Among the Chaos

I love Christmastime! And I am aware how crazy Christmastime can be... we had three parties in four days just last week! But even among the chaos of the season our family tends to still be "normal crazy" - still all of our normal stuff going on in and throughout all the other chaos. It's kinda fun! So here's what's new at the yellow house:

Emma is officially crawling! On her hands and knees she's crawling around and trying her best to keep up with Tre and Colin! But if they're moving too fast for her, she'll resort back to army crawling. She can also get herself up on her knees like she's trying to pull herself up. It's as if she crossed crawling off her list and wanted to move right away to pulling up and walking! We'll see how that goes!!

Colin says "OK" now. I know that doesn't sound like much. But it's hysterical! You tell him "go do this" or "give me that" and he says "OK." It's so cute! He seems to be talking more and more, and throwing tantrums more and more. But that is the life of a two year old!!

Tre had a great Christmas party last week at school. He was so excited all week about his class party and getting his stocking full of presents from his classmates. He got lots of candy, an ornament from his teacher, and they got to play a funny marshmallow game. The marshmallows were hanging from the ceiling on a string and the kids had to get it in their mouths without using their hands. Since Tre is the smallest boy in the class he had a hard time, so I gave him a boost to help the kid out! So funny!

Santa Claus comes tonight and the kids are excited! We're planning on putting reindeer food out in the yard for their snack, and of course milk and cookies for Santa Claus! We can't wait!! Merry Christmas everyone!!

- Jo

Christmastime!

Christmas-time is seriously one of my most favorite time of the year!! I love the music, getting the tree, decorating the house, and getting gifts for my loved ones!! Love it! What I've found in the past couple of years, is that my kids love it too!!

We got our tree two days after Thanksgiving and set it up in our TV room. I decorated while the kids were sleeping so as not to have any "special helpers"! The boys love the tree... a little too much! I keep saying "away from the tree," "don't touch the tree," and "step away from the ornament!" I think next year we'll wait a little bit longer before getting our tree so that they won't be so tempted!!

The Christmas decorations are around the TV room as well. We have the stockings by the fireplace, and a couple of Santa Claus' around the room. When Colin sees the Santa Claus he points to it and says "Jesus!!" I'm not sure why he thinks Jesus looks like Santa Claus, but it's really cute & funny to hear him say it!!

Christmas time also brings the parties & special events! This week we went to Tre's Christmas Parent's Program at his school. He did so well singing all the Christmas songs nice and loud! And he looked so cute in the front row with his hands in his pockets and his mohawk! Next week we have TJ's staff Christmas party (the whole family is invited and we'll get to play games and stuff!) and we have some extra parties for the student ministry. Then the big day!! Can't wait! Now I just have to finish my shopping and wrap everything!! Yippee!!

- Jo

New Tricks

Emma has a whole new bag of tricks!!
She can now:
*Sit up - she can go from laying on her belly, turn to her side then push herself up so that she's sitting! Because of this new trick her mattress has been dropped to the lowest level in her crib!

*Eat table food - she started spitting out her baby food and playing with the mess! Because of this she now eats "big girl food"! She still gets a bottle, but other than that... no baby food, please!

*Army crawl - she is officially crawling around the house! Because of this the boys usually don't get to play where they want. If the kids had it their way they would either play in the dining room or the boys' room all together. But since I can't keep an eye on Emma in either of those rooms they have to play in the TV room!

In her new bag of tricks she also likes to: steal her brothers' cookies at snack time, go around the house in her walker (which we call the "walka-walka"), and twist the seat in her exosaucer so it looks like she's dancing!

She's growing so fast and learning new things so quickly! I'll let you know when she adds more to her bag of tricks!

I'll blog soon about Christmas stuff... just wait until you hear what Colin calls Santa Claus!!
- Jo

Home From the Holidays

Thanksgiving Holiday has come and gone... and so have we! We went to Florida for the holiday and had lots of fun playing with family & friends. Here's a quick recap:

Friday night we got into Florida and as soon as we got into my mom's house she had Emma in her hands. My mom said to Emma, "I hope you've had enough of your momma cause your not gonna see her for awhile!" - meaning that since Oma had her... she was not going to let her go for awhile! And she didn't, my mom got to rock Emma to sleep and get some extra cuddle time in with Little Miss!

