Christmas part I

Mabry playing her nintendo ds and wearing her new Christmas socks.
Gabe playing with his new train table. The slide has been moved outside permanently.
Mabry was in the second grade school play!!! She was a teddy bear and actually had a speaking role. She is behind the little girl in the light up sunglasses. They were wearing glasses for their "rap" song.
I had to take Gabe's temperature last week. Here, he shows you how to do it too. He also takes his temperature in his belly button.
This is what the boy does when Daddy lets him eat a whole package of graham crackers.

My boy loves him some Cheetos! The sad part is that he was licking the icing off of a sugar cookie like a cat and it was too adorable! Sorry, I missed getting that moment.

Leaves and Trees!

Gabe liked the fact that Mom was so pissed during the Egg Bowl that we went to play in the leaves.
Since we live in the Valley, it is only appropriate to have a watermelon on one's Christmas tree.
The completed tree. Other families have a find the hidden pickle ornament. Here in Mississippi, we have a hidden okra ornament.
The mantel with stockings.
Gave watching "Up" for the 4,567th time and chilling with the cat.

Gabe wondering when we will go in the caboose.

Mabry turning the caboose around.

pretending she is a model on the caboose.

Mabry and her cousin Ethan at her Chuck E. Cheese party.

We went for a walk earlier this week and stopped at our local coffee shop, the Main Attraction. I had an awesome pumpkin latte and the kids had some great cookies. On the way home, we decided to stop at the Casey Jones museum. Believe it or not, the kids loved it. There isn't a lot of stuff, but Mabry learned a lot--like the fact that cabooses are made so they don't have to be turned. They just flipped the seat backs around.

Mabry is 8!!!!

And we are going to Chuck E. Cheese tonight! More pics later!

Gabe is two!

This was my son when he was four days old.

This is my boy a couple of weeks ago in his school picture.

This is my boy and his sister exactly a year ago, right before Goddaddy Matt's wedding!

Time has flown by! New things Gabe does:

1. washes his hands when he gets anything on them

2. brushes his teeth

3. asks for a cup of milk or juice by name

4. shouts "school bus!" whenever we see one, and since we drop Mabry off at school every morning and drive by the other school on the way to daycare, this can be a very frequent shout at 7 in the morning.

5. still call his sister Bebe

6. look at books quietly for about ten minutes

7. put together wooden puzzles quickly and repeatedly

8. create one straight line of cars

9. launch said cars off his slide (or playground according to him)

10. give good hugs

11. He actually said "I love you" once, but won't repeat that one. Disappointing, but special

12. still insists Daddy's name is Guy-gui, just like his sister

Halloween and more

Sorry it is sideways, but this is Mabry dressed as Dorothy. Her friend, Tristan, gave her the bunny ears.

My awesome across the hall neighbor at work decorated our entire hall in orange ribbons in honor of my mother's day of surgery.

Of course, the kids asked what the orange was for. I explained it to them and they stole my orange sharpie from my desk and decorated themselves for the day in honor of mom. Sometimes, just sometimes, teenagers can be human too!

We wear orange!

We ordered I Wear Orange shirts for November 2nd. The kids have the message, "I wear orange for my nana" and my shirt says "I wear orange for my mom." They didn't carry MIL shirts, so Guy is stuck with a regular polo for the day. One week from Monday, wear your orange!

Notice the welts all over Mabry's face. She had an allergic reaction that resulted in hives from head to toe. The only thing the doc can figure is it was a reaction to the flu shot! Even though Mabry will not be receiving the booster later this month, I am a firm believer in preventative measures--especially since the flu this year is a nasty one that has put many of my students out of school for a week or more at a time. Her new antihistamines are working well though, and she is on the mend!

Wherein we clean and get a slide

apparently, Gabe has been learning to pick up his messes and sing at the same time.

He also loves his new slide, which was supposed to be delivered in two weeks, but came VERY early!

Family News

Mom will probably be upset with me putting the news out here, but I am doing it anyway. Mom was diagnosed with kidney cancer this past week. That's right. The big C.
While we are all shocked, confused, and a little angry, the prognosis is excellent. Mom is in the capable hands of a great doctor. She is going to have a surgery that will remove the tumor, and she won't require chemo or radiation. Supposedly, if you have to have cancer--this is the one you want.
Mom opened a caringbridge website if you want to keep up with her through her journals or send her a message. She is very positive, but we still need lots of prayers and support. This is a scary disease, and no one likes looking into the future and not knowing what might happen. Anyway, that's it. The big news. We'll let you know when we have more.

In other news, we have a conundrum. Please answer the poll question at the very bottom of the page and help us!

video for you

very long time without an update

Grandpa Tom and Grandma Theresa sent Gabe lots of corvettes to play with. Gabe has a slight thing for cars, or cawas as he says. Notice they are in lines. He will put them in very, very straight lines as he plays.

