Cheer camp & visitors!

Our annual Junior Cheer Camp was this week and it was so much fun! Fun: 5 evenings with 110 5-12 year olds, lots of cheering, dancing, jumping & going bananas. Maybe I meant to say exhausting. Actually it is so great to watch my girls basically become heroes to their "campers". They are so, so good with these kids. They manage to teach a group of 5 year olds a cheer & a dance! I can't even teach Chloe to stay off of the couch, so this is massively impressive. They all added "Miss" in front of their name this year. "Miss Lauren is going to show you a toe-touch." It was hilarious. To end the week, we had a pancake breakfast at Aubrey's. I had my girls harass Kyler, since he is going to be in a high school in a week! We all loved it.

I missed Anderson so he came to school a few times to visit. The cheerleaders really wanted to do the Rafiki thing from Lion King and I, of course, let them. I am pretty sure that Simba's belly wasn't hanging out like that in the original scene, though.

The week ended with a visit from Aunt Manda, Kyler & Noah! Poor Uncle Zack had to work & missed out on the festivities. Anderson was spoiled with gifts, play time and lots of kisses!

Anderson was really intrigued by Big Cousin Noah's face. Poor Big Cousin Noah got sick on Saturday, but was still alive on Sunday so that was a relief.

I have discovered that the odds of 3 males cooperating in a picture are pretty slim. We tried anyway.

I would have some pics of the Dixie Stampede here, but we didn't realize you have to make reservations 6 years in advance. Apparently it sells out daily. There are 3 shows & each show seats 1000 people. Yes, that is 3000 people a day who attend the Dixie Stampede. My guess is that if Dolly had invented this 145 years ago the South probably would've had a better chance.

Cute little shorts from Aunt Manda.

Bop made balloons for prizes at camp. They were a hit. Actually, too much of a hit. A few little girls were crying the 1st night because they didn't win one. Everyone got snacks & treats every night & even a tshirt, but I guess a balloon duck topped the list. I was silently thankful that football camp probably doesn't have drama like this.

Another Lily Loan: these cute little net things to put fruit in before he can chew. I'm sure they have a more concise name, but I don't what it is. Anyway, he LOVES watermelon. Makes a huge mess. So stinkin cute.

He totally forgot about this toy. Was pumped.

On an unrelated note, I recently stumbled upon this awesome coupon website http://www.southernsavers.com/ It's great because they list all of the weekly ads & match up newspaper or printable coupons to go with the sale price! I consider couponing one of my talents, but this is letting me take it to a whole new level. I got the above for $7 at CVS last week by combining coupons, rebates & extra bucks. I got the below today at Walgreens for $11. People always tell me they "don't have time" to use coupons, which I guess means they are billionaires because I am not sure who doesn't have 5 minutes to save money. The point is it doesn't take long at all! Anderson & are the first people at our chosen drugstore on Sunday, since he gets up so early.

A little video of him crawling. You can also see how good Gabs is with him. I realized that when I mentioned the vet labeled her "Will Bite" it sounded terrible. People probably think I shouldn't allow my baby around her. To clarify, she only falls in this category when we are in the room. When we aren't, she doesn't have a label because she doesn't care. Sweet girl just wants to protect us. Chloe, on the other hand, is "special" all of the time.

3 minutes

The following took place in a 3 minute span the other day...Multiply this times however much you need to in order to get a full day (I was never good at math, not going to try now) & you can see why I am exhausted by 7am.

I heard him yelling and banging around on his crib, so I got him out. He started standing a few weeks ago, so Brandon lowered it basically to the ground hoping it would deter him. Alas. We have spent a few evenings staring at the video monitor watching him stand, sit, growl & try to climb out. It provides great entertainment. But seriously, when will he be able to climb out? It's all fun & games now, but that is a terrifying thought. Somebody is pretty proud of himself.

I brought him into the bathroom while I finished getting dressed & he managed to open the cabinet, pull the organizer thing out and start chomping on some makeup. This was while I was in the closet for about 5 seconds.

While I cleaned that up, he crawled toward the shower and climbed in! I couldn't get a face shot because he was busy focusing on his next move. I had to take his onesie off since the shower was wet.

Then I decided to put the dishes up, so I brought him in there. This happened while I was standing there! I was putting a plate up! Was that even 3 minutes? Maybe 90 seconds?
On a related note, the above loot is what I managed to grab in about 3 minutes at a consignment sale I went to with Clare. For $23 I hit the jackpot, I think. (The pink vanity is for Lily-it was $2!)

Hanging out

Anderson had his picture last week and they were perfect...until the computer ate them or something ridiculous, which caused me to have a small stroke! I mean, look how adorable they are! I love that his sit/lean was captured. I knew he would be sitting up alone soon & I was so sad. Luckily, they found them the next day! Even luckier, I got them all free. It's like I am a magnet for something free...AAAGGH! I just caught a glimpse at the adorableness and got lost in his little face.

A picture of Brandon at 6 months to compare...

One of my favorite things is when he wakes up from a nap. It really is impossible to capture the adorableness.

This sitting business is new, by the way.

I carried a watermelon.

We went to storytime with Clare & Jack and Anderson seemed much more interested in Jack's toys than the story.

