8 months old

William is growing up so much faster than I ever remember Nolan...probably because we're so much busier with 2 little boys! William is our busy body. From scooting to crawling, pulling himself up and holding onto furniture...he's all over the place! He's always trying to wiggle out of your arms to move around, will hardly keep still to change his diaper, and loves to babble! His bright eyes are always keeping a close watch on where I am and he's always one step behind his brother. Nolan and William have just really started to play together and I love it! William would much rather play with Nolan's trains and cars than his baby toys. It's pretty funny!

William is still not the best eater, but he loves Baby Mum-Mum's, fruit puffs, and bananas. I keep offering him the sippy cup in hopes he will keep still long enough to drink from it. He's a great nurser and is still waking at least once during the night to nurse. Hopefully this will be the magical month when he starts sleeping through. I'm really looking forward to that day!

He can say ma, da-dee, bye-bye, and knows the sign for milk.

10 Random Things

My blogging friend Lezlie tagged me in a little game of

10 Random things about yourself.

So here goes:

1. I love to cook. If only I had more free time in the day...my husband would come home to a healthy gourmet meal every night! Not kidding! I'm always trying new recipes & enjoy watching the food network. I probably buy way to may cookbooks!!

2. I rarely finish a book I start. I have every intention of reading cover-to-cover when I purchase it, but my free time is so slim these days that I end up putting it aside. It's this never-ending cycle!

3. Coffee - are you kidding? Make it a lowfat skinny Latte or add some vanilla caramel creamer and I'm all about it. Have to have it first thing in the morning.

4. Afternoon tea and quiet time. Love to get into the word, pray, or talk with God over a hot cup of tea while the boys are napping in the afternoon. It's my mid-day check-point. Really try to do this most days of the week.

5. Love to shop for deals! Funny, I rarely ever bought anything on sale before I got married, but Eric has taught me all about spending wisely and saving for the future. Now I hardly ever pay full price for anything, bargin shop, and clip coupons. I love Marshalls. Always find amazing deals on designer clothes and I love it!!! Makes me smile :)

6. Like to try new things. You name it...I'll try it. Really enjoy doing things out of the ordinary and cannot wait to really travel the world some day.

7. Cannot stand ants and mosquitoes. Hate them...they annoy the mess out of me, especially when I find them anywhere in the house. Drives me crazy!

8. Really love to run and I need to join a gym where I can take group classes for yoga and pilates. Again, my free time is so limited and the gym I joined has no childcare or group classes...but it's got plenty of treadmills!!! Needless to say...I hardly ever go.

9. I'm at my lowest weight since my Junior year of college. I think having 2 boys will do that to you naturally!!

10. I love being a stay at home mom and spending quality time with my boys each day. I wouldn't trade this time for anything or any other job. I feel so blessed to play such an important role in their lives.

Now I'm supposed to tag 10 friends who might play...here are a few who haven't gone yet.

1. The Jonas Family

2. The Fuller Family

3. The Huffstetler Family

4. The Mills Family

5. The Nix Family

Audubon Zoo

We took advantage of the beautiful weather today and loaded the boys up for a zoo day! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! Nolan was slow to warm-up to some of the bigger animals when we first arrived, but once we let him play and run around in the petting zoo, he was a different child!We took so many pictures of all the animals, but here are a few snapshots of the family.

Climbing in the petting zoo

William and me

William loved the sheep :)

Riding the train was Nolan's favorite!

Daddy with his boys

If they only knew how good they have it!!

Yes...Nolan trying to give the dinosaur his sippy cup!

We think Nolan has overcome his fear of sand! Yes, that's him playing in the sand digging for fossils! We were so excited!!

7 months Old

William turned 7 months old on Tuesday! He said his first words, "Bye-Bye" the day after we were home from the hospital...too funny! He's been saying "ma" here in there when he's ready for me to get him out of his crib. He is probably never going to crawl. Instead, this little guy has mastered rolling over and turning in circles to reach everything he wants. He's so fast and will be across the room in a hurry if you're not paying attention. William is still not great at sitting up by himself unattended, and throws himself back, only to cry when he bumps his head. Boo :( His legs are very strong and he can stand alone holding onto our coffee table or the train table...with mommy close by to catch when he plops down! William is not the best eater, but loves to nurse. He's on #2 foods but rarely finishes a jar. He still wakes during the night at least once and is the most playful thing in his crib! He's my roly poly, silly willy...always smiling baby! He has the biggest smile ever :) William also just started going through separation anxiety when I leave the room and it's really bad. He just started this when we came home from the hospital. Bless his sweet little heart!

Carnival Time!

I must say Eric and I had kinda forgotten about Mardi Gras being removed from it for so long. We both had not even been to a parade since college. We are not big fans of the event, but we thought it would be nice to take the boys to a family friendly parade in Pass Christian this year to let Nolan catch some beads and see all the floats. He really wasn't too impressed and was coming down with the flu...which we found out he had the very next day (last weekend). Eric and I also went to our first Mardi Gras ball together last Friday with some friends in Biloxi and danced for hours! We had a blast and it was fun to get all dressed up and enjoy and evening out without the kids!

With our friends Sam & Sarah

 Aside from our fun festivities lately, both boys came down with the flu and we spent a lot of restless nights this past week taking care of them. William had to be hospitalized on Thursday vomitting, running 105.2 fever and was dehydrated. He also had some other infection going on besides the flu that they could never find. Anyhow, they released him last night and we had our best night's sleep in 7 days. William is fever free and feeling back to his normal self. Thank God! There is nothing worse than having sick babies!!