Saturday & Sunday were cousins day! On Saturday Tre, Colin & Emma were dressed in their cult-ish polos (I say "cult-ish" because with all six cousins wore matching polos and they looked a little like a cult!) and took their yearly cousin picture for TJ's mom. Each year the photo shoot is lots of fun because of the little babies going a little crazy! Emma did great, just looked at us all like we were crazy, and Colin had to be talked into it a little bit, but did pretty good in the end. After pictures we played at the park and then had lunch together. On Sunday I dropped the kids off at TJ's mom's house while mom and I went to see a movie and do some shopping. So once again the kids got to play all day with their cousins! And we ended the day with a family game night with the Smith family and MaMaw - we played the Hippo game, a Toy Story Yahtzee, and a very funny game called Snorta! We love spending time with our family!

The rest of the week we visited more friends and family. Thanksgiving Day we spent some time with TJ's family and had dinner with my family. It was so nice to be able to see everyone. Tre was a little sad about leaving Florida, but when I told him we were decorating for Christmas the day after we get home - he was much better!

So now we're onto the Christmas season, lots of parties and events! So I'll do my best to blog about all the craziness of the yellow house AND the holiday season!!

- Jo

**Other funny stuff that happened in FL:
1. Emma in her Thanksgiving Day Turkey Suit! It was an outfit that said "My 1st Thanksgiving" but it had a little hat that looked like turkey feathers... very funny! Too bad she kept taking the hat off so we never got a picture... boo!

2. One day while the kids and I were riding in the car with my mom.... I called mom old and she hit me. I said "Oma, we don't hit people". She said, "It was a love tap." Then Tre chimed in saying, "Yeah, Oma is very loving. Oma is funny and smart. And Oma never cries!" Poor kid, she has him fooled!!!

3. Colin saying "Twistee Treat" - very cute!

4. The dogs! Mom has two dogs: Wrigley & Boo Boo. Once the kids got used to them (after about a day or so) they always wanted to say hi to them and know where they were all the time. Colin would walk around the house saying "Hi Wrigley, Hi Boo Boo" and Tre liked giving them their treats. Emma liked army crawling for their water bowl! So, yea, the dogs were a big hit with my kids!

5. All the grands! On Sunday when I dropped the kids off at TJ's mom's house she also had her other grandchildren over at the house; so there was a total of six kids! So she got about five good hours off all her grandchildren with her! At the end of the day she said, "I'm tired. It was lots of fun, but I'm tired!"

6. Social Butterfly. The times that we went out to lunch Colin was very social! We went to Tijuana Flats on Monday and he would wave or say hello to everyone who passed by the table. And on Wednesday we went to TJ's mom's new office building to see the new digs and have lunch with her. While sitting in the cafeteria Colin would say "hey" to anyone and everyone who passed by! And if they came up to talk with us, all he would say is "two" to tell them how old he is... other than that he wouldn't really talk. He just liked saying "hey" as they passed!

Round of Applause

An exciting day today!! Emma started clapping today!! I love when babies learn to clap! It's so awesome to see their minds working and watching as they put their hands together! I still remember when the boys learned:

Tre learned to clap about April 2006 when he was 8 months old. I remember because it was right around TJ's birthday. But I seriously almost cried when I saw him clap for the first time because it was so awesome to see his little brain working and how excited he got for accomplishing something so big!! Colin learned when he was about 8 months old while we were at my mom's house for summer break. What's cool about Colin's first clap is that Tre actually taught him! It was really special to see big brother teaching little brother!

So, yea, I'm a sucker for babies first claps! And today was Emma's!! It's her new trick that she'll be able to show off while we're in Florida!! We'll be there soon!

