Five on Friday

Here are Five Reasons I am Loving my Boys this week!

1. We took the boys to see Rio in 3D. It was there first movie theater experience, and it was so fun! They loved it and could not have looked any cuter kicked back in mine and John's laps with their little 3D glasses on their little faces and a big bag of popcorn settled between them. They both love movies, so this was a treat and they were completely entertained through the whole thing!

                  

Evan modeling his 3D glasses - what can I say - he just cracks me up!

2. The Easter Bunny found these little boys and filled up their baskets with goodies like colored bubbles , side walk chalk, jump ropes, bible story books, bouncy balls, piggy banks, bathing suits, and candy! They had a ball following the egg trail the EB left for them down the stairs and into the den to where their baskets were. Bryce found Percy the train in his basket. He was impressed that the Easter Bunny was able to fulfil his VERY SPECIFIC request! Evan found a Buzz Lightyear rocket in his basket . . . and Buzz just makes that little boy happy as can be!



3. It has been day after day of beautiful weather (until Thursday, of coarse). These are the kind of days that I think maybe there is some outside girl in me bc I find myself enjoying the warmth of the sunshine as I watch the boys run barefoot around the yard from my perch on the porch swing. I even go so far has pulling weeds from the beds and begin wondering if one day I could possible be one of those true southern ladies who spends the whole day in her yard making sure the flowers are beautiful and the tomatoes are plump, red, and delicious. But then late May hits, reality sets in, and it is soooo hot . . . . and i am done with the sweat and the bugs and the dirt and decide I will just be one of those true southern ladies for our brief southern springs! So, I plan to enjoy our short but sweet spring with lots of outside time. It is time for sidewalk chalk,  bubble mowers, wagon rides, barefoot races, sipping lemonade, and just plain old digging in the dirt!

bubble lawn mower races

 

homemade lemonade is E's favorite!

playing ball in rain boots

sidewalk chalk among brothers

                                                                     

4.Bryce tried out hopscotch. I must say, I was pretty impressed!

                                                                   

YAY!

5. It does not get much cuter than these 2 little boys anxiously awaiting their daddy's arrival home from work! This day, John actually snuck in the back door and scared them. They started off with screams and dissolved into a fit of giggles Music to my ears!

Mamie waits for her daddy too - cute girl!

Reflecting on our week helps me to relish the memories that we are making each day.

These are lessons I am learning from my most favorite blog, Enjoying the Small Things by Kelle Hampton. Please, check it out. It is beautiful and inspiring and I look forward to seeing how she weaves stories and pictures together each week! Have a wonderful weekend full of memory making moments!

 i have a horrible time getting evan to look at me when I take a picture, but with 
his mess of dark lashes I don't mind too much!

handsome boy

Going to join my boys on the porch! It is another beautiful day! ~j

Finally Back . . .

After a wonderful hubby and wife vacation and then preparing for the boys' birthday shin dig, I am back with a double dose of Five on Friday!

So, Here Are Five Reasons I Am Loving My Boys This Week - X2!!

1. The boys LOVED their custom bday cakes by Mema! Mema always does an amazing job capturing exactly what each boy wants! And ofcoarse, they are very yummy bc they are made with an extra scoop of Mema's love! For Evan it was all about Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story 3. For Bryce is was all about Lightening McQueen from Cars. It must be mentioned that Mema makes them a cake for theie "real" bday day and their party day. We are quite spoiled around here! Thank you, Mema! Your cakes are a special part of our celebrations!

