The Birmingham Grahams

Getting ready for Christmas!

2010-12-17T19:52:00.001-08:00

Just a few pics to show you what we’ve been up to.

Carson has VERY dry skin. ;-)

Jack’s Christmas show/party was today…so cute!

Jack did the introduction

Here’s the video {it’s long}:

And THEN we surprised Jack with a trip to the “Polar Express” in Calera. Julie and I took Jack and Owen and they had a blast:

Merry Christmas to all!

Jill

A backyard for the Boys

2010-11-01T18:27:00.001-07:00

We’ve talked a lot about the backyard, so I thought it was time I brag on Paul’s hard work! We’ve been talking about a flat yard “one day” since we bought the house but as we all know, there are plenty of other things to spend our money on!

My gracious cousin Lisa offered us their wooden playset, all we needed to do was move it. Paul went over one Saturday and spent a few hours taking pictures of it and taking apart what he could do on his own. The next day we enlisted the help of our neighbor, Steve, and the guys managed to put the Box part of it on the back of one of Paul’s work trucks (not without some stress on my part as they heaved the wooden box up & over their fence!).

Once we got the playset to the house, it was time to figure out where we had a spot flat enough to set it up…and that’s where Darrel comes into the story.

Darrel was working on a yard around the corner (kind of behind our house). I drove by one afternoon and asked him if he would come take a look at our yard and give us a quote for bringing down his bobcat to make a little flat spot and we’d do our own small retaining wall around the playset. He hoped in his truck right then and followed me around the corner! The little flat spot turned into a much bigger project but was well worth it! Darrel was digging up the yard around the corner and agreed to bring the dirt down to our house…and that turned in to 8 or so truckloads of dirt. After a couple of times flattening it out, he suggested we take the fence down and let him level out the whole area, which we agreed to. Then he suggested we go ahead and take down a tree that was limiting how far out the flat spot could go…and we agreed again.

All in all it’s a great area for the kids to play and they ask to swing every day when we get home from school! We also added a lot of dirt to the right of our driveway and leveled it so that eventually we can make that an extra parking pad. As it stands right now, if anyone parks at the top of the drive, it can be hard to get our cars in and out of the garage.

So here are some before & after’s.

This was shortly after we bought the house. Dad Graham & Viv helped Paul clean up a lot of the yard after a storm blew down several trees.

We had more trees taken down last year, this is Paul & Jack when they camped, you can see how sloped the yard was.

First truckload of dirt…Jack in his pirate costume watching.

Playset in pieces to the right, pipes for french drains.

At this point we had only taken down the right side of the fence.

First run. Darrel flattened out everything but didn’t get up next to the fence (see tomato planter on left).

Then Darrel suggested we take the entire fence down, this is right before Paul removed it.

Big fun for the boys!

And today………………….

We’re hoping the pear tree will do better now that it will have more sun. Also…check out Paul Bunyan's wood pile. :0)

Next on the list:

-Add a roof to the playset. Jack requested that it be a pirate ship. Add a glider swing in place of the rings and fix the stairs (a rung is broken and it’s hard for little ones to climb)

-Retaining wall. We hope to put a retaining wall around the right side and add stairs to get to the yard. Right now the easiest way to get up there is to walk to the left side of the yard & then up. It’s a little steep for the kids.

We’re so happy with how far it’s come and to have a place for the boys.

~So blessed

Boo!!

2010-10-26T19:17:00.001-07:00

We carved Pumpkins with the Carney’s this weekend…here’s a few pics. No one got too crazy with the designs this year!

Jack actually scraped the insides this year! Last year he wouldn’t touch them!

Owen & Jack posing with the pumpkins (which you can’t see very well)

Carson was already asleep…

Best picture I could get of Carson dressed as a pirate for the Parade at school today. Jack’s class parade is Friday.

Happy Halloween from Jack & Carson!

So blessed~

Jill

Whoa is me…

2010-10-15T20:29:00.001-07:00

Wow…I’m REALLY behind and a LOT happens around here in 2 months! Let me start by posting some videos and photos.

This first one is so sweet. We got home from church and while I was making lunch, Jack was telling me a very involved story and it hit me, he was telling me the story of the Good Samaritan! He loves Sunday School, and I’m so glad he loves stories as much as he does! I stopped him and got Paul’s phone:

I LOVE my boys:

This is how I found Jack one afternoon after he swore off a nap.

Carson LOVES Paci’s, or as he calls them “da da’s”

Carson went on his first Canoe trip:

I LOVE my Hubby!

A haircut from Grandma!

Jack & Daddy went camping in the backyard (note: this is also a “before” picture of the yard):

Did I mention he’s a dare devil?

I had a birthday:

Jack started Soccer (his jersey is bigger than he is):

Dare Devil got a 2nd goose egg.

Just a normal dinner…in his pirate costume. Carson copies EVERYthing Jack does:

Beach with the Carney’s:

He loves to eat:

Carson got a NEW do:

Should we worry?

Last but not least…Carson has gone T T on the potty twice!!! We’ve got a long way to go, but at least he’s somewhat interested!

Last but not least…this video CRACKS me up SO much. This is us dancing one night…Jack’s robot moves are hysterical.

So blessed~

More to come…

Jill

Day #5

2010-08-11T05:47:00.001-07:00

Jack continues to do well but has occasional bouts of pain that surprise us every time. I was amazed at how well he did the day of the surgery and even the next day. Day three, as promised, was not so good. Jack woke up at 5:30 AM and was at the top of the stairs sobbing when I got to him. A dose of pain meds and snuggling with Mommy seemed to help. The rest of the day he felt pretty good most of the time. Yesterday we did a little more than we have done. I was in desperate need of an eye exam and contacts so we went to visit Miss Stacie. We stopped at Chic-fil-a for lunch and I let Jack play for about 10 minutes which he really needed. We stopped by to see Paul at his office and by the time we got ready to leave he was getting cranky and telling us his neck hurt (he either tells us his neck or his tongue hurts).

