ALL FOR THE HALL

The night before we left for the beach, we attended another great concert. After going on a great date night to see Keith Urban and Sugarland, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed me some Keith. So much that when some awesome friends asked us to attend the Keith and Friends show, we jumped at the chance! This was a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Along with Keith, there was S.M.'s favorite, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley (who I am still disappointed only sang 1 song), Little Big Town (I think they named their band after her BIG hair), Faith Hill (lets just say..I was not impressed), Lady Antebellum(loving their new song), Dierks Bentley(who either took a few shots of an energy drink beforehand or ate a lot of chocolate), Jason Aldeen(What can I say, "Big Green Tractor" is all I have to hear to get fired up!), and of course, Taylor Swift(I just like that girl.)
We had a Great night and great seats thanks to these folks:

Please take note of the camera hanging from Sonja's neck. For those of you that think that I don't go anywhere without my camera, this girl doesn't go anywhere without her camera! She even has a handy dandy backpack to carry it in. See, this camera takes awesome pictures like these:


My camera, well let's just say I won't be posting pictures of the performers from my camera because they are so inadequate to that Canon 50D. Canon 50D, Oh how I love thee. Michael tells me to keep dreaming. (I knew I should have never told him about leaving my camera out in the backyard all night long.)
Our seats were really good and close to the stage. We sat more to the side and Michael could practically reach out and touch the JumboTron. I never realized how much I looked at that thing until I couldn't see it.

Here Sonja and I are with Mr. Urban in the background. We took so much time taking this picture that we basically missed his solo for us on our side of the stage. He forgave us because I am 100% positive that he looked directly into our eyes and gave us a wink! I mean, who else would he have been looking at other than these two hot girls!? :)


Bobby enjoyed serenading his beautiful wife along with her favorite artist. I'm sure this picture was taken somewhere around the words, "I get weak in the knees, and I loose my breath...." :)

And finally, the best concert-going crew and me and my hotty hubby!



GOOD TIMES!

Back to Life.....

Back to Reality.
We are home. I thought we would never get here, but we made it. To add to my last post: The next day, we had a fall from the couch, a fall down the stairs, and blue lights flashing behind me as we crossed the Maury Co. line. FYI...I didn't get a ticket. I somehow got out of this one without even sheading a tear. Honestly, I wasn't even in the mood to dig down deep and pull out the tears, but something still worked. It was probably that it was midnight and I had 2 babies in the back, one of whom was crying. I am actually thankful for those cries, because I am pretty sure it sent me home with only a warning.
(Oh, and Lila is ok after her falls. Momma was scared to death, but she got really lucky!)
On Wednesday, I am pretty sure that is the laziest I have ever been in my life without being sick. I could not hold my eyes open. I was a horrible mother and just let the kids entertain themselves. I also decided it would be pizza night.
We did have a good time at the beach. It was a little stressful at times with 4 little ones under the age of 3 who all were lacking in sleep and had runny noses. Being stuck inside the majority of the time because of the cold didn't help either. I wish so badly that Michael was there to share it with us. Our last 2 days ended up being the prettiest, so we took full advantage.
Here are some pictures from our trip.
Graham getting to ride forward facing for the first time. HE LOVED IT! I was planning to keep him facing backwards for as long as possible, but I thought in order to make the trip a little more bearable, we would turn him around. He was so excited to be looking out. So excited, that he only slept about 30-45 minutes on the way down.

Silly Boy, liked to drink the water.


Sweet Baby Feet.


HEY!


Working Together

Not working together so much! More like fighting over the bucket.



Jumping the waves.

Looking for the boat.

Heading for the water!





This bird really thought he was going to get some of our snacks. Lila also really thought she was going to catch him.

And well because....I might as well post it.



As crazy as this sounds, one reason I wanted to go back to the beach was to get my white and sand photo op! We never did it this summer when we went over 4th of July. I knew that I wouldn't have the whole family, but I was fine with just getting the kids. Well, Mr. G, was NOT having it. Poor thing, was so tired and exhausted and wanted nothing to do with being put down or having his picture made. I totally had to bribe Lila with candy just to take her picture.




Told you! He was Not happy!

Lila and Grandmother! Thanks MOM. We couldn't have done it with you. My sweet mom worked her tale off helping me even though she was sick herself and had a hurt knee. I think my own bad attitude, (which I am chalking up to lack of sleep) was probably harder on her than the 2 and 1 year old. I love you mom!






