Loving this weather!

Matthew and Anna Gray walking around at Seward Farms



Thomas and Caroline at Seward Farms



On the Cow Train



Matthew pushing Thomas in the car



At the Zoo with Nana. Our camera died so we didn't get many pictures :(



Halloween Party at Kindermusik. Matthew is Woody from Toy Story. "Cowboy"



Chilling in the bed with daddy



Such a big boy!



I was cooking one day and Matthew had taken some Chili Powder and sprinkled it on the window ledge. He was rubbing it on his face like I do with my makeup. haha

Happy Birthday to...

Matthew has his 2nd birthday Saturday! We had a Thomas the Train party at our house. We had lots of family and friends to help us celebrate! He was walking around singing "Happy Birthday to" "Happy Birthday to". He really liked it when we sang Happy Birthday to him. His face lit up. He had a great time at his party!
Thomas is crawling everywhere. He is also sitting up on his own now and starting to pull himself up/climbing on everything. He will be walking before we know it! He is such a sweet, happy boy!
We took the boys to North Carolina to see Paul's sister and her family. She has 2 children: Whitt, 3 yrs old and Payson, 7 1/2 months old. We drove 14 hours in one day!! The boys actually did really well. We went to a few museums, did a little shopping, had some carolina bbq, went to Duke gardens, and got to see our friends, Dawn and Bailey from optometry school! We had a great trip!


Birthday Boy!


"Happy birthday to you!"


Paul's Family- 4 generations


Celebrating Matthew's birthday with his cousin Whitt.


Matthew and Whitt running around at Duke Gardens.


Thomas and Payson, 3 weeks apart


I love this picture. Matthew wanted to walk with Thomas and hold his hand. So sweet.

What is not going on...

We are super busy these days. Matthew started Mother's morning out at Trinity Methodist Church this week. He did great and has a great class. I know he will enjoy that. Next week we will start Kindermusik. I think Thomas and Matthew will both enjoy it, and we are doing it with some friends. I have also joined a women's BIBLE study group at Trinity which I am very excited about. I have been wanting to do one for a while, but our church just doesn't really offer that for us. It is during the day, and they offer child care, so Matthew and Thomas get to go play for a little while. I have also starting running a little now that it has cooled off a some. We will see how long it last though ;)
Tropical Storm Lee left us with some water in our bedroom and Matthew's bedroom. We had a couple inches of water coming in from the ground. We have a french drain, but I think we just got too much water for it to handle. So our bedrooms have been a mess this week, and I think we are going to have to replace the carpet pads, walls, baseboards, and french drain. I dread having to do all that, but I don't think we have any other options. Matthew has been sleeping in Thomas' room since his is all messed up, and they have been doing great with that. I tried the big boy bed today, and he did great with it. I have really been debating about putting them in the same room lately anyways, so I may just take this opportunity to do it now. I can make Matthew's room a playroom and hopefully reclaim the den!! :)
Thomas is crawling around everywhere now. He likes to get the power cords to the lamp and phone, so I have to keep a close eye on him. Everything goes in his mouth these days. He is doing great with solids, sleeping great at night, and is close to sitting up on his own. Matthew is obsessed with Thomas the train and Toy Story 3. We have to watch them at least once a day! He also is climbing everything. He loves climbing onto the beds and lately he keeps climbing into Thomas' crib with him. Especially after nap time. He doesn't do it unless I am in there though, thank goodness :)

Brotherly love and bunkering down

The boys ready for the first STATE game. GO STATE!!


Matthew was helping me feed Thomas one day, and yes, he has on just a diaper.


Play time!