Gabe will be the Tin Man for Halloween. He isn't really excited about his costume. Mabry will be Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz for a matching pair. I can't wait to get both of them dressed and a picture together.

Gabe likes his bath a lot. We finally got rid of the toddler tub by buying a $5 bath mat for the bottom of the tub. It has Elmo on it, so Gabe spends lots of time looking for Elmo under the bubbles. After bath is over, Gabe tells the bubbles bye-bye, the bath bye-bye, and Elmo bye-bye. Then, he sings the Elmo song.

Our nephew, Ethan, turned a huge 4 this summer. He had a bouncy house at his party, and guess who had no problem bouncing and sliding? Mabry thought this was the best thing ever.

Mabry on her first day of second grade. She loves her teacher and school, but we are having some adjustment issues this year. Mabry is actually having to study for the first time ever and she has been getting into trouble for talking. Who would've predicted that? She also figured out that she could pass notes and not get into trouble for talking. She didn't realize that she would get into trouble for passing notes in class as well.

This summer we celebrated the Watermelon Carnival here in Water Valley with a cookout at Danielle and Chuck's house. Ethan fell in love with our friend, Beth, who kept calling him Issac. It was awesome and funny since Ethan kept answering and most of us kept looking around for a black bartender.

This is my son eating one of his favorite snacks--moon pies!

Gabe spends lots of time in the kitchen cabinets. Some would say he spends too much time in the cabinets. I can't tell you how often I open the door to get a pot and find hot wheels. I have also found leftover snacks that he has hidden. Gabe also likes to sit inside the cabinets if there is room.

Other things of note: Gabe throws everything in the garbage when he is done with it if it has to do with eating--wrappers, banana peels, silverware, bowls, cups. He likes to talk. he can sing the howl part of "Werewolves of London". He will tell everyone at daycare bye except me. He still refuses to call Guy "Daddy". Guy will be stuck with Guy-gui for a while.

Mabry is taking gymnastics and loves it! She rides her bike all over town. She isn't home enough on the weekends to get pictures of her. She leaves the house around ten, shows up for lunch and a snack and comes back around dinner time. She read Nancy Drew and is now reading the Boxcar Children series. She still loves Hannah Montana, but really loves Katy Perry.

Here should be your fill of lots of photos!

Just so you know!

We have too many vacation photos to post here. It just takes too long to upload. I have sent a digital scrapbook to many of you via email and posted the pictures to my facebook account. Enjoy!

Fort Morgan was awesome! Day 1

This is the house at Fort Morgan. Across the street from the pool and one block away from the beach! SWEET!

Mabry and Reaves in the ocean on Sunday afternoon right after unloading the car. They jumped for about twenty minutes and got completely soaked.

Gabe's first experience with sand! He loved throwing it over his head and getting sand balls and giving them to people. He also liked to steal other kids' beach toys.

new camera

This is Gabe's face when he tells me NO! He uses his index finger and everything.

Rolling in the grass after playing in the sprinkler.

I have no clue what Mabry is doing besides getting closer to the source of the water.

Okay. Postings have been light because my four year old camera bit the dust and all photos have been taken with my phone (not the best quality). My husband surprised me on our anniversary with a brand new camera, and get this---it's orange!!! How awesome is that? Anyway, here are some photos taken with the new camera.

just an update

Today is our third anniversary! What a quick, yet long ride this has been! In the three years we have been married, we have moved, changed jobs and had a baby. I believe these are three of the biggest stressors to marriage and we have managed them with grace, I think!

We have watched our children grow into interesting people during this time. Mabry is a reader and wants to be an actress/singer just like Hannah Montana when she grows up. Her back up plan is to be a teacher. She is reading Nancy Drew books, Junie B. Jones, and rereading all of the Little House books. She likes to make a mess (aka crafts). She babysits after Gabe goes to sleep so that she can play on the computer. She has learned how to use the cell phone to call me. She can multiply 0s, 1s,2s, 5s, and 10s. She can count money. She can write so that I can read it. She learned to ride a bike in 5 minutes, but won't do it anymore.

Gabe is learning more and more every day. He loves books, especially books about animals. He calls his daddy, Guy. He calls me Mama now. He still calls Mabry, baby. He can find his and anyone else's bellybutton, eyes, nose, and mouth. He likes to dance. He loves Elmo. He plays with cars all of the time. He makes the animal noises for cow, cat, dog, duck, sheep, elephant, and chicken. He calls all cats ReeRee after our cat. He will hug and make the kiss noise at you when he feels generous.

Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo

I had a doctor appointment on Wednesday. This is what the kids did to amuse themselves while we waited.

Baby zebra--three weeks old.

HUGE buffalo that ate out of our hands.

Mabry feeding zebra. He did eat out of her hands. SWEET, isn't it?

