to my little man:

lawton,

mommy has been bad. i have not been writing things down like i should! this blog is basically your baby book in so many words. this is from me to you. this is how i felt on certain days, this is what you were doing on certain weeks, this is your life.
SO, with that being said, i need to jot some things down that you (who will be 17 months july 3rd) are doing, saying, etc. you are in school M-F from 9-1 for the first 5 weeks of summer and it has been great for both of us! i have been getting a lot done and working as well, but more importantly, YOU love it. this week you didn't have school and i have enjoyed EVERY moment. i only have had to work one day this week and we have had so much fun! you are so incredibly happy and i am amazed at how much you know. the other day at the doctor's office, i asked you to throw something away and damned if you didn't take it from me and walk over to the trash can and put it in! i have never said that to you and just thought, i have a genius! ;-)

things you are saying:
-bye bye! (my absolute favorite. can't get enough of that high pitched bye bye and you waving). you do this constantly. if we are on the deck eating lunch together (also, one of my favorite times during the day) and you get up, you say bye bye. if i get home and the babysitter is there, you look at the sitter and immediately wave and say bye bye to them before they have had time to put their shoes on ;-)
-thank you (more like teenk tou). you are SO polite! you say this to anything i give you and also sometimes say it to someone that YOU are giving something to. precious.
-ball, balloon, bubbles
-bro bro (brodie). this is my parents dog and when we are driving by their street, you start screaming bro bro!
-you said pap (what my dad goes by for you) name the other day in front of my mom and me and it about made me cry! you were asking where he was and it sounded so sweet
-truck. i taught you this and now EVERY time you see one when we are driving, that chubby little finger points and says "truck!"
-uh-oh! this is a favorite of yours ;-) when you fall, when you drop your milk, when the push toy gets stuck, basically when anything doesn't go the way you want, uh-oh comes out.
- eh? eh? eh? eh? - for everything.

sounds you are making:
-moo for cow
-babababababakkk for chicken
-sssss for snake
-you pant for a dog
-high pitched something comes out for a cat
-vrrrm vrrrm for a car
-you are doing the motorboat with your lips a lot this week (so cute)
-quack quack for duck

things you love:
-your flashcards. taking them in and out of the box and holding each one up and talking to them.
-mickey mouse clubhouse (borderline obsessed)
-being outside (you cry when it is time for dinner)
-you are being a very good eater now, which makes life a lot easier for mommy ;-)
-you have gotten over your fear of the slide (love it), the ball pit at my gym (love it) and big bodies of water like the lake.
-baths. you could stay in the tub for hours
-reading to yourself
-giving hugs. sweetest thing in the world. you lay your head on anyone's shoulder and really give a good hug.
-wrestling. we do this as a family every night when your daddy gets home from work and you love it!
-fruit!!! lots of fruits! even cantaloupe which i can't stand but your daddy likes
-cars and trucks
-pushing your wagon and little car around everywhere outside
-being naked or just in a diaper. you hate putting on clothes!
-seeing your friends and family. you get very excited to pull up to susu and pap's house, when you see your playgroup buddies and of course, miss betsey grace ;-)

things you do NOT like doing:
-going to the grocery store with mom. what happened? it used to be easy and a fun outing for you and now, you stand up and fight me in that seat! NOT FUN for either of us buddy.
-when i won't let you go in the street. sorry, not allowed. i am NOT being a bad mom for this. we have resorted to a gate in the driveway. otherwise, you are obsessed with going straight out into the street. how can you be scared a pool and not the big scary street?
-going inside. (that is tough when it is 100 degrees and i am running after you!)

to be honest, i can't believe those are the only things i can think of that you don't like right now. you have been so good lately! i know those tantrums and slaps in the face will come back (maybe even after your nap today) but i am enjoying these past few weeks. i am soaking up the hugs, the kisses, the manners that you have! you are a absolute JOY to have as a son. an absolute JOY. (had to say it twice so you would understand). :) when i put you down at night, i always tell you that i can't wait to spend tomorrow with you and that is the truth. everyday with you is a blessing and kid, you have my heart. your dad and i love you and one day you will realize this special love once you have kids of your own. there are no words to describe it....

love you,
mom

this weekend was the perfect time...

to put this almost 17 month old to work!

sunday morning jack and i told lawton it was about time he started earning his keep around here.

he wiped his picnic table off...

he cleaned the grill...

hold up! wait a minute! let me put some booty in it!

shake it to the left!

shake it to the right!

shake it real funky shake it real low,

shake it 'til you can't shake it no mo!
whew! that was fun!

he then dropped trou
and...

cleaned the wagon....

watered the flowers....

and went to pick some weeds.

this one is gonna be a good little worker ;-)

living in the past?

when i got lawton dressed for school this morning, the thought occurred to me. i have seen this outfit before. it seems as if i am trying to relive my days at STATE through my child. the days of popped collars, new balances, columbia shorts, croakies, rainbow flip flops and izod shirts. oh, and lets not forget the guys having "frat hair" that now resembles justin beiber. lawton doesn't have that yet, but the curls are coming in!

i remember my old boyfriends mother telling me that she made her son get a tetanus shot before he started living in the frat house....really? am i going to make lawton do that? can we say paranoid? that is, IF he wants to be in a frat, you don't have to by buddy! mama loves you for who you are! okay, now that that is done, i feel better ;-)

here is my little frat star all dressed up for school. at least he doesn't have a hangover, smells like booze and has to run across campus to make that 11 o'clock class. mommy, dressed him, fed him, changed him, loved on him and took him right up to the door to drop him off. i need to take advantage of these days because pretty soon he is going to have me drop him off 3 blocks away and say "peace out mom".

here is the same outfit that i was thinking of about 15 pounds lighter and 4 sizes smaller!

tubers

for years, my brother and i have given my dad a hard time about wearing tube socks with shorts. this morning, i got a taste of my own medicine when i picked up lawton from school and saw that his daddy put him in some....with shorts! guess it is a "dad" thing? anyway, they are growing on me and who can resist these little (well, can we say EXTRA WIDE what?! mama is a narrow!) feet!

let's just hope this tuber thing doesn't one day come to this:

this is a typical face (4 teeth are coming in at once and that tongue stays peeking out of those lips)

we have finally learned "CHEESE!!" but wait a minute, first i gotta sneeze...

there, CHEEEEEESE!!

