. And when he is not acting like that you know he must not feel great. He still is not walking, but it may be any day now. Watch it happen while I am in Vegas. He just knows he can get every where he needs to by crawling...and can get there in a hurry. He pushes his little car around so we know he can do it....it is just a matter of when.

On to the tragedy....

There is a man that lives down the street from us. He would always drive his motorcycle or "crotch rocket" up and down the street....really fast. We all talked about how he shouldn't be going that fast because he could really hurt someone...like a child. So on Monday afternoon, I was in the kitchen and you could hear him on his bike...zooming down the street. Mitch had said that he was going to go flag him down and tell him to slow down but I told him let's just call the city police department and just tell them to patrol down here. About 5 minutes later, our neighbor across the street calls and tells us that he just got hit by a pick up truck and was underneath it and there was no way he could have survived it. So we walk outside because you could see it from our driveway. All the neighbors were standing outside watching this horrible scene unfold. A few minutes later another neighbor drove by and confirmed what we all thought. He did in fact die. One of his neighbors went and got his wife and daughter and drove up there. The police had it blocked but they pulled into the driveway and waited to hear what we all knew. Once they police told her, you could hear her screaming and crying. My heart breaks for the family. I can not imagine what they are going through, or do I want to ever imagine that kind of heartache. It was such a surreal scene that really no one spoke.

Mitch and I came back in the house and we were both speechless. I couldn't even eat dinner. I didn't know the family that well, just the simple waves as they drove by but it really hits close to home.

I just pray that they are able to find some peace in this tragic thing that has happened to them. So when you read this, just say a prayer for he and his family. It put somethings into perspective. At that moment, I was thankful that I wasn't feeling well because at least I was alive! I was thankful that Lawson was tearing up the yellowpages because that meant he was alive. I was thankful that Mitch walked through the door from work safe because that meant he was alive. So that night when I went to bed, I hugged Lawson a little bit tighter, told Mitch how much I appreciated him taking care of me and Lawson while I was sick and thanked God that my family is safe, healthy and happy.

Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.

1st Birthday Party

2010-09-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend we celebrated Lawson's 1st birthday!!! Friday started by me waking up the birthday boy and feeding him his favorite breakfast (at least I hope it is), bananas and pancakes. Then we played for a while and then took our normal morning nap. He then got up from his nap and had some lunch and we awaited the arrival of Uncle Keefer. We had a few errands to run so we ran up to Publix and then to Milo's for lunch. Mitch was able to get home a little early so we hung around here until it was time to go eat dinner. We met my mom and sister and my in-laws at O'Charley's. I went and bought him cupcakes from Edgar's (which aren't cheap) and we sang "happy birthday" to him. I was so sure that he was going to LOVE the cupcake but....he didn't. I guess it was the texture of the icing. He loved the Publix kind. We came home and put the birthday boy to bed so we could get started on the party preparation!

Birthday Boy eating his breakfast

Lawson and his cupcake

Saturday was a little hectic. Mitch stayed home with Lawson so me and Keefer could go run our errands. We got back home at 10:30 and got busy on getting the table together. All the guests started to arrive around noon. The weather was hot and humid, of course, but everyone hung around out back while the kids played. Lawson got so many fun toys including a cozy coupe car, a radio flyer wagon, a Lightening McQueen car, a castle and climb slide, lots of books and tons of other fun things! He did NOT like that cake again! A little disappointed because I know everyone wanted to see him eat the cake. His buddy,Cole, even was going to join in but neither wanted the cake....must have been all the people standing around taking pictures while they are in the diapers!!

The cake...It was a Dr. Seuss themed party

Later that day, everyone left. I was able to get my house back in order and we spent the rest of the night watching the Alabama/Penn State game.

All in all, it was a GREAT day!!! I know people say 1st birthday's are more for the mom's than the kids....but I had so much fun doing this for him!! I want him to look back at the pictures and see how loved he is by so many people!!! We are so lucky to have him to spoil!!!!

I have tons of pictures that my friend and FABULOUS photographer took for me!! Thank goodness she was here because I only snapped 3 pictures. I relied on her to take the most of them!! And she did an awesome job!! There are way too many to upload so you can go to Lawson's website where I loaded them. It is http://www.lawsonbrandonjones.shutterfly.com/.

More to come in a few weeks when I take Lawson for his 1 year check-up. It was supposed to be today but got re-scheduled to the 28th!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lawson!!

2010-09-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Today my little boy turns 1. I remember this time last year, anxiously awaiting his arrival! I wish I had a way to stop time...it has gone by way too fast! I know it is a part of life but I want to keep him this way for as long as possible. Selfish, I know!

