Beach Photos of Boys

Our beach pictures are usually just "fun" pictures. I have always thought the pictures of children dressed in their white on the beach were precious, but I've never braved the dressing up of my boys to take this kind of picture. However with Andrew having just turned 3 and Forrest 18 months, I decided that this might be a good time to take some sweet beach pictures. So, we put on the linen and took lots of pictures. Wilson had left the beach at this point to go to a meeting in Atlanta so he missed all the fun. Thank goodness for Bubby. He was a huge help in keeping the boys close and not letting Forrest dive in the ocean in his button-on suit. :) Andrew was in a great mood for me. Forrest was a little less enthused, but overall, I still was happy with how they turned out. Here are some of my favorites!

Beachtime is Funtime!

We love our trips to the beach! The boys have the best time in the sand and water. They love it all, and so do Wilson and I.

9 weeks old and loving this bouncy seat

enjoying May-May's yummy beignets

big boy chowing down - he never leaves any food on his plate! :)
when did he get big enough to eat with utensils?

I love the hand holding

it's so fun to run at the water's edge.
when did he get big enough to run so fast?

Loving the water!

Trendsetters?

What's your guess... are my boys trying to be trendsetters?
or just being silly boys?

Heels for boys?
(love it with the tool shirt!)

Bandaids as "tatoos"?

Undies over shorts?

Watercolor as face paint?
(yes, this is red watercolor)

Naked fishing?

One thing is for sure... they keep us smiling! :)

Tiny Friends

Ann Evelyn already has some precious, tiny friends. It's so much fun for me to have friends with babies so close in age to my babies... it's nice to share the adventures of parenting together. :) Baby Girl has had a couple of little playdates.

The first picture is Ann Evelyn and Meredith Stuckey. Meredith's mama, Kristi, and I have been great friends since we were little. Our baby girls are 6 weeks apart. Kristi and I have so many fun memories together, and I'm so excited about all the fun that we'll have together with our babies!

Here are some little boy babies that will be growing up at church with Ann Evelyn. Little Henry Sirmon is on the left. Henry was born a day after Ann Evelyn, and he and his parents were right across the hall from us in the hospital. Miller Marks is on the right. Miller is just 5 days younger than Ann Evelyn. Aren't they handsome little boys?!

She's growing...

Baby Girl is growing! I know that I haven't been a very good blogger the past few weeks. So I thought I'd post a picture of Ann Evelyn from each week of her life. She has already gotten so big! Wilson and I were saying last week that we don't feel like we're holding a little baby anymore. She's stretching out in our arms (and when she's laying down), she's having a lot more awake/alert time, she likes to face out and watch her brothers, and she loves looking in your eyes and smiling. I feel like I have such sweet conversations with her - just talking with our eyes. :) We took Baby Girl for her 8 week check-up last Thursday (she was 8 wks that day), and her doctor said she was doing great. She weighed 13 lbs, 7 oz. This was more than what Andrew weighed at 8 weeks! She's above 100% in her weight. She was 23 inches long - 90%, so she's grown 2 1/2 inches since she was born. We are so thankful for her growth and health.

1 day old

1 week old

2 weeks old

3 weeks

4 weeks



1 month old

5 weeks

6 weeks


7 weeks


8 weeks

3 little ones

I can hardly believe Ann Evelyn is 2 months old today. Where did August and September go? Do we really have 3 sweet little ones to call our own? God is good, and we feel so very blessed. The days have flown by so quickly since Ann Evelyn was born. I am enjoying my sweet baby girl so much and look forward to each day with her and her brothers. She is such a good baby. It's a good thing that she wasn't my first - I would have been spoiled if she was! :) She sleeps well and is so good natured. I hardly hear a peep out of her! Maybe she's listening to her loud brothers and doesn't want to give her Mama any more noise to hear. What a sweetheart!

She's really fallen right into a little "schedule" that blends well with the boys' schedule. For the 1st 5 or 6 weeks, I was so blessed to have an extra pair of hands to help out with the crew. My parents were wonderful! Thanks May-May and Bubby! Around the time Ann Evelyn was 5 or 6 weeks, I began to feel ready to handle everyone on my own. The boys love their sister and seem to understand the changes that have taken place. And with Ann Evelyn being such a good baby, the transition from 2 to 3 hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought that it would! Now, that's not to say that it isn't crazy busy around here, because it most definitely is! It's just that it already was that way before Ann Evelyn arrived, so there is just a new dimension added to the busyness.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of Ann Evelyn and her brothers from the past several weeks.

A hug from Forrest - Ann Evelyn is 3 weeks

She looks like her brother I think :) - AE is 4 weeks

Some tummy time for AE (4 wks) - Check out ALL THE TOYS that Andrew got out for her!! What good entertainment these boys provide for their baby sister!


Ann Evelyn (5 weeks) looks like she is smiling as her big brother kisses her forehead!

Ann Evelyn's Smile

Baby Girl and I had some fun one-on-one time together this morning. We just talked and made faces at each other... such sweet, sweet moments. I have always loved this stage with my babies - the first glimpses of their personalities.

Look at those cute pink ruffles on her shirt! I never knew how fun it would be to dress a little girl. I wish you could see the pink polka-dots pants that match... too cute! (thanks Sara!!)

I love comparing my babies' pictures. Here are pictures of the boys with their first smiles.
Do you think Ann Evelyn favors her big brothers?

Andrew

Forrest

All Aboard!!... Andrew's Birthday

Andrew's 3rd birthday was so much fun! In fact, Andrew asks daily "can we go back to that train birthday party, Mama?" and I think he even mentioned it in his prayers tonight! :) (I guess we may be having another train party next year!) Andrew loves trains, so we had begun planning a train birthday party for him over the summer. I knew that when the new baby came we would be busy, so May-May and I started planning early. May-May and Bubby were so sweet to host the party at their home which was a huge help to us. May-May also helped organize lots of cute activities for the kids, and then they handled most of the set-up! Thanks May-May and Bubby - we couldn't have done it without you!

"Conductor Andrew" with his banner to "Celebration Station"

The All Aboard Train was definitely the highlight of the party! The kids loved riding it.

Andrew riding the caboose with some of his friends.
He rode in the caboose everytime! On most trips he was wearing his Thomas hat, blowing his whistle, and calling out "all aboard!" It was the cutest thing!

Andrew's train birthday cake

We had so much fun!!

Andrew's actual birthday was the day before the party. He was so excited about his new scooter. He jumped right on and took off. He'll say "I love my new scooter" to us when he's outside riding it. Have I mentioned lately that he talks ALL the time? Seriously... he talks all the time!

cruising on the scooter!

We met May-May and Bubby and Izzy and UncDawg (Elizabeth & Bryan) at the Cock of the Walk for dinner on his birthday. Yum! We all enjoyed our catfish and fries, and the boys enjoyed feeding the ducks some leftovers. I was excited to get a picture with my big birthday boy. I can't believe that he is 3!

Andrew's Birthday