Techincal Difficulties

Alas, my computer knowledge is null and void with all these new fancy dancy computers. For some reason the computer is failing to acknowledge my memory card and I don't even know where to begin to fix it, so once again you are going to have to bear this blog without any pictures. But, never fear, because when Pratt gets home I will have him fix it.

Anyway, I have some great news....no, I didn't save a bunch of money by switching my car insurance; Pratt, Rob and Erik finally got that pesky armadillo that has been tearing up our yard and digging man size holes underneath our back steps. It all went down on Tuesday night. I won't go into details of how Pratt coaxed the armadillo out of his hole, but he did and then the chase ensued. Apparently Pratt and Rob ran into the woods beside our house barefoot in hot pursuit and it didn't take long for them to take him down. I have some really great pictures of the great white hunters and their catch which you will have to wait until later to see. Nonetheless, the consensus came in that they should cremate the armadillo so they did. The next morning I told Pratt that next time he is going to have to bury any further rodents because the smell that came from that fire was just plain awful. I couldn't sleep that whole night because our whole house smelled so bad. It took until almost dinner time the next night for the smell to be completely gone.

And on to other news....Today JP had two firsts! The first one, which I have a really cute picture of, is that JP did "shake-n-bake" with Ezron all on his own. It was so cute. He just balled up his little fist and pounded it with Ezron (who by the way became the proud daddy of one super cute baby girl...Congratulations Ezron!!!). Now, how many one year olds do you know that can "shake-n-bake". Sure, anyone can give a high five, but "shake-n-bake" now that is the stuff. The second happened tonight while my mom and dad were over. My dad and Shelby have this thing where they give each other "one". Basically the touch each other's pointer fingers when my dad says, "Give me one." Well, now JP has that down. It was so funny to watch him squeal at my dad to get his attention then stick out one finger. Afterwards he would tap his head (I have no idea about that one) and clap his hands with excitement. JP is also starting to master the fine art of running. Today he ran everywhere. Not once did he walk. If this is a sign of things to come, I may have to be one of "those" moms who puts a leash on their child when they are in a crowded public area....more on that later.

And now on to Shelby. I really am loving her bedtime routine. Sure, it takes a long time, but the exchange that occurs between us at night is so cute. It starts out with Shelby asking for some fresh water. Then she holds up her fingers and asks for one sip or two sips. Of course, the sucker that I am always lets her have two sips. Once that is taken care of she begins her, I go to sleep for a lil' bit, JP go to sleep for a lil' bit, mommy go to sleep for a lil' bit and daddy go to sleep for a lil' bit, everyone go to sleep for a lil' bit, who else go to sleep for a lil' bit, you talk about it mommy. So I confirm that we are all going to sleep for a little bit in which case the scenario repeats itself two to three more times. When she is satisfied about who all is going to sleep for a little bit she goes into her you "sheck" on me. She makes sure that I am going to "sheck" on her and that daddy is going to "sheck" on her. I assure her that we will "sheck" on her and tell her that we love her and then close the door. You have to be quick about it because if you linger around her bed to long she grabs onto the collar of your shirt and pulls you in close. Once she has you in her grip the whole ritual starts all over again. I just love every minute of it!!!

Well, that is all for now. Have a great night!

Moonlight Serenade

So last night while Shelby was doing everything in her power to keep herself from falling asleep she sang the following songs in random order over and over again, sometimes as loud as she could and others times so soft. It was hilarious!!! We all got quite a kick out of her.

Praise Him, Praise Him
This Little Light of Mine
You are My Sunshine
God Bless America

Shelby's Birthday Party Fun

What a Week!

Last week was quite busy to say the least. We started off with Shelby's 3rd Birthday on Monday. What a wonderful day it was. Shelby is such a wonderful blessing. Since it was President's Day she didn't have school so we just spent time together around the house. Meme met us at the grocery store to help get the fixings for a birthday cake and as any dutiful grandmother would, she bought Shelby the biggest birthday balloon. It had Tinkerbell on it and when ever you tap the bottom of the balloon it chimes and talks to you. I know, how crazy is that. Even balloons are becoming high-tech. After Shelby's nap we baked her birthday cake together. She really enjoyed stirring the batter and pouring in the oil. That night Rob-a-Dod came over for some pizza and then for dessert the Alberts joined in on the fun. They came over with birthday hats, pink pom-poms, and cow bells. Check out our baking masterpiece....


