Low score!

one of our favorite family traditions is playing cards when we're all together. we play game after game after game of rummy. last night was the best game ever. we laughed a lot and gave each other a lot of dirty looks. most importantly, my lowest score EVER!!

see?? :)

the best thing since sliced bread...

cold pickle juice.

yes, I realize drinking pickle juice straight from the jar is something usually reserved for childhood. or pregnancy.

guess I'm still covered. :)

a big change

excuse my absence but you know when you get to that point of needing to post a million things that it gets overwhelming...yeah, i'm there.  so, i'm just gonna jump in in the middle.

one day, my tiny baby looked like this...

then, he came home from a haircut with his daddy.

and, now, looks like this...

i cried (with real tears) four times in the first thirty minutes he was home.

now he's such a big boy!

(and, this happened about two weeks ago...)

birthday party hole-in-one!

(cheesy title? i think so.  and, for that i apologize.)

this...

is what my son looked like on his last night of being 1 year old.  he looks super long in his crib.  and super happy.  :)

the next day, he was awakened ever-so-sweetly, by a beautiful rendition of happy birthday by his two very loving parents.  evidence (please ignore the bad singing):

then, pancakes and lots of playing before a 2 year old haircut!

that evening: party time! a golf party with one of his best buds, and cousin, grayson.  they both had a blast and both of our families felt blown away by our friends and family that came to share the occasion.  there are about a million pictures that follow, including the awesome golf course my husband created in our back yard.  it seemed to be a hit! almost as much of a hit as sarah's delicious, chocolate cupcakes.  the girl came bake a sweet, let me tell you.  oh, and the pics, it seems there cannot be a single picture taken of the birthday boys together that isn't blurry.  stinkers!

 

 

 

 

watchin' "tangeled" together...

while eating fruit snacks.
i love this child so much.

donuts in the morning...

school spirit!

md's school shirt goes down to his knees! 

but that doesn't make it any less cute!!

the non-napping two year old...

for the past four to five months. I have not been able to make my child nap. he used to go to sleep so easily. now, if he does sleep, it's for an hour after about 1.5-2 hr sing/play/cry session and possibly a spanking.

it's frustrating. I have no idea why he won't sleep.

today, I looked and saw this happening.

I think I've figured it out. he can't sleep because he's in there secretly choreographing a dance routine.

ah ha, it all makes sense now.

today,

and everyday, I will never forget.

thank you to all the service men and women who lives their lives protecting mine.

we will never forget.

pictures are worth a thousand words...

michael learned to take pictures on my phone. 

i think he could have a career in photography. loads of vision, this guy.

generational gap...

brought together by technology.

my pawpaw (79) and my son (2).

checking in...

my friend, ashley, picked her son up from school at noon. she swung by and looked in on michael.
being the thoughtful friend that she is, she took this picture and sent it to me.
thanks, ash.

kid's day out=mother's day crying

ok, not really. kind of. but, really.

i woke Michael up this morning by singing the song my mom always woke us with. it's really exciting and it goes like this:

good morning, good morning, good morning,
it's time to rise and shine.
good morning, good morning, good morning,
  ihope you're feeling fine!
wake up, wake up you sleepy head.
wake up, wake up get outta bed.
good morning, good morning, good morning,
it's time to rise and shine.

except, unlike my very morning person mother, i whispered my song until michael smiled, opened his eyes and slid his feet to the floor from his big boy bed.

i excitedly said, "today is your first day of school!"
"i want it!"
"you want what, baby?"
"my birsday party!"
"no, baby, it's not your birthday! it's your first day of school!"

we both laughed. i guess the only other time i've woken him with such excitement was on his bday. that's not sad, because it is a steady rule in my house to not wake a sleeping baby. or a sleeping two year old. anyway...

he went potty and then brushed his teeth while i combed his hair. i dressed him in the clothes i laid out for him last night and carried him to the kitchen and ate breakfast.

we loaded in the car and headed to school. I prayed over him on the way there. speaking good things and peace over his life today.

when we got out of the car, i put his "satchel" (he's been watching a lot of "tangled") on his back and handed him his lunch box. then we held hands and i tried not to cry as he chattered easily on the walk inside.

 we made our way to his class where mrs. luann hung his backpack and i showed him where i wrote my name to be the one picking him up. then, i showed him where his backpack was and where the potty was. i handed him to mrs. luann for a picture.  i showed him the picture and then got a hug and kiss.

mrs. luann, still holding my baby boy, moved away to look at the toy trucks. he never looked back. i made my way to the door and walked away smiling.

i'm sure i will not stop thinking about him all day. i hope he has an amazing time and is happy to see me when i pick him up at 1:30.

busy bee.

we've been a busy little family lately.  we've been out of town and hosting in-towners and hanging with friends and family the past couple of weeks.  i haven't had time to post anything but i have several things with which i need to do exactly that:

• md's 2 year letter
• md and gray's 2 & 3 golf bday party
• the visit to mattie and mushy's house
• house pictures, before and after
• md starting school (it starts tomorrow!)
• and??? some more stuff i can't think of right now :)

maybe i'll have some time in the next week to get caught up on posting and continue on! 

md and mushy

we're in the metroplex seeing our favorite people: mattie and mush!!!

it doesn't take long for michael to make mush his most cherished person ever. md loves these people...almost as much as i do.

my kid is addicted to the iPad.

pictures NOT taken with my iphone...

my friend, jenny, is an amazing photographer!  go to her sprinkle of grace blog to see the pics she took of md last week!

friend, you are a wonder among wonders! thank you so much for these special  pictures of my baby boy!

at least he has good manners

today, after lunch, MD and i drove nanny, mamo and tia toni around to look at a few houses. he was getting tired and was whining quite a bit. i got on to him once but after a little while, he started back up. i stopped the car, turned to face him with my "mom stare down" and said, "that's enough. do you understand me?" when a whine escaped him once more i asked threateningly, "do you want a spanking?"

my almost-two-year-old son looked me square in the eye and said, "yes, please."

as you can imagine, all four adults turned quickly away from the view of this ridiculous child as our hands flew up to disguise our shaking, silent laughter.

i decided, right then, to cut my losses. i took my foot off the break and continued down the road towards home.

fun friday night!

sarah came over last night with supper, and the three of the biggest loves of my life. 

then, lylah slept while ellie, gray and md enjoyed swimming and popsicles!

 and banging heads on chairs while rush tackling cousins. ouch!

 

 and watching tv together, in the dark, after bath-time. 

i love me some sweet family love.

short stacks and bacon

at md's request: pancakes. yumm!

3 step program for a moment of silence...

step one: laundry basket

step two: ipad

step 3: child finds ipad, works ipad to turn on ice age 2: the meltdown, crawls into basket, sits quietly.

mommy is happy! :)

one more for the books...

how could i resist this video when he's singing with his daddy so sweetly?!

rising star

 

md loves the zac brown band.  he sings along to many different songs, including "chicken fried", but above all else, his favorite is "free".  it's my favorite too.  how could it not be?!

first solo run

jenny and I won't be making our morning runs together anymore. her husband has to go to work at the crack of dawn. or before. not sure which, but it's pretty stinkin early either way.

today was my first run without her and I was determined to run at least as far as I've been able to run with her.

ran 2 miles. took a short breather for .25 of a mile and ran the rest of the way in. decent pace for myself too, as my first two miles were about 9:35 pace! i'll be running straight a full 5k before i know it!

to kylah: you CAN do what you set your mind to do. nice work!

md and mama

a promise

hide-n-seek

just isn't fair when you're playing against a very-close-to-being-two year old.