4th of July Weekend

We spent the past weekend in Indiana celebrating the 4th and Beckett's 2nd birthday.  It was just about the best weekend ever!  We had so much fun.  I love Independence Day, I think it's probably my favorite holiday.  Makes me want to break out and sing "And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free and I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me, and I'll gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, 'cause there ain't no doubt, I love this land, God Bless the USA"

Friday before we took off for Indiana - had to take a picture of all 3 of my guys matching (Brian was unintended)

Hudson wanted to give Beckett one of his presents early, he was so proud and happy to give his brother a gift. - we changed the boys into comfy clothes to travel.  We left at 6:10 Friday night and got to my parent's house about 11:30.  It was kind of rough, Beckett got car sick and puked and puked, and neither boy slept but a few minutes, so by the time they were in bed, it was about 12:30.

Our dear, sweet friends, Brad and Sheri invited us over for a delicious lunch on Saturday.  Addie was a great helper/holder.  I can very clearly remember holding Addie when she was that age.  

My sweet, sweet, friend Sheri

Love them so much!  We loved catching up with them and hanging out.

Saturday after noon, we went to my aunt and uncles for their annual 4th of July cookout, plus anniversary party.  They've been married for 50 years!  

I love their land!  They have a big, beautiful yard that backs to a woods.  July 2 was overcast and about 75 degrees.  It's usually 95 degrees and/or raining on the 4th.  We had so much fun catching up with family.

My cousin Jen and my Aunt Bev holding Emersyn Kate.

Hudson and me messing around.  

Swinging Beckett

The boys had a blast!!   They ate everything and kept eating, especially everything sweet!  Hudson was showing me the lemonade that Nana gave him. 

My cousin's Candi and Mark - they got my aunt and uncle an Alaskan Cruise as their gift- they leave next month

My Aunt Tammy and Uncle Rob

Cupcake

My aunt and uncle had a little pool out for the kids, but it was so cool that didn't think it would get used.  They were wrong - those 3 little boys, at first, were just touching the water and gently splashing, then getting cups and pouring it out and on each other, then they got in.  All three boys were so cold and shivering, but they did not want to get out.   I love Colton and Beckett's faces in this pic, Beckett is waiting to get drenched from Hudson and Colton is shocked.  

Saturday night we did some fireworks at my parents.  We all had a blast!  We didn't want to keep the boys up until after 10 again for it to be dark, so this was about 9 pm.

Brian set off some fountains and a few other fun things.

That picture is a sum of his childhood -- Setting off fireworks, especially bottle rockets

We did some sparklers.  

On Sunday, we traveled to my brother's new house.  Bless Hudson's city heart, he asked, "Mommy, is that a corn field?"  That's the field behind my brother's new house.  There's an old farm saying "Knee high by the 4th of July" and that is certainly well above knee high.  (Hudson has gotten to the age where he can't do a normal smile - he looks like he's in pain).  I never thought I'd miss Indiana, but I do miss it in the summer.  I miss the corn and soybean fields, I miss the flat land and gorgeous sunsets, I miss small, small towns, I miss knowing EVERYONE, and I miss sitting on the front porch and watching a storm roll in from the west.

Beckett's 2nd birthday is actually July 12, but since we were in Indiana this past weekend, we decided to celebrate there so our families didn't have to drive back down to us.   I had originally reserved a pavilion at the park in my hometown, but 2 hours before the party, it started to pour and pour and pour and was chilly, so we quickly changed the party to my parent's house.  We made lemonade out of lemons.  I did a red, white, and blue theme again this year.  

I kept things simple- fruit, veggies, chips, drinks, and cake.  

We had a nice turn out, in fact, I think people stayed longer than they would have at the park, so it was really nice to visit.

My Grandpa and Emersyn Kate  - they both look very concerned and shocked

Present time

I missed most of the presents because I had to change Emersyn Kate's diaper

Hudson so desperately wanted to help

Then it was cake time  - his cake was from Kroger.  It was okay

Beckett didn't seem to mind

Aunt Anne loving on Emersyn Kate

Great Grandma wanted to hold and feed the baby

Not sure what my dad is doing here, but she looks pretty happy

Before we headed back to Indiana, we stopped to see our dear friends - Dave, Beth, Noel, and Elise.  It was so nice to hang out and kind of catch up -it's never enough time.  Beth very quickly snapped this sweet pic of the two E's.  After we visited, we loaded up and came home.  

My little crew.  Love them so!

Happy Independence Day!  We love America!

Happy 2 months

~Dear Emersyn Kate~

Happy 2 months!  Time sure is flying by, especially now that we have 3 kids.  You really are a pretty laid back, easy baby.  You really like maintaining eye contact, and you are smiling a little bit.  You are sleeping 6-8 hr stretches, although, the night of your shots, you slept just under 10 hrs and last night you slept just under 10 hrs.  You are ready to go to bed by 8 pm and sleep until 2:45-3:45 am, will eat pretty quickly then go back to sleep until about 6 or 6:30.You are a cat napper in the am and take a pretty good nap in the afternoon.  You eat 7-10 x day, still breastfed.   You weigh 9 lbs 10.5 oz =31%;  you are 22.75"=74%; and your head is in the 70%. (Hudson was 10 lbs 13 oz and 22.75" and Beckett was 12 lbs 9 oz and 24" at 2 mos).

