Hillfamilyof4

Hey Daddy

2010-04-14T08:46:00.003-05:00

Aaron has spent a lot of time out of town with Entergy so we tried making him some videos and pictures to keep a smile on his face while he was away. The boys miss their daddy when he is away and I miss my honey!!

March Madness

2010-03-30T08:23:00.010-05:00

They decided to draw one day (some on paper and some on the floor).

Aaron bought a new recliner and they LOVE it!!

All the above are evidence of Caleb being his sneaky little self. He is always in the kitchen with me "helping."

Cayden is in the stage of pretending. Mom gave him a Buzz light-year costume he like to put on. He will start saying "come in Star Commander, come in" and then he made me laugh with the goggles and hat. He was Ming-Ming off of Wonder Pets. He is SOOO creative and his imagination is so BIG!

Mama and her SWEET little man!

Aaron has been working out of town a lot with Entergy and Cayden and I had the opportunity one tome to go with him for a few does to stay in the hotel. We had a great time together just the 3 of us and then Cayden and I got to do some fun things during the days together which we have not been able to do since Caleb has been born. He thought it was so special.

Happy White Valentine??

2010-02-12T12:53:00.003-06:00

Aaron was out of town all week and we actually were able to go spend a few days with him the first part of the week. Caleb stayed with Mamaw because he doesn't sleep well in the same room with anyone yet. The boys and I came home Thurs. afternoon because the weather was getting colder and a winter storm was making its way in the path we had to travel so we came home early to get snuggled in early. By 8:00 p.m. Thurs. the snow started falling at our house in Madison and when we woke up Friday morning we had a White Valentine waiting on us outside. Cayden and Caleb thought it was pretty cool. Caleb had a runny nose and a cough and absolutely no waterproof clothes so I waited until he went to take a morning nap to go outside with Cayden. I hate there are not pictures of Caleb but I would rather have a healthy little boy and get pictures later.

The house from the road as Cayden plays (Caleb is napping). I couldn't manage both without Aaron and Caleb was not feeling well.

Me and Cayden having a snowball fight.

Cayden getting to make his snow angel

This is how deep it was around 10:00 a.m. when we got out to play. It was still falling all day

The backyard first thing in the morning when we got up. The trees were so pretty.

Potty Training was a success!

2010-02-06T15:28:00.004-06:00

Cayden was such a good student while potty training. I must say that he had it down pat tee-teeing in the potty within a week. He started seeing and wanting to go see ChuckECheese right after we started the training so I thought maybe this would be a good treat to encourage him to get the hang of doing everything in the potty all the time and then we could go see Chuck. I put a picture of Chuck E on the wall paper of the computer and hung a picture of him up in his room and he would see him on T.V. too. Within a week or so he got the hang of it. Cayden is completely going on his own to the potty all day with no help. We took him to ChuckECheese this week and he had the best time and even told us when we left the building "that was great." How sweet!!! He has really grown up these days. He is always telling me "Mama that is a great idea" about things. We have really bonded lately. It took Cayden about 2 weeks to be fully potty trained during the day. I still put him in a diaper at nap time and night for leaks. Naptime is usually dry but not at night. He LOVES to drink. That boy could drink a fountain dry. The night time will come with time and learning how to hold it. Way to go Cayden!! I am so proud of you!!

Potty Training Boot Camp 1/18-1/23

2010-01-24T19:23:00.002-06:00

I feel like I could write a novel for this entry. This week was NOT planned at all. I had originally thought about potty training Cayden in the Spring when it got warmer so we could spend most of the time outside. Something just happened that it just worked out for the both of us and we got it done. I had no idea what I was doing but we were going to get through it together. I trained him doing the "Cold Turkey" way. We went full force with no diapers and no pull-ups.

Monday: I started with a timer every 15-20 min and he would have a choice of his potty in his bathroom, mine, or the little potty in the living room. I wanted to make it comfortable for him as possible. This day we ran out of underwear before nap time so I got some laundry cleaned while he slept. I was nervous he would not even want to try after nap time but he was ok. with it. I had to let him choose when to start back. That night I go to 3 different stores to get the waterproof training pants, foldable potty seat (just in case we HAD to leave the house), and more underwear.

Tuesday: The morning starts off the same. We are still doing a timer but I have a customer come over and bless his heart he HAD to go while she was here and the potty in the living room was put up and he told me he couldn't get to it. I noticed when she left that he had not moved a inch and when he got up he was completely soaked. He is not having a problem doing #2 in the underwear and what is even worse...it is the big D!! HELLO could it get any worse and this point??? I had always heard moms talk about their children holding it in and it causing problems that way...NOT CAYDEN!! I'm starting to lose my patience. I have to have lots of "Mommy and Jesus time."