We have a big weekend planned for him! Tonight we are going to have a birthday dinner with the family. And tomorrow is his party!! I know he will not remember it and it is more for me, but I am so excited to celebrate this 1st year of his life!!

First family picture

It's that time of year....

2010-09-06T19:49:00.001-07:00

WAR EAGLE!!
We went to some friends house to watch both the Auburn and Alabama game! Lawson was "allowed" to wear his Auburn shirt for the part the day and then had to change into his Alabama shirt for the rest. Unfortunately....I do not have any pictures of that :) Happy Football Season!!

Weekend Wedding

2010-09-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we drove up to South Carolina for my cousin's wedding. My sister, Lawson and I headed up Thursday so we can hang out with our other sister, Chelsea and nephew, Oliver. We went to Raegen's lingerie shower that night and then spent the next day relaxing and letting the boys swim.

This is the second time Lawson and Oliver met and they had so much fun together (as much as the could). They played with other's toys...or should I stole from one another! Whatever one had the other wanted!

Mitch came in on Friday and we rushed over to the rehearsal dinner and then later that night my mom watched Lawson and Oliver while we went to Applebee's for a late night snack and cocktail!

Saturday day was pretty uneventful. We went swimming again and rested up for that night. Lawson of course decided an afternoon nap was not in his plans and only snoozed for about 45 min. compared to his normal hour and half. Needless to say I knew the night was going to be FUN!! We all got dressed and I put Lawson in his new Jon-Jon. I was so excited for him to wear it. I went to get his shoes and he crawled into the bathroom and got soaking wet! I rushed to get it off of him to dry with the hairdryer and put it back on him. While doing that I scratched his nose with my fingernail so of course we had a meltdown.

We arrived to ceremony where we were 3 amongst 800!!! The wedding was pretty and luckily the rain held off for that night! After the ceremony we fed Lawson and realized he was fading fast. So we all decided to leave and head back to the hotel. Once we got there, we got the boys down for bed and my mom watched them again for us while we went to Applebee's. This time we were joined by my cousin, Heather. We had such a great time visiting with her and chatting. We don't get to see each other that much because she lives in VA.

Sunday we loaded down the car and headed back. We stopped in GA to eat lunch with my dad, step-mom, Donna, Matt, Kimberly and Makenzie! Makenzie is 3 and LOVES Lawson. And he just loves her too! We are looking forward to December when we all go to Disney together. She can't wait to go with "Baby Lawson" to see Mickey!!

Lawson and his Poppy with the hat he got him in Georgia (country not state)

Well that was our weekend in a nutshell. This weekend, Lawson is spending the Sunday night off so Mitch and I can do some heavy cleaning of the garage and other areas to get ready for Lawson's 1st birthday party! More to come on that!!

Mitch's Birthday and Family Reunion

2010-08-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Mitch's birthday was Friday. He had the day off from work so the day started out with me going to pick us up breakfast from McDonald's. We then got ready and headed to my friend, Melissa's, house to have Lawson's pre-birthday pictures taken. (shameless plug for her...check her out, she is amazing, http://www.melissawellsphotography.com/)

We spent about an hour or so at her house chatting and watching Lawson destroy the birthday cake. We came home and took a little rest before heading to Superior Grill with Mitch's family to celebrate! It was such a great dinner and we had a great time celebrating Mitch!!

Mitch and Lawson at Superior Grill

Saturday, my family was having a reunion at my mom's house. It was the first time in a long while the entire Lovett family was there (minus a few people). We ate burgers for lunch and then BBQ for supper. We spent the day catching up with each other, swimming in the pool and many rounds of tailgate toss (or corn hull), which lasted until 11p. Lawson had his first taste of watermelon and LOVED it! We even had a little B'day celebration for Mitch with a yummy ice cream cake.

Mitch's ice cream cake

Lawson eating watermelon

Mitch and I were discussing how great it is to be able to spend that kind of time with family because it's a great family to be a part of!!! I feel very fortunate that we all get along so well and it is such an enjoyable time seeing everyone.

The Lovett Reunion

Happy Birthday!!!

2010-08-20T08:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, Mitch!! You are the rock of our family, my best friend and a wonderful father to Lawson!! Enjoy your last year in your 20's!! We love you more than you will ever know!!

More to come on Mitch's birthday celebration!

Happy 11 Months!!

2010-08-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Lawson turns 11 months old today! I can not believe that he will be one next month! Hard to believe that this time last year I was big and pregnant! Where has this time gone??!!

