Jace - 9 months old

On December 4th, Jace turned 9 months old. I am a few weeks late is writing this post, but Christmas is soon approaching and life is very, very busy. I feel guilty that I have not written much about Jace's life, but I guess I just need to be thankful for what I have written down. Right now, I am working 3 days a week with Jace at home with me. That means that really I only get to work when he is napping, but I am thankful to have the opportunity to work and help out the business and be at home with him, too. Easton is in Pre-K 3 days a week and Lawson goes to an in-home daycare on those same days. I have struggled with not having Lawson here with me as well, but it is just so hard to concentrate and get work done if all the kids are here. Jace typically takes a long morning nap and that is when I get most of my work done. So now on to baby Jace...

- We all tend to call him "Baby Jace". In fact, sometimes Lawson just shortens it to "Bay Jace". ; ) I also call him "Jace-a-roo." I don't know where I got that, but I just said it one day and it has stuck. : ) Occasionally, we will call him "Jacer." I love all his many nicknames.

- At Jace's 9 month doctor's appointment, he weighed 19 pounds 4 ounces and was 29 inches long. He is in the 75-90% for his height, but has dropped down between 25-50% for his weight. He is by far my skinniest baby and he is not small. : ) The others had lots of rolls, but Jace just has a few. I think he is just perfect though. I might try to fatten him up a bit before his 1 yr appointment. I think Dr. Moore would like it if he was closer to 50% for his weight since he is so tall.

-Jace is wearing 12-18 month clothes right now. : )

- Jace is still on Enfamil Premium formula and drink 6 ounces with each bottle. He drinks 3 to 4 bottles a day and still wakes up in the night to drink one. We are working on transferring from baby food to table food. He is a great eater when it comes to baby food. He will pretty much eat whatever I feed him. He loves to snack on Gerber Puffs. As far as table food goes, we have worked really hard the past 2 weeks. He has eaten bananas, lasagna, spaghetti, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, small bites of turkey, cooked carrots, and pears. There may be more, but that's all I can think of now. He is not solely on table food, but we are transitioning. : )

- Jace has a really sweet personality. He has the biggest smile. When he smiles, his whole face lights up and he has really deep dimples. Everyone always comments on his big dimples. They are pretty cute, I must say. He has always smiled very easily. Overall, he is a very happy baby. The older he gets, the more demanding he is becoming though. He definitely will let you know if he is not happy that you took a toy away or if you leave a room without taking him with you.

- He is extremely ticklish! Especially on his back, neck and feet. ; )

- He loves his big brothers and loves for them to talk and play with him. They are so good with him and I know that he will do everything he can to keep him with them.

- Jace does not like to get his diaper changed. He is constantly turning over making diaper and clothes changes very difficult. I think I remember this with the others and I know it is just his independence starting to come out as he gets older. It is so sad - they don't stay babies long enough.

- Jace can clap his hands, raise his hands to "praise the Lord" (something we have taught all the boys at a young age), wave to you ( but not on demand), crawl, pull up to standing, and cruise along a sturdy surface. He has not stood alone yet, but seems to be very close.

- Speaking of crawling, Jace can crawl so fast!! It is really funny if he has something he knows you don't want him to have or if he thinks you are gonna pick him up before he can get to something. He will start crawling really fast and I almost have to run to catch him. He is usually laughing or smiling really big when I do catch him.

- Jace also crawls exactly like Lawson did. He uses his left knee and his right foot. I think this technique aids to his extreme fast crawling. : ) I could not believe it when I saw that he started to crawl like that. I thought it was so unusual with Lawson, but I guess not. ; ) It runs in the family. ha ha!

- Jace can hold his own bottle, but only when he is in his car seat. If I am holding him, he still wants me to hold it for him - and I don't mind a bit. He is my sweet baby and I love holding it for him. ; )

- Jace also loves music. He bounces to music and waves his arm in the air when he hears music. He kinda looks like he is directing the music. ; ) He loves for me to sit him on the piano bench and let him bang around. I pray that he will have a love and talent for music. I know that is something God-given and I pray that God gave that gift to all my boys. Music has meant so much in my life. I don't consider myself to be extremely gifted in music, but it has always been a huge interest and I believe helped me in life.