- Jo

Pre-Holiday Stuff

This is the "calm before the storm" time of year - right before the craziness of the holidays! So we've pretty much been spending our days as calm as possible. Not running around too much, enjoying staying home on Saturdays (thanks, again, to no soccer games!) and pretty much taking it easy. But, I still need to update the blog; so... here's what I got (although it's not much!)

Emma is officially army crawling! She goes forward pretty well, but it takes a lot to motivate her to do so. It's usually something she's not supposed to have that will motivate her too! Like my phone, or TJ's computer cables, or even her brother's shoe! I think it's the start of a shoe fetish! Anyway, she's crazy good at army crawling - just one more step to real crawling!

Colin is saying more and more words, and loving to read. Our favorite book right now is "Llama Llama Red Pajama" - it's so cute. And there's a part that says, "run, run, run" that Colin "reads" - it's awesome!

Tre is learning so much at school, the other day he came home talking all about King George and the pilgrims. He knew Plymouth Rock, and the hard travels from England to here.... he's so stinkin' smart!! And he's very musical too. Any song we hear on the radio he's usually singing the rest of the day. Crazy how stuff stays in his head!

The kids play pretty well when they're together too. If the boys are in the TV room Emma usually army crawls to where they are and tries to play too. When Tre is at school, Colin and Emma "wrestle" - which means they lay on each other and Emma will roll into Colin. And for some reason Colin likes to lay his head on Emma, either on her stomach or her butt - depending on how she's laying. But he's really sweet and they usually don't have too many bumps or bruises. They play well together now, we'll see how it goes as they continue to grow up!!

The holidays are coming up, of course. We're leaving for Florida by the end of the week. We have so many fun things planned, and we're all so excited about seeing our family. So, if I don't blog soon... it's just because I'm doing the holiday thing. Don't worry, I'll be back soon with updates on all the craziness!!

- Jo

A First Time for Everything

Today our family went to a place where 4/5 of us have never been before... Chuck E. Cheese! (I don't think I've ever been before... not sure, though). It was "family day" for TJ's office, so we joined his co-workers and their families for a fun time at the kid-friendly restaurant. We had five children four years old and younger, plus the "older children" who couldn't stop playing the football game (read: TJ and his boss!).

The boys had so much fun! Tre played his very first game of air-hockey, and beat me and TJ! Colin was all over the place, but especially liked the car games! Emma just basically chilled, taking it all in! Here are pictures of the boys!

Colin "playing" a Dancing game. It was kid friendly with songs like "B-I-N-G-O" and "If you're happy and you know it". Pretty cute!












Tre doing his victory fist pump! He did this every time he scored!!

Play Time

The weather has been awesome this week! I love having the windows open, feeling the cool air, and... kicking the boys outside to play!! That's right - I kick my boys outside (after snack time, of course) and let them play pretty much until it gets dark outside (stupid time change!). And the games they play are hilarious!

First you have the all-time favorite, tag. This is basically the boys running around each other, sometimes running into each other. It's a fun time had by all!

They also sometimes add a bit of hide-and-seek. It's hilarious listening to Colin count, "one, two... one, two..." he hasn't quite learned the rest of the numbers, but he "counts" the best he can - it's so cute!!

And, finally, they play in the dirt. And they get dirty!!! Sometimes they pour dirt on each other, sometimes they throw dirt at each other (despite my many warnings not to), luckily they haven't eaten any dirt... yet!

Today they added "picnic" to their games... but for some reason they wanted to have real food at their fake picnic. They were coming in and out of the house getting their picnic supplies (fake plates, fake food, etc), Tre came in and got some real juice (he got a juice box, I figured it wasn't that big of a deal). But at some point one of the boys also pulled out of the refrigerator the baby carrots and ranch dressing. I looked outside the sliding door and saw the ranch bottle sitting on the patio, and Tre putting the carrots on each of the fake plates! I asked him why they had food out, and he reminded me, "but mom, we're having a picnic!" I replied, "But you're having a fake picnic, you can't have real food at a fake picnic." Ah... boys!

