thirty

My husband turned the big 3-0 last Thursday! I'd been secretly planning a few fun surprises that day, so we were excited that 3/3 finally arrived. His secretary at his office (whom we all LOVE) asked for some pictures of Ryan as a baby/kid that she could blow up and decorate his office with. Ryan's mom sent me some great ones, and the poster that Patrice made was perfect, as were all the BLACK streamers and balloons! Ryan was a great sport, he appreciated the effort everyone made to make his day at work special. Braidy, Quin and I went to the office for lunch, but Quin wasn't feeling very good so we made it a quick visit.

After work, I told Ryan I was taking him to Outback and that a babysitter was coming to watch the boys. He had to run to baseball practice really fast after work, so he was in and out in 10 minutes. I purposely left the house "undone" so he wouldn't read into things. The minute he left I started cleaning. I didn't leave TOO much to be done because I only had about an hour. At 6:45 some friends started coming over for a little surprise party. Cliche' but I had to do it. Bighams catered it and Mrs. Camps made her famous strawberry cake (R's favorite!), so I kept it simple on my part! They all parked down the street so when Ryan drove home from practice he wouldn't see a bunch of familiar cars! He walked in the door around 7, and SURPRISE!! He said he really was surprised. I'm glad, because I'm usually horrible about covering my tracks. We had BBQ and enjoyed visiting. I missed much of the party because poor Quin was sick, but I hope everyone else enjoyed themselves!



And for the final surprise. I've been saving my pennies for a few months now, and most of the family went in with me, but his present was an IPAD 2! It comes out this Friday, so he had to wait an extra week, but I know it will be worth it!

I am so thankful that Ryan was born 30 years ago. He is such an amazing husband and father to his boys. He provides for our family, he is a wonderful spiritual leader for our home, helps me around the house, and never tires of playing with his boys. We all love you so much!!!

Yummy!

pretty much in love with this little guy with the big ol cheeks!









And just for fun...here's a comparison of Braidy and Quin, both at 3 months old.

momma rambles

For me, blogging serves a few purposes. To remember the stages of life that pass all too quickly. A place to put pictures other than in a folder on the computer or in a shoebox under the bed. A place for funny stories I want my children to be able to read one day. And a book I can read in the years ahead when I need to be reminded of the wonderful and sometimes challenging parts of parenthood. After all, isn't every stage a challenge of some kind?

We are at a few different stages of life right now, but let's keep it real. The good. The bad. The ugly.

We have an almost-6-year-old who is discovering his independence and deciding what is "cool" vs. "not cool". John would be a very happy kid if he could wear Under Armour shorts and t-shirts everyday of his life. It is often a battle that involves pouting and tears when we choose jeans or nice shorts for him to wear to school. He still plays like a "kid", but seems so grown-up in other ways. He still idolizes his daddy. He is super excited about baseball season starting back up this week. He comes home talking about addition and "taking away"...and all the other "hard stuff" they do in his school. I love watching John love on his brothers. Braidy is always So excited when John comes back to our house for the week. They usually tackle each other/hug and hug and hug when he gets back.

We have a 2 1/2 year old. Enough Said.

Just kidding. He can be just the sweetest boy you'll ever meet one minute, and then you turn around and he's "roar-ing" at you with a mean look in his eyes. One minute he is smothering momma with kisses, and telling me "I sure wuv you!" and the next growling at me. He is a terror pretty much anytime he needs to be "contained". Example 1: eating at a restaraunt. My sweet mom and step-dad took us to dinner the other night for Ryan's birthday. I'm pretty sure we won't be getting another invitation to a public place for at least 7 more years. Don't get me wrong, I love this stage. I love hearing him say new things, I love hearing him sing "Jesus Loves Me" in the car and clapping for himself afterwards, I love hearing him tell me "Wuv-eww" out of no where, but MAN, this age is a challenge! I want him to be independent but at the same time I want him to respect others and obey. I don't want him to be the bully in kindergarten that always gets in trouble. I want him to be a fun kid that people love to be around. Some days that is Braidy, other days it is not. I love the fact that he is strong-willed and will be a great leader like his daddy one day, but how do you teach him balance?

And we have a 3 month old. He pooped ALL over me tonight. I mean, a lapful. WITH his diaper on. He was saving it up for me, I feel sure. I feel like the "baby days" are slipping away faster than I can begin to realize. I still savor the time I get to rock my baby just the two of us right before he goes to bed. I try to memorize what he smells like, what his ears, nose, lips, fingers look like, I try to soak it all in because before I can blink he'll be in a big boy bed going to bed with the big boys. I am not ready to even entertain the thought of feeding him big boy food yet. I want him to be my baby as long as possible. I know with Braidy EVERY stage was my FAVORITE, and I still feel that way with Quin, but with Braidy I didn't know how fast it would all go. With Quin, I know how fast it goes and I was almost in mourning from day one because I knew how fast he would go from infant to toddler to little boy. I am trying to document every minute of his life, but how do you balance wanting to remember every detail, to just enjoying the moment?

