Dauphin Island

We went to Dauphin Island this past weekend with the Williams Family and had such a great time. The Butlers were so nice to let us stay at their home. It was perfect. Matthew and Jackson got to go to the beach Saturday morning. Paul said they had a blast playing in the water, building volcanoes and sand castles, running down the beach, and yes...chasing girls. Sara and I stayed at the house with Thomas and Reed. It was a little chilly for us. We also went to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab to see the fish and other sea life. Sunday we went to the Bird Sanctuary and walked around trying to find the turtles and alligators. We were limited to where we could go though since we had the stroller. Matthew enjoyed walking through the woods though. He loves being outdoors and collecting rocks, leaves, and sticks. He was looking hard for the turtles and alligators, but we did not see any. We had a great weekend!

Matthew and Jackson in the boat. Matthew is trying to match up the fish to the chart. Jackson is driving.

All the boys checking out the big fish at the sea lab.

"Come back with those monkeys Matt-chew" (that's what Jackson calls him)

Paul and I walked into the den to this. Matthew showing Thomas his animal book. So sweet.

Our Squash...Paul and I are attempting to grow some vegetables. We planted squash, cucumber, tomatoes, and creole tomatoes.

Happy Easter!

Sheep I made for Matthew. He saw them in a Magazine and loved them so I decided to make them for him.


Easter Eggs that Matthew helped me make. He was so excited and loved them.



Showing Thomas his eggs he made.


I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!


Thomas' first haircut. He was very curious as to what was going on and kept turning head. I had to distract him with my keys.

potty training and sick boys

About a month ago Matthew woke up and requested to go potty. He went, then requested underwear. I called Paul and asked was he ready for potty training. He said "Let's do it." So the first two days I thought I had made a mistake, and we weren't getting anywhere. Lots of accidents and could not hold it longer than 15 minutes. Day 3 was like night and day. He would go several hours in between. I went cold turkey with no diapers. He only wore underwear except for naps and nighttime. We even managed to get out of the house too. We did have a few accidents but overall, he did great! Matthew always seems to impress us. He catches on to things really fast. Now a month later, he is still doing great! We usually have about 1 accident a day, but I am ok with that. He even will go to the little potty by himself sometimes if I am in kitchen cooking or taking care of Thomas. We are very proud of him.
We are trying to get our boys well. Thomas has been battling a cold and ear infections off and on for the past month. We have even been to ENT, and he didn't recommend tubes yet...Hopefully now that the weather is warmer, we can get him better. I feel like we have been stuck at home way too much! Matthew has gotten a staph infection on his thumb :( I have been a crazy person trying to treat it. Staph scares me because it can get bad fast. We are going back to dr today to see what he says. It looks much better, but I just need to hear it from him. I have been making him wear a glove on his hand because a bandaid just does not stay on a 2 yr olds thumb! The only gloves I could find this time of yr in his size were pink...hot pink and light pink. So yes, my little boy has been wearing pink gloves. Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind. I took Matthew to his first movie, The Lorax, Sunday. He did really well. Yes, I made him wear the glove.haha
Always exciting at the Williston house!

Animals and Mardi Gras

Matthew loves to eat with his animals :)





Gulfport Mardi Gras Parade (It was not as cold as we look. LOL Paul had Thomas' hood pulled up to help protect him from the flying beads everywhere.)


"I caught me some beads Mister!"
Matthew had a grand time at the parade. We went to the night parade. He loved all the lights, beads, moonpies, and candy!

I year checkup

Thomas had his one year checkup yesterday. It went well. He is still such a little boy. He weighed 19.4 lbs (6th percentile), was 28 3/4 in tall (19th percentile), which is a little under what Matthew was at 1 year.

Things the boys are doing now:
Thomas- loves to cuddle, walking everywhere and gets going pretty fast, eating table food and drinking whole milk from a cup, says mama and dada and babbles all the time, loves watching Matthew and follows him around, pointing at everything, likes to hold out his index finger to give love (Matthew used to do that in daycare), likes climbing on things, super sweet boy!

