like a weed

first things first, look at my adorable little "pumpkin butt!!" :) i used to call both the boys by that nickname when they were itty bitty. (and nate would laugh at me!) so when i found these cute lil pj's on sale for $5 i couldn't resist buying them!

guess what? in the past week or so, lucas has started crawling!! at first he started crawling on his belly in circles. now he will lunge forward, and get up on his hands and knees some too. he isn't fast but he's efficient!! he is growing up so fast! AND he has 2 more teeth. his top "vampire teeth" are in now. trace did the same thing, got his 2 front teeth on bottom, then those cute lil SHARP vampire teeth up top. just in time for halloween :) are my boys the only ones that get those teeth before the 2 front teeth on top? just wondering...

i also love the sweet little feet in these pj's!

the other day i was doing the dishes and trace came in the kitchen looking like this! what a GOOF BALL! looks like he is trying to be MRS potato head! :)

sweet brothers. they are so sweet to each other. trace loves to make lucas smile. he loves to share his juice, toys, whatever he can! and lucas loves when trace gives him attention. they are sweet sweet brothers! and silly too!

well, based on the picture below, can you guess how lucas spent his 8 month birthday? being sick :( he JUST finished up his 2nd round of 10 days of antibiotics on monday for an ear infection that he just couldn't seem to kick. i thought he was finally better. well tuesday he took a 4 1/2 hour nap at meme's house and woke up with a fever of 102. he ran a fever the rest of the day and night and all day wednesday. i took him to the dr wednesday, on his 8 month birthday. i kinda thought it was the flu. poor baby was pitiful. turns out flu was negative. and his ears were clear. both great news, but what's wrong with my baby? dr checks his throat and finally finds the problem. strep test came back negative as well, also a good thing. the not good news is that he has a viral infection in his throat... and they can't give him anything for it. she said to expect a fever for 3-4 days. and fussiness. and drooling. and just a lil boy that doesn't feel well. but i think the worst of it may be behind us. he started getting sick tuesday, and up until yesterday, has had a fever off and on. but he woke up this morning and i think his fever has finally broke! he went on to meme's house, so i know he is in good hands! praise god she is over the flu and is feeling better! and we are also thankful to bisty and poppi who helped out while meme was sick. also poppi watched lucas yesterday while bitsy and trace went to bible study. it's so hard for nate and i to be off work, and my vacation and sick time is GONE. don't know how we'll make it til january... but we will! guess we just won't get paid next time we have to be off!

anyways. back to the positives, right? lucas, my dear sweet lil boy, is growing like a weed! he weighed 18 pounds even at the dr... and he has been on 20 days of antibiotics and sick for over a month. and he still continues to put on weight! YAY. the dr said we should bring him in next week for a flu shot, and then we can skip his 9 month well visit b/c she is happy with his growth and progress. he is only in the 25th % for weight, and the 50th % for height. but he is growing great so hopefully we can get this sick baby well for a while!! we've seen too much of peds east lately and DEF given them too much of our hard earned money!!!

oh... well it's finally the weekend and i am so happy! i hope it's a fever free one for all, and some resting and relaxation is definitely in order! lots of time lounging at the house sounds so good to me! and maybe a big pot of chili too.

what baby do you know that smiles with a fever of 102? lucas had a ball playing with the paper on the table at the dr... he did scream the whole way from meme's to roebuck, a 20 minute drive that was so hard for me to make. i was almost in tears too, listening to my poor baby cry! but i knew if i pulled over and got him calm, he would scream again the minute he got back in his seat. as soon as we got there and i got him out of his seat, he was happy the WHOLE TIME at the dr. who wouldn't be happy with their mama holding them? :) and spoiling them? and letting them hit their mama over and over just b/c it made them laugh? sweet baby! oh, and he slept on the way home, like a good lil boy!! :)

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week!

i did not hear little hands and feet on the hardwood floor and see my baby lucas crawling. not him, he's still my baby! i also did not stick my fingers in his mouth and realize he has 2 new teeth up top. nope, again, he's still my baby!

trace was not very ugly to me before church sunday... and i would never slap his cheek and then hope AND PRAY there was not a handprint left there when we got to church!

i did not have a mostly lazy day after church sunday... and i didn't eat lunch at fox's pizza so i didn't have to cook. and i didn't lounge around the house all afternoon, and then make nate fix scrambled eggs and toast for dinner. not me.

i did not go to old navy today to return something. they did not tell me i couldn't exchange without a receipt. i didn't proceed to go to the back of the store and exchange the super cute halloween outfit for a bigger size without their permission. nope. never. and if i did that, i wouldn't tell the whole world (or my 2 blog followers!) about it and secretly hope i don't go to jail for it. i wasn't worried about a security video at all.

oh, and while at old navy, i most certainly did not find the best deals ever. i didn't buy 3 new shirts and a dress for myself, and an outfit for the baby for only $12. who could find that kind of deal?

i am not loving this cooler, breezy, sunny, fall weather. it is not the most refreshing thing ever after a hot summer and 3 weeks of rain.

ok. your turn. please share with me. what have you not been doing this week?

sunshine on a cloudy day

recently, we had pictures taken at portrait innovations. they were a surprise to the grandparents for grandparents day. we are so blessed to have such awesome godly parents in our lives. our babies are even more blessed!

we love you bitsy and poppi & meme and granddaddy!

just the 4 of us... love how trace is waving to the camera!

givin' kisses!

shannon, josh, caden, and laura grace

the 8 of us...

how cute

bitsy's 4 babies
mae mae and lu lu

these just make me smile!

sweet sweet girls!

all the crazy boys! love this pic of trace!

caden and lala know how to pose!

kenely loves her mason

6 babies 3 and under! wow :o)

caden- 3, kenley- 2 1/2, trace- 2 1/2, lala- almost 2, lucas- 7 mo, mason- 6 mo

sweet bubbas~ i love lucas' face!

love love love these kiddos. they are definitely like sunshine on a cloudy day!

wordless wednesday

just can't find the words for this one. guess it's a good thing it's wordless wednesday!!! :)

"Not Me" Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

ok. i'm not sure if i should use the "not me" or "not my child" button... b/c all of these have to do with me, and my children! so anyways, here goes...

