Crime and punishment....

Monday was Ayden's last day of swim lessons for this session. Because it was the last day, parents were allowed in to watch (I usually have to watch from an upstairs observation room). Chris came with me and I was so excited for him to see what a great little swimmer Ayden has become over the last 10 weeks. But, that is not what happened. Having us poolside proved to be a great distraction and Ayden decided not to listen or follow directions or basically do anything he had been doing over the last weeks. We were less than impressed with his behavior, but he put the icing on the cake at the end of the lesson when he threw his googles at his teacher and they hit her in the head. That was it...he was in TROUBLE! Part of his punishment was that he had to spend the rest of the day by my side practicing good manners, following directions, and respecting adults. No TV and no playing...I was sure we were in for a rough day! But, after his spanking and time out in his room when we got home, he apologized and fell right into line with his next job-helping mommy clean! Aside from the usual picking up toys and putting things away, he also dusted and folded a whole load of towels. He really did great and gave me no more problems for the rest of the day! Anyway, here are a few pics I got from swim lessons (before he started acting a complete fool!) and him with his first basket of folded laundry! This kid is keeping us on our toes for SURE!!

My domestic little man!

He did it ALL by himself! :)

Ethan's 1st haircut!

Ethan before his haircut! Big brother had to be in the pic

too...but he couldn't quit checking his own new haircut out in the

mirror ;)

Yup, Ayden is still checking himself out! LOL!


Big boy haircut!!

She left a few curls :)

So handsome!!

Ayden's Birthday!

As is tradition, we had a fun-filled day of celebrating for Ayden's 4th birthday! The morning started at 6:45 with his big surprise: A new spiderman room and spiderman bike! Chris and I spent the 2 previous nights working late painting and decorating his room while he slept in the guest room. I was so excited that we were able to pull off the surprise! (And it helped that he fell asleep by 7 both nights!) Then he was off to MDO where he had cupcakes and his class sang Happy Birthday to him! After a nap in his new room, and a small cake and presents from Ethan, it was off the fair! Or so we thought....we found out at the gate that the rides weren't running. After some pretty big tears, we cheered our birthday boy up with a trip to Chuck E Cheese! We had a really busy but fun day with our boy! It was a super special day for us all!

Ethan was nice enough to get his big brother Rio, M&M's, and

waterguns! How sweet of him :)

Driving to the fair....he was SO excited

But Chuck E Cheese had the same effect! :)

Daddy and the Birthday boy!

Me and my sweet first born!

Little man is ready for pizza!

Thank you Memaw and Pappaw!!!

You made a 4 year old little boy

VERY happy yesterday!

New chompers!

Those top teeth have finally busted through! I wish that meant we would get a teething break for awhile...but I know there are still many more to come!

Ayden is FOUR!!

August 17th, 2007

One year old



2 years old

3 years old

4 years old!!!!

I just cannot believe our sweet first born baby boy is four years old!! Four is SO big to me, SO grown up!! I am so very glad they moved the school enrollment cutoff back to August 1st, so we still have 2 full years before kindergarten...that makes me feel much better! Although I know it will be here before we know it!

Ayden, here is what you are up to at 4 years old! :

-You weigh 50 pounds and are 43.5 inches tall

-You wear size 13 shoes, and boys size 6/8 clothes.

-You wake up, brush your teeth, pick out your clothes, and get dressed all on your own without being told. You are such a big boy!

-You are still a really picky eater, although you are getting a little better. You are also still very strong-willed, and sometimes will choose to go without food than to eat what we are having. This is saying a lot, because you like to eat! ;)

-You are hilarious, and love to tell jokes! I like to think you get your sense of humor from me, but I guess your daddy is funny too ;)

-You have an amazing memory and attention to detail! You remember specific events, locations, and people from as early as when you were 2 years old, without us even prompting or reminding you! Sometimes it's CRAZY what you can recall!

-You also have a very active and creative imagination! You come up with some of the funniest and unique stories when you are playing!

-You love telling stories and just talking in general :) You are very detail-oriented and a perfectionist-if you forget a detail in a story, you have to start ALL over! You love having the "floor" and getting to talk. You also have to have the last word. That makes things a bit interesting at times because I must have the last word too!

-You are a deal-maker/bargainer. You love to negotiate and I will admit you have out-witted me many times without me even realizing it until later, lol!

-You love doing anything active, and anything outdoors. You love, love, love to go outside and help your daddy work in the yard or garage. You are such a little man!

-You are very affectionate and kind-hearted. Sometimes just out of the blue you come up and kiss me and tell me I'm a "beautiful momma". You also hold the door for me every chance you get. You are such a charming little gentleman!

-You absolutely adore your baby brother and usually play very nicely with him. You have recently decided that you are big enough to carry him around, but you are not, and have dropped him a time or two, so we are having to watch you a little closer!