This Saturday is the first Saturday in two months we don't have to be anywhere (now that soccer is over!!) So who knows what kind of trouble they'll get into then!!

- Jo

Halloween!!!

We had a great Halloween day! We started off a little rocky... Tre was pretty cranky and not sure if he wanted to play at his last soccer game, but once he got there he played great!! He actually engaged in the action and had an assist!! His coach kept him in the entire second half! I think the coach read my mind, cause I really needed Tre to be sleepy so he could take a nap and prepare for the festivities that night!! At the end of the soccer game he received a "trophy" - it's really a bobble-head, not sure if you can call that a trophy, but it's pretty darn cute!!

After naps and watching some of the Gator game, the kids got into their costumes! Tre was Peter Pan, Colin was Pooh Bear, and Emma was Tinkerbell. We went to our church where they had a fall festival, and Tre played games and we all watched a really good puppet show. Getting candy at first was a bit difficult: you had to play the games to be able to get any candy. But once the puppet show was going on, all the games started cleaning up... and since the youth were the workers for the games, they brought their leftover candy to TJ (who then put it all into Colin's or Tre's bucket!!) So we ended up with a lot of candy!!! Here are the pictures

"I'm Gonna Take a Shower"

"I'm gonna take a shower. I'm gonna take a shower." Now imagine Tre chanting this while he's in the bathroom waiting for his very first shower. It was hilarious! Tre got to take a shower tonight because he wasn't here for normal bathtime. He and TJ were out at a football game, and they didn't get home until after 8! At first TJ told him that he wouldn't take a bath because of how late it was, then I suggested a shower. I wasn't sure how he would react... but it turns out, Tre loved the idea! Thus, the chanting! And the actual shower went well too! He's now a shower boy!

Tomorrow's Halloween... pictures will be posted! I promise!!
- Jo

Carving Pumpkins... and a Watermelon?!

Getting into the Halloween Spirit!!

Carving Pumpkins... and a Watermelon?!

Yes, we carved a watermelon! About a month ago my parents brought up a watermelon and as it sat on our counter I began to wonder... why couldn't you make a jack-o-lantern out of a watermelon?! So we decided to give it a try! We also carved
Tre's little pumpkin that he brought home from his field trip about a month ago! You can see the finished products!



In other yellow-house related news: the kids are doing great. Colin has been bitten by a hugging bug cause lately he gives just about everybody a hug! Case in point: yesterday TJ took Colin to see a co-worker, Steve, to talk about audio stuff. As they were leaving, Steve got a hug! As they were picking up Tre a little girl said good-bye to Tre, she got a hug too!! And, if you know Colin, at bedtime you don't just get a kiss and a hug, you get noggin, pounds, high fives, park-it, and another hug and a kiss, and maybe one more pound. He's such a sweet boy!!

Little Miss Em is going through three or four outfit changes a day. But that's just due to her diapers not fitting (she gets to graduate to the next size as soon as she uses up all of these) - but still, I'm hoping this isn't going to become a norm for her!

So, yeah... that's about it! Blog soon!
- Jo

I Can Take a Hint!

My sister-in-law, who is a wonderful person, likes to drop not-so-subtle hints about this blog! She sent me a text today asking about what's going on in the yellow house - needless to say, I got the hint!!

My reply to Heather's text was haircuts and lunch, which I later thought might sound a little weird. But that's really what was going on - the boys got their haircuts (Tre's picture day is tomorrow!) and then we had lunch! I love being able to cut the boys hair at home... but I'm pretty sure we're not going to be able to take that approach when Emma needs a haircut!! :o)

Last Friday Tre and I had a Mommy Day: we had lunch together and then took a trip to the Art Museum! But in between those two locations we went to one of the greatest stores ever: Best Buy!! Tre had seen the store while we were at lunch and when I told him that they sold video games there, he wanted to go! I told him we could go as long as we didn't buy anything. And it's a good thing we made that deal, because Tre and I could have done some damage in Best Buy! We looked at all the movies, video games, computers, and made our way to the TVs. Tre's face was awesome as we walked through all the TVs, and then he said, "I wish they had a couch here!" I told him that if they did have a couch people would never leave. Then I turned around, and saw two plush seats sitting in front of the largest TV in the store... Tre was ecstatic! So we sat for about a minute, and then made our way to the museum - where, believe it or not, we had more fun there than at Best Buy!