2. Bryce hopped in the car and buckled his own car seat 5 point harness the other day. What a big 4 year old!

3. Bryce counted to five in Spanish while we were playing this week. He says "place" for "tres". It is super cute!

4. Gran, Mema, Mama, and Daddy have been hard at work assembling the boys new play set they got for their birthdays. They have been very patient in that the so called "8 - 10 hour" project (as stated in the directions) has taken more like "8 - 10 days" Gran has done most of the work with Mema closely directing and I fear they are both probably cussing me in their sleep because it has truly been a task!! But, I think it was all worth it because the boys are thrilled! They love it! The first thing Bryce wanted to do when he woke up Thursday morning was go swing . . .  and we did . . pjs and all. . . i must say it was a great way to start the day! BIG, BIG THANK YOUS to Mema and Gran! That thing would still be lying in a million little pieces all over our yard if it was not for ya'll (or it would have been firewood by now -  as gran suggested at one point ;)

5. Just in time for the completion of the new play set, Bryce learned to pump his legs and swing all by himself! We had worked on it, but one night it just clicked and he swung away for 20 minutes straight! I still find mysef in awe of each new little milestone!

6. Evan has been our preacher man this week. Between his daily tantrums,  he has been working on the spiritual side of our lives! I was upstairs and heard Evan tell his daddy and brother as they were eating that they forgot to say the blessing. Everyone stopped and Evan sang "God our Father, God our Father, We thank you, we thank you, for our many blessings for our many blessings. Amen! Amen!" The next day he told me he wanted to sing me a song and broke into "Jesus Loves Me" in his cute little almost 3 year old voice! I have been getting him to sing it for anyone who will listen because it is just sweet as can be!

7. Evan has also embraced his county boy this week. Out of nowhere, he has developed an exaggerated southern accent that only applies to certain words like "down" which now has 2 syllables instead of one "day - yon" and "out" which sounds like "ow - yut." I can always count on that little fella for a laugh!

8. Any evening is always made better with a ride on daddy's lawnmower (this is what John was doing while he was suppose to be helping Gran with the playset - the blade was not even down - just joy riding!)

9. Celebreating Daddy's 33rd Birthday was the hightlight of our week. We started with a birthday breakfast and presents. Then the boys made a special delivery before lunch to John's office to give him some pottery they painted for  him to put on his desk. We went to chick fil a for lunch and some play time. Then John headed out to his "farm" with papa to play for a little bit. We grilled hamburgers and put candles in John's fav brownie dessert to finish up our day of celebration! Celebrating with the boys make birthdays that much sweeter! A fun day was had by all!

10. Evan can not get enough of his Daddy these days. He is a major Daddy's boy and John is definitley enjoying and soaking up every second of it. Evan wakes up in the morning, I hear his door squeak open and his little fat feet padding down the hall way. Then, he sticks his head up over my side of the bed and his first words EVERY day are "where's daddy?" I then answer that question about 50 more times throughout the day! It is a precious bond!

I thought it would be hard to find 10 things to jot down, but once I got writing there were tons of little moments I wanted to save in words. My words never seem to do the actual memory quite the justice it deserves, but I can look back on the words and spark that memory in my mind and that makes me happy!

Happy Good Friday! Have a wonderful Easter weekend! ~j

Five On Friday

Five Reasons I am Loving my Boys this week!


1. Birthdays tend to make me very reflective! God entrusted me with the miracle of Bryce. I am truly grateful and humbled to have been chosen to be his mama. I love him so!

2. We made a washer and dryer out of old diaper boxes and Bryce very seriously sorted, washed, dried, and folded clothes as he chattered his little stories to me. Evan put the "dryer" box on his head and ran around the house screaming "I am the dryer monster." This pretty much sums up my two boys personalities quite nicely! As I sat back later that day and listened to them play pirates in Bryce's bed, I was in awe of how such a surprise (finding out I was pregnant when Bryce was 6 months old) had worked out so perfectly. I was sure God had goofed, but of course, He knew just what he was doing. He knew my heart needed the healing of two little babies and he knew these two little boys would be best brother buddies and balance each other out so nicely.

3. After a week of planning birthday, cleaning house, packing suit cases, and staying dry from the rain, I decided the boys and I needed some good, messy, unorganized fun! We made Kool Aid Playdough. The liked the making and baking part - the stirring and pouring and measuring and mixing and salt on the floor and flour on their cheeks. They loved the playing with it part. I sat down with them and did some playdough therapy of my own. I felt the week's stress melt away as I squished and squashed it in my hands and listened to their little conversations as their imaginations exploded! Cars were driving up playdough mountains, we were "eating" playdough birthday cakes and pizzas, we were fishing with playdough worms, and we were baking playdough cookies. Big Mess = Big Fun

4. Snuggled up with Bryce for an afternoon nap on a rainy day. There is just nothing better.

5. There once was a little boy with black, straight hair down his forehead.
    When he was good, he was very very good.
    But when he was bad, He was horrid!

