Since we put Christopher back in his bed he has been sleeping like normal. Even without his pacifier. I feel bad, but I guess he just needed his bed! It never crossed my mind that was the problem. But when you have company and he has the bigger room of the two kids, what do you do? Nap time I'm still working on. He falls asleep on the couch with me b/c he'd just play in his room if I don't. I transfer him after he's been asleep a while, but I'm not sure how much longer we need to do this. Brandon and I are very careful about having the kids rely on us to fall asleep and never put them in the bed with us b/c we don't want to create bad habits. Plus, we both need our sleep so bad that if we shared a bed with a kid it wouldn't be pretty.

We had Christopher's birthday party this weekend and it was so much fun! The Khans came in town Thursday night and the boys were too excited to sleep. They played all day on Friday and Grammie and Pop arrived later that afternoon. Mimi and Papa John came Saturday morning and it had been raining since we woke up. Thankfully it held off long enough for the party to happen and the kids had a great time! We grilled burgers that night at our house and the Ramages joined us and we finally called it a night after a round of pillow island. We played Sunday morning and then the Khans headed home. It was a great weekend and we'd do it all over again in a minute!


Here are the "babes" having lunch together. They were so cute together! Joshua is precious and is always smiling and seeing what he can get into. Nothing intimidates him. It's really cute!

Here are the "big boys" playing trains together. Nicholas LOVES Thomas the Train and that was the first thing he started talking about when he found out they were coming. We pulled it out into the main room so they'd have room to sleep in Christopher's room. It was nice too b/c we could see them playing.

Christopher's birthday cake. Mimi bought him the mold last year, but I'd just had Sophie so I wasn't about to decorate any cake for anyone. I used the chocolate icing recipe and the vanilla one I made for Sophie's cake. It was so yummy!!!

The three musketeers on the tire swing. These boys were so funny together! They would play together and then fight together all within the same breath. They could not have had more fun though!

Little Miss Sophie with Grammie. She had so much fun now that she's walking everywhere. She and Grammie were great buddies.

Christopher's party shirt. Grammie found this for me. I can't find anything John Deere in Florida. Guess it's not considered a "red-neck" state.

Mimi and Papa John walked over to the fire station by the park to see if they would make an appearance at the party. The guys were happy to and the kids loved it! Christopher is so funny b/c he gets SO excited when he sees big trucks, but won't move or say anything once he's close to them. He wouldn't get on the truck (I know a lot of it was due to lack of sleep), but the other kids had no problem.

Family photo for the day. The kids really were excited, they just don't look like it.

Sophie proud of herself and very happy to be with her daddy. (She adores him!!!)

Christopher opening his presents. He got lots of digger stuff and wanted to stop and play with each gift as he opened it. He got mad when we made him keep opening, but can you imagine how long it would take if we did?

Blowing out the candle on his tractor cake.

Sophie enjoying her cake with her daddy. She LOVES her sweets!!!!

Christopher never had any cake. He didn't really care for any. He just wanted to play with his new toys. The rest of us enjoyed it for him!

Eventually he moved back to the playground and dug in the sand with Papa John and Pop.

Here's the party kids all lined up in a row. How cute are they?

It started to pour after naps and Christopher and Brandon had to go jump in the puddles. The little ones just tried to watch them the best they could. Sophie was yelling at them the whole time and I finally let her go out there, thinking it would help cure her fear of the shower, it didn't.

Burt, Brandon and Christopher running, jumping and splashing around. It was cold!!! We still don't know how they stood it!

Nicholas enjoying pillow island. I PROMISE he's not as high as he looks!!! He just loves to kick while "flying" and Brandon was lying on the ground to take his picture. Our ceilings are low and there is a fan with a nice 70's bowl on it, so the kids didn't go high, it just looks like it.

The boys trying to keep the leftover balloons in the air. They had more fun hitting these things around!! It was funny!

Yes, that's true at our house. We gave up the pacifier like I said on Wednesday and it has been a nightmare since then!!!! The days that followed he has been kicking and screaming, refusing to take a nap in the afternoon. The only way I can get his to fall asleep is to make him lay on the couch with me and watch Mommy's show. He falls asleep within a few minutes, but wakes a little as I put him in his bed. He'll sleep for a least 2 hours or more so he's obviously tired. Now at night is even worse. He gone to bed at 9:00, then 10:00, then midnight, then 10:00 again. The last two days he never napped AT ALL. I know that giving up the pacifier was going to cause something like this, but I underestimated just how attached to it he really was. It was his ultimate comforter. It's so hard b/c the time changed this week and we had company coming in town for his b'day party and he's excited and has his friends and family around and lots of new toys and who would want to go to sleep? But seriously, he's got to crash eventually... right?? So, please, please pray for us. I really don't want him to give up his naps now. He's not ready for that and neither am I. As soon as we get past this I'm getting rid of Sophie's. We are not waiting this long ever again. I never wanted to in the beginning, but I definitely suggest that if your child has an attachment, start cutting back now and don't wait 3 years to cut it off. Trust me!!! If you do have encouraging tips, please pass them on!!! I'm desperate for help here.

I'm going to keep it short since I have a lot to show and I'm just waiting for Sophie to wake by the time I get the first photo picked out!

Christopher opening a gift from Hunter and Drake. (It was a cute sand digging set, but this was the only photo that turned out of all 7 I took!)

