T time

Zachary seems to get more time on my blog just because he is more active at this point. Don't think for one moment that Trent is just quietly watching. He is very talkative and extremely entertaining. Here is a look into what our 2 year old T is like:

He talks in very broken sentences. Here are examples from two from this week:
Emma. House. Swim.
(I want to go to Emma's to swim.)
Man. Tree. Saw. Loud.
(A man sawed down our tree.)

He is very dramatic on certain things. If we say, don't get near the water. He'll say Drown! If we tell him not to put something in his mouth, he'll say Choke!

T also loves to say Trow up! That could be anything from burping, hiccuping or actually throwing up.

He pretends to be many things. His favorite are girl (makes Daddy so proud), bear and puppy. When he is a puppy, he wants you to pet him. When he is a bear, we act scared and he assures us he's nice.

EVERYTHING (food and non food items) is either HOT or COLD. There is no in between.

When you lie him down for nap or bedtime, he will lay still for a moment and then jump up and scream, I wake up! The picture below is what happens when he tries to skip nap. It was taken at dinner time.

He tells me every time he misbehaves by saying, I ugly. He also brags on himself by saying nice and share.

He counts with these three quantities. All gone, two or bunch.

He has started saying Zachary instead of just Zac. Big brother wants to be called the whole thing and not the shortened version so he has been excited that Trent says it.

Anytime he wants to be included he says I too.

He has several words that totally crack us up:
careful, dangerssss (dangerous), medicine, ketchup, Her-chells (Herschel's--our favorite drink spot), yuck, and nasty. He uses the last two at inappropriate times like when he smelled Aunt Jane's candle and then yelled NASTY!

He is very proud of his big boy underwear and will show them to anyone who is interested--even if he's standing in the middle of a restaurant.

He brings us so much joy and we just love that stinker to pieces!

Male bonding

**If you are anti-guns, anti-violence, or anti-raising your kids to be redneck, this would be a good time to excuse yourself from this blog!:)

Saturday was a big day for Zachary. He has waited on this day for awhile. He got to shoot a "real gun." In fact, he got to shoot several "real guns!" Brandon and I took him out to my dad's shooting range and he loved every minute of it. He was pretty good--I was impressed. He used the guns that Brandon and my brother had used as little guys which I thought was cool.

Trent went along too, but kept saying "loud!" despite his earplugs. He eventually said "house!" and was rescued inside by KK for a drink and snack.

Getting a little instuction from Daddy and Jackpaw

Look at that serious face

Did you notice the chosen attire for his shooting debut?! He is getting pumped up and ready for deer season.

LOVE this picture!

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Look who else got in on the action. I must brag that I hit my target all but one time! And, no, Dad, I wasn't 2 feet from the target!


I am sure there will be many more Saturdays spent at the shooting range. I heard my dad and Brandon discussing when the boys would be old enough to learn to shoot skeet! Oh my!

Journal

I got Zachary's journal from last year on his first day of school this year. I loved seeing each entry because his teacher allows them to write, draw or color whatever is on their minds that day with no prompting. Some of them were funny, most were unrecognizable, but this one just brought tears to my eyes.


It was dated during the week of Easter last year. He pointed out to me that the three large dots are the nails that the bad guys put in Jesus.

Definitely one of my most proud mommy moments.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Proverbs 22:6

Goodbye Summer

Summer break is officially over for us. Zachary started back to school today. He really didn't want to go, but once he was there, he had a great day.

This is how we feel about summer coming to an end:

Here he is moments before going in to Brain Gym to start a new year:

Boys' Camp

I went to a friend's house to play Keno last night and this is what I found when I came home.

Zachary told me that because it was a boy's night with Daddy that they had big things planned. I had no idea...

This takes the whole 'blanket-tent' concept to a whole new level!

Accomplishments

Writes his own name. Check.

No training wheels on bike. Check.

Waterskis on 2 skis. Check.

Ties his own shoes. Check!

Zachary got new shoes for school and wanted me to teach him how to tie them. I showed him 2 times and now he does it himself! He does amaze me.

These are the shoes that motivated the lesson. (He tied these beautiful bows.)

Back to School

**updated afterschool

Trent started school today at Kid1st. Zachary doesn't start until Thursday so we are enjoying a day together. T cried when we dropped him off and Z and I both felt awful. A few minutes after leaving the church, Z said, "I bet he found a toy to play with, Mama. I bet he's not crying anymore." I love that he still had his little brother on his mind.

Here he is before his big day. AND, guess what's under his shorts...not a diaper! Big boy undies! I am anxious to see how he does away from home.

These are the treats that he took for his teachers.

I live by a philosophy a fellow mom of boys taught me when I was just a rookie mom: "Dress your kids cute and send good teacher gifts...no matter how bad your kids are, their teachers will still love them!" So far, it's worked for us!

Update: I just picked T up from school and they said he had a wonderful day. He stayed dry ALL day even during nap. I am so proud!

WHAT??