- Jace is babbling a lot now. He says Mamama, Dadada, Bybyby, Bababa. He has also babbled with the letter "g". I don't think he has tried to intentionally say much except maybe "bybyby" for "bite". He has seemed to use that more while we are feeding him. Jace's babbling is a huge answer to prayer. Right before he turned 8 months old, I started getting very concerned because he had not tried to babble at all. In fact, he was not making many sounds at all. Just crying and laughing and an occasional "ahhh". I knew he was supposed to be much further along that that at 8 months old. We started praying and started working with him a lot. The weekend he turned 8 months old, he started using "guh guh" some. We were so excited and praising the Lord for answering prayer. He is progressing so well now and I am so thankful that he seems to be on track now.

- Jace doesn't have any teeth that have come through yet. I have been able to see at least two on the bottom front for a couple of months now, but they have not pushed through yet. It's okay though because the doctor has always told me that their teeth will be healthier if they come in later. We'll see...

- Jace's Schedule: Well, this is not exact because it changes a little each day, but....He usually wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00. He takes a 2 t 2 1/2 hr nap in the morning sometime around 10-10:30. He is usually up for 3 or so hours and then goes back down for a shorter nap. This afternoon nap really varies on how long. Sometimes it's only 30-34 minutes and sometimes it is as long as 1 1/2 hrs. He is usually up then until he goes to bed at night around 9:00. Unfortunately, Jace is not sleeping through the night. He usually wakes up at least once to have a bottle and sometimes even twice if he goes to bed early. I know I should not give him a bottle the second time but I have been to get him back to sleep. My goal for the next month or so is to stop the second time all together and hopefully get him to sleep all night long. I will need the Lord's help with this because I just hate to make him "cry it out". It's funny - it was hard for me to do that with Easton because he was my first baby, a little easier for Lawson because I knew he would be okay and now harder again because this is my last baby.... Ha ha!

- I think I am "babying" Jace a little more because I feel he is my last. I love him so much and I love being his momma. I love to hold him and rock him and snuggle with him. He will lean his head into mine and we will rub our foreheads together. This is our special "lovin". I am getting teary thinking about how quickly this time will pass and I will wish for it back. I am really trying to enjoy every minute, but they just seem to be slipping through my fingers. Life is so busy and even though I want it to slow down - I don't see a way.

Jace is such a sweet little baby. I cannot imagine life without him. 3 is a great number. God has blessed me with 3 special little boys. They are all so different and unique and my heart overflows with love for each of them. My prayer is that I can be the kind of mom that each of them needs and that ultimately they will grow up loving the Lord and living their life for Him.

Lawson is 3!!

Lawson showing off his cake. He wanted to put his hand out like that. Ha ha!!

I cannot believe that my baby boy, Lawson, is 3!! For some reason this birthday has really hit me emotionally. Maybe it's because Easton is 5 and I know how fast time goes by or maybe it's because Jace is just 8 months and I remember it wasn't that long ago that Lawson was that age. For whatever reason, Lawson turning 3 has been fun and a little sad that my baby boy is growing up. I have tried to treasure every minute of this birthday and him running around saying, "I the bird-day boy!"

I do love the 3rd birthday the best of all (although I only have 5 birthdays to compare to at this point). : ) At 3, they are old enough to understand the "fun" of birthdays and the excitement leading up to it....all the presents, and the cake, and the party theme. At the same time, they are still young and very much a baby in lots of ways. I especially love the way they talk at this age. I love the funny things they say and the improper ways they say their words. For example, Lawson says "beary" for the word "very". I absolutely love that!! He told me he wanted Buzz and Woody on his birthday cake and when I told him I had ordered the cake and they were both going to be on there, he said "Ah, that is beary cool!!" It made me smile.

