Football Season is Here!

Isn't it great!

With the help of my brother and sister-in-law, Lily, Bear & I got Josh and his dad tickets to the Alabama v. Clemson game for Father's Day. Travis is a Clemson alum, so he and Josh have been looking forward to this game for quite a while. Since Travis and Jaclynn were coming in for the game we decided to take Lily and Bear in to Atlanta to visit with them and see all the excitement. Also, the kids had new Alabama gear from Mammy and Paw, so we had to show it off!

We took Marta down to Centennial Olympic Park and watched the last bit of ESPN's College Gameday. We then had lunch with Travis and Jaclynn and our college friends, Kyle and Amanda (also Clemson fans). The kids were hot and exhausted, so I headed back home with them after lunch. Josh and his dad tailgated for a while with friends and then enjoyed a great night of college football in the Dome. It didn't hurt that Alabama won! Roll Tide!

Bear and Paw

Lily and Uncle Travis


Bear and Josh

Our little Cheerleader

& Little Football Player

Aunt Jaclynn and Bear
The Girls at Lunch

Whew, What a day!!

Future Furman Linemen?

Today, Bear and I met Diana and her little boy, Mason for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Diana and I were roommates for 4 years at Furman and she has remained one of my very best friends! We now we have little ones very close in age, which is so exciting! Mason was born the very end of January, so he and Bear are only about 2 months apart. It was so much fun for us to get together today, even for just a short time! We enjoyed a yummy lunch and swapped stories about the cute things our little boys are doing. Mason is such a cute little boy and is definitely the spitting image of his daddy! Josh and Ben (Diana's husband) were both offensive linemen at Furman, so we joke that the boys are going to be college roommates and teammates when they get older!! Here's a picture of their first time meeting each other:

I've been so blessed to have such a wonderful friendship with Diana. I love that we are able to share motherhood together and know we'll have lots more fun together in the years to come!

Enough with the pictures mom!

Visit to Columbia

Last weekend, Lily, Joshua and I went to Columbia to visit my family. Josh was in TN golfing with clients, so I decided to take advantage of the weekend to rest and relax...and let the grandparents handle the kids.

The kids did great on the drive. Four hours is a long time to sit still, but they napped and Lily watched a few episodes of Dora the Explorer and the Care Bears to pass the time. We had a low-key weekend day on Friday. Lily and Joshua got new toys from Mimi and Granddaddy and were content to play and visit with them. On Saturday, we ventured out to shop and have lunch at the Sandhills Village. Saturday night, both sets of great-grandparents, Uncle Travis and Aunt Jaclynn, and my cousins and uncle came by to eat dinner and see the kids. Dad grilled a delicious dinner and I loved seeing how much fun my family had with Lily and Joshua. They don't get to seem them often, so it's always a treat for them to see how much they are growing and changing.

Bear and Mimi swinging

Lily and Granddaddy cutting grass

Shopping at the Sandhills Village

Bear gets a bottle from Great Grandma Goings

Playtime with Papa Larry

Our Future Gold Medalist

I decided to enroll Lily in a Mommy and Me class offered through the rec department. As a child, I loved gymnastics. Mary Lou Retton and Kim Zmeskal(I'm sure I'm misspelling her name) were my idols and I took lessons until I realized I was too tall (and not good enough) to make it to the Olympics! Lily has tons of energy and loves to jump around, so I figured this might be a great way for us to have fun together! We started last week and go each Tuesday night. The class is pretty simple - there are 2 or 3 other little girls in the class with her. We do basic stretches to work on their flexibility, practice headstands against the wall to get them used to being upside down, and then go through a few stations involving various apparatuses. Lily's favorites so far are the trampoline track, where she bounces and turns forward rolls and the balance beam. She's been a bit scared of the foam pit that they jump in - I think she sees it as a swimming pool with no one in the water to catch her.

I'll try to take some pictures at class next week, but here's a video of Lily attempting to show her Daddy what she's learned. You'll notice she doesn't quite roll all the way over - she's insisting on doing it all by herself tonight and without her clothes on :)

Momma, Look at Me

I can stand!

On Sunday afternoon, I had Joshua playing in the floor. Over the last week, he's really started learning how to crawl and get around. Occassionally, he would pull up on us with help. Well, I walked out of the room for just a minute and when I came back, he was standing up against the couch. He was so proud of himself and it caught me totally by suprise.

Later that same night, he showed Daddy his strength by crawling over to the tv, pulling up, and then pulling the DVD player off of the entertainment center shelf. We've decided to add a new nickname for him - Bam-Bam! He's so strong and is no longer content to sit and play. Instead, he wants to be crawling and climbing and pulling up on whatever he can reach.

I'm really excited to see him hitting these milestones, but at the same time, it's a bit sad! He's not a little baby anymore. As tired as I was during the newborn/little infant phase, I really do miss it, especially when I think about how fast the time is going by!

Is it my turn yet??

On the Move

Joshua is on the move...sort of!

Last week, he turned 8 months old and decided it was time to start learning to crawl. He first learned how to go from sitting up to being on all fours. Once he mastered that trick, he started attempting to move by rocking back and forth. At first, he'd lunge forward and fall flat on his chest. Now, he's able to make forward movement by half crawling/half sliding on his belly! It's quite cute to watch him try and Lily loves to lie on the ground beside him and coach him. He'e especially eager to attempt to crawl if a toy or mommy is somewhere close by. Luckily, the house is still babyproofed for the most part from Lily, as I don't think it will be much longer until he is really on the move!

Great Mommy Moments

Some days, I feel that I don't do much right as a mommy. Like any other mom, I struggle with juggling kids, a husband, a house, and work. Tonight though, both Lily and Joshua did little things that really touched me and reassured me that I am doing something right! Such an answered prayer that I really needed!

Story 1:
Tonight, Josh was working late so I was home alone with the kids. After a quick dinner at Cody J's, we came home and decided to play outside with Lily's new sidewalk chalk. We had not been outside on the front porch long when Lily stumbled and fell face first on the brick stoop. She cried so hard and I could tell she was hurting. Her nose, lip, and chin were scraped and swollen. We went inside and I cleaned her up, held her, and kissed her "boo-boos". Within 15 minutes, she seemed to be feeling better.
Later, when Josh came home, he asked her about her night. She proceeded to re-tell him the story with no prompting from me (which I found amazing for a 2 year old).
"Daddy, I fell down."
"I hurt my body."
"My mommy fixed it and it feel much better."
How sweet - I fixed her and she remembered! My heart smiled!

Story 2:
Joshua's nightly routine is bath, bottle, put down awake in crib and soothe self to sleep. Tonight, Lily was occupied watching cartoons in our room, so I stayed in Joshua's nursery for a few minutes after laying him down to see if he'd settle down without crying. He sleeps on his stomach and I put my hand firmly on his back. He fussed for just a minute or so and then put his head down. Every 15 seconds or so, he would rise up, turn his head, look at me, smile, and then would lay his head back down. This lasted for about 5 minutes or so until he finally fell fast asleep. The smile on his face each time he saw that I was still there with him definitely let me know that he loves his mommy!