And Baby makes five!

Here is the first little picture of Baby Shirley #3, due in August! This picture was taken at 8 weeks. I'm 12 weeks now, and we are just now sharing the news with everyone.

God certainly surprised us with this precious one, but we completely trust in His timing and His perfect plan for our family. I will honestly say that it's a bit (okay, a lot!) overwhelming to think of having 3 under the age of 3, but we also know that God will give us the grace to make it thru the busy, busy days ahead. In fact, this has been my easiest 1st trimester out of all 3 pregnancies. To me, this is just the Lord demonstrating how He does and will provide for all our needs.

We look at Andrew and Forrest now and how much joy they have brought into our lives.... how could we not be thrilled at this new life and addition to our family! We feel extremely blessed.

So, I'm sure you are wondering about the ages... Andrew will turn 3 on September 11th, Forrest will be 1 on April 8th. They are 19 months apart. The baby is due August 26th and will be 17 months younger than Forrest. Wilson and I have always agreed that we'd both like to have at least 3 children. Even though this is a little closer than what we had planned, we are still very excited!

We'd love your prayers for this new little one.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

What sweet, sweet valentines I have!

Precious boys!

May May came over to bring a valentine happy. The boys loved them!

Andrew was so cute about Valentines Day. He loved making valentines for his friends and teachers to take to school for his Valentine Party on Thursday. When I picked him up after the party, he ran to me saying "Valentines, Momma!" He is still toting around his bag with the valentines and candy! The picture above is him spreading out his goodies after lunch Thursday.

He came and gave me a kiss in the bed this morning saying "Momma, Valentine's Day!" He and Wilson brought me beautiful tulips and he was so proud. My boys, little and big, have a special place in my heart! :)
Wilson did good this year, too... he made us reservations for dinner about 2 weeks ago and even lined up the babysitter! A very sweet hubby! :)
I love my boys!!

10 months!

Our baby boy is 10 months old! What a blessing to see how he is growing and developing! I'm amazed at God's workmanship in his design of our little ones and how they grow. It's truly a testimony of an almighty Creator who knows and cares for details and a Heavenly Father who loves his children.

Forrest is standing for longer periods of time by himself, cruising more, and taking steps while holding onto our hands. He's loving big food and really starting to make it clear to us that he's not such a fan of baby food anymore! He wants the real stuff! Of course, I'm a little paranoid with food allergies (mainly due to my husband's allergic tendencies - sorry about that honey), and I'm very careful about the foods I offer him. It's a little tricky finding things that I feel OK with giving him and things that meet his standards. :) Any good ideas from anyone about finger foods? I feel like I've already forgotten this from when Andrew was this age.

Forrest is waving bye-bye and is holding his own bottle. He has a new-found love for books and will sit and flip through them repeatedly. He's also begun pushing Andrew's cars and trains around - too cute! His big brother still gets his constant attention, but he'll share a hug and quick cuddle with anyone (that is before he's off to the races again.)! He's a busy boy!

One of the most fun new developments in the past couple of weeks is hearing Forrest say a few words. He says "cracker", "bottle" and "Daisy" (the dog), and he names these things when he sees them. He also says "bye-bye" when he waves. He has said "Da-da" for awhile, but Wilson and I both agree that cracker is really his first word. It's the cutest thing to hear him ask for a cracker! I guess watching and listening to Andrew has just made him learn things a lot quicker.

He's still the sweetest thing and such a joy!

Looking like a big boy in his overalls... Loving his wagon ride!

A beautiful day... a fun time swinging!

This precious boy brings a smile to my face!

9 months old!

9 1/2 months, actually!

Here's how big I am:
- 29 1/2 inches = 90%
- 25 pounds 2 ounces = over 100%

I am on-the-go and busy-busy!! It takes a lot of work to keep up with my big brother, Andrew, but I do my best! We play and have so much fun together. I really think his toys should be my toys - I'm way past all those baby things! I love to play trains with Andrew - until I tear the track apart, then he makes me stop.

I'm a really fast crawler and love to try to get into the places that Mom doesn't want me - like the bathroom, the laundry room, and in the dog's food!


I've been standing for a few seconds at a time all by myself for a couple of weeks now. I'm getting better at it, too. I've also started cruising on the furniture and walking with my grocery cart.

