4th of July!

Uncle Evan helping decorate the "Parade Wagon" All ready to go Uncle Evan and his gang Daddy buying his girl an ice cream treat Sweet big sister sharing her "Sponge Bob" ice cream

She loves her Uncle Evan We had such a fun weekend with family and friends. My brother, Evan, came in Friday and left Sunday...but it was the first time he'd been to Memphis since Christmas, so it was great to see him. We went out to dinner Friday night and woke up Saturday and headed out to the neighborhood "4th of July Parade". Uncle Evan got up and helped Livie decorate her wagon with red, white, and blue streamers and an American flag.

Later that day, we went to my parent's house with all of my family and cooked out. It was a fun day celebrating our country and so great to hang out with Evan, even if it was for only 48 hours!

Birthday Milestones!

The family at George's 60th Birthday Party!

George and Randy, the birthday boys

Livie, Mariella(the birthday girl), and Jones Jones eyeing the cake Mariella being sweet and sharing!

We celebrated two birthdays on June 27. Our friends Brad and Carissa Shumaker's little girl, Mariella, turned 1 and George/Dad/G Daddy turned 60.

We headed to the Shumaker's house around noon and the kids played in the wading pool and moon bounce and enjoyed cake, ice cream, and cookies. It's crazy how fast a year has gone. Happy 1st Birthday Mariella!

That night, we went out to the Boone's barn to celebrate George's and Randy Reed's 60th. It was a fun night with friends and family to honor two great men.

Next up...our big ONE year old!

Fun in the Sun!

My little stud after the pool...his shirt says "Chicks Dig Me"

We've been spending a lot of time in the water this summer. Livie has become fearless(with her floaties) and Jones loves being in the water...as long as you are holding him the ENTIRE time!

11 months old

I can't believe I'm actually writing this post. Honestly, it makes me a little bit sad. Our baby boy is one month away from completing his first year and I can't remember where all of the time has gone. Jones has now added "ball" to his vocabulary along with "Mama" and "Dada" and still smiles constantly. He has 8 total teeth and is definitely still working on some more. He crawls around so fast, most of the time trying to keep up with Livie, who he adores. 

We started him on real Whole Milk this week and put him in a big boy car seat. No more formula and no more baby carrier. It really made me sad carrying the baby seat up to the attic this week and putting it with all of the outgrown baby clothes wondering if we're ever going to use it again.  He loves the milk and cannot get the smile off of his face riding face forward in the car. He really is seeing it all for the first time...going forward!  My mom said he was just glad to see where he is going rather than where he has been!  He sits in the seat, with both arms on the arm rests and just takes it all in, it really is so cute. 

He wants to walk so bad, but just isn't letting go quite yet, but I'm pretty sure it will be soon. 

One more month to go until we have a one year old...wow!

Celebration of Friends

College friends
The cute Mommy to be
Surprise Chritzy!!!
Still can't believe it
Wondering how in the world none of us spilled the beans!
One of her awesome gifts
Sweet Jules partying hard

Last weekend, I had the chance to celebrate two of my dearest friends. Saturday afternoon I went to a baby shower to honor Debra, one of my college partners in crime!  She and her husband live in St. Louis, so this was her "Memphis" shower and it was so much fun to see her and all of my Memphis friends I don't see that often. She looks amazing, of course, and great to be able to talk about and look forward to her sweet baby boy due at the beginning of August. 

I had to slip out a little early from Debra's shower to make it to Anne Marie's surprise 30th Birthday Party. Patrick did a great job of getting it all together and she was REALLY surprised! It was such a fun day to be around amazing friends and celebrate life all around!

Good Mornin' Banana Puddin'!

Jones usually eats a whole banana for breakfast...well we were out this morning. So, the next best thing? Homemade banana pudding! Yes, I really did let him have it for breakfast. Don't worry, he's already had his milk and helathy fruit! We had some in the refrigerator that I made this past weekend for Chris' (very late) birthday celebration. I gave it to him in a bowl, with a spoon and he absolutely loved it...of course! "The bigger the mess, the better the food"...our new Jones eatting motto! I am writing this as I watch him finish up...then we're off to the tub!
By the way, click on the pictures to make them bigger, just to see how truly messy it was...hilarious!

Surprise! Happy (a month late) Birthday Chris!

Chris' birthday is April 26. We had so much going on around that time, that we didn't really get to celebrate. I had heard in early March that Train was going to be "Live at the Gardens" and knew that was Chris' present. One of our very first dates in Jackson, Mississippi was that Chris surprised me and took me to see Train...one of my favorites. Any Train song always brings back fun memories of when we first started dating, so I thought it would be fun to surprise Chris with going to see them, with friends in tow!
He knew we had plans for Friday night, but no idea what we were doing. We went to the Half Shell first and met friends for dinner, he was surprised they were there, and then went to the Botanic Gardens for the concert. Sister Hazel opened and were great. Then Train came out and he still didn't know who was playing until they came onto the stage! It was a fun night, with great friends, and special to be able to celebrate my sweet husband's birthday. Happy (really late) Birthday Chris!

Half Shell dinner

Surprise!

The gang at the concert