Fall Fun!

So that is how we found them. Sound asleep. This habit started because Harris decided he was not going to sleep in his crib anymore. He started screaming when we put him in his crib so we took his crib apart, put his mattress on the floor, and no more screaming. As you can see this sleeping arrangement led to new challenges. Every night we have to get the boys to stay in their own bed.
These brothers they sure do love each other! I think if we just bought a double bed they'd sleep together.


It has rained a LOT lately and that led to...finding ways to enjoy the outdoors in the rain! First the boys were just throwing leaves into the water then came touching the water and finally they were all in. The boys ran through this ditch over and over again until Dad finally said that it had to be naptime (for like the third time).



Besides this guy's nice overalls, this pic has some other fun stuff...like Maddox with a giant snake. Some kids might find this creepy or something, but Maddox just went right up and grabbed it.


Although the snake was pretty cool the real reason we went to Lifeway in Shreveport was to see Bob and Larry from Veggietales. The boys were pretty excited and quite surprised since we didn't tell them what we were going to see and just let them see it for themselves. Harris was a little unsure at first but then he warmed up and enjoyed poking Bob in mouth.



Normally you can't pull Maddox away from a firetruck but this picture was taken just moments before Maddox flew through the air into his Dad's arms. The fireman on the other side did not see us and blew the air horn (which was right below Maddox's feet) and we all jumped, though none quite as far as Maddox.

First Day of Preschool

Maddox had his first day of preschool Tuesday Sept 15! He had a great first day and great first week! He really enjoys his school and is never ready to leave. Everyday when he asks if he is going to school we tell him yes and he replies with great enthusiasm "I get to go to school AGAIN?!!?"

Jamie and Harris have enjoyed their time too! Harris is not used to all the one on one attention, he absolutely loves it!

Not much to report over the last month. We had some friends visit for a few days which was really fun! The boys all had a great time together and Michelle and Jamie got to hang out and visit which is always fun!



Last week it rained all week long, everyday. And it didn't just rain a little, it poured, we probably had about 14in of rain last week. Thankfully it was only rain and no thunder and lightning which means we can still play outside! The boys love to play in the rain!



The new baby is doing great. We are now 23 weeks along. We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago but the pictures turned out really crummy so we don't have any to share. And we are not finding out the sex this time. It was so much fun not knowing with Harris we decided to do it again. On a side note we are not having another baby because we wanted to try for a girl. We are having another baby because we thought it would be fun to add another little blessing, boy or girl, to our family.

Jamie has started sewing again and opened up an etsy store you can check it out here. She also has a new craft blog where she documents all of her crafty things she makes. You can find it here

Summer is Drawing to an End

It seems like our summer months were a blur,and it is now the middle of August!! We have kept so busy this summer and have enjoyed the warm weather, it makes for great swimming and slip and slide days!
The boys are both now sporting some pretty impressive tans, the darker Maddox gets the more he reminds us of Jamie's brother, Eric (uncle E),who we have concluded must be part mexican.

Maddox is getting ready to start preschool in September!! We have all been looking forward to it for quite some time. He'll go 9am-noon 5 days a week. He is more than ready for it and so is Jamie, although it will be quiet and a little lonely without him around. Maddox has always brought a special fun to our days, he has a great personality. Harris will be very lonely without Maddox around. Those two play so much together. But, Harris will definitely love the one on one Mommy time, at least until January.

Speaking of Harris, what a hoot that boy is. He has a very funny sense of humor. He is talking a lot now and has some new words the ones that come to mind are "more cracker, bubble and cow. He has lots more but it is always hard to remember what they are. He also likes to say "uh uh" and shake his head no anytime you ask him a question.

He is our master climber and knows how to climb onto the couch now along with many other things. He tries to do everything Maddox does and has no idea he is two years younger. Harris is a full blown toddler now complete with throwing fits and everything. It's funny how they can go from baby to toddler in about 12 hours.
He has 6 teeth and 2 more coming in. He is finally getting some hair and will most definitely be a cotton top, his hair is very very light.

We have had some great rainstorms the last few days. The boys love to play in the rain so the rain is a great playtime activity. Brian enjoys playing in the rain too so he is always very eager to take the boys out in it.

Brian's birthday was in July so Jamie and the boys made him a cake. Maddox put the sprinkles on! Maddox has also been saying that Brian wanted swords for his birthday, so daddy got 2 light sabers for his birthday. This is a picture of Maddox showing off the light sabers.


Maddox also thought daddy needed a new firetruck, helicopter, and ambulance but we stuck with just the swords.

We took a trip to the park with our friends the Cavin's the other day. This is a picture of Maddox and their little girl Caroline. They are too cute together!

Stay tuned for some video of Harris slip and sliding....that as a hoot! We'll put it up as soon as we get it uploaded to the computer.

The Timeout Copycat

So lately Harris copies everything Maddox does! We noticed the other day Harris putting himself in timeout. What's really funny is the fake cry that goes with it! We thought we would catch this on video to share. Harris does a pretty good impression of Maddox in timeout!


Enjoy!

Wowzers!

This blog has not been updated in a long time! Sorry, the whole month of June was a crazy whirlwind of activity! We had trips to Lafayette, vacation bible school, swimming lessons, camping, playdates, etc etc. We look forward to July, we have an empty calendar!!



