Little Scientist

A friend of mine works for USC publications and called me several weeks ago saying that they needed a child to photograph for an upcoming shoot.  At the start of the shoot, the photographer said he needed Sawyer to pretend to draw without touching the whiteboard, which as you can see is covered in drawings and writing.  I got a little worried at this point, knowing my son, but it ended up working great and they got some pretty cute shots, if I do say so myself. : )

Sugar and Spice

and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of! That's right, we're having a girl! Praise the Lord, everything looked great with her development and we don't have to debate boy names! : ) We're going to name her Elizabeth Caroline and call her Libby. If anyone has seen baby body armor or a fully covered bouncy seat, we're on the look out to keep her safe for the first few months anyway. : )

Funny Faces

We have an awesome group of friends that we love to hang out with, but who also help to keep my freezer full of meals.  No, they do not cook for me out of the goodness of their hearts, but rather help by being a part of a meal swap.  We have dubbed it "Meals in Heels" just for fun. : )  There are 10-12 of us that try to swap freezer meals every 6-8 weeks and it is the biggest help, especially on those days when you feel like you're barely keeping your head above water and can't even think about what to make for dinner (if you want more details just ask and I'll explain the rest!).  Well, several times we have gotten things that aren't exactly the type of food that I would usually cook.  It's almost always good, but as you might imagine the 2 1/2 year old that lives in my house doesn't always know what to think.  Last night was definitely one of those times.  One of my friends had made a veggie lasagna, which tasted great, but Sawyer was less than impressed with it's looks.  I cut up the lasagna just like I normally would and put it on the boys' plates. Jack, as usual, dug right in and ate without complaint. Sawyer on the other hand, got in his chair, looked at it, wrinkled his nose, and said "I don't like that" in a very hilarious tone of voice. I tried not to laugh and told him it was lasagna with cheese, and that he had to take at least three big bites before he could get down from the table. It took him quite a while to make the decision to try it, but after the first bite he said, "Umm . . . tasty!"  Just goes to show that it really is better when Mommy and Daddy are in charge! : )  I didn't force it down his throat, but gave him the choice as to when he would eat it, even if it took all night, and in the end he liked it! 

Anniversary a little late

So last year was our five year anniversary, and I think the year that most people probably try to do something extra special.  Well, since we had a one month old, we went to dinner and stayed out for about 2 hours and that summed up our anniversary! : )  This year we decided we would go somewhere.  However, I had the feeling that I would probably still be in the "yuck" stage or pregnancy so we decided to wait until the weekend after the 4th to head outl.  The boys stayed at my parents house, which they were all more than ok with. : )  Of course Sawyer (the late sleeper) got up at the crack of dawn both mornings, while Jack (the early bird) slept late both mornings.  Go figure! 
Well, while the boys had fun at Granna and Grandaddy's house, we headed off to Charleston.  Being the avid photographer that I am (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice yet??) I took not one single picture!  Yay me!!  Thankfully, we had such a great time that I don't need pictures to remember!  We stayed at the Plantation Oaks Inn in Mt. Pleasant.  I was a little skeptical, because there were only 6 bedrooms and I was afraid it might be a little strange, but it was wonderful!  We were right down the road from Pawley's Island and they have chairs and a pass you can use to go to the beach, so you don't have to pay to park!  The best part by far, was the breakfast.  A couple owns the place, and the husband is an amazing cook!!  In fact, I think amazing food may have been one of the highlights of the trip.  We went to Ile Cortile Del Re for dinner one night.  It was a hole in the wall, but I think it was some of the best food I've ever eaten!!  I didn't know spinach could taste that good!  Awesome fish and pasta!  Just wonderful!!  Other than eating, we spent most of our time sitting on the beach or reading books.  All in all, it was exactly what we needed and an awesome time together!  I love you, hubs and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for the rest of our years together!!

