It's Monday again...

Jack on his bike at school. He was so proud to show me. The teacher said he only likes THIS bike and THIS helmet!

Jack and his friends at "Nastics"

We had a really nice weekend, despite the day of rain yesterday! Saturday we had our first yard sale at our new (old) house. Apparently Friday was the better sale day because Saturday was really a flop in my opinion! Once I started pulling stuff out to sell, I seemed to find more and more things to get rid of! All in all we made about $150 which paid for our date night out, so I can't complain!

Saturday night we had our favorite babysitter, Alyssa, come over to watch the boys. Alyssa was Jack's 2-year old teacher and she's like part of the family now. They boys love her (even though Jack gave her a very hard time when we left) and we feel SO blessed to be able to go out and not worry when we leave! We enjoyed a nice margarita and some Mexican food with our friends and then went downtown to Workplay to hear the "Boomin' Baby Boomers". It was actually a lot of fun!

Sunday we went to Church and then went with our good friends Robbie & Christie to lunch at Louis's Fine Foods. Louis's fine food is a meat & three and it's actually very close to our old house, so of course we had to do a drive-by afterwards. It was very nostalgic. We loved our little house on Crosscreek and seeing it brought back all of the memories of Jack and Owen (his bff) playing outside in the cul-de-sac. My how things have changed! Now we have a cul-de-sac, but no one plays in it!

Tonight Paul and Jack are going to our friend's the Gottlieb's house. They have a stocked pond so Paul is hopeful that Jack will soon understand what a fishing pole is really for! We also have gymnastics this week and then we'll head for Daphne on Friday. We're excited to check out the lot on Ft. Morgan and dream about what "could be" down there. I'll report back later.

In the meantime, here are some cute pictures from gymnastics last week. Jack started back and he is now in a 3 yr old only class. They are so cute and he actually did VERY well and had his "listening ears" on most of the time. Also attaching a shot of Carson sleeping on me. He's at that PERFECT cuddly age. We're blessed beyond measure!

Love,

Jill

Blog, Blog, Blog

Ok...I keep hearing "you should start a blog" and I keep thinking...sure, one more thing to try to keep up with! BUT, I did start thinking that maybe a blog would be a good place to keep family & friends updated. I have to say this feels a little intimidating. I actually started this months ago (choosing the name) and then when I tried to figure out how to make it "pretty", that opened up a whole other can of worms. So anyone who wants to give me some pointers, bring 'em on!

Life is busy right now. Paul is busy bidding on everything he can. This is probably the most frustrating season for him as far as bidding goes. He is used to winning bids and with the economy the way it is, he's competing with companies that he's never heard of before, many of them from out of state. We just continue to pray that things will turn around.

For me, well I have a job which is a blessing in itself! The week that Carson was born they announced a Reduction in Workforce (RIF) was on the way. I thought for sure things would be in place by the time I returned in June, but it turns out that it was actually about 3 weeks after I returned that they laid off around 300 people. Several of my coworkers were affected which was very sad. I feel so thankful I have a place with the company and even though there are MANY days when I wonder how long I can do the "corporate" thing, I do know what a blessing it is to have a career.

Our sweet boys...well I can't lie, those who have talked to me lately know that this is the most challenging time in parenthood for us thus far. Jack has developed a sense of independence, which is good, but is VERY frustrating at times. He has certainly gone through a lot of transition-the addition of Carson, me being home for 3 months and he also just transitioned to a pre-k class at school. All that to say that he only wants me to do things for him 99% of the time and knows how to throw a fit like never before. Leaving school today was not pretty and was one of those times where I stood there wondering how I was going to get out of the building with any sense of dignity. It's tough to "choose your battles" and we're having to work on a whole new set of "manners" like speaking when spoken to, looking at someone when they are talking to you, and not interrupting. I'll Our Pastor challenged us a couple of weeks ago to see how many times we could thank God for our blessings. That challenge gave me a new perspective... Thank you God that even though I'm about to lose my mind, I have a child with lungs healthy enough to scream right now! All in all he is a very sweet child, has a great sense of humor and LOVES to tell stories!

Carson is a joy! Poor thing has already endured 3 ear infections and has cut two teeth. We think he's cutting his top teeth now. Too much for less than 6 months old I say! The little guy wants to be mobile more than I EVER remember Jack being at this stage. When Jack was big enough to sit in an exersaucer (which wasn't this early), he LOVED it and was content to play in it for at least 30 minutes. Carson...not so much. He's happy as long as he can get this one specific toy in his mouth, and if can't, he's done. On the floor he already pulls and scoots in all kind of directions. We bought him a walker so I'll post pics of him in it soon!

Ok, well that brings me to the end of my official first post. Now lets just hope I can save this puppy and get it out there!

As my good friend Debra says...
So blessed,
Jill


Here's a little clip from Carson's first bath in the big tub. He LOVED it...and Jack didn't seem to mind the company which was even better!