Lawson is a growing and thriving little boy! He loves to explore everything...including the dog's toys, anything on the floor that he can put in his mouth and the dog's food. He was a bit of a late crawler but has learned quickly how to crawl, pull up, move around and walk holding onto things. We have successfully transitioned to all sippy cups during the day and he still gets his night time bottle. We will probably hold onto that one for a little bit longer. I think it will be harder for me to give that one up than for him. It is the one time during the day he will sit with me, relax and hold my hand. Oh well, part of growing up...guess I should get used to it! He still takes 2 naps a day (morning and afternoon) that last anywhere between 1 1/2 to 2 hours. His bedtime is still 730ish and sleeps till 730 and sometimes even 8am!!

Lawson is eating more "adult" food. We try to give him a taste of what we are eating as long as we think he can gum it down. He LOVES fresh fruit!! Bananas, peaches, apples and plums are his favorites!! His favorite food for breakfast right now is pancakes!! I found these mini pancakes that I tear up for him and he devours them. And the whole time he eats them he says "Mmmmm" and smacks his lips! It is hard to find him food I think he can handle because he doesn't have many teeth. Speaking of teeth...Lawson has the two on the bottom and today looking in his mouth (which I do daily..esp now since he has been running a low grade fever) I saw the top right tooth about to come through as well as the one right next to it (maybe the eye tooth..not sure).

Lawson is saying "Momma" really well lately...esp when he cries. He says "dada" as well but manly in a playful tone when he sees Mitch and he says "ooooo" whenever he thinks something is interesting. Other than that, his talking is still pretty much baby babble. He acts like he knows what he is trying to say.

We feel so blessed to be able to have him our lives! He is truly the best gift we could have every received! He is the happiest little baby and always has a smile on his face!!

We love you Lawson!! Happy 11 months my sweet boy!!

My little Superman!!!

2010-08-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Playing in the yard at MaMa's

My sweet superhero!!

Fun Times!!!

2010-08-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

So this week has been an experience at our house! We are transitioning from bottles to sippy cups (with formula still). About two weeks ago Lawson started taking his "lunch" bottle in a sippy cup. He did great (once I switched the sippy cup to one that looked like a bottle...good advice from my friend)! Then this week we moved from the "mid afternoon" bottle to a sippy cup! He has caught on like a champ! Speaking of catching on...he has learned in the past week to climb up on everything!!! He has even started to take steps too! Can it be that he will walk this soon??!! Not sure if I am ready for that. Just the other day he walked his learning table from the living room to the kitchen! YIKES!!! Lawson was a little bit of a late crawler so I figured I had a little bit of time. Maybe not!

Even though it makes my life a little more difficult, I am amazed everyday by the things he learns how to do and the discoveries he makes. I am so lucky and blessed to be able to stay at home with him and savor all these wonderful moments!! I was looking around our living room today and told Mitch that it looked like a toy store threw up in there. Toys everywhere!! Now a days our nice photo albums, picture frames and decorative things are all put up out of reach and our "unnecessary" furniture is replaced with baskets of balls, jumperoos, and books but I would empty my house out to fill it with these things any day!!!

VEGAS!!!!

2010-07-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

So our next big trip is in October. We are going to VEGAS!!!! I turn 30 October 21st and our friend Brian turns 30 October 7th. We figured what better way to ring in a new decade than by a trip to Sin City! So, me and Mitch and our good friends, Brian and Rachel, are heading out west October 6-9th. I am really excited! We have never been and always wanted to go. We decided now is probably the best time before either of us have more kids. Now that I have left Lawson for a week, this should be nothing. It will also be better because I can actually call and check on him whenever I want to.

Any suggestions on "must-see" places??

Our plane tickets are bought (non-stop) and we have already purchased our tickets to go see "O". Now...the countdown begins!!!

First Boo-Boo

2010-07-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

So Lawson and I went to Cheesecake Factory today to meet a friend for lunch. (sidenote on my self-control...I am on this one month diet where I don't eat anything sweet or fried. no soft drinks or anything. I did not...I repeat...I did NOT order the new red velvet cheesecake that was calling my name. so proud of myself!) Anyways, it was getting time to go so I was holding Lawson because I could have sworn he went #2 but guess he was working out some gas. He started getting restless so I stood him up on my lap facing me and he was bouncing up and down. Next thing I know he bangs his head on the corner of this wooden thing separating the booths. Then came the silent cry...and then the loud one. He had a mark down his forehead where he hit the corner which I am sure will bruise up a bit and then he got a small goose egg too. Needless to say, I made a beeline out the restraunt so I would not ruin everybody's lunch with my screaming child.

I felt AWFUL!! So I called my friend who has 3 kids because I am sure one of hers has done something like this. I just wanted to make sure it was okay if it got swolen and everything. She assured me it should be fine...and that this is the first of many boo-boo's.

