Christmas, Part 1...Lolli and Pops style :)

Lee's mom and step dad came down from Auburn for 2 nights to have a little early Christmas with us, as well as celebrate the big boy's 30th birthday. We had such a good time with them! Foxie got his first big boy chair, and a little Fox to accompany him :). He loves climbing in and out of it. I have rather enjoyed it myself seeing as how I am waddling from point A to point B these days. I got some super fun plates and new silverware, which I am pumped about. Don't know how, but my silverware count has drastically diminished since we've been married? Anyways, you know you are getting older when you are excited about place settings :).

We had a relaxing time eating lots of food and sweets (dang you, Lolli!), getting some stuff ready for G-baby, and playing with everyone's new gadgets. Lolli just got an Ipad, which is way super fancy, and Lee got a Kindle for his birthday. You can only imagine how I felt around all these technologically enhanced people. 

The last afternoon they were here, we went to a place called "Whales West" in Baldwin County, which is a Christmas dream for kiddies. It was our first time going, and we were super impressed with everything. There were tons of lights, a petting zoo, a huge train ride complete with hot chocolate and blankets, a trip to the North Pole to see Santa and his workshop, and the kids even got to decorate a wooden train and take it home with them. I loved every second. Knox was NOT scared one bit of the animals and kept trying to touch them, feed them, and stick his head inside the cages. However,  I need you to pay attention to the Santa picture. Knox screamed so loud that Santa got out of his chair so that Lee could sit down for a picture with him. That-a-boy, Foxie. Scare Santa out of his seat :).

Throughout the entire Christmas season, Lee and I must have said 100 times how much more fun it is to watch Knox's reaction to everything and experience it through his eyes compared to our Christmases before he got here.  I'm sure all you parents know the indescribable joy I'm talking about. I will let the rest of the pictures do the explaining. Sorry for the blurriness. Most are from my camera. I simply cannot tote around a toddler, my gargantuan belly, a diaper bag, AND a big camera these days. I'm lucky if I can dig out my phone in enough time to keep up with Knox for pics. Also, who knows what my blog is doing these days, but the pics are a little out of order. I think you will get the drift, though. We are so thankful for Lolli and Pops, and for them making the trip down to see us. We will see them again very soon, when Foxie becomes a big brother!

Back soon with Christmas, part 2. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Night night.

Celebrating G-Baby

The girls from small group threw G-Baby a shower today, and to say that we ate well and laughed hard is an understatement. When they mentioned throwing a shower for us I wasn't too sure since I felt like I JUST had  showers for Knox (which...is a little bit true) and didn't know what was "acceptable" for having a shower with a second child so close in age, but I am so glad we did it. It was so fun and light, which is what I love. We kept it mainly just small group girls and the women in my family, and it was so nice to just sit around and be comfortable...eat a lot...and enjoy all the precious women around me. I honestly can't put in to words what these women mean to me. They have definitely seen the good, the bad, and the ugly...and somehow choose to love on me and my family and encourage me in tremendous ways. They are just like family to me. I am restored by deep friendships and I love love love walking through life with these women. I always know that they will point me to the truth no matter how hard or uncomfortable that might be, and I trust them with every area of my life. Each girl is so unique and different in so many ways, and we are all in different stages of life, but somehow we work...REALLY well :).

I have a few pictures to post, but I am really sad that I don't have some of the food. It was ah-mazing and beautiful! Hopefully Leslie took some snaps and will send them to me. I went back through my camera and realized that we took a lot of crazy pictures that you couldn't pay me to post...but we did manage to squeeze in a few normal ones. I am going to try-as best as I can-to put in to words how amazing these women truly are!

                                                                         Group Shot

Here is sweet Amy. She has an adorable little boy, Brandt, and just found out a few weeks ago that she will be giving Brandt a brother is April. So fun!! Amy was in the first small group that we were in, and it was neat to go through a lot of the same stages of life together. She and I both are teachers, and we have been pregnant at the same time with both children! Can't wait to meet baby #2!