Best Laid Plans

So I had the best of intentions to blog about the things I mentioned before, and I'm still going to do that, but of course my computer died just a few days after my last blog!  Isn't that always the way it goes?!  Now that I have a new computer, I'm going to try and get my pictures switched over and get a few blogs in as well.  However, this blog has nothing to do with any of the topics I mentioned before. : )  I had to share a recipe with you!  I know I don't usually blog about much other than my kiddos, but I really do love to cook and try new recipes.  One of my favorite new blogs is http://www.myfirstkitchen.net/ .  She has some great recipes if you have a little time to look around.  Well, I really wanted to make some cookies today and couldn't decide what to make when I randomly remembered a recipe I had seen at my first kitchen and decided to give it a try.  What is this recipe worthy of it's own blogpost you might ask?  Homemade Oreos!!  I know some of you reading this, maybe most of you, are thinking, "Why make them when you can buy a perfectly good version at the store?".  My answer to that is to try these once and you'll know exactly why!!  They are greatness on a plate, so I strongly suggest that you try some soon!  And if you're not the cooking type, but you're my friend, you might just be lucky enough to see these at our next get together. : )  http://www.myfirstkitchen.net/blog/2010/5/24/homemade-oreos.html

Still kickin'

Yes, we're still here!  I know it's been forever, but life has been crazy, just as I thought it would be.  We have officially moved and love our new house!  Now that the morning (all day) sickness has finally disappeared, I'm feeling more like myself and wanted to decorate and do more than unpack my boxes. : ) 

I won't try to update you on everything that has happened, but I promise a post about the following over the next few days: Jack's birthday, our anniversary trip, and the new house.  Here are a few pictures that a friend took of our family recently.  Amy is an amazing photographer and has outstanding packages, so go check her out here.

The two faces of Jack: fun and happy or unsure and curious. : )  I love those big eyes and that toothy smile.  I'll be sure to post more about what this cutie can do now in his 1st Birthday post.

Our two, adorable boys.  While they have their moments, the sure do love each other and laugh and play together most of the day. 

So, when Sawyer was little we started something we called, "the Sawyer sandwich" where we would hug him in between us.  Well, now that there is someone else, it has turned into a group hug.  Sawyer decided we needed to have one in the middle of pictures and Amy got it on film!  : )

And, since we haven't had a picture taken of just the two of us by a photographer since we got married, here's one I love.  I can't believe it's been 6 years since I married this wonderful man.  I also can't believe that in a few months we will have 3 kids.  Wow.  It's a good wow, but a slightly overwhelming one.  : )  If there is one thing I've learned with each of our children, it's that I know even less than I did with the one before.  With each one I realize that if I am to raise these beautiful, babies the way the Lord would ask me to, I must fully trust Him for everything.  More on that thought later.  

Well, there's the short, version and look back soon, because I promise to have more thoughts and plenty of pictures!!!

The fast lane

That's where I feel like we've been living life for the past few weeks. Just to give you a quick recap since the last time I posted, we have . . .

potty trained Sawyer (yay!!), sold our current house, put a contract on a new house, gotten ready for Josh's wedding, packed boxes, packed some more boxes, and some more boxes, and the big kicker . . . found out we are expecting number 3 in December!!! Now if that doesn't make you tired I don't know what will! Josh gets married this weekend and then we close on both of our houses this upcoming Thursday. I don't know if we could get anymore busy if we tried! So far everything's going well with number 3 and other than being tired and a little sick occasionally, I can't complain.

The boys are doing great and becoming better friends all the time! They play so well together, which is something I know I will be grateful for even more in the coming months. Sawyer is talking up a blue streak and cracks us up daily with the things he comes up with. My favorite one so far actually happened this morning. Jack was crawling around and I was trying to get him dressed. He kept following Sawyer, making my job all the more difficult, so I yelled to Sawyer to run into Mommy and Daddy's room so Jack would follow. Sure enough in runs Sawyer and truckin along behind him comes the little tank (trust me, if you could see him crawl you'd call him that too : ). As a little side note, I've realized that because of the stage that Sawyer is in I'm correcting him a lot, so Ian and I have tried really hard to find moments where we can praise him for obeying the first time, being sweet to his brother, or other things like that. Well, we got Jack to clap for Sawyer and we told him what a good big brother he was. His response to this was to say "Thank you, thank you, thank you" all while holding his arms out and doing little bows. HILARIOUS! I have no idea where he got this, but Ian and I about fell down on the ground we were laughing so hard!
Jack, or Jackers as we often call him, is becoming very expressive with his vocal cords, facial expressions and hand motions; pretty much anything he can do to try and get his wants across. He's pretty laid back and a lot more cautious than Saw, but I think that will make for a good pairing as they get older.
Well, I just wanted to give a quick update and let you know that you might not see too many posts in the near future, but I promise it won't be too long. Oh, and all my pictures are on Ian's computer, so I'll have to download some tonight and put up a few new ones. We all know that's really the only reason you check this thing, right?? : )