He's Getting so Big!

At four months Bubba is the size the girls were at 8 months. Now he is getting ready to be 5 months old and he has almost outgrown his infant car seat! The girls were in their's until after they were a year old!! It is amazing to see him change every day and learn new tricks! I remember wondering with the girls, "When are they going to do this or that?" I never get to wonder those things with Bubba, he always does something before I even get around to wondering. He LOVES watching his sisters play and be silly. They love to sit by his bouncey seat and sing to him and read to him and smile at him and shake toys at him and he just eats it up!!

She smiles!!!

I never thought I would get her to smile...But now every time she sees a camera LuLu wants a picture taken of her and she yells "cheese". I actually caught a smile...wonders never cease! Lina (pronounced Line-ah) has always been photogenic, but I couldn't leave this pretty picture out!

Reading Time with Daddy

Potty Training

Yes, I am certifiably crazy! For some reason, I constantly find the need to complicate situations when there really is no need. We moved the girls into big girl beds on the Sunday after they turned two and we started "potty training boot camp" two days later. WHAT WAS I THINKING???? Well, we were waiting for life to settle down from all of the family visits and birthday/baptism festivities and we HAD to do the boot camp while Wes had a week off of school for Fall Break, so there really was no way around it... yes, we could have waited until his next break, but that would not have been nearly as crazy, and y'all know I have to make things difficult! Smooches to my sweet husband who gave up his "relaxing" break and helped SOOOO MUCH that week and went back to school after his break WAY more tired and stressed out than he was before. We used the 3 day potty training method that we found on line through a friend from seminary. It didn't work. I don't care what you say...a 24 month old does not need to be given the authority to tell ME when they need to go to the bathroom. We spent 6 days and 8 rolls of paper towels and two bottles of vinegar before we decided to trash that method and set the oven timer to make them go every hour...it worked like a charm! We have now been diaper free for FIVE weeks with no day time accidents and only one or two night time accidents!! Our last pack of diapers...

Big Girl Beds

One week after their birthday we moved the girls out of their cribs and into toddler beds so Bubba could actually have a bed to call his own (when I get the nerve up to put him in his own room...the girls never had to be in a room alone, they've always had eachother...I know EVERY child in the world that is not a twin has to sleep in a room by himself, it just makes me sad...but, I diverge...) Anyway, Grandpa and Catherine got the girls beautiful bed sets to make the transition more appealing and exciting. Thank you Thank you!! I had heard horror stories about this transition and it really went better than we thought...except for naps...but after many days of trial and error, I think we finally figured out how to get them to sleep. Many funny stories were chalked up to experience along the way!!

2nd Birthday and Baptism

The girls turned two the end of September and we decided to have Bubba baptized the same day so family could be here for both celebrations and not have to make two trips. The girls LOVED opening presents and LOVED having their cousin here to help them celebrate. Thank you to Granny and Aunt Jean for all of the food preparation!!

Geema made Bubba's handsome baptism suit. She even got to use part of my high school graduation dress for his vest. How precious can you get??? Our pastor and his wife hosted a lovely outdoor brunch at their house after the baptism. We appreciate them so much, they love on us so well!

Dates

Yes, Thanks to wonderful babysitters...Wes and I have actually gotten to go out to dinner to a fabulous new place in Huntsville (Dolce) AND to a UGA game in Athens with NO CHILDREN!! Of course we miss them terribly, but it is nice to not be responsible for them 24/7! Thank you Nana, Mimi, and John!!!

Trip #1 to Atlanta

We had a nephew born one month after our little boy so we got to go to a shower for him (and his mommy and Daddy, Wes's brother) in Atlanta the weekend before school started. It was great to see family and get away before Wes's schedule got crazy!

It's been a busy three months!!!

Well, once again I have not been a loyal blogger. Life just gets so busy! But I have LOTS of pics to catch up on so check back for the next few days and I promise to have new posts until I run out of pictures. We really are having a great time with three kids. Can't remember life without them. We've even gotten to some football games, gotten out of the house WITHOUT the kids and laughed A LOT at our silly two year olds and our sweet little boy.

He just keeps getting sweeter!

The black and white pic is the one we used for his announcement, I just love it!! And the second pic was taken in Atlanta last week, don't you love the hair style? No gel needed!

Summer fun...

Our little backyard pools are a great oasis in this Alabama heat!!

Our girly-girl

How precious can this little girl get, I ask you? She is all about accessories (glasses, bracelets, earrings, lipstick, fingernail polish, etc)...I think we're in trouble!

Grandpa and Catherine visit

Grandpa and Catherine got to come for a long weekend to play golf, play with babies, and celebrate Wes's 30th birthday! The girls have a new favorite place, Bridge Street, where they can run around like crazy and this particular night, they got to shake maracas and dance to live music...They had a blast and we had a blast watching them!!

Nana and Papa Visit!

Sweet Big Sisters

Proud Daddy on Father's Day!

He's here!!

Our little boy arrived on Thursday. Here are some pics to tide you over until we can take some better ones at home! Check your e-mail for his particulars!

We LOVE Brusters!!

Well, being prego, I LOVE BRUSTERS! And I love it even more because the girls get a free cone when we go. We have been four times...The first two times I got the girls ONE free baby cone to share and I held the cone and let them take turns licking it ( I know, I know, I'm am the least fun mom you know!!). The third time I got courageous and took the girls by myself along with mega sized plastic bibs and let them each have their own cone. Needless to say it was hot and the cones were melty and messy, but we survived (and used about 100 wet wipes!!) The pictures are from the last time we went as a family and I finally remembered my camera. I was courageous once more and let the girls have their cones with sprinkles and "eyes"...bad idea...they were so distracted by the sprinkles and eyes that they just watched the ice cream drip and melt and barely got to enjoy the treat! Cute pics anyway...

Candids

Will she ever smile? I'm starting to think not!!

What happened to my one year old? Doesn't she look like she's four?? Except for the chubby toddler legs!!

Tess, the dog, is such a good sport!!

My little book worm!

Who's the coolest girl around? She thinks she is hot stuff with her pink shades! Wait til you see her with her purse and riding on her car, too!


So life is about to get CRAZY... We go in to have baby #3 on Monday!


I have a ton of pictures I've taken of the girls lately, but didn't have internet access to update the blog, so I'll give you a taste now and maybe a few more in the days to come before the baby takes over all of the blog space:) Thanks for being patient and checking back eventhough I've been a blog slacker!

Thanks to "the blue hutch" I get all sorts of good ideas and great links. I followed the instructions to www.livelaughblog.com and entered a fun little giveaway. Give it a try if you get the chance!

Free Day at the Botanical Gardens

Once a month the botanical gardens have a free day and we finally found out about it in time to take advantage of it! We had such a fun day walking around with our friends and eating lunch outside! The dogwood tree that we could all walk under (even the adults) was beautiful! The children's story book garden is something we will definitely have to go back for!