Tuesday and Wednesday were school and CBS days. I got to go to Shelby's school for a little bit on Tuesday to eat pizza and bananas with her and her friends for her little school birthday celebration. It was so much fun. All the kids just stared at me with that look of who is this strange lady with crazy hair and why is Shelby suctioned to her like a sucker fish on a whale? And of course on Wednesday after CBS we all headed to Hampton Lake to the playground for some afternoon fun. I forgot to mention that on Tuesday we had a little picnic in Shelby's room for lunch. When we got home the cleaners were still here cleaning away and the last thing I ever want to do is get in their way so we spread out a blanket, grabbed some stuff from the frig and made a picnic. Shelby and JP had such a great time. I think that we will do it again.

I can't really remember what we did Thursday so we will skip that day, but Friday Shelby had her three year check-up. She is practically perfect in every way (okay, maybe those weren't the doctor's exact words, but I am sure that is what he meant.) Then, since it was a rainy day we went over to Hampton Lake to play at Fishtales (this really cool indoor play area that has all kinds of fun stuff). We met our friends Angelique, Avery and Cole. Shelby and Avery had so much fun playing together. They made necklaces out of the beads, "played" a board game, colored, and ran around like the two crazy girls that they are. Meanwhile Cole and JP tried to eat beads, walked around like they were too cool for school, and ate. We had such a fun time and now I am kind of looking forward to another rainy day so that we can go back.

Saturday was the big party day. Children from all over flocked to our house for Shelby's Pink Princess Party. The party was a big success, if I do say so myself. It was so much fun and I just loved watching all of Shelby's little friends playing and eating. They were all so well behaved. It was just amazing. I also got to meet some of Shelby's friends from school and their moms. I know that Shelby had so much fun, but at one point my mom said she looked over and Shelby was just standing there by herself with her hand on her head looking around. I am sure that she was somewhat overwhelmed by it all, but once she snapped out of it she was good to go.

In all the fun that we had last week, the only down side that I have to report on was that JP got a pretty nasty fever on Friday that lasted through Saturday night. Thankfully there were no other symptoms to go along with it, but he was one little dude that wasn't feeling well at all. Sunday he was much better. His new trick is to put his sippy cup on his head or sometimes behind his head while he eats. So when he started doing that Sunday night at dinner I knew that he was back to his good old self. He such a funny little man!

Happy Birthday Shelby!!!

Today is the day!!! This day at 6:14am three years ago our sweet baby girl took her first breath in this world! I can hardly believe that three years have gone by already. How fast does time fly!!! It seems like just yesterday that Pratt and I were heading to the hospital and now we have two precious little ones and neither of them are babies anymore. My sweet Shelby, you are so precious to me. I thought that in honor of today I would post a few pictures from the past three years. Unforunately I didn't have any digital pictures from the first few months so we have to start in May 2005. Look at how little my baby girl was. This picture was taken Memorial Day weekend. I remember it like it was yesterday.

2006 started off with a bang as we celebrated Shelby's first birthday. I think that we went a little crazy on the invite list, but it was so much fun and Shelby had a great time. I thought that she would really love the cake part, after all, don't all kids like cake no matter how old they are??? Well, Shelby proved that she was her own little girl when she cried and cried. I thought that I might have scarred her for life after that cake incident and she didn't eat anything with sugar in it for years. This picture was taken the morning after her first birthday day. Again, look how little she was. It is amazing to me to watch the changes in her on a day to day basis, but when I go back to the beginning it is incomprehensible to me all the growth that she has gone through.

In 2007 we took things down a couple of notches for her birthday since we had the great homecoming of JP. This picture was taken at Snow Day at Shelter Cove Community Park. I hate to admit it, but I don't remember too much from that day as I was terribly sleep deprived and more hormonal than I care to admit. Anyway, look at how sweet and innocent Shelby is. She had won the flower at this little carnival type fishing game. She was so excited and carried that flower around for days. I remember when we brought JP home from the hospital the first thing I noticed were how big her hands seemed to be. When I went into the hospital to have JP her little hands were baby hands and when I got home, she had little girl hands. Now looking back at all these pictures I realize that she still was a sweet baby girl.