Wednesday: We are seeing a little progress. He had no accidents and I have done away with the timer. I am making him still go ALL the time to the point where there is just a few sprinkles everytime but at least there are no wet pants. No #2 that day so I start to get worried...

Thursday: I miss my Bible Study time to commit to Cayden and he is doing great until I let the time get away from me and he has a big accident. I think it clicked this time!! YEA!! HE realized what happened and he hasn't had a big "spill" like that since. I have caught him practically running to get to the bathroom and having an accident right at the toilet because he didn't make it. At this point he has been sitting to tee-tee. I'm trying to get him to stand but something is freaking him out. He finally was outside and he had held it a long time and I ask him to go see if he could go tee-tee on the tree and HE DID!!! He liked that...

Friday: GREAT DAY for everything (except #2). Accident free for 2 days and he is now standing to tee-tee, YEA!! We actually got to go out with my parents that night and eat at Raising Cane's and Cayden used the potty for the first time in a public restroom and he thought that was SOOOO cool. He had been in there with me before never really cared anything about them but it was different tonight. HE was getting to use the potty!! I was so proud of him!!

Saturday: GREAT!!!

Sunday: GREAT!! even Church!!

WAY TO GO CAYDEN!!!!!!!!!!!

I know that we can't get everything done in one week and it will come with time. #2 will be a learning thing and I can tell he wants to he just hasn't figured it out yet. I still have him in a pull-up/diaper at night and naptime because he still wets during those times and that will all work out with time.

January 2010

2010-01-24T19:11:00.006-06:00

After Christmas it has pretty cold around here so we have not be getting out much and really having to try and learn to get along with each other. The boys are learning how to share and most of all Cayden is having to share his new toys from that he got for Christmas. That boy can tell you what toys he got for Christmas and he is usually right. I have been so impressed. I thought he would forget about it all since he has slept...he pretends to forget everything else (like his daddy!)

Here sneaky Caleb is stitching "Sammie" (Cayden's lovie) and he knows it drives Cayden crazy but he does it anyway out of spite:)

The boys love to get at the breakfast table and play with playdough. I love this time because it gives me a little break and they experiment with their imagination with their playdough. I have to watch Caleb though because he tends to grab a snack out of it. He will eat ANYTHING!! I got some really sweet pictures this day.

This is a different day but as you can see Caleb has to have a pacifier sometimes to keep his mind off of eating it.

Dedication of Caleb Aaron

2009-12-31T21:53:00.006-06:00

On December 13, 2009 Caleb Aaron Hill was dedicated at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison, MS in the 9:00 a.m. service led by pastor Dr. Rob Futral. Caleb was 1 of 11 children just in the 9:00 service to be dedicated.

The verse we chose for Caleb is from 2 Timothy 2:15
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

Aaron is presenting us to the congregation.

Sweet Caleb looks really enthused...he'd rather be in the nursery playing with the toys.

This is how Cayden takes pictures now...this is his CHEESE look. He used to never even look at the camera and now it is always a goofy look. Caleb just chill'n with daddy.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T09:45:00.012-06:00

Caleb got tubes put in his ears the Tues. before Christmas and that started our Christmas holiday off a little interesting. Nothing went wrong it was just an experience to go through this year. He is doing fine with the tubes.

Santa Claus came to our house for a visit this year on Christmas Eve morning. I was wondering if Cayden would even allow it because he has always been certain that he would not go see "Ho-Ho"(that is what we call Santa). He actually did pretty good. You could tell he was scared and shaking and would crack at any moment but he kept it together. I think it helped being at his house. Cayden was able to tell Ho-Ho that he wanted a bike for Christmas.

After Ho-Ho left that morning the boys and I were sick with a virus that kept us from going to my family's gathering that night at my grandparents' house.

We managed to make it through the day and night and woke up the next morning much better to have our Christmas morning together for the first time in our house just us. The boys of course woke up early as usual and we had gifts opened and toys going and running by 7:00???!!!???!! I already had breakfast ready by 7:15 because the candy was already being opened and snacked on and when Caleb is hungry he is H-U-N-G-R-Y! He gets that from me:)

Here is what Ho-Ho left for the boys Christmas morning. Cayden got his main item: A BIKE!!

Here he is riding around the house on it. He rode it like he was Tony Hawk.

