Five on Friday

I've really considered hanging up the 'ol blog here lately but then I know how much I'll love to read back on our lives and what we were up to. So I'm back with yet another attempt to at least have a once a week little update on our family.

ONE.

I need to be honest and admit that we are still pouting a little around here about having to cut our only vacation for the summer short two weeks ago. And by short I mean we weren't even there 36 hours. Paul had some kind of crazy flu (and I think he has been sick a total of 5 times since I've known him), I had some kind of sore throat/cold/achy virus and Gray had an extremely high fever and was even begging to go home. Turns out Gray had a nasty, nasty case of Hand, Foot and Mouth. So nasty, in fact, that we spent 4th of July evening at Brenner Children's hospital because they suspected he had Impetido and a staff infection. His entire body from head to toe was covered in blisters. It was the most pitiful I've seen our boy yet. We think Walker had a very mild case of it for just a couple of days in the beginning but otherwise he was happy and healthy the whole time. Right after Paul recovered from his flu-like sickness, he also got HFM. It was a rough, rough week round these parts y'all! We hate we won't get our toes in the sand this year but we are so thankful to be well and feeling good again.

TWO.

A huge positive that came out of being sick and confined to the house for over a week is that Gray is fully potty trained! Once he was feeling better (but still covered in blisters so we wanted to stay home) we decided we were going for it. He has been going pee pee in the potty every night for over a year but just kept not being quite ready. He was a little reluctant to the frequent trips to the potty at first, mostly because he didn't want to stop what he was doing so often. And without too many details, the whole number two thing was what has been keeping him from being ready. But we caught his needing to go at the perfect time for two days in a row and he was so proud of himself that now it almost seems like he can't wait to do his big business in the potty. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be and he has been so successful. He hasn't had any accidents since day two of training and is also staying dry for naps and at night. He has woken up two different nights and asked to go which is a huge deal for him. I am so proud of our big boy and quite happy to have only one in diapers. And oh my, how cute Gray looks in some big boy undies!!!

THREE.

Walker has been such a precious delight lately. He has never been the easiest or most laid back kid but the past few weeks he has been so happy and just so much fun to be around. He does have four molars coming in but once they broke through the skin they haven't seemed to bother him much. He is talking SO much! His vocabulary at almost 14 months amazes me. He is very busy but also loves to read book after book after book. He isn't a huge fan of the pool-he just seems bored and doesn't want to be in a float or be held. He is Mr. Independent and wants down, down, down! He loves trucks, tractors, buses and anything else of the sort. He is OBSESSED with dogs and animals and loves doing animal sounds. He is finally weaned from a bottle and is FINALLY loving whole milk from a sippy cup. He is still eating like a champ and working on keeping a very round, plump belly. As happy as he's been lately, home boy flips a switch at 7:00/7:30 and you better put him to bed if you know what's good for you. We are just so in love with our boys. Really-sometimes I just stare at them and think about how crazy it is that I get to be their Mama. Thank you so much Lord!!!

FOUR.

Where is the summer going?! We have had a lot of time with Paul here and there but after next week, we will be in full soccer season mode. I'm excited for his season but also a little nervous about all the time he will be gone. We miss him and it's HARD to be with the boys so much by myself, but I try to keep perspective and think about single moms, widowed moms, moms whose husbands are deployed, etc. We are hoping to cross a few more things off of our summer bucket list next week and enjoy some good, quality time with Daddy before things get cray cray. 

FIVE.

After I had already written 1-4, I found out some sad news and want to ask for your prayers. A very young girl (younger than myself) just lost her husband to cancer. They have a brand new baby boy. She is the athletic trainer at the high school Paul coaches at. I've talked to her only a few times so I don't know her well at all, but my heart is broken and it's been all I can think about today. Could you please pray for Erin, her baby boy, and all of their family and friends who are struggling with this terrible loss? And also, hug and kiss your loved ones a little tighter. I can't imagine what she would give for just one more day with her husband and best friend. I know this is a depressing number five for a Friday but it's real and God calls us to mourn with those who mourn. They need our prayers desperately. 

Have a good weekend, hug your loved ones extra tight and try not to take a second for granted. 

Gray-THREE

Dear Gray Christopher,

Oh my sweet, sweet boy! I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it has been three years since you made me a mama. You are such a unique, special, smart, silly, precious boy and I don't think we could love you more if we tried.

