Cheese!

Just some recent pictures! Enjoy!

Brennan is holding his favorite toy...a John Deere tractor. Who would have guessed?

Two teeth! One more is coming through up top!

Drummer boy...Mimi thinks we're holding him back by not buying him a real drum set. I told her she could have one at her house!

Three beautiful years!

It's fun to look back at Brennan's birthdays and see how much he has grown and changed! Thank you Lord for our son! He has brought so much joy and laughter to our family. I can't imagine life without his energy and silliness. He keeps us on our toes and loves to laugh. His favorite thing in the world is to play football with daddy. Poor Steven walks in the door every night to Brennan saying, "Let's go play football daddy." That's before he even says hello. I am thankful for the break, but Steven doesn't get one. Brennan is a sponge for information. He asks so many questions and thinks he's three going on thirty. We love you Brennan! We hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

2007

2008

2009

2010

More Birthday!

Steven and I took Brennan on his birthday to the Lazy 5 Ranch. It was super cool! We got to feed tons of exotic animals and enjoy a beautiful fall day outside. Haven played with Mimi and Poppi so we could just spend the day with the birthday boy!

Llama, Llama, red pajama!

Huge pumpkins!

Instead of a sand box they had a sand box filled with corn! Brennan loved it! He was not happy when we told him it was time to get out.

Brennan is Three!

Brennan is three! We took our annual trip to Monkey Joes and then celebrated with pizza and cake at our house! Brennan loved celebrating with his grandparents, aunts and uncle's and cousins. I can't believe how fast three years can go by although I've felt like Brennan has been three for quite some time. He is growing like a weed...we don't go for his three year check up until December, but I'm sure he's grown at least four inches this year. He could not wear one pair of pants from last winter. Thank God for Mimi! Clothes are expensive! She rounds out his wardrobe very nicely. We aren't getting hand me downs anymore, ahhh! If anyone wants to send any 3T's this way, feel free.

Grandmom and Pop Pop gave Brennan this huge Tiger. He is going to be the closest thing Brennan gets to a pet for a LONG time. Enjoy it now son!

Brennan got a cool bike from Mimi and Poppi, but Haven really thinks it is for her.

Steven, Haven and I brought doughnuts to Brennan's class. Haven wishes she could stay and play too!

Walking!

Okay, I tried to tell her to wait until she turned one, but she didn't listen to me. Haven took her first steps this weekend while with her Mimi! She is a week behind her brother, he took his first steps at 9 1/2 months. She will be ten months on Saturday. Where did my sweet baby go? This little girl has grown a mind of her own. She can definitely let you know if she wants something or doesn't like something. She has a girly squeal and scream. Whew, I think Steven and I are going to be in trouble. She's still sweet and likes to cuddle, but has been trying to fight her first and hopefully last ear infection for the past few weeks. I'll post more pics soon of Haven walking and Brennan's 3rd birthday, but I wanted to make sure I wrote down the first steps somewhere!

9 months old!

Love the Fair!

I love going to the fair! Steven brought us to the Kannapolis fair last week and we had a blast! We'd never been there before, but it was the perfect size fair for us. They had lots of rides for Brennan and it wasn't too crowded. He could have stayed all night, but the rest of us had to work the next day! Mimi and Lindsey kept Haven company since she can't ride the rides quite yet. Maybe next year Haven!

Brennan sporting the motorcycle ride!

My cutie pie!

Mimi and Aunt Lindsey giving love!

Brennan's first ride on a horse!

Please excuse my open mouthed pic, but I couldn't resist showing you Brennan's awesome face. Click on the picture to make it larger. Brennan loved this slide! He said it was his favorite (but it was the last ride we went on, so he may have been swayed by the most recent in his memory).

On the Move!

Haven has officially started to crawl. It's so interesting, because Brennan had a funny crawl and she is doing the same thing. She isn't crawling on both knees, she keeps one leg bent in front and the other behind. I can't really describe it. I'll have to get some video uploaded to show you. We'll see if she ever straightens it out or if she'll be walking in a few weeks like Brenann did. Anyways, she is too cute. It's weird having her follow us around or just leave the room completely. I think it's weird for Brennan to have her mobile too. He keeps getting my attention and telling me to watch her. He is proud of his little sister!

8 months old!

Haven is now 8 months old...so I can remember...

She just got her first bottom tooth

She still takes three naps (unless we are out and about most of the day)

She wants to crawl and walk, but has not quite mastered either

She has started to have separation anxiety when I leave the room

She knows who people are...especially strangers

She has a beautiful belly laugh when you tickle her in the right spot

She still isn't a predictable eater...she doesn't seem to love baby food (does anyone have good suggestions for heathy table food for a baby with no teeth?)

She still loves her brother and watches his every move - she doesn't even mind when he grabs her arms and pinches her all of the time!

She gets bored of the same toys...she wants to explore new ones, especially the ones Brennan is playing with

She gets mad when you take something away from her

She can get her feelings hurt if you talk sternly to her and it will break your heart!