Last night after dinner Paul said he didn’t feel very well. I was feeling kind of yuck but chalked it up to broken sleep, early workout and a LONG day with Jack. After Jack went to sleep, we hit the sack and then at 12:30 I woke in a panic when I heard Jack crying and raced to the top of the stairs. By the time I got there, I felt like I might pass out. Luckily Paul came up with the medicine and I felt like I couldn’t move. And let’s just say I was up on and off all night…

To add to everything, poor little Carson has been fighting a cold. I feel terrible sending him to school when he’s not 100% but he hasn’t been running fever and he gets so bored at home all day. And you should see him when Paul starts to leave, he runs to the basement door and waits for him! If Paul gets out of sight, he starts to whine as if he’s worried he has been left behind! This morning was no exception. He practically jumped in Paul’s arms and started waving bye-bye to me. If we ask, “do you want to go play with your friends”, and name some of them, you can see the expression on his face change. Here’s hoping his cold is on the way out!

I’m bracing myself for several more days of Jack being in pain. I’ve heard from several mom’s that these next few days are rough as the scabs are forming in his mouth and he feels a “pulling” sensation. Ugh…can’t even think about that. Ugh.

Hope everyone is having a great week. I really am cherishing this week off with Jack, even though he has been quite trying at times! The medicine doesn’t knock him out but makes him cranky at times.

More later…

Tonsillectomy Update

2010-08-07T06:07:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us yesterday! I’m happy to report that the whole procedure and the hours since then have been relatively smooth and easy.

Yesterday morning we arrived at Children’s South (a smaller hospital) at 7AM and were in a room by 7:15. Paul took Carson to school and met us in the room around 7:30. Jack got upset every time someone new came in the room (nurse, anesthesiologist, doctor, another nurse, etc.). I held it together very well which was hard at times because the look of fear on his face each time really got me! Finally around 8:20 they took him back. It was amazing because at that point he seemed relatively at ease as long as I could carry him to the double doors. Then the nurse nonchalantly said “ok Jack, let’s go blow up a balloon and Mommy & Daddy will go get you a popsicle”. He seemed fine with this and walked off with his little green dino-underwear-hiney hanging out of his gown…and THEN I cried!

It seemed like a million years {was actually about an hour} before we saw him and when they wheeled him in, he had the STRANGEST look on his face. A scowl of sorts and a very freaky gaze. He was sitting straight up on the bed and just looked at us, almost as if he didn’t know who we were at first. It took another 20 minutes or so for him to come out of the Demerol daze and then he had some juice while we waited for the nurse to release us.

At one point he was saying his throat hurt and I couldn’t hear exactly what he said but he seemed annoyed that I didn’t understand. I said “Jack, are you mad at me?”, he responded “I told you you shouldn’t have bringed me here”. I almost laughed out loud but just smiled and repeated it to Paul and the nurse. She thought it was so cute, she told all the nurses in the hallway.

They gave him a dose of lortab before we left which I thought would knock him out. He somehow kept his eyes open on the drive home and then out of the blue, as we neared the house, he said “Mommy, this is the best way home!”.

The rest of the afternoon was NOT what I expected. He only complained about his throat one time. He ate 4 pancakes, some gummies and popsicles. He never took a nap so the “may cause drowsiness” warning on the lortab bottle does not apply to him! He was determined to get the toy we promised so we made a quick trip to Wal-Mart for some little Bakugan toys and some Spiderman PJs. He ate a great dinner and then was OUT by 8PM. I woke him once in the night to give him a dose of pain medicine but he slept all night!

This morning has been great! He said his throat only hurt when he “gulped” and when he talked. He is taking his meds with no argument and just ate some melon. The doctor said day 3 tends to be the worst, so here’s hoping Jack continues to be the exception.

Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers! They are so appreciated! I’ll post another update soon!

I shared this on Facebook, but this was taken at dinner last night:

Prayers for Jack

2010-08-05T18:27:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to ask everyone to keep my little Jacky Smacky in your prayers tomorrow. We’ve been keeping a watch on his tonsils for some time now (since he was 2- 1/2) and they are still very large. The ENT called them “kissing tonsils” and said we’ll see a big difference in him once removed. He will probably have a growth spurt since growth hormones are produced during the deepest sleep-which Jack probably doesn’t get much of because he snores and has apnea episodes.

So off we go tomorrow. We have to be at the hospital at 7AM. We talked to Jack about everything tonight and at first I thought he was going to get upset, but Paul and I did our very best to down play everything. The doctor gave us a little pamphlet that looks like a comic book that explains the whole process in kid terms. Thank goodness he loves books because once we started talking about the story, his mind seemed completely at ease.

So please keep us all in your prayers. I want to make sure I stay as unemotional as possible so that Jack doesn’t sense my apprehension!

Thank you for your prayers! I’ll update soon!

The Missing Shoe

2010-07-26T20:16:00.001-07:00

Shoes keep disappearing in our house. Saturday Jack’s new runner disappeared and I searched high and low after seeing Carson running around with one. Here’s where I found the shoe, courtesy of Carson:

Life has been super busy for us lately. First of all work is busy for both Paul and myself. I’ve been chosen for a“Loaned Executive” program so I’ll be out of the office for the most part from the end of August through November.

At the breakfast table…Carson loves to wear my headbands! :-)

This is pretty typical of Carson…he loves to bug Jack! He’s wearing a diaper in these photos because he came home from school with a fever {he doesn’t look sick, does he?!} so I was trying to keep him cool.

Carson is all over the place and up to all kinds of things. His favorite word is still “truck”. Every day when we pull up to the house he points to our neighbor Mr. Thom’s truck and says, “truck, truck”. If the truck is not there, he says “truck” and signs “all done”. Pretty funny!

Jack is ready for real school to start back. They have “Summer camp” over the summer months and I think he’s finally reached a state of boredom! He transitions to his last pre-K class in a few weeks. Unbelievable to think he’s only got one more year before kindergarten. NOT ready for that!! He is having his tonsils & adenoids out on Friday, August 6th. We know the outcome will be great, but it’s still very scary at the same time!

That’s it for now. Hope everyone is surviving the summer heat!

A Slice of Heaven

2010-07-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Paul had to rescue the kite, Bob had to rescue Paul

Good Morning!!

Beautiful morning walk!

Perfect day at the Ranch

Best kite flying weather ever!

Ahhh...we're here in Lindsay! We've had a great trip so far. We stayed in Atlanta Wednesday night to take the first flight out Thursday morning. We have discovered that non-reving with a family of four is much easier if there is only one flight and if we're on the first flight. Our hotel room in Atlanta was less than desirable but it served it's purpose. Yesterday we were up and at em bright and early. We got on our flight with no problems and arrived in Toronto at 10AM. Both boys were excited to see Grandpa!

