There are 2 months left in the year. I think I need to see how I am doing:
1.Read a book that is not related to school or children---CHECK
2.Finish Jillian's quilt---CHECK
3.Finish Baby Ford's quilt---CHECK
4.Get my grandfather to set up my quilting frame
5.Start & stick to an exercise routine
6.Take the boys to the Yellow River Game Ranch
7.Take Emory back to the aquarium
8.Print all the pictures I have saved to my computer
9.Read and organize my grandparent's "letters from war"
10.Get Emory involved in a children's church program---CHECK
11.Start planning our 10th anniversary party
12.Spend more time with friends.---CHECK
13.Go on a family vacation---CHECK
14.Get my hair done more often---CHECK
15.Make a quilt for myself
16.Frame our family portraits from last year:)---CHECK
17.Mail in the application for the GA Prek scholarship---CHECK
18.Change my attitude about the boys wanting bunk beds...it's not about how hideous they look, it's about the fact that they love each other & want to share a room.---CHECK-ish
19.Keep my van clean all the time
20.Straighten up the house at night before I go to bed.
20.9 See the light at the end of the tunnel---CHECK!

A Summer of Sunflowers

Emory wanted to grow sunflowers during the summer. We started some seedlings inside during late spring, but they all died when we moved them outside. So, we bought more seeds and put them right into the ground. Here is our summer story:





































































The sunflowers begin to bloom. Right when the sunflowers began to bloom, we had a few weeks of pretty cold weather. They grew to be a little taller than Emory, and then they died off. We had so much fun taking care of our flowers. We will plant them much earlier next year! Hopefully they will get taller and fuller if we do that. Our summer of sunflowers will be a great memory to look back on.

I love goats...

So, he improvises...

We do not allow Max to have his binky unless he is in the bed going to sleep. So, he improvises. This is Max using an outlet cover as a binky.
P.S. I also laugh out loud when Max's doctor asks me if our house is baby-proofed:)

This is serious!

Emory is bowling with the Wii. VERY serious business!

Lessons from the baby in the family

For some reason, I was under the impression that the 2nd child was going to be much slower to do things than the 1st. Not in our house. I do still view Max as being a baby. I baby him MUCH more than we did Emory. We felt like Emory was a "big boy" by the time he was 15 months old. Max just amazes us sometimes. I guess the younger child observes a lot more. He watches when we don't know he is watching.
Example # 1:
I am teaching Emory how to use the regular swing at the park. You know, pumping your legs and all that jazz. Well, on Wednesday, I ran some errands so we stopped by the little park in Grayson for a break. I'm such a good mom, right. Wrong! My husband (who btw thinks kids should be outside ALL day long in the summer) requested I do that b/c he knew I would be over there. Max insists on getting in a big swing. Um, no! I put him in this weird baby swing that looked like the front 1/2 was cut off, but there was a buckle going across the front. Naturally, Max started pumping his legs to make the swing go. CRAZY!
Example # 2:
Cody is teaching (ok taught about 4 months ago) how to hit a ball off a T, hit a pitched ball, and catch with a glove. Max sets up his own T and hits the ball. He also says "grounder" (in baby lingo) and holds his glove perfectly to catch a ground ball. BTW, he is left-handed, so he has a toddler size left hand glove:)

This child is a mess!

Tha Beach

Weeeelllll...the beach had its ups and downs. I can't say enough good things about Orange Beach. It is beautiful, and the drive is an absolute breeze! Angela did a GREAT job picking out the condo! Max was sick the 1st day we were there, and Emory was sick the last day and a 1/2. They were out of there element with all the new people, so they were a bit weepy all weekend. It was great seeing Ang & her family and hanging out with the other couples. We will definitely go back again, just with our own room:) We have learned that valuable lesson...our kids like their space & their own time frame (that's the negative of kids that live on a schedule.) However, I will gladly give my kids 360 days of consistency where they are happy, rested, and well-fed even if it means I have to suffer through 5 days of whiny when we are on vacation. I can handle it:) So, as of right now, we have 7 work week days left of summer...that gets a :) & a :( It is bittersweet. I am excited to get the new school year rolling, but I will miss the lazy crazy days of summer at home with the boys. The good news is: I don't have to work for 10 weeks in the spring b/c I will be STUDENT TEACHING!!! How is that for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?!?!
These are the faces we looked at all weekend.