Daddy's Boy

Brad and Parker love all the same things- Me, Braden, Emersyn, hats and any sport played with a ball!

Yes, that is a snowglobe in the background.  Yes, Braden does celebrate Christmas in July and carry it around with him.

Fun on the Fourth

This year we spent the 4th of July at my parents' house with our friends the Butts. We had tons of food, lots of great conversations, water fun and fireworks! Parker spent almost all of his time playing in the water, but he freaked out when it came time for the fireworks! Even the babies got a little pool time and Braden and Ara drove the boys' power wheels when they weren't on the slip in slide.

They look like two old people!

Emy!  Emy!  Hey Emy! Hey Emy!

Go big girl, go big girl, go!

Watching the fireworks!

Parker

Parker is on his way to being a big boy.  It seems like just overnight he grew from my baby boy to my big boy. I think that a a lot of it has to do with the fact that he is talking now.  A lot.  Like all the time.  Hallelujah!  He started speech therapy at the beginning of June and he really enjoys going.  His vocabulary quadrupled in size a few weeks before he started, but Ms Debby is working with him on verbs and certain sounds that he struggles to make.  My favorite thing that he is currently saying is "Oh no!" when he gets upset about something.  He also started saying Emy instead of Agm (Ah-Gum) and it kind of made me sad.  However, he still calls Braden "Bubby"!

refusing to take any more pictures!



feeding Agm

Parker is the most independent and stubborn kid ever!  I just thought Braden was stubborn!  Parker is fiercely loyal to those he loves and gets really upset if someone hurts his brother or sister.  He loves to hang out with Braden and wants to be so much like him!  Parker loves to put on Braden's soccer gear and pretend that he plays soccer like Bubby!  He adores Emersyn and whenever he wakes up from a nap or in the morning the first person he seeks to find is her!  When he sees her he gets on the floor and says her name over and over and just smiles at her like she is the greatest little person he has ever laid eyes on!

Mr. Serious

Cheeeeeese

This duo could be trouble!

I totally dread walking into Parker's bedroom after nap time because I never know what I am going to find...usually clothes pulled out of his drawer or closet or marker on his body or furniture (we can't find the marker and he won't tell his hiding place).  While we were at the beach he got up in the middle of the night, put on shoes and got a Gatorade from the refrigerator and woke me up to open it for him!  What?  Are you kidding me?  This is why we keep him locked in at night!

Parker is very athletic and coordinated.  He can already kick and stop a soccer ball.  He throws a baseball and football really well.  In fact he spends most of his day either kicking balls around or toting a football or baseball around and throwing it. 

Sporting Bubby's shoes and soccer socks

 Parker has the funniest sense of humor.  Often he will say something and then crack himself up laughing at what he said!  He is so silly and loves to be tickled and cuddled.  He is our little handful and into EVERYTHING, but we love him so much and he totally lights up our family with joy and love in a way that only he can!

An Unvited Guest on Vacation

Since Brad wasn't able to take time off from his new job yet, we went with my parents to the beach.  Upon arrival we ran into a few showers, but it was nothing compared to what unfolded over the next 24 hours- 15 inches of rain and 60 mph winds thanks to Tropical Storm Debby, who decided she would just stick around for awhile and only move 3 mph.  Yeah, thanks Debby, we appreciated being trapped in the condo with 3 kiddos, especially 2 boys who desperately wanted to be in the swimming pool or on the beach!  And the condo's elevator broke down and was out until Tuesday night, which wouldn't be so bad except that we were on the 5th floor and had to carry kids and all their gear up the stairs every time we left the building.  Boo Debby!

On Sunday, we stuck around the condo except for one quick trip to Target to buy a few new DVDs to keep the kids entertained.  That night as I was getting the kids ready for bed there was a downspout (tornado in the water) spotted in our area, so we grabbed the kids an evacuated to the ground floor of the condo.  SCARY!  When we finally got to bed and woke up Monday morning, Debby left a mess...flooded roads and houses and tornadoes that killed 2 people. 