We stopped at Coffee Time-a fave- and got a much needed caffeine boost! Yesterday was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. It truly is a little slice of Heaven here. Definitely makes me miss Paul's Mom, Faye, every time we arrive as I remember how much pride she took in this house and this land. But I know she'd be happy to see how much love still pours in to this house and it's now FULL of grandkids!!

Busy day today-Paul and I are about to head in to town to pick up a few things. I'm sure it will be another day of enjoying the great outdoors!

More later!

Summer’s in Full Swing

2010-06-21T17:58:00.001-07:00

Where has a month gone? I realized today that I had a post in my drafts folder waiting for pictures to be added and I guess I never got to that! So…I’m way behind!

We had a great weekend. Nice & quiet with no projects going on. Friday night we took Jack with us to dinner at Sumo, a hibachi grill. He loves it. When I told him we were going he asked if he could have “Shrtrimp”! Our neighbor who is 17 came over to watch Carson for the few minutes before his bedtime. He’s pretty much like clockwork with a 7pm bedtime. And he loves his bed!

Saturday Jack asked if he could buy a toy at the toy store. He had some birthday money left over so we took them to McDonald’s for lunch, which they both LOVE. Carson can devour a cheeseburger! They got to play in the play center and then we hit Toys R Us next door. They both had a blast! Jack picked out a toy crocodile and a “viking chopper singy <thingy>” which is a foam toy.

Hopefully Paul will agree that he had a great Father’s Day. We went to church and then did our usual Sunday grocery shopping then home for lunch & naps. Yesterday afternoon we pulled out the slip-n-slide that Jack got for his birthday. Let me just reiterate-Carson has no fear. He LOVED the slip-n-slide. Here are some pictures for proof!

Notice the dirt all over his face!

One other quick thing I wanted to show you …I know I’m always talking about the mischief that Carson gets into. Paul and I just have to laugh at the things he does! We typically keep the pantry door closed because if not, there is SOMETHING he will drag out. This is what I caught him doing most recently…

At this point he’s been busy putting hard cat food into the water bowl. That’s a plastic dinosaur he’s dipping in the water…

And that’s him sucking the water off the dino’s head. That’s my boy!

So there’s my quick update. Today I woke up with the dreaded stomach bug that Carson had on Friday so I have been home in bed all day. Not fun!

We are super excited about our upcoming trip to home to Canada in a matter of days! I know the boys are going to have a BLAST and we can’t wait to see our family & friends!

Adios for now!

Jack turns 4…

2010-05-10T20:10:00.001-07:00

My little Jackie Smackie, Boogie Woogies, turned 4 on Saturday. It’s really hard for me to imagine that 4 years have passed. I remember like it was yesterday bringing him home from the hospital. He has brought an immense amount of joy to our lives…more than I can squeeze into a blog post. Here’s a picture from his 2nd day in this world:

So this weekend we celebrated Jack’s 4th at the Fire Station! The kids had a blast and we had a great time as well. Since I’m short on time, I’ll finish this with some pictures:

The guys at Hoover Fire Station 7 were great!!

Mom & Dad were so great to keep up with Carson…that’s a feat!

Happy Birthday big Brother!

And just a few things about the mischievous boy above:

He’s SUPER independent now when eating and wants to use his fork/spoon on his own. He’s actually really good at it too!

And… have I mentioned… the boy loves dirt…

That’s all for now!

Thanks to EVERYONE for making his day so special…Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, Friends, cousins…we appreciate all the thoughtful gifts and the love you show to us!

~so blessed

Jill

Happy {Early} Mother’s Day to me…

2010-04-25T20:06:00.001-07:00

Greetings on this Sunday night, which happens to be my brother’s Birthday. Happy Birthday Kenny Pooh! And I’ll go ahead and give a shout to my sister-in-law, Anissa, too. Her birthday is tomorrow! Love you both! So back to my news…I got a new camera! Unfortunately both of our point-and-shoot cameras have died and I’ve LONG wanted a “fancy” camera. I found a deal at Sam’s that included the camera, 2 lenses, the memory card and a bag so Paul agreed that it would be my mother’s day gift. This might be the best gift I’ve gotten so far! {Don’t worry Hon, I won’t expect something this nice every year!!}.

I’ve got LOTS to learn in regards to how to operate it outside of the manual setting but I plan to either take a class or do some online tutorials. Here are a few pics we snapped this weekend.

We’ve had a nice and very quiet/low key weekend. The weather yesterday was less than desirable so we were in doors a bunch but the kids kept us entertained! Today was the complete opposite of yesterday and was a BEAUTIFUL day! I finished two painting projects and Paul got lots done in our back yard. We’re in the process of getting quotes to level it out so the kids have a place to play. Hope everyone had a great night!

And last thing…I finally painted an accent wall in the kitchen. It’s bold and I love it!

(Excuse that the table is not centered under the light. I moved everything to mop today!

And I repainted the half bath last weekend. It was too dark in there! I love the new color, which I also used in our bathroom but it was too messy to photograph!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!
~Jill

What the boys are doing…

2010-04-18T19:46:00.001-07:00

I started this blog to keep family & friends updated…especially since most of our family lives so far away! And sometimes I take for granted the “little” things. So before I forget, I thought I’d tell you some of the cute things the boys are doing these days.

Jack…well he’s as funny as ever.

He is in love with all things Dragon or Viking right now after seeing “How to Train your Dragon” A super cute movie!
He’s got quite the imagination. Today after church we ate lunch outside and then Paul and I went inside to put up the lunch things. As I headed back outside I noticed Jack having a wild conversation with himself so Paul and I had a great laugh watching him.
We love to hear what he’s learned in school or Sunday School. Today he told us all about Jesus & the Leper and then stood up in his chair and said “and Jesus said I can do all things because he gives me strength!” Just precious.
He loves to pretend Carson is a monster and gets C to chase him.
He tells me I am beautiful all the time. Now how sweet is that?
He picks every weed-flower he see’s and gives it to me.
He’s a HUGE staller at bedtime. I know this is common, but it cracks us up (and frustrates us!) that we’ll be settled downstairs thinking he’s asleep and then he requests for one of us to “cuddle” him.
He’s a great helper with Carson…most of the time!
And he loves to bargain with us…as I type he’s saying “Daddy…just FIVE more minutes…OK??”

