Have I mentioned yet that I love having a dog? Besides the fact that he's absolutely beautiful, he's sweet and Christopher is so incredibly proud of him. But, I finally got to witness today the best part about having a dog. He loves to chase squirrels. And we have an insane abundance of squirrels around here. And you aren't aloud to "get rid" of them. We have seen a decrease in these furry tailed rats since we got back home and I'm very excited about this. They are like ants! Now, if he could just get rid of the mosquitos. But I guess that's what the bug zapper is for and if I could only find the drill I could hang that up too.

On a funny note, Christopher was just hopping down the hall and counting each hop. He got to his destination and told me, "I had numbers in my mouth, Mommy."

This past week the kids and I went up to the Montgomery area to visit family and friends. I will go ahead and warn you, there are a lot of photos in this post. Our first stop was at the hospital to meet Anne Morgan. Jennifer was doing amazingly well and you would have never guessed she'd just had a baby the day before. Anne Morgan was so tiny and petite (even though she was bigger than both my kids), and definitely got her tall daddy's hands and feet. She is precious and the kids were so excited to see their new cousin.

Christopher LOVES babies and you can see it on his face. He pulls his arms up and giggles with excitement! He runs away and then comes back, pulls his shoulders up, gives her a kiss, giggles, then looks at me for approval.

Sophie even went up and gave her a kiss too! All on her own. I was worried that she would get jealous and at times she did for about 10 seconds. I think she was just following Christopher's lead. Whatever works!

Here's a photo of what Brick looked like riding in the van, peeking over Sophie's shoulder. I put the double seats down for him to lay on, but he preferred the single seat that was still up. On the way back home we switched it and loved having his own "couch" to lounge on.

Sophie and Christopher loved going swimming with Grammie and I. I asked Christopher if I could take his photo as he was climbing up the ladder and he said, "I'm too busy jumping off the dock, Mommy." Well, ok then!

Thursday, Caroline, Hunter and Drake arrived and that night the boys were in charge of cutting Pop's hair. They lined up on the stepstool and each had a turn. Once they lost interest I finished it up. Sophie helped clean it all up off the floor.

Friday morning a dump truck arrived with a new batch of sand for the boys to dig in. (It's also for Mom and Dad to use later) The boys went nuts! Hunter was the only one brave enough to get a close up look at the truck.

Christopher was the farthest away. He was practically under the carport b/c he gets nervous when he sees trucks in action. Maybe it's b/c we've scared him about crossing the street. Who knows, but he won't go near one that's turned on.

Caroline brought the boys' plasma cars for them to ride with the one Grammie and Pop already have and they chased each other around the wall separating the kitchen and den area. This was not in the plans when the house was built, but it was a brilliant design as far as we are concerned! They chase each other for hours!

Sophie and Drake climbed up to play a little piano. They were really cute together!

Caroline and I were at the house alone with the kids on Friday and trying to come up with something to do that didn't involve us being outnumbered in the water. We pulled out the slip n' slide and tried to fill up the pool, but couldn't blow it up and there was no pump to be used. Aren't these the biggest hydrangea bushes you've ever seen? They are gorgeous!

Christopher and Drake climbed to the top of the sand pile. I left it zoomed out to get a shot of how big it was. They were orange after playing on it and had to be hosed off. Once the sand dries it will be cleaner to play in, but they didn't seem to care one bit.

Jennifer and Trey ended up surprising us on Friday afternoon with a visit at the lake and the boys wanted to go swimming in the lake. I'd already showered so Sophie and I stayed dry. She climbed up in the chair on the dock and said,"cheeeeese!" so I had to get a photo of it.

Here's a photo of all the dogs and Christopher on the dock together. It's hard to tell, but there are 8 big dogs out here! Try playing fetch in the water with them and you'll be yelling for help two throws into it. But it's a blast!

Uncle Trey had no problem jumping in the water with the boys. He is such a fun uncle! Christopher loves him b/c he would throw him in the air and swim with him.

Here's the only photo I got of the four kids together. I don't even try to pose them b/c Christopher hates it and let's face it, that's a lost cause with this bunch! They'd rather be playing than taking a silly group photo for their Mom and Aunt B.