You are such a tall boy. At your three year well visit you were 39.5 inches tall, which was in the 91st percentile. Dr. Bill said you are as tall as most four year old boys. You weigh 33 pounds, which puts you in the 57th percentile for weight. You'd be perfect to us no matter what those numbers were. You wear a size three in t-shirts and shorts but for a year or so now we've had to go up a size in most pants and pajamas.

Though we have plenty of challenging times, you have one of the sweetest spirits of any child I've ever been around.

You have an incredible memory. You randomly tell us about things that happened a year or more ago that we haven't mentioned since and it just blows us away. You are very observant, noticing many details about people and things, especially when we are in there car. I think you might already be better with directions than Daddy ;) We will be driving somewhere and pass by a road you've been to once in your life and you will say, "There is where 'so-and-so' lives" or "There's the 'so-and so' store." You also memorize things very well. You can recite the entire Lord's prayer and know many books word for word.

You have known your ABCs, how to spell your name, and your shapes and colors for a long time now. Several months ago I had a storage tub in the living room that I was using to pack away some of Walker's baby clothes. After Daddy took it to the garage you came running in the kitchen and said, "Mommy, Mommy come see! There is a rectangle in the living room!" And sure enough, there was a rectangle indention in the carpet from the tub. You amaze us daily with those kinds of things. You can recognize some letters but we haven't worked on it too much yet.

You talk like such a big boy. Your vocabulary is amazing and you crack me up using big words in exactly the right way a lot of the time. Just one example... "Actually Mommy, I think I'd rather have a pancake for breakfast."

Your love for tractors is still going strong. You can name everyone and LOVE going to watch construction sites. You tell us that you want you and Walker to be construction site workers when you grow up.

You are a Mama's boy if you are hurt or extremely exhausted but otherwise your Daddy is your most favorite person on the planet. He's mine too, buddy!

Things that you love the most in life are: Walker (though you don't show it 100% of the time;), tractors, Sophie, animals, music, playing outside, riding your motorized John Deere Gator, being tickled, ice cream, cheese quesadillas, mowing the yard with Daddy, Curious George, the beach, mascots/anything in costume, and for people to come over to our house, just to name a few.

You like to watch Curious George and a few Disney movies sometimes but would much rather be outside playing. You go nonstop all day, every day.

You are fearless and tough. I'm pretty sure you will be the kid with a broken bone for days because you won't be making a big deal about it. Your sweet little shins are constantly bruised and scraped up.

Speaking of going non-stop, you dropped a consistent nap shortly after you turned two. You usually only fall asleep once every week or two. I still make you go in your room every day for at least 45 minutes because it's good and necessary for both of us.

You aren't potty trained yet. Your strong will comes in to play here big time. You've been going pee-pee on the potty every night for well over a year. You understand and know all about timing things and the other details that go along with being potty trained but you just aren't willing yet. Dr. Bill says we need to wait on you, so for now that's what we will do. You are showing more and more signs of being ready and like to wear your Paw Patrol big boy underwear sometimes. 

You are becoming a lot more interested in soccer and t-ball and I can't wait for you to play on your first "real" team in September!

You will also be starting pre-school this fall and I just know you're going to love it!

I can't wait to see how God continues to grow you and shape you in this next year of life. You make our hearts so full.

I love you to the moon and back again my sweet love,
Mommy 

Walker-ONE

Dear Walker,

You, my sweet, precious boy are one year old (plus two weeks ;)! It's been the busiest, craziest, best, most joy filled year of our lives. How did we ever even live without you?! 

We had your well check up on Monday and I am just so thankful that you are a healthy boy. You weighed 21 pounds, 1 ounce (44th percentile) and were 30 and 1/4 inches long (61st percentile). Your noggin was a whopping 47 centimeters (75th percentile)! Dr. Bill was very pleased with your growth and said we could officially say you have outgrown your swallowing dysfunction and acid reflux-praise the Lord! You've been off your medicine for a month now and are doing great. 

You wear size three shoes, size four diapers and mostly 12 month clothes.

You have finally gotten to where you take a bottle like a champ and are even a little attached to it, which figures now that it's time to wean you off of it. We have started whole milk but you aren't a big fan yet so we are mixing it with formula to get you more used to it and hope to ditch the bottle soon. 

You continue to be an amazing eater, gladly gobbling up any and everything we put in front of you. 

You have eight teeth-four on the top and four on the bottom. You've had some rough days and nights here and there recently so I would expect more teeth anytime.