Fathers Day

this is me and my dad...

ever since i can remember, i have been a "daddy's girl". we share such a special relationship and i am so thankful that i have such a wonderful man to call my father. he is someone that everyone wants to be around. he is caring, thoughtful, understanding, giving, hysterically funny and yep, he's my dad.

i found a letter from my dad when i was pregnant while going through my own baby book that was addressed to me and written after i was born. he wrote about how on my due date, he ran into the garage and knocked himself out because he was so nervous (i was 4 days late) and that the day he became a father it changed his life.

when my dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2007, my world was shaken. it was the hardest year of my life and i know it was way worse for him, but i felt everything he was going through. i was by his side through it all, just as he was for me when i was growing up. I became a nurse when I had no idea I had that kind of strength in me. I knew then that i would be a good mother after helping him go through that. when you think for even a nano second that you might loose your dad, your world is knocked out from under you. i thank the Lord everyday that my dad is okay and he and i get to share many more memories to come.

Dad, i love you so much. I love seeing you with your grandson - he lights up when he sees his Pap. no matter how old i get, i will always be your little girl.

when i was dating around, girlfriends would ask, what are you looking for and my answer was always "someone like my dad".someone that cared for me to all ends of the earth, someone that would love me for "me" and all that comes with that (and there is a lot!), and someone that would be my best friend. enter:jack hall.

this man is patient, kind, loving, witty, HOT, intelligent, feisty, caring, open, and yep, he's my hubby (enter heart flutter here ;-)

i knew he would be a great father watching him with his niece and nephew. when lawton was born, he never once said no to changing a diaper, feeding him, staying overnight alone with him, bathing him, rocking him, playing with him, etc. he is just as much as a parent as i am and loves lawton with every bone in his body. i can't ask for anything more.

jack, you have exceeded my expectations. i love watching you and lawton together. i love that you and he go out for breakfast on saturdays without mom, so that you can have "boy time". he looks at you with awe and you can see how much this child adores you. happy second fathers day - i love you so much!

who you callin melon head?

this kid LOVES some melon! (i can't stand the stuff, but jack likes it) lawton will eat anything i give him (except a few vegetables)...can't you tell? this kid sure doesn't look like he's starving ;-)

Popsicle time!

who doesn't love a Popsicle on a hot day?

L-R top:tyler, dallas, mary brooks, neely

liza and kemp

harper, court, lawton and our hostess leighton

these two boys are going to be trouble....

just look at their dads!

ps- jack does not wear cowboy hats. this is about 8 beers in and it may even be a women's hat....we'll never know ;-)

3rd annual lake trip (best weekend of the year)

this past weekend we went to lake hyco for the 3rd annual trip with the walls, watsons and oakleys (who couldn't make it this year). we go every year on the first weekend in june and honestly, look forward to it all year long. this year it was totally different for us. lawton was 3 months old last year and just sat there....this year, he played with the kids, loved the boat rides, ATE (everyone was shocked at how much he eats and at his size!), and played in the baby pool (wouldn't go near the lake, i tried a few times and he was petrified). all the kids were wonderful and they had jut as much fun as we did ;-) here are a few pictures from the weekend. already ready for next year!

sun was too bright on the boat ride so...
he wore daddy's glasses or the terminator's. you decide.

kiddos bathing together (L-R molly, lawton and ryan)

sweet girls ry ry and molly (3 months apart)

sweet laura and cooper (4)

laura and ryan (2)

me and sarah

ryan giving lawton a goodnight hug

the next morning, we taught lawton how to get us beers

long boat rides....

with the wind in our hair

the sun in our eyes

a little fishing on the dock..

some wake boarding

some of "big mable" (patrick had it all, a 4 yr old, 2 yr old and of course, his drink). bliss.

the boys. coop and lawton.

and as coop is saying, all in all a wonderful weekend with friends that are family. nothing is better!!!!

click here for last year to see how everyone has grown!

it's gettin hot in here, so hot! so take off all my clothes

i am gettin' so hot, i'm gonna take my clothes off! in the words of nelly, that is just what lawton did. this morning we had a playdate over at tyler, harper and courts house (ew, is by far, the hostess with the mostess) and had a great time! what else is there to do in this heat but be near water and go shirtless? (that is, for lawton, not mama)

2 of the 3 hosts, tyler and harper white

lawton watching the big kids play. he flocks to older kids - thinks they are fascinating

do you see what i see? CURLS!!! we are getting some hair! i LOVE LOVE LOVE these curls coming in!

we had lunch and topped it off with a push up pop. nothin better.

done and done.

FYI MOMS: today, he had on a swimmie diaper and "you know what" ,happened. anyway, it was a MESS and he was a mess and i was a mess after changing him. well, one of the moms when i came back out in total shock from what i just witnessed, told me that the straps break on those diapers JUST for that reason! say what? you can tear them apart! DUH! i was seriously cussing to myself while i was changing him on how they could be so stupid and turns out, i am the stupid one ;-) o well, you learn something new everyday and that was a good one to learn!