On Monday, winds were still blowing at 55-60 mph, but there wasn't any rain...and the beach was missing!  It was beyond high tide even during low tide times.  Braden was up early, so we headed out to the "beach" and fought the winds.  He was so excited to actually touch the ocean and we spent an hour or so searching for seashells and discovering "treasures" that Debby brought with her (huge clam shells, seaweed, pieces of wood that looked like they had broken off boats, and even a coconut!).  When Parker woke up my dad brought him down and he got to look for the goods too.  A little before lunch time we headed out to the pool and spent the afternoon trying not to get wind burn and watching the kids play in the "wave pool".

Tuesday morning I woke up and realized that I got a little burned the day before-windburn and sunburn. It was supposed to be our last day at the beach, except that we couldn't go home because the way home was over the Skyway bridge to Tampa which was closed due to the extreme winds.  That afternoon I took the boys to the pool for a little while and while we were their one of Debby's cells hit and the wind started whipping again and the rain started pouring.  Braden said it felt like coconuts hitting his head!  That night my Granny and Grandpa Bill came to stay with us.  They had been in Tampa visiting Bill's daughter and it was so nice to have them with us.

Wednesday, we woke up and the sun was shining, the wind was gone and the beach was back!  We spent most of the day relaxing at the beach and the boys had a blast! I knew that my little water bug Braden loved the ocean, but I was surprised at how quickly Parker got used to the waves.  He was getting knocked down and jumped right back up to take them on again!  We kept Emersyn out of the water because I was still a little nervous about keeping her ears dry after getting her tubes.  She did ok being out a the beach as long as she wasn't touching the sand!  On Wednesday, Emersyn turned 9 months old so we were able to get her 9 month pictures on the beach!

 Thursday, the kids and I left for the LONG (8.5 hours) trip home.  We were sad to leave my parents, but oh so ready to get home and see Brad.  The kids did really great traveling!  We only had to stop a few times- once less than 15 minutes after we left, so Braden could go to the restroom and then at the Georgia welcome center so we could all use the restroom and I could feed Emy.  Our last stop was to fuel up and get Chick Fil A in Valdosta.  The kids napped a little and watched a few movies and we were even able to beat Brad home!

9 Months

It is hard to believe that 3/4 of a year has passed with this little blessing that we call Emersyn Rose.  It is hard to believe that this time a year ago I was so close to giving birth to this awesome little blessing, yet feeling so overwhlemed with the thought of bringing another bundle of goodness home.  Not a day has passed in these last nine months that I haven't looked at her beautiful face and felt God's blessings shine down on us.  He knew what we needed even when I didn't.  And I thank God for her everyday.

At 9 Months, Emy has:

• 2 bottom teeth and she is working on her top teeth
• She has been pulling up and standing on her own
• She is almost 19 pounds
• Emersyn loves pretty much any food that we give her, especially avacado
• She loves to follow her brothers around and prefers to hold their cars and trains rather than baby dolls
• She refuses to take a bottle, yet won't drink from a sippy cup
• She is still up to nurse and cuddle every 3-4 hours at night
• She usually takes 2 short naps or 1 long afternoon nap a day
• She is super easy going and happy most of the time

Emy Lou Got Her Tubes

After 2 months of ear infections, 4 antibiotics and all that comes with that (thrush, a yeast infection, and an allergic reaction to Suprax) Emersyn got tubes.  Even after the antibiotics she still had fluid buitl up behind both ear drums, so Dr. French suggested that she have tubes.  It is always scary to put your child under anesthesia, but the past 2 months of ear infections had made our sweet baby girl miserable.

Have you ever seen a cuter baby in a yellow hospital gown?

After her surgery she was pretty fussy coming off the anesthesia, but by the time they released us she was back to her happy self as has been ever since!