The boys are doing fantastic. Maddox has been enjoying the summer a great deal. He had a week of swimming lessons in June and he also has them this week. Of course, he loves them! He is doing really well and is very confident in the water. Today he decided that he was going to learn to dive after watching some older boys do it during the lesson before him. His teacher got such a kick out of it and he was actually pretty good. We have learned that swimming is a great way to wear Maddox out and get out lots of his energy, He often tells us "I have lots of energy!"
Some of Maddox's favorite things right now are riding his bike, eating popsicles, swimming, and painting. He also likes playing with Harris a lot.

It is so hard to get them both looking at the camera!!

Harris is doing great too! He finally started walking on June 16! He would take about nine or so steps then decided it was much faster to crawl. But now he is completely walking, no more crawling for him. It has opened up a whole new world for him and for us! It is so cute to see him toddle down the hall to his room with paci in mouth and book in hand when we tell him it's time to go to bed.
He has a small vocabulary now. He can say cracker, hot, mama, dada, dog, and wow. He also calls Maddox "maa maa."
Here is some video of Harris walking, you can tell that Maddox gets really excited when we take the video camera out!

Harris adores Maddox and has to do everything he does. They really enjoy each others company so much and play very well together. They do get in quite a few squabbles though, don't want to paint too rosy of a picture!



Jamie and the boys took a trip down to Lafayette early June to visit some friends and family. She stayed with her friend Michelle she also has two boys who are very close to the same age as Maddox and Harris. The boys all played great together and they all had a great time.

Playing with Preston, this picture just screams trouble!!


They also got to visit with MawMaw and PawPaw Bernie. Of course the first thing Maddox wanted to do was ride PawPaw Bernie's tractor. Harris even got to have a ride!


This last weekend for the Fourth of July we went down to H-Town to visit with Jamie's parents. The boys had a great time in the pool! Maddox went swimming about 3-4 times a day, anytime anyone would say yes to taking him he would go!


We also did some fireworks. Maddox liked them ok as long as they didnt make too loud of a pop! Harris loved them, we had to stop him from trying to go up to them.
So, the newest excitement around here is that our new little blessing should be arriving sometime in January! Yep, thats right we have a new little one on the way. Jamie is about 12 weeks along and everything is going great! Thankfully, this pregnancy has not been as hard on her as the last two. We are all very excited and Maddox loves talking about the new baby. He'll ask us out of the blue sometimes "are we going to have a new baby?!"

So life around here has been pretty hectic and tiring but we are making it through!

A Little Vacation

We took a little family vacation the other weekend to New Orleans. We had a great time and the boys really enjoyed all the fun things we got to see. Brian's coworker was getting married in LaPlace so we thought we would go to the wedding and stay in New Orleans for the weekend. We stayed on Canal St just 2 blocks from the river. Maddox was so excited about all the boats on the river, that's all he talked about the whole weekend.

We had Mother's Day breakfast at Cafe Du Monde and then went to the Aquarium and the Insectarium. The boys had a blast. Maddox especially liked the Insectarium. He got to see lots of cool bugs and even eat some too! The Insectarium had a little cooking room where they would cook bugs into different recipes, Maddox was very willing to try them and even asked for more! All of this excitement eventually led to the very rare moment where both boys fall asleep in the stroller while Jamie shhopped for some Louisiana type books to help us remember the trip.

Did we mention there was a firetruck?? It was Maddox's lucky day as we walked down to the French Quarter rigt past the firestation. The firemen were happy to let Maddox see whatever he wanted. He got to wear a helment, hold the ax, open up all the compartments on the truck and even got to play with the hose!

Before we left on Monday we took Maddox on the ferry over to Algiers. It was a free so that ment free entertainment for Maddox! The ride on the ferry was probably the highlight of his trip!

We have been working in our garden the last few weeks and we are very excited about all the things we have growing. We have tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, watermelons, squash, cucumbers and peas. We have had lots of rain over the last few weeks and the plants have loved it. We should have some tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers ready pretty soon! Here are some pictures so you can see how much our garden has grown!

Happy Birthday Maddox!

Yay! It is Maddox's 3rd birthday! He is SO excited! We will be spending the day doing lots of fun things. We are planning to go to Sci-Port, a discovery science center, in Shreveport and then going to eat at Chick-a-laid (aka. Chick-fil-A).

We are so thankful and blessed to have Maddox! He is such a joy to be around.
Some fun things that are going on in his life right now: He loves to talk and ask questions. He talks a lot and very well. He is a very inquisitive little boy and likes to know how and why things are the way they are.


He says funny and cute things all day long, Jamie was tickled the other day when he told her she looked like a princess, she was dressed for church in a flowing skirt, he was so cute and serious when he said it. He also likes to tell us "stop frustrating me!" Our telling him to use his words has kind of backfired on us a time or too! ;) We try to remember funny things he tells us but he says so many throughout the say it is hard to remember.


Maddox is really into meeting new people. Everywhere we go he asks almost every stranger what his or her name is then he'll stick out his hand and say "nice to meet you." Everyone that gets this special little introduction is just tickled by it. Maddox always brightens our day and it is so fun to watch him brighten other people's day too!


We had a little birthday party for the boys last weekend. The boys had a great time with all of their little friends! Maddox was super excited about his birthday party and his cake! Jamie made him a LarryBoy cake. Larry Boy is a character from Veggie Tales, a show that he really likes. We enjoyed visiting with everyone and getting to spend some time with family too!


We hope you all have enjoyed keeping up with this blog for the last 3 years! We'll continue to post here, especially since it serves as the boys baby books!

A little note for Maddox~
Maddox, you are so awesome and such a joy in our lives! We thank God for you every day and the blessing that you are. Keep up your feisty little spirit, God will use it in big ways!
Happy Birthday!