I’m starting to understand why…

people decide to get mini-vans.

We were stuffed in our car like sausages!  I’ve sworn off the mini-van, but who knows, if we have another trip like we just had, I might start to change my mind!  Have a happy week!

Verse O’ the Day:

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

2 Corinthians 11:30

Yesterday was Matthew’s 2 month check up…at 3 months old!  We’re a little behind.  All that crazy snow we had pushed our doctor’s appointment up and then we left for Alabama so now we’re at 3 months going in for a 2 month check-up!

If I had a nickel for everytime somebody back home told us, he is SO big, I’d be rich right about now!  Yes, indeed, our gentle giant is off the charts in his growth.  I couldn’t care less!  He’s perfect, healthy and happy and round!

He weighed in at around 17.5 pounds and he was 26 inches long yesterday.  That puts him around the 97% and 98% of weight and height!  When we stand him up he comes up to John Michael’s armpit!  He was such a trooper for his shots, he only cried about 10 seconds.  I was more upset than he was!

Don’t worry about his red marks.  He has really sensitive skin (exactly like his Dadddy’s) and whenever we touch him or hold him or if he scratches himself he gets red marks on his skin.  They fade away in about 5 minutes and it’s no big deal.  Jordan’s skin is exatly like this.

I have noticed that even though I can put some 9 month clothes on him (they snap easier in the crotch…did I just say crotch on my blog?!) the 9 month clothes are a bit baggy in other areas.  This leads me to believe that he might possibly be a really tall guy one day. 

It dawned on me yesterday as I went about my day that I had not stopped to say a prayer of thanks to God for a wonderful doctor’s check-up.  How quickly we forget those families who struggle with having a baby or families with sick babies.  Jordan and I are so blessed to have two healthy youngsters who are growing like weeds and thriving.  I forget sometimes to thank God for the little things in life…like a healthy 2 month check up!

We opted out of going to playgroup today, even though I miss everybody like crazy!  There is a really bad, evil stomach bug plowing its way through whole families in our area and especially in our church.  I figured since we had been on a sort of stressful trip that our immune systems might be down and I DO NOT want to catch it.  I hate, hate, hate the stomach bug and I freak out whenever I get it.  Plus, Matthew won’t take a bottle and I was worried that if I got dehydrated and sick that I might not be able to feed him and then we’d be stuck with a hungry baby.  I know, I know, I’m thinking way too much into this.  If you only knew how bad I had the stomach bug when I was pregnant with John Michael you would understand!

So, instead of playgroup we went to a big consignment event that is in our area about twice a year.  I love this and I always look forward to going because I love a deal!  I especially love getting deals on children’s clothing because it either gets poopy, dirty, or they outgrow it so fast they only got to wear it twice! 

Here are a few of my amazing bargains that I got today:

I was lucky to have Jordan’s mom here with us (she traveled back from AL with us) so that she could help me balance all the clothes on the stroller and help keep John Michael happy with lots of goldfish and juice!  It made digging through tons of clothes and toys much easier on me since I had Matthew in his Moby wrap!

Have a happy week.  I’ve never been so happy to see sunshine as I was this morning.  Bring on Spring!

Verse O’ the Day:  (Oh, don’t we all just love this verse!  I have to remind myself of it a lot because life can be overwhelming sometimes and it’s easy to get anxious and worry your little head off!)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

This is what happens when a certain little man takes your camera, learns how to turn it on, and then proceeds to fill up your memory card with about 100 pictures of…

He took a picture of Meme and Uncle Ray…

He just wanted to take a self-portrait!

We are SO happy to be back in our own home, sleeping in our own beds, and getting back into our normal routine.  We were so glad to visit with our families, but it was time to get home! We missed Jordan so much and I know he missed seeing the boys while we were gone.  I guess he probably missed me too!

Since we live so far from family we decided that I would travel back to our hometown at least twice a year for a big, long trip so that both sides of our families can spend some quality time with the kiddos.  It’s important for them to get to know our boys since we live so far away and they do not get to see them everyday. 

We’re adjusting into our old routine and doing lots of laundry and lots of unpacking.  I feel sure that it’s going to take me several days to get all the bags totally unpacked and everything hung up and put away!

Verse O’ the Day:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

Pioneer Woman, I am not!  I tried, but who in the world messes up boxed brownies?! 

Although I made the brownies from a box, I made the homemade mocha frosting from The Pioneer Woman cookbook.  Although the brownies look seriously, seriously ugly, they were quite tasty!  I still can’t figure out how I made yummy brownies look so ugly.

We gave my mother-in-law the Pioneer Woman cookbook for her birthday and I have enjoyed reading through it while we’ve been home.  I plan on getting my own sometime very soon!  I love all the pictures!

In fun friend news, the other day we met up with an old high school (and elementary and middle school!) friend of mine and her little guy.  We met at Chik-fil-A because I just figured out JM is old enough to start playing in the play place!  Fun! 