Lawson is quite the individual. He is his own person in every way. He is not a follower although he wants to do all the things his big brother does. Lawson is so funny. He has been that way since he was a baby. He would make faces and do things as a baby that we had no idea where he got it from. We thought he was too young to know how to act that way. : ) Come to find out, that was just the sweet, fun-loving personality that the Lord gave him.

That boy can dance!! Let me tell you...he has the moves! He can shake that little hind-end like nobody's business. ha ha! Not that I am encouraging him to do that, but it sure is cute at age 3. : ) It doesn't matter what music is playing, he will find the rhythm and dance to it. He also claps on beat and stays with it for a long time. I know these are silly things, but as a musical person, I love to see evidences of music in my kiddos. : )

He is also very coordinated. We think he is going to be a great ball player of some sort when he gets older. He loves to play soccer, he is great a hitting a ball with a baseball bat, and can really throw a ball! Who knows what he will end up doing, but I feel pretty sure he'll be playing something!

He loves to play outside riding his bike, riding scooters, playing in the dirt, swinging, sliding, blowing bubbles (which helped to potty train him), playing with sidewalk chalk and just being an all around boy! My prayer is that someday we will live somewhere with lots of land for all the boys to romp and roam. : )

Along with all these precious characteristics, comes Lawson's very determined strong will. It is this attribute that gets him into lots of trouble and many tangles with his momma. He has had his share (and then some) of time-outs, spankings, lectures, and just good talkin' to's. : ) He tries my patience and pushes the limit on most things just to see how much he can get away with. I have to choose my battles with him, but I try to win most of the time. lol! He has learned to say "I'm sorry" and "I'll be good - I'll obey you." It's hard not to give in to those beautiful big brown eyes looking up at you. I have cried many tears and prayed many prayers to ask the Lord to help me and Mat as we try to mold this determined little person to be a man of God. I know that his strong will can help him as he grows up if it is turned in the right direction. But for now, I feel like at 3, we are doing okay.

Lawson is also a GREAT big and little brother. He loves Jace and Easton so much. He and Easton are typical brothers, I think. They play together and go on adventures, hunts, Batman and Robin stake-outs, Karate Kid fights, and the list goes on and on. They also have their bad times and fight a lot over toys. I grew up with a brother so I remember sibling fighting. You fight and fight, but you still love each other unconditionally and want nothing more than to just play together again. Lawson is so sweet with Jace. I wondered a lot about how he would act with Jace when he was born. Lawson has always been the rough one so I was scared he might try to pick him up or hit him or something, but he has been the complete opposite. He talks sweet to him and makes him laugh. He and Easton will go and climb into Jace's crib when Jace wakes up and play with him until I go and get Jace. It's so sweet. Lawson is a big helper and will go and get things for me if I need them. I can tell the more mobile Jace gets, Lawson may not be too excited about Jace getting his toys, but we all have to learn to share.... : )

When Lawson is gets in the right mood, he is the best "cleaner". He can pick up and clean up toys fast! He also is the best about putting away his shoes. I am thankful both boys are trained to take off their shoes as soon as they come inside and Lawson is so good about taking them straight to his closet. Lawson will also put up his plate in the sink for me after meals.

Speaking of sharing...all three boys are in the living room right now playing with toys and with Mat. I just heard Easton tell Lawson, "I know that's your toy, but sometimes babies want to play too. " Good job, big brother Easton!! He is so sweet - but that's a different blog entry. : )

One of my favorite things about Lawson is that he loves to snuggle. He has been that way since birth. When I pick him up, he plays with my hair and always wants to be touching in some way. Lawson is going through a stage right now where he wants me to lay down with him at night while he goes to sleep. How can you turn down an offer when it sounds like.."Momma, you sweep whiff me?" I mean, come on! When I lay down with him, he will put his little arm around my neck and always end up holding my hand. He LOVES to hold hands!! And I LOVE to hold that little hand.