Matthew-loves dinosaurs and any kind of animal, starting to use potty again and getting more interested, teaches Thomas (see pictures below), shares well with Thomas- if Thomas has something he wants, he goes and gets another toy before taking it from him.lol, always giving hugs to us and pets our heads, can count to 10 pretty well, count to 20 with help, likes to cuddle now, so sweet and thoughtful, loves his brother "baby", started swimming lessons this week. He did great and loved it. Was able to pull himself out of the pool by himself by the end of our class. He also wore goggles which I couldn't believe because he is just now starting to wear his sunglasses.


Little Drummer Boy




Hey mom, look at me! Want some of my snack?


Matthew teaching Thomas what all the puzzle pieces are. He also reads books to him...so cute and sweet

Happy Birthday Thomas!

Thomas is 1 year old today! We celebrated his birthday Saturday with a few friends and family. Thank you to everyone who came and made his party so special! I think back over this past year with Thomas; he has been such a blessing! Paul and I were a little scared about having two so close, but honestly, we wouldn't change anything about it. He and Matthew get along so well. They really are best friends and play together so nicely (for now at least). I love that Matthew has a playmate 24/7 now, and Thomas just adores his big brother. We have had a great year! I have truly enjoyed staying home with the boys and seeing Thomas go through all the first year phases and how Matthew adapts to him at each phase. Now it should get really interesting with 2 yr old and 1 yr old boys. But for now, Life is good! We love you Matthew and Thomas! Below are pictures of the party.


Thomas' cake


Thomas digging in. He really loved his cake!


He really dug a hole in the middle of his cake. Too funny!





Matthew and his best buddy Jackson. Mimi and Paw Paw watching them play with the trains.


Thomas and his best buddy Reed, who also turned 1 this weekend and is Jackson's brother.


Birthday Boy!!



Opening presents. I had some really good helpers; Matthew and Ava Greear


Cousin Tucker


Thomas is showing off for Caroline. No shirt, haha. I had to change him because he had cake all over him.

Don't underestimate a 2 year old!

Well we come home from the gym and Target and I take the boys inside first as usual. I go back out to the car to get the milk and a few bags. When I try to open the door it was locked!! That is right...Matthew had locked me out. I tried so hard to get him to turn the lock to let me back in, but he didn't understand. I was holding up treats and begging, but it didn't work. He was just running around playing. He would come to the door and wave and say "hey mommy", then run off. He managed to pull his shirt halfway off too. Thomas luckily stayed at the door the whole time with me, so I could see him. Although he did start to play in Roscoe's water. I just knew he was about to start eating dog food, but luckily he didn't. So I called a locksmith, and they said it would take 45 minutes for them to get there. There was no way I was waiting that long! Now I am in panic mode almost ready to break a window or door, so I call the police who sent the Fire Dept over to try and open the door for me. Luckily, they found a way to open the door without having to break any doors or windows, and 40 minutes later I was able to get my 2 yr old and 1 yr old!!! Just another day in the Williston household.....Never a dull moment!

Thomas will be one in a few weeks. He is starting to take steps without holding on now. He is also taking a sippy cup well! I feel like my baby is no longer a baby ;( It makes me sad to see him growing up, but it is also exciting. He and Matthew are able to interact and really play now, so I know they will have a lot of fun together!

Matthew is so funny these days especially the things that he says!! "I don't like that", "Baby need to go night night mommy", "don't worry baby, mommy come get you", "Oh Mommy"-like on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when they call for tootles....just to name a few. He loves trying to hide from me now and usually gets under the table or behind something if he doesn't want to do what I ask him. He really is becoming a little boy!!

I haven't been very good about taking pictures lately, so I will try to do better and post some soon. It is getting harder and harder for me to find time to do things with Thomas being so much more mobile now, and Matthew just being Matthew. LOL..I really can't take my eyes off of them.