Well we are bunkered down for the weekend with Tropical Storm Lee. It hasn't been too bad so far, just a lot of rain that comes and goes. But yes, there was a moment this morning when I was scared. We were under a Tornado WARNING, which anyone who knows me well knows I don't do well with bad weather. I think it is one of my biggest fears, so anyways I get out the radios and make sure they work with batteries, get Matthews mattress and take it into the bathroom along with some food, diapers, wipes etc...just in case. Paul went back there and started laughing, which of course I wasn't :) Once the tornado warning expired and the rain had stopped, I sent Paul out to get a weather radio and some groceries. Now I have calmed down a little, and we are ready to watch football and eat my favorite dip- spicy spinach rotel!
I hope and pray this weekend won't be too bad. I can handle the rain and a little wind, but tornadoes scare me!!!

As for my goals, I haven't done too well with them, so since it is the beginning of month, I am going to try really hard to do better this month!

Fun day in New Orleans

Paul had Thursday off so he wanted to take us to New Orleans for the day. We started at City Park at Storyland. It was a really cute place with lots of props from nursery rhymes and popular children's stories. It was a great place to take cute pictures and let the kids climb on and slide down the props. We wanted to go to the zoo, but after being outside for 30 minutes, we decided it was way too hot! So we ended up at the Louisiana Children's Museum. It too was a very neat place. They had a lot of places for the kids to explore. They even had an eye area, which Paul thought was really neat. We had a great time in New Orleans. Can't wait for it to cool off a little so we can go to the zoo!



Jack and Jill with a well and slide


The cow jumping over the moon


The whale


The Firetruck


The Three Little Pigs houses




Matthew is showing Thomas what all the pictures are.

Changes

Well we have a lot of changes going on. Matthew is very interested in the potty now and goes usually about 3 times a day, so I think we are about ready for potty training. I am waiting for him to say potty, then he sits and goes, which he is getting pretty good at, I just want him to be really ready. He has also learned his basic colors and loves being called a "big boy". Thomas had his 6 month check up this morning, and it went well. He weighed 15.8 lbs (13%) and is 26 inches long(18%). He is also starting solids, we have done sweet potatoes and peas so far. I tried green beans, but he did NOT like them, so I will try again later. He is sliding around everywhere on the floor, so it won't be long until I have two really mobile babies!! Paul had his last day in Purvis last week. He had been going there once a week for the past 5 years. So that gives him another day at Belk Eye Clinic now. Football season is starting up, so that is always a fun time for us :) Here are some recent pictures:


Matthew loves getting in Thomas' tub


Thomas is on the move...


This is how I found Matthew after a nap one day. I had given him a sucker earlier for going potty, but he didn't finish before nap time. He was upset about his shirt so I gave him his sucker back while I took a picture.


Again, monkey see, monkey do. Matthew came and laid down by Thomas and started kicking his feet like him...too funny


I snuck away for a little while, and when I came back this is how I found the boys...watching football of course. Matthew has his hands up saying "Touchdown!"

The Williston Household...

Well today would normally be my first day back to school. It does feel weird not having to go back, but I feel so lucky that my husband is giving me the opportunity to stay home with our precious baby boys. Yes, it can be trying at times, but it is well worth it. Thanks Paul!! Instead I get to see moments like these:

"NO, NO, NO, Mommy!!!"


I guess old habits never die. Monkey see, monkey do.


Making homemade meals has not been near as hard as I thought it would be. We have pretty much made every meal homemade for the past few weeks. I really like it :) We had homemade marinara with fresh pasta, fried green tomatoes, corn with bell pepper and onion, cornbread, fresh fish that Paul got fishing, pork roast with cauliflower augratin and green beans, sauteed spinach, etc. I am also reading a book called Superfoods RX, which is all about fresh foods. There are 14 superfoods that you can incorporate into your diet that are extremely good for you, and according to the book, help PREVENT many diseases and illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, strokes, diabetes, heart disease, etc. It is an easy read, and I am learning a lot from it.


My helper in the kitchen


As for my little one, Thomas is starting to enjoy his cereal. We are about to move on to vegtables. I am going to try to make as much of his food as I can. He is also trying to crawl. I don't think he will do it for another month or so, but he keeps pulling his legs under him and pushing up. He can scoot around pretty well.