Playing with a shark from Uncle Zack. From his text message, "I thought he needed it." Of course.
Chloe has had a really hard few weeks. It's rough to bark 23 hours a day and run around the house whenever anyone comes to visit. Please ignore the un-ladylike pose and the fact that she is not supposed to actually be on the chair.

Anderson will pull up on anything that is at his height! Since we are not the tallest family his options are limited.

Anderson spent a lot of time with GG the past few weeks! They both have been loving it, of course. She even watched him one day and I just ran some errands. I went to CVS, Petco, Kohls....LIKE A NORMAL PERSON! No baby, diaper bag, bouncing in the check out line, distracting with random things from my purse. I forgot that it existed.

This is what happens when Anderson is with Brandon. He was encouraging the stair climbing! He made it up 5 by himself. I am not ready for this. I was watching "Teen Mom" ( It's a guily pleasure-don't judge) & was in awe at one point when Farrah just put Sophia down, pacifier in her mouth, in a room and put some pillows in the doorway to prevent her from escaping the room...and it worked! Never. Anderson would have crawled over the pillows in about 2 seconds. Oh, and Sophia was 11months old or something ridiculous. Is this why these moms survive at 16? Their kids sleep, take pacifiers, like the car seat and now, don't move?? They probably even like the swing! Seriously, I was just kind of staring at the TV. Then I had to run and grab Anderson from the other room where he had crawled in that 30 seconds.

Lily & Aunt Sissa Time!

Lily spent the week at Camp Noni & Bop's, which meant lots of time for me to see her! This is the first time Lily has been around me without Nicole. We've always wondered what our kids were going to think of us, what with the twin thing and all. Poor girl. She was so confused. Clearly, I am not her mom and she realizes that. But, there is something (definitely the voice, the fro hair, the loudness) that is like her mom. I guess if it is between no mom and no mom/sissa fill in, she will take me. By "take" I mean, be obsessed with me. Secretly, I was loving it because she has never really snuggled with me or preferred me. Finally, the girl realizes how much I love her!Trying to get in my lap, which is taken at the moment.
Lily +Sissa= BFF

Mom bought them all these matching outfits & we had really big plans of all of the cute pics we were going to take. I keep forgetting that lesson about having no expectations.

I don't know why Nicole complains about being busy. I mean, she has this adorable little helper.

Back to the expectation lesson, I took Lily to my neighbor's trampoline with high hopes. She was really just interested in trying to get the stuff that was outside of the net. Yes, she is still in her jammies. It's summer, ok?

A snack with Chloe on the floor.

And here's a little video of us hanging out...

Hot Dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog!

Leftovers from when we grilled out last weekend. Delicious.

Well, the trial of childhood, the double ear infection, has entered our house. It is going much better than I expected, since Gabbi can't really cry or be fussy. She is such a trooper. She got a special new bone since she had to get shots & medicine. She is handling the whole thing quite well, actually. Also, we are SO proud of our girl because the note on her file at the vet has been moved down from "WILL bite" to "MIGHT bite". I no longer have the biggest bully at the playground.

Meanwhile, Chloe has not really come to accept the fact that her needs aren't quite met with the readiness that Anderson's are. For example, she wants dinner when she wants it and not in 5 minutes when I have a spare hand to get it. She will pout & stare at the pantry until I feed her. She will seriously plant herself on the floor and not move even if you step on her.

Speaking of special needs, Chloe has only eaten one toy in the last 6 months. This is monumental and has been recorded on her permanent file. She is acting pitiful hoping she won't get in trouble (it didn't work).

Because they have not made near enough appearances on the blog, here are my nephews! So grown up.

Less than 1 week into 6 months, Anderson is really addicted to trying to find places to pull up. He has found this chair and will beeline toward it every time we set him down. I don't think this is normal at his age. I think I am saying this out of fear more than pride...

It's a good thing there can't be too much love!

We had LOTS of love/fun in the house this week! My cousins from Memphis came to visit & it was great to see them! Anderson loved Shannon & spent lots of time being snuggled by her. Jacob was hilarious & made me realize how excited I am about a boy in my life!

Shannon also snuggled Chloe so everyone in the fam was glad she was here!

Hanging out! The rest of her family was here, too, but were busy ziplining when I had the camera out! Shout out to Job, Hallie, Abigail & Brooke!

Then, Great Aunt Lori stopped by for a visit. She loved on Anderson, gave him a bottle, fed him dinner & brought him some awesome teething rings! Too much love.

We had a little celebration of the 1/2 birthday, too! This picture is fuzzy, but I wanted to include everyone!
Great Aunt Donna loved on him until he went to bed. She brought some really fun musical toys that Lily & Anderson played with/fought over.

How much fun is this? Just having some dinner with Mom.

Yes, I have a cookie cake for my son's 1/2 birthday party. 6 months is a milestone! And, I had a coupon for a free one. I bought the pirate plates on clearance before he was born. I really have to get a life. GG and Noni brought pirate themed gifts, which I think means we all need to get lives...

Playing with Lils. Pigtails!

Brandon & I went to dinner for our anniversary so Anderson had his first sleepover!

I missed him terribly, but I think he was a little loved at Noni & Bop's.

On an unrelated note, I have enough body wash to last for a few years. This is half of it. Ridiculous. I either got these free or made money by matching coupons/sales/rebates. I am not sure when it turns from a hobby to an unhealthy obsession.