Scary/Sad Day In AL

Let me first start of this post by saying I am so grateful that we were spared the fury of the storm that ripped though Tuscaloosa and parts of Birmingham yesterday. I will never forget the live images of the Tornado as it hit the ground in Tuscaloosa. You didn't have to be there on
the ground to know that it was destructive and that the after math would forever change the lives of many.

I am thanking God today that the Tornado missed our house and the city of Trussville and I am also thankful that Josh decided to come home form work early yesterday because the Tornado dropped down about 150 yards from his office. He said when he got there this morning that there were power lines and traffic lights down everywhere.

We had a good bit of wind yesterday afternoon but nothing destructive, we did however accumulate some debris in our yard from the tornado. At first I thought this is possibly from Tuscaloosa and carried all the way here but could not confirm until I found a piece of a check with a Tuscaloosa address. I have never been so close to something and I am just amazed at the destruction that has occurred in the state of Alabama.

Please keep the state of Alabama as well as the other states that were effected by these terrible storms that blew through the state yesterday, April 27th, in your prayers. The affected areas have a long road ahead and will need all the help and prayers they can get as they begin to rebuild and regroup.

Destruction In Tuscaloosa

Some debris found in the yard, likely pieces of someones home.
Found in the back yard

The Check I found, take a look at the address!

Our Little Engineer!

Charlie is quite the thinker and problem solver and some days I think he is going to grow up to be an engineer because of this. He was playing outside the other day and was determined to get the roof off of his playhouse so he could "fix" it. I was inside cleaning up when I looked out and found him pulling the lid of his crab sandbox off and using it as step stoll so he could reach higher so that he could pull the roof off.

He was not succesful in his endevour but I beleive this is only because I came outside and stopped him. I really didn't see it ending well for him if he was able to pull it down and I really didn't want to have to put the roof back on later! I did manage to snap a few pictures of his handy work, which he was not happy about at all but mommy needs her memories! I am sure there will be many more "projects" that he can find over the summer so stay tuned to see how our little engineers mind works.

Love this boy!

Forget the door I'll use the window!
Mom I'm busy leave me alone!

All finished at Mom's request!

Babywise = Happy Boys

I am not usually one to get on here and preach about my parenting style or to endorse parenting styles but I love Babywise! Why you might ask, well my two boys have both been babywise babies and they both have been so happy. Charlie thrived on a schedule as a baby and he continues to do very well as he gets older and I know once he gets to big school this will be a great foundation for him.

His little brother is much like he was as a baby and his desire to be on a schedule is very clear to me every day. I think he knows his schedule better then me and will let me know if I am late for a feeding or late putting him down for a nap. He is a great sleeper and puts him self to sleep for the most part, there are a few days where he will fuss for a few minutes but then fall fast a sleep and will wake up at practically the same time every day from each nap! Of course there are the days when that 45 minutes intruder sneaks in but I am learned to work with it and can usually get him settled back down.

Don't get me wrong I am not a super strict babywise momma, I do leave room from some flexibility. There may be days where Coleman wakes up early or late in the morning and we just adjust our schedule by either thirty minutes or an hour. Then there are the days when we are out and he may not get his morning nap in his bed which is not a huge deal. I do try to leave a few things consistent, his afternoon nap is always from 2 -4 (along with big brother) and he always goes to bed at 7:30 (if he is fussy he may go at 7:15 but never later then 7:30).

I know this style of parenting won't work for everyone but for me it has been what works and I have two very happy and easy going boys. For all my friends out there who are soon to be mommy's or those that are mommy's and are thinking of reading up on Babywise I would highly recommend that you give the book a shot.

My first Babywise Boy is almost 3!

Look how happy this guy is to be a Babywise Baby!
Charlie wanted to take more pictures!

Charlie being silly and Coleman is serious!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter From the Woods!

*It looks like Family Pictures are going to be hard this is the best we could get with the boys yesterday.

Whose Who!

Am I CP1 or CP2?

Can you Guess who I am?

Lately I have had several people say that Coleman is starting to look less and less like Charlie. Well today I put Coleman in the crab bubble that was Charlie's when he was a baby and I was taking some pictures. They reminded me of some pictures I took of Charlie when he was about the same age and though I would share. I was a little shocked at the comparison and thought they looked identical because I was starting to think that Coleman was changing but alas it appears that they really are clones.

And if you were wondering who was who, well Coleman is the first picture and Charlie is in the second picture. I think Charlie was just shy of 4 months in his picture and Coleman is just shy of 5 months. It is times like this I am so glad I have been keeping this blog so I can see how my boys grow and change and I can really see just how similar these two boys are!

C-Man is 4 Months!

How in the world did this happen, my baby boy is four months old!?!?!? Okay so he was four months old last week but we had his check up on Monday so I thought I would wait until after that to do his update. This little boy at four months old is such a joy, he is my little cuddle bug unlike his brother who wanted nothing to do with being held or rocked or snuggled.

Coleman is very predictable, which is a good thing for mommy, and thrives on his schedule, if I am more then 5 minutes late when I put him down for a nap or when it is time to eat he starts squawking and fussing at me. Once he gets what he wants though he quiets down and is back to being happy and very chill. He sure does love his sleep too, all I have to do is lay him down wrapped in his swaddle and he is out for the count, he takes 2 good naps a day that last 2 hours each and two other cat naps in between them and then heads to bed about 7:30 and doesn't wake up until 6:30 or 6:45. I have been blessed with children who sleep and I attribute this to using the baby wise method, some may disagree but it has worked for me so I am a fan.