I am amazed by how much Carson is learning and doing, especially since he transitioned to a “big boy” class last week.

He LOVES to eat! He doesn’t care for potatoes or the breading on chicken fingers, but he eats just about everything else. And just like his brother he LOVES his fruit in the morning! Oh, and most nights he eats more than Jack. We realize it’s probably just a phase, but we love that he has a good appetite!
Lately he loves to drag around the etch-a-sketch. He carries it around by the orange pen…but alas our camera is broken so no shot of it!
He is signing a lot more. He signs “more” very well and “thank you”.
He blows kisses…and it’s so cute because sometimes he confuses “thank you” with blowing a kiss.
He waves bye bye.
He’s trying very hard to repeat “uh-oh”. It’s so cute…it’s more like “oh oh”.
He really can point to the cat in the book now.
He knows what the “fishy” does and opens & closes his mouth.
He loves to close doors.
He’ll eat anything laying on the ground…sticks, mud, dirt, rocks…you name it.
He likes to play “catch”. He’ll get the ball and throw it back….of course he can’t catch.
He loves to climb! In & out of his push car or his fire truck.
He LOVES to copy Jack. And Jack loves to get Carson to chase him.
He brings us his shoes! It’s probably one of the cutest things he does. But I’m so impressed that he knows which ones are his and he sticks his foot out ready for us to put them on so he can go outside (which he adores)!
He naps on a cot at school and he LOVES his napper.
He sits a little table in a chair for lunch & snack…and he just looks like such a baby in his new room!

So that’s an update on our little blessings! We had a great time at the Botanical Gardens this afternoon getting Carson’s 1 year/Family photos taken. I can’t wait to see how they turned out!

And…because I don’t like to create a post without a picture…here you go!

Blurry…but he CRACKED us up with the sucker while he was getting his haircut. Check out that smirk!

Jack on his way to the river with Daddy!

so blessed~

Jill

Quick Beach Trip

2010-04-16T20:32:00.001-07:00

Hey there…me again!

Last weekend we had the chance to take a quick trip to Ft. Walton Beach. But…before we got to the beach, Carson got sick. He started in his new toddler class last Monday but the teacher called at 2pm to say he was running a fever. The doctor seemed to think it was just a cold but the fever continued so we ended up keeping him home through Wednesday. At that point we decided we might as well take Friday off (instead of Monday as we’d planned) and head on down to the beach in hopes that the fresh, less pollinated air would do Carson some good. We arrived at Pat & Jeanie’s place (We love them for allowing us to use their house!!) around 11. I’ll interject here that Carson is not the best car traveler as he’s WAY too light a sleeper!

We had a great time overall…it was just great for the four of us to get away. Carson was a trooper on the beach and we kept the time on the sand to a minimum. Sweet hubby agreed to voyage to the outlets and then we had lunch at Fudpuckers and enjoyed the Alligator show!

Saturday we went to see the Thunderbirds at Eglin Air Force Base. It was a great show but we’ll definitely have to remember to pack ear gear for the next show!

So here are some pictures to recap:

Sweet CP, home sick. He’s maxin’ and relaxin’ in his ball pit.

Albino Alligator!

Look! The babes are checking him out already!

Aunt Amy-notice the shark! ;-)

Don’t leave the wipes out!

Sweet boy fell asleep on the way to the beach! He actually took a great nap there!

Tailgating at the outlets

And last but not least…

EAT HIM UP!! We finally found a hat that he couldn’t pull off. I love this picture…not for the quality of my iPhone camera but for that sweet face, those cheeks and those legs!!!

So there you have it! I’m looking at the pictures as I upload and can’t believe how blessed I am to have these three handsome fellows in my life!

~Jill

Backing up- Easter 2010

2010-04-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

I’m going to attempt to complete a few posts tonight to catch everyone up since my last post!

We had an excellent Easter weekend! Paul’s Aunt Madeline & Uncle George arrived Wednesday (31st) so we had a great time having some family in town. We attended the Easter service on Good Friday and had a sitter here with the kids. We had a WONDERFUL dinner out, sans kids, after church and just really enjoyed the adult time!

Here are some pics:

Aunt Madeline!

Jack LOVED his Dragon pj’s & book and Carson was VERY upset that we wouldn’t let him eat the kit kat bars in Jack’s bucket!

We hunted eggs at Cate’s house! (Carson was asleep)

So blessed~

Jill

Rain, Rain go away

2010-03-25T19:13:00.001-07:00

Out of nowhere we had a HUGE rainstorm this afternoon! I took both Jack AND Carson to Jack’s swim lesson. I don’t recommend it. Although Carson was pretty good considering he was in a chlorine filled room and buckled in his stroller, I felt guilty because he ate almost an entire container of “puffs” as it was way too close to dinner time for him! Jack didn’t get a good night of sleep last night so he whined most of the time and wasn’t willing to try anything new. So by the time the 30 minute lesson ended I had two kids whining and Paul called to tell me that it was pouring buckets outside…perfect. Normally he takes Jack to swim while I stay at home with Carson to get dinner ready but tonight he had a meeting. Anyway…sweet hubby that he is, he rode by the Rec Center and pulled under the overhang to load the boys up so that only Mommy had to walk in the rain!

We have a busy weekend ahead, dinner with friends tomorrow night and a party Saturday night. We were supposed to have Carson’s 1 year photos taken on Sunday…but Mr. Weatherman says Rain…again. I can’t think of a time when I’ve been more ready for spring! Bring on the heat!

Just thought you’d like to see more of a “real life” photo from our house. :-)

Blessed beyond measure!

Jill

Happy Birthday Sweet Carson Graham

2010-03-07T19:25:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful celebration…small but sweet. Carson enjoyed his cheese puffs and his cupcake…evident by this video. Thanks to everyone for the great gifts and to those who helped us celebrate.

This morning we enjoyed a great church service and afterwards we went down front for Carson’s dedication. It was a very sweet dedication and we had several friends there with us, as well as my parents and Aunt Laura.