Caleb was pleased with anything. He is at the age of still not understanding and he has everything that Cayden has/had. He basically got newer things that we found that Cayden never got that Caleb would like a xylophone (can you believe we have never had one?) better bath toys, and matching toys that Cayden couldn't yell "that's mine Caleb" because there were 2 this year (toolboxes and play dr. sets) also if pieces came up missing we would have back-ups:)

He is so cute how he can be so pleased with the simplest things...

Cayden got headphones made for kids to listen to his kiddy radio and listen to things on the computer. They are really great!! They fit his head so well and bend in all kinds of ways.

Here he is wearing them. Notice Caleb behind him...he will notice Cayden start to put the headphones on and start dancing without hearing the music himself. He gets to shaking his little booty.

Our Christmas season this year was so special spending time together whether we were sick or healthy. Jesus is the true reason we celebrate the season and not just about Ho-Ho, gifts, and missing our family gathering. What a true gift we were given and celebrate His birth. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Let's play catch up...

2009-12-29T09:31:00.011-06:00

Well I feel like I am really behind. Christmas has come and gone and New Year's is approaching and I haven't talked about anything since Halloween. Shame on me!!

A big thing happened...on November 29th

Cayden turned 3!!

He had a pirate party and I made him a pirate's hat cake. He had a great party with friends and family. It was a little chilly outside but that didn't stop them from playing outside. He got some great gifts.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T11:54:00.003-06:00

We live in a great neighborhood. Most everyone living here has small children or small grandchildren and get really involved in everything that goes on. This year a sweet couple just a few houses down expecting their first child put together a hayride with a tractor and pulled those wanting to ride around the neighborhood to trick or treat. There were a lot of people out and about having a great time. Our boys were a little under the weather but we were determined to go because Cayden has been looking so forward to being a pirate. Both boys were going through the virus "hand, foot, and mouth" but we didn't get close to others and Cayden had a great time. Everyone survived and had a blast. We all look forward to next year. Hampton Hills is the best neighborhood EVER!!

Little Drummer Boy

2009-11-02T11:40:00.002-06:00

Aaron has his drums set up in the garage momentarily until he can get them moved to where he can use them on a regular basis. Cayden has really enjoyed playing them. He even gives a count down at the beginning...I just didn't catch it this time on video. I think we have a future drummer in the house.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-17T14:59:00.010-05:00

We took the boys to a local family pumpkin patch and it was COLD! If it were not for the wind blowing it would not have been too bad. Sometimes the sun would peek out and warm us up a bit. The boys loved getting to see the animals and farm land. They had a catfish pond there that Cayden shouted out "shark!" They were almost that big that was the funny part. Every time a hayride stopped to tell about the pond the fish got fed so you can imagine how fat the catfish were and why. The farm animals were so friendly and used to all the visitors.

Garage Sale

2009-10-03T13:58:00.002-05:00

Sorry I have no pictures this time. I think this is my first family blog with no pictures. Shame on me!

This morning was eventful to say the least...You know when you have something going on the next day that you can't slept well...that was me last night. Also Caleb was having tummy problems too around 2 a.m. that didn't make it any easier and Aaron started sneezing like crazy around that time too and I knew it was only a few hours when we HAD to get up and open our garage to sell our things.

Our neighborhood was having a community wide garage sale that I kinda took the ball and got it going and hopefully we will make it an annual thing. Aaron and I got all of our things together last night and put them in the garage ready to lift the door and then just pull everything out when 6:30 a.m. got here. Everything looked great and went well if we could have had a good straight 6-7 hours of sleep. To say the least we are pooped!! We did really well. The boys were so good. Cayden was his normal self...greeted us at 6 a.m. stayed and watched t.v. in our bed for a little while and had is morning milk as we got the garage sale going. Caleb slept in (not normal but it was fine with us) and made his appearance to the crowd a little later.

Happy Birthday Caleb

2009-09-06T22:51:00.013-05:00

It has been a year now and Caleb is the Big 1. He has grown so much during this year. I can't believe just a year ago we went through so much when he arrived. He has been a great baby to say the least. For some reason he now thinks that sleeping is not that important. He thinks he needs to visit with mommy whenever she is trying to get things done around the house or trying to sleep. Well it only last for a short period of time in my life so I will get over it. He loves his big brother and he thinks that Cayden is the funniest thing around...of course that makes Cayden have a big ego. We had is birthday party this weekend. He had his own cake but he didn't dig in like I thought that he would. Caleb never turns down food.

He is thinking about it. He is more intrigued by the animals on the cake

All Cayden could talk about all day was eating cake and ice cream. He ate is share all right.

Our little man...Caleb Aaron Hill

2009-09-06T21:24:00.034-05:00

On Friday night the 5th I was not feeling just right and I thought that I may be going into labor. I slept through the night but when I got up I knew I needed to call my doctor.