You have such a funny personality. From a tiny baby, you've scrunched your eyebrows up and made such a serious face. Daddy says you're a "tough crowd" because you definitely don't just go around smiling all the time and it often takes a lot to make you laugh. But then you can be so silly at times too, cracking us up like you wouldn't believe. You almost always start this fake laugh when you hear someone else laughing and it is hilarious. You are quite the social butterfly when we are out and about. You wave to everyone who walks by, often helping to put a smile on some sweet old lady's face. You love to do anything to get a laugh or a clap out of someone. While you are a little more laid back and go with the flow than your brother was at your age, you have just as strong of a personality as he does. You know what you want, when you want it and you're not afraid to let somebody know about it. That strong personality is getting you thisclose to being disciplined, but only because we love you too much not to. Strong willed and all, you are fearfully and wonderfully made and are such a precious gift from God!

Things you love most about life right now are: Sophie, any kind of animal but especially dogs, being outside, cars, trucks and tractors, your puppy toy that you push around, food, balls, and anything that has a button you can push that lights up and/or makes noise. You adore your big brother 90% of the time. You also love music and the second you hear any kind of musical book or toy or song on the radio start playing, you start shaking your little booty and bouncing up and down. It is one of my most favorite things! Daddy and I have cried from laughing so hard watching you dance when we're in the car. You'll be bustin a move like none other, all the while never hardly cracking a smile.

Sophie and brother-two of your most favorite things in life.

You are talking SO much! You have grown to love books over the past two months (thank God!!!) and you also hear brother say approximately 8,427 words per day so that helps your speech and vocabulary a lot too. Your favorite things to say are "uh-oh" and "gog" (for dog). Recently you have started saying "amen", plain as day after our prayers at meal times. And then every single time you say it, you start clapping because you know I'm about to squeal and tell you how sweet it was.

You are walking quite a bit but haven't decided to make that your main form of mobility yet. Right before you start walking to someone or something, you open your mouth real big and grin from ear to ear, like you're already so proud of yourself. You are a big time climber and there is never a time that I can turn my back on you anymore, unless you are strapped into your high chair or car seat. You seem to be fearless, just like your big brother.

You've had a few firsts lately-first time in a pool (you love the water but also spend a good deal of time wanting to climb out, and then back in), first trip to Lazy 5 Ranch, and first hair cut.

I am so glad you decided to start loving books. You're favorite ones are animal books and you try to say "dog", "cat", "cow", "duck", "pig" and "goat" consistently. You love to turn the pages over and over again, finding your favorite pictures of dogs. You also love finding and saying "truck", which you say very clear. Every night when we put you to bed you say "book, book, book" over and over again hoping we will read just one more.

You take two naps a day most days. You can't hang much past 7:00 at night no matter how long your afternoon nap was and you are up by 6:45 most every morning. You sleep with a little green lovey blanket that you seem to love in your bed but aren't too attached to (yet). You still suck your thumb while you are sleeping, which is pretty much the only time that you do but it is so sweet. I may not be saying that in a year when we're trying to break the habit, but for now I think it is one of the most precious things about you.

I think that about sums you up my sweet boy. And don't ever forget-as long as you're living, my baby you'll be!

Daddy and I love you to the moon and back!

Mommy

Walker is ONE, Gray is THREE-photo shoot

Lindsey took some pictures of Walker a couple weeks ago at her house. I am so pleased with how they turned out considering that Walker pitched a down right fit about wearing shoes so he was in a pretty foul mood the whole time. And when he was happy, the back drop wasn't what we had planned for. It is what it is y'all-life with yougins, that is. And it's so good for a type A, "I want everything to be perfect" personality. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything. Of course I had outfit changes and poses that we never even thought about getting to and I am super bummed that we didn't get any good ones with both Gray and Walker, but there's always next time-right?!

I have a few family members not on social media who are anxious to see these so for the rest of you, sorry for another photo overload.

I got the outfit idea from Pinterest and The Littlest Gentleman on Etsy made the bow tie and suspenders (and another shout out to my blogger friend, Lindsay, for telling me about TLG on Etsy!!).

Fun fact: I had this exact same gap in my teeth when I was Walker's age until the rest of my baby teeth came in, and then I had very straight baby teeth. However, this gap also runs in Paul's dad's side of the family, so it could be there to stay until he gets braces one day. I think it gives Walker even more character and I just love it!

One of Walker's many mad faces.