 You wear some newborn clothes and some 0-3 month clothes, you wear a size 1 diaper.   I'm not going to lie, I love picking out pretty clothes and bows for you to wear. Your hair is slowly falling out, but I'm guessing you'll still end up with red hair or strawberry blonde hair.  Your eyes are a really pretty deep navy blue with icy blue in the middle.  Light pink, turquoise, aqua, and coral colors look really pretty with your skin tone and hair color.  Hudson is an awesome helper and will get diapers, wipes, clothes, bows, anything I ask and he LOVES to hold  and kiss you.  Beckett is a pretty good helper too and loves to hold you, too.  He likes to point out your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, toes,... and has to touch everything he points out.   

I listened to the song Butterfly Kisses the other day and it about did me in.  I had to stop with about a minute left of the song, I was a crying mess.  I'm definitely trying to savor this baby time because it really does go so fast and you do forget things unless you write them down.

  We praise God for 3 sweet, precious, healthy gifts.  We know God has big plans for you.  I'm still in awe that God chose me to be your Mommy.
We love you, our sweet precious gift from God!
Love, Mommy & Daddy

Hot Air Balloon Race

This is our second year to travel to Danville, KY for the Hot Air Balloon Race.   It is so...cool and so...much fun!  They did things a little different this year, instead of taking off from at the airport, they landed there.  

We brought pizza and snacks.  

There was probably about 20 balloons total.  It was so neat seeing them come across the sky.

The first one to drop a ball on the X won.  It was neat seeing them try and get low and throw their ball.  The crowd really went wild.  

Such a fun night!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a great Father's Day weekend.  Melissa, Michael, and Andrew stopped at our house Saturday morning for a couple of hours before heading onto Gatlinburg.  Little Andrew is a sweetie!  We loved visiting with them

An hour after they left, my parent's arrived.  We took them to the neighborhood pool and swam.  It was my first time in the water this year.  Mom sat on the side with Emersyn Kate so I could get in and play with the boys a little.  Beckett has become quite the dare devil, we have to keep a close eye on him because he'll just jump off the side into the water.  

Sunday we took it pretty easy and enjoyed more time with my parents.

Happy Father's Day, Brian!  You're an amazing Daddy.  We thank you for your love, hardwork, and sacrifice.  We're thankful for such a wonderful man.  We love you!

"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." ~ Billy Graham

Happy 1 month

   ~ Dear Emersyn Kate ~

I can't believe you're 1 month old already!  You are a sweet, cuddly little peanut.  I was running on adrenaline the 1st two weeks, but have been pretty tired the past 2 weeks.  Your Daddy stayed home from work the 1st week after you were born and then Nana Sally came and stayed for 16 days.  She was amazing!  We survived our 1st week at home, just you, me, and the boys, and actually did pretty well.  

You are about 7 lbs 10 oz or so and 21".  You still wear newborn clothes and diapers.  You are sleeping about 4 hour stretches at night, sometimes less.  You're usually only fussy when you're hungry.  You eat about 7-8 times per day.  You're nursing pretty good, you're pretty pokey and tend to fall asleep easily and sometimes it takes 1-2 hours to get a good feeding in.   I just started pumping and you had your first bottle from that a couple of days ago.  You only snapped out of the newborn sleepiness a few days ago, so you're awake a little longer now.   Morning time is usually your most awake time and your fussiest time.  You're still sleeping in the rock and play next to my bed.  You are quite a noisy sleeper, sometimes I wonder if there's a chipmunk or piglet next to me.  Your hair is strawberry blonde and you have deep, pretty navy eyes.  You are definitely looking like your Daddy.  You have long skinny legs and long skinny feet and toes.  Your umbilical cord just fell off a couple of days ago.You really like your paci.  

We can't kiss you enough!!  Both of your brothers love holding you, kissing you, and helping to get diapers and wipes.  Beckett is especially obsessed with your eyes, ears, nose, and likes to poke at you, if given the chance.
Long wing span.  Nana Sally made you this beautiful blanket.  I absolutely love it and can't wait to see all your monthly pictures on it.

Posing for pictures is so exhausting!!  That's my bear from when I was a little girl.  We can't wait to see what your personality will be like - so far, you remind us a little of Hudson.  

We're still figuring out what to call you - Emersyn, Emersyn Kate, Emme, Emme Kate, Emma, Emma Kate, Kate, or Katie.  We'll see what sticks.  

You are our sweet, precious surprise baby - absolutely perfect addition to our family!  We're so thankful for you and love you so much!  I've been praying Philippians 4:8 over you since I was pregnant  "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."

We love you so much!
Love, Mommy & Daddy

Fishing

Our church has a pond and lets people fish from it.  We decided to take Hudson fishing one evening.  Before Brian even got the bait on the hook, Hudson fell in.  He was practicing casting and slipped and fell in the muddy water.  

We had a hard time pulling him out we were laughing so hard.  

He was a muddy mess!

I can't remember what this picture was about

Finally, after about 30 minutes, Hudson caught a fish!  He was really proud of that little fish and REALLY wanted to take him home and eat him, but we talked him into setting it free again.  

Summer fun!

Quick Indiana trip

A couple of weeks ago, we made a quick trip up to Indiana to celebrate our 2 niece's and nephew's birthdays.  They had the party at the local park.  We had a lot of fun celebrating all of them.

My boys, my Dad, and my Grandpa

All of the grand kids on my side

My mom and all the grand kids