Playing...

 

 

 

 

I'm trying to figure out the best place/light in which to take pictures. Thomas was gone this morning, so I thought I'd play...

Who Loves A Garden

 

 

I'm normally not a big fan of poetry. Mostly because I just don't understand it. But, spring is coming to Alabama, and to me spring seems like a poetic season.

Who loves a garden
Finds within his soul
Life’s whole;
He hears the anthem of the soil
While ingrates toil;
And sees beyond his little sphere
The waving fronds of heaven, clear.
-Louise Seymour Jones

Blue Dresses Are My Favorite

 

Letter of the Week

 

So Many Socks

 

 

 

 

This morning Mimi came and picked up Thomas to take him to story time at the library and then to her house to spend the night. He was SO excited to pack his own bag. I was completely impressed that he knew what needed to go in there. He put in diapers, pajamas, jeans, his Alabama jersey and about ten pairs of socks. You can never be too prepared.

Ready or not...

 

Last week something momentus happened. Thomas and Mae received their passports in the mail. This is a BIG deal for several reasons. First, it means, that like Brax and me, or kids can begin their foray into a love affair with London. Like me at age 8 and Brax at at age 22 our kids will be headed there at 3 and 5.5 months. At the end of April Thomas, Mae and I will be flying off for the month. We'll be staying in my parents' flat (with my mom the whole time, and my dad when he's there). We figured if we were going to take the kids to London we might as well go for a chunk of time so the jet lag can wear off and hopefully some fun can be had by all! Brax will be joining us for the last ten days of our trip! We're so excited to be going back to a place that we love so much. Excited to visit old favorites (Daniel House and Gloucester Road here we come) as well as try new places as a family. London with a toddler and baby will surely look different!

In addition to being excited about our upcoming trip I'm also really excited about what a passport means less concretely. I think international travel is so beneficial to kids. It opens their eyes to situations that might not be quite as easy and comfortable as home. And it helps them realize that everyone is not just like them-which is somtimes easy to forget. It doesn't have to be expensive. We laugh about our first family trip to London when we carried sandwiches and juice boxes around in our backpacks. And I'm already researching free/cheap things to do with kids. Plus, let's be honest. International travel is fun!

I hope this is just the beginning of a lifelong love of places and people for my kids!

A FULL Day!

 

 

 

We had free tickets to the Alabama Basketball game on Saturday and thought what a perfect opportunity to take Thomas. We stopped in Birmingham to visit our friends the Kings first. They are like family to us! It was great to see them and visit for a little while!

We had fun at the basketball game also. Thomas really liked the band and the dancers. The actual basketball was unimportant to him, and as Alabama came back at the end it was a little scary for both kids. Mae did great. She slept through the first half and then hung out the rest of the time. As a bonus we got to see Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary.

We were so proud of Thomas. He was so cheerful and obedient for the whole day, even without a nap.

Brax and I stopped here to pick up supper on the way home! :)

With church Sunday morning we were all very worn out Sunday afternoon and Monday, but it was worth it!

Bath Time

 

 

 

Pom Pom Pals

 
 
 

I saw this idea in Family Circle magazine awhile back and have been meaning to try it. Thomas and I did it this morning and he really enjoyed it. Here are the instructions:

Wrap thick yarn around a 5 inch book 80-100 times. (I thought I had a picture of this part, but for some reason it's not on my camera...) We actually did it long ways for the red one and short ways for the blue one.

Cut a separate six inch strip of yarn and tie it tightly around the middle of the yarn. (That's what the first picture is.)

Cut all the loops.

Add any embelishments you have. (We obviously only had pipe cleaners and googly eyes, but they worked great!)

Socks

 

When I fold clothes Thomas desparately wants to help. This is actually VERY unhelpful. This morning I threw all the socks on the floor and asked him to match them for me. He actually did it for a little while. Mae's were really easy b/c they all had different colors or patterns on them. I think we're going to remember this activity. Educational and helpful! :)

Presidents Day

For Presidents Day we colored and painted pictures of Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Bush (because he was president when Thomas was born) and Obama, as well as a picture of the White House. We also made a tri-cornered hat. Thomas loved gluing the stars to the hat! He loves gluing anything!

 

 

 

Funny

 

I decided to post this picture because it's the face that Thomas often makes when he's asking his three favorite questions: "Why?" "What's that?" and "Which one is that?"

Also, he has a new funny phrase. "I didn't mean to do that on purpose, Mom." This is often untrue.

Really Big Boy Bed

 

 

Well the toddler bed didn't work out so well for us since Thomas fell out of it. We couldn't find a rail that worked for it, and although we know it didn't hurt Thomas to fall a foot it did disturb his sleep. So, we switched to the real big boy bed. Brax's grandpa built him this bed when he moved to a big boy bed and Brax used it until he left home. Brax is so excited that Thomas gets to use it and Thomas may be even more excited! He goes upstairs several times daily to "sleep just a few more minutes."

Three Months

 

Mae is three months old! Time is still flying by. This month has been decidedly harder. We've had (and are having) eating issues. And Mae had a double ear infection. It's our first as a family since Thomas has never had one. However, these issues have really only affected the time when Mae is eating. The rest of the time she is super cheerful, smiling LOTS! I think she laughed last night for the first time. And she definitely loves watching Thomas more and more. When I was at the doctor last week she was 12 pounds 1 ounce, so even though we're having eating issues she's still gaining weight really well! AND the last two nights she has slept eight hours in a row. It's wonderful!

I've decided on Mae's month pictures to put a link to Thomas' same month picture to compare.

Heritage

 

 

 

Heritage is really important to me. I love that there were people that came before us that were like or unlike us. This is a gown that was worn by Brax's maternal grandmother Margaret Virginia Mae Parker. This is one of three grandmothers from whom Mae got her first name. And then Virginia is from her also. The gown is so simple and sweet and it fits Mae perfectly, so I worked really hard to get some pictures of her in it.

Papa's Birthday

 

Today we went and celebrated Papa's birthday with the fam. I felt like we needed to get a picture of Papa with the grandkids...Hopefully I can make it a tradition with all the grandparents when we're able to be with them to celebrate!