Sweet, teary lashes.

Still mad guys.

This boy tore up his cake y'all!

There are only a few pictures of Gray because we have sooooo many more of him and I told Lindsey to focus mostly on Walker. Also, he was very busy playing with Lindsey's boys and it wasn't worth the battle of making him pose for too long. But I LOVE the few that she did get of our sweet three year old!

That face gets me every time!

Looking more like 13 than 3 here. Not cool buddy, not cool.

Not the perfect family shot for several reasons, but again it's a great picture of real life. And I am SO blessed to do life with these guys!

Five on Friday and Happy FIRST Birthday Walker!

1) May 29, 2014 was the day our sweet baby Walker came into the world. The day we had two sons. The day Gray became a big brother. The day our hearts became even more full. While a lot of days have been long and trying, especially in the first several months, I can't believe it's already been a year. I can't even remember what life was like before Walker came into our lives. He makes our family even more joy filled and we thank God every day for the gift of that precious boy. Gray and Walker have their three and one year well checks on June 8 and after that I will write a more detailed post about our boys and three and one. BUT, our boy did get his first trim yesterday. He was pretty close to rocking a mullet and I was getting my hair cut yesterday so I thought it was the right time for his first cut. I wish I had taken a before picture but things were a little crazy and I forgot.

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My gorgeous and talented friend, Meredith.

2) Although his birthday isn't for another week and a half, we already have a full blown threenager on our hands. Shooweee y'all! Gray has the sweetest heart in the world and for the most part he is such a good little boy but daaaaang he has made for some challenging days lately. We are pretty hard core disciplinarians; raising sweet, obedient, respectful and grateful children are extremely important to us, But at the same time we are very loving parents and try to choose our battles wisely. With that being said, I don't want to use "he's three" as an excuse for his behavior. But it's so hard. I know discipline is good for him and is one of the many responsibilities God gives us as parents but it doesn't make it easier. I'm so, so thankful the Lord has given me a wonderful, very hands-on and helpful husband to do this whole parenting gig with.

3) Our pictures could have gone a tad better on Sunday. Walker was in a great mood and was cheesing for the first few shots until I realized I didn't put his shoes on, which was pretty much my favorite part of his outfit. He hates shoes and pitched a down right tantrum off and on for 45 minutes after I put them on. We tried and tried to distract him and get smiles but instead all we got were screams and lots of tears. Thankfully Lindsey's dog came to the rescue and made for a happier Walker (our boy LOVES animals!!!). We still didn't get a ton of smiles or the back drop we were hoping for, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I had lots of ideas and another outfit we never got to but I think Lindsey worked her magic and was able to get enough good ones. I can't wait to see them!

4) One of my precious tutoring students got me a thank you gift of the sweetest card, a huge, super soft, beautiful beach towel and a Yeti thermos. Y'all, I had been wondering what the big deal with Yeti stuff was and now I know. My coffee stays hot for hours and until this week, I couldn't tell you the last time I finished a whole cup of coffee that wasn't cold. And I've heard they keep things cold and even frozen for days. I don't think I'll be running out to buy a $400 cooler but I consider myself a big Yeti fan even still. 

5) Even though it's a busy one, I am so looking forward to the weekend. We are going swimming and cooking out with some friends tomorrow and Paul and I are going on a date Sunday. In between that we've got a lot of party prepping and planning to do. I can't wait to celebrate both of our boys with our family and friends next weekend.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Five on Friday

It might be 10:30 at night, but this makes for two Friday posts in a row! ;)

1) Paul turned the big 3-5 on Tuesday. We celebrated with a quick, sushi dinner date night. Somehow it had been three months since we had been on a date. That may not seem like a long time to some of you but it is so important to date your spouse, especially to have time away if you have kids. So if you're a friend of mine that lives close by with no family in town, we will gladly babysit so you can have a date night! So once again, Happy Birthday to my best friend, best husband and best Daddy in the whole world! I know a lot of people who are thanking God for giving Paul Hicks to the world 35 years ago, especially me. After almost six years of marriage, I still can't believe God gave him to me. He just keeps getting better with age, y'all!

2) I am not wishing the time away by any means, but I am SO excited about some things coming up in late summer/early fall for Gray. Like his first "real" soccer team that Daddy will be coaching, hopefully also squeezing in t-ball and preschool for the first time (though right now that just makes me want to cry). Our big boy is growing up!