Proof that we took a real family trip.

Gosh, it has been a while since we updated, but life gets busy sometimes. Last week, Mabry went to overnight camp for the first time with her friend, Amanda. She had a blast and cannot wait for next year when she gets to spend a whole week there. Mabry will spend a week at girl scout camp at Cedar Point, a week at Hopewell, and a week at Lake Stephens. She can't wait!!!

She is still reading a LOT. She has read all of the Ramona books now and we are looking for new series to read. Any suggestions? Her reading level is really high and not all books are appropriate for a seven year old that reads at her level. I am actually thinking of getting her on Babysitters' Club. Help me please!

The bike--oh, the bike. After the spectacular first day of riding, nothing. She will barely attempt to ride the thing. She has a really hard time getting it started and thinks the scooter is easier. I think the scooter is about to disappear.

Gabe is still Gabe. He plays, eats, and cries. He is saying more words every day and we are beginnning to understand a lot more of them too. My favorite is when he sees his dad and says, "Hi, Guy!" Guy doesn't like that.

We had our bathroom replumbed this week making for a difficult week of finding stuff to do for the entire day while trying to get Gabe a nap as well. We spent two days at work, one day in the Delta celebrating Louise's birthday, and we also went to the fabulous Tupelo Buffalo Park. It was absolutely amazing to be that close to animals. Zoos are awesome, but we actually touched zebras, zonkeys (a cross of a zebra and donkey), kangaroos, and buffalo. There were some animals in very small cages with chain link fences that was sad, but otherwise, an awesome park! Mabry had zebras and kangaroos eating out of her hands. Guy and I had buffalo eat out of ours and then blow snot on us. Gabe just talked seriously to the animals, I guess telling them how to behave. There was a three week old zebra, a zebra almost ready to give birth, and a giraffe that was only three months old. AWESOME!!!! If you are ever near Tupelo, go visit--it is so worth it.

Mabry is awesome! (most of the time)

Summer has just begun (as of Wednesday for Mabry, Saturday for us) and I am already hearing, "I'm bored!" Sad isn't it? Mabry has been counting the days until school was out, and now she wants to go back. She hasn't even been out a week. It's a good thing that we have a few activities up our sleeves for the summer.

To cap off Mabry's school year, they gave out awards to the kids. Mabry won two medals for reading. She received second place for the number of accelerated reader points earned in her class and also got to go to a pizza party thrown by the library. She is so excited since it is a REAL (colored) silver medal with 2nd on it. She also got two certificates. One certificate is for the second highest reading score in class and the other is for third highest number of sight words read this year in class. She is extremely proud. She also managed to get straight A's on her report card with the exception of handwriting where she got a C. No surprise, she's a lefty after all. I think she writes awesomely well considering. I can read her handwriting and that is a feat considering what her father's looked like.

So for a reward, we bought Mabry a big girl bike. She took to it like a duck on water. She was riding by herself in ten minutes with no help except to get started. That seems to be the only hang up--just getting started! Oh well. Happy Summer to all!

Time out!

Gabe learned to climb into the chair. Then he whined until we figured out that he wanted books. Yes, that is Mommy's reading chair.

We are hoping Gabe loves books like the rest of the family. I am not having many doubts about that.

Gabe got time out at home for the first time Sunday. He has gotten a bad case of the temper tantrums. We have been laughing at his tantrums for the most part since he stomps his feet, screams, and throws himself onto the floor and bangs his head over and over. It doesn't really get him his way, but it does get him attention. It is a little overdramatic, kind of like any Tennessee Williams play.

Gabe sat in time out for five minutes until he could come out and not scream and whine. We realized that we have to step up his discipline because he has fallen in love with a toy at school. He is so in love with said toy, that he pushed a little boy twice his size off of the toy and cries and screams any time any other kid LOOKS at the toy. We are going to get him one for the house, but I have a feeling that it won't be nearly as fun here as it is in daycare.

Our newest trick--jumping!!

Gabe has also added another dimension to "riding horsey".

Why How McDonald's Creates a New Generation of Customers

So, unless you have been living under a log, you must have seen the commercial for the fillet of fish that McDonald's has released. Random man eating a sandwich, dancing while his Billy Big Mouth Bass sings, and a neighbor looks on like he's crazy (much like the look I give my students on a daily basis). Gabe LOVES this song. It never fails to get him to dance, even if he is in the middle of a throw down, head banging on the floor tantrum. Mabry also likes the song and has been caught singing it while playing with her Barbies. Anyway, here is the dance of Gabe and Mabry in the car. Notice the crazy look that Gabe gives Mabry at the end--very similar to the neighbor's look in the commercial, after all, he is my child.

newest portraits of Gabe

We are still waiting for delivery of Mabry's spring portraits. But, here are the ones of Gabe: