First Steps

First of all these pics are from his 9 month birthday on the 13th, not last night....

Yesterday was a big day for little Lawson. The day after turning 9 months old, he took his first steps last night at Nana and Papa's house. Nana and Papa kept Easton and Lawson so Mat and I could go out for a quiet little dinner and then I dropped Mat off at the house and went to pick up the boys. Of course, I stayed for a little while and let them play "a little bit longer." Lawson was playing with a rubber frog that actually goes in the bathtub. He was infatuated with it. He was holding it and pulled himself up next to the wall and was standing there alone playing with the frog. He has been standing alone now for about 3 weeks or so. He wasn't thinking, looked around at Easton  playing, and he took one baby step with his little fat right foot. I gasped in amazement and he fell down. I immediately called Mat and told him the good news. He was happy but disappointed that he missed it. A little later on, he took one more step and then eventually took two steps - all in order to get closer to the little rubber green frog. It was so sweet and I can't believe that my little 9 month old baby is starting to walk. I thought he might walk early because he crawled, pulled up and stood alone all pretty fast. This is so different from Easton. At this age, Easton was just now crawling really good. I guess Lawson is just too anxious to keep up with his big brother.  

There is nothing more precious than watching your children grow and learn. It all happens so fast. I just want to soak it all in. I love them soo much. My heart overflows. I pray that the Lord will keep his hand on both of them as they develop and learn new things. I pray that they will learn to put their faith and trust in Him alone. The Lord was with little Lawson last night and helped him as he took his first steps. I am so thankful to know that He will be with him every baby step of his life.

Mommy traditions

Having two children is so much fun. I love to think back on how and what Easton was doing at the age that Lawson is now and how they are the same and how they are different. In some ways, Easton was ahead of Lawson and in some ways Lawson is ahead of Easton.  I think that each baby just develops in their own time and it doesn't really mean that one is more advanced than the other. 

I love bath time. I think they are so sweet when they are all bundled up in their towels. I started when Easton was a baby taking him out of the bath, bundling him up and showing him himself in the mirror. I would hold him up and say things like, "Look, there's baby Easton. He's so sweet. He's momma's little baby boy." Easton began to look forward to those after bath times talking to the mirror. He has even asked me after he has been older when I will get him out of the bath and bundle him up for me to pick him up and look in the mirror with him. It was only natural when Lawson came along for me to do that with him, too. It is so special to have these little silly traditions that will be forever sweet memories for me to hold on to. 

Another thing that I started with Easton and has worked wonderful with Lawson too is singing "Five Little Ducks" while I cut their fingernails and toenails. Ha ha! That was something that terrified me when Easton was little. I was so afraid that he would move around too much and I would end up cutting him. But both boys as babies have laid perfectly still while I sing that song and clip those little nails. I don't know what it is, but I am so glad they like it! : )

"Five little ducks went out to play, 

Over the hills and far away, 

And the momma duck said, 'Quack, quack, quack'

And four little ducks came a waddling back......"

New Stuff

I added some new music to the playlist. I hope you enjoy it. I love so many types of music, it is hard for me to choose. I hope to be able to change it now and then so you don't get bored. : )

Also, I found an old post I wrote about Easton talking. I started it back at the end of April and never actually posted it. I added a few things and published it, only it published back in my April posts. 

If you are interested in reading it, go to my April posts and it is titled, "Random Easton Things".

More to come soon....

Picture Time

This summer has been very busy, but very fun as most summers are. The summer months are full of celebrations for my family. We start with my brother's birthday on May 1 followed by Mother's Day, then in June we have my mom's birthday, mom and dad's anniversary, Father's Day, Easton's birthday, my nephew's birthday and my birthday (which fall on the same day - the 26th). July 1 is our anniversary and then July 4th gives us a big finish to the marathon. We wait a few weeks and then my dad's birthday is at the end of July. This year it was packed full like any other, only we added a trip to Branson in the middle of June as well as my 10 yr High School reunion. We have stayed on the go to say the least.  With all the reasons to have parties and eat good food, there is no doubt the pounds stack on during May, June and July. I didn't even worry about trying to lose weight for my High School reunion. I just decided I would forget about it and focus on that later. Unfortunately, now later has come. : ) Time to get busy! ha ha! 