Once we got home, he was acting like himself, crawling around and screaming at the dog. I guess since I made it 10 months without an accident is good. Ecspecially since he has become more mobile and now all over everything!

not as bad as I thought

Happy 10 Months Lawson!!

2010-07-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

So while at the beach, my baby turned 10 months old! Where does the time going! We spent the day by playing in the pool, crawling in the sand, playing with his buddy,Cole and enjoying a day at the beach!

Lawson is 10 months and is learning how to do some many new things. The latest discovery is crawling, sitting up on his own and pulling up on things. Lots of fun for me!! He was a little bit of a late crawler but has caught on that he can get to anything AND everything. He is still doing the army crawl thing, even though he can get in the "true" crawling position...he would just rather slither like a snake across the floor.

Lawson has started eating more "people" food. He LOVES cheerios, puffs and pickles. He had a fudge round (i know not the best thing..but a few bites are fine!!) at the beach and couldn't get enough of it. Little by little he is trying things and seems to not be a picky eater....YET! I am trying to get him to take his formula in a sippy cup at lunch. He did great one day and then the next day he threw it across the room. We are going to try to work on that this week! He still takes a morning nap and afternoon nap both lasting about 1 1/2-2 hours each. He goes to bed and 7:30 and wakes up at 7:30.

He has developed this new laugh that has me and Mitch rolling when he starts. It is one of the infectious laughs and he thinks it is hilarious to laugh!! It is the best sound in the world!!!

Happy 10 months Lawson!! You bring so much joy to our world!!

Cruise: Cozumel Day 4

2010-07-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 22nd, we arrived in Cozumel. We met downstairs at 8:30 to get breakfast before meeting up with everyone. This was going to be a great excursion. We were going with a big group of people we knew and it was an ALL day beach thing. We went through the marketplace of Cozumel (which was a lot nicer than Progresso) and headed to our bus. About 10 minutes later we ended up at the Playa Mia Beach Resort. Everything was included...drinks, food, beach chairs and umbrellas. Out about 100 yards in the water was a trampoline and "iceberg" that you could climb up and jump off. Mitch jumped off twice but after I swam all that way out there, there was no way I had energy to climb up the iceberg if I was going to make it back to shore.

the iceberg and trampoline

the ocean

About an hour into the excursion, me, my parents, and sisters decided to para sail. Now let me tell that I am terrified of heights and HATE loosing my stomach but I am talked into it. My mom really wanted to para sail so I knew if I back out there was no other person to go with her. Corky and Courtney went up with no problem. Then it was our turn. I thought I was going to have a panic attack...but I DID IT!!!! It was really fun until a storm started to move in and we started blowing around in the wind! I started to get really motion sick along with my mom. But I never got sick...up in the air that is. For about an hour or so after that, I felt so sick. We came back to the beach, hung around and then ate some lunch.

Around 3 o'clock we headed back to the port to get on the ship. We had about 2 hours to walk around before having to get back on the ship. We went into some jewelry shops, where I tried on a $67k 5.6 karat ring. Unfortunately we did not buy it!! :( We got Lawson some souvenirs and headed back to the boat.

me and Corky

the marketplace

When we got back we headed back up to the Lido deck, after skyping with Lawson, and had some drinks. We got dressed at headed to dinner and then went to the karaoke bar to watch people make fools of themselves! Mitch headed to the casino that night and I headed to bed.

me and Mitch heading back to the boat

Day 5...last day at sea!

We got a CRAWLER..sort of!!!

2010-07-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

So, I never thought Lawson was going to crawl! He just never showed interest in it but over the past few days he has went from pushing with his toes...to a crawl. Right now it is an army crawl but he will scoot across the floor...then push himself up to a sitting position and then start crawling again. Even though it is not a hands and knees crawl...yet...I am so proud (as you can hear in the video)!!!

Guess this long weekend will be spent child proofing the house!

Cruise: Progresso, Mexico- Day 3

2010-06-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

So day 3 of the cruise (Monday) we made our way into Progresso. The excursion we were going on was the Dune Buggy Adventure! So at 7:30am (yes on vacation!!) we made our way off the ship and to the area where we would be picked up. From there we took a bus ride to our dune buggy cars. We had a guide who was going to lead us to our first destination, the Xcambo Mayan Ruins. There were eight of us so we were in two cars. Mitch was our driver! And let me tell you about having a heart attack...not because he was a bad driver but the people in Mexico do NOT know how to drive. I mean, there are street signs and traffic lights, but they could care less. It is every man for himself.

waiting for the excursion to begin

ladies and gentlemen...start your engines!

