Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom! Today was Mom's birthday; however, we've been celebrating her birthday for about a week now - and have had lots of fun doing it!! Last week the whole family went to New York - that was Mom's request for her birthday - and it was so much fun. I'll post about it later and share some pictures. But for now, here are pictures from Mom's birthday dinner on Saturday night. We love you, Mom!

Andrew seems to be getting the hang of birthdays (this is the 4th one our family has celebrated since his) and he loves the excitement of turning off the lights, singing, and watching someone blow out the candles. He was very curious about the candles this time. As we were trying to take this picture he kept leaning over to the cake and pulling out candles. Then, he started licking the icing off! It was so funny to watch him figure this out all by himself!

The girls plus Andrew. Andrew is enjoying a lick of strawberry icing off a candle in this picture!

What a great picture of the boys!! All smiles!!

The Shirley Boys have an announcement...

We are so excited to say that we will be expecting another boy in April! I'm still surprised that we actually found out what the baby is. We loved our surprise with Andrew, but for some reason I just had an "itch" to find out this time. I couldn't seem to get it out of my system even though Wilson really wanted to hold out for another surprise. In the end, we made a last minute decision in the sonogram room! I was afraid I'd regret not letting it be a surprise, but I'm excited to know what to expect come April and I think knowing it's a boy will make preparations easier (especially with having a 1 1/2 year old!). Won't Andrew and his little brother have fun? :)

(We didn't really get this sign... we were in Party City getting birthday balloons for my mom and just used it for a picture. )

a fun treat!

Wilson and I had a little one-night getaway to New Orleans last weekend. Even though it was a quick trip we had lots of fun. We had a great dinner Saturday night, ate beignets & strolled thru the French Quarter on Sunday morning, and then went to the Saints game (thanks to our sweet friends, the Hogans, for the tickets!)! That was my first time to an NFL game - very fun and exciting - especially since the Saints won! We hated to leave Andrew behind with a bad cold, but May-May and Buddy were so very sweet to watch him. It was so nice to have a night away!

Medders' Babies

The Medders, the family I have posted about recently, had their babies today. Kelli began experiencing contractions last night, and after attempting to slow/stop them, the doctors decided it was best to proceed with a C-section. Three little girls were born - 2 babies were born stable, but Baby D, who they knew had been struggling, was born at less than a pound and only lived a few minutes after birth. Babies B & C are in the NICU. Please pray for this sweet family.

If you'd like to read from their blog, there is a link to the side.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear...

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see a baby cow, Lemly Bumgarner (and our daddies).

I see a blue cross.

I see a fireman, John Keil Beavers, with a sucker (that I'd love to have!).

I see my momma!

We had a great time tonight at the Highlands' Reformation Party. Since Reformation Day, a big day in the history of Protestant churches, is celebrated the last Sunday in October, our church has a fun party with activities for the little ones and of course everyone wears their costumes! Even though Andrew dressed up as a cow last year, he was little bitty and slept the whole time. This year he had lots of fun walking around, seeing his buddies in costume, and digging in the sand box. I think he could feel the excitement because he actually left his little hat on! (We've tried his costume on several times and he has always pulled it off!) We're looking forward to dressing up again later this week.

Andrew & Ally

Wilson, Andrew, and I enjoyed a visit with our Nashville friends today! Kathryn and Ellie came in town for a wedding...along with Kathryn's boyfriend, Charlie, and Ellie's husband, Tommy, and their little girl, Ally. We were so glad to finally meet Charlie. :) And it was great seeing everyone else, too... since it is always way too long between our visits. Andrew loved Ally!! She helped keep him entertained while we ate at Primos and then was so sweet to play with him at Kristi & Alan's. This picture was taken right after Ally had been "holding" him on the couch, but she thought he was a little heavy :) (i agree, ally), so we just sat Andrew next to her for the picture. Ally is so cute. After our visit, Wilson decided having a little girl wouldn't be bad at all. :) Thanks Ally!!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend and had lots of fun! Andrew loved the hayride and looking at all the animals.... donkeys, ze-donks (zebra/donkey mix... my first time to see one of those), goats, cows, etc... The first picture is of Andrew looking at the donkeys over the edge of the wagon! When we stopped in the pumpkin patch, Andrew had fun walking thru the pumpkins and touching them. He found his pumpkin, as you can see from the last picture!

Happy Fall!!

Happy Birthday, Wilson!

We celebrated Wilson's 29th birthday on Monday! What a fun time we had! We are so thankful for you Wilson - and we love you bunches!!

Andrew is helping Wilson show off his 2 new hats!

Andrew and I visited Wilson at work in the afternoon and took he and his co-workers a cookie cake to snack on!

Andrew LOVED it when I turned off the lights, lit the candles on the cake, and began singing to Wilson. He had the biggest smile on his face and was so excited. You can see from the picture that he was very curious about the candles on the cake!

Our Buddy...

