Wow I can't believe it's already August! We have been so busy that I need a nap just thinking about it. I broke it down month by month but just reading through it I'm still amazed at all we've done this summer. Not to mention somewhere in there we squeezed in reading 130 library books as part of the Starship Adventure (the library's summer reading program). Sure some parents would just go buy their kids the 25 cent prizes at the entrance at a grocery store but I made ours earn it!
Friday (Aug 1st) was just Aaron's birthday but the poor guy came home to a sick family- Hannah had pneumonia (105.1 temp) and Joshua and I both got strep, so we are just now all back together again. Of course it's no wonder we got sick when you see what we have crammed into the last 8 weeks!
Except for the sickness, life is great. Joshua is 8 months old and has moved from the "wounded soldier" crawl to the "go anywhere I want faster than mommy" crawl, to pulling up & cruising along anything he can get his hands on. Did I mention he has 6 teeth?
We just joined the YMCA and have taken the kids swimming a few times. He's hilarious, he tries to crawl and then puts his face right in the water and just looks up at you like, "Hey did you know ther'es something down there?" Then goes for it again, not caring if he goes under or not. Hannah on the other hand is very cautious in the water and likes it-but on her terms (ex: no going under!) She likes watching the Olympics and is amazed that they can go underwater. She's more into the "Kid"ercise with marching and jumping jacks.
Currently we are preparing for Sew Much More, our small group mission project were we sew 250 reversible dresses in one marathon of a day (with lots of volunteers of course). The dresses then go to Brazil, Mexico and China. Please pray for it, as it is pretty cool and this year it's coming up Sept 6th. Check out last year's website: http://sewmuchmore.carbonmade.com/
Hannah just started preschool today (Aug 12th) where she will go 2 days a week like last year. Hopefully things will calm down for us now that summer's coming to a close.
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Louisiana &Allie's 2nd Birthday
July Update
July was pretty much a blur for us. If there was such a thing as car miles (like airline miles) we would be cashing in big time! We celebrated the 4th of July with some friends here in Tennessee and Hannah loved the fireworks and Joshua could have cared less! Then our good friends Melanie, Steve & Bri came for a visit from OKC and met Joshua for the 1st time! They left on a Monday and Tuesday night we headed the 15 hour trek up to Minnesota. We got in Wednesday morning and picked Amanda (Aaron's sister) up at the airport Wed. night and all of us headed north to the cabin. It was so much fun at the cabin except we missed Amanda's hubby Kevin who was in China on a mission trip. We went out on the pontoon boat, swam, grilled steaks and roasted marshmallows. It was a great time. Then we came back to the Twin Cities and I helped throw Amanda a baby shower for Baby Boy St. Clair expected Dec. 2nd. The shower was so fun and a great chance to see a lot of the family. We said our good byes and got home Monday morning, barely unpacked before we headed to Louisiana on Friday. Off to Allie's 2nd birthday party, a great time at the pool and of course Aaron enjoying the golf too. It was fun to have the little ones all together and of course dressed alike! Hannah and Mary-Evelyn headed back to MO with mom and dad for the first ever without all of us-it was for big kids only, no diapers allowed! They had a great few days then Joshua and I and Angela and Allie met up with them in Memphis on Wed night, ate at Rendevous (famous Memphis BBQ) and rode the trolley. Angela and I did a quick stroll down Beale Street and had a great time. We had to cut our trip short because Hannah ran a 105.1 temp-scary! She ended up having pneumonia and an ear infection, I got strep and now Joshua has strep! Thank goodness for Aaron's immune system.
Minnesota Trip
Amanda's Baby Shower
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The Voices
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Red, White & Blue
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Happy 4th of July! We celebrated at a neighbor's house then onto the Smyrna fireworks with friends it was really fun and such a honor to celebrate our freedoms!
Everyone at the zoo
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Lauren, Bobby, Joshua and Hannah had a great time playing in the playground at the zoo
June update
June started with the annual Murray vacation and this year it was at Sam A Baker State Park with cabins and camping. Since we were already in Missouri it worked out well and then Aaron came straight down after getting back from the Bahamas-where he had a great trip and was even able to squeeze in a round of golf between meetings. The vacation started a little rocky as the boat had an unfortunate mishap. Mom, dad me & the kids had taken it out all day and then when it was being unloaded we had a freak accident, so weird and scary at the same time, and it crashed into a tree. Praise God no one was hurt because it could have been a lot worse than a totaled boat. But as usual mom and dad were troopers and after that the vacation was great. Doug, Angela and the girls came up from Lousiania -in style might I add! They brought Angela's folks new camper and it was awesome! We played in the river, went on a float trip, BBQ, roasted marshmallows and all that fun stuff. We got home with Hannah and an ear infection and Joshua and a 2nd tooth! We no more walked in the door and Aaron headed back out again for Vegas. Joshua turned 6 months and started eating solid foods. The Gibson's stopped by for a visit on their way to Florida and we went to Nashville Shores. Joshua got pink eye and then I headed off with mom for a girls weekend in Atlanta to see Christian author and speaker Beth Moore with 19, 000 of our closest friends! We loved it and dad came to Nashville and hung out with Aaron and the kids. I was so worried about how Joshua would do without me, but you know typical stay-at-home mom thought, "Oh at least Aaron will see how hard it is getting up with him at 11pm & 5am." Well I guess Joshua showed me he slept for 12 hours 9:30pm-9:30am! So much for missing me and teaching Aaron a lesson!