Here are a few pics from the weekend. One last thing…big congrats to Paul’s brother James and his wife Sue. They welcomed Seth Robert Graham to the family on Saturday. We’re so happy for them and can’t wait to meet our new nephews in Canada.

Where’s the Kitty Cat?

2010-03-02T20:03:00.001-08:00

Just had to share this quick clip. Carson is really getting into his books at night. We’ve been practicing pointing to the kitty cat. He finally pointed to the cat all on his own…until Paul came up with the camera. It’s still cute watching him point!

Goodbye Olympics

2010-02-28T18:16:00.001-08:00

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the Olympics and cheering for the US and Canada! It’s fun to cheer for two countries and teach Jack to be proud of both National Anthems & Flags. As I type we’re watching the closing ceremonies and they’re awesome!

Just a couple of updates:

Paul and I enjoyed a night in Nashville while Aunt Laura kept the boys. We were actually supposed to go up Friday night but I got hit with the stomach bug. We went for my friend Kristin’s wedding, which was very sweet. We got to meet up with some other friends later in the night.

Jack has been a busy kid! He’s enjoying swim lessons two nights a week with Daddy. And he also started “Playball” at school and he loves it! It’s the first thing he tells me about when I pick him up on Tuesdays.

Carson is a hoot. He’s very determined and strong willed. He will throw a fit in a second if we take something from him (like a fork when he’s trying to walk around with it!). He’s definitely mastered walking and loves to be outside! He eats like a champ and is very good about going to bed. He is really enjoying books now which I’m happy about. Books have always been a big part of our bedtime routine so I’m happy that he enjoys them! Oh, another funny thing, he loves to put things to his ear, like a remote control or phone, as if he’s talking on the phone. Super funny!

Carson turns one in 9 days! We’re going to celebrate next Saturday so I’ll post pictures afterwards. Here’s some pictures from the last few weeks:

This is Carson’s “Hello”

Enjoying a popsicle with Daddy

Jack’s 1st ride in the vette (he’s in a booster). He rode with Daddy to the gas station.

Paul and I at Kristin’s wedding

Hilarious bath hair

Jack & Aunt Laura playing Candyland.

Carson LOVES this ball game.

~So blessed

So much to blog about

2010-02-06T18:25:00.001-08:00

We had such a great visit with Kenneth & Anissa. I was so sad the day they left because Jack just kept saying he was going to miss them and didn’t want them to leave. These are the little reminders of how much it stinks to be away from our families. While they were here we enjoyed several great meals together. Paul cooked a wonderful beef tenderloin and then we used the leftover beef to make fajitas the next night. We took K&A to the mall and Target (no skin off my back!) and just enjoyed being together. Anissa is such a great addition to our family and I just wish we could spend more time together.

Here are a few pics from their visit:

Me, Laura, Julie & Anissa

Paul took everyone down the Cahaba River

In other news…
Jack thoroughly enjoyed all the time away from school while K & A were here. We’ve had a nice quiet weekend and he’s currently playing on my iPhone…his new favorite thing to do.

He also started swimming lessons this week. All was going well until the end of the first lesson when the teacher asked the kids to jump in. He got water in his eyes and it was all she wrote! Thursday night he declared that he would go to swim lessons, but he would NOT be jumping in the water.

Carson has really come in to his own and is such a happy guy! I’ve been praying for these days as I feel like his first few months he just seemed so unhappy so much of the time-whether it was because of his reflux or the fact that he wanted to be more independent. He is walking more & more every day. He babbles a lot and seems to try to repeat a lot of words. He has such a temper, which we just laugh at.

We’ve done several projects around the house…I will post some pics soon. We put crown up around the bathroom mirrors and I just finished sewing my first set of curtains! I’m quite proud…they’re even lined! Hopefully we can get them hung tomorrow.

That’s all for tonight. It’s 8:15, the kids are down, Paul and I are about to watch a movie. Ahhhh…life is good.

-Jill

Carson’s first steps!

2010-01-28T20:04:00.001-08:00

Carson has been gaining confidence everyday! We’ve noticed him letting go of whatever he is holding on to, and sometimes taking a step or two before realizing he’s not holding on to something. Tonight we were eating dinner and he was “all done” so we let him roam around and kept noticing more and more steps. Of course when I got the camera out, I couldn’t get a good angle and Jack was VERY hyper! Here’s the best one:

He’s also started signing more & more. “All Done” is his best, but it’s only one handed right now! Better than nothing. He also seems to “say” it at the same time. This was after a spaghetti dinner. He’s a GREAT eater!

Also had to post this hilarious picture of Jack. I had their clothes set out and Paul got Jack dressed and sent him in to ask me if this was what he was supposed to wear:

Ummm…those are Carson’s clothes…

Hope everyone is having a great week! We’re so excited to have Kenneth & Anissa here this weekend as well as Mom & Dad!

~So blessed!

3 trips to Lowe’s kind of weekend

2010-01-17T19:22:00.001-08:00

It’s a long weekend for me & the boys. We’re off tomorrow, unfortunately Paul has to work. I’m not sure what we will do, but maybe a trip to the park is in store!

We’ve been busy. I made three trips to Lowe’s today, Paul made one. We (mostly Paul) finally tackled the crown molding in the sewing/play room. It was a beast because that room has all kinds of weird angles as it was added on to at some point so it was a mess. We still have to finish all the caulking and paint touch up; I’ll post some before & after pictures later.

The boys are great. Jack is learning that he can’t leave his cups or snacks in arms length of Carson…he’ll grab Jack’s juice or his snacks in a second! He’s also learning that anywhere he goes, Carson wants to go. Ahhh…the start of sibling rivalry!

Speaking of Carson…what a pistol! He’s got the most amazing temper. Paul and I just have to laugh at him sometimes because it’s hilarious how mad he gets if you take something from him. His favorite things right now-the dishwasher, an immediate attraction. The stairs, if the gate is down and he’s quiet-watch out. Anything Jack has- if Jack is at his little table with a snack, Carson is practically pulling him out of his chair. This morning Paul and I cracked up because Jack was standing with a toy, Carson went over & pulled himself up on Jack, which pulled Jack’s “comfy” pants down. Needless to say Jack was NOT happy…especially because Paul and I were laughing!

Here’s some pictures from the last few days! Enjoy!

