blizzard of twenty-ten :)

trace was so cute and absolutely LOVED the snow. here are a few things he said that i knew i needed to write down or i'd forget them!! * it's snowing, i can't bewwwweeeeve (believe) it! * the snow is maMAZIIIING! (amazing!) * it's wike (like) ice! * it's soooo feeeewizing!! (freezing) *when the sun comes out, then we can go play in the snow! (this was before 8 am saturday morning!)* oh, and one more thing. i got it on video so will try and load it later. but when we were outside, i asked him who made the snow. he said "god!" so i was prompting him to say his verse they've been studying in awana's, (god made everything) and he said " GOD. LOVES. SNOW." it was SOOO CUTE! :o) of course we rarely get snow in alabama. so when we get it, we are shocked, ecstatic, and cold! :o) the forecast for friday, feb. 12, said we could possibly get 1-3 inches of snow in birmingham. we tried not to get our hopes up, since so often the weathermen are wrong! there wasn't any snow when we woke up, so nate and i both had to go on into work. by 10 am, it started snowing. shortly after the snow began, the temps started dropping and the snow started to stick! nate got off work about 11 and headed to get the boys from meme's. by 11:30, there was a LOT of snow coming down and sticking to the grass, cars, everything! so we were dismissed from work as well!! by time we got home, there was already at least 2 inches of beautiful white fluffy snow at the house. we made trace take a nap, and as soon as he woke up i bundled him up and the 2 of us went outside to play in the snow! (nate stayed in with lucas.) it was still snowing the whole time we were playing in it! i think we had at least 3-3 1/2 inches at our house. it was absolutely beautiful. and we had a blast playing in it! trace loved eating the snow, making snow angels, snowball fights, making a snowman, and most of all, he loved rolling down the hills with me. we had so much fun on friday playing in the snow! i took a few videos that i will try and add later. for now, enjoy the pics!

so pretty!

this is one of my favs! look at that sweet face!

trace = lover of snow!

building our little snowman!

we tried eyes and a nose and mouth, but it didn't work well. so we threw a duke hat on and called him frosty :)

my adorable snow angel!!

so when we went to bed friday nite, i was thinking the snow would probably be gone in the morning. NOPE! mom and dad said they had a whole yard of fresh, undisturbed snow, and sleds as well! so we loaded up and met josh and shannon over there. it was so fun to watch the 4 cousins playing together. lucas wasn't very impressed. at all. he never smiled, but also never cried! i think it was just too cold for him! but he did take turns sledding with caden and lala! they are all so protective of him. it's so sweet! bitsy and poppi played in the snow with us, and poppi pulled the kids on sleds behind the lawnmower :) they had a blast! more snow fights and rolling down the hill wore me out! i seriously am B-A-D out of shape. every muscle in my body is sore from pulling the kids up and down hills and running from josh's snowballs! i think the reason i am most sore is from holding trace and caden next to me and rolling ALL THE WAY down the hill!! arms and legs were flailing but they were followed by screams of delight! i acted like a big kid! but since this was the first big snow our kids remember, we wanted to do it up right! after we were almost frozen, we went in and changed into dry clothes. there was a huge fire going, and bitsy had made snow ice cream, and hot chocolate! we had so much fun in the snow!!!!!

PARTY at bitsy and poppi's! all 4 cousins having fun! caden is on the sled with lucas, of course that's lala in pink, and trace is the black ninja :)

see, lucas was not impressed!

as my friend loni put it... since we don't have snow boots in alabama, we have to use cowboy boots! HA. lucas was actually wearing trace's other pair, so they were 5 sizes too big! but makes for a cute pic :)

memories!!!!!

taking turns on the sleds!

yes, josh and i had a snowball WAR! it was fun. shannon took this pic... crazy action shot, you can see the snow flying as it's about to hit me!

having fun in the snow!

maybe it will snow again soon? i was so kidding when i posted the title as blizzard of twenty-ten, but i have seriously heard this might be the year for us to have another blizzard. i remember in '93 when we got 18 inches of snow. it was fun, and i'd almost love it again, but with 2 lil boys, i would hate to think of losing power for days on end. so i think i'll take the 3 inches here and there over a blizzard anyday! :o) the snow sure was fun while it lasted!

these BOOTS
weren't made

for walkin'!

bad news. good news.

