Going to the rodeo

Last Saturday night mom and dad took Collin to his first rodeo in Hattiesburg. He absolutely loved it! We knew he would. He loves all animals... from a distance anyway. Plus, he got to stay out past 10 o'clock!! Mom and I agreed that a rodeo probably wasn't the best place for a one-year-old, so Brantlee stayed home and enjoyed some down time with us. Besides, the rodeo didn't start until her bedtime, and we all know how much girls need their beauty rest.

Not sure if this picture captures fear or awe - ha!

Something exciting must be going on here. If nothing else, Collin got this sword that lights up...

well worth the $6 they paid for it!

Petting a real bull.

I noticed this picture on Mom's camera, and I don't remember taking it. That's probably because I didn't. Collin is obsessed with the camera and taking pictures, and he apparently snapped this one over the holidays. Not too shabby for a 2-yr-old!

This is actually from "snow day." Mom got Brantlee her first pair of rubber boots. Aren't they precious?!!

It's a Boy!

And NO, it isn't mine (thank goodness). It is, however, a very special time for one of my best and oldest friends, Danielle. She is 34 1/2 weeks pregnant with her first child, Luke Austin. Yesterday afternoon, some friends and I hosted a shower for her and Baby Luke at our house. Danielle had a wonderful turn out, and it was truly a blessed day. She is by far the BEST person to give a shower for... she was hilariously overjoyed by everything she received and genuinely thankful for it all. She is going to make one heck of a mom! We are all so happy for her and Justin :)

My friends and I have this shower thing down to a science by now. Within our group of 5 friends (all from high school), we have had 4 weddings and 6 babies. So between all the lingerie, bridal, and baby showers, as well as several bachelorette parties, we feel like we are professionals at throwing showers, ha! Really it's just an excuse to get together and eat. I am always amazed that no matter how busy our lives are or how little we see each other, we all still feel this strong bond. Sadly, we did not get a group picture. Shame on us! (Note: Poor Brandy became terribly sick Saturday morning and couldn't be with us. She somehow managed to prepare 3 dishes, including cup cakes.)


Because Justin, the baby daddy & husband ;), owns a trucking business, it is only fitting that Luke's nursery and baby shower follow the theme. We tried not to "girly" it up too much.

Brandy did an excellent job with these cup cakes (eventhough she was on her death bed). They tasted as good as they looked, too!

Thanks Mom for chipping in and making the diaper cake!

The sweet mommy-to-be!
Brantlee helped host the party and ran around greeting everyone. She just wanted everyone to feel welcome in her home.
Not to mention, she had not one, but two cup cakes!
Collin wasn't in the mood for pictures or socializing. He chose to play soccer with the other boys and girls outside.
Cup cake number 2! Smashing it in her hands and screaming "cheese!!" to entertain the guests. She got LOTS of attention with this trick, by the way.

Lolly and Poppy took Collin to a real rodeo in Hattiesburg last night! But this will have its own post. Brantlee stayed home and played with mommy and daddy and had a glorious time with no competition for attention. Both kids stayed up way passed their bedtime and are still asleep as I type. YAY!

(Note: this thing says I posted at 5 a.m., but certainly you all know better than that! It's nearly 8:00 a.m.)

A Sweet Weekend!

What a wonderful, long weekend to recap! All last week I stalked wdam.com to see if the predicted snow would allow us to be out of school. As it turns out, "the Big Snow" lived up to its expectations, and South Mississippi was blanketed with snow!! Yay for a Friday off! The sight was truly beautiful and a perfect example of God's awesome creation.

Even better than being off work was the fact that we could do nothing more than enjoy the day together as a family. I so enjoyed looking at everyone's snow day pictures and status updates on Facebook. It was so refreshing to see everyone's regular hectic routines come to an abrupt stop to enjoy precious time with family. Here are some pictures from our adventures in the snow. (Note: I promise these babies did wear gloves for most of their time in the snow. But have MERCY they look cold. No wonder they both have runny noses and coughs this week!)

Waiting patiently to go outside

Collin hugging the snowman. Collin was truly distraught when he began to melt :(

Of course we had to jump in the snow. And eat it, too.

Cabin fever did get the best of us on Saturday so we loaded up and went shopping in Hattiesburg. First, we stopped to get a few more pictures in the snow before it melted.

Lolly and Poppy stopped by to deliver some Valentine treats.

Saturday afternoon we went to our cousin Kooper's 1st birthday party. Then we visited Mee Maw, Paw Paw, and Pammi who also hooked the kiddos up with some Valentine surprises. As you can imagine, we did some serious teeth brushing after Saturday. Sugar overload!!

Sunday after church my parents so graciously offered to keep the kids. Kyle and I went on a lunch date to Crescent City (our fave!) and just enjoyed the quiet afternoon together. To say the least, it was a very refreshing & fun weekend. Valentine's Day is special to our family for a number of reasons: This day is G.P.'s (a.k.a. Poppa) birthday. Rod's (Poppy) birthday is the 15th. And finally, we discovered we were expecting baby #2 on Valentine's Day two years ago!! We will never forget that day as long as we live. But that's really a post in itself ;)

Random Pictures

Again, not too much going on these days except the regular weekly shuffle. Last weekend was a fun one though. We experienced Ghatti Town for the first time last Friday. Overall the experience was a great one, and I am sure we will go back in the future. Both Collin and Brantlee were able to ride some fun rides (with the help of mommy and daddy, of course. ) Collin thought he was big enough to play some of the games. Brantlee thought she was big enough to run through the arcade unassisted. So you can imagine what I did for most of the evening ;)

Last Saturday night was the Miss America pageant, and I hosted an all-girl night with some old friends (with the exception of two handsome young men who joined us). Brantlee chose to watch the pageant at her Lolly's house and assume the role of "only child," which she completely LOVED might I add. For some reason I just didn't take very many pictures :(

Collin helped me make pink rice crispy treats.

Karsen and Collin were far more into the rotel than the pageant,

thank goodness!

Brantlee's New Love! Jewelry!

This girl can't get enough of mommy's jewelry box. In a desperate attempt to get dressed one morning, I introduced her to some of my inexpensive jewelry... and she has yet to let me forget about it. Every time she spots the box, she screams until I give in and let her play. She just giggles the whole time she explores and tries on her new finds.

This picture is a framer! Just girls being girls!

Shh... don't tell Daddy that Collin kind of likes it, too ;)

The other evening we were in the kitchen after dinner, and we noticed that Brantlee had slipped off into another room (which isn't at all uncommom). After a few minutes we noticed it was awfully quiet- never a good sign in the toddler world. I peeked in her room, but I didn't see her at first. Then I realized she was perched in the glider with Daisy beside her, watching the Wiggles. It was really so sweet. Kyle has even walked in while Brantlee was "reading" her books with Daisy in this same chair.

In other news.......

Does anyone else have a kitchen that looks like this ???

This picture is so funny to me. Let's see, we have school papers that need to be graded and filed but are scattered across the bar, a Foreman grill and ingredients left over from dinner, a broom propped in the corner (so apparently I planned to sweep that day), and sippy cups and toys in the most random places. I would like to say that this photo is evidence of my ability to multi-task, but I am afraid it proves that I suffer a little from ADD. And I am totally fine with this! Tis the season of life right now ;)