1.5 Years

Words can not describe how unbelievable it is that I have an 18 month old little boy. What happened here? I know everyone says it does nothing but go faster and faster and so far I believe it. I do my best to enjoy every day that I have with him and enjoy all of the little things that I can.

He is a little stinker and he knows it. He knows how to push my buttons, he knows how to make me laugh, and he knows how to make my heart melt....all within 10 minutes. He really is quite the character these days.

Food: He would live off of oatmeal, yogurt, applesauce, toast, cookies, crackers, fruit loops, rolls, oranges, and peanut butter if I would allow it. Who am I kidding..that IS what he lives off of, anything else is plate decoration or something for him to play in. It doesn't stop me from trying though.

Teeth: Finally is getting some back teeth and still LOVEs to brush his teeth. I really hope that lasts because it is the only way I can talk him into getting out of the bathtub every night.

Toys: Still loves books and recently has started liking puzzles (the really easy ones that you match the dog to the dog and the truck to the truck). He loves his alphabet train that he got for his birthday and plays with it more than any other toy. He loves balls of any kind and trucks. However, he still had just rather go outside and throw a stick with Abby than play with ANY of his toys!

Words: He can say almost anything you ask him to say. You may or may not can understand him when he repeats, but he sure will try! I couldn't even begin to count all of his words because he talks so much. He has a few short sentences like "Where did he go?" ,  "I don't know" and "here ya go". Every morning he wakes up and says "Me milk, me milk". He sounds Irish or something! Oh, and he is still very good at "want it, want it" and has also added "HAVE it, have it" so going to Walmart is no longer fun at all!

Also, I just have to brag on him for semi knowing his shapes, numbers, and colors. He knows oval, circle, star, and heart for sure and I have seen him name them all for his babysitter. He also can count to 10 IF he wants to (and only IF HE WANTS to). He can pick out most of the colors if you ask him "Which one is blue, which is purple..." BUT if you ask him "what color is this?" he says his color of the day without even looking at what you asked. For a few days everything was YELLOW...now everything is PURPLE. It is so funny because he says it like he KNOWS for sure that he got it right!

I do have to say that he is not all grins and giggles ALL of the time. In fact, Leon says he is "hard headed", his babysitter has referred to him as "strong willed", and I think he is just plain stubborn sometimes! (no clue where this gene came from!?! )  It is a frustrating battle almost daily, but I am hoping that strong willed (or STUBBORN) will be to his benefit one day. At least that is what I am telling myself now! Any suggestions on books or blogs or advice in this area would be greatly appreciated!!

I try to document a lot, not that anyone besides me will care what foods he likes or what words he can say, but so I can look back and remember the little things that I love so much right now. It hurts sometimes that he is growing so fast, but it is such a blessing to see him grow and change and become a little boy.  Thank you God, for blessing me with this child. He truly is a gift. Stubborn or not.

Little Ball Player

It doesn't get much sweeter than this if you ask me. It kinda reminds me of that old song "Daddy's Hands". I especially love those dirty little fingers.

One thing is certain. The boy loves to be outside AND he loves to play ball. I guess technically that would mean there are 2 things for certain...but whatever. I am going to miss these days when it gets cold so we have been trying to enjoy the weather while we can. 

He likes to swing too....

Pumpkin Patch

As a tradition, JJ, Brandi, and I (and our sweet hubbies) took the kiddos to a pumpkin patch.  I guess if you do something 2 years in a row, it is considered a tradition, right? You can see our last year trip here. Anyway, a friend suggested we go to Holly Farms, so since Brandi was close to Fulton, that is where we headed.

It seems like these places are always in the middle of nowhere but they end up being so much fun...especially for 3 little boys who love dirt and being outside.

Let me just say that there is a lot more to do there than just pick a pumpkin. They have a playground, a GIANT slide, a train, a snack bar (BBQ nachos anyone??), some animals, a milking barn (which we did not visit), face painting, some cool games for older kids, bubbles, etc. Seriously, you could stay there all day! (of course that is if you have children who are less than 2 and do not need 3-4 hours of nap to function)

I'm pretty sure they would have just been fine at the park...they all 3 love to slide!