                                          

Sweet Andrea. She is known as "Supermom." Mother of 3 BEAUTIFUL children, Audiologist, and amazing wife! She was the one of the first people I remember meeting when we started going to church at COTES, and her life has impacted me so much. She loves the Lord so much and everything about her life reflects it.

Oh, and here's little Mrs. Leslie. Precious, Precious! I call her the "Face of COTES." She is on staff at church, and you will ALWAYS find her volunteering or serving in some way or another. She has been married for 17 years (isn't she a hottie?) and has 3 awesome kids. 2 redheaded boys (might I add :)), and an adorable little girl. She will seriously serve your face off, so watch out. The shower was at her house today, and it was beautiful. She is somewhat of a role model for me. I love everything about her life and am so encouraged by her love for people.

Misty. One of my all-time favorite people. She is the mother of 2 of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. Her oldest is 5 and she has just recently added baby Holland to their household about 4 months ago. I can't get enough of those girls. I met Misty 3 years ago and have watched her hunger for the Lord grow in ways you wouldn't believe. I feel honored to be a part of her life and to experience everything the Lord is doing in and through her. She is, not to mention, one of the funniest people I know. There are NO secrets with Misty and you will always, always know what she is thinking. I love it! She is so real and down to Earth, which I believe to be an amazing and rare quality. 

Ohhhh...we all know and love these 2 ladies, especially the one on your left...Crazy Wawa! Haha. Wawa on your left and RiRi (mom) on your right. I really wish I would have had a microphone on me today to record the stuff she was saying. No filter, WaWa. No filter. I am not sure there is enough time to post about these 2 sacrificial women. Both have raised me and bent over backwards for me when I least deserved it growing up. My mother would literally give you the shirt off her back if you needed it and not think twice. Her super patient and never-ending love for her children is one of the traits that I admire most about her. These 2 women love them some Foxie Knoxie, but I think it's safe to say that they are super pumped that I will be having a daughter of my own very soon. The more I think about it, maybe they are just excited for me to get some payback for all the trouble I put them through growing up? :)

Here is my heartbeat, Sister. I am not loving this picture, but I am loving the girl in it.Trying to find the words to describe her is already making me tear up, so I don't think I will spend too much time on it. You already know how important she is to me, and how she is the epitome of the word "sister." I don't think that I could have hand picked a better sister, and I definitely know that she gives me a run for my money when it comes to loving Knox! She is definitely his second mother, and sometimes I wonder if he'd prefer to be hers?? She has played such a huge part in teaching me about life, relationships, marriage, and parenting. I thank God for her everyday.

Oh. My. Soul. This crazy cat is Brady. If you don't know her, you need to meet her. Don't let this sweet picture fool you. She is out of control. This is the infamous girl I have talked so much about that gave birth to twin boys in September. She now has 3 little boys under the age of 20 months! She is a TROOPER, and I couldn't have chosen a better mother for those boys...She is perfect for the job! Brady is my accountability partner and we meet every week and share all the little things in our life that we need prayer over or just need to vent about (while we are feeding babies at the same time :). She pretty much can roll with the punches and is totally laid back with everything...a little something I need to pick up on. She can also run faster and farther than Forrest Gump. It's true. She ran a half marathon like it was nothing while she had 2 babies inside of her. 

I don't know how it happened, but I do not have a picture with ANGIE!! We took some, but they didn't turn out!? Sadness. Angie is by far the FUNNIEST person you will ever meet. And...she is LOUD, which is awesome since we all know I am not the quietest person to be around. Her laugh is seriously contagious and every time I am with her I can't wait to hang out with her again. What I love most about Angie is that she will never, ever, compromise what she believes for anything or anyone. The Lord is definitely her rock and her salvation and you will know it about her after 2 minutes of meeting her. She has 3 children as well, and always finds time to serve you in some way, shape, or form. She gives the most amazing hugs, and she loves to be an ear and listen. She is a really good listener and truly desires to be a sounding board for me whenever I am at my wits end about something. In fact, little lady has definitely listened to me this week about my child having temper tantrums. She even comes over and drinks hot chocolate with me while I vent :). AND...if I ever need to cry, she welcomes it whole heartedly. It doesn't scare her at all and she almost makes me feel like it's normal to cry about things. Almost...

