Still Here...Barely!

Wow, I used to be quite the blogger. Not so much these days. I'm just trying to make it day to day right now it seems. 2 kids, teaching school, a husband with a crazy work schedule, Tyler playing baseball, Alabama football games, and did I mention a 2 year old??? Seriously, life is crazy busy but it is good. Maybe I'll catch up on blogging one day. Maybe not. I hope I do! For now, here's a picture of my two boys. Love the picture, hate the background, but it's what I have from last Saturday. Roll Tide!

School's Out for Summer!

School's out for summer! Yay! Hopefully I can get back in the blogging mode now that I will have a little more time on my hands the next two months. Since I'm so far behind, I made a recap video of this past school year. Enjoy!

Note: I'm not all that happy with the size of the video after I uploaded it to the site. On my computer, it plays full screen with excellent resolution. If you want to see it bigger, you can click to download the video but then the picture quality is diminished. Still working to see what I can do...

It's Baseball Time!

Spring is probably one of my favorite times of the year. Jason and I both grew up playing baseball/softball so we are always excited when baseball season rolls around. This is Tyler's third season to play and he absolutely loves it! This past week we had our first two games. Although we have lost both games so far, both by one run, Tyler is doing an outstanding job. He is doing a good job hitting the coach-pitched baseball and he is making lots of outs when playing pitcher on the field. He likes to field the ball and then run after the guy running to first and tag him out. I think his favorite part is celebrating after he makes an out! We are very proud of our little baseball player and glad he enjoys playing the sport we both grew up playing.

Snow Day!

Snow was in the forecast all week, but when we woke up on Friday morning, there was no snow. Tyler was disappointed that it didn't snow, but he was excited about his Valentine party that day. We headed off to school but, shortly after being there, the snow began. We all had our Valentine's parties and then we were let out of school early. We came home, took naps, and woke up to a yard full of the white stuff! Tyler and Matthew had a fun time playing in the snow. They had a snowball fight with Payton, Ben, and Natalie, and built a snowman complete with candy for the face. Matthew decided he had to have a sucker of his own once I got one out for the snowman's nose, so he sat on the doorstep with his sucker in his mouth and watched the snowball fight. Tyler, on the other hand, did not slow down. He even managed to play basketball in the snow. What a fun winter's day!

Matthew's 2nd Birthday

Matthew celebrated his 2nd birthday with a dump truck themed party at our house after Tyler's basketball game on Saturday morning. I found the invitation below at this great site and I edited it with a picture of Matthew and our party information. I was so excited to find this free Photoshop document online and am grateful for the photographer who was willing to share her fabulous work!

Several family members and a few friends came over to celebrate with us. Matthew had a fun time at his party. Cake time was probably his favorite. He liked the attention of everyone singing Happy Birthday to him and he knew exactly what to do when it was time to blow out the candle! After cake, Matthew went and got his blanket out of his bed and was ready to take a nap before present time. What a creature of habit! Luckily, we made it through opening presents before nap. Matthew was so excited about all of his new toys. Happy 2nd Birthday, Matt!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

On February 6, 2008, at 10:56 am, Matthew made his arrival into the world. Originally due on Valentine's Day, Dr. Heath finally agreed after I begged to be induced a week early. After delivering an 8 lb, 9 oz baby, we were all glad he was born a week early. This sweet, lovable little boy has definitely lived up to the Valentine's Day due date. He loves to give hugs and kisses!

If you remember, Matthew was one sick little boy a year ago. After having tubes put in his ears, adenoids taken out, and being diagnosed with a temporary underdeveloped immune system, he has recovered, his immune system has developed, and he has returned to being a happy, healthy little boy.

Matthew is so much fun to be around. He makes the silliest faces and says the craziest things. He loves to sing (his favorite songs at the moment are The Wheels on the Bus and Baby Bumblebee) and he loves to dance. He can often be found dancing in his car seat to any song that comes on the radio. He loves his big brother, although he doesn't always like to share his toys with him!

Matthew still likes to eat and he likes to sleep. His favorite foods are mac and cheese, fruit snacks, bananas, and oranges. He has finally started drinking milk and will usually drink one or two sippy cups full each day. This is a huge change from a year ago! Matthew is a good sleeper, overall. He likes his routine, including nap time and bedtime. He usually sleeps from 7:30 pm until around 6:30 am each day. We could not ask for a better two year old.

