The Big 3!

Three years ago on August 29th at 7:15 in the morning our sweet baby boy blessed our lives! We are forever changed and our hearts are more full than one could ever imagine due to it! I have to say, life has gotten more challenging as he proceeds to grow and push boundaries with us every minute of every day! Brian and I are both stubborn and hard headed and there is no doubt are child has come by these traits naturally! He fights us tooth and nail for everything! There is a battle everyday over clothes, eating, not beating up his sister, naps and the worst of all BEDTIME! I am mentally exhausted after a day with him! The constant rebellion against what he is supposed to do and not do is nerve racking! However, that being said I would not trade it for all the sweet loving things he does and says on a regular basis! Here are some of our favorites:

-Mommy/Daddy hold me all day/night

-He will point to our arms and say, those are my arms!

-His great manners he almost always says thank you mommy

-The sweet way he talks to Henley when she wakes up from a nap. He asks her "have a good nap Henley? Have sweet dreams?"

-How protective he is of his family. That's my Henley, my mommy and my daddy

_We always ask him "Who is your best friend?" He tells us Mommy, Daddy and Henley

He has such a big heart and is such a good snuggler! I would not trade a thing for any of it!

On the morning of his birthday Christian woke up to find his big birthday present downstairs! He received a big boy bike with training wheels! He had picked it out a few months ago and he had no idea he was getting it! I think he was a little shocked when he saw it and was not so sure what to do! It was cute! Immediately the phone started ringing that morning with family members calling to wish him Happy Birthday! His Nene and Poppy were the first to talk to him. He kept them on the phone while he opened his gift from them! It was a tractor that actually moves! It has an electric arm that moves up and down and can pick things up and dump them out! A huge hit for Christian and all his friends that saw it when they were over for the party! I believe there were some fights over it later in the day!

Now, on to the party we had to celebrate or big boy turning three! This year his birthday fell on a Saturday and that is when we had his party! I invited all his friends from school and a few others he has in the neighborhood. There was a great turnout and we had around twelve kids at the party. Christian is into tractors big time so we originally thought we would have a tractor party. However, when I started doing some searching everything was John Deere tractor decorations and I have to say, very ugly! He likes yellow tractors and John Deere is green. I decided he did not really need a certain theme party this year, but I would make him a tractor cake! Yep! I did it again and made his cake this year too! I really enjoyed doing it and makes me feel like I have made something really special for him! I am getting quite skilled at making and decorating cakes! It is so much fun to see the outcome of your hard work! My mom did this for my sister and I and I think I will continue the tradition with my children! It is a lot of work, but worth it!



























Since August is always so darn hot we decided to rent a huge double water slide for the kids and adults! We chose a slide that we the parents could go on too when the kids were all gone! I have to admit that it was a lot steeper in person then it looked on line. Some of the kids were quite skeptical of it including our own birthday boy! Brian actually dragged him up kicking and screaming determined that he would like it once he went down! That was a bad assumption because Christian was not so excited to go down the slide for the rest of the afternoon! We had some friends with slightly older children who were tearing down the slide like crazy and we even had some fearless little ones too! Christian had a few friends who went down the slide like it was nothing, some friends needed you to go down with them and some never went down again after the first time! It was absolutely hysterical to watch the faces of the kids going down! I think they all had a great time regardless! Henley loved going down the slide with her daddy and so did Porter who is one year old! They might be dare devils when they grow up! We also put out the slip and slide for the ones who were not so keen on the slide and that was a hit as well!

We had hot dogs, chips and home made potato salad (which took forever for me to make) I had no idea what I had gotten myself into with that under taking! I got a lot of compliments on it and everybody wanted the recipe, so I guess that made it worth my time! :) Once everyone was done eating we got the cake and sang Happy Birthday! I do not think I have ever seen Christian smile so big in my life! I think he absolutely loved being the center of attention! I have no idea what parent he inherited that from??? We all had cake and ice cream and the kids all continued to play in and out of the house! Some people wanted him to open their gifts, but I actually tried keeping that to a minimum. I think it just gets to overwhelming for them and you just need a more controlled environment! My parents bought him this big jumpy from One Step Ahead so he opened that and we blew it up for the kids to play in! It is about as big as our play room so I am going to have to find another place to put it! He received a great gift from his Aunt Heather, in fact the only gift that has any educational benefit what so ever! Thanks Heather! I will be very appreciative when he is able to spell words! His Aunt Julie and Uncle Steve gave him the DVD Shreck and a CAT tractor that makes all kinds of sounds and movements! He got so much stuff I am not sure what I am going to do with it all!?