And now to the present....this picture was taken this morning as she unwrapped a few gifts from us. We started the day with the traditional rendering of "Happy Birthday". Followed by some good ol' hanging out. We had a wonderful relaxing morning with no rushing out the door since Shelby didn't have school today. She ate pancakes, two frozen ones (and I mean literally frozen as she likes to eat two while the rest are in the toaster oven heating up) and four toasted ones. Then she sat down and had a bowl of cereal with her daddy. A little later on she had some jelly and bread. She sure can eat, can't she!!! While JP took his morning nap Shelby and I played with her magnetic dress-up doll and Chutes and Ladders. Then we went upstairs to dance to some music.

I tell you, I couldn't have even imagined how much having a daughter would change my life. It just opens your eyes to a whole new world, but most importantly it showed me even more how great God's love is for us. I mean, can you imagine, he sent his son to earth knowing full well that he was going to suffer and die on a cross so that we could spend eternity with him. Of course, the glorious part of that story is that Jesus rose from the dead. Praise God for his infinite wisdom and grace.

Lord, thank you so much for sending Shelby to us. Thank you for trusting us with this most precious gift. You are so amazing and mighty. The heavens and the earth and all creation declare your praises. Thank you so much for Shelby's laugh and the twinkle in her eyes. Thank you that she is already learning so much about you and your love for her. Please bless her little life and give Pratt and I wisdom to raise her to be a godly young lady. Amen.

I fracked it.

So, once again another weekend has come and gone very quickly. Friday was another beautiful day here and well, the whole weekend was just perfect. We had some dear friends of ours come into town from Atlanta. Pratt and Erik played golf on Saturday while Caroline and I caught up together at Harbortown playground. This is a picture of Francie, JP and Shelby all playing together. Isn't Shelby the best big sister??!!!?? She loved pushing JP on the swing.

And now, backing up a day. Here is JP on Friday at Hampton Lake. Since he has discovered this new freedom in walking he was all over the place. He tried to climb up the "rock wall" as seen below. Then he decided to tackle the big playground and climb all the way to the top. Of course I was hot on his heels to make sure that he didn't make a wrong turn and end up falling. I just can't get over how big he is getting and how brave he is. Shelby was pretty much content to just sit by me and know that she was safe. JP on the other hand loves to grab life by the horns and go at it with gusto. Of course he always comes back to mamma when things don't seem to go well.

Last night was a big night for Clemson Basketball and while we lost in double overtime to those Tarheels, I have to give my boys props for leaving nothing on the court. Shelby and JP stayed up for a little bit in hopes of catching some of the game, but since the game before ours was running late they didn't get to see much. JP got all cozy with daddy on the couch to cheer on our tigers and was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to see any of the game. Maybe next time, buddy.

JP is up to all sorts of new tricks these days, but his most impressive is his twisty tongue trick. Check it out.....I bet that most of you out there can't do this with your tongue. It is so funny, both of my kids stick their tongues out when they are concentrating on something and JP's always gets all twisty. I just love it and get the biggest kick out of it.

What blog post would be complete without some stories about Shelby. She is just too funny!!! I love her little voice, her mannerisms, and her catch phrases. Today we were playing in JP's room on the blocks and she wanted to close the door. I told her that she needed to leave the door open and so she walked over to the door and closed it slightly then looked at me and said, "I'll just frack it mommy. Okay?" I said, "What?" And she said, "I'll leave it fracked." I almost feel over laughing; not because of what she said, but because of how she said it. She new exactly what she was saying, her little tongue just got all tied up. Then, tonight while we were putting her to bed I had one of the sweetest moments with her. I was laying in bed next to her and while Pratt was saying our good night prayers she leaned over and kissed me on the tip of my nose. This time I almost cried because it was so sweet and compulsive. I didn't ask for the kiss; she just did it. It is times like these that you cherish forever.

In closing, I would like to leave you with this video of Shelby's first single entitled "Jesus Loves Me". Enjoy!

Shear Exhaustion

Happy Wednesday to all! It is the most beautiful day here! I just love it. The sun is shining and there is a gentle breeze blowing. I am also coming off of my third night in a row of JP not making a noise all night long!!! Wow, I just can't believe it. He is really growing up so much. I wish that you all could see him walk around the house now. Last night when Pratt got home he walked up to him saying, "Dadadadadadada." It was so cute.

