Good Thing

So, we're sitting at the table eating lunch. Someone had given us a really ripe, fresh tomatoe (yes, I spell tomatoe with an 'e'.) and we sliced it to eat with our lunch. Toward the end, I realized I had dripped tomatoe goop across the front of my shirt. Jaybird says, "Uh-oh. Tomatoe juice doesn't come out, Mom, remember!" (I think I had told him that one time.) "I'm sad because that's my favorite shirt you have. I like when you wear that one" (I have no idea why--it's just a t-shirt Sammy brought me from New Orleans). Then he launches into this monologue that would make any marketing major proud! "Mom! I know what you need to do. You need to get some of that stuff that washes shirts really good. It's in a red bottle and you just spray it on the shirt and it will get anything out of the shirt. It's in the red bottle. You have to get the one in the red bottle. But, you just spray it on and wash it and then the shirt is clean again. I saw it on a commercial once. It's got a red bottle and it washes stuff really good. Good thing I watch so many commercials, huh, Mom!" All I could do was laugh and shake my head, "Yeah, good thing you watch so many commercials, Jaybird".

The Precious Mind of My Son

Jay, Sara Grace, and I are sitting down to lunch--macaroni and cheese with a side of peaches--a very "daddy's out of town" meal for us. :) Anyway, Jay and I were discussing the amount of mac and cheese that I had. He wondered why I had more than him and Sara Grace. I told him not worry because I wasn't going to eat it all (yes, I was eating it out of the pot--Sammy's out of town! :). I told him that if I ate that much mac and cheese my belly would explode! He giggled and said, "Yeah, you'd get FAT!!" (I will pay him five dollars later for saying 'going to get fat' rather than saying 'get fatter' or something). I laughed and said, "yeah, I'd get really fat!". Then he said, "Not really, right? Only boys get fat. Girls don't get fat" (I'm attempting to disguise the amusement on my face). I said, "Oh really?" hoping he'd elaborate. He said, "I've never seen a fat girl." (Oh! The love in my heart right now!!) "I've seen a fat boy before. Actually, I've seen lots of fat boys. Boys can even get fat when they're little and when they're big (meaning age)", he says. That was about the end of the conversation. Well, at the end of lunch, I did end up finishing the mac and cheese (it SURE was good!!). I said, "uh-oh, I did eat it all!!" He got this mischievous little grin and leaned over to look under the table as if expecting my belly to look like the girl from Willie Wonka. When he was fully leaned over so he could see, he instilled the most love and pride a son can provide his momma by saying, "Nope! Still skinny!!" Ahhhh....indescribable!! Pretty sure he gets TEN dollars later!! :)

Touch A Truck

Monday night we had an event at church called "Touch a Truck". We had all sorts of vehicles come for kids to see up close and even get in. We had fire trucks, police cars, an ambulance, a bucket truck, tractors-old and new, an army truck, new Dodge trucks, a new Mustang, a Hummer, a Shriner car, motorcycles, 4 wheelers, a rock climber, a bass boat....we even had a helicopter come!! Unfortunately, the helicopter only got to stay for about 20 minutes before it had to leave, but thankfully I got the kids there early, so we were one of the few that actually got to see it! :)



Here are some pictures of the helicopter landing--Jaybird thought it was too loud! :)

The guys with the helicopter were super nice and let the kids get up in the chopper. They told us all about it. Jay thought it was neat. I'm pretty certain that this was the ONLY way I EVER want to see the inside of that helicopter! (It was a Life Force helicopter for a nearby hospital.)

Jaybird says that the fire truck was his favorite. Sara Grace was pretty fond of it, too...although it was not her favorite (you'll see that later!).

The firemen were really friendly, as well! They even let Jaybird put the headphones on! He felt special! :)

Jay loved the Shriner car.....espeically the horn on it!! Unfortunately, no one else appreciated his honking ability (especially Mommy!).

This was Sara Grace's favorite. It was a little miniature 4 wheeler. She LOVED it. Every time she got free, she went straight to it and tried to get up on it! I might stick big ole hair bows in her hair, but she's still gonna be a little tomboy! That's my girl! :)

Sara Grace cracked people up when she got on the motorcycle. Her favorite part was LOOKING IN THE MIRROR!! Okay, so maybe she's not 100% tomboy! :)

If Jay hadn't told me that the fire truck was his favorite, I would have guessed that this was his favorite. He jumped on this tiny dirt bike and his face was priceless! :)

So, there was a special ops unit there, too. Sammy and I went to get a picture of me holding the gun and that the special ops guys said I had to put on all the gear if I was going to hold the gun! HAHAHA. What a crazy picture! I'll tell ya, though, that gear was HEAVY! I asked how they could chase somebody with all that gear on.....they told me they didn't chase people....that's what the gun's for! hahaha

The Real Batman

As a lot of you know, Jaybird insists that he is the REAL batman! (as is evidenced by his email address!!) Well, this past Saturday, I was at the consignment sale that is going on in Chattanooga right now. I was in the checkout line and looked to my right and saw something I knew I had to buy! There next to me was a Batman costume--complete with mask, cape, belt, and chestplate! It was marked at only $3.00. I picked it up and said, "I know a little boy who HAS to have this!" I took it home with me and Jaybird has worn it every day since! He's a hoot. I agreed whole heartedly with Sammy when he told me that was the BEST three dollars I've ever spent! :)