What is wrong with this picture??


Two very UNcool 16 year olds babysat my boys yesterday. I knew they were up to something the minute I walked thru my door and they couldn't quit giggling. Trent was all too excited to reveal the surprise and show off his new PINK toenails and fingernails!!

If anyone knows of a good babysitter, I am currently looking for a new one!:)

Bullriding

Brandon and I took Zachary to watch Professional Bullriding over the weekend. Jackpaw gave us tickets that included passes for the VIP section so we were very up close and personal with the action---so close that we were hit with dirt several times and there was one small episode with bull poo. Thankfully the man next to me caught most of the foul smelling substance, but I did get a bit of "it" on me too. Who knew that bulls relieve themselves while simultaneously bucking a rider off?! Not me, or I may have passed on the VIP seating!

Z loved watching the riders and the bullfighters and thought he was especially cool when a few of the bullfighters came over to shake his hand. We didn't make it until the end, but we enjoyed what we did see. Sister and her family were there, too, and she said they stayed until almost 11 and it still wasn't over!

Thanks, Dad, for the hook up! Next time, we'll just take average seats.:)

Extreme Makeover:

Milam Edition

Ok, this has been a long time coming, but I keep putting it off. Thanks, Jamie, for pressuring me to go ahead with it!

We began renovating the house that we bought in May. While the major renovations have been complete since midsummer, I haven't shared pictures because I was waiting for it to be completely "finished". But really, who am I kidding? It will never be 100% complete.

And did I mention that we lived in the house the entire time the construction was going on?! Wouldn't recommend that!

Anyway, here goes. We did work in every room, but I'm just hitting the highlights. I'll spare you all the details of things I'm still working on...window treatments, rugs, etc.

kitchen BEFORE:


AFTER:


breakfast nook BEFORE:

AFTER:

dining BEFORE:


AFTER:


master bedroom BEFORE:

AFTER:

master bathroom BEFORE:

AFTER:


It almost feels like home now. We are ready for visitors!

Happy Day!

Happy Birthday to my big brother, Tripp! When I called him to wish him a happy day, I called him "Old Man". Z said that didn't sound very kind so I guess I'll have to be nice in this post. I'll just say..."You're still WAY older than me!" :)

I am glad that you're my brother.

Tripp and his wife, Holly

Love you!

As good as Santa...

Daddy's friend delivered us a HUGE pile of sand for our sandbox earlier in the week. The boys were thrilled...to say the least. I seriously think it was about as exciting as Christmas for them. They have played in the dirt every day for hours. Daddy wanted to smooth out the mound and Z quickly stopped that. I guess the mini-hill is half the fun. I sure wish we had built this sandbox at the beginning of summer!!

By the way, if anyone needs any sand, please feel free to come sweep my house and take some home!:)

Hot dog!

Grandmother and PawPaw's dog, Tank, hitched a ride in the gator on our last visit. It was hilarious to see that little dog in the back of their car. T thought it was the greatest thing ever!

Play-doh

My boys, Emma, and I made homemade play dough this afternoon. They loved mixing it up and played with it for hours once it was ready. The boys both made green and, of course, Emma picked pink!

Just a few more days until school starts. We are milking each day for all the fun we can have!

Overheard

As I am sitting at the computer this is what I overheard behind me:

Z: "Trent, quit doing that in my ear. You are going to break my ear drum!"

Trent continues obnoxious noise.

Z: "I am not impressed of you at all."

Closet Clean-up

My sister brought her kids over for some play time today and I talked her in to cleaning out my closet. She is a total neat freak and I don't think she would ever have agreed to it had she seen the project beforehand. She definitely scolded me a bit, but it was totally worth it! Thanks, Sister!

BEFORE:


I am ashamed.

AFTER:


When I look at the after picture, I hear the Hallelujah chorus in my head.

Brandon doesn't know about the makeover yet, and I am debating on telling him I did it alone. I am just not sure he would actually believe me!

Look who's skiing!

Z learned to ski this weekend! It was our 3rd outing of instruction and we were SO PROUD of him for not giving up and skiing. He got up several times and skiied a bit each time. Every time he fell, he would say, "I was just trying to go outside the 'wave'!" So cute!

He also has gotten very good at knee boarding. He told us that he is a "afessional knee boarder" now.

Big Brother had a very cute little boy cheering for him.

Kisha and Krew

My long time friend, Kisha, brought her crew of kiddos over for a playdate on Tuesday. My boys enjoyed playing with new friends. Kish and I enjoyed staying inside in the cool and having adult conversation. I treated her to a MUCH NEEDED at home pedicure while we visited. I truly have a strong dislike for feet so this shows you how much I love her...plus she has 3 kids under the age of 5 and it was obvious she hasn't had the time to worry with her toenails' appearance.:) I would post a before pic, but I can't have you judging my friend!
T, McKala, Kai, and Z

Kish and baby Maggie

Proof of the pedi...Thanks to McKala for the great photo!:)