I love, love to eat (as evidenced in my weight) and am enjoying eating some big boy food. My 8th tooth has just appeared, and I'm chomping down on some cheerios and crackers. Mom and Dad even let me try a few things from their plates sometimes. Yum!


I still like my paci. Mom and Dad really only let me have it for naps and at night, but I'd keep it in all day long if they'd let me!

My blue eyes and big dimples are some of my Mom's favorite things to see. She says I'm a super-sweet, lovable, easy baby!

Easely Amused

Thursday night we had so much fun at our friend Bridget's newest business venture... Easely Amused! It's a 2 hour "class" where you arrive with friends and drink of choice and then leave with your own artwork! All of the supplies are provided and Bridget (she says she'll have guest artists, too) talks you thru creating your own canvas. Too much fun!! Even though we were painting the same canvas, everyone's had their own unique look.

Bridget is quite possbily the most creative, talented person I have ever met, and I'm so excited for her and for this fun venture she's brought to our area. Check out her blog for a class schedule and for example of the paintings.
http://www.easelyamused.blogspot.com/
It's a great night out!


Me, Mary Austin, Kristi, and Bridget after the class with our paintings. You can see some examples of other paintings on the wall behind us. Check it out!

Christmas in Meridian!

Christmas in Meridian is always lots of fun. There are 7 grandchildren so the night is really all about them. They have a great time and it will be fun to watch them grow up together. By the end of the day we had tired a little from picture taking but we still have a few to share. :)

We always enjoy stopping by Wilson's Aunt Cassie's house on Christmas afternoon. The first picture was taken there with some cousins.

Evans, Madeline, Harper, with my boys in the front

Forrest and Uncle David relaxing (in the midst of the craziness).

Andrew trying out his new Batman big wheel

Papaw giving Forrest a bottle.

Debbie found these giant Elmos for all of the grandkids. Andrew loved his!

Ganny with cousin Olivia, who is exactly one month younger than Forrest.

Uncle Myke is always good for a little wrestling. :)
Andrew and his cousin Elizabeth have him pinned!

This was taken the morning of the 26th. Andrew and Forrest were checking out the cute chairs and table that Papaw and Ganny got them for Christmas.

The holidays were such a blessing. We were thankful for all the time we were able to spend with our families and for the special ways of celebrating Christ's birth.

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We spent the night at our house Christmas Eve. We woke up to see what Santa had brought, opened presents, and then loaded up to go to May-May and Bubby's! Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Two excited boys! First thing Christmas morning, Andrew and Forrest are ready for the day!

A Christmas hug

Forrest's precious new "lamb" coat

Andrew showing off his new boots!

Forrest loved the bell that Santa left in his stocking!

Riding his new (little) big wheel - it's just his size!

Hooray for new toys!

We made a birthday cake for Jesus. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and ate cake after lunch.

A Christmas picture before going to Meridian

2008 Christmas Memories

Andrew enjoying his "Little People Nativity". He called the Biblical characters by name and enjoyed talking about the Christmas story. He learned several Christmas songs and sang them with us - "Silent Night", "Mary Had a Baby, Yes Lord", "Knock, Knock Went Joseph", and "Jingle Bells", to name a few.

On this particular morning we drank hot chocolate and wrote our first letter to Santa Claus. Andrew would say every time that he wanted Santa to bring him "candy canes" and "Thomas" (the train). What fun memories!

Forrest 1st Christmas! What a blessing to celebrate Christ's birth with our two sons!


Forrest is lots of fun these days - into everything... especially Andrew's toys!

We really had great family time over the holidays - that's always one of my favorite things about the holidays... togetherness!
(I just noticed that in both of these pictures Forrest is looking at Andrew. :) He really LOVES his big brother!)

We loved our visit with Aunt Semmes! Forrest really enjoyed some cuddling!

These pictures were taken in Canton on the square. The boys loved the lights and Andrew and Wilson enjoyed riding the cars and the carousel. This was our 2nd year to go and will definitely be a holiday tradition!

First Hot Chocolate

What snow day is complete without a little hot chocolate?

Andrew loved his first hot chocolate!
He even had a little whipped cream & marshmallows on top. Yum!