We are proud of Rebecca and love her so very much. To those of you who know our family, you know that Rebecca and my dad have always been "buddies". That is what they have always called each other. Dad has always been "Buddy" to Rebecca, not Dad, and that's how he got his grandparent name. How fitting that that the "Buddy Walk" is held every year in support of the Central Mississippi Down Syndrome Organization. Rebecca has said the opening prayer for the last 3 years - she truly has a gift for praying. We loved being there a couple of weekends ago to hear her pray and to hear The Mustard Seed Handbell Choir play. It was a great time!

Sisters!

Our family had lots of fun! Wilson went to see the Bulldogs play with Dad and Elizabeth after the Walk was over.

"Is that an airplane?"
Andrew loves looking for airplanes. He hears them going over and immediately looks up to find them in the sky. He even said "airplane" last week when he saw one! Now, he can add that to his repetoire.... mama, dada, truck, airplane, banana!

A sweet family who needs prayer...

Jason and Kelli Medders went to MSU with us - Jason and I were Orientation Leaders together, and I want to share with you what is going on in their lives and ask you to remember them in your prayers.

Jason and Kelli notified friends a couple of months ago that they were pregnant with identical quadruplets (naturally-occurring)! What a testimony to our Creator! Since the beginning, they have been trusting in a faithful God for his provisions and have truly been witnesses to those around them in Fargo, North Dakota, where they live.

A couple of weeks ago, Jason and Kelli went in for an ultrasound and heard difficult news. Two of the babies were not doing well. Without going into great detail (I'll include the link to their blog if you'd like to read more), one of the babies (Baby A) was taking in too much fluid causing her heart to work too hard while another baby (Baby D) was not taking in enough causing slower growth and development. After much research, Jason and Kelli flew to Providence, RI, where the babies (and she) underwent surgery. Although the doctors felt like the surgery was successful, Baby A still did not make it - her heart just had too much work to do for her little body and she didn't recover. As of now Baby D is improving, but the doctors would still like to see more growth and development. They are having another ultrasound this Friday, the 19th, so the big prayer is that they will see more improvement in Baby D. Give praise that Babies B and C are doing well. As you can see this sweet family has already been through so much and still has a way to go (Kelli is around 21/22 weeks now, i think). This week Kelli moved into a hotel close to her hospital and is there alone during the week. I can only imagine how hard it must be for her to be away from Jason and their 2 year-old son, Wyatt.

They have a great website, http://meddersfamily.googlepages.com/home, which includes prayer requests and a blog that Kelli updates almost daily. Please say a prayer for this family.

Andrew's First Haircut

I finally decided that I had postponed Andrew's first haircut long enough. It was pretty long in the back and a little shaggy in the front and around his ears (as seen in the top picture). Wilson wanted a haircut, too, so the boys got a cut together last Saturday morning. I thought that Brandi, the girl who cut it, did a good job, and I was pleased with the turnout - not too "big-boy"! The "before" and "after" pictures are above.

Congratulations Elizabeth & Bryan!

Congratulations to the newly engaged couple! We are so excited and love you very much!

Elizabeth, Bryan, Laura, & Wilson at the beach for the Fourth.
(Don't you love the guys' matching swimsuits & t-shirts?! May-May had all the boys coordinating 4th of July gear.)

Have you heard Andrew's BIG news?

We have exciting news to share! First of all, Andrew is walking! He had been teasing us for quite awhile...taking a few steps here and there. But, it wasn't until the week after his birthday before he really began to take lots of steps together. Right now, he still mixes walking and crawling but we sure are proud of our BIG boy!!!

Speaking of big ... Andrew's other news is that he is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!! Yes, that's right...we're having another baby! Our newest blessing is due to arrive mid-April. :) Wilson and I feel overwhelmed with the Lord's blessings on our family. Babies are such miracles, and what a gift from the Lord to be expecting another child! Please keep our growing family in your prayers.

Sick days...

It's been a little while since I've posted any pictures of Andrew. We've had a few sick days around our house....actually, several sick days! But I'm hoping we're on the way back to good health. Andrew went for his 12 month check-up last week only to find out his ears were red and starting to look infected....we weren't completely surprised since he had been fighting a very persistent stuffy nose. He's in the 75th% for height & between the 75th and 90th% for weight. i know... not very accurate... but this is what the nurse told us :). Well, we thought we were feeling pretty good by last weekend. Wilson and I even made a trip to see the Bulldogs play while Andrew stayed with May-May and Buddy - fun times for all! But, on Monday, a yucky bug hit us! We all felt bad, with Andrew being the worst. Fever, upset tummy, sore throat...poor guy!

Andrew had to make another trip to May-May and Buddy's house, this time so that Wilson and I could get well...thanks May-May and Buddy! Wilson and I were talking about how we forget how thankful we should be for good health until we get sick. We feel blessed and are very thankful that overall we are a healthy family.
Andrew found this spot on the fireplace last night and thought it was a pretty cool spot to see what all was going on in the room!




Andrew has found a new favorite pastime in exploring the backyard...thankfully he has his John Deere to help him plow his way around!










Andrew loves this spot under the table. He seems to feel like it "his" spot. He can watch what the puppies are doing and what Wilson and I are doing without being in the way of the traffic!

Andrew's Big Day!