Once I catch my breath and we are on the open road, I am becoming more aware that I am so fortunate to live in America. We were driving down the main road which had water on both sides. There was probably at least an inch of sewage on the top of the water and shacks...not houses..lined up next to this water. The smell was so bad I was having to cover my nose and mouth with my clothes.

So our first stop...Xcambo Ruins. These Mayans traded salt in this region. On the way you would see these boxes and that is how they collected the salt. It was so interesting seeing this place and realizing that people built this hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Back in the B.C. time. We took lots of pictures and walked around.

The Ruins

Me and Mitch on top of one of the ruins

One of the tall ruins

View from up top

Where people were burned after sacrificing themselves

Next stop...the beach resort. We got to this resort and it was an all you can eat Mexican buffet (with hamburgers), drinks (non-alcoholic because this was a dry excursion) and a pool and beach to relax by. We stayed there for about an hour and a half before heading back to town.

the resort where we spent the afternoon

The beach

me and Mitch chilling in the pool

We got back to the port where all the shops were. I just wanted to get back to the ship. The people there were worse than the people at the kiosks at the mall who want to straighten your hair or sell you product. Every where you looked the were wanting you to come in the store and look at their "one of a kind" merchandise.

about to get back on the ship

We got back on the ship and rested for a bit. Later on we skyped with Lawson...he was doing great! He even waved to me and cried when he heard my voice! Broke my heart. We then went to a cocktail party and did a little gambling. I lost the $50 I won playing slots the night before on some really bad hands at blackjack. Then we all met up and went to dinner and called it a night early.

***side note: I never knew flamingos were originally white. They eat shrimp that is in this water that is covered with pink bacteria. This is how they get their pink color. Never thought I would learn something in Mexico!!!

Day 4...Cozumel!

Cruise: Day 1 and Day 2-Arrival and Day at Sea

2010-06-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

So on the 19th of June, Mitch and I (along with my family) headed to Mexico via Carnival Cruise for 5 days! This was my first time being away from my baby and boy was it hard! I was very proud of myself because I never really cried..just teared up when I thought of him. We arrived on the ship around 12:30ish. We got on the ship and got something to eat...with all the other 1,000 people and then went to our room around 2p. We got settled in and then headed to the internet cafe to take care of the most important thing...internet minutes. We brought a laptop so we could Skype with my in-laws and Lawson. This was so great because this was really the only economical way to check in with him without taking out a second mortgage on our house to use the phone. We had late seating every night at 8:15 and we all took advantage of being wined and dined! The food wasn't great but you can't beat ordering ANYTHING you wanted and as many as you wanted (except alcohol).

Sunday we spent the entire day by the pool on the boat. It was our first day at sea. I paced myself as far as sun exposure went and also made sure to use 30 SPF and sometimes 50 if needed. This body had not seen sun since pre-pregnancy days. That afternoon me and my sister Chelsea went and explored the boat and watched some of the activities they had to entertain us. We all came back and got ready for dinner. The first night was the Captain's dinner so we got all dolled up and enjoyed our night!!

First night on the cruise at dinner

The girls

me, Courtney and Corky in the Duke's Piano Bar

me and my sis before the Captain's Dinner

me and my sister's before the Captain Dinner

me and my handsome hubby!

Happy Father's Day!!

2010-06-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

Please forgive me but we were out of town for Father's Day so I have to give shout out to my baby daddy!!

Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful husband and father!! Lawson is so lucky to have someone like you to look up to!! We love you!!!

minutes after Lawson was born

my boys!!

Vacation

2010-06-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Despite the oil spill....our cruise is still on! It is a little bitter sweet for me. This will be my first trip away from my sweet boy. We are leaving tomorrow to go down to the beach house in Orange Beach and then Saturday we are leaving that morning to go to Mobile to meet up with my family to get on the ship! I am so excited to go and get my tan on...but also sad because I will not have my little nugget with me :( I know I will be fine once I get my crying out of my system and on the boat. And I know that Lawson is in GREAT hands with my in laws. They will be at the beach house with him and on Tuesday, Lawson's "great-guncles" are coming in to visit. Once we return on Thursday, ALL the family will be together which will be SOOO much fun!

Please say a little prayer for us that we have a safe trip, that I can relax and enjoy myself without worrying about Lawson, and that Lawson is a good boy (which I know he will be) and stays safe and healthy while we are gone!

When I return I should have some good things to talk about! Hopefully none of those stories will involve oil!!

Happy 9 Months!!

2010-06-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

So my little boy turned 9 months yesterday! I took him today for his 9 month check up and the doctor said he looked great! He is 28 1/4 in long and weighs 18.1 lbs. He is a little on the lean side as far as weight goes but the doctor said he was just fine! He got two shots and was such a big boy because he only cried for a second and then started laughing at the nurse. Such a trooper!