Saturday we loaded up with Papa John and Nana to go to Cameron's 4th b'day party (Mimi was already there). We've never made it over to GA for our nieces' birthdays, so we thought we'd try to this time. The kids loved the water party and Christopher had a blast going down the blow up slide. Sophie wasn't so sure about it, so she just walked around watching everyone else.

She did, however, enjoy the ice cream cups that they had! She was determined to do it all by herself. That's my girl.

Here's the birthday girl! She's so sweet and we can't believe she's 4 already! I still remember when we went to see her after she was born. Time flies!

Sunday we went over to see the Khan family and everyone but Christopher (I told you!) was willing to sit for this. He's holding a toy sander.

Sophie (Christopher too) was completely exhausted by the end of the week and so she just took blankie to every soft spot she could find and would lay there until she had to move. We finally put her down for a nap b/c we felt so bad for her.

It was hot waiting for lunch so we pulled out the pool for the boys to play in. They had so much fun going down the slide and Christopher and Nicholas would sit on each side, bounce as hard as the can and Joshua would hang on for dear life. It was hilarious!

Today was a very big day for our family. First, little Anne Morgan was born this afternoon. Here she is with her parents, who I think look absolutely wonderful for just having a baby. I thank God that her delivery went so quick and smooth! Mom said that Jennifer was in great spirits all day and seemed perfectly calm. I can't wait to see them tomorrow afternoon! Oh, for those of you who ask, she was 7.7 lbs. and 20 1/2 inches long and has black hair.


This morning Christopher dressed himself. We went to Walmart like this and I loved every minute of it! I always wanted a little boy that loved playing dress up and wasn't afraid to wear a costume in public. I forget how long ago The Incredibles came out b/c I had a few people ask me who he was. But they were much, much older and probably never heard of it anyway.


And here's our latest addition to the family. Brick/Pluto Hemphill. We didn't think we'd get him until next week, but they called me this afternoon and said they were able to squeeze him in and we could pick him up today. Total surprise, but very excited! I see lifelong best friends in these two. It was adorable the whole way home b/c Christopher kept talking to him like Brick/Pluto knew what he was talking about. Things like, "My daddy saw a paver last night," and "Look! A flatbed, Brick!" or "Do you like Wall-E? Mommy, Brick wants to watch Wall-E, it's his favorite." and finally, "I think you're really going to like the lake. We are going next year." I don't know how I made it home safely I was laughing so hard. He has been following the dog all over the house and talking to him about everything. It's so cute!!!

I know I've posted a lot this weekend, but well, it's been a fun and exciting time around here. Right now I'm about to burst b/c my lil' sis is having her first baby tomorrow and I can't be there! It's killing me! But I'm thrilled b/c I'll get to meet my sweet new niece this week when we get up there. Say a little pray for their family as she is induced tomorrow and that God's hands will surround them and comfort them. I pray everything goes perfectly smooth and much, much faster than my two babes came!!! I love you Jen and Trey and you have no idea what you've just gotten yourselves into with me and that baby girl!!! I'm going to love her like my own!

I just remembered one more funny thing Christopher said last night. We've been working on our prayers before bedtime and a couple times I've asked him what he'd like to pray for, but he always says, "you do it." I tried again last night and this time I said, "What would you like to thank Jesus for?" Here's what came to his little mind: my airplanes, my fan, my Mommy's nose, my trucks He gave me (trying to explain that everything we have belongs to Jesus), my dog and Santa. I'm not sure where Santa came from, maybe b/c we'd had a bubble bath earlier and he'd put bubbles on his face and say ho ho ho. I'm glad he's feeling more confident in his prayers! Maybe I could learn a lesson or two from him. I'm going to try to add more photos, just need to find time to do it. Brandon wanted to clean out the closet today and that's kind of taking over. As well and the laundry that has piled up.

Yesterday morning Christopher informed me what my new place in the family will be once our dog comes home. Here's how it went down:

Me: "Do you want to pick out a bed for Pluto?"

Christopher: "Nope."

Me: "Where's Pluto going to sleep?"

Christopher: "In my bed."

Me: "Well, where are you going to sleep?"

Christopher: "In your bed."

Me: "Well, where am I going to sleep?"

Christopher (without missing a beat): "Outside."

Great. The dog is higher up in the chain than I am and he's not even here yet! Oh, he also came up and told me that we needed to get Pluto a truck chew toy. He's so cute!