Mommy and Daddy go to Savannah

Trying to catch up...

Way back in April, we left the boys with gramma and boots and went to savannah for my cousin Jennifer's wedding. It was the first time in almost 10 years we were all going to see each other. It was also the first time we left te boys and went out of state. Good thing they were in great hands!  

They had a blast and B and I did, too. Lots of walking and enjoying the quiet. And of course, the wedding was GORGEOUS!!! 

Last pic before they drove off!

Our plane selfie for the boys

FaceTime rocks!

Mommy and her cousins

Mimi and her brothers and sister 

Pool party- Lego style

After attending a couple parties at Emler Swim School, Ben BEGGED to have his party there.  It was a BLAST!  Everyone had lots of fun.  The boys LOVED having Daddy in the water with them.  I loved having lifeguards and helpers so I could enjoy the party and visit with friends.  Lego doesn't license to any supermarket bakeries so I was having a hard time finding a Lego cake.  And then B said he'd make it.  He had NEVER worked with fondant before.  It took him about 4 hours, but I'd say he did a pretty good job!  Ben loved it.  Next year, though, he will be taking a few friends bowling or something!  This mommy isn't a party planner so it stressed me out!

Good job, Daddy!

If you weren't in the pool or behind that glass, it was SO hot and humid.  

Owen, Zac and Ben 'surfing'

NO one was more excited than this little guy to have daddy in the water with him!

He's a ham!

I tried to make the yellow plates and buckets look like Lego heads.  The buckets were filled with snacks.  And we ordered pizza for everyone since it was at dinner time. 

Sitting between Austin (his first bff) and Briggs

Very thankful for all the friends who came and loved on our sweet 5 year old!

FIVE YEARS!!!

FIVE!  Sweet Ben, today you are five!  Five isn't an infant, or baby, or toddler, but a kid!  Five is a BIG number to this mommy!  And I thank the amazing Lord we have that he has given you to me for FIVE years!  I lived a very happy, very content 28 years before you arrived and didn't think life could get much better.  Boy was I wrong!  Being a mommy, your mommy, is the most amazing thing that will EVER happen to me.  And your daddy.  We can't even remember life without you, although we are pretty sure we slept better!

Ben-you are, and always have been, ALL BOY!  You think burps and farts are funny and love to be naked.  You take all your clothes off to poop and love to talk about poop.  You wrestle, run and act like a ninja all the time.  All of these things are very weird to me.  You are very into ninjas, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, cars movie (still), superheroes and legos.  You could play with toys all day.  You still have your make believe family and talk about them daily.  Sally (your wife), Girl Fruit and Boy Fruit (although he was eaten by a polar bear in the jungle), Jojo and Amy.  I LOVE how you talk about your family.  

You are super, super picky.  You HATE milk, but love salad.  You are super shy and hate being in the spotlight outside of home.  Briggs ADORES you and emulates you all the time.  You enjoy bossing him around and telling him what to do or play.  Half the time you are great together, the other half is constant fighting.  

You are a loyal friend and can't get enough of your friends.  You sleep pretty well.  You're very responsible with going to bed when it's time and actually falling asleep and if you get up before mommy or daddy, you will play by yourself for awhile quietly.  

We love you to the moon and back 1000 times.  Last night I put a magic spell on you to stay 4 and little forever, but God has big plans for you because he cancelled my spell and made you 5 today!  I can't wait to see what big plans are in store!!! LOVE YOU!

Briggs is THREE!!!

Sweet Briggs,

Today you are THREE!!!  I can't believe my little baby is already three. You are loved more than you will ever know. You are an amazing, carefree, silly boy. You are a mama's boy in every sense of the word. I swear you would use a magic wish to make the two of us kangaroos so you could sit in my pouch all day. And as annoying as it can be, I really do cherish it!  You are the crappiest sleeper though. Sorry kid- but you suck!  Half the time you SCREAM until we come lay with you going to bed. This can last well over an hour. You are lucky your brother could sleep through a tornado. If you haven't thrown a huge fit going to bed, you are pretty consistent at waking up screaming and crying for mommy around 3 am.  It's a really good thing you're cute!!!

