Melanie's Baby Shower

We had a fun baby shower today! My sweet friend Melanie is expecting her second boy in March. She is a PRECIOUS girl, and I'm so thankful to have her as a friend.

(Pictured from left to right is Ashlynn, Summer, Melanie and me)

comic relief

Thank Goodness my boys provide comic relief for their mama in the midst of the tantrums, MESSES and diapers this week. They're funny!
I've been told I laugh easily. Apparently, I think a lot of things are funny....but FOR REAL these two KEEP me laughing!

-Sawyer's had two imaginary babies for the past two weeks. Their names are Caroline and Caroline. Last night it was time to go to bed, so he said, "I need to get my babies to bed. Sometimes they just cry and cry when I put them to bed." (We had just layed Eli down, and he was crying.) Then, Sawyer tells me his babies were in his belly, but they're out now.
He's got it about 10% figured out anyway! :)

-He also has an OBSESSION with excavators. He wants me to "Make up a story, Mama. IIIIIII have an excavator, Daddy has a dumptruck, Eli has a crane, and you have a bulldozer." I tell him a story about how we're going to build a park, a hospital, a house, a church, a road, etc. His eyes light up, and he says, "Yeah! That's a great story!"

-Eli Williams is also a character and half. I can say, "Eli, Can Mama have a kiss?" He'll shake his head NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for like 5 seconds and laugh! A lady at church, however, or any other random person, can ask for a kiss, and he'll pucker up! I think he cracks himself up with this how he can resist his mama! :) I'm like FOR REAL? (I'm also considering that this may have something to do with the fact that I ask for kisses ALL DAY LONG!)
When it counts, like today when he was leaving with Walker, I asked for a kiss and he obliged. I about melt! :)
OHHHH MY!! This is a precious heartbreaker in the making I'm afraid!

I'm home alone today. My dear husband has taken himself and my two boys to Clayton, Alabama, so I can clean my house in preparation for a sweet friend's baby shower at my house tomorrow. I have LOTS of things to accomplish on this quiet day, but it's so quiet I feel a little lost and not sure where to start. I'll share pictures of the shower soon. Hope you have a great weekend, friends!

The Beach in January

Allyson may have stolen my thunder if you read hers too...but it was a blog-worthy trip!
My little boys and I decided to head South on Tuesday. We headed to PCB for the day/night. It was a fabulous day! It was windy but beautiful, so we packed up our dumptruck and sand buckets, and we went to the beach. We had some crackers and goldfish to feed the birds, so a good time was had by all! It's SO MUCH FUN now that Eli and Caleb are really able to play! All three of these boys adore each other, which makes for happy mamas! :) I just wish we got to play with them every day! (I'm learning not to dwell on this though, I'm just PRAYING!) After our beach trip, we headed to Pier Park where Dillards was having an underwear sale, so that was fun! :) All in all, it was fabulous! I just wish Eli had not coughed all night to keep Al and Wes up all night!! So Sorry!!

We're Still Here...

So, I have been a blogger-slacker lately, but I definitely do not want to be. So, just a quick update from the Williams house.
First off, I'll vent a little.....
This little stinker/doll-face has been cutting 10 teeth! I think he was 4 months old when his first four teeth came in, and he hasn't gotten many since that time until the last couple of weeks. AHHHH! It's painful for both of us! Yesterday, I was convinced that I needed to drag my Baby Bjorn back out. I thought I could somehow rig it up for my 14-month old child since he's wanted to be attached to my hip ALL day. Thankfully, today has been MUCH better! PRAISE THE LORD!

In other news, I went back to college this week. I'm taking one class to renew my teaching certificate. It's at Troy on Monday nights, and I think it really is going to be a blessing. Three of my teacher friends from Andalusia are also in the class, so it's bound to be okay. I enjoyed getting out and hearing what's going on in schools, and then, I called Walker to tell him I was on my way home, and this little boy.... got on the phone and said, "Hey, Mama! I miss you!" and it made me realize once again I really like my job right now. We've been playing LOTS of hide and seek, making tents inside, and talking about the weather man, and how we hope he's going to tell us it's going to warm up outside! I was so glad yesterday when both boys could get outside and play. It makes life much better when they can get outside!

By the way...if you need a gift or your kiddos don't like the bathtub, may I suggest a bubble maker for the bathtub? My kiddos are big fans of the bathtub anyway, but Granny Beck gave them a bubble machine for Christmas, and they have LOVED that thing! Who knew bathtime could get any better?