Still no crawling yet...which I think may be a blessing! And to be honest, he really has no interest in trying. You put him on his belly and he pushes up but does not stay like that for long until he rolls all over the floor. We have not given up yet but he may be a walker before he is a crawler because if he gets a hold of something or someone he pulls himself up to stand.

He has two bottom teeth and you can see the outline of his top two teeth. He has started to eat some of our table food that is easy to gum down. He likes to eat puffs, well mainly to play with them but he puts them in his mouth and chews them. He also LOVES pickes, which should not come as a surprise to those who know me.

He plays on the floor with his toys and wants whatever you have at the moment. He has started to pitch little fits when you take something away from him. He pouts those lips and starts with the crying and tears until you distract him with something else. It is so hard not to just give in but I know he needs to learn.

He says "da-da" like a champ, and just started saying "ma-ma", and other words that we can not make out. He loves to give me kisses and has started to wave "bye-bye". All these things I am not sure if he knows what he is doing but they sure do make us feel special!

I know I say this every month, but he is such a blessing in our lives! I love the sound of his voice when he talks to himself, I love his laugh and I even love his cry. It is music to my ears! I thank God every day for giving us such a special gift!

Happy 9 months Lawson!!! I love you!!

Memorial Day Weekend and Upcoming Cruise

2010-06-04T08:57:00.001-07:00

So my sister, Lawson and I headed down early to the beach for memorial day weekend. We left Wednesday afternoon and Mitch came down Friday after work.

It was a great weekend spent on the beach, getting in the oil-free ocean and being with my family! Thursday was my sister's birthday so we all went out to eat at Guy Harvey's, Friday we went shopping at the Wharf and outlet mall to get somethings for my sister's birthday and to finish up last minute shopping for our upcoming cruise, on the 19th.

I am so glad that we were able to get Lawson in the ocean and let him experience that because now that the oil spill is starting to reach the beaches...who knows if he will be able to experience that for a while!

Saturday, we hung out at the beach and that night we went to eat at Cobalt's, and Sunday was spent in and out from under the tent because of the showers that kept coming. All in all it was great even with the rain!

Now on our cruise! We are scheduled to leave on the 19th out of Mobile. Things are kind of up in the air because of the latest on the oil spill! We are going to Progresso and Cozumel. I am really sad because we will be on our cruise on Father's Day and Lawson will be with my in-laws. I think I am more upset about it than Mitch is. My in laws will be watching him from our beach house so I will get to see him on Saturday before we leave and we get back on Thursday at 8am. This is my first time to be away from him for this long and I am getting a knot in my stomach thinking about it. I know he will be fine and well taken care of, but I am with him day in and day out. I don't know what I am going to do with myself without having to take care of anybody.... oh wait I will still have Mitch!!! I am looking forward to the time I will have with my hubby but I sure am going to miss our little guy!

I found out yesterday that the boat has WIFI and you can bring your own laptop so we can at least SKYPE and I can call on the days I get to an island. I know I will cry but hopefully I can drown my sorrows with a mai-tai while sitting in the sun!!

our little beach baby

he just woke up from his nap...i love this pic!

my sweet family!

me and my boy

Lawson and Daddy in the ocean!

Lawson's First Beach Trip

2010-05-26T08:15:00.001-07:00

So this past Thursday, Mitch was going to Dauphin Island for an inshore fishing trip with some work people. So we decided to make a long weekend out of it! Lawson and I headed down on Thursday to the beach house and Mitch joined us Friday afternoon!

Friday we went and met Laney, an old friend from high school, in Foley and then Lawson and I headed to outlet mall. After Mitch got home on Friday we went to eat at Guy Harvey's for dinner and called it a night fairly early.

Saturday we got up, fed Lawson and loaded up the car with all the stuff we had to take! I wish I would have taken a picture because you would have thought we were moving to the beach. We took the tent, beach chairs including Lawson's, 2 beach bags, cooler and Lawson's float. I carried Lawson and the float, and Mitch had the rest!

We put everything up and got situated and sat Lawson on a blanket...and he crashed! It was time for his AM nap anyways! Then after he woke up, he ate his lunch and bottle and then proceeded to eat the sand for dessert! He LOVED the sand! He LOVED the beach! He just was so taken in by everything and trying to figure everything out. We then took him to the water and he just squealed when the waves would come up to him. We attempted to take him in the ocean but the waves were a little too big and we didn't want to traumatize him. So we took him back up to the tent where he played in the sand, threw the sand and of course ate the sand! He then took nap #2 and when he woke up...we loaded back up and went to the pool!