Excited to be in the chair with Jack. Jack is NOT happy.

Have Paci’s, will travel

This is Jack & Paul’s new game. Jack calls it the spiderman game, but it’s just he & Paul throwing balls back and forth at eachother. Jack gets inside the boat every now and then for cover.

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-02T07:44:00.001-08:00

We had an excellent Christmas and now we’re excited to see what 2010 will hold for our family! 2009 was certainly full of blessings…Carson’s arrival, good health, a warm house, good jobs etc. I’m certain the year ahead will be as busy as usual! Kenneth & Anissa will be here for a visit in late January and then Paul’s birthday is in February and we’ll also have a weekend in Nashville for a wedding. The following weekend we’ll celebrate Carson’s first birthday and also have him dedicated at church the first Sunday in March. My sister Amy is planning to be here so I’m so excited about seeing her. We’re going to Idaho in May for my nephew Gavin’s high school graduation…so you see we've already got a full schedule! :-)

This Christmas was by far the best! Jack was so excited about Santa visiting! He got everything he asked for (a sword, dinosaurs and transformers) among other things. Carson got a ball pit from Santa and we get a lot of laughs watching him dive in & out of it.

Carson is ALL over the place these days. He’s finally mastered turning his car walker so when he gets stuck he can turn it around…big relief. He loves to hold on to fingers and walk. He’s started climbing too. He discovered the stairs and loves to climb on the dishwasher door and anything else he can get up on.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks:

Snapfish Photo Album

Conga Line, one more time

2009-12-14T17:49:00.001-08:00

A few people said they weren’t able to view the “Conga Line” video from my earlier post. I’m posting again via You Tube.

Rock Star

2009-12-12T07:46:00.001-08:00

Here’s Jack’s rendition of “Rock Star”

Conga Line

2009-12-11T18:24:00.001-08:00

We have one of those car/walker things for Carson but I’ll be honest, I put it to the side because it was causing more frustration for Carson…and back pain for us. Today I got a note from Carson’s teacher saying he was doing really good with the walker (they have the same one at school) and that it doesn’t get away from him too much any more, but he still gets frustrated when he gets stuck. So tonight I pulled it out of the corner and sent Carson down the hall to Daddy. He LOVED all the attention. I grabbed the camera and told Paul to send him my way…this is what we got.

We laughed soooo hard at Jack's response...completely on his own he decided to jump in line!

Jack is 100% into the Christmas Season! He loved getting all the christmas decorations out and decorating the tree. Our magic elf "Doc" has returned and as if Jack didn't already wake up early, he's in our room at the crack of dawn every morning asking where we think Doc is hiding. It's precious. He is obsessed with singing "Rock Star" from the Shrek movie. I just can't even tell you how many times a day we hear..."she was lookin' kinda dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an L on her forehead". The rest of the words are a jumble but it's so cute.

Carson is so sweet these days. We took him for his 9 month check up yesterday and he's doing great. It's funny because we've said all along that we feel like he is bigger than Jack, but when I compared their height & weight at 9 months, Carson is only a few ounces heavier than Jack and is actually a quarter of an inch shorter than Jack at 9 mos! And of course as you've seen...he's everywhere! He's babbling a lot and loves to get in the cabinets and drawers. He is finally on a regular routine sleeping from 7 to 6am. It's been a LONG time getting to this point and we are so thankful!

6th Anniversary

PS...I still haven't figured out the best way to display pictures which is why they're always jumbled at the bottome!

A mid-week update…

2009-11-18T19:48:00.001-08:00

I took Carson back to the ENT doctor on Tuesday. Murphy’s law…after waiting 2 hours and having the audiologist, Nurse Practitioner AND doctor see him, all three said his tubes look great! Praise the Lord! He was wonderful given it was nearing lunch time and even slept on me for 30 minutes or so. I thoroughly enjoy the snibbits of snuggle time he gives me! Both the ENT and my good friend who is a pediatrician said the fever Carson had on Monday screamed flu…which is probably how Jack ended up with it just a few days later. Regardless we’re all feeling pretty good. I hope I’m on the tail end of my cold, which I do not think was the flu.

During lunch today a few Mom’s from school went to visit Joshua’s parents David & Amanda. They removed his breathing tube today and were slowly waking him from sedation. They are still awaiting several test results but they are surrounded by their family and great friends daily. PLEASE remember them in your thoughts and prayers. All of the classrooms are taking up donations for the family.

Jack had his weekly gymnastics class tonight. On the way there he said “Mommy! I just saw a chair like on Nemo!” After he described the scene where the fish jumped out and the guy is getting his teeth cleaned (not in such a clear order) I finally realized we had passed a dentist’s office and since it was dark, he could see the dental chair through the window in the lighted office. What a clever kid!

Carson got a new tooth this week! Sunday night I heard a strange grinding sound as he was in the highchair. I couldn’t see/feel anything until Monday morning, but there it is…a top tooth popping through!

Hope everyone had a good hump day!

So Blessed ~
Jill

Prayer Request

2009-11-15T13:53:00.001-08:00

I’ve shared this with a few of you, but I wanted to take a moment to ask you to pray for Joshua Vincent. Joshua is a baby in Carson’s class. He’s only 9 months old and was diagnosed with neuroblastoma one week ago. Joshua’s big sister Julia is Jack’s age and has been one of his classmates for a while.

I cannot even begin to imagine what they are walking through right now. Fortunately they are surrounded by a wonderful church and Sunday school class. So I want to extend that prayer as much as I can…it’s all we can do right now. You can follow Joshua’s progress at:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joshuagvincent

-Jill

Too long since my last update!

2009-11-14T20:28:00.001-08:00

I knew when I started this blog that I would have to be diligent in my updates! If you don't stay updated, people will stop checking the blog!

Let me see if I can sum things up since my last post:

Friday- 10/30 we surprised our friend and babysitter Alyssa with a surprise going away party. Alyssa was Jack's teacher when he turned one and she's been our babysitter and good friend since then! We are sad that she left B'ham to move home and work on her Master's Degree, but we wish her lots of luck...and we know we'll be seeing her soon!

She thought she was coming to babysit!

Marci, Alyssa & I

10/31-Halloween. We got together with the Carney’s once again! The boys had a great time!