And, who would have thought a big pile of corn, a bunch of hay bails, and some worn out riding toys could be so entertaining. 

And, this might be my favorite picture. Don't we have the best husbands? They are just standing there patiently (maybe, maybe not) with the kiddos diaper bags probably talking about what football games they are missing (or maybe they are talking about the ceiling since they are all looking up?). Either way, they are pretty awesome. I'm sorry I say that a lot, but they really are. 

This picture is taken just before my 17 month old stood up, the tractor driver popped the clutch on the tractor and took off without warning, and scared my child to death.   Thank you Leon for recommending I wear boots since my toes got run over trying to yank him out as quickly as I could. And thank you tractor driver for the warning. 

He did apologize a million times and no one was hurt so we moved on...

This was more our speed. Take note: the "train cars" are not safe for a 17 month old. 

Our group picture attempt. It only took 6 goofy acting parents and some goldfish bribes to get all three to sit there and not cry so a smile or look at the camera would be completely out of the question . They really were happy to be there, but they sure didn't want to sit still! (Plus as you can tell by the squints, it was BRIGHT)

I'm really not sure what B is doing here? Eating his cup?

We still aren't really sure that the ride was a great idea. We were under the impression that you took the ride to go get the pumpkins. However, we were wrong. You took the extremely bumpy ride (with 3 babies and a 8 month pregnant momma) out to learn about Native Americans and whatnot and came right back to where you started to pick your pumpkins. They aren't exactly a good age for learning about Native Americans but it would be cool for older kids. 

You live and you learn. I am pretty sure wee seriously almost got to meet baby girl Kent!

Bishop was very excited about his pumpkin. 

Had we known that the 45 minute "ride to the pumpkin patch" was not, in fact, a ride to get the pumpkins, we might have spent the whole time here.....

This slide was awesome both for the boys...AND for the mommas (not the pregnant one though...baby girl was traumatized enough already plus they had to go to a birthday party)

Boys...

Another favorite....

Animals!

Bishop kept oinking at the pigs, but wasn't really a fan of touching them. 

Going places like this makes me want to live out in the country somewhere. I'd probably need a lot of Zyrtec though. 

Two Cuties...

The beach

Bishop just got back from his 4th trip to the beach. He is pretty lucky little guy! (Can you tell by the above picture that he is quite the fan of water?)

We went to Orange Beach this year instead of Destin and while I am still a huge fan of Destin,  Orange Beach was PERFECT for us.  We picked the most perfect week to go. It was a gamble considering we planned it during hurricane season!  September is just a wonderful time of year to go (assuming you miss the hurricanes) It is still plenty warm but it is not crowded at all so you have it all to yourself! It helps that it is a whole lot cheaper :)

It was actually just an all around better trip this year. It was by no means a BAD trip last year, but this year was just better to me. The boys actually had fun together and the momma's were much less stressed. The boys were on a better schedule (1 long nap instead of 2 or 3 short ones) and no one was nursing which meant a whole lot less planning and a whole lot more relaxation! It did help that we stayed 1 or 2 more days this time so we didn't feel like we needed to cram everything in in 3 days. 

Our days were pretty much breakfast-beach-pool-lunch which led to some pretty awesome 4 hour afternoon naps. We ate lots of food and took lots of pictures. Lots and lots and lots of pictures.

I do apologize that this post is kinda all over the place...I couldn't figure out a way to get 5 days worth of pictures into 1 little post! I'm sure I will have at least one more....eventually!

We spent most of our time.... 

In our cute little condo....

With our cute little boys, in their cute little diapers. 

Beachin' it up.....

Hanging out at the pool...

Late night after-pizza swim

And EATING!!....

The Hangout

Louisiana Lagniappe

Aren't those some good daddies?? Seriously, they are the best. 

And my FAVE, Shipp's Harbour Grill

My attempt at a picture like this one:

So, the picture was not all that successful either year, but whatever. They are cute and I love them and they are growing up way too fast. 

Oh, how I miss the beach!!