I don't have a pic with Rachel either, but she is a sweet young thing that has been married for a while now and they are contemplating starting a family. She is so precious and innocent, and bless their hearts-they are placed around all of our children every week for small group. It's amazing that they would even think about babies and children since they get to experience the zoo we have going on each week. One thing is for sure, she will definitely have lots of girls to talk to and borrow things from when her time comes. Our group has like 50 kids in it!

And lastly, but certainly not least, the one...the only...Brett Jones. Crazy girl threatened our lives if we posted any pics of her today, so I thought I would post a pic of her Christmas card. It pretty much sums up her personality all together:

It's true. That's a picture of her and David Hasselhoff. She sent these puppies out to everyone, and I am pretty positive that all the recipients wet their pants. She brought some copies to the shower today and handed them out and the girls were rolling. Especially Wawa :). Brett is the owner of The Polka Dot Princess and as you can see, is very creative. She and I go all the way back to college and campus outreach days. We didn't really start off as friends at first, but she is someone that I have really gotten to know and can really be honest with and relate to. Her life is incredible and she is super involved with the high school girls at our church. They don't realize how lucky they are to have someone like her in their life...young, fun, honest, CRAZY, hysterical, loves the Lord, etc. I could go on about her and her craziness for a quite a while. After the shower today, a few of us stayed around and just cried laughing at her while she entertained us for a bit. I so wish that she would still be around the youth group when Greer becomes of age. Something tells me she will be in a different phase of life at that point, though.

O.K., I'm done. SO thankful for these women and for what they mean to me. I can only Pray that Greer has a group of women like this helping her walk with the Lord as she "does" life. But until she grows up and finds her own special group of friends, she can hang out with us for a while...

34 week update

First of all, I am having some issues with the "going private" move. I have had quite a few people tell me that they are unable to read the blog, even though I added their email address. I have been going back and forth trying to fix it, and well, you know me...computer savvy and all. I can't seem to get it working correctly, so until I do I guess we will keep the blog open. AND...I managed to mess up the background/layout situation, but I am too tired to try and fix it. SO...I guess you will just have to "pardon my progress" for the time being.

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 34 week appointment. Looks like G-baby (Lee's nickname for her, and I must admit...it's kind of sticking) has definitely dropped...way low. Dr. Shoemaker said that he was going to check me and if I was dilated I was on strict bed rest. Thankfully, I am not progressing with dilation or effacement at this point. By the way, my oh my how I have NOT missed getting checked. I completely forgot how "fun" that was. Anyways, he asked me to take it slow and get lots of rest. Is anyone laughing at that along with me? I can see it now...me on the couch eating bon-bons with my feet kicked up while Foxie rules the house. Absolutely do-able. Oh wait...opposite day. There is absolutely no way I can lay around with my feet propped up all day. I have gotten in the habit of napping when he naps and laying on the couch as soon as he goes down around 7, so that's helping. Here's to resting when I can!

My sweet friends from church/small group are throwing me a a little shower tomorrow, and here is a story that I couldn't possibly make up. I am running out of clothes that are comfortable and somewhat cute these days, and I certainly can't keep up with the weather change. I never know what the temperature will be. Anyways, I went looking for some shoes to wear to the shower last night, and got completely humiliated in the process. I was walking up and down the isles and I could feel this woman constantly looking at me. So when it came time for me to pass her, here is how the conversation went:

Stranger: " I saw you from behind from across the room and I thought to myself-what a sweet little high school girl. And then you turned around and SCARED me with your belly! It literally made me do a double take and almost took my breath away. Are you past your due date?"