We had lots of fun on Tuesday, Andrew's birthday. Wilson and I went back to Andrew's room together when he woke up and sang to him. He wasn't so sure why we were serenading him...he was more concerned with knowing where his morning bottle was! He had a cake donut for breakfast - yum!! Then, he opened some presents from Mama and Dada and played for awhile.

After his nap, May-May and Izzy came over and we all went to Chick-fil-a. Andrew loves their chicken nuggets, and he was so proud to have his

first kid's meal. He had a great time at lunch... I can't believe my baby is drinking from a juice box! After we had eaten, someone brought around samples of milkshakes, and I let him have a bite of mine... ooh, he thought that was yummy!

After lunch, Wilson, Andrew, and I took a short trip to the zoo (we stayed about as long as we could handle the heat!). Andrew and Wilson got in the baby pool to cool off when we got home while I cooked dinner. We ate chicken and wild rice casserole...it's always been a family favorite but now it's really high on the list because Andrew loves it, too. It's so funny to watch him gobble it up and smack
the whole time! And along with the casserole....asparagus...another one of Andrew's faves! Hilarious, isn't it?! Well, we had such a blast with our boy on his birthday. We couldn't be more proud and feel more blessed to have him in our lives. We love you, Andrew!!!

E-I-E-I-O....A Farm Party!!!

Andrew had a great 1st birthday. We had a farm party, because Andrew loves farm animals. Wilson even painted his new shed that he built in the backyard red so that we could have a "barn"! Thanks to all of our family who joined us in the celebration. Andrew had so much fun (and we did, too)!

Andrew had a little taste of cake but that was all he thought he wanted. When Wilson and I tried to see if he'd eat more, he just held it right by our mouths like "no thanks; you can have it." Maybe he didn't inherit his mama's sweet tooth after all!

We somehow managed to go thru the day without getting a family picture...but this is pretty close! Here we are with our niece, Elizabeth.

And, this was the barnyard birthday cake I made for Andrew...with lots of help from my mom! Boy, was it a project!! But it was lots of fun to make. We ate the "haystack" cupcakes at the party so we've enjoyed the barn all week!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Our big boy is 1 today! Here is a picture of Andrew at his party on Saturday. I'll post more pictures of the birthday boy and his party later.

Andrew's "Boogie Shoes"

Just to show you what a "mess" our little guy is - a cute mess at that!

(OK, this is Laura...I have to brag on Wilson - he made this video and posted it, but this is really just a clip of a longer video he made of Andrew's first year! I had asked him to do this months ago, and he did - it was SOOO GOOD!! I hope he'll post it, too.)

On being a mom...

As I was rocking Andrew to sleep a minute ago, I found myself feeling overwhelmed by such a deep sense of joy... How I love that precious boy and how blessed I feel that the Lord has given him to us! He'll be turning a year old next week, which I can hardly believe! Has it really been a year?

I loved those precious moments when he was first born....meeting the tiny one who I had come to know so well those months before. Holding him during those "itty-bitty" newborn days, studying every little stretch, listening to the coos, watching for the first smile...has it really been a year? All of the many stages of the past year have been new and fun; there really is such excitement in those little accomplishments liking rolling over and learning to sit up, etc. There have been those times....up at night, ear infections, days when he didn't take a nap, etc...and those are hard. But aside from (and looking back, even in) those brief moments, it truly has been a joy to be Andrew's mom. And it is so rewarding be at home with him. Today was a busy day for us....in fact, last night at this time, I was actually worried we might not make it thru today! Andrew woke up at 5:45 this morning, then we were off at 8:45 for Bible study (andrew doesn't nap in the nursery), back at home around 12 for a quick lunch, then off again about 1:00 for Andrew to see the ped. opthamologist (which went well), back home for a couple of hours before Wednesday night dinner & church, home at 8. So, they were all things we wanted (or needed) to do, but Andrew missed both naps and got in bed an hour past his bedtime. (Wednesday nights are always harder b/c of that.) But...in the midst of such an "off-schedule" day, Andrew was such a joy. He truly had a wonderful day... WE had a wonderful day! The smiles, the hugs, the fun we have... I love him so much! And he loves me! Who couldn't be in love with a baby who loves them so much?!! Thanks to our Father for babies...what miracles and blessings they are!

Trip to Yosemite National Park

Wanted to share with you some of our photos from our little get-away to Yosemite National Park in California. It was a blast! We can't wait to take our family back there some day.

A day in the life of Andrew...

Things are pretty busy at our house these days. Andrew is a curious boy and into EVERYTHING - which makes our life very exciting and fun! Check out what he's been getting into lately:

in the dishwasher...

under the table, squishing elmo...

discovering the toilet...

finding a hiding spot...

throwing a toy away.... (i got it back out, only for him to throw it away again!)

eating a popsicle...

what a crawler...he can get thru anything!

walking his highchair thru the house...

sitting in the dog's new kennel...

sharing a cracker with the puppies...

A family photo...

It's rare these days to get a family picture, so I thought this one was worthy of posting! The puppies are even in it!! I can't believe we snapped it before Andrew or the puppies had "escaped"!

YUM, YUM!!

Andrew has decided he loves a popsicle now....but only if he holds it himself!