Christmas!

(Warning: This post is L-O-N-G, but my memory is not good these days, so I thought I better write it down.)

Where to start? This year has to be my favorite of all time! I don't know what it was...(maybe 2 little boys that live around here!), but we were IN THE SPIRIT! I loved the decorating, the cookie baking, the shopping, the wrapping...all of that was fun! Mainly, though, I LOVED teaching Sawyer about Christmas (maybe Eli picked up on something too. He definitely look like he understood about the excitement sometimes)!
We have talked A LOT about the birth of Jesus and Jesus's birthday. So, when we'd pull up to the stop light, and a candycane or Santa Claus was hanging on the light pole, I'd say, "Look! They've decorated for Jesus's birthday!" So, after a few trips to town, Sawyer would say, "LOOK, MAMA! There's a candycane for Jesus's birthday!"
How can you beat that?? Walker and I teach first grade Sunday School, so as we'd teach them about the star of Bethlehem, we'd make sure Sawyer knew all the answers too. I LOVEDDDDDDDDDDDDDD when I'd ask him a question, and he'd smile and say, "Baby Jesus, Baby Jesus!" (Y'all know what I mean!)
So...the whole thing was fun! We had "Owen" (our Elf) in our house for several weeks. He'd come flying in from the North Pole and land on a tree branch or hang from the ceiling fan. Sawyer would get up every morning on a hunt for Owen. Another highlight was the personalized message from Santa from the "portable North Pole." HOW COOL IS THAT??? Santa Claus even had a picture of Sawyer in his big book! I was impressed!

We had Christmas with the Williams in Clayton on Saturday before Christmas. All the Williams' cousins are WILD! So, Sawyer fits in perfectly! They run all over Granny Beck's house the whole time they're there. Sawyer and Eli love it! One highlight of the night was when Gracie got a Jason Aldean cd with the song, "Big Green Tractor." THANK GOODNESS Sawyer knew it well (he fit right in)! :) Some years, they may do Christmas carols, this year they did "Big Green Tractor."

for the record-Sawyer says we have 2 songs...."Mama it's our song...." One is "Big, Green Tractor" and the other "I run to you!" (just didn't want to forget that!)

We came back home Saturday night, and headed for Hartselle on Monday morning (my parents' 35th anniversary). While they went out on the town to celebrate, the Braddocks and Williams went to Huntsville to Santa's Village. It was CROWDED and COLD, but it "snowed," and they got to run around in the Christmas lights with their cousins, so it was fun!

The Brown house is FULL of grandchildren. It's fun to be there! Sawyer and Eli love Katie's girls and Caleb, so they had a ball.
Can you tell who the antagonizer of the house might be?

If ANYBODY asked Gmama what she wanted for Christmas, she'd say, "I REALLY want a dog!" (kind of in a dramatic, pitiful way!) Katie surprised her Wednesday and fulfilled her request with a precious lab/golden mix, "Lady." So, we had seven grandkids and a new puppy! :)

Eli really wishes we had a puppy like this at our house.

Another highlight for me real quick-My parents, Al & Wes, and Walker & I played Catchphrase Wednesday night...my dad was on a team with Allyson and me. We have never seen my daddy laugh as hard as he did at the answers Allyson and I were giving.....
The one that threw him over the top...His clue, "I think he said, 'Give me liberty or give me death."
My answer: (after 2 seconds) Thomas Jefferson...
He was laughing SOOOOOOOOOO HARD-I'm sure thinking what doe-doe kids I have! :) I was dying laughing too! (in my defense I took tech & Civ at Auburn!)

Gmama out did herself with gifts and food. She's REALLY good at that! Everybody got LOTS, and we went home with full tummies Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve night we put out cookies for Santa.
That was almost too much to handle, because Sawyer was bouncing off the walls at this point while I'm trying to put him in bed. I layed down with him, and he had 50 questions.
"....but how is he going to get in?"
"How do you think he's going to eat those cookies?"

Christmas morning both boys were excited! Sawyer's one request was a BIG dumptruck and Eli a little dumptruck. Santa had both boys' dumptrucks wrapped inside with a few games and their stockings. Sawyer was THRILLED with his big dumptruck. Eli liked his too. (I think.)
Santa also left a note on the tree that said there was more in the garage....They were EXCITED about what they found.

