Goodbye, Papa

Today, just short of 7 months since attending my Grandpa's funeral, we watched my Papa as he was laid to rest. Although the pain of losing 2 grandfathers in such a short amount of time has been overwhelming, I am thankful that he left this earth in such a peaceful and painless manner. He simply leaned back in his recliner for an afternoon nap and fell asleep forever. He was 91 years old and led a heroic and noble life, fought on the front lines of WWII and received several medals, and much like my other grandfather, loved his grandchildren. I am so blessed to have pictures of him holding both my boys. I find peace imagining him and Grandpa together in heaven, fishing on a big lake :) My heart goes out to my parents, who have now both lost their earthly fathers, and my grandmothers who are widows that have to find a way to live without their husbands. I pray for peace for them. Farewell, Papa, I loved you very much and will miss you.

It's all ours!!!

So this post is about a week late, but.....

This is our new home!!!

Chris and I are overwhelmed with excitement to be homeowners again, and just keep pinching ourselves to see if this is really happening! We truly love, love, LOVE this house and feel so blessed that everything fell into place at just the right time for us to purchase it! We look forward to many happy years here!

Little Jeffrey!

A couple of weeks ago while packing up the closets, I found some of my dad's baby clothes that my Grammie had given me when Ayden was a baby. I was so excited to see that one of the outfits had Dad's name (Ethan's middle name) on it! Also, I was amazed at what good condition they were in, as they are over 55 years old (sorry, dad ;) I couldn't wait to try them on Ethan and snap some pics, which I gave dad for father's day! Good thing I found them when I did, another month and they wouldn't have fit! They are a little snug...but super sweet!!

Father's Day Weekend

Daddy and Ethan at the Save the Trails benefit

An amazing daddy and his boys!

We spent a fun-filled weekend in Mena with my parents! I love summertime in Mena, it reminds me of being a teenager (except for the husband and 2 kids that come with me ;) Chris smoked ribs all day Sunday and Ayden and I spent a lot of time lounging in the pool :) Ethan had a blast inside in the air conditioning being doted on by Memaw, Great-Grandma, and her friend Sylvia. I apologize for not taking more pics, its so unlike me I know!!! Also, in honor of Father's day, I am posting Ayden's answers to the questions I asked him on Mother's day, only this time about his daddy! Enjoy! :)

Father's Day Questionairre!

1. What is something daddy always says to you? "Ayden, I love you" and "ok, go to time out!"

2. What makes your daddy happy? "I give him kisses and hugs"

3. What makes your daddy sad? "when I say a bad word and go to time out and get a spanking"

4. How does your daddy make you laugh? “tickles me!”

5. What was your daddy like as a child? "Scout the dog"

6. How old is your daddy? "4"

7. How tall is your daddy? "so so tall! he's my favorite daddy!”

8. What is his favorite thing to watch on tv? "football and the news”

9. What does your dad do when your not around? "take care of Ethan”

10. If your daddy becomes famous, what will it be for? "i don't know what famous is”

11. What is your dad really good at? “wrestling”

12. What is your dad not very good at? "nothing"

13. What does your daddy do for a job? "he works on his computer”

14. What is your dad's favorite food? "chicken"

15. What makes you proud of your dad? "he plays with me”

16. If your dad were a cartoon character which one would she be? "Diego"

17. What do you and your dad do together? "wrestle”

18. How are you and dad the same? "we are boys"

19. How are you and mom different? "I’m little and he's big”

20. How do you know your dad loves you? "he hugs me”

21. What does your dad like about your mom? "when she goes to work” HA!! this one was my favorite!

22. Where is your dad's favorite place to go? "walmart with me”

9 month stats!

Our little man had his 9 month well baby visit today! He is growing like a weed and super-healthy! He weighs 23 pounds even and is 29.25 inches long. His length stayed on the same curve (90th percentile) but his weight shot up a bit, from 60th to 90th! I could have told you that, my right hip carries this little chunk all the time! ;) Ethan is a great eater and is really losing interest in formula and his bottle (except for around 1-3 AM--lol!!). I have to really push him to take a bottle during the day. The doctor said (obviously) he is growing fine and not to worry about it. He was in full, sweet, 9 month old form and showed off for the doctor with all his smiling, cooing, waving, clapping, and shaking his head "no" cuteness!We are so thankful for our healthy boy!!

He is happy because he just heard the doctor say there

are no shots at the 9 month visit! ;)

I Heart Summer

And I heart these boys even more.

9 months old!

Ethan you are 9 months old today! What a big boy you are getting to be!
You are one smiley, sweet, happy little guy!

You had your first dip in a swimming pool last week...

and you really weren't too amused by it!
You enjoyed the baby swing much more :)

You love to sit on your blanket and play with all your toys!
You really love it when big brother plays with you!
You can clap your hands when we play pat-a-cake and get
so excited!
You sleep really well, anywhere from 4-6 hour stretches, in
your own bed. You still get 1-2 bottles during the night.

You are a GREAT eater and eating all kinds of foods now, including finger
foods and mashed table food. Your favorite things to eat are any type of
fruit with oatmeal, graham crackers, black beans, cheese, chicken,
cheerios, baby mac and cheese, peas and green beans. But you will
pretty much eat anything and have gotten more tastes of table food
than your big brother ever did at your age ;)
You are growing well! You have a 9 month well-baby check-up in a couple weeks.
You have made it through cold and flu season without getting sick! You had a runny nose
for about one week and that was it! I was really sure that having an older brother in preschool would set you up for lots of germs, but you have been one healthy boy. I credit breastmilk and OCD-style handwashing around here all winter long!
You aren't officially crawling yet, but don't worry, you get around! You flip, twist, roll, scoot, and drag yourself all over the floor!
You babble and shriek excitably alot. You say Da-Da when you are happy and Ma-Ma when you are tired or fussy. You love your daddy very much, but are definetely momma's boy. If I walk past you and don't pick you up it breaks your heart. Your very favorite place to be is on my right hip! You love your momma!
You give sweet slobbery baby kisses!
You LOVE LOVE LOVE your big brother. If he is around, your eyes are glued to him and you laugh out loud multiple times a day just watching him or listening to him. So sweet!!
Happy 9 month birthday Ethan Jeffrey! We're on the 3 month countdown to your big day!!

Huge sigh of relief!!

Today we found out from our landlord that he has approved someone to sign a new lease and move in July 1st!! This is such a huge relief, and also means that we better get packing!! We also had the home inspection done on the new house and were thrilled to find out that there were no major issues in the 38 year old home. We will be looking at replacing the heating and air unit sometime in the next year or two, but we knew that from the start. There are also a couple of dead trees that need removed and a few other minor issues, but nothing to make it a deal-breaker! We talked to the loan officer today and ordered the appraisal for next week, and he said we are on track to close June 24th. Yay!!!!!

After a couple of ridiculous quotes from moving companies, we have decided to rent a POD and start packing/loading next week. Now, I just need some boxes! LOTS of boxes!! This is going to be a busy but exciting next few weeks!

My whole world.

I'll never know what I did to deserve this wonderful man and these 2 precious boys, but I do know I'll never stop thanking God for them :)

It's.....

Snowcone time!!!!