Oh What a Night! - 80's Night!!

As posted earlier, Aaron turned 30 a few weeks ago. We finally celebrated his birthday with all of our friends this past weekend. Since Aaron was born in 1980 we had an 80's themed party. Yep, you guessed it everyone was expected to dress up in 80's garb. We had a great time. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the night.

And Baby Makes 4!

We have been eagerly waiting to share this news with you all. We are indeed expecting our second child! I am 12 weeks and the due date is January 1, 2011!!! We are thrilled, and so excited to add another blessing to our family. So far I feel great with the exception of being a little more tired. Thank you for all your well wishes, thoughts, and prayers during this time. We are blessed to have friends and family like you.

Fathers are the Backbone of Family

I want to wish my wonderful husband a Happy Father's Day. You are truly an amazing father and blessing to our family, and our children are blessed to have a devoted, caring, wise, God-fearing, and loving father. Thank you for all you do for us.

We also want to wish our dad's Happy Father's Day. It is truly an honor to be loved by you. Your wisdom, love, and support have helped us be parents to our own children. Thanks for all you do for us and for our children. We couldn't feel more blessed from above.

Entering the 30's

I just want to wish my awesome husband a very

Happy 30th Birthday!

You are an amazing man, and I hope your birthday was amazing and that this year is filled with adventure and blessings as God leads you. We love you!!

*I'll be posting more pictures later of all our celebrating.

Potty Training

Potty training. That's right, the dreaded words of potty training. To be honest I have been avoiding this issue for a while because every time I would bring it up Levi showed NO interest at all. He hated the idea of it or so it seemed (even though he would periodically sit on the potty). Another reason I have been dreading the potty training stage was the amount of time we would be at home. I knew the first week I would need to be planted at home, and that idea was a complete turn off to me. I love to go and do. So potty training would mean no gym, no shopping, no visiting friends or family, no park, etc. The thought of being home ALL day for a solid week or more was not my idea of fun. Finally I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing. I had no idea how to teach this little kid to potty in the potty instead of his diaper. Sure I had some advice from friends and such, but advice and putting it into practice are two totally different things. All this being said, I decided to wait until Levi turned two and summer rolled around because I knew that I would have few obligations and would be able to give full attention to it. Well... Levi is 2, and summer is upon us.

Monday we started potty training. Let me just say that it has completely worn me out, but that Levi is doing amazing!!! Monday we started and had a few accidents, but several successes. The only problem was Levi had some diarrhea (sorry if this is too much information for you) and developed a rash on his hiney. Other than the rash being painful, he did great, but it did make him have a few more accidents. Tuesday he did awesome. He had one accident first thing in the morning, but complete successes the rest of the day!! I am so proud of him, and I'm actually amazed that it has been as easy as it has been. Day three is today, and so far so good. Guess I'll be posting the rest of our progress soon enough. Wish me luck!

P.S. Thanks Rachel for letting me use your potty - it's been a BIG help!

EIT

Yesterday we found out that Aaron PASSED his EIT (Engineer-In-Training) Exam!!! We are so thrilled. This is a big deal because most people have to take it at least 2 or 3 times to pass it, and Aaron passed it on the first try! Now he will be able to apply for the PE Exam to get his engineering license. I am so proud of him!

Celebrating 2!

Levi's birthday was last weekend and we had a blast celebrating the whole weekend long. Friday was his actual birthday and I took him out to lunch at Zaxby's and then to the park to play. He loves to swing. That night we went out to dinner with my family. Saturday morning we took Levi to the Yellow River Game Ranch. Levi loves all animals, and he had a ball feeding the deer and other animals. He thought it was completely awesome. That evening we had his party. It was just a small party with our family, but Levi had a blast and racked up on trucks and cars (anything transportation is a big hit with him). Sunday and Monday (because it was Memorial Day weekend) we were able to just hang out as a family and play with all his new toys. I absolutely cannot believe my baby is 2 year old! Who am I kidding - he isn't really a baby anymore. However, he is absolutely amazing. Every day I am in awe that he is our son, and that we are so blessed to be his parents. These have definitely been two unbelievably amazing years! In celebrating the 2 year mark here are a few things about Levi:

• He talks in sentences, and can usually repeat any word you ask him to. He quite possibly learns a new word everyday.
• He loves all forms of transportation: trucks, cars, tractors, lawn mowers, airplanes, bicycles, motorcycles, trains, and buses.
• He knows 5 of his toddler catechisms. (I hope to video him saying them soon to post for you to hear).
• He is in the 95% for height and 75% for weight. Tall and lean!
• Still loves VeggieTales.
• He loves animals. He can identify nearly 40 animals last I counted, and learns more all the time. Some of his favorites are doggie, deer, bugs, hippo, rhino, and cows.
• He is so curious, and asks "What's that?" constantly.
• He is a funny little guy. Even at this young age he already knows how to pull a fast one on you.
• He loves his friends and family. He always wants to know where Avery, Walker, Malia (church friends) Cara, Lou Lou, Bay, MyMama (Grandmama), and Mammy (my mom) are.
• He knows how to clean his room, and is usually quite obedient in getting it done.
• He loves outside. He would be outside 24 hours a day if he could. He loves to dig in the dirt, ride bikes, chase Dodger, pick flowers, mow the lawn, throw rocks, etc. If it's outside then he's game.
• He's 100% boy, and we love it!

I've never been what I would call a bookworm, but I do enjoy a good book. And when I say a good book I mean that it has to be good. I'm not one of those people who have to finish it even if I don't like it. I've been known to put it down a hundred pages into it if I don't like it. That being said (as if you really cared so much), I recently finished these two books. I read The Last Song earlier, and then went to the movie (the book was better of course). Yesterday I finished Firefly Lane, and it was wonderful. A good story about life, and being a stay-at-home mom I especially enjoyed that story within the story. If you're looking for summer read I would definitely suggest these for your reading pleasure.