At this point Aaron is still in Baton Rouge and I am completely not expecting to have a baby. I have nothing prepared and I am all about being prepared and have my duckies in a row. Well this is when God reminds me that He is in control and if Caleb is coming then I need to trust Him. I called the nurse on call and she advised me not to even think about coming back to Baton Rouge because they have no electricity. I should stay and get to the nearest hospital if conditions worsened. I knew at this point I had to go to the hospital...ok that was going to take an hour to get to so we better get on the road. I packed a small "just in case bag" and my sister drove me to Monroe to St. Francis Medical. I called Aaron at work and told him that we were headed to the hospital so he needed to not get too involved at work and be ready to get on the road when I needed him.

We arrived to the hospital somewhere around lunch time and the on call Dr. came to check me to see if I was going into labor. Dr. Wilson (the greatest man!!) made me feel so comfortable because he knew I was in a chaotic situation. As soon as he checked me he immediately said you are going no where and we will have a baby today. With me being at 32 weeks he started me on medication that would make me feel terrible but hopefully stop the contractions. I watched to hours tick by and I knew the contractions were getting stronger and Caleb was well on his way out to meet us. All the family came over to wait after they realized we would have a baby that night EXCPET Aaron...yes Aaron! I kept him updated and he took off work at lunch to go home and get packed to head north. 4:00 rolled around and he was still trying to get the house in living condition from the storm. Our electricity has come back on that day and no one had been there for days to get the refrigerator or freezer cleaned up. He wanted to get it all cleaned up before we had to be in the hospital for a long time. He is such a sweet heart but really...I am in labor and he needed to be there.

So I am in full labor pains with no medication to help it. I got all the way to 8cm and Dr. Wilson knew there was still no way of stopping Caleb so I FINALLY got an epidural to rest for a little while. We had been visited by the NICU team to let us know that Caleb would go straight to the NICU and what he would have to encounter for the first 48 hours and what we would expect before seeing him. At this point there was just so much going on that it all seems like a blur. Aaron did get there just in time for delivery.

At 11:29 with one push Caleb Aaron Hill was here. His little cry was so sweet and soft because he was small. He weighed 4 lbs. 5 oz and 17 inches long. I was able to look at him and say hello and then he was off to the NICU. What a precious little gift God gave us on Sept 6, 2008.

Most of the family came into to give their congrats and I was completely exhausted. I had to wait until I could walk on my own to leave the delivery room to get to see Caleb in the NICU and finally get to eat. I had not eaten for over 12 hours and I was hungry by that point now that things had settled down. Around 2:30 a.m. I got to eat some crackers and get to see my precious angel. My mom stayed with me that night while Aaron took Cayden back to my parents' house to spend have some daddy/Cayden time.

To see him for the first time with all the wires and monitors was very overwhelming but I had complete peace all over that it was all ok. That was my baby laying there that I could not touch but he was in good hands. The doctors and nursing staff there at SFMC where so good and very compassionate. This was their job everyday to care for these small babies but they treated every parent like they were their first. We always knew what was going on and at what stage Caleb was at everyday. For the first 2 days were the most critical to get his stomach cleared out of all the medication that I was on that tried to stop the labor. As soon as his stomach was cleared then he was able to start getting a little bit of bottle.

I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and then we were able to move a couple of blocks away to stay in the Ronald McDonald House until Caleb was able to go home. I had only heard about the RMH on t.v. but never knew much about it but now I have all kinds of love for the RMH. We will always support this group. They have touched so many lives and it is completely operated by volunteers. It was no Hilton but we are so thankful that we had somewhere to stay to go back and forth to the hospital for all visitation hours. I wanted every chance to spend with him and love on him. Caleb stayed a full 22 days in the NICU and was finally strong enough to go home. These are some other pictures taken while we were at the hospital and the RMH.

He had to wear shades to protect his eyes from the light for the jaundice. He was such a good sleeper...so good he would rather do that than eat. I was able to feed him for the first time with my milk in the bottle. It took a lot of energy for him to suck from a bottle.

Cayden was a great Big Brother and he didn't even know it. He knew something was going on but not sure what. He never was able to see Caleb until we went home. We made time in the day to take Cayden out to a local park and play to give him some mommy/daddy time. He loved every minute of it.

He was finally able to hold his baby brother at his house.

One year ago...

2009-09-04T13:01:00.004-05:00

Some of you may have not heard our story of the hurricane and some of you have but I would like to share it again. This week I have thought about Gustav more than I would like to.