* i did not start feeding lucas some baby food that he didn't like. he didn't gag on the first bite, and i didn't give him a few more. and he didn't proceed to puke after that. and i so did not catch the puke with the jar of baby food. that's just gross.

nope, not me! :)

*i do not have to tell trace several times a day to be easy with his brother. he does not love him so much i think he might smother him.

*trace did not stay up until 10:45 pm when we went to the jeremy camp concert. and i certainly did not save him a little of my milkshake from chick-fil-a and let him drink it that late, after it was already 3 hrs past his bed-time. more sugar? never!

*that same nite, trace did not have a t-total meltdown before getting in bed, b/c i would not let him sleep with his 2 matchbox cars. then he didn't start crying about being scared of monsters. all b/c he was so stinkin tired. not my tracecar.

*we have not been swaddling lucas at nite since he was born. there is no way i would ever buy a large size swaddle me blanket when he outgrew the smaller one at 5 months of age. he is not now 7 1/2 months old and we did not decide that this weekend was finally time to break him of that habit... we didn't turn down the sound on the baby monitors and make him cry it out. not so we could get a good nite's sleep.

*i have not caught trace with his hand down his diaper a few times lately. he is not obsessed with his private parts at 2 1/2. he is totally not ALL BOY. oh, and another thing. he has not actually peed in the potty at least once every day for the past 5 days. and if he had, i would so not be proud of him!

*i do not let lucas pull my hair just b/c he likes it and thinks it is fun. why would i go thru that torture? what, i know you did not say it's b/c he is spoiled? he most certainly is NOT! :)

**wow. i feel better now that i've gotten that off my chest!**

**so, what about you? what have you not been up to lately?**

we'll never forget

wow. it's so hard to believe it has been 8 years since the attack on 9/11/01. i will never ever forget where i was on that day. i had just graduated high school a few months before. i had a part time job and was also going to jeff state. on that day, i was working at southtrust bank, the 2nd avenue branch, downtown. i had to work the drive in that day, which was actually downstairs in the parking garage, where people could drive thru or walk up to the teller (me.) i was basically in a very small room, all by myself. my sister called me and told me what was going on. i remember hearing about the first plane crashing into the towers. and customers were coming in from the streets talking about it. but at that time everyone was still like, woah, what is going on? was this an accident? all too soon it became clear that it was no accident, it was a planned attack. as the day went on, i remember how sad it was. i called my mom several times, and i knew she had been crying. i asked her did she know anyone who was hurt or killed. she said no, but she was just crying for all the innocents lives lost. later that day, and for several days afterwards, i found myself doing the same thing. crying. crying for those who didn't deserve to die. the children who lost parents that day. the parents who lost children. brothers, sisters, friends, family. so many lives were ended. just like that. i think that day will go down as one of the saddest days in history. i know for me, it is definitely the saddest thing i've ever lived through, as far as our country goes. little did we know the events that would follow 9/11... like this seemingly never ending war, which means more sadness and more lost lives. more people have been killed, fighting for our country, more than anyone probably would have imagined 8 years ago. i think it caught us all by surprise. but you know who wasn't surprised by any of it? GOD. he knew what was gonna happen. we still don't understand why it happened, but i think it makes it a little easier knowing it is all in his hands. unfortunately, i think the worst is yet to come. that is why it is so important to pray for our nation. the government, leaders, officials, and also the citizens of the U.S.A. pray also for the people who have lost loved ones fighting for our freedom. it is so easy to overlook the heros, and to focus on all the crazy people in this world. but look around you, and thank a hero. army or navy, police officer or firefighter, nurse or doctor, young or old, black or white, male or female. we owe our freedom to them. no matter what, we'll never forget.

2 chronicles 7:14 says "if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

FSU BOYS

i bought these cute lil shirts online at the children's place... i couldn't resist, b/c they are florida state colors and i think they are just adorable! (they say 1/2 pint half back at the bottom, but you can't see it in the pic.) we are going to get the boys names printed on the back i think! trace and lucas showed their support for daddy's favorite team on monday, but it just wasn't enough! the noles lost, but it was a good game. or so i heard... you know i don't watch the games :) just wanted to share this sweet pic with you. it's hard to get the boys to both smile for a picture, so i was happy the way this turned out!

what about you, what colors are you wearing on game day and who's your fav team? or are you like me, and you wear the shirt but you totally go to the parties for all the yummy food? and not the football?

oh, and in case you were wondering... yes, the last post was a roll tide post. we are first and foremost FSU fans. but we also like BAMA. so we will pull for both teams! and, our good friend austin plays at GT, look for him, he's # 73! so you will also see us in GT gear when they are playing, like tonite! ahhhhh. so much football, so little time :)