This is the third (and probably final) surgery his veryfirst digger has received this week. I finally got a toothpick and cut the tip off, glued it between the wheel and that bar to help give it some thickness. It obviously didn't work, even though it lasted longer than the previous attempts.

Christopher playing with the birthday card he got from Great. Can't go wrong with Bob the Builder!

Opening his other present that night when Daddy was home and very excited about his new tractor movie. (Thanks Hunter and Drake!)

Loving on his Pluto. He has always said that if we had a dog he'd name it Pluto, so when I saw this I just had to get it. (If you ask him his second favorite name for a dog, Mickey Mouse.)

Sophie in her swing with a rake, an excavator, a front loader and a cement truck. The shovel had already fallen out.

How many people do you know that look this good while playing with a digger? I challenge you to find one!

Christopher playing with his new bachoe that the Pacifairy brought him. We waited for Brandon to get home so he could take him to the mailbox to see what he got. It's all he's talked about since he got it. He wouldn't even go to sleep last night b/c he wanted to play with it. We're doing ok without paci now, but naps are the hardest. He falls asleep on the couch with me watching a show Mommy likes and I think that's why he's asleep so quickly. He's bored.

Landon came over for a little while this morning and the kids wanted to have a snack on the patio. An F-15 or 16 is flying overhead is why Christopher has his hands over his ears. I've been told the F-35's are WAY louder. I don't think they'll be coming until we leave, which is probably good b/c I might have to ask that they schedule their flights around naptime. Mommy beats USAF doesn't it?????

Sophie fell asleep after having lunch. I kept hearing a wimper and when I peeked at her she'd wake up every time her head dropped. Poor kid! It was only 12:30 and they are usually up another hour but they both went down early today. No complaints here! I have some more photos from our outing down to the water on Sunday, but too many to go through right now. I'll post them as soon as I can. Pray the rain will hold off until after Christopher's party on Saturday!

Today's the day we are getting rid of Christopher's pacifier. I've been looking forward to this and dreading it at the same time. I've looked around for different ideas of how to go about handling it and hopefully it's the right one.

Last night he was still awake at 11:00 and came to get me, so he's not in the best mood today and kind of cranky, which is either going to work to my advantage or against it. I'm hoping he'll be so exhausted that he won't cry as long as I think he will. This morning we put them in an envelope (he starts to get teary) and wrote a letter to the Pacifairy to tell her to give them to a baby that needs them more than he does. And I've told him that doing this makes her so happy that she gives you a toy to say thank you. I bought a little cast iron backhoe, since his bigger plastic broke beyond repair and plan to stick it in the mailbox for him to find when he wakes up. Unfortunately he's not up for napping without and is playing trains in his room with the lights off. I'll let you know how it goes! Hey, if anything he'll just go to bed early tonight. Right???

Ok, I've been thinking about drapes since we moved in last May and I can't seem to figure out what fabric I want to go with. I tend to be a stripe girl, but I don't want stripes this time. And I don't want solid either. I'm trying to step out of basics b/c that's all I ever buy are basics and it's pretty boring. Here are two coordinating fabrics I found the other day (www.sirsfabric.com) and I love them!!! Aren't they fun??? They would work better in my kitchen b/c well, they are a little bright and cheery for a den/living room area. I'll try to post a photo of where I want them to go and some more fabrics choices. Money is also a factor now since we are really trying to follow our new budget. I need to save up for these and well, when you do that you want to make sure you love what you buy!

(Regal Rebecca - Fern)

(Regal Mary - Fern)

Also, I desperately want to go here tomorrow. It is the yard sale of the century and I'm going to miss it. Brandon said I could go, but it's 2 hours away and I don't know if I'd even find anything. Ok, I know I'd find something, but I have no where to put anything, don't need any more toys for the kids and I know the things I want the most will be gone first, like a beautiful white twin bed and some wicker chairs. I can't even go to this site b/c it makes me sad knowing I won't be a part of it. To those of you who are going, enjoy and know I'm home with my heart hurting!!!

I have two wonderful things to share. The importance of both of them is great, but well, ok, one is bigger than the other. First of all, my sister and her husband found out yesterday morning that they are having a little girl!!! I am super dooper excited about this b/c she and Sophie will be close in age and have each other to play with. I was the first granddaughter after 5 boys and then another boy came before my sister did. So, family get-togethers were fun, but involved lots of dirt and playing sports. Neither of which I was going to get involved in while wearing my little skirts and dresses. (I was quite prissy back then.) I think Sophie is going to take more after my sister and be a little tomboy, but that's ok. She and Drake play well together, but he is a boy if I've ever seen one and needs to be able to play freely with the other boys and not have to play with Sophie. We are looking forward to July and meeting little Anne Morgan!!

Now, on to another girl I want to brag about, my sister-in-law, Caroline. She is awesome!! She saw my need for a recipe box and with children in tow, she met that need willingly. She told me that a bookstore called Davis Kidd (which I love and have only seen in Nashville) had some cute ones that I might like and that she would go and get one for me if I wanted. Well, through a morning of phone tag and lots of laughs we finally caught up with each other and she told me what the ones they had looked like and who would have thought they had the exact one I found online that I loved. Now, how many people do you know that are willing to go find something that another person needs and remind you, with child in tow, and mail it to them??? Not many. This is one a fraction of what makes her such a wonderful person and I am so grateful that my brother married her! Thanks Caroline!!