It was Mon., Sept. 1,2008, and a big storm by the name of Gustav was making his way to the gulf coast. It was Labor Day and at 10:30 that morning I was watching the Wiggles with Cayden for the last time in a few days and he had no idea what was about to take place...nobody did! The electricity went off and the storm was approaching with force. We got our handy little radio out to listen to updates and Cayden thought that was the coolest thing...a box where you heard people talking from. Throughout the next 2 hours we had up to 90 m/h winds. We watched the entry to our living room fill up with water within a blink of an eye, our fence that Aaron had built fall to the ground, and trash (our trash) flying through the air. A house behind us had its garage door ripped off into pieces, we heard a tree crash into a lady's yard across the road, and all we or anyone could do was watch it happen. We lived on the west side of Baton Rouge and the storm was passing completely over us headed down I-10 to Lafayette. We were getting calls (from the cell phones) from our family and Dow but the phones lines were so overloaded you couldn't get through. As soon as it was clear Aaron got out and started helping others pick up pieces of siding to all the houses and making sure we had all of ours accounted for to put them back up. It was a true experience to say the least what we saw and went through. We drove around later and looked at all the devastation our little town went through. The weather broadcasters did not expect Gustav to take a turn and hit Baton Rouge like it did. Oh yeah, let me mention I am 32 weeks pregnant through all of this.

Minutes turned into hours and we could see there was no way we were getting electricity for at least a week and most likely longer. Aaron got called out to go to work to get problems worked out at the plant but he didn't want to leave me pregnant and a small child at home with no electricity. That night wasn't so bad because the house was still cool from the storm and the sun never came out that afternoon to heat things up. Now by no means was it comfortable. I slept in the room with Cayden on the air mattress and he didn't sleep well but who could blame him. He cried and I cried with him. The next day it started to heat up and we were starting to sweat. It was so humid! Cayden was the best little trooper through it all...I was so proud of him! Aaron had to go back to work and I took Cayden in the car for some a/c and he took a little nap. I couldn't go too far because I knew I needed to save the gas we had for the unexpected. Aaron's boss at work offered him a small--VERY SMALL generator but we took what he had. It was able to get us a fan running and keep our deep freezer running for a while. This generator had to be filled with gas ever 1.5 hours...that let's you know how small it was. We somehow made it through the day and I was dreading for it to turn dark because that meant we had to try and sleep in this condition. We had the doors open both front and back to let somewhat of a breeze come through. We had 2 air mattresses in the living room floor where we all slept that night. All you could hear was the humming of generators throughout the neighborhood and mosquitoes in your ear. I got up throughout the night to fill up the generator because I didn't want the fans to stop working. All I could think about was my sweet Cayden getting hot and trying to keep the mosquitoes away from him.

Wed. morning came and it was so unbelievably miserable. Aaron headed off to work and Cayden and I were again stuck at home with each other to look at. Cayden was covered in so many mosquito bites that I broke...I had somewhat of an idea what people went through with Katrina. We were only 2 days past the storm and I was feeling like I was trapped in a box with no way out. Again...32 weeks pregnant!

Aaron's sweet boss told him to call me and send me and Cayden on the road to north LA for electricity. The conditions were not good for us to be in and Aaron needed to be at work. I packed everything that I could possibly get into my explorer and I started out for my parents' house. For the next few days Aaron worked, ate, and slept at Dow. As Cayden and I drove north we got to Natchez and there were signs of life. I filled the car up with gas and we ate at Sonic...the best food I had eaten in days. For the next several days I was enjoying the a/c and hot water and Aaron was working at Dow until...the unexpected happened...stay tuned:)

Next American Idol

2009-08-05T15:33:00.003-05:00

Cayden loves to sing these days and it is too cute. I am not sure what is wrong with my camera but I have a feeling it has to do with the lighting. Our house has so much natural light coming through that we do not have to turn on the lights unless it is totally necessary. The lighting in this video is about to that point...it is rather dark. He is singing the theme song to Little Einsteins off Disney.

Super cute pics

2009-08-05T11:06:00.009-05:00

Caleb hasn't ever taken a pacifier but I think it is so funny when I give him one to play with because he doesn't know what to do with it. He is doing a lot of teething (4 now) and he likes to chew on the pacifier.

I call this his Donald Trump lips

He loves to give head kisses

Daddy brought out the guitar for the boys and of course they love it. Cayden was trying to take over and Caleb just enjoyed the time together.

One day I got a second wind and decided to clean the cushion covers on the couches and Cayden thought they were a great trampoline.

They both look like they are being tortured. This is Aaron's wonderful photography skills.

Rainy days...