I have posted about Easton's birthday, but I wanted to post just some random pictures from the summer events. I have more but I was having trouble uploading them so I will have to add more later, I guess. They are not in order, but I hope you enjoy them!

Good times!!!

Lawson can pull himself up on anything now. He would rather be standing than sitting.

Look at those big beautiful eyes! I love that little boy!

Me and my sweetheart at my birthday celebration at Olive Garden. It was soo yummy!

Mat took this of me and the boys watching fireworks in the parking lot of Doc's Grill. We had a great view of Hardings Fireworks Spectacular. I absolutely love fireworks. I have ever since I was a little girl. I think they are very romantic. : ) Of course, not so much in Doc's parking lot with 100 strangers and chasing 2 children. But it was perfect! We had a great time.

My Memmaw and Lawson getting their feet wet. I am so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents!

Easton is quite the little swimmer these days. We are spending a lot of time in mom and dad's pool and he thinks he is something now that he can swim with his floaties all by himself.

My boys having fun before bedtime.

This is Easton pretending to be a pirate. He loves his "pirate sings". (things)

Easton riding the frogs at Silver Dollar City. He had soo much fun. We went to Branson with my whole family. We had been planning it for a long time. We hadn't all been on a trip together since Mat and I got married 8 years ago. There were 13 of us total (mom, dad, memmaw, pa, justin, katie, 3 lawson children, mat, shelley, 2 faulkner children)

Easton on the bumper boats

E on the swings

Mat and the boys on Father's Day. He is such a good daddy. They love him so much.

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!

Lawson 7 months old

I do not have a picture of Lawson yet. I will add one as soon as we get the chance to take it. Again, life has been hectic taking up more and more of my time to sit down and post. I thought I should go ahead and write up his milestones before he turns 8 months. : ) He is continually changing and growing. I can not believe how fast these last 7 months have gone. I know I am going to blink my eyes and I will be planning his 1 year birthday. I am very thankful to be home with him and watch him grow and change. What a blessing!!

My Milestones at 7 months:

I am not sure of my exact weight but the last time I went to the doctor, I weighed 20 lbs. 11 oz. - with clothes on. 

I am still eating baby food and liking most everything momma gives me. Momma has given me a little table food (mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes). I don't seem to always do real well with table food. I think it is a little dry and sometimes makes me gag. 

Momma has continued the Similac Sensitive RS and my reflux is better again. 

My sleeping habits have gone crazy especially the last few weeks. I have started waking up around 3:00 a.m. wide awake!!! Momma let me "cry it out" the other night. I cried for over an hour before finally falling back to sleep. Momma thinks the sleeping issues are related to either teeth, ears, or just plain bad behavior. I still don't have any teeth, my ears are clearing up, so that just leaves....bad behavior. Sorry momma!!

I went to see an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor about my ears. He said that we would wait on tubes right now, but would probably need to have the surgery if I get another ear infection in the next few weeks/months. I have had around 5 in my very short little life. He said that the winter would be really hard on me if I don't get things cleared up or fixed soon. 

I am crawling all over the place!!!!! I am extremely mobile making it difficult for momma to do anything without having to pull me from where I am not suppose to be.  I went through several types of crawling before landing the actual hand and knee crawl. Now I am hand and knee crawling very well, but still revert back to letting my left foot help push me along when I want to get somewhere fast.

I can pull up now as well. On June 16th, I pulled up in my crib and on June 17th, I pulled up on the couch. 

On May 31st, I copied Easton putting his hands up in the air. 

We went back to Branson again this past month except this time we went with all of momma's family. I had a lot of fun. I went to Silver Dollar City and strolled for a long time. I enjoyed watching all my cousins have fun riding the rides. Momma said it won't be long before I can do fun things like that, too.

