White Shoes

This is just a little more wholesome entertainment from W.

Hello, hello, hello... I figure after such a delay in new blog postings I better open with some good material. William always delivers (L is doing her fair share too)! Will and Desiree, this may be exclusively for you two. I know how much you enjoyed W's last posted dance performance. We have been without a computer (well a suitable computer) for over a month. My trusty computer had to spend some time with its maker to work out some issues. I should be back to regularly posting updates about my very entertaining children.

Halloween already you say....

No, no, no. Just a piece of the day in the life of L.

Soccer Season is in!

This weekend was opening ceremonies for the Fall Soccer season and the first game to kick off the season. William showed up to the game and he was a ROCK STAR! Somebody took the lead out of his shoes because that kid was running all over the field. He was aggressive like I have never seen him before (he maybe even knocked one or two kids over) and he played all 4 quarters! I am always a PROUD Mama but was so happy to see him shine in his first game of the season!

Party!

Today was birthday party day for William and Lauren. This year, they had a joint party since many of their friends are the same. Really, this was L's first birthday party with friends. She has been slighted in the party dept compared to W's party history.

W and L had their party at Peach View Stables where they, along with their friends, were treated to pony rides, a bounce house, a hay ride, and the opportunity to feed Rosebud (the horse) a yummy treat (which was frosted shredded wheat cereal). Our prayers (in the way of weather) were answered by God today--the thunderstorms that were threatening to rain the party out were kept at bay until late this afternoon. They both had so much fun playing with their friends. W ran between activities most of the day riding the pony several times and jumping in the bounce house on and off. L was pretty much stationed at the bounce house. She came out once or twice to refuel with a Capri Sun but then, straight back to bouncing. L, who was most excited about having a pony at her birthday, opted out of all pony activities.

Florida

A few weeks ago we traveled to the FL panhandle to visit family and friends. Two of my good friends, Jessica and Lou Ellen, live in the area. W's and L's Great Neenee, Aunt Deborah, and Uncle Ken live in the area as well. We stayed with the Marlatt family and had a terrific visit. Kensley (Lou Ellen's daughter) and L couldn't have enjoyed each others company more. They shared the role of princess very nicely. W had a great time playing with the girls but mostly enjoyed running into the back yard and jumping on the swing.

We met the Benningfields for a playdate at the sprayground. L was a little afraid of all the spraying water. Keegan was so nice to take L's hand and gently introduce her to everything

We had a nice visit with the Gulf Breeze family. Aunt Deborah and Great Neenee had little gifts for W and L...they were spot on! William acquired a small collection of die-cast airplanes that he loved! As expected, W was instant friend and talked, talked, talked. L need some time to warm up. She eventually warmed up a little bit but was never in full force.

Aviation Museum at Eglin.

William was very interested in build a bear--I think he saw a commercial or something (marketing professionals know how to captivate my son). So, went through the whole rigamarole. W built a star wars dog and L built a princess bear.

Lake City

We made an overnight trip to FL to meet the newest member of the family, Katelyn. L was in love at first sight of baby Katelyn, she is still talking about her today. While we were in Lake City, we walked to downtown and then to one (of many) lakes in the area. Greatmother brought some bread and W and L, along with the rest of us, ignited a feeding frenzy for the ducks. W and L had never seen such a sight and were totally fascinated. The ducks were happen to entertain as long as the bread kept coming.

On Sunday we attended Katelyn's baby dedication. W and L were able to sit in "big" church with me. I could not have been more impressed with them during the service. They both sat just as politely and quietly as they could. At home, they always go to "church school" a.k.a. the nursery because neither one of them is keen on the idea of sitting in one spot for an hour! A bonus of being in big church was that they got to watch/listen to Greatmother play the organ which she has done at church for 50+ years (well, the piano anyway).

And the fireworks. L missed all them as she was to terrified to even look out the window. She insisted that Grandma stay inside with her and away from all windows, as well. W had a pretty good time outside. He needed some convincing to do the sparklers even though he has been doing them every year since he was 1. I guess his sense of danger is sharpening. W had two favorites--one was a truck that shot fireworks from the tailpipe and the other was a firework that resulted in a parachuting guy after launched. Grandad helped up with the fireworks and also contributed the loud, scary ones to the night.

What a....

GIRL!!! L is so girly. She loves her purses, shoes (high-heeled especially), and accessories. She also enjoys mini mani and pedi occasionally.

He's got moves!

W loves to dance...anytime he hears music he can't help but move. Sometimes his moves get a little crazy. For instance, once at school he was in the middle of dancing and bloodied his own nose with his own knee. Now, I know you must all be wondering where he learned these moves...I assure you W choreographed the entire piece.