Potty trained!!

My little man potty trained in under a week! We started on Monday morning and I put Nolan on his potty chair every 20 mins. He would sit until he went. Afterwards, I rewarded him with M&M's and lots of praise. Then on Tuesday he did #2 in the potty and daddy brought him home 2 big trucks to let him know how proud we were of him. The last 2 days he has woken up dry each morning and had no accidents at home or at school yesterday and just had one this afternoon on his way to the potty. He got so upset he didn't make it in time...but I assured him it was an accident and next time would be different.

I am beyond proud of Nolan. He is our emotional, dramatic, and loud child...so I was holding back potty training him now, but he proved me wrong. He has been such a big boy about the whole thing and Eric and I are still in a little shock it's gone so well. I'm just so happy for him!!!

6 months Old

William had his 6 month check-up today and weighed in at exactly 20 pounds (75th) and 27.5 inches long (75th). He is such a little wiggle worm these days rolling all over the floor and has just started trying to scoot forward. He will get on all fours and just rock back and forth! He also loves to jump...all the time!! I've been working with him to sit by himself for longer than a few mins. before rolling to his side so he can fully sit up without by supervision. He has very good hand/eye coordination and I just started teaching him the sign for "more" during his feedings and "milk". Those were 2 of Nolan's favorites! William has also started making his m sounds and is trying to say either mama or milk. Nolan began with his d sounds and said dada when he was 7.5 mths old. He didn't really say mama until he was a year old. William is going to be very outgoing like his brother because he's such a social baby always giggling, cooing, smiling and reaching for objects. As soon as William starts crawling...I'm really going to have my hands full ;)

Tonight we're starting baby boot camp. William is still waking 1 to 2 times during the night to nurse out of habit. It's a horrible cycle...one that leaves me exhausted most mornings and never fully rested. I have to start by trimming those feedings during the night by 2 mins a night until he gets no milk and just the paci and lovie. Pray it goes well....I'm so ready for him to sleep through the night again!!

Celebrating my 30th

Eric and I started the day off right with running in the Ocean Springs 10k Winter Classic. The weather was sunshiny and warm and we ran our best and stayed with each other till the finish line coming in at 1:04. We had a great run and then came back to Gulfport to pick up the boys and my parents to enjoy a yummy Greek lunch (my fav)and a slice of chocolate Doberge cake (my annual tradition)! It was a nice treat :)

That night Eric and I enjoyed a really nice dinner with some of our closet friends we've made since living down here. We had much fun and enjoyed a live band and piano bar before calling it a night. It was a great birthday!!

After the race quick pic :)

Dinner at The Chimneys

Claire, me, Alison & Sarah

Dancing take one...

and dancing take two!

Turning Thirty

Like most moms my age, most of my days are filled with to-do lists and this ongoing cycle of getting things done from the time we wake up till the time we go to bed. I give and give of myself to my kids, my husband and our home,...rarely carving out enough time for me most days. It happens. My family comes before me and I would never have it any other way, but there are things I often cross off as not important because it's for me. Too often my focus is shifted on everyone else, making sure the kids are taken care of, my husband is happy, dinner is on the table and the house is clean....or at least somewhat picked up!!

In my quiet time alone with God (mostly in the afternoon when the boys are napping) I can sit back, enjoy a cup of hot tea, and focus on where I am. My check point. My mid-day how are you doing chat with God. My hand-it-over refreshment time to nourish my daily walk. Lately, I don't know if it's because I'm turning thirty and about to start the next decade of my life...but my wheels are turning. God has me focused on goal setting. I'm not a dreamer or a visionary. I often set small goals, never anything long-term. There's always a sparked interest, but rarely a full follow-through. My time is often divided, cut short, or interrupted...the joys of having 2 small boys!

However, as my 30th birthday draws near this Saturday...I'm realizing there's a few things I'd really like to do in these next few years. They are just "things" but worth a shot of experiencing or accomplishing. So here goes:

1. To just sit down and make a baby book for each child. I've procrastinated way too long!
2. Run a half-marathon.
3. Pick 1 community organization and volunteer at least twice per month.
4. Adopt a dog for our family (preferably a Beagle) :)
5. Take adult cooking classes with Eric.
6. Go on at least 1 mission trip.
7. Teach Nolan at least 2 bible verses and a prayer he can recite by the time he's 3 years old.
8. Adventure vacation with Eric and no kids!!
9. Disney World with the boys in 2011
10. Napa with friends.
11. Learn how to snow ski.
12. Spa trip with the girls :)
13. Establish a regular date night with Eric at least twice per month
14. Go camping with the boys
15. Try for one more baby (possibly that girl to complete our family)...you reading hon!!!
16. Take boys to their first "real" baseball game.
17. Bring William to the beach for the first time
18. Stay settled in a home for a least 5 years
19. Go to a few concerts with Eric
20. Take Nolan on his first train ride

It's my turn!

The weather has finally started to get warmer and the sunshine has returned...so have our afternoons at the park! Yesterday we headed over to our neighborhood park so Nolan could ride his scooter and I figured it would be a good time to put William in the swing for the first time. He loved it and his first push was from his brother :) Nolan was so excited that "brodher" was big enough now to get in the swing too. William has such a sweet spirit and just made the sweetest cooing sounds while he enjoyed his time swinging! I love my boys so much and just an hour at the park sometimes makes their world seem so big!

First time to swing!

Did this little man have fun or what!!