3) We are loving and enjoying our house so much! We have a lot more space and after coming from our small townhouse with a concrete slab for a back yard, we are just so thrilled to have a fenced in backyard. We have a little over half an acre, which is plenty big enough to play in without too much to take care of. Gray and Walker are both big fans of being outside and I have felt so thankful to have our own space to play in when we aren't out and about. We have tons of birds, a family of chipmunks and also some baby bunnies right now that just adds to the excitement of having outside loving boys. The older lady who lived here before us spent years and years and hours and hours landscaping the yard. Although there are a few outside projects we want to tackle one of these days, we have been blessed with a beautiful, mature yard that we haven't done anything to yet other than pull a few weeds.

4) Walker is taking lots of steps each day now. Some days I think he will be walking full time any minute and other days he seems content doing what he's doing. Either way, it's so cute watching him learn and he gets SOOO excited when he walks by himself. Somehow, some way that sweet babe is going to be ONE a week from today.

5) We are sticking around for Memorial Day weekend. My grandfather is in town from Seattle for the first time in two years so we are looking forward to spending time with him. We are also excited to have some down time in between birthday parties and a get together with friends. And I have to mention again how very excited I am for our photo session on Sunday! I'm hoping the boys cooperate. 

Have a good weekend y'all!

Five on Friday-it's been a while!

I don't lose sleep over it by any means, but I do wrestle with wishing I blogged more but then spending my very few free minutes doing something else. Time passes by so quickly and I know I will treasure having some of our memories documented to enjoy in the future. So maybe, just maybe, I'll manage to at least blog once a week about what we've been up to. 

1) Walker took his first steps this week! He's been cruising and walking behind push toys for a while now. He often stands with his back against the couch and while he was doing so yesterday, he just up and walked FIVE steps towards me while I was holding Sophie, our dog. He was somewhat cautious after that and I really think he just didn't give those first "real" steps very much thought. But he is standing without holding on to anything more often and for longer at a time and is taking a step or two here and there. Gray did that for over a month before he officially became a walker and our little guy doesn't seem to be in a hurry either. But it was still exciting and both Paul and I were home and got to experience it together which was so awesome. Another big milestone with Walker lately is that his other bottom teeth finally came in. They gave him a fit for so long, I was certain they were breaking through months ago. He now has four on top and four on the bottom. Gray had ALL but his two year molars by the time he was 14 months so if Walker follows in those footsteps we won't get much of a break in the teething department. 

2) I can't believe Walker will turn ONE in just two weeks and Gray will be THREE just a week and a half after that. The days are often long, but the months and years go by far too fast. We are having a combined birthday party for them at our house and I have a lot of planning left to do. We went all out for Gray's first birthday so we wanted to do the same for Walker. However, we decided at the last minute to ditch a theme and just go with bright and colorful. It took a lot of expense and planning away which we needed, but I think it's still going to be cute and fun. I think after this year we will have low key, mostly family parties but are inviting quite a bit of people this year. I'm just so thankful we have a house that can accommodate a birthday party! We plan to have it outside but will party in the basement if it rains. 

3) Speaking of upcoming birthdays, my best friend, Lindsey, is taking some pictures of the boys next weekend and I am so excited! We haven't had pictures since Walker was four months old and I am thrilled about having some updated ones around the house. I'll keep Walker's photo shoot outfit a surprise but let's just say it makes me squeal every time I look at it!

4) We have been SO busy lately. From showers to birthday parties to weddings to family reunions to church functions to soccer to tutoring, and the list goes on and on. I love to be out and about and on the go for a while, but then it really starts to get to me and I just want to be home with nothing on the calendar. We don't have one open, totally free weekend from now until the end of June and while it's all good and fun stuff, I hope I don't lose my mind in the meantime.

5) And maybe I've saved the best for last. I am so proud of my hub! Paul got selected to help coach an all-star soccer team this summer. It does add to the busy schedule quite a bit with several Sunday try outs that he has to travel to and then a few practices before the weekend long games in Raleigh that will be the end of June. BUT, it's a huge honor and something he is very excited about. Yesterday I opened the mail to find a letter from one of the senators congratulating him. Pardon the messy paper, a certain little person was "helping" me open mail before I realized what this was. 

We have a busy weekend ahead...big yard sale tomorrow (yay for clearing out our garage!!!), Greek Festival, celebration number one for Paul's birthday and Paul will be gone most of Sunday after church at one of the try outs. 

Hope y'all have a good one!