At his appointment yesterday he got a clean bill of health, however he is still a little bit, which is just like his big brother. He is meeting all his milestones on time and is right where a four month old should be in terms of head holding, rolling, smiling, tracking and so forth. Dr. Joe wasn't to concerned with his slow weight gain because for one all his test came back fine and he has seen this first hand with Charlie and we all know that he is a perfectly healthy almost three year old. We discussed introduction of solids and we decided that he will start rice cereal at five months and fruits and veggies will be introduced at six months. We felt that we didn't need to rush and because he is so small it is better to hold off for just a little while longer. Below you can see his stats, he is rocking the 5th and 10th percent for height and weight but his head is in the 50th percent so he has a pretty big noggin compared to the rest of him! No matter how big or small he is we love him so much and we are so blessed to have two happy and healthy boys!

Weight at 4 months - 11lbs 20z (5%)
Length at 4 months - 24" (10%)

Head circumference - 15" (50%)

Sweet Boy

Look at those Blue Eyes!

He is jabbering away at mommy

What a Sunday!

The weather was absolutely perfect today and Charlie took the opportunity to do a little work for mommy. With a little help from daddy he cleaned my car and made it shine like new, he then cleaned his daddy's car, his tractor and he helped give Dixie dog a bath. After all the hard work he took a little break to play in his sprinkler and ride his tractor around the yard. While Charlie worked hard Coleman was either napping or chilling in his stroller and Dixie dog was chasing after all the bees in the azaleas! This Sunday was a big success both Josh and I ended up with a sunburn (Charlie had sunscreen so he was good) and all four of us were totally exhausted but a good exhausted. We ended our afternoon out side with naps for the boys and some quiet time for Josh and I on the couch watching an amazing final round of the masters. I am looking forward to more great weekends like this over the Spring and Summer with my little family and Charlie is already asking to wash the cars again so I am sure he is looking forward to them as well!

Making Mommy's car shine!

Coleman just hanging out after his nap! My Hard Little Worker!

Back to Work!

I need more soap!

Thinking what to do next.

How about Wash the tractor!

Time for a much needed break!

Dixie searching for Bees in the Azaleas!

Coleman taking another nap!

Crafty!

It has finally been nice enough for us to spend our days outside playing and not stuck inside with little to do. While stuck inside because of rain and cold and just pure yucky days I never attempted to let Charlie paint, I just didn't think I could handle the mess even if it is washable. Since it was a nice day and we were already playing while Coleman slept I thought what better time to pull out the paints then now. Charlie was in heaven, I am going to have to invest in a good art stash for the summer because I know there will be many more crafty activities to be created.

Going to town on his "firetruck"

Deep in thought! Coleman joins us for a snack (he still gets one bottle a day for weight gain)

Still creating his masterpiece!

Boys will be Boys!

Charlie is definitely all boy, there is no denying it! He loves to get dirty, run around with out shoes on, play in the sand with his dumpers and diggers and he will never pass up the opportunity to ride his tractor. This morning while we were playing in the back yard we heard quite the commotion out front and he kept asking "what are those boys doing mommy?" I kept telling him they were picking up all the yard clippings and such but he just kept asking. So I thought to myself, why do we just go up front and take a peak. This by far was one of my best and cheapest ideas, the kid could have stayed all day to watch the "boys" as he calls them pick up all the trimmings. The boy driving the truck even honked his horn for Charlie and the smile it brought to his face was priceless. I just love how the simple things in life, like a truck with a swing arm picking up yard trimmings can make a little boy so happy! On our way to run errands this afternoon we ended up behind the same truck and Charlie asked me to follow him, which we did for a little while before we had to part, to say he was a little upset would be an understatement. Luckily tomorrow is trash day and that little boy of mine will get to see the garbage truck, which by the way is is favorite!

So excited to watch the "boys"!

Mommy do you see this it is so cool? All boy enjoying the truck!

Brotherly Love!

Charlie is obsessed with holding his baby brother, he truly loves having him around and asks multiple times a day to hold Coleman. Last night I snapped a few shots of Charlie being the best big brother and loving on his baby brother. We do have to watch him when he is holding him since sometimes he can be a little rough or he just is finished holding him and pushes him off his lap. All in all he is great at his job of big brother and well the little brother is just a long for the ride most days. I can't wait to see how things progress as they get older, in my vision I see Coleman chasing after his big brother and friends thinking he is a big kid and I really don't have a huge problem with that!

Brotherly Love

Looks like he is biting him but I am pretty sure this was a kiss! Trying to help Coleman back up when he was falling.

Readjusted and all is well

Zoo!

We were recent recipients of a Zoo Membership and today since it was so pretty (finally) Josh and I decided to take the boys! Coleman was pretty much just along for the ride but Charlie had so much fun seeing all the animals and running around and playing! I have not been to the zoo in quite sometime and was very impressed with all the renovations that have recently been completed. The new African Trail was great and we loved seeing the Tigers, Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras and all the other animals. We also enjoyed seeing the Kangaroos, the petting zoo and feeding the birds nectar. I could not think of a better way to spend our anniversary, then to enjoy a day outside having fun with our boys! I am looking forward to many more visits with the boys over the summer!

Daddy and Charlie playing the drums!

C-Man along for the ride! Feeding the bird!

War Eagle, I love Tigers!

Mommy and my Big Boy!

Charlie the Giraffe!

Six Years!

Happy Anniversary

How is it possible that we have been married for six years already! I will never forget this day six years ago, it was cold and snowy (so much for a sunny warm wedding in April) and I was running around like crazy trying to get ready. Fast forward six years and it is a beautiful sunny day and the sound of a talking baby and toddler are what we wake up to. Life is oh so sweet and I wouldn't change any of it for the world! Looking back I really don't know if I ever imagined where we might be in six years but I could not have scripted how our lives as husband and wife and now a family of four has played out. Happy Anniversary Josh, here's to many many more and many many more fun adventures!