Lawson doesn't have a lot of interest in learning educational things like shapes, letters, numbers, colors, etc. This is completely opposite from his older brother at this age. He is getting better, but sometimes he still just guesses and goes on. He can count to 10 and knows some colors and what a circle is and of course the number 3. Beyond that, it is just hit and miss. I'm not worried because I know he will pick up on things when he gets more interested and when I work with him more. I plan to send him to a Pre-Pre-K next year 2 days/week. I think that will be great for him. He wanted to go to school this year when Easton went. He loves being with other kids and feeling like a "big boy". He moved up from the nursery to the Children's Church at church last Sunday. He was so excited to be in class with Easton and Abby.

I love Lawson so much and I am so incredibly thankful to be his momma. As much as I thought I wanted a baby girl when I was pregnant with him - I am so glad God didn't give me a girl and that he gave me Lawson instead. Our lives are all better because he is with us.

Finally, getting to his party. He wanted a Toy Story party and that's exactly what he got. I think it was one of my favorite themes we have done. It was precious and the kids all had so much fun. We took them outside for a kid-sized hayride after opening presents and they had a ball. We even saw 3 deer while Papa pulled us around our side yard and our neighbors. Here are a few pictures from the big event....

The kids table.

Blowing out his candles. He blew them out first before we even sang so he got to do it twice. : )

Lawson LOVES birthday hats! Eating his birthday cake.

All the kids getting ready to watch Lawson open presents. After this picture, Lawson said, "I did a good job holding Baby Jace, momma?" I said, "Yes you did, baby!"

The scooter!!!

Lawson on his hayride with his glow necklace. ; ) He had so much fun!!

Oh, I love that little boy! It brings tears to my eyes!!

July and August Recap

I am getting worse and worse about posting. I think about it everytime I check my email and I even read other blogs but can't seem to ever find the time to post myself. I thought I would recap the last few months with a few pictures.

This post is way over-due. My 29th birthday was June 26th and our 9th anniversary was July 1st. Mat took me on a surprise trip and told me it was for our anniversary. We got all dressed up and I didn't know where we were going. He took me to Hot Springs to the Hot Springs Belle where we went on our 1st anniversary. When I walked on the boat, I was greeted by my family and three of my very best friends and their husbands. It was a surprise belated birthday party. Mat decided he would do a big surprise for my 29th instead of my 30th - that way I wouldn't be expecting anything. It was so sweet of all my friends and family to make that trip for me. Jeff and Bridget stayed over with us and Bridget and I had a day of shopping and the spa the next day. It was lots of fun. The sweetest part though was on the boat when Mat had a song played for me. He wrote and recorded the song. It was all about our life together. Oh my- too sweet. Thank you honey, for a wonderful surprise and trip. I love you!!

Me and my oldest. He still talks about momma's party on the big boat.

The whole party.

We drove back on the Fourth of July just in time to get baths, jammies, and go watch the annual Harding display of fireworks. I just love fireworks! Easton covered his ears the whole time but loved to watch and name all the colors with me.

My grandpa had probably his biggest garden ever this year. He worked so hard on it and we all have enjoyed the fresh veggies. He had one very large area of just tomatoes. He let the boys go out one day and pick tomatoes. They loved it!

Pa taught them which ones were ready for picking and which ones still needed to ripen.

This was one day before we went up to Nana's to play outside. I thought they looked so cute in their muscle shirts and hats turned around backwards.

We took a spur of the moment trip to Memphis one Saturday and took the boys to the zoo and to see a baseball game. Unfortunately it rained really hard while we were at the zoo and we could only stay for a couple of hours. They had fun though and we were able to see all the main animals. We all got Zoo Ponchos.

Checking out the elephants.

After the zoo, we ate lunch and went to our hotel and everyone took a nap. How wonderful!! We were fully rested and thankful for the great weather to go the baseball game. The game was lots of fun. The boys thought it was really cool to see the baseball players and the big Redbird Mascot. Although Easton wanted the other team to win because they were wearing blue - and..."blue is my favorite color." They both were so good and we made it all the way to the 7th inning.

