Auburn

We made our first trip to Auburn with both boys last weekend for Homecoming! It was also the first football game for them both! We spent the weekend with the Foster's and it was awesome getting to see all 4 of our boys together. I don't think I could have imagined it when Molly and I met 13 years ago! While Joe was working on Thursday, I took the boys downtown and got some Toomer's Lemonade. We walked across the street to Toomer's Corner and we even walked down to Samford Hall so I could show them where we got engaged. I realize they have no concept of what I was talking about, but it was still a great experience to share with them. We tailgated with the Foster's, Reeves' and many other Auburn friends. They have a great set-up not more than 100 yards from the stadium. It was so nice and convenient. Jack decided to take his morning nap on Joe before kickoff, so I took Joey into the stadium. We got there just in time to see Nova fly down from the upper deck. He was mesmerized by the band and the team coming out on the field. But, once all of the hoopla was over with, Joey was ready to go! Luckily, Joe and Jack made there way in, so we were able to hold him off until halftime. So, we went back to the tailgate, along with everyone else, and the kids picked up where they left off...having fun. It was a beautiful day on the Plains and I look forward to sharing more of these moments with the boys!

Dr's appointments & Car Seats

Yesterday, we finally got to see Dr. Lake for Jackson's 1-year appt. Just like we thought, he is growing like a weed! He weighs 23 lbs 5 oz which is 60th percentile and is 31.5 in long...75th percentile! And of course, he is maintaining his Cooper-Hortiz head size at 90th percentile ;) That is a big jump from his 9month check-up. All other developmental milestones are right on track....he even took several steps this week! I also took the opportunity for face time to check on some things with Joey. Before we went to Dallas, Joey had been fighting a cold which saw a fever come and go and a cough that has lasted for 6+ weeks. During a previous visit, we were told that he had fever induced heart murmur. Dr. Lake confirmed that it had healed itself...Also, in an attempt to try and clear up the cough, he was put on Omnicef while we were in Dallas. 7 days in, he had a GI reaction to the antibiotic. After testing, it ends up that the medicine not only killed the bad bacteria, but it also killed the natural good bacteria in the intestines which caused his stomach issues. All in all, both kids are doing great and I wait with desperate anticipation of the first frost which will hopefully alleviate all of their allergy issues :).

Besides the big birthday bashes, there are also many other things that come with the first birthday....no more formula, no more baby food! And the much anticipated move to a "big boy" car seat (we moved Jack to Joey's car seat and Joey got a new seat that will last him the rest of the way). Jack loves it! He finally gets to see what it is going on and gets to watch whatever is playing on the dvd. On the other hand, Joey, who is really opposed to change, is not sure about the new situation. He has repeatedly asked for his old seat back. I keep telling him that his new seat is so much cooler and it even has a cup holder!

Jack's One Year Pictures

Mary out did herself again! These are just a few of the pictures from our photo shoot with her. They are beautiful!

Pumpkin Patch

My mom and I took the boys to Bill Bates Big Orange Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. It was too cute! They obviously had the pumpkin patch, but there was lot more...a hay ride, a john deere train ride, baby goats and big longhorns to feed and tons of set ups for fall pictures. Joey liked watching the hay ride drive by as well as the train, but had no interest in going on them. The boys loved feeding the goats, but neither were crazy about the longhorns. In fact, Jack was scared by one who tried to put his nose through the fence. They both had a ball crawling around on the pumpkins!

Jackson's Birthday Party-Dallas

Yes, Jack had 2 birthday parties. We figured since we were going to be in Dallas anyway, and we never get to celebrate birthdays there, why not?! I found a lady online who essentially brings "Build a Bear" to your home. She spends 45min-hour helping the kids stuff their animals (I chose monkeys to keep with the theme and chaos to a minimum :)), they have a naming ceremony, get birth certificates and then finish with a sticker activity. It was great because I had no idea what I was going to do with 9 kids from 1-5 for 2 hours and most importantly, I think they had a good time too! Of course, by now Jack is an old pro at the cake thing and showed off for everyone. All of the family came as well as some of my girlfriends from high school and their children. So, it was a big crowd and a great way to conclude the 2 weeks of birthday celebrations.

State Fair of Texas

Joe had to make a swing through Texas, so we decided to join him and stayed with my parents while he was on the road. This is an awesome time of year at home for many reasons, but the biggest being The State Fair of Texas! We decided to take the boys the day before the Texas/OU game with my parents and lucked out with a beautiful day! Joey wasn't to sure about most of the rides (even the kiddie ones)....he cried on the log ride. But, he LOVED the midway games! Jack just went with the flow, as usual. He and Joey both would have stayed in the children's petting zoo all day. The biggest surprise of the day, though, was Joey wanting to get his face painted. We never thought he would sit still, but he did and was so excited about his new look!