Not much else has been going on, but we have a pretty busy next couple of weeks. As I mentioned before, Tre's picture day is tomorrow. Then next week we have fall parties at the boys' school. Four out of the five days we'll be having some sort of fall party that the boys need to take food in for - yeah, that's fun! Then, of course, Halloween! Tre is gonna do a repeat on his Peter Pan costume, we're pulling out Tre's old Pooh Bear costume for Colin to wear, and Little Miss Em will most likely be Tinkerbell (if the USPS can deliver the costume on time!) So, yea... that's about it. I'll blog again when Heather drops another hint!! :o)

- Jo

Week in Review

We had a pretty good week in the yellow house!

Emma got her first tooth in!! Which is good 'cause it was giving her some trouble; she had a fever and wasn't going to sleep all that great (once asleep she did fine, but getting her there was hard). So, yeah!!! It's finally in!!

On Wednesday Tre went to the Pumpkin Patch on a field trip with his school. He had lots of fun, and brought home a small pumpkin as a souvenir! But... picky eater that he is... he didn't have a lunch that day. Not that he wasn't able to, the lunch that we paid for was offered (hot dog, chips, and juice) - he just decided that he wouldn't eat a hot dog in the bun, and therefore didn't eat at all. Poor kid was starving by the time TJ picked him up from school - a full six hours after he had eaten breakfast! Hopefully one of these days he'll learn how to problem solve food issues... until then I'll continue to worry about him eating when I'm not there (boo!)

And Colin has found a new... how do I say this... hobby. Yea - that's what I'll call it, a hobby. He likes to empty the entire contents of his dresser. Every drawer. Every piece of clothing. On the floor. He's done it twice now. I really hope he tires of this hobby soon cause I really don't like folding clothes!!

So, yea... that's pretty much what's new around here! This weekend we have another soccer game, and TJ will be working lots as he's running lights for Junior Miss (beauty pageant) - but I'll update again next week with more craziness from the yellow house!!

- Jo

An Update!

It was brought to my attention that I haven't updated since September 9. "Really?" I asked... wow, now I have a month to catch you all up on!! Luckily, most of you that actually read the blog have been here!! So you've gotten to experience the craziness of the yellow house firsthand!

In mid-September my cousin, Lorie, was here! She was in Alabama for other family reasons, and decided to stop by for a 24 hour visit! We had lots of fun playing trains and blocks, and by about 4 in the afternoon we had tired her out!! The last weekend of September my mom and dad came up to see Tre play soccer and celebrate Colin's 2nd birthday (which was on October 1). We got to go swimming at the hotel they were staying in, play Hungry, Hungry Hippos (mom's first time ever!), and introduced my dad to the Wii (which he now wants one of his very own!!). And this past weekend TJ's mom and sister, Heather, were up to see Tre play soccer. They had to endure some pretty frantic travel "bumps in the road" - including a canceled flight and two rental cars - so we were really glad that they went through all that just to come visit us!!

As for the kids - Colin is officially two and has the tantrums to prove it! But mostly he's still jumping off things and running around the house - same ol', same ol'!! Tre is pushing his limits to see what he can get away with - I know it's just to see how independent he really is - but, yeah... not so much fun. But he is doing GREAT at school! He knows his color names, vowels, and gets to go the pumpkin patch this week on a field trip!! Emma has been teething lately and not feeling so great; but she's sitting up so well, and is already getting up on her knees trying to crawl!! We are all doing great! And I promise I'll try to do better updating the blog!!