Me: "No ma'am. I have 6 weeks left."

Her mouth fell to the floor and her eyes got as big as basketballs. She then proceeded to tell me that she felt sorry for me.

I mean, seriously. There are just things that you absolutely do not say to people. I half wanted to ask her where her manners were. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I left the store and drove home last night. If you need me for the next 6 weeks, I will be hiding out in the privacy of my own home...

A little bit of this... and a little bit of that...

Right now I am laid up on the couch while Lee is running to get me chocolate pie. Nice. I am sure the scale will thank me when I visit him on Thursday. I do believe I might start stepping on backwards. I will be 34 weeks on Thursday, and I honestly do not know how I am going to make it 6 more weeks. I don't know if I am so uncomfortable because I am constantly chasing Knox or what, but I remember LOVING being pregnant the first time and being happy to "show". This time...not so much. I caught myself trying to SUCK IN MY BELLY a little  bit the other day when I ran in to an old friend. Really? Suck in? Ridiculous. Something tells me she still noticed I was pregnant...

SO...I have slowed down a TON. I am usually in the horizontal position laying beside Lee on the couch as soon as Knox goes down. I feel like there has been so much to blog about, but my eye lids defeat me and I would rather sleep than update the blog. Has anyone ever felt their baby "drop" at the end of their pregnancy? I remember very vividly feeling it with Knox, and he was born about 2 weeks later. Well, I am pretty certain that Greer dropped today. The same exact feeling, tons of pressure, and even more uncomfortable. In fact, a friend that I go to church with told me today that my belly looked a lot lower than usual. Normally, this would be exciting news, but since I am only at 34 weeks, I am thinking that this is not great news. As much as I want her out, she needs to stay in there for a little bit longer. All that to say, please keep that in your prayers.

I know that no one really likes to read blogs...they prefer to see pictures. I will have a few random ones that I will post. Nothing of crazy importance. We went to see Santa at Bass Pro the other night. You might have heard...literally. The screams were quite shrilling and it ended with mommy being in the picture. NOT what I was hoping for. I avoid cameras at all costs these days :). I do have to tell this funny story. Brady (my friend with the 3 month old twins and 19th month old boy) and I went together with all the boys to Bass Pro. Please get this visual. Our husbands are meeting us up there since we were going right when they got off work. It's freezing outside. Brady unloads the twins into the double stroller and all of their bags and blankets. I am carrying Knox...super pregnant looking...and am walking and holding Sanders hand at the same time. We are trying to rush and get all the boys inside since it's so cold, and we are solo because our husbands are parking. Sanders trips on the curb, Knox is slipping from my grip, and the diaper bag is falling off my shoulder. Brady is ahead of my pushing the monster stroller. People are literally staring. One man even stopped and offered to help us. Haha. He probably wanted to tell us to quit reproducing! I am sure we looked like a circus with all the kids. Anyways, there was a 2 and a half hour wait. I can't talk about it. We need more than one Santa on the Eastern Shore!

In other news, while the hubs went to the SEC championship game, I was at home with this guy who decided to get the stomach virus that Friday night.

We spent a lot of time in the tub since it was a "safe place". I tell you what...I don't know how single moms do it. Between changing sheets, doing laundry, holding the baby, and cleaning up throw up...2 hands simply isn't enough. Lee was at the game that weekend hosting clients, so it was work related, but bless his heart he felt terrible that he wasn't here. There is nothing sadder than your child being sick and puny. He laid on me the ENTIRE day on Saturday. I loved the cuddle, but I couldn't enjoy it because I knew it was only because he felt terrible. By the way, I would rather eat bugs off the floor than smell and clean up throw up. I'm just sayin'...