Jackson's Birthday Party-Baltimore

We had Jack's party at our house with family... Our little monkey enjoyed his day. I think he would have eaten the whole cake if we had let him, but he did like sharing it too! Joey had a little bit of trouble with all of the attention being on Jack, so with some quick thinking by Joe, we instituted a secondary celebration for Joey...Happy Brother Day! This included his own cupcake with a big candle and his own song!

Jack's Birthday

I can't believe he is already one! It has been an amazing year of watching Jack grow, developing his own personality and trying to hold his own with his big brother! His actual birthday was great! Joe was able to be home for the day and spent it as a family. We took the boys to the park for some playtime and a picnic!

Jack's Baptism Weekend

We FINALLY were able to have Jack's baptism last weekend! Jack is blessed with 3 wonderful godparents in our friends Will & Devon Hilton and Aunt Marlena. It was truly a special day and beautiful weekend! We were joined by my mom, dad, Eric and Ashley as well as Joe's mom, dad, Preston, Jason, Kathy, Chase, Nana and "Bad Jean".
It was the first time Joey and Jack were able to hang out with their girlfriends Addison and Riann Hilton...imagine 4 kids under the age of 3 romping around our house for 2 days! We had a ton of lessons in sharing toys, a lot of missed naps and trying to keep up with our 2 new crawlers. Joe and I also had a great time catching up with Will & Devon...life makes makes it hard to see each other as much as we would like, but we when do get together, we always pick up right where we left off!

Hello Heat!

We made our trip to Dallas on Saturday....gone from 87 and comfortable to 97 and to your breath away hot! The boys were great on the trip! Jack started pointing at things for the first time on the airplane. Of course, Joey hit the ground running at "Ganny's" and was in the pool within the first 15 minutes. My only complaint is that little ones don't have an "adjust my time clock button" built in. Jack woke up at 5:30 and Joey was up at 6:30...we were literally in the pool by 7:30 am yesterday morning. We spent all day in the pool and had our favorite Mexican food last night, were we realized that Jack had cut his fourth tooth! Joe headed down to A&M after dinner to start scouting. I can't believe this time is already here.

Training Camp

We went up to visit Daddy at Training Camp on Saturday. Joey loves to go run around on the field with Joe after practice. He got a little lesson on the sled from "Big Joe", our favorite Replacements lineman!

The Beach

We spent 2 wonderful weeks in the Outer Banks this summer. It was our first trip there and the quaint town of Duck is where we stayed. We really lucked out on our house...it was beautiful and perfect for us and all of our visitors. It was truly a family affair! The boys loved the pool and it was SO convenient to have one at the house. The beach was a short walk down the street where we fished, dug for crabs, collected shells, built sandcastles and Jack ate his first sand. Joey is a great kite flier, an awesome boat captain and a cautious fisherman. Jack is such an easy baby...he just went the flow: slept on the beach in the morning, played in the sand, splashed in the pool. Two weeks didn't seem like enough time...if we could have stayed another week we would have! Everyone is already looking forward to next year!

First O's Game

Joe took Joey, along with Grandmom and Grandpop to his first Orioles game on Sunday! He had a great time and seemed to be mesmerized with the action on the field. He did have to take a little break though and run around the concourse....where he had to make a pay phone call to mommy!

Carnival Time

The local volunteer fire department holds a fundraising carnival each June. We took the boys last weekend thinking that Joey would atleast enjoy the kiddie rides and maybe win a stuffed animal or two. Well, the only thing that he liked or even wanted to consider riding were the cars that go around in a circle. It took a little coaxing, but we did also get him on the merry-go-round, twice! He really didn't have a care for any of the alley games except for the fishing...he wanted to keep fishing after his "game" was over. Again, little Jack watched from the stroller, but he didn't seem to mind :)

Ravens Family Picnic

Here is our future star at the Ravens Family Picnic...it is held at the stadium each year and Joey took the opportunity to checkout every inch of the field. He threw the football up and down the field trying to play ball with the big boys! Then he made a spin-art frisbee and threw that up and down the field! He had a great time! Jack just chilled in his stroller and eventually feel asleep.

Jack's Pictures

For those of you who didn't get an e-mail from Pictage...the rest of Jack's pictures are up on Pictage. Follow this link: http://www.pictage.com/583300 ENJOY!

Our Little Scout

It all started with a lesson at school on the senses....seeing. So at school they made binoculars out of toilet paper rolls and went outside on a scavenger hunt. Joey came home and immediately went looking for daddy's binoculars. He had to have all three pairs, not just one. On that Wednesday, he took all of the binoculars to school for "show and share" along with a note describing how his daddy used them to watch football players. For days he walked around the house with a pair around his neck...then he wanted one of Joe's hats to wear and it had to be on his head backwards like daddy. Joey would then throw one of his footballs up in the air and try to watch it like daddy does. TOO CUTE!

Picture Update

Mary has posted a sneak peak of the pictures on her blog...I know I am a little biased, but they look so good!!! here is the link http://mary.lovelifeimages.net/