Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas

I love Christmas! And this one was a pretty good one now that Tre understands Santa Claus and gets so excited about presents. On Christmas Eve we put reindeer food out in the yard, tracked Santa on NORAD, and made cookies to go with his milk. Christmas morning Colin was talking at 6am, and I didn't want him to wake up Tre; so I got him up and we cuddled on the recliner (luckily he went back to sleep) and stayed there until Tre got up at 7am. This was my favorite Christmas present this year: seeing Tre's first reaction to all the presents and him saying, "Mommy, Santa Claus came!!" Tre discovered his chocolate chip cookie from Santa and went to go wake Daddy up right away. Colin woke up shortly after and discovered his balloon, he was a happy boy!!

The rest of the morning went great, the boys got some awesome gifts: big wheel, easel, tool stuff, and, of course, lots of musical toys. After our family presents we went to TJ's sister's house and got to spend some time with the Davis side of the family. Tre loves spending time with his cousins, and TJ and I discovered the Wii!! All in all it was a great day, the boys were beyond tired by the end of the day. TJ and I will continue our Christmas celebrations at the beginning of next week when we go on our mini-vacation and get to see the Blue Man Group!

We're so glad we got to be in Florida to spend Christmas with our loved ones. Next Christmas will be interesting with the addition of a little girl to the mix, but I know it'll be just as exciting!!

- Jo

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Amazing Mike Wazowski

I realized that I haven't really mentioned our bulldog, Mike Wazowski. Yes, he's named after that lovable character from Monsters, Inc.; and for the most part matches his name pretty well. Remember the line, "I'm watching you Wazowski, always watching..."? Yeah, we say that a lot around here!

Recently we've discovered a couple of new tricks that Mike has developed. It all started with the realization that Mike can jump onto our bed. This is a new discovery because our bed is pretty tall, and Mike is really short. He's never been able to do it before, or at least never really tried. Since then we've started blocking Mike in the kitchen, so he won't be able to make any more mischief, no matter what the room! And here's where we present to you the amazing, Houdini-like bulldog, Mike Wazowski....

Mike has been able to get out of the kitchen, no matter what kind of barriers we put up in the doorways! In the past week I've put toys, chairs, garbage cans, anything & everything to block Mike in the kitchen. And each time I've come home to him sitting in the dining room with blockades down. But today, when TJ put up the defense system, we came home to him sitting in the dining room, barricades still in tact. Nothing had moved, and yet Mike was not in the kitchen. We still have no idea how he got out... but if he keeps this up we might just start a show: "The Amazing Mike Wazowski Houdini!!!" Until then we're going back to the drawing board and hope our bulldog doesn't keep out-smarting us!!

- Jo

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Smart Boys

We have been blessed with two very smart boys. We've known this for awhile now, but Tre & Colin have proven just how smart they really are just within the past couple of days...

First off, we have Tre. This past Tuesday was Tre's Christmas program, and he did great! But as the other kids were yelling and waving to their parents, Tre was just calmly standing there with his two hands folded nicely in front of him waiting for his instructions. Then when it was time to sing, he sang. Staying with the piano and singing nicely, again not yelling or rushing like the other kids. And when they were walking off the stage, he was such the rock star and kept walking, not acknowledging his fans (not even a tall one with a beard). TJ signed him the "I Love You" sign, and all we got was a smirck!! He did such a great job, and we're really proud of him! Other things Tre has done this week include:
1. knowing that a Santa we saw on TV was not the real Santa, just a daddy playing pretend because the real Santa is busy working in the North Pole.
2. when asked to help open the sliding glass door to let Mike Wazowski out he replied, "I'm not available right now."
Like I said, smart boy. But he's not the only one...

Next we have Colin. Even without speaking Colin is proving just how smart he is:
1. when asked where his nose is he correctly points to his nose. We're also working on his ear and other facial features.
2. can follow directions like "take the remote to daddy." Although it may take a little while to get there, he eventually gets the remote to TJ!
3. (the best) today at snack time he turned off the TV, resulting in Tre leaving his table and snacks to go turn it back on - yep, Colin went right for the snack bowl as soon as Tre had left the table!! Priceless!!

If Emma is even half as smart as these boys, we're in for some big trouble!!
- Jo

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Bye-Bye Mullet

While in Florida we had the opportunity to take Colin to our family hair-stylist. TJ has been pleading with me to take Colin to get his haircut because he had grown a lovely mullet. And although mullets may be big in Alabama, we decided it was time to give the boy a proper haircut! Here are the highlights:

The before picture. Notice the lovely curls!