This is why I can't keep up with my posts....I post WAY too much!!!

Is there a prize for worst blog ever?!? I think instead of Blogger's daily "blog of note" they need "The worst Blog" award. I would totally win! I don't know how I get so behind on my postings, but I do. I take these pictures, have the stories, but it just takes me way too long to go through and decide what pictures to post and then edit them, then write about them,then figure out how in the world to post them in the correct order. Not to mention I have been planning to "do over" my blog, but can't figure out how you get all those little cute header photos, blah, blah, blah. Someone help me! I really don't want to get the Wosrt Blogger award.
Although I know my posts are totally boring and less than thrilling, the content will probably not change. I will still write about the most adorable kids ever and "pottying, big girl beds, crawling, walking, and talking" of ones and two year olds. Boring, I know, but I do want my kids to look back at this and have an idea of what they were like and just how much we love them. I have to remind myself that this is for them and for our own documentation, not for anyone else. Anyway, in hopes that we are not too boring I have some stories to tell from our beach trip. I am writing on my phone(hence any typos) as I lay in bed this last night at the Emerald Coast. My sweet 2 year old is beside me(first time for everything) and my injured/non sleeping/RLS mother is roaming around upstairs. Some highlights of the trip would be 1.lots of snotty noses and 1 with a fever. 2. COLD front 3. Dinner involving 3 dropped forks and G hanging from a highchair. 4. One trip to the Urgent care clinic for Grandmothers hurt knee (not to mention her sickness), and 5.a late trip to The Red Bar on a night when they don't have crabcakes.DEVASTATING I say!
I can't wait to post pictures(or lack thereof due to my non cooperating kids and the 50 degree weather and 19 mile per hour wind!) :) Hey...at least I am at the beach!

A Sneak Peak

Since I haven't made the time to sit down and go through my own photos from Graham's party,you can get a sneak peak by visiting here and here.
What sweet friends I have giving me a shout out on their blog! Plus, you will probably be really blessed by reading their blogs as well. Thanks girls!
My sweet friend Stacee also put together this adorable video from the party! Thanks Stacee.

Our kids are the same age and both are born with in days of each other. Here is her story!


Oh, and one more thing. For those of you who made cards for our sweet friend Jake at the party, here is some info for you. Although the news is in that his heart surgery went well, please still take a minute to say a prayer for him and his family. I pray that his recovery will go smoothly and they will be home soon!
Visit The White's and learn more about their story here.

It was a success!

Well, I don't quite know what to do with myself today. Actually, I have plenty to do, but the past month or so all I have been thinking of, planning, painting for was Graham's birthday party. The good news is: I SLEPT last night. After several nights/weeks of not sleeping but a few hours a night I slept from 11:30 to 6:18!! WOO HOO! The bad news, I am afraid I am getting sick.
I think the party was a success and I hope everyone had a great time! (Once again, I couldn't have done it without the help of my family and wonderful neighbors! I have to give a BIG shout out to the Holden's for providing the hayride and jumphouse.)
Of course, my own 2 children did not enjoy the party quite like I had hoped, but what do you do? Lila was just not feeling herself. I hate that my usually social queen was not very well...social. Graham was good, just tired and didn't really care much about what was going on. He was like a brand new man that night though after a good nap. He was having a ball playing with his toys and playing chase with his cousins! I wish everyone could have seen him!
God blessed us with the most absolutely perfect gorgeous day! I couldn't have asked for anything more. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family and I am so glad that we got to spend the day together celebrating our special little man. Even one of my besties from high school made the trip in to celebrate with us. Thanks Jenny!
I have lots of pictures to go through, so hopefully I will post them soon!

Tickle me Tuesday

IT IS BEAUTIFUL IN TENNESSEE!! After weeks of rain and feeling like we live in Seattle, the Sun has been shining in full force here this week. Can I get a GORGEOUS?!?
Fall is definitely in the air and I couldn't be happier. Literally, it puts me in the best mood. LB and BG are loving it too. Even Lila walks outside and says, "It's bewful out here today." While having lunch outside on the deck "in the big chair" the wind was blowing rather hard. Lila looks at me and says, "Turn off the wind Mommy!" It was the sweetest thing.
I am kicking myself for not writing down all the funny things that have come out of her mouth lately. But here are a few off the top of my head.
Lila staring out the window: "It went back up Mommy. It went back up in the sky." (referring to the rain)
She looked at me today and told me to "ZIP IT!" Not really funny, but it kind of makes me snicker.
Everytime we get in the car she asks me what happened to my car. I finally started asking her to tell me what happened. While Michael was in the car with me, she says "That mailbox hit you Mommy" Yep Lila, that mailbox just jumped right out and got me!
When G is throwing one of his fits she will say, "Oh Graham, you're whining Graham."
When asking her a question she has started answering, "No thank ya" in the most southern voice you can think of.
Oh that girl....she tickles me.