wow. so much has happened since last week. where do i start? always start with the bad news, right? guess i'll start with the bombshell that hit us friday morning. i found out that my first cousin, james, had been killed in a car wreck late thursday nite near his home in lebanon, tn. he was only 27. james was mom's nephew, her oldest sister jill's 2nd son. we were very close growing up. his older brother michael was the first grandchild on my mom's side. though there are 13 cousins on her side, a few of us were very close in age. it was michael, then shannon, then james, and then me, all born within a few years. so anyways, growing up we were close, together a lot like most cousins. then his family moved up north while we were younger, maybe when we were in middle school. anyways. of course since then we have all grown up and gone our separate ways. after high school, james served 2 tours in iraq. then he and his wife danielle got married 3 1/3 years ago, and have lived in various states since then, most recently in tennessee. so though we were not as close these past few years as we once were, of course we are still family. james was a big, funny, loveable, teddy bear of a guy. he will be missed by all. please keep his wife danielle in your prayers. she has a few bumps and bruises from the wreck, but physically will recover soon. emotionally though, i just can't imagine what she is feeling right now, having lost her husband. also pray for his parents, and the rest of his family. 2 brothers and a sister, all of who are grown and married. also for my grandparents, and the rest of our extended family. we love you and will miss you james. we know james is in heaven though, so we hold onto the hope that we will see him again one day. so obviously, that kind of consumed us over the weekend. on sunday, nate stayed home to keep the kids, and the rest of us traveled to the funeral. it was a military service, and when they gave the final salute at the end, i lost it. it was such a sweet and honorable service. they played taps and then folded the flag and gave it to danielle. i just can't imagine. again, please keep the walworth family in your prayers. thanks. (oh yeah, the old school picture above from left to right is shannon, michael, james, and me. please notice they let me play with and CHEW ON a bottle-rocket!! i LOVE this pic.)

now for the good news! check out this cute little (happy!) guy.

these pics crack.me.up. notice lucas climbed up in his basket of books and is just chillin. like he is king of the mountain! :o) it's a wonder he could even find the basket in all this mess.

i'm sure i've mentioned trace is so into scooby doo. but if you think it is b/c he has no other toys, please think again!!!

so you see this mess that is their room? WOW! looks like a tornado came through, and left toys in it's path. kinda ridiculous huh? there's hardly any point in cleaning them up, b/c a few hours later, or sometimes minutes, it ends up like this again!

ahhh, and here, trace is sporting his lovely new diego helmet from his friend connor. connor, what would he do without your awesome hand-me-downs? from cowboy boots to blue jeans, sleeping bags and helmets, wow. :o)

sad thing is, trace needs to wear this helmet all waking hours of the day. the poor kid walks around in his own little world, resulting in bumps and bruises all over his body! his most recent boo boo was made when he apparently ran smack into the open van door. yep, bump, bruise and cut that he now proudly shows off when not covered by his diego bandaid. i joked to nate and said... if only he'd been wearing his helmet. ha. both trace and lucas are 100% B-O-Y!

don't ya think trace looks so big in this pic? he and lucas are both growing so fast it's hard to believe!

speaking of growing... i took lucas to the dr for his 12 month WELL visit yesterday. YES, he is FINALLY well after being sick for 6 months! he got a great report, and the dr said he is "picture perfect!" great to hear, but come on, don't ya think i already knew that? :) lucas weighs 20 lbs 1 oz, which only puts him in the 12th% for weight!! and he is 30 1/2 inches long, which is the 70th% for height. the boy eats and eats and eats... but for every calorie that goes in, he crawls at the speed on lightening and burns off twice that i bet! i remember trace being long and skinny just like that too when he was one. can you believe in less than a month he (trace) will be 3?

i love my boys and i am so thankful for the daily blessing of getting to be their mommy. i pray that i will not take a minute of their sweet little lives for granted!

i want to end with this song by steve fee. it is one of 2 that has been in my head constantly the past few days. i love love love the words... especially the simple bridge and chorus.

"take my life and let it be, all for you and for your glory, take my life and let it be yours.

glory to god, glory to god, glory to god forever!"