The first cut.

We entertained him with stickers...

The final product.
Colin did great through his first hair-cut. And I'll make sure not to let his hair get as long as a mullet again!!

A lot has happened since Thanksgiving: the boys got sick, we've decorated for Christmas, and tomorrow Tre has his first Christmas program at school. I'll do my best to keep the blog updated... until then!
- Jo

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Plan Today is...

Stress. It comes naturally during the holiday season. Even more so when economic times are sucky. For the past several months I've been trying to find a job, with no luck. And now we've come to the decision to sell the yellow house. In the past week we've changed our future plans several times: from staying in the yellow house to going to Florida, and back again. But the main gist is we're staying in the yellow house while trying to sell it, and still going to Florida for the holidays. Best of both worlds! But still stressful!

So Thanksgiving will be spent at the Ruhle house. Tre is looking forward to seeing all his Florida friends, as well as the idea that he and Colin get to share a room at Oma's house! TJ is looking forward to Bobby's fried cajun turkey; while I try not to stress!!

- Jo

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Music People

We are music people. There are some people who are animal people, or out-doorsy people; the Davis family are music people! Just call us the Von Trapps, except we don't sing; we rock out! And when I say "we" I mean the boys of the family. I can bop my head with the best of 'em, but the boys really like to get into the music: air guitar, air drums, raising of the rock fists - you know, good ol' rockin' out!

Wednesday nights are when TJ plays at the student services Adrenaline & Elevate. I like to take the boys up to church when I can so that they can see their dad in action, and they usually rock out by dancing in the back of the room. Last night was no exception, Tre & Colin were bopping their heads (Tre) and playing air drums (Colin), thoroughly enjoying the music. It was the first time Colin was really, really into it - he kept walking around the room, stopping randomly to play the air drums, and then kept walking trying to get as close to the stage as possible. And Tre seemed to absorb the music just sitting in the back and taking it all in. It also helped that TJ played Tre's favorite song, Remedy!

It was good going up and seeing the boys rock out: it reminded me of how much we are music people, and that when we get back into town I need to continue to take them up to church, no matter how pregnant I am!! We'll be out of town for the holidays, going to Florida for Thanksgiving until New Years. It'll be easier to just stay in Orlando instead of driving back & forth twice within a month; we're treating it like a winter break for me and the boys! So updates will come soon from the Sunshine State. Until then... rock out!
- Jo

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Baby Emma

Baby Emma is healthy! We got a good report from the Dr. today, and we are very thankful! Here's the full-story:

We had our first ultrasound for Emma on Oct. 3 while the mommas were in town. This is when we discovered that baby #3 was a girl, but she was too small to measure all the organs and limbs required for an ultrasound (we had scheduled the ultrasound too early, so we weren't really concerned). So, ultrasound #2 was on Friday, Oct. 31 - Halloween! It was just supposed to be a routine ultrasound so I went by myself. When the technician was checking Emma's heart, she couldn't really get a good look at everything. Whether Emma was turned the wrong way, or there was something wrong with the heart I'm still not sure, but the technician didn't like what she saw. So she suggested that we go see a specialist in Birmingham to get a good look at Emma's heart, to make sure that everything was ok. That's when I wished TJ had come with me to this "routine ultrasound".

For the past eleven days I've been trying my best to not show my concern. We really didn't tell a lot of people because I couldn't admit that something might be wrong with my baby girl. I tried to remember all my activities of my first-trimester, afraid that I had somehow caused this in Emma's heart. Although I wasn't sure what I should be afraid of, since we really didn't know what, if anything was wrong. So I just tried to think of it as a second-opinion, and kept things up-beat.

Today TJ and I drove to UAB in Birmingham. Now THIS is a hospital!! It's seriously like four-city blocks big. It's the biggest hospital I have ever seen and, from what I've heard, one of the best. We, of course, got lost in the hospital, but not too bad. And we arrived at the doctor's office thirty minutes ahead of our appointment. We were in the waiting room longer than we were in the exam room! The ultrasound exam took all of ten minutes, and the Dr. was very thorough: checking every vein, chamber, and medical who-zi-whats-it having to do with the heart. He didn't see anything wrong with Emma's heart, and said point blank "you have no reason to be worried about your baby's heart." Thank You, Lord!

So that's the update with Baby Emma. Hopefully the rest of the pregnancy will be boring by comparison! And she'll get a good "no more scaring mommy & daddy" lecture upon her arrival!

- Jo

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Boy's Night Out.