Evan is an extremist. He is a bit dramatic. He is very passionate. He is charming and sweet and completely melts my heart. That little fella makes me laugh out loud daily. The good belly shaking, melt your stress away kind of laughing that is good for the soul! But when he decides he is mad and throws down, it is nothing to mess around with and I wonder what in the world I am going to do with him. But . . . big picture . . . . I don't mind too much. It makes him who he is!

We had a pool party at a friends house the other week when it was warm. Evan stripped down and ran around naked in their front yard. No worries. Just smiles and squeals. Love it. That is what being a little one is all about!

Enjoy your weekend!! ~ j

Party Time at School

Bryce had a little birthday party at school this week. He was so excited to party with his friends! He carefully selected the color of ice cream cone holder for each friend as I wrote each name. As we were driving to school that morning I told him he was going to have ANOTHER party!! He asked " Does that mean I will turn 5 now?" Smart boy! I told him, "No, you will still be turning 4 at this party too!" I just like getting in as many parties as possible to celebrate his sweet little life!!

This was my first try with the ice cream cone cupcakes! They were yummy! Most of them just ate the icing off the top! Bryce was so tickled that his mama and daddy were there at school! He grinned the whole time!

Two parties down . . .  one to go! ~ j

Celebrating Bryce

We do enjoy celebrating a birthday around here at the Whitaker house!! I started up with some decorating the night before . . . He requested pirate cupcakes from me and a Lightening McQueen cake from Mema!

Evan woke up first and patiently awaited Bryce's arrival!! He made some funny faces while we waited to entertain us. He is quite a ham!!

When Bryce started moving around on his birthday morn, we all raced up to sing happy birthday to him! He was smiling ear to ear! He knew this day was something special!

Next, was down stairs for some breakfast bday cupcakes and opening presents! He loved his Chuggington Trains and has played with them nonstop!!

We played and celebrated all day long and headed out to dinner with family that evening!

I think he had a wonderful day! ~j

The boy is FOUR!

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet boy, Bryce!

Bryce, this is where you started 4 years ago. . . you were so tiny and so sweet. When I watched this I had forgotten your little sounds, but when I heard them it all came back so clearly. You amazed us with your strength as tiny as you were!

Your Birth Day was a day full of mixed emotions. We were so joyful you were here and doing as well as you were. The neonatologist in the NCU said  . . . "He forgot to read the book about premies! He thinks he is a  full term baby!" We were also scared. Weighing 3lbs 6oz you were so tiny, but you opened those little angel eyes and looked straight into our eyes and comforted our souls. From that day forward your have filled our lives with a happiness I did not know was possible! You are truly a blessing from above!

You "graduated" from NICU after 11 days weighing in at four little 4 pounds.  We were over the moon becuase we thought you would be there much longer.

My mama, your Lo Lo, was waiting at our house to hold you in her arms when we got home. She had just finished 2 weeks of radiation and it was such a special moment for me to see you and her together.


 


 

We suprised your Mema with your arrival home. ( I secretely think your daddy enjoys trying to send her into a  mild heart attack!) We invited her over to eat dinner and had the baby tv monitor set up.  She looked at it when she walked in and there you were in your very own crib! Ofcourse, she just about fell out right then and there!! Mema visited you every morning in the NICU before she went to work to feed you and she sang you lots of songs. There are still several songs that are just between you and Mema and you will not let anyone else sing them to you!




You have grown so much, met so many milestones, and blessed our everyday lives with precious moments in your four years of life. You are no longer a baby - you are now four years old - which I think officially makes you a "little boy".

Happy Birthday to our Little Boy!

We love you so much!

                

~j