BiRtHdAy BoY!

so it goes without saying, but of course i've said it several times and i'm sure i'll say it several more... i can't believe my baby boy is ONE! despite the miserable cold and rainy weather on saturday, lucas had a great first birthday! ☻ we tried to get him to open a few presents before breakfast, and he was so not interested. so trace... being the awesome big bro that he is, helped him out! :o) next, we celebrated with birthday pancakes!

now, it's party time!! mama and the birthday boy!

ok so this pic should be at the end, but it's not. so get over it! j/k... i really wish i could make it go where i want it but i can't. so here it is. here's all the kiddos at the party... i think it was a pretty good turnout!
although lucas only took a short morning nap before the party (which means there was a great potential for a huge meltdown during the party...) he was in a GREAT mood! he crawled around, chased the big kids, posed for pics, opened presents, and of course, ate CAKE! don't you love his shirt i had made? my friend lindsay started her own business (you can go look at all her cute stuff HERE) and made both the boys adorable birthday shirts! i was so happy with how they turned out!

we had a very simple party at the church. thanks to everyone who came out in the freezing yucky rainy weather. honestly, i'm not sure i would have ventured out to a party that day! :) so i'm VERY thankful for our family and friends who came to show their support and help us celebrate!

this is nate (obviously) and his best friends son, jack, along with trace. trace was so cute, he ran up and hugged jack and turned to caden and lala and said "hey guys, this is my friend jack!" trace is my little mr. manners :)

trace- sippin' on his juice box like a big boy!!

lucas was entertained by the balloons... and he still is. we have a few at home and he and trace can't play with them enough!

so yeah... do you see what mama asked everyone to get lucas for his bday? DIAPERS and WIPES! yes sir.... christmas was just a month ago, and our house is still overflowing with toys and goodies and such. so being the cheap, i mean, practical mom that i am, i asked for diapers. and ya'll supplied. wow, we are so thankful. well, lucas may not appreciate it. (technically, i'm sure he does appreciate when his lil hiney is dry and covered) but i do!! :o) don't worry, he did get a few toys and outfits too! :) please also notice the CUTE flannel rag quilt in his lap that bitsy made him!! it has monkeys on it and i LOVE it!!

ok, so i know this is what ya'll have all been waiting for! what's a party without the CAKE?? this boy was LOVING his cake!!! seriously, he started out slow, but we finally had to take it away from him, b/c i was afraid he was going to A) puke from all the icing or B) go into a sugar coma or C) BOTH! :)

i think my bro in law josh took these next 2 pics... they turned out pretty cute, huh? the one with him smiling is one of my favs! i'm telling you, lucas was tearing the cake up!

he was even sucking it off of his arm. it was so funny!!!

and i took a TON of photos of him while eating cake. shocking i know! so here's a few of my favs of the birthday boy enjoying his cake! who says you can't have your cake and eat it too? (never really understood that saying, but it seems to fit. so i used it!) anyways... enjoy the collage!

and one last pic of lucas... when we got home of course he had to get a bubble bath. i LOVE LOVE LOVE this pic of him. well, except for the purple icing in b/w his eyes and up his nose! :) but i guess i'll always remember when looking at this that it was his birthday b/c of that icing. so it's all good!

overall, it was a great day... except for one minor incident that will remain untold! :)

♪♫♪ happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear lucas, happy birthday to you! ♪♫♪

i love you big boy. and in case you ever wonder, even when we are both old and gray, you will ALWAYS be my baby!

♥♥♥

one year ago today

dear lucas,

one year ago today, we welcomed you, lucas james whitt, into our world! on january 30, 2009, @ 9:07 am, we saw your sweet little face for the first time. you weighed 7 pounds even and you were 20 inches long. you have changed our life in ways we could have never imagined! honestly, life was rough for a few days after you were born, while we were trying to get adjusted to having 2 small boys. your mommy loved you like crazy, and i was so emotional 24/7! wow, you rocked our world little baby boy! the minute we saw you, it was love at first sight! your mommy and daddy love you so much sweet boy. and so does your brother trace. he is seriously the best big brother you could ever have! you are loved by so so so many other people... your bitsy and poppi, meme and grandaddy, nae nae and josh, caden and lala, rara and d, kenley and mason... and the list goes on and on! god has blessed us over and over this past year. we pray for you often bubba, and ask god to keep his hand on you. to draw you to him at an early age, and to use you for his glory. we pray for wisdom and guidance as we continue to raise you and trace, that we will be godly examples in all we do. i know we have failed a lot, and will continue to, and i'm sorry. but with god's grace, we will keep on going. we will learn from our mistakes. i promise to love you, my precious angel boy, with all my heart and to be the best mommy ever. i love you lucas james whitt!

for those of you who are new to my blog, or may not remember the details of lucas' birth... you can read the longest post ever that i wrote when he was a week old. or i can just remind ya'll of a few details leading up to his birth!

