Brace yourself. This might be a lengthy post with many pictures. I feel like we celebrated Foxie's bday all week long. Like I said earlier, his actual birthday was on Tuesday but his party was not until Saturday. Lee actually took the day off work to celebrate with us on Tuesday, so that was a fun treat. That morning we went to Knox's favorite place, Kangaroos, with Ri-Ri, Paw-Paw, and Wawa. Knox hit the ground running...HARD. He was drenched in sweat within the first 10 minutes we were there. I can remember taking him when he was about a year old and I had to do everything with and for him. Now we just put socks on him and let 'er rip. He does ALL of the slides. By himself. Without hesitation. And got a running jump before going down them. What a difference a year makes...
High Fives!
Opening some pre-birthday presents
Ok, so Lee and I decided that his gift from us this year was the jumpy that we gave him at the beginning of the summer.We gave it to him early so that we could have some entertainment and get good use out of it this summer. Well, Lee came home the night before his birthday with a HUGE smile on his face and said..,"Babe...I just couldn't resist!" He got him his first set of REAL golf clubs! This kid loves loves loves golf. He is always running around this place with a plastic golf club swinging at plastic balls while Greer and I "bob and weave". They are constantly outside playing and Knox has always admired Lee's real clubs. When Lee saw these-made for ages 2 to 6...AND they are left handed (K is left handed)-he just about died. I really don't know who was more excited...K or Lee! Wish you could have heard the "OOOHHHH!" when Knox opened them.
Someone chatted it up with the waiter at lunch and got himself a free birthday cookie
After nap time, Lee took Knox to the golf course to play! I think this is my favorite picture. It so sweet for me to watch Knox really like something that Lee LOVES to do. I really hope Knox sticks with it. I can see the 2 of them now...hanging out on a Saturday afternoon playing golf and spending some quality time together. I think Lee honestly thinks they are best friends now and it will always remain that way. I hope it does, but I've also been around middle schoolers and high schoolers enough to know that parents can be so uncool...
I tried whipping together a home-made birthday cake. Not a pretty outcome.
On Friday, we were LUCKY enough to get to go see Jessica (Lee's sister), Joey, Annie, and Lily Kate! There are no words to describe how much I love this family. They are so loving and serving and have always been so sweet to us. From the first day I met Jessica, she welcomed me with open arms and I have really taken to her. I can honestly say that I love my sister in law to her core, and even if we weren't related, she is someone that I would want spend a lot of time with. She loves the Lord and it shows in EVERYTHING that she does. They were at the beach for a few days so they invited the kids and I to come down on Friday. SO much fun!
Lily Kate and Joey checking out the new girl :)
The kids dominated this puppy. I had my share of fun as well, that is until I looked up and saw the 100 pound weight limit sign. Whoops. I'm just a smidge over that one...
Sweetness
They honestly have the sweetest and cutest family!
We had a patio laid in the backyard so that we could get a table and chairs and be able to spend more time outside and have some extra seating. Friday night, Lee and I hung up the lanterns and turned on some country music and just talked all about our 2 years with Knox. We shared our favorite highlights and some parenting goals. It was really good for my soul. I'm ready for some cooler weather so that we can spend the majority of our time out there.
We decided to have Knox's party at our house this year and just keep it family and cousins since our family is so big and we are a little tight on space. I took over 200 pics, which is a record for me, but I will only post a few. We had an absolute blast. It was perfect. Knox enjoyed every second of running around like a chicken without it's head in the backyard with his cousins. I loved sitting back and watching him. He's growing so fast right before our very eyes :(. We only got like 2 pics of him before he was "set free" and soaking wet. The kid also managed to scratch his neck and get a small bruise on the side of his face...10 minutes before his party started. Boys will be boys! I need to get better at picture taking. We didn't even get a family pic!
Nick Saban showed up (yes, that's my father)
Baby Holland...sweetest and cutest little thing ever!
Lily Kate. Love this preciousness. I swear I think she and Knox are somehow brother/sister and not cousins...
1 boy and 8 girls at the party. Normally this would be an advantage for Knox, but seeing as how he is related to the majority of them...not so much.
The Thrash Family-one of my favorites! Huge Auburn fans, and my hilarious father stuck his hat on Jason last second. He's not obnoxious at all :)
Baby girl slept through most of the party. She was a little under the weather with a super runny nose. You can really tell she doesn't feel good in this pic. Poor baby.
Love the relationship these 2 have
Ri-Ri got him a tag junior reading series. I am SUPER pumped about it!
