Steal of a deal!

Notice this post isn't about school! That's because it is overwhelming me so much that I don't even want to type about it! So, instead I'm going to talk about my GREAT deal today at Target. Christen and I went shopping to use our "Sonny Money" for school stuff. Well, while we were there I saw a Britax Marathon car seat on the clearance rack. I've been wanting a Britax Marathon for Makinley but they are SO expensive that I didn't think I was going to be able to get one. They are normally around $300 or so full price. Well, this one was marked down to $188. I called my mom b/c she had planned on buying Mak's seat for her birthday. $188 was definitely more than she was going to spend but I thought maybe between the two grandma's we could make it work as her birthday present. When I got up to the register, the car seat was only $130!!!!! I was extremely excited!!! I can't believe I was able to find the car seat that I have been really wanting to get her for that cheap! Now, we still have to buy Tripp one, but I've decided to get him the Graco Nautilus. Although, I do wish that they had had 2 of the Britax ones....I definitely would have bought both. It's like my mom said, Jesus knew I needed something to lift me up this week and He brought it in the form of a car seat!

Tomorrow's the official 1st day.....

...of preplanning for me and all day sitter for my kids. Please pray for all three of us! This will be Makinley's first full day ever staying with someone other than family. Needless to say, I'm nervous. I rest assured that God is going to take good care of my babies and watch over them when I can't, but I'm still suffering from a little anxiety. Pray specifically that they will both eat and sleep okay away from home! Also, pray for good health. I realize that it's inevitable that they will get sick.....HOWEVER, I desperately need them to be well for at least the next two weeks. I need to get through preplanning, the first week of school, and MOVING. So, all "good health" prayers are much appreciated!

This should be fun!

I tried several times, unsuccessfully, to make a slideshow of pictures from our beach trip to put on here. So, here I am attempting to pick just a few of the 100's of pictures we took throughout the week. It's almost impossible to do because we got so many that were awesome. I'm beginning to think that Joey missed his calling- he should have been a professional photographer instead of a CFP. I thought I was decent with the camera, but he takes some awesome pictures. Anyway, we had a great time at the beach, as always. However, I have to admit that the definition of vacation has changed since we had children. I remember the days of getting a book and a bottle of suntan lotion and laying on the beach all day long. Not any more. For one, I have to take my entire house with me. Second, the kids can only tolerate the heat and sand for so long before they are ready to call it a day. Plus their sleep schedule is all messed up so Tripp has more tantrums than I care to deal with! BUT, at least I can see the ocean! This year, Trey and Jennifer also went with us. Also, I have to share one of the funniest things about the week. My dad tends to hang out a lot without his shirt on when we are at the beach. Tripp began to think that he should have his shirt off all the time too. Any time someone went into my parents room, Tripp would say "Take off your clothes". It was hilarious. So, I have several pictures of all the guys hanging out in my parents room with no shirt on! Rest assured, the girls did not participate (although Tripp tried very hard to get us to!) We really did have a great time. If you want to see more pictures, check out my facebook page. I really couldn't get nearly as many on here as I would have liked!

Touching the sand for the first time

Playing with Daddy

Family picture

The whole clan

Trying to figure out how to use a shovel

Playing with Mommy

LONG Day....and very sad.....

We had a great time on vacation; it just went by way too fast. We came home today and it was an extremely long ride. Makinley didn't sleep the whole ride (other than maybe 20 minutes) so there were a lot of tears. I'll post more about vacation later when I figure out how to condense almost 400 pictures into one post! (We got some GREAT ones of the kids!)

On a sad note....I officially start work tomorrow with new teacher orientation. I'm having a REALLY hard time with this. In fact, so hard that I'm not going to write any more about it for fear of crying. Just pray for me as I make the transition back into being a teacher. My heart right now is crying out to still just be a mommy!!!!

Big Girl Shoes!

Yesterday was the day that Makinley decided to officially become a full time "walker". It is so crazy to me how one day they mainly crawl and then the next day they're walking EVERYWHERE! Since she decided that walking was going to be her main way of transportation, I knew it was time to put shoes on her. She has never really had a need to wear shoes (I know, Erica, there is always a need for a girl to wear shoes!). Anyway, I put on her "walking shoes" for the first time yesterday and she freaked out! She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She just stood in the middle of the floor with a terrified look on her face crying. She wouldn't move for anything. It was funny, but sad too. I thought I would just try it every day for a little while until she got used to them. Well, today, you would think she was an old pro! She's been walking in them fine! These pictures are not the best quality b/c I was using the "action mode" to catch her in action! Notice she is carrying her brother's train track in her hand; the only reason she can get away with that is because he's taking a nap! Yes, we are already experiencing sibling rivalry, but that is for another post!

