11 months old

Another month older...can't believe how fast you are growing up! You are always happy...always smiling...always laughing! You bring so much joy to our family...it's hard to imagine what life was like before you came along. Happy 11 months little boy!

Yesterday you got your very first haircut. Thanks to Mary Evelyn. You had a mullet, and it was time to see it go. It was very strange getting your hair cut before you even had a birthday. I think your brother was 2 before he ever needed a haircut. It amazes me everyday how different you two are!

much better...and so so cute!!
You can wave bye bye and sometimes you will say it too...it comes out more like dye dye. You can show me your tongue..still working on other body parts. You are a daddy's boy...if he's in the room you have to be in his arms. You are making a new face with your nose crinkled up - mostly when you are trying new foods.

You love to dance! If you hear music you stop in your tracks and start to groove. I can even sing a song and you will go to town.

You love your big brother! He is such a big helper!

You are so much fun to feed, because you love to eat! You like just about anything! You are still eating some baby food, but mostly table food. You love blueberries, bananas, pasta, avocado cream cheese spread, oatmeal, beans (right out of a can), cheese, yogurt, applesauce, hamburger, potatoes...really anything I have given you except green peas or green beans.

You are keeping me busy!! Just today you got in the potty twice...and had to get a bath before lunch because you somehow got your diaper off and you were playing in its contents - yuck! You want to empty every cabinet, every drawer, every bag within your reach, every laundry basket, every toy bucket...what am I going to do when you start walking??

This is my favorite pose!

You are taking steps!! You stand up in the middle of a room and you will just stand there for a while...sometimes you may take a step or you'll just get down and start crawling. You have taken 2-3 steps at a time, and you love, love, love to cruise around on the furniture.

We love you!

Let the party planning begin!

The BIG 3-0!!!!!!!

On July 22, I tuned the big 3-0!!!! I will have to admit that I was kinda down in the dumps about this birthday. I really didn't want to leave my 20's - they were such fun, exciting, special years. It was hard for me to face the fact that I was turning 30 and there was nothing I could do about it.

My husband and friends went above and beyond and planned not one, but two surprises for me. On Wednesday night before my birthday, Chris handed me 3 pieces of paper(2 of them are shown here). The next morning Lesley and Mary Evelyn were picking me up at 8:30 and I was having a "mommy's day out!" I was so excited!!

They picked me up right on time and we had our first appointment at 10:30 - a Bobbi Brown makeover! We had a great lunch and then we headed to the spa for massages and facials and pedicures!! It was so relaxing and just what I needed.
The day was perfect and I thought the celebration was over...boy was I wrong!!
Saturday night I thought we were going out to eat with our friends Charles and Lesley. We pull up at the Country Club and as we are coming around the corner to sit at our table - SURPRISE!!! I had no clue! It was the cutest party with the best food, cutest cake, best friends, and great entertainment!

best husband in the world!

Lesley - the party planner!! Thank you for all you did...Chris could have never pulled this off alone.

I love my friends!

trip to Laurel

It had been way too long since we had seen my grandmothers, so I loaded up the boys and we drove down last week for a short visit. The boys are always spoiled rotten with toys, great food, and lots of attention.

Our first stop was Mamaw & B's house - B had our sticky stuff (rice krispie treats) all ready for us!

Then we headed to Meme's house.

My parents were in town for my mom's 40th Reunion so Meme planned a little family birthday party. I didn't know at the time, but it was just the start of lots of birthday celebrations - more of that to come.

Meme has the most beautiful yard and lake...lots for little boys to do!

We had a great visit...and miss them already!

Lively Reunion

Last Sunday we traveled to Deanburg, TN for the Lively Family Reunion. We had a great visit with family we don't get to see very often.

It was an interesting ride to Tennessee!! Jackson would not fall asleep. He still takes 2 naps a day and they are very necessary. He finally falls asleep about 45 minutes from our destination. As soon as he goes to sleep, Warner says from the back seat "I need to go to the bathroom!" Ugh!! I was determined not to wake him up. If we stop the car he immediately wakes up and no nap would mean a miserable day. Well, we decided to just let Warner do his business in a cup we had in the car from breakfast (gross!) I had to empty the cup first and when I threw the ice and leftover coke out the window, coke goes all over my white shirt. Got me all cleaned up (using baby wipes), Warner does his business, and we are just driving along. Just when I think I had succeeded by not waking Jackson, Chris says "I think I'm getting pulled over." I was so mad!! Why can he not just drive the speed limit?! As soon as we pull over Jackson is awake! We arrived at the reunion 30 minutes later with a big fat ticket and a very tired baby boy!

fun on the farm

five thousand acres of corn, rice, and soybeans = a boy's favorite playground

our trip to Dallas

We just returned from a great trip to Texas to visit the grandparents! The airplane ride was a little more stressful this time with a 10 month old active little boy sitting in my lap! He did not want to sit still - pulling up on the seat in front of me, trying to pull hair, screaming out loud for no reason at all, trying to get out of my lap in any way possible. It does help that I can put him in the seat with Warner part of the time. He was a handful!!

We had a great visit with my parents - ate WAY TOO MUCH, had fun at the park and splash pad near their house, played hard, and even made a trip to the Children's Museum. Warner started running fever a couple of days after we arrived - got up to 103 one night. Long story, short, he had hand, foot and mouth disease!! He was pretty miserable, but we didn't let it slow us down...

4th of July

We celebrating Independence Day at our country club with a fishing rodeo, pool games, and lunch. Warner won a prize in the fishing rodeo, got to toss water balloons (and did a pretty good job), and loved spending time with his cousins that were in town too. Jackson was just along for the ride and happy as long as food was involved. Ha!

all the boy cousins, minus the twins - Michael & Morgan