I am one big "Slobber Bob" as momma calls me. I still have no teeth, but slobber is not lacking around here.

I hold my bottle by myself now, but momma still likes to hold it for me occasionally or when I am sleepy. She said she doesn't want me to grow up too fast.

I drank from a sippy cup for the first time this month. Nana bought me a brand new one! I did really good and enjoyed having a little juice for a change.

I still love to smile. I love for people to talk to me. I love laughing at my brother. He does funny things now to make me laugh. We are learning how to play together.

I love to be sung to. Really any song is fine, but some of my favorites are Itsy, Bitsy Spider and 5 Little Ducks.

I am still in 9-12 month clothes but getting closer and closer to just 12 month. I am outgrowing my 9 month sleepers.

I love to watch tv. Momma and Daddy have a little tv in the car for me and I watch it with Easton. I am learning to like all the big boy shows since Easton would rather watch them than baby ones.

I am not saying anything distinguishable yet, but I am definitely getting more vocal. Momma hopes I say "momma" first. My brother said, "daddy" first. We'll see....no promises!!

On June 1st, we had my dedication at church. It was the day that momma and daddy took me in front of the church and promised to teach me and raise me up in the Lord. They dedicated me back to Him and prayed that one day when I am old enough to understand, I will choose to give my heart and soul to Him. I am too little to understand all that now, but thank you momma and daddy for loving me soo much. 

Launching....Searcy.com

Last Friday, my husband's business, Think Advertising, launched Searcy.com, our city's new website. He and his team have been working on this for the past 10-12 months. Mat purchased the former Searcy.com last year, then partnered with the city of Searcy to make it the city's website, completely rebuilt the site, and now have a great tool for the people of Searcy as well as those looking to visit our city. 

Like any large project, the website is still a work in progress. They are continually adding content and will soon begin work on Phase 2 and 3 of the website. The 2 weeks prior to launch, I was able to go work with Mat to help him and the team gather information and add it to the site, work out bugs, etc. So much time goes into the programming but then there is the huge task of finding and adding all the content. My mom graciously kept the boys so I could help out. I was so glad that I was able to be at the office those 2 weeks. Mat and I talk about the business constantly so I feel like I know what is going on, but it makes such a difference being over there and being a part of it in person. It is good for me to do that from time to time for several reasons. I now have a better understanding and appreciation for what Mat does and what we are talking about every night when he comes home. Not to mention, I love being with adults occasionally. It feeds my need to socialize. : )

One of the main reasons for this post is to share how proud I am of my husband. I felt myself well up with tears several times during the ceremony at the city launch party. He and his team have worked really hard to see this come to fulfillment. I felt the launch party was a great success. There were well over 400 people who came out. The mayor spoke as well as our three major site sponsors, Mat gave a short demonstration of the site, Docs Grill provided the delicious food and everyone seemed to have a great time. As the speeches were being made, I listened and stood back in amazement. The things said about Mat and the business warmed my heart. We have been through many ups and downs over the last few years and to see how the Lord has provided is simply humbling. He has truly been and continues to be our Provider. We have learned something we thought we already knew but now in a deeper way. We cannot take one step without the Lord first going before us and preparing the way. We rely completely on Him and Him alone. He gives us daily our daily bread. We praise Him and glorify Him. He is so faithful. 

If you have a minute, go to Searcy.com and browse around. Let me know your feedback - we know there are a lot of things we still need to improve on to make the site the best it can be. Thanks for listening.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you so much for my wonderful husband. Thank you for his kind, giving heart, his hard working attitude, his willingness to never give up, his creative nature, his courage to take on challenges and the ability to problem solve as necessary, for his love for me and our children, and mostly for his love for You. Lord, please bless him as his strives to walk in Your will. Thank you Lord for loving us and being our Savior. Thank you for providing for us and being so faithful. Lord, I love you with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. My life is in Your hands and I am soo thankful. In your precious Holy name, Amen.