2009-08-05T10:59:00.003-05:00

We have had a really great summer. It has rained a lot in July and we have spent too much time together inside. Cayden loves to get the camera and take pictures. Here are some of his examples of photography.

These are good but we have a lot of feet and floor shots. I have to tell him to find what he is taking a picture of in the screen and then he takes the picture. Good for a 2 yr old.

Here it is...

2009-08-05T10:54:00.001-05:00

Ok, I posted below that I was taking the painting class again and I was going to paint a pretty paisley cross. Well, I did it...here is the result.

I think it looks pretty good!

Easley Amused

2009-07-20T13:44:00.000-05:00

My friend Demetria invited me to a painting class...HAHA right? Well I was really impressed with myself. I had so much fun creating a Christmas painting that I can hang up in our new house at Christmas time. The instructors make it so easy for you to follow along and create a masterpiece (if I say so myself). There is a studio in Ridgeland where you can pay around $26 to take a 2 hour class one night and leave with a painting...finished:) I was really skeptical at first because I took an art class in college and I had not talent when I started the class nor did I gain any talent by the end. The studio was doing Christmas in July and the one I went to and painted was "O Holy Night." I wish I had saved a copy of the display picture painted by the artist so you could see what to compare it to but I didn't. Here is what I came home with.

Here is a preview of what I am going to pain in August...we will see what I come up with. I will post my final product after the class. I am really excited about going again. Abigail may come and paint one for kids.

Summer Time

2009-07-20T09:40:00.000-05:00

Here are some random pictures that I have taken for no special reason but to capture memories.

Caleb is not as crazy about the walker as Cayden was.

Daddy and Cayden male bonding on the swing. Who knows why Cayden is shirtless??

Cayden is going to build a pirate ship with his daddy at Lowes. They have great workshops for kids every other Sat. I highly recommend.

Mommy and Caleb time while Cayden takes a nap. Caleb doesn't think long naps are necessary. He didn't ask Mommy's opinion on that.

He is as sweet as he looks!

What?? I am not eating anything. Caleb will eat anything you put in his mouth.

Cool Dudes

2009-07-20T09:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while. We were out walking the other day and I took a picture of these cute cool dudes. It was so bright that we needed sun glasses and hats.

Cayden thought he needed his own picture.

Silly boys

2009-07-07T07:01:00.000-05:00

Cayden gets to where he lves playing in Caleb's room. He gets his steps stool and gets into Caleb's bed. One morning he got in there and I put Caleb in there with him. They had the best time playing...silly boys!

Peeka Boo!

4th of July Fun

2009-07-07T06:50:00.000-05:00

Our family came over Sat. afternoon for some hamburger & hot dogs and water fun. We had a great time and the weather could not have been any better.

Savanah as cute as ever

All the kiddos playing and eating watermelon.

Aaron and his goofy self

Caleb watching all the action around him. He was actually a little sick that day but was a perfect trooper.

Up in the fort is Gran-Gran and Papa along with Aaron. They went to go look around outside and the next thing we knew they were all in the fort.

Cayden eating him some watermelon. He said "Mmm good, I like it!"

That's my Tu-Tu

2009-06-30T13:14:00.000-05:00

Can you find what is wrong about these picture? I made some tu-tus for upcomting birthdays for some girls and Cayden loved twirling in them. He was so funny to watch. We don't get to see things like this around our house.

Bathing Beauxs

2009-06-24T07:46:00.000-05:00

I thought my 2 little guys were so cute playing in the bath together. Not often do I get them in there together. Caleb always takes his way earlier then Cayden. He likes to be in bed by 7 ish and Cayden is still outside with his daddy.

POOR CALEB!!

Caleb has his 1st tooth

2009-06-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

I tried uploading the video to this picture but blogspot wasn't working correctly this morning. Last week Caleb's first tooth broke through his bottom gum. I think the second one is coming along right beside it. I will keep trying to get the video posted but if it doesn't work it is on Facebook.

He is so funny these days. He is at the point of a little bit of separation anxiety. I love to see his face light up when he sees me walk in the door. At church this past week he was in his room and caught a glimpse of me at the door and he started fussing because he couldn't get to me. He is such a sweet baby.

New kitchen toy

2009-06-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I call it my new kitchen toy. We have a small desk area in the kitchen that we have made into a new computer station. Let's see how clean it stays. We have an office right off the kitchen but it has been overtaken by my embroidery business. Our older laptop has one foot in the grave. Right after we moved in we had one line across the screen and we watched that line grow into 4 lines. It is a pretty rainbow on the desktop but it is not there for appearance. It is slowly telling us goodbye.

