Complications

Well I am almost 15 weeks. The past few weeks I have been having some complications. I have been going in about once a week to get an ultrasound. Throughout this all the baby looks great! It was playing with its feet, smacking its mouth, moving all over the place, and has a strong heartbeat! Please keep us in your prayers though. I am having to take it easy and try and rest as much as I can, which is hard with 2 little boys! We are just praying for improvement. Each week seems to get a little better, but it is something that is just unpredictable as for how long it will go on! This had been very scary and tough for us, but seeing the baby each week is reassuring! Thanks in advance for the prayers!

What's been going on?

I haven't posted in forever! We had a good Christmas and Happy New Year! We enjoyed seeing Paul's family that came into town over the holidays. We spent a lot of time with them. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to West Point this year. Everyone was sick! Most are on the mends now and getting better! I haven't taken any recent pictures either..sorry! We went to New Orleans to the Aquarium and Celebration in the Oaks. Paul and I went to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. It was fun to get away without chasing kids. Over the holidays we did a lot of fun, Christmas stuff like Seeing Santa at the parade, Yacht Club, and Mall. We made gingerbread houses and train with friends, saw Disney on Ice. An update on the boys: Matthew- Loves alligators and crocodiles, still loves dinosaurs too, but think he favors the alligators now. He still has a deep love of animals, any kind! He gets our laundry baskets and turns them into Arks for the animals. I even gave him his own basket, but somehow he keeps reclaiming our laundry baskets. He is getting much bigger and more mature. We had a phase he went through where he was a tough cookie, but seems to be back to normal now. He still refers to Thomas as "baby", but usually is looking out for his little brother. Thomas- Loves basketball and basketball goals. He has a love of any kind of ball/sports. He speaks very well and talks all the time. He adores Matthew and does everything he does. He also likes to take our laundry baskets and make them boats. He is all over the place so it is much more challenging now for me to take them both places. Matthew for the most part will mind and stay close to me, but Thomas is like a loose cannon. Either one can also throw a fit at any given moment, so I am much more selective about where I take them both. Since they both go to school, I try to take them places one on one while the other is in school. As for Paul and I, God has blessed up with our 3rd baby!! We are due July 20. We are excited and looking forward to having another child. Matthew will be almost 4 and Thomas will be about 2.5 when the baby comes so I am looking forward to having 2 good big brothers to help out ;) Hope everyone had a great Holiday season!

Pensacola and Halloween

Oh no! There is a T-Rex and an Alligator at my door!

360 Degrees Ferris Wheel at Pensacola Beach

Matthew sharing his dinosaur with Thomas.

Playing on the beach! We were the only ones out there. It was so nice!!

Matthew got to pet the alligator at the Pensacola Zoo. We also trick or treated there too. Matthew was way more interested in the animals than the candy...until we left then all I heard from both was "I want a sucker"

Our giant balcony! Perfect for the kids to run around.

We toured Fort Pickens

We got the see the Blue Angels practice. It was pretty cool. We also toured the Naval Museum. Lots of really neat airplanes. Thomas and Matthew had a blast!

Great Trip! One of my favorites!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Matthew had a blast at his birthday! He turned 3, but tells me he is 2 and doesn't want to be three.

The cake Matthew picked out

The kids eating. So cute! I didn't take many pictures because they were all mostly just playing at the park.

One of the kids brought this motorcycle. We turned around and Thomas had gotten it and was trying to ride it. Too cute!

The boys at St. James Fall Festival. Feeding the elephant for a prize

Couldn't resist! Of course we would have a dinosaur pumpkin! The boys love it!

The boys painting their pumpkins

Fall=Fun

I am loving this Fall weather, even though it is hot for a few days, then cool for a few, but at least it is more pleasant. Matthew's 3rd birthday is Monday, and we are looking forward to his "blue t-rex" birthday party. He loves, loves, loves dinosaurs, and t-rex are by far his favorite. Thomas is 20 months now, and I can already tell he will be 2 in a few months ;) He is such a sweet, happy boy, but he is definitely starting his fits. Here are a few recent pics since I haven't posted in a while. I will post more after Matthew's birthday. Dinosaur exhibit- Our course we had to go!!