Lawson loves to ride the mower with his daddy. Pretty much he will do anything with his daddy, but this day, he had watched him out the window the whole time Mat was mowing saying, "I ide dat." (I ride that.) He was thrilled when I finally let him go outside and ride with daddy.

Ahh.... Easton's first day of Pre-K at Harding. He is going Tuesday/Thursday all day. He has been very excited about going to "big school." He did wonderful! He walked right in to his classroom, found his seat and starting playing. He didn't even blink an eye when I said I was leaving, he just said, "okay, bye." My big boy. He is such an easy, sweet boy. I praise the Lord for him.

Lawson fell asleep on the living room floor. We have been getting up earlier since school started and everyone has been taking good naps. I felt bad this day because he was just watching tv and I looked over and he laid down in this position and didn't move a muscle. Needless to say, he didn't even know when I moved him to his bed.

My little cowboys!! Easton's little children's church had a western day this past Sunday. He looked so cute! Saturday night we were dressing Easton up trying to decide what he should wear. Lawson, "Mr. Monkey See-Monkey Do", said he wanted to be a "ow-boy" too. Even though Lawson was just going to the nursery, we had two little cowboys. They looked so cute!

Thanks for checking in on us. We are doing good - staying very busy but doing good. We are loving the cooler weather the Lord has given us and it is giving me an inching for fall, hay, and football. Easton will start soccer soon. Mat is going to coach his little team. That should be another fun adventure. Lawson is growing up more and more. He is really trying hard to talk and doing very well. He is putting lots of words together and saying new things all the time. He also keeps us all laughing. He is such a ham!! We praise the Lord for our wonderful growing family.

Easton's 4th Birthday

On June 24th, Easton turned 4. I can't believe my baby is 4 years old!! He has to be the sweetest little boy that God has ever made. I love him to pieces!! Thank you Lord for letting me be his momma. What a precious gift! I will tell the story of his birthday through the pictures. I can remember it better that way.

We had Easton's party the day after his actual birthday, so we let him open the present his Gammy and Papa Todd sent him from Florida on the morning of his birthday.

Then, we took him to McDonald's for his favorite - pancakes!! He asks for "Nick-Donald's" pancakes all the time. It was also a special treat to get to go inside and play. Daddy left work for a little bit to eat breakfast with us.

Momma and the birthday boy!

After breakfast, we went up to Nana's house to play on the "Rocky Mountain River Race" - Nana and Papa's newest addition to the backyard playground. : ) It is probably the best thing you could buy for kids - especially if you have several children that will play on it. This picture doesn't show how cool it is - Easton had just slid down the slide on his tummy when I took this picture.


The next evening we had Easton's birthday party up at Nana and Papa's house. Easton was so cute while we were setting up for the party. He kept asking
"When are my guests going to get here?"
Easton wanted a Batman Water Birthday party this year. That comes as no surprise because he is absolutely obsessed with Batman. We bought a Batman Wii game for him a month or so and he wants to play it 24-7. That has turned into a complete Batman love affair for him. I have to say he has gotten very good at the wii game - especially for a 4 yr old.

This was the most children we have invited to a birthday party. We had the family, of course, and several of Easton's friends from his Bible Class at church and a few of my friend's kids as well. There were 11 kids total.

This was the best family picture we could get. The cake was really cool. We asked a friend from church who does cakes to make it for us. She did a great job!

Here is Easton with his pick of the cake - the Batman symbol. He was very proud. Shortly after this picture was taken, the cake fell off his plate - almost leading to an extremely upset birthday boy. Thankfully, Daddy was able to cut off the dirty parts and salvage the treasured Batman symbol piece of cake. : )

This is Easton's favorite present. It was the only thing he really asked for. Nana and Papa got him a Bat Cave. Several other people got him the other peices to go with it and he loves it. He has played with it almost everyday since his birthday.