I thank God every day for blessing me with my two little boys. I cannot imagine life without either of them. Happy 2nd Birthday Matthew!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day started out around 7 am when we woke both boys up to see what Santa left for them. Tyler was super excited about seeing what Santa brought. Matthew, on the other hand, didn't understand why we were waking him up so early. He will grow to understand how busy our family stays on Christmas. Santa brought Tyler a goal post, a punt snapper set, Florida Gator football men, Tennessee football men, and a Nintendo DS. Does anyone see a sports pattern emerging here? Santa brought Matthew a car/train table, a drum, a truck, a cash register, and a car/driving toy. If Tyler's theme was sports, Matthew's theme this year was definitely "things that go" (cars, trucks, and trains). After the stockings were unpacked and all of the toys were opened, many of our family members came over to our house for Christmas breakfast. The boys had a fun time showing off their new toys. After breakfast, it was time to open presents with Granna and Pop-Pop and Uncle T and Haleigh. Matthew was over the whole present thing by this point so Tyler helped him open his gifts. Tyler got a new bike, which he is scared to death to ride right now. I'm sure he'll warm up to it soon and will be riding circles around us in no time.

Matthew got a riding lawn mower and was not a bit afraid of his new toy. He hopped right on and rode around the house cutting grass. My two boys are complete opposites when it comes to things like this. Tyler is more of a scaredy-cat whereas Matthew is fearless. While Daddy and Tyler played with his new toys, Matthew and I were able to get in a quick nap before heading over to Mimi and Perry's house to celebrate Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We had a birthday party for Jesus complete with birthday cake and, for the final time, the boys opened lots of presents. For the first time all Christmas, they opened some winter clothes just in time for more cold weather to arrive. I must say thank you to Mimi and Perry for Tyler's mini-sandbox set. I've always wanted a sandbox inside my house...ha, ha! No, it's really not that bad. Tyler has enjoyed playing with it and hasn't made too big of a mess thus far.

I must say this Christmas was the busiest we've ever had. Maybe it was the quick trip to Disney World right before Christmas or having two kids going non-stop for several days in a row. It may have been the busiest but it was also one of the most fun. We are so blessed to have two happy, healthy little boys and a family to celebrate with!

Pre-Christmas Festivities

After a quick get away to Walt Disney World for a mini family vacation, we arrived home just in time for the Christmas festivities to begin. On Wednesday evening, we attended A Highland's Christmas, our church's Christmas service. We were so blessed by this service as we were reminded that Jesus understands everything we go through and everything we feel. He was born a human baby and has experienced the same things we experience in our every day lives. What a blessing it is to know that He understands everything about us and can empathize with every situation we are in.

Christmas Eve was a very busy day. Since we were not home the days leading up to Christmas Eve, the morning was spent wrapping presents and baking goodies for Christmas celebrations. After nap, we headed over to Uncle Al and Aunt Yo's house for presents and yummy goodies with Daddy's family. Ally gave Matthew a vacuum that was "the present" for him this Christmas. He loves vacuums and is so happy to have one of his own!

Next, we headed to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Church. It's always nice to go back to our former church and see some of the people we don't see on a regular basis anymore. Nursery is not an option on Christmas Eve so it's always interesting to see how our children will behave. For the most part, they were good. After 40 minutes in a church service full of children, I am even more thankful for nursery and Children's worship!

After church, it was time to celebrate Christmas with my dad's side of the family. We ate dinner and opened more presents at Grandad and Nana's house. Tyler was excited that Grandad and Nana gave him some UAB football men. Matthew's favorite thing was probably the plastic tube that the trucks Aunt Heather and Leif gave him came in. I wish I had a picture of Matthew carrying around the empty plastic tube. Luckily, we made it home without the tube!

By the time we made it home, it was almost 10:00 and the kids were drained. Matthew went straight to bed while Tyler stayed up to make cookies for Santa and sprinkle his reindeer food on the front lawn. Daddy had the pleasure of taking Tyler outside in the cold, blowing rain, under an umbrella, to sprinkle the reindeer food on the lawn. Once again, I wish I had a picture but it was late, raining, and way past one little boy's bedtime. After a busy day and an even busier night, it was finally time for Santa. We set out our cookies and milk and off to bed we went.

Those Mischievous Elves!

