10 Months

Not too much has changed in the last month -
Miss S is definitely more confident in pulling up on everything she can hold onto and is starting to cruise a little, too.

She seems more like a real person with her interactions with us and in her attempts at saying what we say.  She says Dada and gets so excited when she sees her Daddy.   She has definitely stolen his heart.  If he's having a rough day at work, I bring her into his office and he can't help but smile at his sweet girly.

Miss S is still so joyful and I treasure all of her smiles and kisses!

Mema

The world lost a special woman two weeks ago when my husband's grandma passed away.  Mema was a strong lady who loved her family and worked hard at keeping everyone together.

We went to Virginia for the weekend to celebrate her life with more than 40 other family members who came from near and far to gather together.  It was an obviously hard time for the family, but great to all be together.  She will be missed but has left a legacy of a strong family who loves each other well.

Here are some sweet pictures of her with Miss S this summer at the beach.
 

 

And a very special picture of almost all of her direct descendants together.
I know she was proud of this family.

 

Mud and Trucks

This is going back a few months, but I wanted to make sure to post these pictures.
This fall, my husband ran the Tough Mudder, a 12 mile race with 20 some obstacles, including jumping in a dumpster of ice, running over fire, and running through electricity.  For some reason, that sounds fun to some people.  Not to me!

So while he was training for it, the boys enjoyed pretending that they were doing the Tough Mudder too!  One day we turned on the sprinkler and made a giant mud puddle in the front yard where we had dirt patch from having a tree cut down.  They had so much fun! You can even see Mr. Mister doing push ups in the mud in the last picture.

Enjoying things like this and not worrying about the mess is something I've had to learn since having boys.  I know how good it is for them to get muddy, whether they are 5 or 30!

 

 

 

 

On an unrelated note, here are some pictures from the Touch a Truck event that our city does every summer.   Trucks are another thing I've learned a lot about as a mom to boys!

 

 

 

 

A Warrior

Today as we walked into the grocery store, Mr. Mister saw a guy pushing the long line of carts from the parking lot back into the store.  He thought that looked really fun and decided that's what he wanted to be when he grows up.  After a minute, he said, "Actually, I think I want to be a warrior instead.  A warrior sounds funner than pushing carts."

Haha. I would have to agree!

Two and a Half

Dear Mr. Newton,
You are quick to correct anyone who would suggest that you are just two.  You are two and a half...going on five.  I forget sometimes how young you are because you keep up so well with your big brother and want to do everything by yourself.  We treasure you as our middle child - rough and tough with your brother but sweet and playful with your little sister.

One of my favorite things about you is your words.  You make me laugh all the time with your mind that soaks everything in and processes life with such innocence.  I will be sad when you stop saying "mine, yours, ours".... like this:
"now I know mine abc's"...
"is this yours coffee, Daddy?"
"This is ours house"

You and your orange dog are still best friends.  He is now known as do-do instead of Orange Juice because that's how you said it when you were little and it stuck.  We have had many near losses and on the most recent one, you were laying in your crib crying, "I can't sleep without do-do!"  Thankfully, we found him and life can go on.


Other things you love:
building with blocks
singing
puzzles
doing anything your big brother does!!

Things you don't like:
wearing long sleeves
wearing shoes
eating at the table - you'd rather sit on the floor

Your measurements:
80th percentile for weight
90th for height
80th for head.

I could fill this blog with funny things you have said or things I love about you.  But here is just one more for now.  About a month ago, you dislocated your elbow.  You were in so much pain and as we sat in the ER, we were explaining to you that the doctor was going to take an x-ray of your arm.  Then they could see inside of you to see your bones.  Through tears and with a quivering voice, you looked up and said, "And Jesus?"  because you knew that Jesus is inside of you and if they could see your bones, they must be able to see Jesus too.  So sweet.

I love you, little man.  You bring such joy and laughter to our family!