Who else tickles me is my sweet little boy! His favorite thing right now is playing chase. He will crawl away from you and then turn around to see if you are following him. He isn't quite getting the idea of "chase" though. He takes off crawling, but then stops and waits for you to get him. He also loves bouncing on the trampoline and swinging. For him to have cut his top two teeth this past week, he has been in a great mood. (hope I didn't just jinx myself)
My heart has been pounding out of my chest this week. When I say pounding out of my chest that means not sleeping. If I wake up in the night I am doomed. Monday is was 3:18 am, never went back to sleep. Last night it was 5:30. Not bad, but considering the time of night I get in bed, I am running on fumes! Not to mention I am NOT a morning person. This week my sweet tiny (ok not so tiny) little baby is not a tiny( not so tiny) little baby anymore....AND I don't have another one on the way. Feels kind of weird. Anyway, they really really really really really 1000 times really grow too fast! I have been reading through old posts tonight about when Lila turned one and this time last year right before I had Graham. I can't even bear to look as it makes me sad. But it also makes proud. I have 34 hours and 22 minutes before my baby boy has officially been in this world for one year. Right now I will keep him at "almost 1" as Lila says. On a side note: After picking LB from school today she was in the car talking to Graham (which watching them chat together is the sweetest thing ever) and she looked at him and told him that she colored the number 1 for him at school today. I thought I was going to cry.
Back on Track:
I have been crazy this week getting ready for his big birthday bash! I really am so excited and I just hope all the kids have a great time! I have lots to post and update, and this post has been totally random, but for now I just wanted to jot a few things on my mind down.
sigh!

My 11 Month Old!

Well, the good news is, G FINALLY decided to up and crawl BEFORE he turned 11 months. The crazy thing is, he never did the army crawl, scooting, etc. He just upped and crawled across the room. GO GRAHAM! He is like a new child! He is SO much happier, but Lila on the other hand is not. He can now go and swipe things out of her hands and she can't get away quite as easily. I am already wondering why I have been wanting him to crawl. It is like I just wanted to know he could do it, but then have him sit still and play with his toys(kidding!) Luckily, he goes to bed and naps so easily. However, my life is about to change with this because now that he can stand up, he likes to do that in his crib. He hasn't figure out how to get back down yet so he just stands in there and jumps. I will go into get him and he just gives me the biggest grin. He also gives the best hugs! Lila wasn't/isn't a hugger, so in the morning when I get Graham up and he hugs me, I don't want to let go! He has also started doing "downward facing dog." Now if only we would just stand on up from that and take a few steps. (I know...don't push it!)
Graham's smile still lights up the room. He is just the sweetest thing. He kind of, sort of, only when he wants to, waves at you. He will give you five and give you kisses. He doesn't have a lot of words, but says, "Hey daddy" a lot and "dog" for Chloe. My family swore that while we were away in MO that he said, Ellie Mae, ABCD, and A's for the fridge alphabet magnet. The same day he crawled he also said "momma", but hasn't said it again. He says "nana", like Lila did. He also says his own version of Lila... "Iyah." It is so cute. He really loves her. When he hears her up in the morning, he crawls as hard as he can to her room saying her name. I LOVE IT!!! He LOVES to eat and I have been giving him more people food than jar food now. If you do not have something immediately ready for him to eat when you put him in the highchair, then be prepared for a tantrum! The boy likes his food! I am still afraid he isn't getting enough milk, but what to do?! He seems happy, so I am trying not to worry about it.
He is a DROOL monster these days. He is cutting his two top teeth. If they don't come out soon, I am going to reach in there and pull them out for him.
I feel like he has been cutting them for 6 months!
I am starting to get that sick nervous feeling in my stomach about him turning one. I have been busy planning his party, so luckily that has kept my mind off of it a little. I love this little boy! He truly makes me SO happy!
Below is a hint of what his party is going to be. I CANNOT WAIT! I am so excited! Just please pray for good Fall weather!
As you can see, Graham is SO excited for his party too!