Just as I said yesterday, I did find my camera and when I found it I went "ah ha!!!" It was in my purse for those of you who are wondering. I keep it there most of the time so that I always have it on me when we are out running around.

So today was CBS. What a great time. Shelby and JP did great in their rooms. Shelby's classroom is next to the room that we have lecture in and it is so cute because sometimes you can hear all the kids running around and laughing. I just love that sound. It is so sweet and innocent. Afterwards we went to the playground to get some fresh air. We had quite a crew with us today and as I was sitting there watching all the kids running around I thought of about 6 other people that I should have called to let them know that we were out there. I swear sometimes I feel like I would forget my head if it weren't attached. Shelby and JP had a super fun time running around and they just wore themselves out.

Here is Shelby on the way home from the playground. She is a typical 2 almost 3 year old when it comes to her not getting her way, but when she is tired she really can't handle being told no. Thankfully Hampton Lake is just a short drive from home so her fit couldn't last too long. She is so sweet at the same time because it is in the moments that she just wants me to hold her; this desire isn't something that I hear a lot from her because she is such a busy girl.

JP didn't have much to say. He just sat in a half awake silence. I am sure he was wondering what the big deal was that Shelby was so upset, but he was just too tired to care. Confession time, I am not that good at this editing stuff. I had another picture of JP in his carseat that you could see his new shoes and deleted it and now I can't get it back. Please see bottom of post to check out JP's super cool new shoes. It took him a while to get adjusted to walking around with them on, but now he is doing great. Well, I can't seem to get the picture to the bottom so now look at the very first picture on this post.

This is a picture of JP from a few mornings ago. He loves his new independence since he started walking and really loves that he can carry things in both hands. Whatever is laying on the ground he picks up and then takes off walking laps around the house. What a fun stage of exploring he is in. Everyday it is something new!!

Temporarily misplaced.....

So today is one of the days that I look forward to the most on a bi-weekly basis; why? you ask. It is because on this day every two weeks my house gets cleaned from top to bottom and I don't have to lift a finger. Shelby even gets excited when she hears the doorbell ring, even she knows that the day the glorious (and super fabulous) cleaners come is a great day no matter what!! Well, there is only one draw back, when the cleaners come I put things away and when I put things away I can't remember where I put them so today you are going to have to read through the post without any cute little pictures of the kids being too cute because I can't remember where I put my camera. I am sure that it is in some very logical place and when I find it I will go "ah ha!!!"

So, since the circus on Saturday things have been going along great here. Sunday we all went to church. It was such a touching service as we all joined hands and lifted Mike and Meredith up to the Lord. I don't think that there was a dry eye in the sanctuary. To me, the most amazing thing in all of this is Meredith's strength and faith. She has ministered to so many people through this whole ordeal. Everytime I check the computer for an update on how Mike is doing she is praising God for his faithfulness and love to them. I praise God that he loves us and desires to have a personal relationship with us where we can approach his throne and lay our requests at his feet; and when we think that we can't make it through another day, he picks us up and carries us through. Meredith, you have been such an inspiration to me. Thank you so much for allowing God to use you in such a mighty way. We look forward to your's and Mike's return soon. On that note, please continue to pray for them. The doctors are hopeful that Mike will come out the coma, but they said to expect atleast 8 weeks or longer.

Pratt had to leave early as he had a sales conference in Jacksonville to attend, so once church was over I loaded up the kids in the car and came on home. One thing that I have decided since Pratt has been traveling so much is that if at all necessary it is just easier to avoid having to prepare any food at any time. It is just easier, it may not always be healthier, but I figure a few days eating slightly unhealthy won't kill us...right? Needless to say, we haven't been eating very much at home except the occassional sandwich or fruit bowl and let me tell you, JP can eat some fruit!!! I have to be careful because as soon as he sees the fruit, no matter what he is eating, he immediately stops and starts begging/whinning until he gets the fruit. Speaking of the man, what a little cutie he is. He is almost running all over the place now. I can't get over how fast he went from a few steps here and there to full walking. Yesterday we went to the playground and it was like he had never been there before. He explored everything and even tried to climb up the stairs on the big kids playthingy. I just can't believe how big he is getting. He voices his opinion on things now, he throws balls and chases them, he has full conversations with you in baby talk, he walks around pretending to talk on the phone, and the sweetest thing is that he loves Shelby more than anything. Every Monday and Tuesday that we take Shelby to school he cries when she gets out of the car. Oh what joy fills my heart that they love each other so; I know that it won't always be a love fest, but right now it is so sweet!!!!