You try to be just like Ben. You copy everything he does or say. You also fight like cats and dogs. It wears this momma out!  But the good totally outweighs the bad. You love to sing and do a great job of picking out your clothes- they always match!  We were so worried last year about your verbal skills. Well, we aren't anymore :). You never shut up!!!  You're still not a tv watcher. You love to be outside and hate to be cold. You never eat. Like never!  Our little bird. You are itty bitty, too. You have daddy's long torso and wear 3t tops, but are still happily in 2t pants. I swear you weigh nothing. Makes snuggles easier :)

We put a hold on potty training until the summer. We have way too much going on in the next two months that it'll only stress all of us out!  Your best friends are Audrey and Camille. There's a good chance Audrey may be your wife. Young love :). Just like aunt Tina, you love the camera, too!

Briggs- we love you so much. You make life more fun. Your smile and hugs melt anyone who receives them. Happy Birthday sweet little bug!

Love, 

Mommy and daddy

Our sweet friend took some pictures for your birthday. These are our favs. 

You love Elmo!

(Sigh). Just happy and carefree!!!

Briggs called this his "monster's inc university" birthday. We had his party at Jump Zone. Fun for all!!!

Such a great group of friends!

 On Thursday we celebrated your birthday at school with donuts...yum!

Last night when you were in bed, we put your gifts on the fireplace. You ran in this morning to our room telling us that Santa had brought you presents :). Gosh, I love you!!!

Thanksgiving Turkeys

A thanksgiving post in February...umm...at least it got done. 

We have so much to be thankful for every day, especially the two little munchkins we get to call ours. We drove down to Austin on Thanksgiving morning. But before that- Ben had his thanksgiving feast at school. So cute!

What would we do without Michelle and her shirts???

Saying Grace

Aunt Jan hosted everyone at her house. I LOVE spending the day with over 20 people. The boys love their great grandma!

And Briggs LOVES his amazing Godparents :)

Ben and Nicholas 

My children, who are petrified of animals, finally warmed up to Jessie once uncle Jim started putting costumes on her. 

Back at gramma and boots' house they spent every second attached to them. Filling up the bird feeder is lots of fun when you're a toddler. 

Saturday night Briggs started a very croupy cough. We didn't have his nebulizer and B had taken a Tylenol pm so driving back wAsnt going to happen. So off to the er we went with Gramma!  Our sweet bug was the only one there, too!  

See- just one name

A couple hours of monitoring and steroids and breathing treatments made a huge difference. We went back and rested for just a little and then got up at 6 to drive back. Soooooo sleepy!

Christmas Cheer

Christmas with kids gets better and better!  Love it!!!

Ben was chosen to be a Shepherd in his Christmas program. He did not want to, but we gave him no choice. 

And this is why- how adorable!!!  Even though he just stood there the whole time. No dancing, singing or smiling. But he looked cute :)

We drove down to Austin the Saturday before Christmas for Kristin and Tommy's baby shower and to celebrate with gramma and boots. Sadly we only saw gramma and boots for all of an hour before they had to go do stuff. But- the boys loved opening gifts!

Then, just like at thanksgiving, Briggs started his croupy cough once we went to bed. But this time we just left and went home. In and out of Austin in less than 24 hrs!  And we had to miss celebrating baby Finley :(. Briggs continued to stay sick and was diagnosed with strep on Christmas Eve. Kind of a bummer. 

I love all the Christmas cards on our pantry door!

The boys enjoying their kindles from gramma and boots. 

Santa came!  And thank you daddy for letting me get a 10 ft tree. This momma loves big trees!!!  The boys were spoiled by everyone. It is so fun to watch their excitement each year. They loved talking about baby Jesus and Briggs would walk around singing about him and pretending to rock him in his arms...love, love, love!

Love me some Christmas Jammie's. last year and this year

Christmas evening we took a drive around the neighborhood to look at lights. Look at our chauffeur!  We tipped well!

Where did my baby go?

Ummm...four months of no blogging...awesome!  So much to catch up on. For now I'll start with tonight. This is what I saw when I checked on the boys before bed. Is todo and stared at my big four almost five year old. He's moved to the top bunk, wears undies at night, falls asleep on his own and falls asleep reading. Generally it's a Lego magazine, but still!  I can't handle this!!!