Today, my sister, Lawson and I are heading back down there for memorial day weekend! This is what I love most about summer....trips to the beach!

I remember last year in July...being at the beach, 7 months preggers and miserable, and Mitch saying to me "this is our last year at the beach...just us"! And I wouldn't have it any other way!!

eating the sand

chillin' at the beach

playing in the water

worn out!

Sick Boy!

2010-05-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

So Lawson started running a fever on Thursday of last week. I called the doctor and they said it was probably because he was cutting his teeth so if he wasn't better by the next day to come in. When I got him up the next morning his fever had broken and he seemed to be acting fine. We just kept giving him tylenol and motrin because he still ran a low grade fever....again we contributed that to teething.

Sunday night he started coughing really bad. As Monday progressed his nose became a faucet and the cough got worse. He also was acting really whiney and not even holding him was enough to get him to stop crying. All this is TOTALLY out of character for him. So again, I call the doctor and get an appointment for the next morning.

I took him to the doctor and turns out the poor baby has an ear infection in each ear :(. The cough and runny nose can be somewhat contributed to the infection but he said it was probably viral and to give him some children's mucinex. So we got an antibiotic, ear drops and some new cream for his face where he has eczema. The cream we were first prescibed was $250 after insurance! The new bottle $4. Much better!

So after a full day on the antibiotics he acts a little bit better. So hopefully he will be better by this weekend because we are going up to Decatur to see Mitch's family.

I have to say that I do feel very fortunate that he is 8 months old and this is the first illness we have had. So I can not complain too much.

Happy 8 Months to my sweet Lawson!!

2010-05-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Lawson is 8 months old today! He eats 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and still takes 4 bottles a day! He luckily is still taking 2 naps and boy when you miss one of those naps it is no fun for ANYONE!! He is sleeping 11 1/2-12 hours a night and I love it when he wakes up in the morning because he is so happy to see you and gives me a big hug!!

He has gotten his first tooth (still trying to get that pic) and is doing a lot of babbling. He is rolling everywhere. He has not quite figured out the crawling thing (which I am not rushing). His Nonna and Granddeddy got him a walker and he loves it...but can only go backwards and gets really mad when he runs into something and can not go further. He loves to give me kisses...he grabs my face and pulls me right to him and slobbers all over me...and I LOVE it!!

He just experienced his first time in the pool and we are looking forward to taking him to the beach (if the oil is not there) at the end of this month!

Happy 8 months to my big boy!!

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to my mom's house to take Lawson swimming for the first time (pics to come later)! He did so good! He just chilled out in his floaty and splashed in the water with daddy! Then on Sunday, we went to church and then went back over to my mom's house to celebrate Mother's Day with my family and Mitch's family! It was such a nice day! We grilled hamburgers and lounged by the pool!

I got a gift card to go shopping for our cruise in June, Mitch and Lawson got me a new bedspread and my mom got me the cookbooks I had been wanting to make Lawson's food and some storage containers. All in all, it was a GREAT weekend!!

God has blessed me in so many ways! I have a wonderful family, the most wonderful husband in the world and a healthy and beautiful boy who is the center of our world! I am so fortunate to be able to stay at home with him and watch him grow everyday!

I have a frame in his bathroom that some dear friends of mine got me when I had Lawson. It says "We loved you before we knew you-even when it was just the hope of you-we loved you." We tried for 3 years to have this little boy and I have to say looking back on it....it was worth the wait! How lucky I am to be Lawson's mommy! He has brought more joy to my life than I could have ever imagined!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful mother's day!!

minutes after he was born!

Our first Mother's Day!!

A Tooth and a Word!

2010-05-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

So Lawson has FINALLY gotten his first tooth! I swear he has been teething for the past 3 months! Everyday as the drool would drip down his face I would look in his mouth (which he didn't like) and no tooth! On Saturday, Mitch was feeding him and said " I think the spoon just hit something that was not his gum." So I went over to him and opened his mouth...and there it was beneath the gum...a tooth! So this morning we looked again and it is almost through the skin..and now we have the one next to it coming in!!!! I should have know it was coming because his dirty diapers have been EXTREMELY DIRTY!!

He also said his first word, "da-da", for the first time! He says the "mmm" sound all the time and I have been really practicing with him on saying "ma-ma" so of course his first word would be "da-da". I heard it first and then Mitch heard! He said he is really not going to count it until he looks at him and says it! I count it so it is going in the baby book!!

Everyday he amazes me with all the new things he can do!

Picky Eater???

2010-04-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

So recently I have decided to start making Lawson's baby food. I have heard that is much cheaper and of course healthier for them! So my mom gave me an early mother's day present which was the cookbooks I had wanted and some baby food storage containers to put it in.