The McDaniels came to visit a few months ago. We took kids down to the beach.

These boys just love each other! So sweet!

We took the boys to a wedding last weekend. They were tearing up the dance floor! So cute! Had a blast! Best Wishes to Melissa and Beau!

This picture pretty much sums up the night! Love it! They had some pretty good moves. I was impressed.

18 months

Thomas is 18 months now! I can't believe it! He talks really well and says so much! He is so happy and is just so much fun! I do still put him in a stroller when we go places; otherwise it is so hard chasing Matthew and Thomas...A lady at the library asked me the other day how old Thomas was, I said 18 months, she said "Wow, and you still put him in a stroller!" I call it survival. I do let him out once we get where we need to be, but I am not sure how much longer I will be able to get away with this ;) I will say that Matthew minds much better now and usually will stay close to me. (not always though) Thomas' check up went great! He weighed 23 lbs and 4 oz. and was 32 in tall. Both were the 40%. Most people who see him say "He has really filled out and is stocky". I will say he loves to eat, but he is also a picky eater. I feel like I have two little boys now, and Thomas for the most part is no longer a baby. Even though Matthew still calls him "his baby". Thomas really does think he can do everything Matthew does. I tell people all the time, it is like they are twins, but at different stages..just close enough to have similar interest, but far enough apart that they don't do everything the same yet, even though they try. I think once Thomas gets a little older it will be so much easier. (like old enough that we can play with play dough and not worry about Thomas eating it.) They will both start school in a few weeks. Matthew will go 2 days a week. Thomas will go 1. I am looking forward to having some one on one time with each one so that I can do the things I have been wanting to do with each one. I do love these boys! They make me laugh every day and many days want to pull my hair out ;)

July??

I haven't posted in a while because nothing much has really been going on. I don't really know what we did in July, and I can't believe it is already August!! Thomas has gotten 8 teeth in the past 2 months. He actually hasn't been too cranky considering. He is talking so much now saying just about anything we say. He loves Roscoe. He adores Matthew and really watches/mimics his every move. He always wants to know where his daddy is. He loves playing with the dinosaurs and making them roar. Overall he is such a happy little toddler. He is starting to throw fits though. Sometimes I don't even think he knows why he is crying. He can make statements now such as "Lets go, there it is, whats that, i want my daddy/mommy" Matthew is becoming so much more mature. He still has his tantrums, but seems to understand things better now. We talk all day long about anything and everything. He is very curious and likes to know what is going on. He still LOVES dinosaurs. When he plays with them, he makes them talk to each other now. I love listening to what he is making them say...usually stuff like "Hey dinosaur, do you want to play with me? Are you feeling ok? You gotta take a nap. You have to go to time out"...Not sure where he is picking all this up ;) His new thing is staying in his pjs when we are at home. If we go somewhere, we have to put his pjs back on when we get home. He is a very sweet big brother. He always makes sure Thomas has something to play with. He does still take things away from him, but overall looks out for his brother. I have noticed that the boys get jealous of each other and compete with each other for our attention now. When I am holding one, the other "needs" to be held. If I try to hold them both, they start pushing each other and try to see who can wrap their arms around me the tightest. While it is very flattering, it also can get out of hand. They usually act that way more to me than anyone else. I guess since I am the one they are with all the time. We are having to discipline them now more than ever especially Matthew. It has been very challenging. I have been reading parenting books. I do recommend "Bringing Up Boys " by Dr. James Dobson with Focus on the Family to anyone who has boys. It started out scaring me, but ended up being a good eye opening book about boys and the challenges of raising them into good, christian men. Now I am reading another one of his books "The Strong Willed Child" I will let you know how that one is when I am done. Hopefully I will get some guidance on how to raise these precious boys in a christian manner ;)