Walker is still taking time off from work right now, so I know we are all four getting spoiled having him home. It's really fun having him around. Today, Eli and Walker made tracks in the backyard on the lawn mower chasing Sawyer in the new Jeep.

I am definitely in love with these boys! I am thankful for their health, their sweet hearts and for the amount of time I am able to spend with them!
Did you know Jesus was with God since creation? As a mom, I try and relate to the sacrifice that God made when he let his son come live on Earth. Then, he let him die to save me of my sins. Thank the Lord there is a happy ending that He now sits at the right hand of God. The whole story is amazing!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ;)

THANKFUL!

I didn't want to just skip over a Thanksgiving post, so for the record-I'm THANKFUL!
I'm thankful for a 2-year-old that reminds me A LOT about how much we have to be thankful for! When we (me and Al) were camp counselors, the director told this story about working on a mission trip in Mexico. It was H-O-T down there, and when the wind blew every so often, he'd hear some of the Mexican men, say "Gracias, el Dios." They were thankful for the breeze. Anyway...the point of the message was to say that we should be thankful for the little things as well as the big.
Anyway...the story stuck with me! So, when Sawyer-man started talking, and it was 105 degrees in Enterprise, AL and the wind would blow, we'd say, "Thank you, God!" This carried over into other things too. For example, when he sees (one of his many) bruises getting better, he'll say, "Thank you, God!" I'll say, "That's right!" Or when I tell him Eli's nose is not running anymore, he'll say, "Thank you, God!" (Some things I'd just take for granted, but when he'd say it-it would make me thankful and think...Lord, thank you for a child whose bruises heal!)
Anyway...he's reminded me all year about how much I have to be thankful for! Our blessings abound!
Walker says one of his dad's favorite sayings when he was in trouble was, "I'm going to turn that attitude into an attitude of grattitude." (have y'all ever heard that?? I LOVE IT!)
Anyway...Hope you and yours had a fabulous Thanksgiving!
Our little crew of four headed to Hartselle on Tuesday. We played, shopped, ate and helped Katie move into a new(er) and improved rental house. It's a little crazy with ALL of us at my parents' house, but we all really had a good time!
THANK YOU, LORD, FOR OUR MANY BLESSINGS AND FOR BEING SO GOOD TO US!!!

Another One...Full-Speed Ahead!!

We've added a new "walker" to the family this week! My baby is WALKING! 12 months and 2 weeks into life...Eli is walking! :) He actually took his first steps the night before his first birthday party, but since then, he has really gotten the hang of it. (I guess he found out Caleb was walking and thought he better get on the ball!) The last few days he's been pulling up on something, really thinking about it, and then letting go with a destination in mind. Today, he's taken about 20 steps solo before he falls. I think that qualifies him as a full-fledge walking machine!



(The jay bird shot is for Allyson and Katie who think I never put clothes on my children.)
In other news....Did y'all know I'm raising a genius? ;) I took Eli for his 1-year checkup, and I told the doctor about how Eli WILL NOT let me feed him. He's been strictly a finger-food eater since he was 11 months old. Therefore, if it's food that requires a spoon (applesauce, yogurt, baby food, etc), we don't do it. So, anyway...at first the dr seemed concerned, but he asked a few questions like -does he walk holding onto things? -Can he say a few words? The answer to all those questions is yes, so Dr. Bang explained his guess for this is that he's developing his sense of autonomy at an early age, so he thinks Eli will either be very stubborn OR very intelligent. I'm going with choice #2 and holding onto that. After all, his head is in the 97th percentile! I told Walker about that, and he was excited and started calling him his doctor.

E's other big accomplishment was he made his FIRST trip to Auburn this past weekend (where I'm sure he'll do his undergaduate work before going on to medical school) to join his cousin and future roommate. We enjoyed our day despite not going to the game. It's just fun to be in Auburn. I LOVE that place!

Sawyer's big news is he made his farming debut. He went to Clayton a few days last week to help Walker. Walker took off work a few days to go help his dad and brother pick cotton, so Sawyer got to ride in the cotton picker AND "drive" the tractor. I wish I had pictures to share! He was even paid for his day on the job! I'm just glad they were able to pull him away and got him to come home! HE LOVED IT!ps-I ordered my first "blog book," and for those of you who are interested in, I really like mine! I used "blog2print.com" and it was EASY. I am very pleased! My only complaint is that some of the captions for my pictures did not print beside the picture, but I think that's minor. Maybe I'll get another blog book in about 5 more years.