As if the day was not full of fun...it was only going to keep lasting because cousin Bennett was staying over for the night! Julie and Steve had a Wedding shower they were throwing at their house so we offered to keep Bennett for the night! We figured that it would not be to bad because they both should be worn out from the party! However, they were like two little energizer bunnies that just kept going, going, going! Julie and Steve snuck out around 2:30 and Bennett was none the wiser! She had fun playing and helping Christian open some more presents. She had one little meltdown where she wanted mommy and daddy, but we diverted her with one of her favorite movies Shreck! Julie had told me that she might want to take a nap, but she was showing no signs of that happening! When it was around 4:30 we decided we would just keep moving until they passed out! We packed everybody up on the golf cart and went for a ride around the neighborhood! Some of our best friends live down the street and had been at the party earlier so we dropped by their house to see what was going on. They were all outside playing so we stopped and joined in on the fun! Susan has three boys so Bennett was the only little girl playing with all 4 boys (Henley tries to join it, but she is to little)! There are quite a few toys to play with at their house with three boys, so Bennett was in heaven with some of them! They have this monster truck that is electric and she LOVED it! We were not so sure if she could steer it, but we helped and she did not do half bad! I think she would love mommy and daddy to buy her one for Christmas! Later the ice cream lady came by and we got everyone some ice cream! Brian and I were laughing because we knew Julie would hate to have her eating this messy stuff with out a bib on to protect her clothes! Sorry Julie I hope the stains came out!? We could not deny her sweet little request to have some!

It was 6:00pm now and we decided that it was time to go home and get baths and go to bed! They had a long day and were worn out! We went home had baths, ate dinner and off to bed...so we thought! Julie had told me that Bennett was easy to put to bed and that all I had to do was tuck her in with all her blankets and she would go to sleep. Christian was watching a movie downstairs, so I took Bennett up to Christian's room to watch Shreck and I figured she would be out quickly! I was wrong because she protested and told me she was not tired at all! Bennett told me she wanted to sit in the bed not lay down and watch her movie! It took a little convincing, but I finally got her to lay down. Once her little head hit the pillow she was yawning and I knew it would not be long! My child on the other hand was downstairs fighting it like a mad man! We had a child every hour on the hour fall asleep. Henley at 7:00, Bennett at 8:00 and Christian at 9:00! Me at 9:30!!!! It was a great day and we all had so much fun! We thoroughly enjoyed having Bennett around and it is something we should do more often! Christian did not want her to go home the next day! In fact, that morning when he woke up he was not screaming for mom or dad, but for his beloved cousin Bennett! Thanks to everybody for making it such a special day! Happy Birthday to our Big Boy! We love you so much!!!

Climbing, Climbing, Climbing

Henley is quickly approaching her first birthday and is a baby who is very much into anything now a days! She has been crawling and pulling up for awhile now, but no interest in walking! Well about two weeks ago she became obsessed with the staircases in the house! We have had to shut all the gates again and really watch her because she is sneaky! We have already had a tumble and some big bruises and bumps! I am sure there will be many more to come!



She loves the stairs and just laughs and giggles as she climbs them. Usually she is after her brother or Brian who have gone upstairs for something! I can not take my eyes off her because she will dart off to the front staircase in the house! We have two staircases and the one in the front of the house has a large opening with nowhere to attach a gate of any kind...and believe me I have searched the Internet for something! I have to make sure all access is cut off for her to the front of our house and that is a pain! Oh Well now she has finally started cruising around as of last night so maybe her interest will be a little diverted! One can only hope! :)

Happy Birthday Boppa!

I swear one day I will catch up with my blogging, but for now all the families have to be patient! I eventually will get it posted! On July 30th my father celebrated his 68th birthday! Brian was out of town so the kids and I went over to swim and have dinner. We had planned on having an early dinner because the kids had not slept much that day and bedtime would arrive quickly. However, they both fell asleep on the drive over and caught up on their zzz's! My dad and the kids went swimming while I helped my mom with dinner. I can honestly tell you I have no idea what we ate because I do not remember. I am sure it was good because my mom is a great cook!




When dinner was over we sang Happy Birthday and someone helped my dad blow out his candles! I guess practice makes perfect and I know a little someone with a birthday quickly approaching! My dad opened his gifts next and as you can guess he had a lot of help with that too! He got some clothes, gift cards and gadgets for the grill. The big gift he received from my mom was an really cool golf caddy. Apparently out at the golf course a lot of the seniors walk the course...why I do not know, but this is supposed to help pull your clubs not carry them! I personally would use a golf cart, but maybe they like the exercise? Have fun with that one

dad! :) We had another great night at my parents house and I think my dad enjoyed his birthday with the grand kids! Happy Birthday Boppa we love you!

Lake Time Fun!!!