-You are friendly and outgoing, and strike up conversations with everyone we see-cashiers, librarians, complete and total strangers on the street. You like to tell everyone where we are going, what we are doing, and what we're having for dinner that night ;) it all goes back to you being a talker!!

-You are our sweet-hearted, STRONG-willed, creative, funny, lovable little boy and we love you so very much! We are so blessed to be your parents and thank God for you everyday!!

Happy 4th Birthday Ayden Christopher!!!

First Day of MDO!

Today was the first day of Mom's Day Out for the boys! That's right, Ethan is going too this year! Ayden was so very excited, he woke up at 6:30 and set out their lunchboxes and bags! Both boys did very well today, although Ethan didn't nap, there was too much to see and do! Ayden was excited to have several familiar faces from last year in his class again. They are both blessed with wonderful teachers and we're looking forward to another fun-filled year at Grace Point!

Yay for 76 degrees!

We headed out to the park first thing this morning to enjoy this lovely weather!

I want to help....

I just read THIS BLOG POST on one of my favorite blogs, It's Almost Naptime, and wanted to share it on my blog as well. I have been watching coverage on the worsening famine and drought in Africa on the Today show every morning, and I sob while seeing images of sick, starving, and dying children as I watch my healthy, nourished, thriving children play happily at my feet. I thank God everyday that I was born in this country and don't have to think twice about where or how I will get food for my children. I am ashamed to say though, that while I do cry and pray for those children, I haven't done anything else to help. I may not be able to jump on the next plane to Africa to help, but I can donate money. We are not wealthy, but the $50 we casually spend on a meal at a restaurant could help feed many starving children. I know I can't save the world, but I am going to make an effort to start donating money to this cause. We can eat one less time a month, or cut back on a handful of other things we spend money on without thinking first. I just wanted to share this decision and encourage you to do the same. The blog post has a link to another blog with several links of places you can donate.

Brotherly love!

Now that Ethan is mobile, wherever Ayden goes, he follows! They LOVE each other so much! Ayden sobs when we put Ethan to bed and begs to sleep with him every night! I love watching my sweet boys together!

11 months old!!

Sweet little Ethan, you are 11 months old today! You have grown, changed, and learned SO much this past month! You decided right around your 10 month birthday to become mobile, and haven't stopped since ;)

-You are a super-speedy crawler, especially if you are getting into something and we are coming after you!

-You get into everything! The house is pretty well baby-proofed, but you keep surprising us. This morning when I was putting clothes in the dryer, I came back and found you climbing into the fireplace!!

-You laugh when we tell you "no"

-You pull up and stand to play the majority of the time now.

-You cruise along furniture.

-You love to play in the playroom with your big brother. He isn't so sure about this "sharing" business, but likes to have you in there with him most of the time ;)

-I'm not sure what you weigh, I'm guessing around 25-26 pounds, but I moved you up to size 5 diaper and have been buying 18-24 month clothes for you.

-You still sleep all night in your crib, although since hitting all these milestones of crawling and pulling up, along with teething, you sometimes still wake up once or twice. You take 2 good naps a day.

-You are saying Momma, Da-Da, bubba, and Andy Bear, along with lots of sweet baby babble!

-You love to eat and are completely on table food now. You love all fruits and veggies, cheerios, eggs, cheese, chicken, beans, yogurt, pasta, bread...you name it, you love it! I haven't introduced peanut butter yet, it still freaks me out! Although I'm sure you've had traces of it, seeing that it's one of the major food groups for your older brother!

-You are drinking toddler formula, and I may continue to give this to you even when you turn 1. It's much more nutritious than cow's milk.


-You still have the calmest, sweetest disposition. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, who is around you for more than 5 minutes says, "He is the happiest baby!" You really are! You truly only fuss if you are tired and when you see me making a bottle, you can get a bit impatient.

-Okay, there's one other time that you fuss: when we put up the baby gate!

-You love to go! You go to big brother's swim classes and exercise classes each week, along with shopping and the library. You are always soooo good!

-you love your dogs! you would follow Andy all over the house all day long if we would let you.

-You are having your first birthday party 10 days before your actual birthday so that all our out of town family and friends can attend both your party and Ayden's on the same day. Mommy is having so much fun planning your party! Aunt Jenny took a few "early" 1 year pics when we were in Mena last week for your invitations. We will do another "official" photo session when you turn the big ONE!


Happy 11 months sweet baby boy!!!

Here's a few of your sweet pics from your pre-birthday photo shoot!

Happy 35th!!!!!

My wonderful parents are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary today! Nick and I were thoughtful enough to publish the above 3 pics in the Mena Star, and I thought they deserved a place on the blog as well ;) They are a beautiful couple who are great role models for marriage. In a generation where many of my friends have divorced parents, I am very proud to have parents who not only are still married, but still very much in love!

I love you guys so much! Have great anniversary!!