So technically we weren't "Out" but we did have a boys night Friday. Jodi was helping out at the girl's retreat, so me and the boys were kickin' it. Instead of pizza we decided not to cook and went out for some gourmet high brow food...Wendy's. Can you guess what Tre had? Bet you only one guess. The night was pretty uneventful...in a good way. Unfortunately the boys caught a bug and aren't feeling well, they should be going to the doctors in the morning. Well football's on and the boys are coming toys in hand, so me and Jo are going to play.

-TJ

Tuesday, November 4, 2008



So...a little late but here are a couple of pics of Colin's first Halloween. He was dressed as Bam Bam...you know from the Flintstones. He had fun being drove around Taylor Road Baptist's Fall Festival. Tre was dressed as Peter Pan, but was kinda cold, and a little quiet, because of a new place and lots of people. We didn't get a good pic of Tre in his outfit on the digital so his pic will be posted once i get some film developed. Tre has discovered a love for lollipops. Well I'm going to watch some more election results.



-TJ

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Chicken Little

Chicken Little is that love-able character that kinda over-reacts when an acorn falls on his head. He thinks the sky is falling! We lovingly call Jodi's mom Chicken Little sometimes because she has in the past been prone to go into "Chicken Little mode" when something goes wrong (example: flood of summer '98). Well it seems the acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree! (Ha!) Yesterday was Jodi's turn to have a Chicken Little moment! Here's what happened:

Jodi and the boys were outside for the first time in a couple of days (the weather has gotten colder and this Florida girl isn't quite use to it yet!). It was still pretty cold but I figured "that's why they make sweaters, right?" So we got bundled up and headed for the great outdoors! The boys were playing really good, getting dirty, all that good stuff. Then Colin decided to climb up the ladder to their fort, and after getting up a step or two, he fell. Not too bad, he kinda went to the left of the ladder straight to the ground, not necessarily backwards down the ladder, but still. I picked him up and brought him straight inside to clean up his one main scratch on the right cheek. It wasn't until I sat him down in the bathroom that I saw his head wound. Cue Chicken Little! The head wound is just a small surface wound (a small, pea-sized amount of skin was scraped off), but still... I could just tell I was going into "sky is falling" mode! I called TJ, calmly explained what happened, and told him to come home NOW!! I continued to nurse Colin (Tre was a good help entertaining Colin while I kept ice on his head) until TJ got home. Of course, all Colin has are scrapes and bruises on the right side of his face from scalp to chin, nothing too bad... but still. It's scary for a mom to see her baby hurt!

The rest of the day was calmer, and I knew Colin wasn't feeling too bad when he kept climbing on things all around the TV room! But still, we sent the boys to bed early (Colin with Tylenol!) and hoped that today would be better. We'll probably still go outside, but no more base-jumping off of the fort!! And I'll try my best to control my Chicken Little moments!

- Jo

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Week In Review

We had a nice week this past week! The boys are enjoying the beautiful weather and want to be outside playing as much as possible! And with the exception of our rainy day Friday we've been able to do just that!

Monday TJ was able to stay home some during the morning because he was running lights for Jr. Miss that night. So the boys had fun playing with him some, then our typical day of nap, snack, then outside time. Tuesday was a typical day, but Colin had a little bit longer of a nap and Tre kept asking, "when is Colin gonna be awake?" because he just couldn't wait for his little brother to come outside and play with him! They particularly like playing in their fort: swinging, sliding, and playing in the dirt! The rest of the week was pretty much the same: boys playing and TJ bringing home the bacon!

I think the highlight of our week was our friends' visit from Florida/Georgia. Sara & Tara drove up Friday night from Orlando, then on Saturday Kate drove over from Atlanta to spend the day with us. They were able to visit with the boys, see sonogram pictures of Emma, and spend some quality "girl time" with me! We even had a nice little project of making Colin's Halloween costume: a cave-man/tarzan outfit that turned out really good!! Kate was only able to spend the day with us, but Sara & Tara stayed Saturday night as well and we invited Bryan & Tony over for game-night (the girls won!!) After church on Sunday the girls ate lunch with us then hit the road for the long trip back to Florida. I was really glad to have my friends in town: for them to see our yellow house and meet our new friends.

As we approach this last week of October we're getting ready for Tre's Halloween party at school, and hopefully we'll be able to go to the Fall Festival at church. This next weekend should be interesting because of the time-change... be prepared for sleepy children!! On Friday I also have my second sonogram so we'll get more pictures of Emma!! I think that's about all that's going on at the yellow house. I better get going, it's almost time to head outside again!!