Weeee!!!!!

All the kiddos had lots of fun on the big slide. Mat stood gaurd to make sure no one got hurt.
It was a really fun birthday party. Easton turned 4 in style!!

I love you my precious boy!!!

Happy Birthday Lawson!!

Happy Birthday my sweet Lawson! One year ago today, you entered our lives and have brought us so much joy. I praise the Lord for you. I have been so amazed at how fast this year has gone by. You have grown up too quickly in my opinion but I have loved every second of it! I love your little personality and how you are your own little person already. I love your big cheek smile, the way you walk, the way you love to be loved and cuddle, the way you tuck your arm inside mine when you lay your head on my shoulder, your long beautiful eye lashes, your sweet little laugh, the way you love to splash with Easton in the bathtub, the way you run to your daddy when he comes home from work, the way you try to wrestle with your brother, how smart you are, the way you use your extremely advanced fine motor skills, and the way you say momma and dada. You light up my life!! Thank you, Lord, for giving us Lawson. I pray you will bless him on this day and everyday of his precious life!!

11.13.07 - 8 pds  &  20 1/4 inches

11.13.08 - 25.1 pds &  30 inches

These are pictures from his party last Saturday.... Sorry the pictures are kinda backwards in order. : )

He wasn't a fan of eating the cake, but he did get a little messy. 

This was Easton's 1 year hat, too. They look so much alike as babies. 

Happy Birthday Dear Lawson!

He loved being sung to. He was clapping and bouncing the entire song. 

This was one of his gifts from Nana and Papa. Lawson loves to push things. So we thought a shopping cart his size was a perfect fit. He loved it!!!

Such a happy baby. He also loves this little toy from Memmaw and Pa.

Some family and friends wishing Lawson a happy 1st!

Happy Birthday, precious baby boy!

Lawson 9 months

Lawson is 9 1/2 months old now. I can't believe how fast time as flown. I have not been as good on documenting his milestones. I think the last monthly pictures I posted were his 6 months pics and his last milestones I posted were at 7 months. So much has changed in those few short months. He is still a very happy baby and we constantly get comments on his smile and how he gives them out so freely. Lawson has felt like a more demanding baby to me than Easton did and I don't know if it is because now I have 2 children or just because he requires more. He definitely keeps me hopping all the time. He is into everything and I have to watch his every move - probably aiding to the reason why I haven't posted much lately. I love him so much and I praise the Lord for giving him to me and Mat. 

My Milestones at 9 months:

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and I weighed 22.7 lbs. I am a very big boy!

I love to eat baby food. I still like pretty much anything momma gives me. Momma is still working with me on table food with  more texture. She has given me lasagna, bananas, mashed potatoes, and peas. I still gag and even throw up with the more textured food. I guess I am just not ready to venture out much yet. I don't even really care for crackers. With time.....

I drink anywhere from 5 1/2 - 7 oz of my bottle. More at night and less during the day.

My sleeping habits are still not the best either. All together I sleep 9 -10 hours a night, but I wake up to drink a one bottle in the night usually.  Sometimes wake up at other times in the night and momma either bounces me back to sleep or just lets me cry it out. She is starting to let me cry it out more and more. I don't like that much! I have some nights when I sleep all night long without waking up - but they are just not regular. Momma says it is hard because my brother and I share a room and we kinda wake each other up.

I can clap my hands really good now. I have been clapping since the end of June.  The other night, momma was feeding me some of my Aunt Katie's whipped potatoes and I clapped after every bite. I was really cute. Everyone stopped to watch me. : )

I started waving on July 5th. I wave to people all the time now, but not always when asked to. I am my own person.

I started standing alone on July 23th. It may have actually been before this but that is the day that it started happening a lot.

I took my first steps on August 14th - one day after turning 9 months. I have taken as many as 5 steps in a row now. The full "First Steps" story is in it's own post.