Don't forget me!

I'm trying to get packed for our annual family beach trip. With two kids as young as ours, you can imagine how long my list of things I need is! Anyway, I guess Makinley wanted to make sure I didn't forget one of the most important things: her!

Addicted

Most days, Tripp is content to only have his paci at bedtime, naptime and in the car. Other days (like today) this is how he is...... He's never been content to just have one. He always has to have a handful. Ever since he was a baby, we've had to put him to bed with at least five. If he wakes up in the middle of the night and can't find one, all heck breaks loose. I'm confident he won't go to kindergarten with a pacifier. But I have NO IDEA how I am going to break him of it! He is very addicted; it's his "crack cocaine" and when Tripp's happy.....we're all happy! :-)

Car Seats

Well, as Makinley is getting bigger, we are facing buying her a new car seat for my car. While we are doing that, we are also going to get Tripp a new one because we need both cars to have 2 car seats. Joey will take the kids to the sitter and I'll pick them up every day. It is way too much of a hassle to have to move car seats twice a day, so we are just going to buy Tripp a new one for my car. Buying two car seats is no cheap task. Luckily, my parents are going to get Makinley one for her birthday. So that means we just have to get Tripps. The problem I'm having is figuring out which ones to buy. I want Tripps to be a five-point harness until at least 65 pounds... in fact, it just hit me, I should buy both of them the same seat. The question is....WHICH ONE? I'm going crazy trying to research and find the safest/most affordable ones. One little "accessory" I want them to have is a cup holder and I want them to recline for long trips and easy rest. The options I've come across so far: Graco Nautilus, Evenflo Triumph Advance, and Fisher Price Safe Voyager Deluxe. Now that I say that, I don't think these go to 65 pounds; I think they just go to 50. I don't want my kids to have to sit in a booster seat. I want them in a five point harness until they are big enough to go straight to the seatbelt. I know I have some moms that read this that can give me some insight. Which car seat should I buy?!?!?!!?

Monkey See, Monkey Do

For those that are wondering, that is my eyeshadow all over my son's face. His daddy was not happy! If there is any question about his "masculinity", he immediately went and got his cars and began crashing them all over the house!

A BUSY Day!!!

What a busy day we had today! God has really blessed me with some amazing friends and today I got to see several of them. At about 8:00 this morning we headed to McDonough to catch up with some friends that we haven't seen in months. Kora, Erica, Jana and I all taught together at Ola for a year. Well, Jana and I taught together for 4 years (and I'm really not sure how I'm going to teach without her in the fall) but Kora and Erica were there with us for one year. The four of us have always enjoyed just hanging out together. The funny thing is how our conversations have changed over the last three years from talking about "our kids" in the classroom to "our kids" biologically. Erica had Ella last July and Kora had Kate the week before Makinley was born. Jana has two teenage daughters that we always love hearing stories about! Anyway, it's so much fun now to get together and watch the kids play and today we had our own little pool party at Kora's house. Kora and Erica were sweet enough to put on their bathing suits and entertain Tripp while I watched from the sidelines. Mak is always content to just float. Although I now live an hour away from them, I pray we continue to find reasons to get together in the years to come. It's just so cool to watch our kids grow up together!

One group shot: Ella, Kate, Tripp, Mak and Kora

I can just hear her thinking "This is the life!"

The sun was a little too bright for Miss Ella

Kate is saying, "Party at your crib or mine?"Tripp had double protection against drowning!

Before going to Kora's, we also had a playdate at Holly's house. Holly and I have been friends for 13 years and for the last 4 we lived about 5 houses apart. I spent at least one afternoon a week at her house. I have definitely missed our weekly (and sometimes daily) get togethers since moving. Her daughter Gracy was born the December before Tripp and her oldest son Dylan is 6. We hung out over there this morning for a couple of hours. Tripp and Gracy have always fought like brother and sister and today was no exception!

Cowboy Tripp

Makinley is playing with new toys!

Gracy protecting her ball from Tripp

Can't believe it's been five years!

It has been five years since I graduated from UGA. That is so hard for me to believe because it really does feel like it was just yesterday. Once I entered into my major of Early Childhood Education, I had every class with the same 23 girls. We grew really close during our last two years at Georgia together. Yesterday, we had a five year reunion at my best friend Carrie Beth's house. It was so much fun! Not everyone was able to make it (and we missed those of you that couldn't) but it was great to catch up with those that could. We all brought our families, so there were six kids running around and 2 pregnant girls! It's amazing how much changes in such a short amount of time.