- Jodi

Today

Today was an interesting day. Tre woke up with a fever, so both boys stayed home from school. After a trip to the Dr. office it was determined that Tre only has a cold (thank goodness) and was running around fine after some Tylenol. Colin can now climb out of his crib, so we changed it into a daybed... so far so good! But the real reason I wanted to blog today was because of what Tre said.

As we were cleaning up for bedtime Tre said, "I never want to sleep again. I just want to stay up and watch TV." I explained to him that we all need to sleep, just like we need time to play, time to relax, time to have fun, etc. Then I told him that sleep was good for his body, just like food. "Imagine if you never ate again," I said. "That wouldn't be good. You need sleep just like you need food. It's good for your body, good for your mind..." and then Tre said, "and good for my soul?" Uh... what an awesome thing to say!! "Yeah buddy... and good for your soul," was all I could think to say. He's such an amazing kid! We had a pretty good day after all!

-Jo

September

Emma is officially six months old!! Well, she's been six months old for about a week now, but it's taken me awhile to get to the blog! So here's what we know about Emma:

She's a good sleeper! No... she's a great sleeper! She goes to bed anytime between 7-8pm, and we don't hear from her for 12 hours!! She wakes up anytime between 7-8am happy as a clam, talking away in her crib! She's also started solid foods, which means she gets oatmeal for breakfast, a fruit for lunch, and fruit & veggies for dinner (with bottles at each meal, of course!). She gets two naps a day, but at times she considers just doing one nap a day. When she's tired she puts her hand in front of her face, covering her face as if to say "ok, I'm done with all this; put me to bed please!" She loves her brothers very much! Colin makes her laugh by dancing in front of her or crawling around her (it's hilarious!) and Tre talks to her and likes to calm her down if she's crying. Even though she's six months and only rolling around the room, she really can't wait to be truly mobile and crawl after her brothers (you can just see it in her eyes!!) So that's our little girl, growing so fast!!

The boys are doing great as well. They both just got haircuts last week! We decided to cut Tre's hair for soccer (didn't want hair to add to the heat), and Colin wanted his cut as well. Colin's is the shortest it's ever been! But they both look so great! Tre is doing awesome at soccer. Today was his second practice session, and it was hilarious! All the kids were running after the ball! Tre isn't the shortest on the field, but he's close. But he does a good job keeping up with everyone, now if we can just teach him to keep his tongue in his mouth while he's running! Colin is enjoying his three days a week at school! This is his third week, and he's finally started talking to his teachers - they were convinced for awhile that he never talks! If they only knew how loud and hyper he is at home!!! But speaking of Colin talking... he's learning new words all the time! He now says Emma, outside, yes ma'am (but really he just says the ma'am part!), thank you, hey buddy (his new favorite phrase!), and he usually calls Tre "brother"!

So as you can see everybody is doing well! I'll try to do better at blogging, especially with soccer games coming - which I think are going to be incredibly funny! Not just Tre playing, but trying to keep Colin off the fields during the game!! We'll see how that goes!!

- Jo

School Days

School has started for our now four-year old! Tre started his Pre-K on Wednesday and has really enjoyed his first couple days so far!

Wednesday was just a short hour-long day where Tre got to meet his teacher and fellow classmates. Mrs. Holtson is his teacher's name, and apparently she's a favorite of all the Pre-K teachers! At the parents' meeting Tuesday night she explained some of the class procedures: as soon as Tre gets to class he gets to choose where to spend his free-play time and what kind of drink he'll get at snack time. He really likes this and was telling me on Wednesday how he was gonna get to play space guys on Thursday! (apparently that's one of the free-play stations)

On Thursday his table was the helper table and Tre got to turn off the light in the classroom and close the door behind them. Tre loves helping... and so this made his first day really special! And on Friday it was Tre's turn to take the snack bucket in; the children each have a turn to provide snacks for the class, and Tre especially loves this part of going to school! He's still learning his classmates names, for now we only know Gracie because she was in his class last year. But I know as he spends more time with them daily he'll open up more and learn more names.

