Mr. Bubbles, An Alligator, And More...

I am getting back into the swing of things after vacation and since TJ is watching baseball... I HATE baseball!... I thought I would blog. We have had a fun past few days. Today I went and had brunch at a cute place in Berkley with my sweet friend, Heather, from church and then did a little shopping. It was a nice get away and TJ enjoyed being home with the kids. Anyway, here are the pictures!

We'll I always have to take a picture of the kids on Sundays because my mom loves to see them dressed up... so here they are precious of course! Anderson is starting to kind of fit into his 6-12m shirts and this is one of them. Karoline's dress (isn't it SO cute) is a birthday gift from my best friend, Kim, who lives in GA. THANKS Kim!



As Karoline gets older she plays with her play kitchen more and more! The other day she had been playing in her room for a while when we heard her yelling HELP! She was trying to move her chair over to Baby Huggums so she could feed her. TJ got her the chair and she feed Baby Huggums a nice big meal! Baby Huggums is a little small for the high chair I'm afraid!


Anderson has started walking with his wagon! He is so strong. The boy wants to walk alone but can't obviously do that yet. Karoline walked at 9 1/2 months and I don't know if he will walk that early or not... he is so much smaller thank Karoline at this age and he MIGHT have to have his foot casted again! :( SAD! We find out on July 14th so be praying about that.
***If any of you are fist time mom's this is the BEST wagon for beginners. It is really heavy so it is sturdy. The only problem is you have to help them turn the corners because it only goes straight but it is totally worth the money vs. one of the plastic one's from a toy store... those are great but not until they are more steady on their feet... TJ's parents got this for Karoline for Christmas and we have really enjoyed it. It is also cute in the nursery holding stuffed animals.!***

We got this alligator pool for Karoline and since it was so hot today (hotter in the house than outside! Laurie I bet you don't miss this part of CA!) we thought we would blow it up. It took FOREVER but we got it done. BUT it is not as great as I had hoped. She really needs help getting up the small ladder or she falls... I might even take it back because it is not safe unless TJ or I can give her our full attention. But she had a blast playing on it so that made it worth it I guess... Anderson thought the water was too cold so he watched his funny sister from the swing.


I found some bubble bath (inspired by Lyndsey) safe for babies and Karoline and Anderson had their first bubble bath... Karoline hated them at first and was very concerned that Anderson was dirty! Gammy, what kind of brain washing are you doing to my baby girl behind my back!? Just kidding...

Thank You Jesus For...

As I was heating up my lunch today Karoline was at the table praying and giving thanks for her lunch... This is what I heard...

(Karoline Yelling)
"Thank you Jesus for food, Whisper, Mommy, Daddy, Jackson, Pressley, and Uncle Peter"

Can someone tell me who Uncle Peter might be??!!

The 4th of July At The Willson's

Emily and Ryan were so sweet to have us over for a great dinner last night to celebrate the 4th of July. They always cook really good food so it was a treat! Karoline and Avery were so excited to see each other. They played pretty much the whole time... so they didn't eat much at all... until Emily brought out the cupcakes of course. Karoline really liked Avery's red car and sat in it 95% of the time. It was annoying for us though because she could not figure out how to get the car to go... she has not watched the Flintstones yet obviously! She kept yelling for help over and over and over! I tried really hard to get a cute picture of Anderson and Karoline but it was hard. I think Karoline has an ear infection so she was not in the best of moods. All in all it was a great night... we got home around 8pm to put the kids to bed and to take care of Whisper who is scared of fireworks! He did really well. We didn't get to see any fireworks but we heard them. Maybe next year. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!




Don't you just love the look on her face! She did NOT want to take a picture.

Happy 4th of July and Happy Anniversary GiGi and PopPop

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July and GiGi and PopPop we hope yall have a wonderful anniversary! Happy Anniversary!

Tonight we are going to Emily, Ryan, and Avery's house to eat and Karoline cannot wait to wake up from her nap so we can leave.

This is Karoline in her new dress from Gammy... While on vacation Karoline got spoiled by GiGi and Gammy getting her some REALLY super cute outfits! I cannot wait for Karoline to grow into the outfit GiGi got because it is SO CUTE!! I think it should fit this fall and into the spring... it is adorable. Anyway, I love this dress too... it is actually a top that goes with leggings but I am using as a dress right now. It's a size 6!

Karoline and Anderson LOVE playing with this house... It entertains Anderson all day long it seems!

This silly girl. We got two new car seats to keep in TJ's truck (on sale of course!) because it was so annoying taking our huge Britax car seats out of my car... anyway, we were adjusting the straps for Karoline and she wanted TJ to put her on the sofa in the seat to watch Dora... using her cup holder of course.

Little man's 8 month picture... well, 8 months and 12 days to be exact... and wearing a 3-6M onesie that still fits perfectly! He is so tiny! You have to remember that Karoline was out of 3-6M clothes at 4 1/2 months!

Today I am posting the video's that I took while on vacation. I have been meaning to post them but forgot to do so...

Anderson Is Growing Up!

I cannot believe how quickly Anderson's "babyhood" is flying by! After getting back from vacation Anderson has begun many "big boy" things...
- He has teeth... two and I think like four others are coming in at one time. I feel so bad for him. I can tell he is really bothered by them and Tylenol is not helping that much.
- We are brushing his teeth... he does not like it too much right now.
- He started eating Puffs and Cheerios. He also likes banana chunks.
- He is trying to stand on his own. He wants to stand up alone so bad!

