First Trip To The Park

Today was Jack Henry's first trip to the park! The weather was PERFECT! I am sure there will be many more days spent at the park!

Posing for a picture on our walk through "the forrest"!

I think she is finally starting to like the swings! She loved them when she was little, but once she got a little bigger she wanted nothing to do with them. 

Swingin' with Daddy!

Lydia wanted to ride her tricycle on our walk. We've got to find her a big girl bike soon ... her little legs are almost too long for her tricycle. She loves riding it though!

Jack Henry chilling on our walk.

Love these guys!

I feel so blessed!

Towards the end of our walk, Jack Henry started getting fussy and then passed smooth out while Lydia played some more! It's amazing what he can sleep through sometimes!

This picture CRACKED me up! We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and when he woke up he was smiling and grinning, so I decided to take a picture and this is what I ended up with!! Silly boy!

Football Craziness!

In our house, football is a year round thing. Seems like we are always talking something "football". With Jeff's job, there is not really a break from it! He writes all winter and spring for Hooten's Arkansas Football magazine, then the magazine comes out early summer, and then of course football season starts in August! I was never a football girl, but after Jeff and I started dating and we started going to ASU games I really have grown to like it! Guess it's a good thing!!

Getting ready for kick-off of ASU vs. UCA. It was fun to watch them on TV!

Ready to cheer on the Red Wolves with Daddy!

Such a little man! On the couch ... with the remote ... ready for the game to start!

Hoping we are able to make it up to Jonesboro for a game this season. It is always so much fun and nice to see friends from college. Can't wait to take Lydia to her first game!

"I Just Love Him"

Lydia LOVES Jack Henry. It is one of the sweetest things that I have ever experienced. He is almost 3 months old, and the newness has not worn off for her yet. I am so thankful that she loves him and wants to be around him. I tell people that sometimes she loves him a little too much! =) She loves to give him kisses and hugs and is always right up in his face. One of these days he is going to get her, and she's not going to know what to do! ;)

Here are just some of the phrases we hear over and over every day ...

 "I want to hold him."

 "I want to help!"

The helping part is just when she is in the mood! Hah! Seems like when I really need her to do something for me she is not interested! Oh well, I love that she wants to help some times.

 "He's so cute!"

 "Mommy, he's looking/talking at me!"

"Can I play with him?"

I can not wait to see the two of them grow up together and interact with each other. I know I've said this before, but I pray that they will be best of friends! I am so thankful that God gave us these two kids to raise and that He gave Lydia a sibling! I can not imagine my life with out my brothers!! Yes, there were times growing up I wanted them gone, but I love them so much! There is just something special about that relationship, and it is my prayer that Lydia and Jack Henry will experience that.

A Better Way

I have been looking forward to the weather changing so we could start getting out and taking more walks. I HAVE to get this baby weight off and also figured it would be a good stress reliever.  We decided that instead of buying a regular double stroller, we would buy a double jogging stroller, but Jack Henry is to small to ride in one right now.

This is how our walks looked ...

Lydia would walk for a while, but then would wear out (I don't blame her!) and hitch a ride on Daddy.

**She really does love riding up there, but she was not feeling to well that night. That's why she has that sad face!**

 Jack Henry got the best part of the deal ... hanging out while Mommy pushed him! Lydia also enjoyed riding her tricycle while I walked, but we could not go very far.

Doesn't he look comfy?!? Jack Henry also enjoyed taking walks this way! I on the other hand was WORN out by the time we got done.

Here is our newest way to take a walk!

A friend from our small group is letting us borrow her sit-n-stand stroller and it's been GREAT! Lydia loves having a little bit of freedom and being right there with Jack Henry. Hoping before too long Jack Henry will be able to ride in the jogging stroller and I can get back to running again.

FALL ... Finally!!

Lydia is SO excited that we finally have some fall weather! She has been asking for over a month now ... probably more like 2 or 3! ... when fall was going to get here. She LOVES to play outside, but with the hot summer we had, we were not able to go out very much. We have spent A LOT of time outside the past week or so and we've had the best time.

Cool enough for a little jacket and pants! =)

Can not believe how big she is getting. 

Having a little fun with side walk chalk. She was not too sure about me tracing her body, but once she got done and saw it she thought it was so cool!

Coloring "Lydia"

Ta-Da!

Even Jack Henry loves being outside!! Do you think he needs his own sunglasses?!? ;)

Just chillin' while big sister is riding her tricycle. 

HOPSCOTCH!

Me and my little girl hanging out while Jack Henry takes a nap. Love the little moments we get together just me and her!

A Work in Progress

We've been working on a few things in our house lately ... Some a little longer than others ... but working hard!

This was Lydia almost exactly a year ago ...