The boys enjoyed the elves again this year, Tyler more than Matthew, but Matthew had fun with them, too. Tyler loved waking up in the morning to find the mess the elves made during the night or to see where the elves were hiding. His facial expressions and pure amazement were priceless. I wish I could bottle up his innocence and keep him this way forever! Matthew didn't quite understand what the elves were doing, but he enjoyed playing with Abbott. When the elves climbed up in our tree one night, Matthew pointed to the top of the tree and said "Get down!" Since that day, even after the elves were rescued from the tree, every time Matthew walked by the downstairs tree, he pointed to the top and said "Get down!". What a funny little boy.

On Christmas Eve, we had to pack the elves back up in their special sacks and lay them out for Santa to take with him. The elves have to go back home and get back to work making those toys. We enjoyed our special Christmas visitors this year and can't wait until their return next Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

After paying way too much for Christmas pictures and Christmas cards the past few years, I decided to do my own this year. I enjoyed taking the pictures of my kids one Saturday morning and even managed to get a few good ones. Jason was a trooper, helping me with the boys before leaving for a football game that afternoon. Taking pictures of two little boys is not an easy task! I especially enjoyed learning how to use Photoshop to make my card. This year's card is very basic. Hopefully by next Christmas I will have learned how to import cute backgrounds and other graphics. I think that will be my project for the summer months. I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

A Disney Christmas

As if things weren't busy enough around here with football season just ending, getting ready to be out of school for the Christmas holidays, and trying to get ready for Christmas, we decided to take the boys to Disney World right before Christmas. We left Saturday, December 19th, and returned home on Wednesday, December 23rd. We made our Disney plans several months ago before the craziness of the holiday season actually set in. We took Tyler to Disney World for the first time when he was 22 months old so now that Matthew is 22 months old it just seemed fair. Disney World was beautiful at Christmas and the boys had a blast. We even got to see the real Santa while we were there!

Isn't he gorgeous? Once I finish posting Christmas pictures and have a chance to sort through all 307 of the pictures I took on our Disney vacation, I will share more pictures and adventures from our trip. Stay tuned!

Snow and An SEC Championship

While Daddy headed over to Atlanta with Uncle T to watch this...We headed over to Grandad's house to do this...

It's amazing how excited we get over a dusting of snow in the South! Grandad has a bigger yard than we do and had a lot more snow to play with. Tyler loved making and throwing snowballs. We even managed to make a miniature snowman in front of Grandad's truck just as the sun came out to melt him away.

Matthew wasn't so sure about the snow. We definitely weren't prepared for any kind of snow this early in the winter. Matthew had to wear socks on his hands and his toboggan was way too small. We have since purchased a pair of waterproof mittens for Matthew and a new toboggan as well. We're hoping for a good snow this winter!

After playing in the snow, we headed home for lunch and naps. We woke up just in time to watch the SEC Championship game and celebrate Alabama's big win over Florida!Snow and an SEC Championship in one day. What a fun day in Alabama!

A Visit with Santa

We made our annual visit to see Santa at the mall today after church. Tyler was excited about telling Santa what he wanted and getting a candy cane to eat. Matthew had no clue what we were doing, but he liked waving to "Ho-Ho" while we waited in line. When it was finally our turn, Tyler sat in Santa's lap first and told him he wanted a remote control crane. Jason put Matthew in Santa's lap next. He took one good look at Santa, screamed once, and then was totally fine. Crazy child! We ended up with a pretty good picture above (although I absolutely HATE the cheesy border they put around the picture) and lots of cute outtakes below. Merry Christmas!

Special Christmas Visitors!

Look who arrived just in time to bring mischief to our house for Christmas. Tyler's elf, Duncan, brought his brother, Abbott, along to share in the fun. Now Matthew has an elf, too! The past two years, Tyler has enjoyed seeing what kind of trouble his elf gets in to in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and I'm sure Matthew will join in on the fun this year. Thank you, Santa, for sending us two magic elves this year! We can't wait to see what our mischievous elves do this year!The boys have to sprinkle their elves at night with magic snowflakes in order for them to come alive. They leave crackers and water, too, for the elves to eat.

Big Al Kid's Club Stadium Tour

This past Sunday was the second annual Big Al Kid's Club stadium tour. This year we met the James down in Tuscaloosa and Tyler and Daniel had a blast playing a real football game! I love

this picture... The boys are celebrating an Alabama touchdown, complete with head rubbing, a number one in the air, and lots of jumping around. I love this one, too...