From left to right: Kristin, Katie (my roomate at UGA), Jennifer, Carrie Beth, and me

I took a lot more pictures of the kids running around having a good time but it was basically the same pictures over and over again! :-) However, out of the five of us pictured above, 4 of us have blogs (everyone but Jennifer, and we are working on her). So, you can see The Wyatt Clan, The Jones Family, and The Poseners from my blog!

Just because....

she is so stinkin' cute that I had to share!

Teething Stinks

Teething makes a bad sleeping baby a horrible sleeping baby. It has been pretty miserable around our house for the past week. Makinley is NEVER fussy (and I mean NEVER) but for the past few days, she has been pretty irritable. She hasn't been napping very well and the nights are extremely long. Last night she woke up at 10:30, 2 and 5:15. I've been nursing her back to sleep more for comfort than for nutrition b/c I know she isn't hungry but she is hurting. And I am desperate to get back to sleep as fast as I can and nursing her is the surest way to make that happen. I know it is creating and enforcing a bad habit. She has been a late teether. Tripp had his first teeth at 5 months. She didn't cut her first 2 until 8 months. She'll be 10 months on Sunday and is now cutting her 3rd. It's funny though because she is cutting another one on the bottom instead of her top two. The order is messed up! She is going to have a mouth full on the bottom and none on the top. If anyone knows some magic solution for pain at night, I'm all ears. We are doing the alternating Tylenol/Motrin at night. Any other suggestions?

Also, just because I am throwing myself a pity party....it has now been 10 months since I've slept through the night at all and it's been 28 months since I've slept through the night on a consistent basis. Oh, the joys of motherhood!

No more bed head!

Before haircut.....notice the color of his paci! We show no favortism towards things that are blue yet...especially when it comes to a pacifier!






After haircut! I love it that when he wakes up his hair looks great!

My little fish

First let me just say, I love this picture! It definitely captures how much fun he is having this week at swim lessons. He can't stop smiling and saying, "Mommy, look at me! I'm sfimming" at the top of his lungs. There was also the time that he jumped out of the pool ran over to me and said "High Five, Mom". That got a good laugh out of everyone!





You can see how intently he is watching "Coach Chris" in this picture. He wants to make sure he isn't going to let go!










These are the other two little boys taking lessons with him; Chase and Blake. They are both 3 1/2 and I can tell a big difference in their developmental abilities vs. Tripp's. But he is still doing awesome! He's learned to kick, blow bubbles in the water, and he's sort of learned how to move his arms.






Look at his face! This was when he finally kicked outside of the water for the first time and he is so proud of himself. It's been hard to get him to understand how to kick out of the water instead of like he's trying to walk under the water.








If I may say so myself, this is one pretty girl! She has been content to just sit in her stroller and watch all the action at the pool!










Kicked back!

I love it!

Can I just say that I love it that more of my friends and family have begun to blog because of what became my newest "addiction"?!?!?! I feel like my "places I lurk" grows longer every day!

The Ocean.....

"I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it." Jeremiah 5:22

With our family beach trip coming up very soon, my whole family is extremely excited and counting down the days. As I was reading the other day, God revealed this verse to me and it made me stop and think. I've always known that God made the ocean but I've never stopped to think that He created it in such a perfect way that it will never cross over the sand and flood the earth. This made me realize that surely if God is powerful and mighty enough to do that, then He can definitely help me through the daily ins/outs/struggles that come with being a mom, wife, daughter, sister, teacher, friend, etc. I just have to trust and have complete faith in Him. When I go to the beach and see the ocean, I know I will think of this verse and feel God's peace in a whole new way.

First Steps

I can't believe it, but Makinley is starting to walk!! A few weeks ago, she started just standing up in the middle of the floor without holding on to anything and then last week she started taking those first steps. She definitely still crawls most of the time but she is getting to where she will take 4-5 steps before sitting down and starting to crawl. Tripp was walking all the time by 10 1/2 months. Right now she is a little bit ahead of him in how early she is doing this. He couldn't stand up without holding onto something until he was 11 months so she is way earlier than him on that. She seems to walk better when she is holding something; I guess it helps her balance. We practice all the time every day and I'm anxious to see how long it will be before she walks everywhere she wants to go. Tripp is loving it and he encourages her saying "Good job, sis!!" I love it!

Happy 4th!