Yes, she is sitting on the potty trying to go poop. 4 days shy of being a year later she FINALLY started pooping in the potty consistently!

We are SO proud of her!! This has probably been the most frustrating thing we have gone through with Lydia so far. The little stinker (no pun intended!!) would not go for anything! No bribe that we tried worked. It was CRAZY! But for some reason, last Friday she FINALLY went! Maybe it was because we finally decided we were REALLY done buying pull-ups and refused to give in! Who knows ... but whatever it is, we are SO thankful that we are done with this!

Now on to the next battle ... this one is with Jack Henry. We are trying VERY hard to get him to take a bottle. He has no interest in it, and is pretty determined to not take one. He gets SO mad and upset. Breaks my heart! We have tried 5 different bottles; when he is awake and when he is sleep; when he is hungry and when he is not; inside, outside, bouncing on an exercise ball, standing up, sitting down ... just about everything we can think of!

Jeff got him to finally take some last Friday while I ran to Wal-Mart. He put a little sugar water on the nipple and he finally sucked some down. I was SO excited. That night I got him to take almost 2 ounces for me while Jeff was working and I was even more excited! I was thinking of what all I would be able to do ... sit through church without wondering whether or not he was crying because he is hungry, play Bunko, get my hair done, etc. I thought I would finally get to have a little break. Feeding him every 2-3 hours during the day for the past 2 months have worn me out. Well ... after that night, he wanted NOTHING to do with the bottle. Jeff or I have tried every day since then and nothing but screaming and tears (from Jack Henry and me!).

Well ... today when I tried, he finally started sucking and took almost the whole bottle!

 I was so proud of him! Again, there was screaming and tears, but he finally ate some!

Praying that he will finally realize that he can take a bottle and it's not that bad. I keep telling him it would make things a lot easier (when we are out running errands, @ church, gymnastics, etc) and that he could have fun play time with grandparents, but so far he hasn't really bought it! ;)

I know we will have many more battles as they get older. Just praying that we can make it through them all gracefully! 

Trip To the Zoo

We decided to enjoy the nice weather and take a little trip to the zoo today. While I finished getting dressed and fed Jack Henry, Jeff and Lydia went to run a few errands. I guess this little guy got tired of waiting on me, because this is how I found him!

 Passed completely out! I am sure that this will not be the last time he is bored waiting on me and/or Lydia to finish getting ready. Guess he had better get used to it! ;)

As I was driving down the interstate, I heard Jack Henry getting chocked on his snot (he has been REALLY congested the past few days) and as I look back in the mirror, I see all of his "breakfast" coming up. =( I could not do anything but keep driving. I felt so bad, but there was no where to stop. Thankfully, he slept right through it (not sure how!) and Jeff met me in the parking lot to help me get him changed and cleaned up.

Mimi met us for a little bit before she had to go get her hair cut. Wish she could have stayed longer!

Jeff and Lydia rocking while waiting for our pizza.

She loved the rocking chairs!

Me and my sweet girl who refuses to smile for the camera ... =(

We had a fun morning, but were totally worn out by the time we left! I ended up carrying Jack Henry around for a while ... boy was that a work out! Jeff carried Lydia on his shoulders quite a bit, so I am thinking before we go back, we are need a double stroller!!

Lydia Goes to School!

Lydia had her first day of school this past Tuesday. She was SO excited about going. She had been counting naps and asking every day if we could go back to her school after her open house. She is going 2 days a week from 9 - 11:30. We are hoping that if nothing else, it will help her learn to listen and follow directions better than she is @ home! =)

Love that sweet smile on her face!! She looked so big in her jeans! Really can not believe she is old enough to be going to "school"!

Every morning, the first thing she wants to do once she sees Jack Henry is awake is hold him! It's SO sweet! =)

So glad Jeff was here to help us get ready that first day and also go with us on his way to work. Made drop off a little easier.

Love these two!!

I was trying to get a picture of her in her seat, but this was the best that I got! She was telling me that she wanted to go play on the play ground!! Go figure!

This little guy is such a trooper! He just goes with the flow and is pretty happy about it most of the time!

After school we met Daddy for lunch down town to celebrate the first day of school!!

Lydia even got a yummy treat ... a delicious strawberry cupcake!

I guess she was worn out ... This was how I found her during nap time. It took her a little while to stop talking, but once she did, she passed out!

Jeff is off work on most Thursdays in fall, so it will be nice having a little time together with this little guy. This week he slept the whole morning ... through drop off, free breakfast @ Chick-Fil-A and a quick trip to Walmart. We came back home and I fed him and he passed out again and slept through pick up, Office Depot and lunch. It's amazing what he can sleep through!

And this little girl got the Good Manners Award on Thursday! She was so proud ... and so were we! It's good to know that she behaves when we are not around! ;)