The Silent Treatment

I can think of a million things (well, maybe that is exaggerating a little) that I need to be doing right now, but of course here I am on the computer.....it is all for your benefit:)

So, what have we been up to? Maybe a more fitting question would be what haven't we been up to. There is so much going on right now that it is just crazy. The weeks fly by...here it is days from October and I still am not sure what to do about Halloween for the children. Most of the time during the week is spent doing "mommy" things: ie-taking Shelby to school, picking up Shelby from school, grocery shopping, cleaning dishes, making lunches and sometimes dinner (props to me and Pratt for going on week three of eating in!!!), doing laundry, trying to keep the house clean, paying bills, CBS, changing diapers, chasing JP down from where ever he has climbed up, etc. It is so much fun!!! I really do love being at home with them. Oh, we also have to throw in buying presents and going to birthday parties. In one weekend we went to three parties and that just about wore me out to the point of no return, but is was great.

JP is trying so hard to talk. People often ask me how many words he is saying or what words he is saying and that is just such a hard question to answer. He is saying words, but many words anyone outside of Pratt or me wouldn't understand...does that count as saying a word? I don't know. Every time the air comes on in the house he goes, "Uh, uh! Plane, plane" and points up. It is so funny. He loves to see and hear the planes flying around and any noise that comes from the general up direction must be a plane. Of course he still loves to climb. About two weeks ago we were at a birthday party at a petting zoo...yes, I couldn't believe it either, but we have a petting zoo here!!! JP just took off looking at all the animals and feeding them. At one point I looked up and he was about to rocket himself over the top of a fence that was probably about 5 feet tall. And instead of rushing over there like a normal thinking mom would do I found Pratt so that he could see and then we started taking pictures...good news is that he didn't fall. Another new thing that has just started is he loves, loves, loves to sing!! Every time we are in the car he "sings" all the songs. It is so cute and my heart just melts every time.

Shelby is doing great. She loves school, at least I think she does. Here is how our conversations go when I pick her up.....

Mommy: "Hi sweetie!! How was your day?"

Shelby:

Mommy: "Did you have fun today?"

Shelby:

Mommy: "What did you do today?"

Shelby:

Mommy: "What friends were at school today?"

Shelby:

At about this point I usually give up and we ride home in complete silence. One day I was asking her questions about her day and I did finally get an answer, but she said, "Mommy, I don't want to talk about it." WHAT!!!! I didn't think that kind of response came until the teenage years!!!!

Memory Verse

Here is a cute little video of Shelby singing her memory verse from CBS. I just love it!!

Pratt Rocks!!!

He really does!! Last night I got called out shortly after dinner to go spend some time with a friend. I literally hung up the phone and kissed the family good-bye and walked out the door without much explanation as to where I was going or why. During the time that I was out, Pratt bathed both kids, washed all the dishes, lowered Shelby's mattress (we are trying to get her to sleep in panties at night), cut both kids hair, and cut his own hair (I didn't even ask him to do any of it). Some of you may be wondering how long I was gone, and it really wasn't too long...probably a little over 2 hours and he got all that done!!! Amazing, I know!!

Here are some pictures of JP's new hair do. Shelby was 3 before she got her first hair cut so it has been a little sad for me that JP is already getting his hair cut. To me it is like a right of passage from baby to childhood....sigh:( It is amazing what a hair cut can do. Shelby looks a little bit more sophisticated to me (that is probably because her hair doesn't look like she is some kind of wild child) and JP really does look older.

So Happy Together

A friend of ours recently asked Pratt if we high fived each other every morning when we get up because of how awesome our children are and that got me thinking about how truly wonderfully blessed we are to have our children. As any proud parent would say, I think that ours are the best. It also got me thinking about how often I take for granted these precious gifts from God and challenged me to be a better mother towards them and a better wife towards my husband. Isn't it amazing how one little comment can really change your outlook every morning?!?!?!?!

Anyway, on to the kiddos. They are great. One of my favorite things about them is how much they love playing together. It is great to listen to them talk and laugh together, and it is so much fun to see them playing and enjoying each other. Two days ago when JP woke up from his nap he wasn't ready to get out of the crib so Shelby brought him so toys and asked me to put her in there with him. I am telling you, they literally played in that crib together for 15 minutes!! It was great. I took that time to sit down for a few minutes and recuperate a little from our hectic weekend before starting dinner and just enjoy their sweetness. It was precious moments and times like these that will stick with me forever. Oh, another instance, we were at the playground the other day and I just love watching Shelby and JP on the swings. They get this distinctive sparkle in their eyes and they just laugh. It is amazing to watch them enjoy life so much. It really gives you a whole new perspective on what God must feel when he watches his children enjoying his creation in the manner that it was intended. Wow, what an amazing thought!!!

Our daily life has been very busy. We are definitely in full fall swing. Shelby loves, loves, loves school. JP is still adjusting to mornings without her. It is sweet to watch him search the house for her. You can just tell that his little mind is working so hard to figure out what is going on. CBS is going great. We are studying Genesis this year and it is just wonderful! We are learning way more than I could have ever imagined. Pratt is working so diligently and we are so proud of him.

In closing, here are two of my favorite pictures of the kiddos from the last few days. It just makes me so happy to see them together!

First day of School and other things

Hello everyone! Let's get caught up....so last week was Shelby's first week of practice school. She went everyday for the whole week and she had such a blast. By the time the weekend rolled around she was one tired tike, but even after all that she was still a ray of sunshine. Here are some pictures that she drew during her first week. One look and I wanted to laugh and cry at how adorable they were and it really made me realize how much she is growing up. No more little scribbles on a page, now she is drawing pictures!!!

I mean, she even gave her little heads necks. How cute is that!!!

Over the weekend my mom and dad kept the kids while Pratt and I went to the Clemson football game. We had great seats and a wonderful time hanging out with some of our friends. As an extra special surprise, we actually ran into some friends of ours from Atlanta at a restaurant. We hadn't seen them in 2 years and it was great to catch up with all that was going on. And that is all that I am going to say about that.....(those of you who watched the game understand why:(

Today was Shelby's first day of real school. Yesterday in preparation for her first day she and Daddy went shopping to by her first day of school outfit. Before they left I asked Shelby if JP and I could go with her and daddy; and her reply, "No. I need to spend some time just daddy and me." How could I argue with that???? So this morning went off pretty well. Here are the pictures from this morning....