I am sure that most people who read my sister-in-law's blog already know that we went to the Georgia Lakehouse this past weekend! We left on Thursday with Julie and I following each other down in case we needed restroom breaks with all the kids in the cars! Luckily we both had great trips down and very uneventful! By uneventful I mean I believe all the kids slept the majority of the 3 1/2 hour drive! Wow... when does that ever happen??? Since Brian and Steve were both traveling that week they were meeting us at the house. Brian was close behind us and Steve would be driving in from Macon. Brian got there about ten minutes after us and immediately took Christian and Bennett swimming in the lake looking for golf balls. Christian was hollering about going to the beach and swimming in the ocean from the moment he woke up, so I was glad he got to go tight in the water! Julie and I unpacked and got organized. While she started dinner I ran to the store to get a few things we did not bring with us! Julie made a great dinner and everybody relaxed and crashed early that night!

The next day we had the boat put in the water by 9:00am so we could have an early start! We got everyone sun screened up and off we went. With four little kids and three adults we were not able to ski and stuff that much. We needed another pair of hands to keep everything in balance! The picture taking was lacking that day because to many kids to hold on too when someone was in the water! However, we had a great time! That night the adults stayed up and played some board games and I have to say, the girls are definitely smarter than the boys! :) Anybody know what a triple sow cow is??? Brian is it a mother cow??

Saturday was the best day because we had our other set of hands aka Steve with us on the boat! Everyone had a chance to ski, knee board and ride in the tube. I took a lot of pictures and I hope everyone enjoys them. We went to the clubhouse each day for lunch and the kids splashed around in the pool. We had another wonderful meal again that night and relaxed and enjoyed the company! It is so nice to have the kids so close in age because they play so well together and they fight pretty good too! We had a great time and look forward to doing it again.

Beach with the Murphy Family

Every year my family gets together and goes to the beach for a week. This year it happened to fall on the 4th of July and if anyone goes down that week then you know it is crowded! The weather was not that great, but the company was and we all had a great time. My parents were of course there, my sister came in from Indianapolis and my aunt came in from El Paso, Texas. Everybody arrived on Friday the day before the 4th to get settled and hopefully avoid some traffic. Brian and I had a pretty good trip down with the kids and they slept most of the way. However, now that Christian is potty trained he knows that there is one way to get out of his seat...I have to go to the bathroom! We quickly out that he was just wanting to get out of his car seat and that stopped! We did not stop very much after that except to buy some fireworks for us to shoot off the next night!



Once we got to the condo we went to the grocery store and stocked up for the week. Later we had cocktails and out to dinner before it got to late. Those of you with children know there is a time frame of when to get into and out of a restaurant before meltdowns occur! Well lets just say that this was not the night! They were both tired from the drive and needing sleep soon! Thank goodness for all the extra set of hands to help entertain and help with the children! My daughter on the other hand does not let many people hold her so I was on my own there.



The next day was a beautiful day and we all went out to the beach or pool whichever they preferred. Brian was there for a few days and was hoping he could get Christian into the ocean. So far this summer he has not been a big fan of the beach or the big pool as he calls it! He would play on the beach, but not get in the ocean. The pool was his favorite place to hang out, so that is were everybody else did too. Everyday out at the pool they had activities for children. Heather helped Christian win a watermelon eating contest and he received a t-shirt. The kids got to tye dye their own t-shirts and he had a blast doing this and Heather did too! :) We decided to go out and eat early that night because it was the 4th. There was a huge fireworks show that night and we wanted to get back to watch it from our balcony. We had the perfect view and they seemed to go on forever! Since the fireworks lasted so long the boredom set in for the little ones and we went inside. Brian and Christian set off some sparklers, but saved our fireworks for later. I put Henley to sleep and followed soon after.

The next day was a good day too and we pretty much did the same thing everyday...the pool. Brian bought a blow up boat hoping this would entice Christian to get in the ocean, but the only thing that happened was there was a boat in the pool! They had fun and that is all that matters!



We went to the outlets one day and did some shopping. We had dinner at Harbor Docks and went home to relax. The rest of the week went pretty much the same. The days were spent out at the beach or pool. Christian began to love the beach and enjoyed playing in the waves and building sand castles. Heather and my dad did a good job of keeping him entertained and busy. I spent alot of time inside because of nap times. I did not mind the quite time and had a chance to read my book that I had ordered on my kindle.



We had a a lot of great dinners and a lot of wonderful family time. Brian and my Aunt had to leave early due to work and other commitments, but it was fun having them there for awhile. There was a place close by called Pier Park that had all kind of fun things to do. There were yummy places to eat, bars, shopping and lots for the kids to do. There were carousel rides, climbing walls, a running train you could ride through town and much more. We spent a couple nights there and needless to say, riding the train over and over. Thank goodness for my sister the who loves to play endlessly with Christian. That definitely takes some of the work off me during the days and nights! We even played putt putt golf one night and Christian loves it. I
am not so sure he understands that he can not just hit whoever's ball he wants? However, he had fun and we just shared balls and played the course. What do you expect from a 21/2 year old?

We had a wonderful time and it is always is nice to be with family. I am probably leaving things out, but it is hard to write it all down. Thanks to everybody who helped me with the little ones and the trip itself!