Our Woody & Buzz

The following weekend Paul and I enjoyed a weekend away for my friend Beth’s wedding. She lives in Wisconsin so we got to visit 3 new airports and a new city. We had a wonderful time!

Paul and I in front of the State Capitol Mary Kate, me, Beth, Debra & Tami

And that kind of gets us to now…

Last Saturday night Carson started running a fever. By the time we returned Sunday evening he still had fever so Laura and I took him to the doctor on Monday. We were told he had yet another ear infection so we started him on antibiotics <again>! Tuesday was a rough day. I took Carson to the sick care facility at work, which I hated to do, but work is really busy right now for me and Paul both. By Wednesday I thought for sure he was on the mend. Unfortunately JACK was the one with fever! Luckily Paul was able to take him to the doctor since I had two meetings I couldn’t reschedule (I have been working furiously on a website that was to go live this weekend!). He called me an hour after the appointment to tell me Jack had H1N1. My company has a policy that if we are directly exposed, we have to be out for 72 hours. BAM- I had to go home! The pediatrician started Jack on Tamiflu and gave us a Rx for Carson in case he spiked a fever. By the time Paul picked him up that afternoon, his fever was 99.9 so we went ahead and started him on the Tamiflu as well. So…it’s now Saturday evening and I’m pretty sure the boys are on the mend and I’m feeling just a little puny…but no fever!

I’ll admit these last few weeks/months have been a little rough for us. We’ve been very sleep deprived because it seems once we get Carson sleeping, Jack starts waking for some reason and then vise versa. And poor Carson…as soon as we get his ears cleared up his reflux acts up, or he’s got a tooth coming in or he gets a cold. We both feel like he’s had a rough month and Paul and I are both praying that we can start backing him off of his reflux meds as he is growing and eating more table food. I’d like to ask all of you prayer warriors to please keep our little Carson in prayer. Pray that his ears would be healed, that his reflux would go away completely. He’s such a sweet baby but I feel like he can’t catch a break! We decided to take him back tot he ENT on Tuesday.

So I think that catches you all up…for now anyway. I have another update I’ll post tomorrow, but I’ll give your eyes a break for now! :-)

View Full Album

End of a long week

2009-10-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

*First off-Happy Birthday to my nephew Peyton !!

It's the end of a long week at the Graham household. Long because Paul has been in Colorado all week. Boo! We don't like it when Daddy is gone!! Thankfully my Mom has been here to help me which has been great! It's also been an emotional week. The Dad of one of my childhood friends passed away. Things like that quickly remind me how short life is and how blessed and lucky I am.

We've got a busy weekend ahead of us. More updates and pictures to come. But here are some from this past week.

Pulling up on everything!
Carving Pumpkins...hard work

This is Carson's new thing- that's his tongue sticking out under the passy

Jack was very excited to get started

Carson's first trim

His shirt got stuck like this, looked like two big ears!

Playing together...so sweet!

Monday again...and half way through October!

2009-10-19T07:37:00.001-07:00

Where do the months keep going? I'm amazed that October is almost gone and Carson is already 7 months old! I still haven't gotten all the pictures off of the camera from our trip to Canada, but I did want to update the blog and posts are no fun without photos!

Paul being silly with Dad.

Carson and Grandpa...is he a Graham or what? Still haven't figured out what to do with Carson's hair. It grows STRAIGHT forward!

Grandma Viv & Carson. He was back to his normal happy self by the end of the week!

This week is yet another busy one! Paul has been working in the yard like crazy trying to get everything cleaned up. He's still got lots of wood to split, but the yard looks much better! And that's a good thing because we're hosting my friend Callie's baby shower at our place this Saturday! Thank God for Mom! She's coming this week to help me and will stay through next week since Paul will be in Colorado for the entire week.

Then next weekend we're going to a halloween party ;-) and then trick or treating on Saturday! Jack is going to be Buzz Light Year and Carson is going to be Woody! The costumes are hysterical, I'll definitely take lots of pictures...but here's a sneak peak because I just can't resist!

He immediately starting posing and saying "To infinity and beyond!"

So, I guess that's it for today. Lots of things coming up so hopefully I can be a little faster with the photos and updates.

We're here...in Lindsay

2009-10-09T05:13:00.000-07:00

We arrived yesterday as planned and are enjoying our time with the family and the beautiful colors!

We had planned to leave Birmingham between 3-4 pm on Wedesday but didn't get on the road until around 6pm. Carson has had a fever virus so Paul and I split the workday and he had several things to finish before we could leave. The drive over was fine and Carson slept the entire way which meant he was WIDE awake when we arrived at the hotel. We had a bit of a rough night with him up on the hour, but we are still glad we went over the night before.

the boys at the hotel

Our flight was great! The airport wasn't too busy and our flight was even early! We had a great flight attendant, Joe, and we sat on the front row. (the camera was in the overhead so pics of Carson's first plane ride will have to be taken on the return!)

Finally out of the car!

Beautiful weather & great walk outside

The leaves are just starting to change...the walk was beautiful!

Heading down the road

More to come...

Carson on the move

2009-10-02T21:33:00.001-07:00

Just a quick video of Carson on the move. Little by little he’s exploring more and more. Tonight while I was making dinner I thought he sounded a little closer than normal. As I came through the dining room I saw him sitting near the front door, chasing Frank. This was the first time he has come all the way out of the den! He will also pull/push up on ANYTHING! He pushed up on his little drum this week. They call him the dare devil at school.

I took him for his ENT follow up this morning and they said his ears & the tubes look great! We also had his hearing retested and he passed with flying colors. Only bad news is that he has a bad case of thrush. Poor thing, we get his ears better and now his mouth hurts. I’m also certain he’s got another tooth (or teeth) coming through. He’s FINALLY sleeping through the night…praise God!

Jack got his hair cut tonight. I always hate to cut his beautiful curls, but as the humidity goes away, it doesn’t curl quite as much and it was very long. We’re going to Cate’s birthday party tomorrow so I’ll try to get some pictures. Next week starts our month of craziness so I’ll be doing good to get posts up!

Another week...

2009-09-27T19:00:00.001-07:00

Another week and weekend have flown by! It's been a busy one...here's a recap:

Tuesday morning I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to get the boys dressed for school pictures. Since it's technically "fall", I had them dressed in cords & jeans even though it was 80 degrees! Jack complained the whole time (probably because he was hot!). I walked in to school and it hit me...pictures aren't until THIS week. Oh well, trial run. *Carson also slept really well.