(And as a side note, Lee got to hang out with people like Jason Bateman-from the Break Up-while I nursed our child back to health - sacrifices.:))


Lately we have really been working on and dealing with mealtime with Knox. He seems to usually do OK if we are at home, but man oh man does he not do a good job in public. Yikes. He does NOT want to stay in his highchair AT ALL. It can be so frustrating! I had a long talk with his pediatrician about this as well as temper tantrums. Yes, Knox has started the tantrum phase...at a ripe ole age of 17 months. He gave me some great advice about just full out ignoring them and walking out of the room when they occur. Well, he had one this morning and he wailed for about 30minutes. I could tell he was just wanting my attention...which is what the doctor said he wanted, whether it be good or bad attention. It was more like a fake cry for a while. Once he stopped I opened the door and praised him for stopping. He smiled really big and we continued to play like the tantrum had never happened. Well, he started to have another one tonight and as soon as I disappeared from the room he only continued to cry for like a minute. Once he realized that I would cut off all communication with him if he continued, he stopped. In the past, I would try to cheer him up with a toy or hold him or try to soothe him, which only made the situation worse. It isn't fun dealing with this at  17 months, but hopefully we can handle it now and nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand.  Since I have an education degree and taught elementary school for 5 years, I never in my life imagined that MY child would be one that threw a tantrum ( insert sarcasm). Oh my how the Lord continues to humble me with each and every passing day. God is definitely showing me that I simply cannot control everything. I haven't fully grasped it yet, but He shows me constantly. I can honestly tell you that I once believed that I would never have to deal with things like this because I knew how to "discipline". I never understood why other kids would freak out in grocery stores, in highchairs at restaurants, etc. Now I look at the parents with such compassion...because I know I am right there with them at times...eating my huge serving of humble pie.

My sister gave us the little table and chair set that the girls use to play with. Knox would rather push all the chairs in and out 100 times a day, but every now and then he will sit for a second and color, "read" a book, or have a bite of yogurt :)

Sister also passed down this spinner-thing that he loves. So what if he cheats at times and pushes himself with his foot...



And...the only time he takes a break from running around the house is when he stops to take a gander at "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"...

That's about it for now. I have been really trying to finish Greer's room, but finding time is a little more difficult these days. I will say that I have officially washed and organized all of her clothes, and if you remember that post of all the bags my sister gave me (which was only up to about 12 months!), then you would know how much of an accomplishment that is. Just a few more things to complete, then I will have some pics to post.

Sorry for the length!

Safety First!

We have decided to moderate the blog a little and do an "invite only" for readers. This is not meant to shut people out, we would just prefer-safety wise-to know who is reading all about our family...since I can be an "over-sharer" sometimes :). Plus, I am a nerd and get a little scared when I hear all this stuff on the news. Anyways, I don't have everyone's email addresses, so if you want to keep reading just leave your email in the comment section or you can email me at kmlgblblog@gmail.com. I will switch it over to readers only tomorrow. Back soon with some new posts!

This little Reindeer...

Had a big time at Mother's Day Out today :)

"Hey Knox..."

"Would it by O.K. if Mommy and Daddy got the bumbo out and tried to squeeze your chunky thighs in it so that we can restrain you and take a picture in front of the Christmas tree?"

After a 3rd attempt of squeezing and Lee dancing around like a fool behind me...

And this is after us singing some Veggie Tales to him. Gets him every time...for about a second.

And then we finally gave in and took him out and just let Daddy hold him for a picture.

And because my precious husband can't find half of my Christmas decorations, including the wreath I made our first year of marriage and LOVE (I'm still REALLY confused about how boxes and boxes are missing??), I decided to make a pink wreath this year. Kind of fitting for the season of life we are in right now :). Anyone proud of me for using PINK? Lee was shocked!

Looks like decorating is going to be a work in progress for a while since we are missing quite a few Christmas items :(. Hopefully it will be completed before the big guy comes down the chimney!