Random Happenings

I just wanted to post of some pictures from the last few months. We have had a lot going on. Easton finished up Carpenter's Kids and is taking the summer off before starting Pre-K in the fall. He will only go 2 days a week but it will be big boy school. I can't believe he is that old. We are coming upon 4 years old and that just blows me away. I think at 3, they can still be a baby, but at 4 there is not much baby left anymore. My mom is keeping the boys this summer while I work a few days a week. That is helping us out so much. We will actually be able to pay for half the year of Easton's pre-k on what we are saving this summer is daycare costs. And of course....they are loving it! Lawson is now 18 months old and will go back to the sitter in the fall when Easton starts school. Lawson does well there and I am so thankful to have found a place that I feel comfortable leaving him. Those boys are my life.

Well here are a few pictures from the last few months. Enjoy!

Lawson's first haircut.
He did pretty good until the end. We tried to distract with juice, crackers, Mat's iphone, but he was getting restless and was ready to go. He doesn't like anyone touching his ears! I am sure that is from all those ear infections before the tubes.

How precious!

Sitting like a big boy in the chair.

Easton's HIPPY graduation. He loved doing the HIPPY program.

This is Easton kissing his metal. : ) He is learning early, folks!

There is nothing quite like Summertime and a Sonic slush!

The Four Ameigos!

"Eeeeeeze!" Lawson smiling for the camera in Momma's sunglasses.

My sweet baby sleeping away. A "pap pap" in his mouth and in his hand. Perfect!

Easton at his Carpenter's Kid's end of the year program. Easton was so precious with the large group but got embarrassed when it was his classes turn to sing. I was such a proud momma though. It was his first school program. I was one of "those" mom's with the camera, video camera, and tears in my eyes.

Easton and his daddy relaxing after the big event.

Me and my two handsome boys - this is one of the very few pictures that I have of me and the boys actually looking at the camera and smiling.

Playing with daddy. Mat has to be the best daddy in the whole world. The boys absolutely adore him and love to play with him...and on him. : )

Memorial Day at Nana and Papa's house. We had a cook out in the back yard.

Let me tell you...this boy knows how to hit a ball!

Easton stopped to pose for the camera before hitting one out of the park!

Arkansas's Own American Idol

Yes, yes, I am an American Idol fan. I have watched the show since the second season and love to predict who will win. The winner hasn't always been my choice but Mat and I have been very good at guessing the top few from the beginning audition rounds. I am so excited to have our very own Kris Allen in the TOP 2!!! Yeah for Arkansas! He has represented us well and I appreciate his humble spirit.

I actually talked Mat into driving us all to Conway last Friday evening for his Homecoming Parade. We laughed all the way there that we were really going. I mean I am almost 29 years old. Mat laughed and said it would be one thing if we had little girls who really were into the whole thing, but no - we have two very small little boys. ha ha!! 

We pulled into Conway not knowing exactly where to go and just parked and started following the crowds of people. We got so lucky and walked right upon the American Idol Limo.  We waited outside the Chamber of Commerce and had a front row view of him beginning the parade. He and his precious little wife were just amazed at the crowds of people. It was really neat to see their expressions and watch them take in just how famous they are now. The whole experience was a lot of fun and I am so glad that we went. Ha ha!

I am hoping that next week Kris will win with flying colors. Here are a few pictures from the big Conway event.

Easter Egg Hunt 09

So I know this is late, but I wanted to share a few pictures from our Easter Egg Hunt at church. We had our hunt the week before Easter so it wouldn't interfere with anyone's Easter plans. They divided all the kids into age groups so the little ones wouldn't get trampled and the big ones could run free. Unfortunately, that separated Easton and Lawson. Easton wanted me to go with him so that is where I went. I was so sad to not watch every minute of Lawson's first Egg Hunt but I did see him find a few and he was with Mat and my parents. Mat sort of ran in-between taking pictures of both boys. They both had a lot fun although Easton was mainly interested in finding the "Golden Egg" this year. He would pick up each egg and if it wasn't "golden" it would throw it back down. I finally convinced him that it was okay if he didn't find the "golden" egg and he should put all the eggs he finds in his basket. Lawson was just happy to be running and to be outside. 

Gardening with Pa

Last week, my Pa came over and helped the boys plant a garden in our backyard. Pa thought that the boys, Easton especially, would enjoy watching the plants grow and learning a little about the process. The boys had a great time and I enjoyed watching Pa teach them just a tiny bit about one of his specialties - how to plant a garden. What is really neat is that the land we live on used to belong to my great-grandparents, Pa's mom and dad. He said that they used to have a really good garden on this property. I am sure that it never crossed their minds that their great, great grandsons would one day grow vegetables from the same ground they had once toiled. 

I hope you enjoy the slideshow.

I'm Back!!!