Anderson is such a fun little boy. He is ALL boy that is for sure. I was talking with my mom tonight about how different he is from Karoline. He is ALWAYS wanting to be on the floor and playing. He does not want to finish his meals so he can get down and play. Karoline always wants to finish a meal :) He can play with the same toy for a long time but Karoline was never really entertained by toys. Karoline liked books and would want me to read all day long. Anderson will only let me read to him for about 5 minutes at a time. Karoline would never crawl off of the carpet onto the hardwoods... Anderson wants to crawl all over the house and he is FAST! Anderson is very brave and adventurous and that is TOTALLY opposite of Karoline. Karoline likes to lay in bed and kind of play before falling sleep and Anderson is asleep the second I lay him down. I really am amazed at the difference in my babies! Also, another funny thing about Anderson is that he has a specific place to go #2!! He has to go in his exersaucer! It is SO FUNNY! He will not go anywhere else. All I know is that I LOVE both of them so much and all their different ways. They are so special to me and I am so blessed with AMAZING children.

We have been going non-stop since we got home and we finally stayed home all day today and it was wonderful! I got a lot done and the kids enjoyed not running around town. TJ is at rehearsal tonight and he is bringing me home a Starbucks! I am so excited! I have hardly had a second to take pictures so sorry mom, this is all I have right now!

God Bless Texas - Millions Of Pictures

My parents drove to Shreveport, LA to pick us up at a Cracker Barrel! It was so nice to have both sets of grandparents together.

Yes, when we crossed the state line my dad played "God Bless Texas" from his IPOD. An hour later we stopped for a bathroom/nursing break at a gas station. I knew we were in Texas when we get out of the car at the gas station and I hear "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" playing over the speakers...
We really had a nice relaxing time in Fort Worth. Saturday night dad cooked my favorite Texas meal... Boiled shrimp appetizer with Central Market's amazing cocktail sauce, Filet Mignon, and spring salad with Central Market blue cheese (my FAVORITE!). It was WONDERFUL!
Sunday TJ and I got to go to our old church, Keystone, and see lots of friends. Eric and April were so sweet to make us a wonderful lunch and Karoline loved playing with Alli. Sam and Anderson basically slept the whole time. That night TJ and I went to my parents church, Fellowship Church, and out to dinner alone!
On Monday TJ conned my mom into buying new LCD flat panel TV's for their living room and smaller den. He was like a little boy on Christmas morning when we got home from Costco! He spent a lot of the day setting them up but the TV's looked great and added a lot of space to their rooms.
The rest of the week we just hung out at my parents house a lot... TJ and Dad got up before dark a few times in order to tee off the second the sun came up, Mom and I got away on a few shopping trips while the kids slept and the men stayed home, TJ and I got to have two dates (it was wonderful), and Karoline and Anderson were majorly spoiled! Oh, I forgot breakfast... every morning my dad made a "country morning breakfast"... yes I gained 4 lbs on this trip! OH MY!
Karoline's favorite moment was going to a cute boutique and buying her new Elephant... my dad named her Ellie. The moment we walked in the store she HAD TO HAVE IT. We tried taking it away and even giving her a smaller version of the same stuffed animal but NOPE, she wanted the HUGE elephant.
Anderson's memorable moment is that he got his two front teeth! He was a little fussy but it did not interrupt his sleep!
Anyway, it was a GREAT trip and I was really sad when we had to leave. It is HARD traveling with two small children but it is worth it. Karoline and Anderson did a wonderful job with the plane rides and car rides. I think my favorite thing about being home is that the kids are in their own rooms and my changing table! It is hard having the four of us sleeping in one room (which is why K & A took turns sleeping in Gammy and Gandaddy's room). Everything is getting back to normal...
My dad is so in love with this little man...

One of Anderson's favorite things to do was wrestle on the bed with my dad... and Gammy joined in on the fun too.

Getting to visit Eric, April, Alli and Sam... The girls were playing too hard for me to get a picture of them actually looking at me.


Getting a bottle from Gammy...


We swang on Mr. Ric's porch a lot.

Karoline had a blast in the little pool (Anderson was sleeping)...


Why is my father in a turtleneck outside, in a swimming pool, in the horrible Texas HEAT? That's a great question! I'll give you his phone number and you can ask him!



Look at those teeth (when they were just coming through)...


Enjoying the piano with Gammy...

Meet Ellie...

We got to see our great friends, Greg, Kristen, and Maddy! It was such a short amount of time... we need a week together! It was so fun though... we miss them so much! With three active children this was the best picture we could get! :)

This time Anderson got to join in on the pool fun...


Gammy and Gandaddy took Karoline to the park while TJ and I finished packing...




One last country morning breakfast...

GiGi and PopPop's House

We were in Rayville, LA for a very short amount of time...not enough but we got to enjoy GiGi and PopPop's new house they renovated and spend more time with Sarah, Jared, and Ella.

They took us on a 15 minute drive through corn fields only to arrive at a gas station... inside this GAS STATION in the middle of nowhere Louisiana they have two boothes and a few tables... AND the BEST steak I have ever had in my life! Yes, STEAK... Filet Mignon to be exact with salad bar with chilled plates. I took a picture with my cell phone camera because I didn't have a camera. You would just not believe the steak!

Something I Never Thought I Would Say...

So we are home in California after a WONDERFUL two week vacation. We had an amazing week with my parents last week... more on that later. But I have to share what just happened during our family play time.

All four of us were in Karoline's room playing and Karoline likes to be rough playing with TJ. I guess she was messing with his earing and the little ball fell off... TJ says "Karoline, do NOT touch daddy's earrings!" I then said "Yes, Karoline, do NOT mess with daddy's earrings!"
TJ then looked at me and said, "I bet that is something you never thought you would have to say."... He is right! I NEVER dreamed I would be married to a man with two earrings! Honestly though, I can't imagine him without them and I like them!

Anyway, it was a funny moment to me. I am glad we are back and getting back into our regular routine and I can't wait to see friends at church tomorrow. I'll post pictures and stuff about our Texas trip soon!