May Update
May was a fun month for us. Aaron was busy traveling with work, so we thought hey we might as well travel too! So as Aaron headed off to Vegas, me & the kiddos went to Missouri. Then we came home to get ready for the Meier's (Aaron's folks) to come to Tennessee. It was so great having them here-we went strawberry pickin and took them to Miller's for some true Southern hospitality. We hosted a senior in high school named, Kip, at our house for a few days as he left Boston and came for a intership here in Music City. Then we packed up again and all 4 of us headed to Missouri for Memorial Weekend. We went to Clearwater Lake and had so much fun out on the boat. Hannah went on the innertube, almost fast enough that we had to turn on the motor! Seriously she did tube behind the boat but I would harldy call it a "wake" that she created. My cousin David and his kids, Forrest and Haley, were in from Michigan and my Grandpa all came out too so it was so much fun. On our way home from the lake, we stopped and got Hannah her first pet-a turtle she named it Big Haley a compliment of course to Haley her "big" cousin! Then Aaron headed off to St. Louis for a few day conference at Maritz then mid-week flew to the Bahamas for work. Me & the kids just stayed at mom and dad's house and it was a bit of a bummer as mom was in Nashville and dad was working long hours for Doe Run's big family day. Hannah, Joshua, and I went to Family Day at Fletcher (Lisa and Austin went too) and we got to see dad at work. It was great, Hannah got to go underground in the mines, while Joshua just checked out the office area! Doe Run put on quite a show with a visit from Elvis, a BBQ and a puppet show. Of course my highlight came when we visited the infamous "Bunk" my dad's trailer in Bunker, MO near his work where he resides during the week if he's too tired to travel back and forth to work from the house (it's almost 70 miles one way back to Desloge). Anyway it was great to be able to see it for myself and we'll just say it was quite a sight!
The Gibson's in town
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Having fun with the Gibby's in Nashville
Sweet Hannah
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She is just so much fun, I love this age (most days!)
Baseball Fever: Twins vs. Cards
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Hannah in her Twins gear & Joshua sporting his Cardinal shirt.
Another update
Wow May already! Joshua is 5 months old, and so grown up we can't stand it! He rolls everywhere (except on his blanket). Just today (May 3rd) he started sitting up by himself, as in if you put him in the position he can hold it. His looks are starting to be very much like his daddy, and his personality is just as sweet and laid back as his daddy's too!
Hannah has started soccer which is pretty funny, she doesn't quite have her daddy's moves yet, I'm hoping she grows into his athletic abilities instead of my lack of abilities! She is BIG into going to the library and playgrounds-she knows all the hot spots as we try and go about 3 times a week to different parks.
Easter was wonderful as it was Joshua's 1st and Hannah was hilarious on the egg hunts. We have been busy traveling to see family as we went to Louisiana in late February (note the fashion show pics) and Missouri for Easter and a good friend's wedding. And Minnesota family will be here in just 2 weeks! Aaron's busy season is coming up so he will be traveling quite a bit this summer-he's out of the office all but about 10 days in May. We are so thankful for our TN friends as they keep a close eye on us while he travels.
I'm good, just busy keeping up with the kiddos and trying to fit in "spare time" so I can sew! Keep us in touch with your lives, cause we sure are happy you are apart of ours!
Visitors to Nashville
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Gina Russo and Tim Hercules came into town for a visit so we took them to a real southern treat at Miller's Cafe
Happy Easter
My 1st Real Tea Party
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Hannah and LynLyn dressed up and used real china, tasted real tea and other "fru-fru" items, it's going to be the new tradition for Missouri visits!
Sara & Dave's Wedding
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It was a TD reunion at Sara (Eisenbath) & Dave Guller's wedding. It was a ton of fun & everything was beautiful!
At the wedding
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It was great to have such a fun date night.
Fashion Show
My 1st Soccer Game
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Hannah practicing at the house before her 1st soccer game on April 19th
All clean now
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After bath all snuggled up
Bath time
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1st bath together & what do you think happened? You guessed it, Joshua peed all over her!
Too cute
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The kiddos truly LOVE each other!
Just hanging out
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Joshua almost 3 months
Happy 3rd Birthday!
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Hannah in all her Elmo glory
Hollywood Hannah
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This is what happens when you let a 3 year old dress herself!
Say cheese
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She's not shy when you get the camera out!
Life Changes
Well it seems I'm a little behind on updates but lots has happened at our house! December 1st we welcomed Joshua David, 7 lbs 15 1/2 oz, he came so fast that he turned during delivery and caused major bruising-I hope this is not foreshadowing a boxer! My folks were able to be in town for the birth along with my grandpa and then my brother & family came in that first weekend along with Aaron's folks. It was great to have everyone around but Joshua had a spout with jaundice and we had to have him attached to the billy blanket.
While he was only 3 weeks old, we traveled (thankfully by plane) to Minnesota for Christmas where he was able to meet Aaron's sister & hubby (his Godparents) and Aaron's brother-not to mention the extended family (wow we are blessed!)
We barely got home from Christmas and traveled to Missouri to meet the other side of the family (Julie's).
And we turned around and February 3rd Hannah turned 3 and we had a great time at Chuck E Cheese with all her friends, family and an Elmo cake!
By the time he was 2 1/2 months old he finally got the nursing down and (it was a rough go at first) now he's been sick with all those flu bugs for almost a month now-it's not good to know your Dr on a first name basis! But we finally feel like he's on the upswing.
Now it's March and Joshua is already 3 months old and very alert-loves his big sister, who is FABULOUS with him and loves being a big sister. If that hasn't already been a busy three months somewhere in that time Aaron has traveled to the Bahamas, Alabama for a golf weekend, and Scotland for work and we made a family trip to Louisiana (Joshua has already seen more states than some do in a lifetime!). Good thing we are going to "take it easy" now that we have 2 kids! Ha ha
Hannah actually starts soccer next month (how cute will that be?) so maybe that will keep us in TN a little more often, although with that southern twang she's picked up, Aaron may try and take her North as much as possible!