Matthew kept pointing to the numbers on the field and saying "Uh-oh!" It's not every day you see paint on grass. Don't they know we only paint, color, and write on paper!

What a fun, cold day at Bryant Denny!

Midweek Zoo Trip

Happy Veterans' Day and a huge thank you to all of our veterans past and present. We are so blessed to live in a free country thanks to those who put their lives on the line every day to protect our freedom. To celebrate Veterans' Day, the boys and I spent our day out of school at the zoo with Tyler's buddy Jeb. The zoo is always fun, but is even more fun now that Matthew is old enough to enjoy the animals too.

It's Halloween Time!

Last night we took the boys to Trunk or Treat. Tyler dressed as an Alabama basketball player...big surprise, I know. Matthew dressed as an elephant. Once we convinced Matthew to leave his elephant head piece alone, he left it on for the rest of the night. I'm sure the candy and rides distracted him and he didn't realize he still had it on until we got ready to leave. Tyler enjoyed the trick-or-treating and probably enjoyed eating candy the most. Matthew loved the rides and would cry, make that scream and pitch an all out fit, when he had to get off to give someone else a turn. Disney World should be fun in a couple of months! Happy Halloween!

Playing at the Park

On Tuesday afternoon, Tyler, Matthew, and I headed to the park after school to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. The boys had a blast playing at the "brown park", as Tyler calls it. I had fun playing with my camera and capturing our fun afternoon.

Last Days of Summer

My classroom is finished for the upcoming school year or as finished as it's going to be...I can always think of more to do! Since I start back to work on Friday, I've reserved the last three days of summer exclusively for my boys. Today was a good one. The boys were asleep by 8:00 last night so they were both awake by 7:30 this morning. Matthew and I headed off to the pool today for a little one-on-one swim time while Tyler went to the McWane Center with Grandad. I've heard all about his McWane adventures tonight. He is so exaggerated when he tells me about his day...

• "Mommy, I hate to tell you this but they have putt-putt at the McWane Center now. Not the little putt-putt but the big one. It is so much fun!"
• "The sting rays swim like this" and he precedes to get down on the floor and lay on his belly with his hands out to the side.
• "I didn't touch the sharks because if you put your hand too deep down in to the water then they'll bite it off."
• "We saw the eel and it came out of it's cave and we even got to see it's tail." As he's saying this he is showing me everything with his hands. "And then he started swimming after fish so he could eat them but he never caught any. I guess he's still hungry."

He had such a good time and keeps sharing things with me as he thinks of them. When he got home from the McWane Center and after Matthew woke up from his nap, we went outside and played in the sprinkler. The sprinkler is not something we do often because it's just a pain to me, so Tyler was so excited to play in it this afternoon. As soon as we went outside and he saw the sprinkler, he said "Thank you, Mommy, for letting us do this." He and Matthew had fun playing, although Matthew wasn't too sure about the water squirting out everywhere.

Natalie even came by to play in the sprinkler with Tyler for a little while. As I was trying to take a picture of the two of them, Natalie received a nice surprise in the face!

While we had the sprinkler out, the neighborhood kids got home and came over to play. Tyler enjoys playing with them so much. They played Play-Dough, golf, and a game of baseball, as well as played in the water and on the swing set in the backyard. While they played, Matthew enjoyed swinging in his t-shirt and diaper!

As I was bathing the kids, I realized I was scrubbing off a layer of insect repellent on top of a layer of sunscreen and the bath water was brown. The kids were worn out but happy. What a perfect way to spend a summer evening!

Tyler's "Friends"

Sunday night Jason's family came over for a birthday celebration. When I told Tyler on Sunday afternoon that everyone was coming over, he was so excited that his friends were coming over to play. Take a look at his "friends"...

They're also known as the cousins and their boyfriends. He absolutely loves playing with Jason's cousins and he especially likes the boyfriends of Payton and Kelsey. When I look at that picture, I can't believe those girls are old enough to have boyfriends! Wasn't it just yesterday that Payton was 4 and Natalie was a baby and I was keeping you during the summer and doing fun crafts? Here's a picture that shows what you are supposed to still look like! Love the fact that Jason and Taylor are on the floor wrestling while I'm trying to take a picture with the girls! Come to think of it, shouldn't Jason and I still look that young, too?