This weekend we went to a birthday party at "Pump it Up" where Jack got close to a black eye. It's a good boo-boo, but the whole eye didn't turn black thank goodness. We also had several trees cut down in the back yard so it looks very different. Neither of us wanted to cut them down but the two largest trees had a fungus growing in/on them and were getting a little risky. Saturday night we enjoyed a cookout with our friends and all the kids.

Sunday, THE BEST PART...EVERYONE IN THE GRAHAM HOUSEHOLD SLEPT TILL 7:30! IT'S A TRUE MIRACLE!!! If you know anything about our kids (JACK) he NEVER sleeps past 6 or 6:30. The rest of the day has been great. Church, groceries, park, great pot roast and 7 or 8 loads of laundry!

Carson is all over the place crawling and pulling up on us. He's sleeping much better and is such a happy guy unless he's tired or hungry!

Here's our week in pictures:

Jack got Slinky Dog from Toy Story. He loves him. Notice the bump under the eye.

He wrote the letter "J"all by himself!!!

The boys playing together. It's so fun to watch Jack share with Carson and he loves it!

The worst of the trees in the backyard.

What a mess!

Carson in the jump-up, not jumping! :-)

Tubes before Beach

2009-09-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's taken me all week to get this post up...

Carson's tube procedure went without a hitch! We were getting a little nervous because we arrived at 5:45AM and they said he would be first (6:30) since he was the youngest baby there. 6:30 came and went and Carson was getting a little fussy since he had not eaten since 11:30 the night before. They took him back a few minutes before 7 AM and he was back in the room 15 minutes later. So far so good! He's still not sleeping through the night, but we feel certain we're getting closer now!

We had another wonderful time in Ft. Walton, can't thank the McKay's enough for letting us use the house! Friday Paul and Jack surprised me with a beautiful mum and a cake. Paul and I had a nice dinner out (just the two of us!!) and went for drinks on the bay afterwards. It was wonderful, just what I wanted!

Jack playing in the sand. He LOVES the beach!

Me & my boys with Birthday cake!

Matching pj's...so sweet!

Jack helping Paul with my birthday cake.

Carson, drooling up a storm chewing on Grandma's purse strap!

Carson in his hospital room before tubes.

Carson is getting tubes!

2009-09-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

9/16 Update: They were able to get Carson in sooner so he'll actually have the procedure tomorrow (9/17). We'll head to the beach later that day as long as he's feeling well. If he's at all like Jack, he'll be raring to go!

As many of you know sweet little Carson has already endured four ear infections. Well we finally got our referral and met with the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor this morning! They did a tympanogram, hearing test and then we met with a nurse practitioner and the doctor. The tympanogram was completely flat indicating fluid behind the hears…which was not a surprise. They also did a hearing test on him (which isn’t 100% at his age) and the audiologist said he was at the “very low” end of normal. Both the Dr. & Nurser Practitioner said his ears were very “gunky” so…………..he's getting tubes! Yay! Finally! Right now we’re scheduled for next Thursday at 5:45 AM, but nurse/scheduler is going to call if they have something sooner. We’re scheduled to go to the beach Wednesday night through Sunday, but if they can get him in this week, we’ll move our dates around a little.

Although we're happy that there may be an end in sight to all of the antibiotics and ear pain he has had, it is still scary when they have to "go under" anesthesia. I'll send an update later but will ask everyone to keep him in your prayers next Thursday morning (if not before).

Down we go!

2009-09-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yep...down the crib goes now that Carson pulled up for the first time last night!! Paul took him upstairs and put him in his crib while he got the bath water ready. I walked in a few minutes after him and the picture below is how I found him...happy as a clam! We had already lowered the crib half way when he started sitting up in it, but I wasn't expecting him to pull up already! He's growing TOO fast and I fear he's going to be walking much earlier than Jack! Maybe not walking, but he's certainly going to be much more mobile very soon! He gets on all fours, and rocks a lot but hasn't quite mastered a true crawl. He's now 17 lbs, 4 oz! We meet with the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor tomorrow at 8:15 to discuss tubes since he's already had 4 ear infections.

It's going to be a short week for us in the Graham household! We are heading to Ft. Walton Beach Wednesday night for our annual family trip. This time we are lucky that my mom will be joining us to help with Carson since he is still a little young for all day at the beach! Jack is very excited and Paul and I are SO ready to relax on the beach!

This was the first shot of him standing...see how excited he is!!

Down the crib goes!! (in case you're wondering, yes, the crib is at a slant because he still sleeps with a wedge in there to keep him propped up. Every time we take it out it seems he has another ear infection!)

He's VERY close to crawling! Goes from this position to sitting like a pro!

Reading "How I Became a Pirate" to Jack's class at school...LOL, just realized you can't even see the kids I was reading to. There are about 18 in his class.

Aunt Laura & Carson at Iguana grill; his first time in a restaurant high chair. Such a big boy!

Sweet Jack

2009-09-08T13:10:00.001-07:00

I just had to share this...I got an email this morning from the Mom of one of Jack's school friends. Jack & Bella have been at Bright Horizons together since they were newborns but they're now in different classes. Bella's mom emailed me this today:

"Jack just gets cuter each time I see him. When I got out of the car this morning, he said, “Hi, Bella’s mommy. My mommy is coming back at 4:30 pm. She says that is not a long time.” So sweet….."

This was after Jack followed me from inside the playground gate and kept telling me he was going to miss me and I kept saying "4:30...not long I promise!".

These are the little things I never want to forget!

Love,
Jill

Houston...we have a problem.

2009-09-03T08:02:00.001-07:00

Yep, the knob on my oh-so-gorgeous faucet broke yesterday. You're lucky I'm even letting you see this beauty! Our bathroom is off limits to those who have never seen our house....it's where the money ran out. Our vanity is a lovely shade of butter but since it's circa 1981, it's extra long and not worth replacing since I want to rip everything else out as well!

I'm just wondering how long it will stay this way since I live with Dave Ramsey. (Love you honey!)

*Oh and I just want to add that the sink is actually clean. Unfortunately this is what it always looks like.

It's Monday again...

2009-08-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

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!