So on Wednesday, Lawson and I headed to the new Publix they just opened and I had a list of fruits and veggies I was going to make. I bought broccoli, zucchini and apples. I thought I would start off small.

So I put the little guy down for his nap and went to cooking. I felt like Julia Child in there. I was steaming, pureeing, boiling and peeling! I was so proud with what I had accomplished! For $2.50 worth of broccoli I was able to make 24 oz of food, for $2.00 I was able to make 16 oz of zucchini and I broke even on the apples! The true test was going to come when I fed it to Lawson!

Now he is not a picky eater by any means but the performance this kid broke into when I fed him broccoli was worthy of an Oscar! He didn't like the applesauce either! He gagged, spit it out, threw it up...the whole works! What I can figure out is it is the textures. I didn't puree it down to water so it was a bit thicker. He was like that at first with peas because they are a little on the thicker side. So I am going to keep it in the freezer and hopefully when he gets some teeth, the textures will not bother him as much!

I am not giving up though! Next time I will just make sure the food is like water! Compared to the baby food that I have bought it defintely is a little bit thicker! Oh well!! I told Mitch that is probably the first of many times he will tell me he did not like what I cooked!!

Steamed zucchini

Pureed zucchini

Finished product

Georgia on my mind....

2010-04-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend, my cousin Kylie was getting married in Colbert (outside of Athens) Georgia. We had planned on leaving Saturday to drive over and stay the night, but when my dad's trip to Germany was cancelled due to the volcano we decided to go over Friday night to his house and split the the trip up! He lives outside of Atlanta so it worked out great for us. We got over there Friday afternoon around 430p and hung out with family! It was a nice and relaxing night!

The next morning we got up and traveled the rest of the way to Athens for the wedding! I went and enjoyed an afternoon pampering myself with a much needed pedicure with my sister and then rushed back to get dressed for the wedding.

It was a great wedding! The bride was beautiful, reception was fun and it was so great to show off my little guy (who was a hit) to all my family!! My mom took Lawson back to the hotel with her so Mitch and I could enjoy some adult time with my cousins!

On Sunday morning we got up and enjoyed breakfast with my family before we all went our separate ways!

Lawson was awesome on the trip! He slept like a champ in his pack and play and was such a trooper! He laughed and carried on the entire time and only got cranky when he was tired!

All in all it was a great weekend!!

Blast from the Past

2010-04-18T18:23:00.001-07:00

So today Mitch had the first ever alumni game for Chelsea High School. It has been so long since the last time we were at the high school and Mitch finally got to play on the field that he raised money to build back in high school! The alumni played the high school team and WON 4-3!!!! The boys still got it!

It was a blast from the past in more than one ways for us. We saw old friends from high school, their families and we also saw some old friends from college. The head baseball coach is a friend of Mitch's who he played baseball with at UAB and his wife and I went every where together back in college. We were all in each other's wedding! So it was a great day for catching up and getting to see how everyone is changed!

Unfortunately they are not all as young as they thought they are, because Mitch is already saying he feels really old!

It was a gorgeous day to be at the ball field! But like an idiot I did not put on sunblock and am a little toasty! Oh well...I needed some color anyway!

The new and the old!

The old!

me and Kristen (friend from college and CHS coach's wife)

Mitch and Michael (friend from college and CHS coach)

me and my boys!!

Been Awhile.....

2010-04-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted something. We have been busy with wedding showers, surprise birthday parties and let's just face it...who wants to be on the computer when you have gorgeous weather to play in!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with family. We went to church Sunday morning for 9a service. It was so wonderful to be there with our little boy...a true gift from God! Lawson got an Easter basket from his Nonna and Granddeddy, MaMa and PaPa, and Poppy and GiGi. Can we say spoiled?!?! We had our families over to our house and we grilled out beer can chicken and just enjoyed the beautiful day!

Lawson will be 7 months this week. Hard to believe. He is now sitting on his own....really well! Still have to watch him because sometimes gets overly excited and will loose control! He started out only doing it for a few seconds, then seconds became minutes and now he can sit there for a long time. Mitch walked in the other day and wondered when he had gotten so good because literally the day before he was really wobly at it. It is amazing how fast they catch on to things and how independent they become. What next.....crawling? I am SO not ready for that one. On one hand it makes me happy and proud he is learning and accomplishing these mildstones but on the other I just want him to stay a baby! Despite all that.... I am one proud Momma!

Here a few pics....

Lawson sitting up like a big boy!

Bring out the shorts...warm weather is here!!

Easter morning...wouldn't look at us

Easter morning with Daddy

Opening day for the Braves!! And they WON!!!