She is a sweet beautiful baby and I thank the Lord for her...she is growing way too fast!

Love em!

It doesn't get much cuter than this!

Sorry for the vacation from Posting!

Hello friends and family! Summer is coming to a close and I have lots to fill you in on. I'm not really sure why I've taken a vacation from blogging, I just have. Maybe because my laptop's battery only lasts about five minutes, or maybe I've been lazy, or maybe I don't like to wait for the photos to upload...I don't really know, but I know its time for an update.

My sweet, laid back, baby girl has turned a corner! She thinks she can stand up and walk now. She can't yet, but she wants to and she requires a lot more attention! She's still sweet, but she is much more demanding. She is also starting to get her first tooth! I've been waiting for two and a half months for this tooth (since Brennan got his first when he was 5 1/2 mos, I assumed Haven should do the same). She has seemed a bit fussier, but she's still sleeping and that's the most important thing.

Brennan is about to start school in a week and a half! It has been a really fun summer doing special things with him. We have done a ton, so I'm ready for a break and I think he is too. He's enjoyed slowing down a bit over the past few weeks and is getting excited about going to school. He will go three days a week which I think will be the perfect amount. I can't believe how much he is growing and turning into a sweet boy who asks tons of questions and loves to play hard. He is all boy, and sometime he is hard to keep up with! I play lots of football!

I have been working and playing and taking care of these two kiddos. Somedays are easier than others, but I am so thankful to get to be at home with them. Steven has begun a new season, so life always gets a little crazy during the fall, but it's always good to have a change of pace.

I'll try to catch you up on what we've been up to, but I just wanted to let you know we're still alive here!

Place called Norfolk

I would like to thank my wife Kerry for letting me serve as a guest blogger this week. She does a great job with this blog so I really feel special. Speaking of special, we packed up the kids in the car and headed north last weekend to visit some very dear friends Brian and Meg Hutchinson in Norfolk, Virginia. These are not your typical "dear friends" these folks are truly special. These are people we lived with, shared a dog (RIP Rusty) with, drank cheap wine with, argued over spades with, played NCAA college football video games with, ate Japanese food with and last but certainly not least joined awkward church life groups with. Nawfuhk is a great historic town off the Chesapeake Bay. The town has a military feel and the weather is outstanding this time of year. I really think men would go to war over the breeze that comes off the Bay. We spent the majority of the ride up laughing about old times and funny stories we shared in Jacksonville, FL with Brian and Meg and teaching Brennan the names of the Hutchinson kids. We repeated Cole and Bailey over and over again especially since Brennan didn't sleep for the entire six hour trip. Sometimes when you haven't spent much time with people in a few years it is hard to pick up where you left off - things have changed and people have changed. This wasn't the case with Brian and Meg it was like nothing had changed. They welcomed us into their beautiful home with open arms. We played pirates on the front porch and Brennan even let Cole tie him up, Kerry and Meg took the kids to get treats at the Marina and Hutch took Brennan and Cole on an awesome Kayak ride that Brennan is still talking about. We played on the beach, jumped in the pool, ate amazing lasagna and had the best Michael Jackson tribute dance party you could ever imagine - Bailey is a much better dancer than her parents. Cole even taught Brennan how to play the drums and Brennan loved it so much he screamed every time! The entire trip was a blast and made us realize we miss our friends tons.
Before we knew it was time to pack up and head home, we truly have some great couple friends in our lives but the Hutchinson's will always have a special place in our hearts. Until next time ... keep the skinny dip beer flowing and the "Man in the Mirror" on the radio.

Steven

4th of July

We enjoyed spending the 4th of July in Atlanta at the Huff's house! Brennan was in love with their trampoline and only took breaks when we made him take turns with his cousins. I think he could have stayed on it all day and night!

A trip to the Zoo!

Brennan is still obsessed with Lions and Tigers! He has been asking to go to the zoo for a while now, so we made the trip to Columbia to go to the zoo with Hannah and her three boys! Brennan loved following Michael around and looking at all of the animals. He is already to asking to go back. He says he wants to live at the zoo. It was a hot day, but so great to get to spend it with Hannah, Michael, Jonathan, and Grady. We were definitely out numbered, but I thought the kids did great. We also go to visit with Caroline while we were there so it was a great trip while Steven was out of town watching the Gamecocks with the National Championship in Baseball.

Happy 6 month Birthday Haven!

Can you believe how quickly 6 months go bye? Haven has been a great addition to our family over the past six months. She has been such an easy baby she almost makes me want another one (not really, just saying). She is sitting up, laughing hysterically at her brother, grabbing anything she can and sticking it in her mouth, sleeping through the night (7pm-6:30am praise the Lord!), napping three times a day, eating some baby foods, has no teeth, can roll over but still hates tummy time, a very content baby, loves to smile and strain her neck to see what Brennan is doing at all times, loves when her daddy walks into a room, and is growing like a weed! I am one blessed mama. I can't wait to see what her personality really shapes up to be!