(nobody was harmed in the making of this video)

Hellooo...Postings!

Summer has gotten off to a busy start, leaving little time for blogging! In an effort to catch up, you are all subjected to this MEGA post.

We traveled with Grandma to Gulfport, MS for a long weekend visit. W and L got new head phones for their DVD players which were a huge hit for both of them.

L quickly warmed up to Uncle Kyle and Aunt Misty. The travelocity gnome joined us on our trip and made several appearances.

We went to Mobile to watch the Tennessee Smokies play the Mobile Bay Bears. My cousin Michael is a sportscaster for the Tennessee Smokies...he was born for this job! He got us all tickets for the game and afterwards took us on short tour around the field to the players where W got a few autographs on his game ball. I think William was especially fascinated while listening to Michael finishing up his play by play of the game.

L loved this kitchen. She cooked, served, cleaned, and ate. Together we tried a variety of desserts, meats, pastas, breads, and seafood.
In these pictures, W and L are participating in a Father's Day craft at the center. Later they enjoyed the 4 and under room while we sat in the nest and read a book. Then, we went out back to play in the bubble exhibit.


In the backyard of the center are two tree houses, a small creek, and a wooden train. L loved getting her feet wet in the creek, imagine that!

W and L flew me to Mexico for a short vacation. L very serious about piloting (as I type this L is telling me " I am going to be an airplane driver"). W handed out tickets and reviewed the flight plan with me.

Next in the discovery center were the Victorian tea room, Grocery store and the news room. While in the tea room, W entertained us with some original pieces on the piano while L served tea and desserts. The grocery store was a HUGE hit. L had loads of fun filling up shopping bags (go figure!) and buying flowers from the florist (W). William wore many hats including cashier, baker, florist, and butcher. He played each role very well! The news room was very cute. W sat at the news desk and delivered the weather while watching himself on one of the four screens in front of him.

W and L had a great time in Uncle Kyle's pool with him, Zach, and Grandma. We had to rig an adult life jacket for W but it worked pretty well in this circumstance.

The Sledge family came through town on their way to south GA. This is their second visit with us and we are always excited to have them over. The three of them danced, played and read books. They seemed to rope Scott into reading several books. The girls played baby and pretended to be sleeping in L's bed...what a couple of jokesters!

This park was a huge pain to find but was totally worth the hunt! We seriously went to three different locations before finding the playground at the 4th location. Once we got there, W and L took off climbing, swinging, spinning, and sliding. W is really good at "pumping" his legs to swing...a little too good. At one point, I was pushing L and the next thing I know I see W flying through the air. He landed about 12 feet from the swing. I'm not sure what he was thinking but he made sure to slow to a near stop before jumping off again.

We won tickets to see Elmo's Green Thumb from a local station. L has been excited about this since we picked up the tickets. She repeated over and over "we got tickets for Elmo", " we are going to see Abby Cadabby", amongst others phrases until actual show time. Let me explain L's hair. The day of the show was crazy hair day at school for L. She did not want me to change her hair as she liked all the different bows in her hair. W and L both enjoyed the show and talked about it for days afterwards.

W, L and I went hiking with our good friends Sharon, Aiden, and Ethan. We did a 1-mile hike around one of the falls at High Falls State Park. The kids were fabulous. L is quite the little hiker, seldom complaining. W needed some coaxing at times but ultimately enjoyed the hike. His favorite part was probably the end but he also liked walking out on the rocks with me to get a better view of the falls.

Hotel Fun!

William's mind

I had to share this conversation William and I had driving home from lunch on Mother's Day...

W: Is that woods?
J: Yes, those are woods.
W: Is that where Nadia got lost?
J: Oh no, her woods are in Florida (only after a moment of wondering what he was talking about)
W: Oh, Are they Tiger Woods?

I explained to him that Tiger Woods is a person, not a place. I am still laughing about this as I type. The connections William makes really tickle me.

Noah's Ark

We visited Noah's Ark with the Great Grandparents and Grandparents. Noah's Ark is a really neat 250 acre facility that was established as an animal rescue and a long-term care facility for children that were abused or neglected. The most recent additions to Noah's Ark are 2 retired circus tigers. The "Ark" housed emu, buffalo, lions, tigers, bears (Oh my), parrots, Llamas, monkeys and a variety of other animals. Most of the animals are contained. The llamas roam freely as well as the farm animals. I'll share two defining highlights from the visit. First, William was admiring the parrots when one of the parrots talked to him saying "hello, goodbye, and I love you". The look on William's face was PRICELESS and I wish I had the camera on him at that very moment. Second, Lauren was wearing her "squeaky" shoes that squeak every time she steps. For the Cheetahs, she was a hit. With every step she took, the Cheetahs zoned in on her little feet and followed her every step. They thought she was a really awesome new toy!