I thought I'd tack this on, too. This is a song that Jaybird made up one night and wanted me to capture. He used to make up songs all the time when he was little (anyone remember the Dough Boy song?!?) He stopped doing them for a while, but now it's started back. Now they are usually about God and Jesus! Too sweet! :) I'll put the words below in case anyone is having a hard time understanding him with a stuffy nose! :)

God loves us so much more than anybody loves us

He loves us more than the highest mountain

He loves us soooo much

God loves us with all His heart

More than we love Him

God loves us soooo much

More than anybody....That's the end! :)

Sara Grace's New Friend

Some ladies from church came to visit for a little while this past Saturday. They brought their new puppy with them. (Yes, Sammy actually let a dog in the house--he didn't have much say in the matter!) Her name is Daisy and she is a Chiweiner (I think that's what the lady called it--chihuahua and dachshund mix). Sara Grace, who usually isn't overly fond of dogs, LOVED DAISY! I think it's because Daisy was so small--Sara Grace didn't really feel threatened by her. Anyway, Sara Grace had a great time loving on/tormenting this dog. Her favorite was pushing her around in her doll stroller!! I hope this isn't a glimpse into the future--dogs with hairbows carried in purses! :)

So Sara Grace

Okay, so last night, I caught several very "Sara Grace" things on camera. I don't know if you can tell in the videos, but she has pink eye, so we stayed home from church. Well, clearly, the pink eye wasn't affecting her much. She was still very much in her normal high spirits.

This first video catches one of her new phrases (and one of my favorites). She has started saying, "Be right back" when she goes to get something. It is the cutest thing to me. She puts one little finger up in the air--"Be right back". :)

This next one starts out with her doing a prompted "Oh man!". She does this genuinely when I tell her she can't do something she wants to do. She'll say "Oh man!" and stomp her little foot. When it's sincere, there's a little frown that goes with it. This one was requested by Mommy, so it's got a smile with it. I was about to stop recording after the "oh man" performance, but she went straight into singing, so I thought I'd keep recording. The "Bible, Bible" part is her version of "Jesus Loves Me" (the Bible tells me so). But, then, she goes into "This Little Light of Mine"--that's what the blowing on her finger is (Don't let Satan pffft it out). It's kinda a combo of the two songs.

This last one I caught as I was about to upload the other videos onto the computer. This is one of her favorite things to do. Sometimes the songs are recognizable, but other times (like this one), they are simply Sara Grace originals! She even includes her own applause at the end! Enjoy! :)

Jay's Dinosaur

Jaybird has been studying dinosaurs at school. Last Thursday he brought home an assignment from his teacher saying that she wanted the kids to make dinosaurs at home using things they had around the house. They were supposed to be as creative as possible. Jay and I worked together Monday and here's what we came up with:
We used a paper plate and plastic spoons to make a stegosaurus....or as Sammy calls it, a SPOONASAURUS!! :)

A Day at the Park

One day while Jaybird was still on Christmas break, I decided to take the kids to the park for a picnic. It was kind of a cold day, but we were needing to get out of the house and it sounded like a fun little outing. That morning at the grocery store I let the kids each pick out a Lunchable to take to the park on our picnic. After we got home and put all the groceries away, we bundled up and headed to the park. It was pretty chilly while we were eating, but once we started playing, it wasn't too bad at all. And the best part was that NO ONE ELSE WAS THERE!! :) We had the whole park to ourselves! The kids LOVED it! :)




This picture is of Sara Grace and I riding the seesaw together. :) She just thought it was the funniest thing that I got on there with her! She just giggled and giggled! We had a good time! :)



Jaybird, of course, is an old pro at the whole playground thing. He had a great time running from toy to toy and not having to wait his turn to play on anything! :)

The kids played REALLY well together, too. They rode several of the rides together. Here's a video of them on one of the rides. And, as a side note, I know it LOOKS like Sara Grace busts her face in this video, but I'm pretty sure she didn't! :) She came close and that's actually the reason I stopped the video when I did--attempting to avoid a busted lip. But, when I watched the video at home, the look on her face toward the end looks like she actually DID bump it. There was no crying though, so I'm pretty sure she didn't get hit.....or maybe she's just EXTRA tough! :)

Some fun peek-a-boo pictures. :)







Jaybird was quite the brave boy this day. It made me quite nervous, but he seemed quite calm. He spent quite a bit of time just standing up at the top of this climbing ladder. He'd let go and hold his arms up in the air. I think he knew it was making me nervous--which made it all the more fun for him! :)







Here is a picture of Sara Grace's slide experience. She wanted BADLY to do the slide. She begged in her little Sara Grace babble to do the slide. So, I helped her go up the stairs and make her way over to the slide. Then, this is her response (facial expression translates "You've GOT to be kidding! I'm NOT going down that thing!!"):

And, here's a video of another of her slide experiences. Just to translate "Sara Grace-ese" for you, she says, "Please, please." And then, "Down." And, I'm guessing the screech at the beginning can be translated into, "MOMMY!!! I REALLY want to go down the slide, but I'm too scared!!" :)