Madison has a big July 3rd celebration every year. So, Thursday night we had some friends over for dinner and then we went to watch the fireworks at the park. It was Tripp's first time seeing fireworks and he was mesmerized. He kept naming all the colors and he told his GiGi all about them the next day. On July 4th, we went and hung out at my parents house all day. It was low key....family time with my parents and Trey and Jennifer. We always enjoy just hanging out together.

I'm so thankful for the troops that are fighting so that my children are able to grow up in a country that is free! I pray God blesses them and their families as they are away and that He brings them all home safely!


Tripp couldn't stop watching the fireworks long enough to smile
He loved the fireworks and riding on his daddy's shoulders

I'm waiting on someone to realize it's WAY past my bedtime!

The bathroom floor....

This is where I slept for about 1 1/2 hours last night. Why? Because I am trying so hard to get my daughter to start sleeping through the night a little bit better. For whatever reason, God decided to bless Joey and I with children that don't really like to sleep. Tripp didn't start sleeping through the night until he was 17 months old and Mak seems to be heading down that same road. But with me going back to work in just 4 short weeks, I really need her to start doing a little bit better. I don't mind her getting up once a night....but two, three times a night is killing me. However, the only room in my entire house that I can't hear her when she cries is in our bathroom. Last night, I got up with her when she woke up at 11 and nursed her back to sleep. But then when she woke up again at 2, I thought "No way". I knew she wasn't hungry and I had just changed her diaper. She is just in the habit of waking up. So, I took my pillows and a blanket and layed down in the bathroom floor until 3:30 this morning. When I woke back up, she had stopped crying and gone back to sleep. I have no idea how long she cried. This might seem cruel to just let her lay in there crying, but she is 9 1/2 months old and it is time that she starts sleeping longer than 3-4 hour stretches at night. Joey came stumbling into the bathroom last night and stepped on me! He knows though that I can not just lay in bed listening to her cry....it obviously makes my mommy's heart hurt to listen to either of my kids cry. I have to go where I can't hear her. I plan on doing it again tonight and tomorrow night. They say it takes about 3 days to break a habit in a baby; we'll see! My goal is to get her to sleep from about 7:30-1/2 and then sleep again from then until around 7 the next morning. Until then...I may have to sleep on the bathroom floor for a little while every night!

This is an old picture, but could you resist this face either? This is why I hide in the bathroom!

the coolest thing.....

If you look at the "places I lurk" on my blog, you will notice one called "keeping awake". I don't know the author, Boothe, personally, but I have been following her blog for some time now. If you have ever clicked on her blog and read any of it, you will see how awesome her faith is/has been during a very hard time in her life. In September, she lost her baby to Trisomy-18. Through reading Boothe's blog, I have also read several other women's blogs who are going through the same thing she is.

Well, this weekend, there were a group of women walking in front of me that had on t-shirts that said "Our little ones are dancing with Jesus now" and then it had the names of babies and how long they lived listed. I stopped one of the women to comment on her shirt. The cool thing? It was one of the women who I have been reading her blog on-line for months. In fact, these women had all met each other face to face for the first time this weekend. They've been corresponding through emails and things for months as they have each suffered from losing a baby. So, they decided to meet for the first time at the Deeper Still conference. Anyway, Boothe was not there (but they all knew her and talked with her) but I couldn't believe that I was getting to meet a couple of the women who I almost feel like I know just from reading their blogs. I just thought it was the neatest thing to be able to tell them myself how much they have ministered to me through their writings.

they deserve it......

I just finished reading my friend Stephanie's blog and she made so many good points. I feel as if in the past, I have been the type of Christian that goes through extreme highs and then just kind of stagnant times in my relationship with God. Actually, before the conference started on Friday night, while we were eating dinner, I told the women that I was with that the biggest thing I was afraid of was that I would leave the conference "on a high" and then let every day life set in and go back to just living life day to day without seeking God's face. I am DETERMINED not to do that this time. I'm trying to figure out how to seek God's word on my own and figure out His true plan and desires for my life. The women this weekend stressed to us that we have a direct line to God on our own.....we don't have to go to conferences or read devotionals or hear speakers. We can pick up our Bibles and let God speak to us Himself. That is what I am now trying to do. It won't be easy.....moms of young children know how hard it is to get time alone to do anything, especially something that requires your undivided attention like reading God's Word. However, I am making it a priority in my life. I realize that the more time I spend delving deeper and learning more, the better mom and wife I will be. No one deserves me living a Godly life and seeking God's face daily more than my children.