Potty Saga (Part 2)

(L on her birthday)

I don't know if I should actually say this out loud (or put this is in print) but L is potty trained! Oh, this is a day I really thought would never come but, it is here and she isn't even 18! L has been wearing panties for a full week now. I tossed the pull ups Sunday a week ago because they were not agreeing with her skin and moving back to diapers...not an option (although she does wear a diaper for bed). She has had a couple accidents here and there but not daily and not more than once on a day that was blessed with an accident. Our travel potty comes in handy while we are at soccer and t-ball practices/games or just out and about. She was at first leery of it but, once she saw W use it, she was SOLD! Now, she likes it a little too much. I am super proud of my BIG GIRL!

Travel Unexpected

Our Easter plans were unexpectedly changed to include a trip to Maryland. My Grandma, my Dad's mom, died on March 30th after suffering a severe stroke. So, the children and I booked tickets to MD and headed north. W and L were prefect little travelers. For one thing, they love staying in hotels and they really like airplanes! L loved the moving sidewalks at the airport and took to it like a pro. W, of course, wanted to ride the train. So, we alternated between the two as able. They couldn't have been more perfect on the plane. L was very serious when we were taking off (you can see her picture below (for you blog followers: her face is very much like the "bunny stare down" from last year)). W sat in the window seat for take off and L sat in the window seat for landing--the both very much enjoyed the whole event.

We got into Baltimore at about 9:30 a.m. so I decided to spend some time in Baltimore's Inner Harbor with W and L. There is no reason we can't have some fun while we are there. So, into the city we go. We toured two ships: USS Sloop-of-War Constellation (1854) and USCGC Taney (1935). W head the tour of the Taney...there were blue arrows directing your through the ship and he LOVED looking for the next arrow. The Constellation was the most interesting...W was very taken by the cannons.

After visiting the Inner Harbor we headed to Westminster to visit the family. W and L and sooo... much fun. After the funeral--which led to new heights of curiosity for W--we headed to my cousins house for a family reception. The back yard was this fabulous hill. All the kids wanted to do was go up and down the hill in cars. L cruised down the hill in the Cozy Coupe and that thing went faster than I ever thought possible. W and L made quick friends with their cousins Blake, Chase, and Alexis. Blake was an instant hit for L b/c he didn't mind pushing her in the swing endlessly. All in all, the trip was nice. Visiting with family and reminiscing about prior family get togethers from when we were little is just the way Grandma would have wanted the day to play out.

Sick Day!

Actually, there were several sick days. First, W got sick at 11:51 p.m. Sunday night...that lasted ALL night. The poor boy missed two days of school and desperately wanted to go back. He kept assuring me he was not sick anymore. More importantly, he wanted to see his cousins some more and that led to more assurance that he was not sick anymore. W happily went back to school on Wednesday. Lauren and I got sick on Tuesday evening and by Wednesday morning we were on the mend. She and I enjoyed popsicles in bed with surprisingly no mess!

Dr. L was in the house our whole day home. She plays pediatrician and veterinarian--each profession has it's own stethoscope and other tools. After checking her dolls she turns to me and says in her very sweet inquisitive voice "you sick?". I tell her "yes, mommy's sick". So, she proceeds to listen to my heart, my lungs, and even my bowels (she must really pay attention to the Dr.). She also takes my temperature and feeds me a bone (the pediatrician and veterinarian jobs may be a little confused). In the pictures below she is putting some of her dolls down for a nap--after she has made certain they are well, that is.

L is lining them up
she picks them up and looks them over...then lays them down, pats their backs, and reads them a story. What a good little mommy!

Visiting with Mississippi Zions

William, Lauren, and I were able to visit with Aunt Vicki, Uncle Greg, Hunter, and Clayton last week. W had so much fun. He really enjoyed playing outside with Clayton. I think he felt like a really big kid since I didn't keep an eye on him during his playtime (no worries though, he was in good hands with his cousins). L was a different story. Her stranger danger radar was on high alert! She needed lots of time to warm up to anyone. And, poor Hunter couldn't even look at her without sending her into a tizzy.

Zoe was very excited to gets lots and lots of lovin'!
W liked showing off his train track but I think Uncle Greg may have played with it even if W didn't play. W was most excited about introducing everyone to his fish--Kicktree Zion Mark, Bick for short.

Miracles do happen! L let Aunt Vicki hold her this one time.

W and Clayton are playing Wii...I think W is trying to direct Clayton's next move.