We are fast approaching Shelby's third birthday!!! Can you believe it!!! Three!!! Pretty soon she is going to be thirty with a little girl turning three and I will be a grandma....woah....hold on there, I don't want it to go that fast. Anyway, she is such a funny little girl. I wish that I could record her 24/7 because by the time I get to a place that I can write down something funny that she has said, I have already forgotten it; and sometimes it isn't that what she said was so funny, but how she said it and her body language that makes you want to fall over laughing. Today at lunch I was asking her how school was and she asked me to tell her about CBS; she says, "You talk about it mommy, you talk about CBS. You talk about it." So I told her who was there and that we talked about Daniel and Lions Den. I told her that God had sent his angels to rescue Daniel from the lions and that the next morning he was still alive (which, by the way, I don't think she even could really understand, but she looked at me so intently hanging on my every word). Then I said, "It was a miracle." She got so excited and looked at me with wide eyes and a big old smile and said, "Like my Bible." I know that she got that from CBS. She knows that the Bible is God's word and that God's word is true and in the Bible are so many stories of God's miracles. I almost cried with joy. To me, it let me know that, yeah, she is memorizing scripture and hiding God's word in her heart, but it goes deeper, there is a connection and she is understanding. Oh what joy floods my soul!!!!

Maybe I will find my camera soon! Have a great day!

Elephants, Tigers, and Circus Clowns

What a fun day we had today! It started out a little bit earlier than Pratt and I would have liked with JP coughing his lung out around 5:30am, but hey, how does that saying go....early to bed, early to rise, makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy, and wise (According to that, I should be approaching King Solomon type wisdom). Once we got moving and shaking, Shelby enjoyed some time with Daddy for breakfast. She and Pratt met BJ and Owen for a little father/first born pancake breakfast. JP and I held down the fort and he caught a little nap before the big afternoon that we had planned. Once Pratt and Shelby got back we loaded up and went to the circus in Savannah! What a crowd we had....there was us, the Alberts, the Kochs, Erin and Jack, and BJ and Owen.

It was so much fun!!! I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous on how Shelby would handle all the stimulation, but she did pretty good. There were clowns, jugglers, trapese people, tight rope walkers, acrobats, this guy who put a pole with a girl balancing on the top on his forehead (it gave me a headache/neck ache just watching him), these guys who were in these giant hampster wheel thingys that went round and round, one enormous elephant, five cute little dogs, and somewhere around 5 beautiful white tigers. Oh yeah, and the main clown guy who talked with a french accent and rode around on all different typs of cycles.

JP was hooked from the start. He loved all the loud music and lights. Throughout the show he was dancing, clapping, and waving his hands up in the air. It was so much fun to watch him. I know that he won't remember the day we took him to the circus, but I will remember it forever!!!

Shelby took a while to warm up. At first she sat so still and held on so tight to my arms. I could feel her little heart about to beat out of her chest. By the time we got to the intermission she loosened up a lot. She was laughing and clapping and really enjoying herself. Unfortunately she didn't get to see to much of the elephant because she had a potty emergency. Which, that is a victory in itself. Rarely does she use public restrooms; they seem to scare her a little. Anyway, we got back just in time to see one last trick with the elephant and then the backside of the elephant as he left the stage (well, I think it was a he, I have no idea actually.).


Here is the elephant. Let me tell you, those are some giant animals!!!! It has been so long since I have seen one up close that I had forgotten how big they were.

After that it was intermission so that they could get the stage set for the tiger show. Once again, I missed the tigers. Not having planned well enough I had to get something for the kids to eat since the show ran from 11:00 to 1:00. Anyway, I came in just as the tigers were getting lined up to exit the stage. I was sad. The only thing I really wanted to see was the animals and I missed both acts. Well, that's not entirely true; I did get to see the little doggies perform. Shelby never really got back into it after that. She must have been tired or something so Pratt took her out to walk around while JP and I enjoyed the end.

Check out my two cute clowns!!!! JP is sporting the suvinier hat that came with the $10 cotton candy. Yeah, it was a total rip off and had I know that I wouldn't have asked for the cotton candy to begin with.

We had such a great time. Thanks Leslie for getting this all together. We can't wait to do it again.