Aaron got the itch of looking at new computers. So within the last week we have bought a new all-in-one computer. It works well where it is. I was not in favor of the new computer because the other one still works but I didn't win that discussion. I really like it, though!

At last...the playset is complete

2009-06-06T19:10:00.000-05:00

As many of you know projects around our house never seem to stop. Since we moved in a little over a month ago the playset has been sitting in the backyard in pieces. Our backyard slops off where unlevel ground was causing a problem with putting the playset together. Aaron looked behind our fence and noticed that our property line still continued about 8 ft. behind our fence. So you can imagine that Aaron needed his next project to be moving the fence back to the line. It was a smart move because it allowed the playset to be built on somewhat level ground. One weekend my dad came over and helped move the fence back and the following weekend he came back and helped put together the playset. Thank you, Daddy!!

The fence is now backed up 8ft. and Cayden now has his "treehouse" as he calls it. We have a fabulous backyard that backs up to woods and we have a great shaded backyard in the afternoons when it is soooo hot. Our neighbors in Addis called the playset a deer stand because it is so tall. It doesn't look that tall here in MS because the trees help camoflauge it.

Boys will be boys

2009-05-20T21:25:00.001-05:00

Here we are at 8 months now and Caleb is sitting up fairly well. He will sit in the floor and play with Cayden for 15 min. or so and then either he will fall to one side or get irritated. He has also for some reason started rolling over onto his stomach in his bed but he hates it when he is there. So he proceeds to scream and break a huge sweat until he gets back over. Mind you he is not going back to his stomach on his own I have to do that. I think he is taking advantage of his cuteness to get his way. He is a super sweet baby completely the opposite of what Cayden was like when he was little. He still does not have any teeth but he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. His naps and night time sleeping are very speratic. It is about to kill me. I am so exhausted and I never get to rest it seems like. When one is up the other is down and vise versa. I hope within this month he can get a little more mobile and figure out his sleeping schedule.

Oh usual Cayden. He is in the sand table when he is supposed to be standing outside of it. We desperately need to take a trip where he can get down and dirty in the sand. He makes such a mess on the patio but it call all be swept off. We go through at least 3 sets of clothes a day with him. I never get caught up with laundary. Aaron is dilligently trying to get his playset put together up here but the hill in our back yard is posing a problem. That is what is in the background beside the fence. Cayden on the other hand is our big sleeper (at naptime) and I thought I would NEVER say that. He used to only get in the max 1.5 hours where now he can take a 3.5 hour nap. Most of the time Caleb wakes him up. Cayden will come out of his room and say "Caleb wake me up." It is so cute but usually he will be whinny after that.

It is has been so much fun being the mom of 2 precious boys. I don't know what I would do if I had it any other way.

Then and Now

2009-05-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

Just the other day Cayden climbed into Aaron's lap to finish his nap and I got a flash back of what size he was a little over 2 years ago. My how time has flown. I have been noticing lately how tall Cayden is getting but this just reassured me that he is not our little baby anymore. This rarely happens so when I saw them I knew I had to capture the moment. That was our Cayden when he was a week old and this is our Cayden now at 2.

Steaming Mama

2009-05-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

I will start this off by saying that Aaron and I have been fortunate enough to buy our last 2 homes as new construction and not buy from a previous owner. Some will say we are spoiled but it just worked out that way both times. This time when we bought we had a really hard time looking at houses with other peoples' "stuff" in it.

The area we now live in is known as "Madison" if you are around or from Jackson. When people ask that is what we say. The housing market here was far beyond what we had imagined. There was SO much to choose from. Well the house we fell in love with was a house that had been lived in but it was what we wanted. Within the first week of living here I still didn't feel like it was ours. I say that because when I look at the wall or the floor and see things that I didn't put there it makes me wonder what happened for it to be there.

Aaron says I am crazy but I pride myself on wanting things clean and keeping it that way. My house may not be magazine picture ready all the time but I like to be germ free as much as possible. He can say all he wants but he is starting to like that and want things cleaned too. We can go somewhere and he wants to know if I have cleaned it and sprayed for germs (I love you, honey:) Here is where I am going with this...

I bought a steam cleaner and it is the best little thing EVER!

In the main walk area to and from the garage there our grout between the tile was a dark brown color and I knew that was not the color it was supposed to be so I was dying to get it cleaned. The previous owners had dogs and I didn't want to think about what may be in there. For those of you who love to have an inside pet this is a great tool to have. Cleaning products do not get the grout or hard to reach areas. I have a sense of power now that I have got it cleaned. The color is now a tanish color. Hallelujah to steam!