Toy Story Tag book
And we ended the night with a cousin bath. Annie gave Knox a bubble hair do
And here we are this morning-bright and early-mowing the grass with out new bubble mower that we got from Pa Pa and Nana while wearing our new Buzz pj's from Cha Cha. I am starting to wonder if the Buzz phase will EVER end????
Ok, so it looks like I lied about only a few pictures. There are literally tons more. Sorry! I do have a few things to type about the end of the party, so please hang in there for a few more minutes...
Like I stated earlier, the party was a success. That is, until the last 2 minutes when things just went downhill with a quickness. Knox got attacked by fire ants (like, a ton!), but he took it like a big boy and barely cried. We had to take care of that before we opened presents. Once we got going with the gifts, I realized that I was extremely hot. I looked around and noticed that everyone looked a little warm. We Looked at the thermostat and it said 87 degrees!! Ahh! So, dad and Lee started messing with the unit and had to go outside to do some stuff to it. The next thing I know, Lee got electrocuted and his ring finger immediately started swelling. He was ghost white when I went out to check on him. My dad was trying to assess him, but Lee was not saying much. We got him inside and he was like "I just want to watch Knox open his gifts", but everyone else was like "Lee...your hand doesn't look good, and you are pretty shaky and pale, maybe you should go on to the E.R." After 45 minutes of debating, he went on. I am so glad he did because apparently getting electrocuted can easily throw the rhythm of your heartbeat off (without you knowing), causing a heart attack. He did not get home until 9:30 that night, but the staff was super thorough with EKG's and all sorts of other testing and for that I am so thankful. His finger still looks a little weird, but they said that he was extremely lucky and checked out healthy. The voltage of what the power box was 220 volts and the docs were in shock that nothing too serious happened to him. Thankful for the Lord's protection over him.
SO...once he left for the hospital, we all just got in "mode" around the house. Dad and Joey worked on the AC for a loooong time (and fixed it, praise Jesus), Jessica cleaned my entire kitchen and helped with cleaning outside, my step mom helped with the cleaning and entertaining of the kids. My mom left shortly after the party because she has still not fully recovered from her back surgery. The whole time I was trying to get my kids ready for bed, I kept thinking how sad I was that I could go be with Lee. While I was bent over the tub bathing the kids, my phone rang and it was my mom. I told her to call me and let me know she got home ok. When I picked up I just started rambling about how I loved her and was so thankful she came to Knox's party even though she was hurting pretty bad and that I was busy with the kids but as soon as I got an update from Lee, I would call her. She let me ramble for a minute and then she said, "Regan. We are sitting right here next to Lee at the hospital. On the way home we decided that we really wanted to come sit with him, so we are here now and he is doing fine so far." Tears just started flowing. I love my mom. I love my family. I love that she adores Lee enough to waddle in to that hospital with a sore back and sit in an uncomfortable chair next to him just to make him feel loved, and that my step father feels the same way. I love that my father stayed over here until late last night (and came back over today for 2 hrs) to fix our AC. I love that my sweet sis in law is always the calm in the middle of the storm, and she just jumped in to action and started serving me when things got hectic. My family is so self-less. They are always willing to do whatever they can to help us. Not because it's convenient, but because they love us. AND...they never expect anything in return and they are so humble about it. Whenever we try to thank them, they almost get uncomfortable :). Please don't hear me say that they are perfect...we definitely have our issues...but they always put family first and do so much for us. I never want to take that for granted. I always want to remember the big and the small sacrifices they make for us!
So...hows that for an end of a 2nd bday party??? I mean, electrocution? Who gets electrocuted these days? Goodness. Never a dull moment around this house.
My sweet Baby Knox-
I can't believe that you are already 2 years old. It seems like yesterday when we brought you home from the hospital to our house in Montgomery. I had no idea what I was in for! You have taught me so much about myself and about the mother I desire to be. I never knew that I could love something so much. Watching you grow and learn and develop has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. You keep us laughing ALL the time, you are extremely independent and passionate, you give the best hugs and hold on extra tight, you love to swing the golf clubs and baseball bats, you are so very gentle with your little sister, you talk in Chinese a pretty good bit :), and you are loved on by so many people. I never want the day to come when I have to stop kissing on those chubby cheeks, or when you stop wanting to "pay" (pray) over our meal 3 times in one sitting while making us put down our utensils and wait for daddy to bless the food...again. I want to hear your contagious laugh ever single day of my life. I love you, kiddo, and I can't wait to see all that this year has in store for you!