I left Matthew with my Mom because I wanted some time with just me and John Michael.  I feel like I haven’t really taken him out with just me in a long time.  We had a fun afternoon; just the two of us!

Aren’t they so cute?

And Baby Matthew has been happy and playful and he has started to full-on laugh lately!  He’s been cracking us up with his smiles and laughs.  He’s so sweet.

Have a happy week!

Verse O’ the Day:

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”

Psalm 91:14-15

Look who turned 3 months old yesterday!  I don’t know how in the world 3 months have passed.  It’s amazing how fast these “little” years seems to already be flying by.  It’s not fair! 

Our Baby Matthew has the sweetest disposition.  I could just eat him up everyday; he’s so precious!  His eyes look like they might stay blue, although his hair might be darker than JM’s!  All day he just tries to use his stomach muscles to pull himself up and sit up.  He likes to stand on your lap, not sit! 

 He usually doesn’t cry unless he’s hungry and he will just laugh and smile when you talk to him!  I found his tickly spot right under his chin and I think it’s hilarious to make him laugh.  God truly blessed us with a beautiful baby boy.  I couldn’t ask for more!

I know these are some of the greatest years of our lives and I want to savor each day because it’s flying by so quickly!

As I mentioned in my last post, it’s so hard to get a good picture of John Michael lately.  Here’s the proof:

Hey, this is just our life sometimes: laughing and crying and smiling!  Oh yeah, and a dog who likes to get in the thick of it!

The long trip and all the going back and forth and packing and repacking, the trying to get both kids to sleep in the same room, and setting up pack n plays is all worth the smiles on their faces as they get to see Matthew for the first time!  We’ve been able to introduce Matthew to so many family and friends.  We’ve got a few more rounds to make and some more family to meet this weekend!

Matthew has done so well.  He’s mostly full of smiles and happy laughs.  He’s our gentle giant!

And of course, everyone is just as excited to see John Michael as well!  Is it just me, or is it increasingly harder to get pictures as your kiddos get older?  I just noticed every single picture of John Michael is either blurry or it’s half his face because he’s running around.  This was the only picture I had where he’s sitting and looking at the camera!  He’s on the go all the time!

Seriously, this is the biggest rubber ducky I’ve ever seen!

I have just had NO time to post lately, so this is IT!  Enjoy!

One of the main reasons for us traveling back home was to attend a cook off at Bryant Denny Stadium.  My dad was on one of the BBQ teams, and even though they didn’t win, we all loooved their BBQ!

We all got ready and headed to the stadium.  JM rode in his Alabama stroller….

And Matthew hung out in his Moby wrap!  He slept the whole time!  He was so snuggly and warm.

One awesome perk to this event was getting to go into the locker room and look around.  This was so cool to me!  I figured this would be the only time in our lives that we would be in there, so we took advantage of it.  It was really neat to be able to go into the locker room and look around and take pictures!

This next picture cracks me up!  Look at everyone’s cameras snapping about a million pictures.  It’s like the Holy Land…sort of.

We walked around and had our picture made in front of tons of Alabama stuff!

An awesome Alabama carpet.  I believe it is up for auction!

We found my dad’s number!

Walking out of the tunnel and onto the field.

JM liked the live music…

and he also surprisingly enjoyed the bouncy house!  He really liked the little girl in the Alabama cheerleader outfit.  Smart boy.  On a side note, does anyone know where you can rent a bouncy house in our area?

The National Championship trophy!

This is one tired little boy!

We had a great afternoon and Jordan went to the Alabama/Arkansas basketball game after the BBQ cook-off.  A fun time was had by all!

“One day I just might play on this very field…

One day I just might walk this sideline where the likes of The Bear, Coach Stallings, and now Coach Saban have coached the mighty Crimson Tide…

One day I just might run a play up this field toward the end zone…

Yup, I might just make this field my second home…

AND, I might just be #77 just like my “bop-ah”…

Yup, that just might be me one day, in my dreams.  But, that’s only if I have a natural God-given talent for football, if my Mama can tolerate other people hitting me, and if I wanna do it!

And one day, I just may.” - Sincerely, John Michael

-I’ll blog later about why we’re even on the field at Bryant-Denny!  There’s nothing like going back to your college campus and driving around with two carseats in the back to make you feel really, really, really OLD!

Caught Red Handed!  Ha!  Someone loves the laptop!  I stepped away from the den just long enough to throw some laundry in the washer and when I came back, this is what I found…

The little booger had grabbed the laptop.  He wanted to watch “dot dog” on You tube.  I let him watch the Mickey Mouse hot dog song a few times on the computer and then we put it away.  He loves his electronic gadgets.  I wonder where he gets that from?!

Have a happy week everybody!

Verse O’ the Day:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4