Here are some pictures of my tile floor where this little bad boy has done his job.

Before:

During:

After:

Oh, I feel so much better. I highly recommend a steamer to anyone. I know if I had had it before now I would have been using like crazy. Sometimes cleaners don't always do the trick you just think so because it smells good. I couldn't tell you if this particular one it the best brand. I thought it was from the reviews that I read.

Hey Joshua

2009-04-29T14:19:00.000-05:00

This was the sweetest thing that I caught on video. I am hiding around the corner so if it is at a funny angle you will know why. Cayden is on the phone (play phone) pretending to talk to his cousin Joshua and later Abigail. He tells Joshua about his "new house" and he will talk about Caleb in the Bumbo seat. Just listen you will probably catch most of it.

Oh Caleb can you smile for us :)...Nope :(

Hills move again

2009-04-29T14:10:00.000-05:00

After we get settled more I will take more pictures but several people wanted to know what it looked like. We are super pleased about our "new" house. That is what Cayden calls it.

Our new address:
113 Hampton Hills Blvd.
Canton, MS 39046

(601) 667-3297

Happy Easter!

2009-04-29T13:58:00.001-05:00

Here are the boys and their cousins at a church Easter egg hunt.

Cayden getting ready to hunt eggs. He really enjoyed picking them up this year. Especially the candy inside.

Caleb doesn't smile for the camera too much. Aaron did a good job at catching this one. Who wouldn't laugh at Aaron though.

See what I mean...Caleb is crying and Cayden is trying to run.

Random Shots

2009-04-29T13:12:00.000-05:00

Here are some random shots of the boys within the past couple of months. I have not had fast internet so it was hopeless for me to upload pictures. Sorry I have not posted but we are finally moved in and we have high speed now.

Cayden and Caleb playing together. They are best buddies!

Cayden LOVES his Papaw's 4 wheeler.

Supper by the fire

2009-03-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

Our family lives outside the city limits in the country so my dad is able to burn most anything he wants to. It has been VERY windy the past couple of weeks so there were lots of sticks to pick up in the yard from all the pecan trees. The whole family got out and picked up all the sticks so we could have a wiener roast. All the grandkids love the new style of cooking and eating supper-even Caleb.

6 months with a buzz

2009-03-13T12:28:00.000-05:00

Caleb is now 6 months old and weighing in at 18.5 lbs. Sleep at night
is still unpredictable. He has started attempting solids now but absolutely hates them. The child doesn't even like to take Tylenol
(who could imagine not liking sugar??)

He was born with a beautiful head full of brown hair and over the months he has rubbed it off in his bed and naturally it has fallen out. It started looking really bad with long wild hairs here and there and a long mohawk on top so I decided it was time for a hair cut. I am so glad I did it because he looks completely different in a good way. The pictures are a little dark where it is hard to see the before and after.

City boys gone country

2009-02-20T21:11:00.000-06:00

We have moved and are officially settled in at my parents' house. We live on a road with no neighbors around us just dirt. Cayden is loving playing in the corn field behind the house and the bayou is in the front yard (scares me). The 4-wheeler has to be ridden everyday and he goes through at least 2 if not 3 sets of clothes because he is being a boy. Cayden officially has given up the "ninny." It has been a week now. There were some rough days in the beginning but he has done it, YEAH! For those of you who have been around him know it was a big deal.

Thank you Mrs. D'Ann I look forward everyday to Playdough with all his neat little tools. Cayden's cousins came over last weekend and he thought it was great to have people to play with in the dirt and his playdough. I think he has come to the realization that we are not on a vacation, we live here now. He will still talk about his tree house though. I can't wait to get it set up at a new house.

Cayden has not adjusted well to napping and sleeping at night. The first few days seemed to be fine and normal but when he started realizing that he could throw a fit and mamaw and papaw were here to pity him he used that as a crutch. Giving up his pacifier played a big role the first couple of days that were bad. The past couple of days have seemed a little better. I downloaded the cd Praise Baby Lullabies and he appears to like that playing as he goes to sleep. He still tries to get upset but we play it off and and let him figure it out that he has to go to bed by himself.

Caleb is so precious. He had developed a love for the "Johnny Jumper" in the doorway. It is his must workout each morning after he wakes up and eats. He has learned how to sleep somewhat through the night. He will go to bed around 7ish and wake up 6-8 hrs. later to eat and go back to sleep for another 5-6 hours. The night before we left Addis he officially slept the entire night and the first night here is slept again the entire night but it went down hill from there for several days. I guess he had to adjust. He is also teething so that plays a factor too.