- Jo

Friday, October 17, 2008

Holiday Season approaching

It's the middle of October and we're already talking about the holiday season. TJ and I have been trying to figure out our Thanksgiving and Christmas plans; when we're going to Florida, how to make Thanksgiving special, and how the heck we'll afford Christmas! It's crazy to think that it's right around the corner, and we really can't wait for the weather to get cooler, the decorations to go up, and how our boys will respond to all the fun!

Colin will be especially fun this year as he responds for the first time to Christmas decorations, family gatherings, and lots of food! It'll also be interesting to see how well Tre does and how much he'll look forward to everything now that he has a little bit more understanding of presents, Santa Claus and such. TJ's looking forward to seeing Colin tear into some presents, and we're all looking forward to seeing family at Christmas.

Thanksgiving will be a little difficult since we're staying in Alabama and won't have family around. But we're determined to still make it special and maybe start a couple of new traditions of our own (like making a kid-friendly Christmas tree on Thanksgiving!) Whatever we end up doing, we know it'll be special cause we'll be together in yellow house!

We're really looking forward to the Holiday season approaching! Even if it is only October!!

- Jo

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Wednesday

Wednesdays are pretty fun for the Davis family. TJ stays home in the morning and gets to play with the boys while Jodi enjoys watching them wrestle. This Wednesday was no exception, the boys played outside, made a mess in the TV room, and we all had a good lunch together. Especially Colin! He decided to try something new with his grilled cheese sandwich! Today at lunch Colin tried eating his sandwich with a fork! It kinda' worked because I had cut up the sandwich into small bites; but still, it was a little bit weird! We should've gotten a picture! Maybe next time...

Colin also had a bath even before lunch today! "Why?" you ask... in short because he's a mess! But here's what happened... As you know Colin loves eating other people's food! This morning TJ had a toaster strudel that Colin insisted TJ share! With the icing and fruit filling combination, Colin managed to get some in his hair. But that's not why he needed a bath, the playing in the dirt/mud outside is why he needed a bath! He was covered head to toe! It was just a nice added bonus to get the strudel out of his hair too!

Tre's had a pretty good day so far too. He keeps asking when he gets to go to school again. I'm really glad he's enjoying school and that he's learning so much! This week they're learning the letter "D" and their five senses. And next Tuesday he gets to take the snack bucket again!

That's about it for this Wednesday: eating sandwiches with a fork, baths before noon, and getting ready for school tomorrow.... just a typical day at the yellow house!!

- Jo

Monday, October 13, 2008

Those Wild Kids

You know when you're out and about and you see a couple of wild kids getting into everything and running around? Well those kids were the Davis boys today! We had our very first play date and boy did we have fun!!

We started at Books-A-Million. And if you've ever seen how much fun Colin has in emptying our bookcase, you can just imagine him in a BOOKSTORE!! He was in hog-heaven emptying as many book shelves as he could before I could get to him! Tre had fun at the bookstore too, but he had more fun at the fountain. There's a little fountain nearby that we decided to throw pennies into... you're supposed to throw one penny at a time, right? Not for Tre! He would throw as many pennies as he could at one time! I would have slowed him down except that I was trying to stop Colin from crawling into the fountain!! We left before we could make a disaster out of lunch too!

So, like I said, the Davis boys were those wild kids today! But we had fun! Hopefully we'll be invited back to another play date!

- Jo

Saturday, October 11, 2008

GAME DAY

Across the country during the fall season, Saturday is GAMEDAY! Well the same goes for the yellow house! We don on our game shirts (Gator wear for Jodi and the boys, Hurricane shirt for TJ) and we watch college football ALL DAY! The first game day Tre decided to wake TJ up by shouting "Game Day, Game Day, Game Day!!" Of course, it was 9:30 a.m., so it was time for TJ to get up anyway!
Well today was no exception! We watched TJ's Miami Hurricanes beat up on the Knights of UCF (sorry Mom and Heather!) and TJ and Jodi watched the Gators trounce the LSU Tigers. Colin saw some of the Gator game, but only because he was fighting his bedtime. I think he finally fell asleep around 10 p.m., but he put up a good fight.
We had Big Bryan and Heart-throb over for dinner - so they got to experience GAME DAY at the yellow house too! Can't wait for next week's GAMEDAY- the Gators have a week off, and the Hurricanes are playing Duke. YEAH, College football!!

- Jo

Friday, October 10, 2008

First Post.

Welcome to the family? Today is a Friday so I'm sitting on the couch watching TV with Jodi. Colin went to the Doctor's today for his one year check-up. He is perfect and a bully.

-TJ