6 am- arrive at brookwood to be induced

7:49- 5 cm, 80% effaced, dr. adcock broke my water

7:53- contractions started coming, hard and fast

8:17- started epidural

8:28- finished eipidural

8:39- felt lots of pressure... fully dialated and ready to push

** where's dr. adcock? b/c this baby is coming FAST! **

9:07- lucas james whitt arrives, healthy, safe, and fast!

(and just a side note... when i had pushed a couple of times, the dr. told me to reach down, and pull my baby out! yes, he said to grab him under his arms and pull him onto my chest! and so i did! i am still in awe of that moment!)

if you've heard that story before, sorry, you just heard it again. :) but it still gets me every time i remember it... and i am still amazed that it all happened so fast, and that i got to help deliver my son.

i love these pictures of trace meeting his baby brother for the first time. they are so precious!

our family is complete!

sweet sweet bubbas

wearing the same outfit his daddy wore home from the hospital 27 years before!

the first set of matching pj's for trace and lucas :)

and now... here he is a whole year later. wow. it seems like just yesterday i was holding this tiny little babe in my arms. now he hardly sits still for me to hold him for more than a few seconds! we love watching him grow and discover new things. he is such a joy to be around and always keeps up on our toes!
we will have his birthday party this afternoon... and i have a lot to do before then, so i better wrap this up!

we love you sweet boy!

~ wishing you a very happy FIRST birthday lucas ~

grab a diaper wipe

so i don't know about ya'll... but i use diaper wipes a lot! they are just so handy to me. you can find a huge stack of them in at least 3 rooms of our house at any given time. the funny thing is, they have so many more uses than to clean a baby's bum. i've found myself using a diaper wipe for so many things in the past few years... so here's a run down of my top 10 favorites!

# 10- forgot to clean the bathroom counter when guests are on their way over? it's ok, grab a diaper wipe!

# 9- also neglected to clean said bathroom floor that hasn't been properly swept much less mopped, in only god knows how long... it's ok, grab a diaper wipe.

# 8- noticed the casserole dish you were about to use is covered in dust... it's ok, grab a diaper wipe!

# 7- there's a yucky mess on the stove from when the chicken you were boiling 4 days ago bubbled over. it's ok, grab a diaper wipe!

# 6- the 2 yr old spilled juice on the floor and you don't feel like getting the swiffer wet jet. it's ok, grab a diaper wipe.

# 5- realized the counter needs to be wiped and you're too lazy to get the clorox spray and a cleaning rag? it's ok, grab a diaper wipe.

# 4- the highchair has leftover residue from last nite's dinner. or was that from the nite before? oh well. either way... it's ok, grab a diaper wipe!

# 3- it's christmas day and you realize not only are you out of toilet paper, but every store in town is closed. it's ok, grab a diaper wipe.

# 2- it's past time to get those faded tattoos off the toddler's face. it's ok, grab a diaper wipe!

** and finally, the time when i find it most convenient to grab a diaper wipe ........

# 1- baby gets poop EVERYWHERE, including his hiney, tummy, fingers, face, and hair... and you barely have time to change him into a clean outfit, much less give him a bath, because you are already running late and about to walk out the door. well you know what, it's ok, grab a few diaper wipes (and some good smelling baby lotion!) and he's good to go!

in all seriousness, i've learned a lot this past year, having 2 babies 2 and under. i quickly realized that sometimes, you just have to let a few things go. one of the first things i chose to let go was making sure the house was perfect. please don't get the wrong impression, we don't live in a pig sty. in fact, the house is usually fairly clean. but if there's a crying baby and a few loads of laundry to be done, oh well. hold the baby. there's still a closet full of clean clothes to choose from! and if the bathroom doesn't get cleaned as often as i'd like, we will still live. if the carpet doesn't get vacuumed daily, weekly, or maybe even monthly, it's ok, lucas loves finding new things to put in his mouth! :o) kidding. well, kind of! if you think i'm a dirty, nasty, lazy, mom... then please keep those opinions to yourself! if you laughed at any of these, and you are also a lover of diaper wipes, i'd love to hear from you! :o)

and to the inventor of the handiest little wipe around, thankyouverymuch for making my job as a mom a lot easier!