Can you believe it...I am finally posting again?? After several months of not documenting anything and barely having time to snap pictures here and there, I am going to try to do better. I am feeling very guilty and disappointed that there have been so many events that have taken place in the last 4 to 5 months that I don't have record of. It is too overwhelming for me to try to actually get "caught up" on my blog, so I guess I am just going to start from here. I may occasionally go back and post something that I remember or some cute pictures, but I am not making any promises. : )

After Christmas,  I began working with Mat at the office 2 days a week. It was not expected, but with some business personnel changes, we decided it was the best option for now. We had to quickly find child care for the boys and the Lord blessed us with an absolutely wonderful lady to watch Lawson all day for 2 days a week and Easton half day after Carpenter's Kids. It was extremely difficult for me to come to grips with not being home everyday with Lawson like I have been with Easton, but I think all in all, it has worked out great. I enjoy getting out of the house a few days a week and being with adults and Mat, and I also get to enjoy being home with the boys. So I guess right now, it is the best of both worlds.

As far as the boys go, Easton is growing up so much and acting a lot older. His vocabulary is out of this world. He amazes me all the time with the words he uses.  Easton has the sweetest personality and loves to play with other kids, especially his cousins. He has such a desire to please and be accepted. He is just heart-broken if he thinks I am upset with him. He is a great big brother and helps me with Lawson all the time. They play good together and have so much fun. I love to hear them chasing each other and laughing. Of course, it is not all fun and games. They can both be very territorial when it comes to toys they are playing with. Unfortunately, Lawson hasn't grasped the concept of sharing just yet, which has caused great aggravation with Easton on several occasions.

And Lawson....oh Lawson....where do I begin??? He and Easton are total opposites. Lawson is very sweet too but he is definitely more strong-willed and adventurous than Easton. Lawson is a climber and is not scared of anything. Well, except maybe the vacuum cleaner. He makes us laugh all the time with his little mischievous expressions. I think that Lawson is definitely going to give us a run for our money as he grows up. He is constantly on the go and wears me out. Just within this last week, he has proved to me again that he cannot be trusted to be left alone in a room. He will find things that I don't even know are there and destroy them. : )

Wednesday, I was doing the dishes while the boys were playing in the next room. I saw Easton run through to my bedroom and noticed that Lawson didn't follow. I called for him and there was no answer. I kept on with the dishes and said aloud, "Lawson, you are very quiet. That usually is not a good sign." I started to have a bad feeling and left the water running and poked my head into the playroom. I found him on TOP of the piano. My phone was sitting on the top of the piano and I guess he decided he wanted it. He used a pillow as a step stool and climbed on the piano bench and from there climbed on the the lid covering the piano keys. He was sitting on his knees up there playing with my cell phone. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I grabbed him as quickly as I could. He could have slid off and busted his head open. Needless to say, we have no piano bench now. It has been removed until further notice along with several other items he has used for climbing. I am praying that we get through this stage of no-fear climbing without any broken bones.

Life is not boring right now and I know that it will all pass so quickly. Just working 2 days a week has changed things for me so much. I look back on the last few months and everything almost seems like a blur. It is just flown by. That is one main reason why I want to make time to blog. I want to keep up with my thoughts and remember the sweet, funny, and sometimes dangerous things the boys do. I am so thankful for the family God gave me. I want to soak them all up and treasure every moment. 

Here are a few recent and a few older pictures:

Christmas 2008

Disney World December 30, 2008

We drove to Florida for New Years and Mat's family reunion.  We had a great time! All the grandkids had so much fun playing together with Gammy and Papa Todd. 

Disney World December 30, 2008

The boys playing and singing. I am praying that they are both very musical. They both love music. Lawson sings and dances every time he hears something that could remotely sound like music. This was taken a few days before the "top of the piano" incident. : )

Easter Sunday.

 This is the best family picture we could get and little Lawson's eyes are half shut.

Before church Sunday morning. 

It was so cold here on Easter but I still dressed them in their matching shorts. 

My Handsome Easton.

Boys in my House

I came across this poem and had to share it. Oh, how I love my two little boys!!

Boys in my House

Author: Erin Jo Kilmer

There are boys in my house – and Spiderman shoes

And 200 papers in various blues.

There's Bob (he's a builder) and Thomas the Train,

There's a fireman coat to wear in the rain.

They have cars on their shirts and frogs on their hats

There's a glove and a ball and a red plastic bat.

There's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;

Grass stains on knees and sand between toes.

There's bathtime at night with bodies to scrub,

And when we're all done there is dirt in the tub!

There's bandaids and bruises and curious bumps,

There's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.

There's odors most icky; there's boogers so green

There's more yucky things than I'll ever get clean.

There's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;

There's bedtime and bathtime and dinnertime fights.

There's cars and there's trains and there's books about trucks

There's Scoop, Lofty, Dizzy, and Travis, and Muck.

Sometimes there are bugs, and sometimes there are frogs;

Sometimes they are lions, or dinos, or dogs.

There are cute little vests and darling neckties

Dragged right through the mud – oh what a surprise!

There's running and climbing and jumping and falling

And laughing and crying and hugging and brawling

And rolling and losing and finding and creeping

And whining and stealing and sometimes there's sleeping.

There's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise –

There's love in my house shaped like two little boys.

Unhappy Lawson

I know I am way behind on posting. I hope that I can go back and post sometime about what has happened in the past few months but for now I just had to post this picture.  

There are many cute captions I could write with this picture but..... I'll just let it speak for itself. It's too cute!