I love These Pictures!

My brother has been sending me some pictures of my boys from that the past that he has come across recently, and I love these little bundles of babiness...I just made that word up....that I had to include them in a post.  He sent these 2 yesterday:

This is my brother with Austin...Austin is now a teenager who says things like "That's gay", "Mom, I have to go! Everyone is going to be there.", "You're so over protective! You never let me do anything!"  It helps seeing pictures like this to remind me that he was once a sweet, endearing little boy and one day he shall return. He will. The Bible says so: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." --Proverbs 22:6

And this little punkin...

This precious baby boy loved corn on the cob and ate it like a rockstar! I could just sqeeze those little cheeks 'til they popped!  Preston was hands down my easiest baby...calm, patient, quiet, sweet and smart.as.a.whip! For the most part, he's still that way, but lately, he's been pushing my buttons more than usual trying to figure out his spot in the chain of command.  Such is life in a big family. =)

Such great kids...why do they have to grow up so fast?

Awww the Good Old Days...

Setting the scene...dinner time, attempting to cook a homemade meal for the family, dog needs to be fed, 2 older brothers want Mom's attention, and Mom is forced to stand over the stove with the baby on her hip...Awww the good old days. Are you still in this stage? I'm am finally not, and I don't think I truly realized it until last night when I went over to a new customer's house to measure for some curtains I am making for her family room. Bless her heart...I remember trying to cook dinner with a baby on my hip in order to keep him from crying and following me around the kitchen attached to my leg. Now it seems I am having to call them 3 and 4 times to come downstairs or inside for dinner...or sometimes, in the case of "the teenager", I am having to get him to get out of the bath....you can read more on that topic here. There are times, especially on the weekends, where the older ones play outside for hours, only to come in for lunch and water. Every once in awhile, I miss those good old days...

Wow....

Check out this website! You can upload a pic of you and one of your hubby, and it will merge them to show you what your baby would look like...Scary...In the words of my sweet hubby after seeing this picture, "This makes our decision very easy." Scary...

Not Ready...

I'm not ready....I am not ready for this little guy to grow up...my last baby...my last baby...That is so hard to say sometimes. I was thinking tonight about the noise level in the house and how much I love it. The sounds of toys, tiny voices still innocent...the bottles of tear-free shampoo...the miniature clothes, the "first time" discoveries, the moments early in the morning when my little ones are so glad to see me. All of these things will eventually disappear as they have already done with "the teenager". They are then replaced with...sweaty, stinky gym clothes, requests to be taken to the mall to see movies with friends, "Don't kiss me in front of my friends", "Will you teach me how to slow dance with a girl, Mom?"....That's what "the teenager" asked me tonight. We just don't realize how fast the years go by until they're gone.

Carter...my last baby... with his friends Allie and Braden...=)

Cutest Ever!

You know how some babies just make you want to pick them up and squeeze them because they're so darn cute? That's my niece, Addyson...love her! Here are a few pics from her birthday party this past weekend...

Ryan and Addyson...He would be such a good daddy of a baby girl...She would be one lucky little lady!

Just because I love baby toes...

Check out the get-up...that term is sooooo southern...this little doll had for her birthday!

This is what a baby looks like with 16 people staring at her...

You can't tell from this pic if she ate more or wore more of her cake!

Happy birthday sweet little Addyson..

My Final Project...For Awhile...

My final project for awhile...I almost "Modge Podged" my fingers together tonight. I made a little something...one for each letter in her name...for my precious niece, Addyson. Happy birthday, baby girl!

Look What I Made...

We're having a baby shower tomorrow for Preston's teacher, and I wanted to make something to put in her sweet little baby girl's nursery. I am going to attach a wide ribbon to the back of the frame, so that she can hang it on Rylee's wall...

I think it turned out pretty cute! And by the way...I think I might be addicted to scrapbook paper...

"Look What I Can Do!"

Every child's favorite phrase, "Look what I can do!" Have you seen the character Stuart on Mad TV? Check him out...

Now...here's Trysten "being Stuart"..."Look at my trick, Alli!"...constant entertainment...or else I'm just easily entertained...

I Give Up...

Down at the very bottom of this post, you will see the dresser I bought 4 years ago from The Magic Moon which is an over priced children's boutique. The only reason I even entered the store many years ago to look at furniture was because I was temporarily INSANE. I was about 3 months pregnant with Carter...my last baby....and was so completely sure I was going to have a girl. With that glimmer of hope and after decorating 2 nurseries for boys, I decided I was going to go all out for this imaginary girl I assumed was growing in my belly. It was then that I fell in love with...


This:
This:


And this:

Once I received the news that another player for my basketball team was making a comfortable little home inside of me, I told myself...FORGET IT, I AM BUYING THAT RIDICULOUSLY OVER PRICED FURNITURE ANYWAY...Now look at it...

Notice how Preston has carved his name into the front of the dresser?! Are you kidding me!?? I have no idea when he did this or what possessed him to do this....

I give up on nice furniture until the kids until the get a little older...

Last Night...

Last night was Preston's 2nd grade musical at school...precious. It brought back memories of my own childhood school performances. Preston was so excited, although he wanted to be a penguin instead of a hunter...I felt his pain because I have never overcome the disappointment of being cast as "Glenda the Good Witch" instead of "Dorothy" in The Wizard of Oz in 5th grade. =) At the end, all of the kids took a bow, and one little boy bent over so far that he did a flip off the front of the stage...He was okay...Would have made a great entry on America's Funniest Home Videos...didn't catch it in time.

In this video, you can see Preston telling his friend that I'm trying to take his picture for my blog. =)

Preston and his friend, Andrew, being boys


















My Friend, Amanda, Preston's VERY pregnant teacher...Love her!























Carter was mesmerized by the cafeteria...I cannot believe he'll go to school here next year...

The Door....

You know what "the door" is....it's that entrance into "Should we have another one?" I hate it...every time I think we've made our decision, that freaking door unlocks and tries to suck me in...

This is what opened it this time....It's my brother's fault for bringing her over just as she's learning to walk...with that precious little waddle babies do before they learn how to balance...dressed in the cutest pink tutu and tights and shoes and bow...I won't even mention the matching pink jacket with a zebra print collar...Uggg!

Back and Forth...

It's no secret Ryan and I have gone back and forth on the topic of having a baby. There are days that something will spark that little urge....like watching my niece, Addyson, taking her first steps, and the "door" opens. Then there are days we have all four boys together, and we start to think 4 is a good even number, and we'd be crazy to have another....the "door" closes!



So...Ryan and I were sitting in the kitchen talking on Friday night when I made a suggestion and received a response I was so NOT prepared for because it made that freakin' door open again! I brought up the big "V" word...you know that word a lot of men don't want to talk about because it involves a knife and part of their manhood...Are you with me? It's not a secret, it's no big deal...it's part of life. What I wasn't prepared for was his response...I had made the comment the other day that we never know how we're going to feel in a couple of years...we're still in the newlywed phase...we might change our minds...So, when I brought up the "v" word, he wasn't sure we should consider that step yet...The "door" is open again.