Thursday, July 31, 2014

more summer-July

I might never title anything ever again. I like this easy route. 

 Anderson's preschool has started using this new program where they upload his daily report to an app and INCLUDE A PICTURE! I mean, yes, thank you.
 These pics are all over the place. For example, here is some corn.
 Yes, everyone does comment on his hair all of the time. There is so much of it and it is so shockingly blond.*

*Especially when I am holding him with my jet black hair. The contrast is legit.

 Trip to Krispy Kreme with the Noni! So grateful for my parents since this job situation totally cramps my parenting ability.

 Always outside. Always.
This working thing is annoying but I don't have to be there quite as early until the students return, so Bug & I had a breakfast date. July feels like a part time job because I leave by 4:30 most days and that business is not going to happen once students/athletic events/etc start. 

We always love when Saasha & Sunny come over for a visit because, really, they fit right into our family!
Of course both boys completed the "Summer Reading Club" at the library. And, of course, Max ripped a few other people's shapes off the wall while I tried to get  a pic.
And, my parents continue to amaze me daily. For example, they took Anderson to a fair that Pops was working and he played all kinds of games, had carnival food and WON A BIKE!!! I literally cannot make these things up.
Bop in his glory. And, some random/slightly annoyed teenage girl.
I told Clare I needed a pic of these 4 to put up in my house because I finally got around to ordering more current ones and I don't have one of them.  Lucy, true to form, participated in every shot and the other 3 were a bit more hit or miss. So grateful for these Brimers!
I have been at work for awhile now* and my parents have continued to ensure that the boys are adequately entertained.

*This is my first summer since I started teaching that I didn't get a big chunk of time off and it was a little depressing. I still got some time, but I had to work at home a lot and go in to work quite a few times when I was "off", so it was not quite the same. But, still pretty amazing!
Brandon took Anderson to hunt bugs/fish/anything alive in the creek a few streets down and it was definitely the highlight of Anderson's life. 

We spend a lot of time outside. I mean, a lot. Everywhere we can find. Outside. All the time.
We spent a day with the Brimer family at Chelsea's lake house and the big boys had a blast tubing, jumping in the lake, attacking Jack's Aunt Rachel, etc. Meanwhile, the babies kept Clare & I in shape as we constantly chased them around the deck. Then, we hit up Chick fil a for our free meals! 
(side note: I made my parents participate that morning for breakfast, but did not get a pic of that meal)

Ferg spotted the garbage truck. 

Starting early. 

 Uncle Curtis came over for a little baseball in pajamas.
 And, we got to hang out with Jessica!! I love her and miss her and just cannot get enough of hanging out with her. I am so lucky that she is willing to just sit at my house and entertain the little people with awesome gifts, like new books and bug hotels! I am working on getting her back to Knoxville.
 We hit up a community fair so I can continue owning my quest of finding a bounce house every weekend. Bop was blowing up balloons and was the hit of the fair, like he is everywhere he goes. People kept telling me, "There is a great balloon man in there if you want to go for your kids!" Hilarious.

We also got a pic with the candidate that will hopefully be our new Representative in November. Anderson was with me when I voted, so it was fun to meet him in person.
 Max & Anderson look so different, but are so similar. I love watching Max obsess over the wheels on trucks, just like Anderson used to do when he was little.
 One of the places that really makes me realize how LUCKY we are to only be patching a few hours is the splash pad. Beyond grateful that Max doesn't patch. I mean, grateful is not even in the vicinity of the right word.
This Noni. Love.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Brothers.


The entire time I was pregnant, everyone told me how much the baby was going to love having a big brother. But, nobody prepared me for how much the big brother was going to love the baby. 

There is no part of this parenting gig that I love more than watching these boys be brothers. 
It is really my happy place.

I always tell Anderson that I love him more than anyone else in the world loves him (because I am the mom, duh.) The other night he told me loved me more than he loved anyone else, but he looked a little reluctant. So, I said, "It is ok if it not me." And, he said, in a relieved voice, "Ok, it is really Ferg* that I love the most." 

*I have no idea why he calls Max "Ferg" but we have sort of run with it and created various nicknames, like Fergalicious. I mean, that is just fun.

Sharing the love of garbage trucks.


Protecting him from the wasps because I was really focused on getting as many blackberries as I could from the random bushes on our walk and did not have time for safety concerns.
Clearly, I was not focused on protecting him from the sharp rocks/water either.

Anderson always has to get in the car first so he can climb in Max's car seat because it makes Max laugh when I open the door. One day he was climbing back on his side and he said, with a little shake of his head, "I just cannot get enough of that Ferg."


At church the other day I told Anderson to tell God 5 people he was thankful for and as he told me his list, I was not at all surprised that Max was first.

So grateful that my childhood dream of having boys* has come true.

*I even wanted blond ones. Truly, I cannot make this up. My 5th grade letter to myself and my high school time capsule both predict that my happiness will be with my blond haired sons. I feel that the fact that half of them are blond is pretty spot on and perfect.

Friday, July 25, 2014

A trip to a bounce house

Nicole invited us to a "Shrimp Boil" at their house and mentioned that there would be food, an inflatable and at least 24 hours where my kids were entertained. We, of course, signed up immediately.
Thank goodness Lily was there to supervise everyone.
So many random toys to keep this blond one entertained.
Earlier that day we made a bug catcher with Jack at *Smart Toys & Books and he promptly used it to catch a bee. Like, a real bee.

*I have no pics of the experience despite the fact that I thought I took a few. It was so cute and there was even a bug lesson & real jars of bugs. Honestly, it was the closest thing to crafting that we have done this summer.
He's such a predator.

Cannot.get.enough.of.him.
Yes, thank you for having friends and a big field back yard so we can crash. It was pretty fun because I met some of her friends for the first time and there were quite a few questions directed at me about the food, offering to help, asking where the trash bags were, etc. People totally thought I was Nicole, including one person who literally did not understand the first 5 times I told her. We aren't together that much anymore (and don't really look alike), so this is a rare thing. We should have totally anticipated this and intentionally messed with people, but we were not that prepared.

The next day Nicole left on a surprise trip with Hughes and I had the 4 kids for a few hours. It was actually incredibly fun and surprisingly calm. It was fun to have hang out time with just the kids. Lily told me she needed to go with me to get Reese to help her wake up. Apparently that means climbing in the crib with a bunch of toys.

Upon waking up, Lily promptly provided a goody bag for everyone, 

they found the bounce house,
and Lily made some crafts.
Then we loaded up and drove to Noni's house,
where Reese promptly decided that I was the next best thing to her Mama. :)

Friday, July 18, 2014

Some pics of Max. Because, really, he is so cute he deserves his own post.


Yes, this probably is Chloe's fault.
He has so much hair. 


Swimming with his GG!
We are trying to help this girl lose some chubs, so we go on many walks.
He loves pics of people now and is quite persistent with the aggressive finger pointing and grunting.

My children do occasionally have pants, I just never seem to document those moments.

Anderson still calls him Ferg and now it has pretty much become his nickname, which is hilarious and a bit weird all at once. 


 Fire truck day at Smart Toys. So many cute pics of this face.
 Fun time with Daddy.

 Possibly my favorite pic ever.
And, he has discovered Mighty Machines, which might change our life.