As Tre has been at school Colin and Emma have been hanging at home with me. Emma is still discovering rolling over and entertaining herself with toys, so Colin and I have been able to really spend some time together. We play blocks, puzzles, and roll/throw a ball around. I think he really enjoys having all my attention. I was kinda nervous about him being upset with Tre & TJ leaving without him, but luckily the transition has gone well. He starts school on Tuesday, so hopefully that will all go well too!!

New and exciting stuff is coming the next couple of weeks: Tre has his four-year old Dr. check-up, and his soccer stuff should start-up soon. I'll be sure to keep you all updated!

-Jo

Tre's Party

Well our little boy is growing up!! We celebrated Tre's 4th birthday today with a SpiderMan party! And we had a blast!!

For decorations I went a little crazy! We used streamers to make a webbed ceiling in our TV room; the kids loved that! Our friend, Shelly, drew a SpiderMan on our easel w/ a Happy Birthday Tre sign. And then we created a little web/SpiderMan guy right in entrance-way hall, so when Tre came home with TJ from getting SpiderMan balloons he was bombarded with SpiderMan stuff! He was a little overwhelmed!!

For our first game we went outside and put on SpiderMan masks and had a silly string fight (it was our "web", get it?!) The adults had fun!! The kids... not so much. Colin just stood next to the patio couch out of the way, and Tre started in the game with us, but got too upset with the mess and started crying. Oh well...

The next game was a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey type game. We had SpiderMan stickers to put on a SpiderMan poster with bad guys around him. If you put a sticker on a bad guy you got points. But the boys just basically liked putting the stickers on SpiderMan, they didn't quite get the point of the game. Oh well...

We moved onto presents. Tre got a "The Flash" T-Shirt ("The Flash" is a superhero that runs really fast, we thought this was appropriate since Tre says his superpower is running fast!), a soccer ball (we signed him up to play in the Sonshine Soccer league starting soon!), UNO, and a Toy Story marker coloring book. And in his card he got $5 Davis Dollars (he was really excited about that!) Then came more games... Tre played Wii with Bryan Geer, Ben, and Shelly. And we pulled out an inflatable jumpy toy that Colin had a blast with. So we basically spent the rest of the evening with those two games, and had dinner & dessert too!

We took some video, which TJ says he'll post sometime, somewhere. Clear as mud, right? Anyway, Tre's actual birthday is Tuesday so we'll continue the celebrations then with a pizza night and maybe even a movie! Then we've got six weeks until Colin's birthday! But I'm sure I'll post some more craziness from the yellow house before then!!

-Jo

Roley-Poley

Emma is mobile!! It's official!! She rolled over yesterday for the very first time, and then kept on going! She can go from back to belly, and back over! And now that she's discovered this new trick she tries to roll over everywhere! In the highchair, on the changing table... we think she's just showing off! But it's pretty cool to have her rolling!!

In the last blog I mentioned some projects that my mom and I would be working on while she's in town - we're basically painting the master bathroom and kitchen. And now that we have all the supplies we'll be getting those done over the weekend after we put the kids to bed. But it's not all work while Oma is in town; today we're celebrating Tre's birthday! We've already been to the book store (where he picked out a really cool 'Cars' book), the museum (where we also fed the ducks) and had lunch and a movie (101 Dalmations)! Tonight we're opening Oma's gifts to Tre, having pizza for dinner, and then cupcakes! That's just what I need... cupcakes to help keep me awake so I can paint!!

- Jo

Summa- Summa- Summa'time!

It's been awhile since I've blogged - I think this is the first since we've been home. We really enjoyed our time in Florida, but there's nothing like being home!!