I said, "Da Da" on July 24th. Momma was really wanting me to say her name first but so sorry "da da" is just so much easier!! 

I haven't had anymore ear infections (that we know of) which means I am still without tubes. Praise the Lord!

I can crawl extremely fast!! Momma almost has to run to catch up to me. I crawl with both hands and both knees when I am just playing around in the floor, but when I really want to get somewhere. I just use my hands, my right knee, and my left foot. I push off with that foot and I can go super fast! 

I know when momma doesn't want me to do something and I look at her and crawl really fast while laughing to the object or room that momma doesn't want me to get. She says it's my run-crawl!

I love knobs and handles. I like to try to chew on them. The other day I was standing in my room next to my dresser on my tippy toes trying to chew on the knob of a drawer. 

I love all types of music. I bounce every time I hear a beat and smile really big. 

My dad tried to nickname me "Tank" because I am always into something - running it over, and I am pretty tough. Momma didn't want him to call me that, but they both laughed when Easton said, "Come on, Tank."

Momma thinks I am really smart and have good coordination. I am fascinated by outlets. I know - momma tells me "No, no" all the time. She was really surprised though when I tried to plug up the air purifier in the outlet. (It had an outlet protector on it - so I didn't get hurt.)

I might be getting a tooth on the top left now. I have not felt well the last few weeks and momma said she thinks she saw the tooth under the skin. Maybe it will come on through and I will feel better. 

I have big, big cheeks that make my smile extra cute! 

I absolutely love my brother. I smile each time I see him. I want to play with him all the time. I want whatever toy he has. I think he is very funny. And I try to do whatever he is doing even though I am much smaller. I think he loves me, too.

Easton is 3!!!

3 days ago on June 24th, Easton turned 3! I cannot believe that my baby is 3 years old. He is such a blessing from the Lord. My life has changed soo much in the last 3 years. I find it hard to imagine my life before he came along. He has taught me so much about myself and life in general. I absolutely love being his momma. Easton has a sweet spirit and never lacks for something to say. He is shy at first when he is around someone new (he gets from his daddy) but it doesn't take him long to warm up. I laugh at home because he is constantly talking (he got that from me). He has an amazing imagination that keeps him entertained no matter where we are.  He will even make his hands talk to each other. It is the cutest thing ever! He loves to be outside and loves to play anything that is an outdoor game (soccer, golf, swimming, etc). He loves his cousins and would follow them anywhere. It is fun to watch them play together. He knows that they are his cousins but I think he feels more like they are brothers. He is my son and I know that I am biased, but he is also very smart and handsome. We are constantly amazed at the things he comes up with on his own and what he has learned in his little short life. I think he is totally adorable! He is a great big brother and is learning everyday how to play with Lawson and make him feel loved. I look forward to watching them grow up together and become great friends. He is mostly potty trained now after the long relapse around having the baby. I am very proud of him. He is also sleeping in his big boy bed in his own room which is very nice. He and Lawson are sharing their room fairly well. Brothers are special friends!

We had a Backyardigans Pirate party for his birthday. He went back and forth on what he wanted but finally settled on the pirate party. It wasn't totally pirate because I couldn't find any Backyardigan "pirate" things and I wanted it to be "nice". : ) I thought it turned out very cute! He had a Pablo pirate cake with a "peg weg". It was precious! We had a "water" party up at Mom's with sprinklers, kiddy pools, water slides, the works! Besides all the family, Easton had a few friends of his own, Audrey, Dylan, and Ryleigh. The kids loved it and the adults tried not to burn up in the heat. There were a few times when I seriously thought about plopping down in the alligator baby pool myself. : ) Lawson even got his first taste of ice cream. The party lasted until dark and Easton had a great time. He got lots of great gifts that he has been playing with ever since. He was a very happy and excited birthday boy. He woke up that morning saying, "Can I eat my cake now? Is my party here now?" So sweet! Happy 3rd Birthday Baby! I love you!