I am so grateful and so lucky to get to be a mommy. I love each minute (yes, even the challenging ones) that I have with these precious baby boys. I pray and pray that God will help me be a good mother who not only LOVES my babies (after all, that's the easy part), but also teaches them and disciplines them when needed. Someone who shows them how to love others by example and someone to teach them what is really important in life: Jesus, family, & our friends.

Family Fun Park Run Part 2

Family Fun Park Run part 1 can be found here! Only a couple short years ago!

One great thing about our new home is that it is a quick 5 minute walk to the park! Last week we had some great park weather, so we loaded up the boys (all of them!) and went to the park for some play time. It was Quin's first trip and he loved it. He loves being outside as long as it's warm and his eyes aren't in the sun!

John rode (or carried) his new skateboard he got. He rode it some on the basketball court there, and I was pretty impressed. He's pretty good at it. Lots better than I would be! Braidy let momma and daddy carry him most of the way, although we tried to let him ride in the stroller too on the way home...he thought it was fun for all of 5 seconds. We got a good laugh out of it. They love playing on the toys, but a great thing about our park is that it is a GIANT sand box. Not rocks, but sand! We love to play in the sand!




Here are some pictures from our night at the park!

3 months

Oh Sweet Quin. You are now THREE months old!

- You are still in size 2 diapers and size 3-6 month clothing. Sometimes I'll try to squeeeeze you into one of my favorite 0-3 month onesies just because you haven't gotten to wear it yet, and I'm apparently emotionally attached to some of these clothes that belonged to Braidy!
- You still sleep from about 8 or 8:30 until 7 or so. Depending on if you stayed in your swaddle or not. In: as late as 8 or 9. Out: 6:30...but back to sleep after an early breakfast!
- You found your voice this past week. You talk ALOT! I still think you'll be my reserved one, but you like to talk to us!
- YOu smile alot and have laughed a few times at mommy acting like a crazy lady! Whatever it takes to hear a little giggle, I'll do it!
- You still eat about every 3 hours during the day. You're a distracted eater. It's best if I nurse you in your room with no one around.
- You still LOVE bathtime! It's your favorite.
- You officially have the infamous "bald spot" in the back of your head where you sleep. I changed your sheets the other day and noticed all the hair that had rubbed off. =(
- Car Rides still instantly put you to sleep 99% of the time.
- You probaby weigh about 15 1/2 pounds.
- You had your first trip to the park a couple of days ago and LOVED it!
- You have found your hands and chew on your fingers constantly!
- A few weeks ago (January 30th) I started taking you to the nursery at church. You've done really well in there. I feel bad when I bring you only because I'm "that" mom that we used to gripe about that brought no paci (you don't take one), and no bottle (don't really take one of those either). Luckily, you haven't needed either yet! =)

We love you more and more everyday. I love watching you study the world around you. I love your eyes lighting up when you see my face or someone else's you recognize. I love hearing you "talk". I love seeing your smile. I love YOU!

Happy Valentine's Day 2011

Happy Valentine's Day from my little Valentine's to you and yours!

random with lotsa pictures

With the negative temps lately, we've not done a whole lot around here, which explains the crazy 2 1/2 year old and the often times crabby momma. We need some sunshine and warm weather in a bad way. On the positive side, I've taken some CUTE pictures just because I've been looking for things to do (other than housework!). Each picture probably could have it's own post, but who has time for that?

So, here they are. Random post...gotta love it.
We had Quin's 2 month well-check yesterday (at 2 1/2 months). It was frigid so we sported the hat and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. He was not amused at me laughing at him. He weighed 15.2 (97th %), and was 25 inches long (95th %). And healthy as a horse.

Call me crazy, but I couldn't help getting a picture of this. And for the record, he slept right through it. Here Braidy is hugging Woody and Buzz is sleeping next to him. Sweet stuff.

Braidy is wanting to "hold" Quin alot now. I love it, but I am just hoping he doesnt' want to hold him when I'm not around to help him!

Mommy's LITTLEST Valentine!

All business in his tie!

One of the only SMILING pictures I've gotten of Q. He will be all smiles until the camera comes out, then he studies it and will not crack a smile one!

One of my favorite times of the day...right when they wake up. Watching Mickey Mouse, of course. This morning was especially sweet when I walked in and Braidy was holding Quin's hand.

Again, couldn't resist. And one day i'll have a son and a nephew wanting to kill me for this! Crockett was visiting and they were both in the middle of a change of diaper/undies...and were washing hands. I think a great caption for this photo is "I love you to the MOON and back"....almost put it on a valentine! ha!

Just an ordinary day for Braidy Spencer. Wearing JOhn's boots and hat all day.

The one day we got a good amount of snow. Braidy looked out the window and said, "Momma! Jesus made more snow!"

The ENd.