The past couple of weeks we've basically been playing. Tre was back to playing Wii practically everyday; but he is now having scheduled playtimes. And soon the Wii will be available only through Davis dollars. Davis dollars is something I heard another family do that is basically in-home currency to teach kids how to manage money and earn rewards for doing special jobs around the house. TJ and I had talked about doing this as our form of allowance, we just weren't sure when to start the process. Well I guess the magical age is four!! Tre is turning four in August, so we decided that would be a great time to start. He'll have normal chores that he must do everyday (help clean his room, put shoes away, etc.) that he'll only get Davis dollars at the end of the week if he does all his chores everyday. But he can also earn more Davis dollars by doing special jobs (helping mom with laundry, helping dad with yard, etc.) that he can get whenever he goes above and beyond. The Rewards that he can buy with Davis dollars will include: movie night; playing Wii; special snack; date with Mommy/Daddy. We're going to sort of break the system in with Tre, and hopefully by the time the other kids turn four we'll have it down pat! But we're really excited about starting the Davis dollars!

Colin is talking so much more; even more so than when we were in Florida. Once we got home he's started saying: light, beep beep (for car), you (while signing thank you), please, E-O (for Eeyore), key, side (for outside)... it's just crazy how much more he's talking! And speaking of talking... Emma is a little chatter-box! There was one morning that TJ noticed Emma said more before 10am than Colin would probably say all day!! She just babbles and babbles! And the other day TJ had his mom on the phone, and when Emma heard her voice she tried to grab the phone! I said it was a girl's natural instinct!!

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now. Oma comes up tomorrow to help with kids while TJ is doing a Disciple Now event in Alex City (about an hour north of Montgomery). We're planning on doing some projects around the house (that will have to be for another blog) and celebrating Tre's birthdy with a special Grandma day (his real party will be the weekend before his actual birthday). So now that we're home and settled in I'll try to do better to update everyone on the craziness of the yellow house! Love to all!

-Jo

Note to TJ - July 4th

The kids and I celebrated the holiday by swimming - a lot!!

First we went to your grandpa's house and went swimming with the Smith familiy and Stacy kids. It was really good to see Travis and Amy, but I didn't get a chance to visit with them too much cause I was busy with kids. Hopefully we'll get a chance while we're both in town. But Tre did great jumping & swimming, and Colin was fascinated by the gnomes around the pool!

We went back to the Ruhle house where the party started sometime during our naptime. We basically did our normal schedule with snacks & playtime with the party going on around us. I had several comments about Tre's vocabulary and how outstanding it is! And people loved seeing Colin dance and of course commented about his eyes! Emma was squeeking away as usual, and people were convinced she was telling them something (which I'm sure she was!). Overall it was a pretty normal day, just filled with more swimming and more people around!

Bobby & Uncle Roger were in charge of fireworks, which is always interesting to witness. You never know what's gonna happen with those two around! Luckily the kids slept through it all... amazingly enough cause they had some mortars going off - and they were loud!!

So it was a good holiday! Not sure what the plans are for tomorrow; I guess we'll just see what the day brings!
- Jo

Note to TJ - Silliness!

Today was a silly day! And you know our kids... so you know just how silly they can be. Well, if their normal silly is like a 4 on any given day, today it was a 7!! But we had lots of fun, and it was a great day!!

We ran errands this morning with Oma: first to Target where we tried to get Tre a belt but couldn't find any small enough. Then to the dry cleaners where Oma tried to drop off a curtain, but they don't clean curtains so it didn't work out so great.... but while we were there Tre and I decided that it was the clothes cleaning store (to go along with the food store, belt store... you know how he is). We ended the outing with a trip to the park, where we decided to use the curtain as a blanket for Emma to sit on while the boys played. I think this is where our silliness started. Tre and Colin were running around, Papa Calvin brought Daisy up to visit, and we just had a generally great time - you know, being silly.

The funniest thing was the car-ride home from the park! We were dancing to all our favorite dance songs in the car, and teasing the kids about not having any nuggets or fries at Donald's. And I kept saying, "we will not tolerate silliness in this family" - but in a silly voice, while being silly. It was funny! I think we wore ourselves out cause we all had a good nap/rest time afterwards!!

Uncle Brian & Aunt Heather were back over to help with preperations for tomorrow's party. And the boys were really helpful too! The three of us were window washers: Tre squirted the Windex, I used the squegee (or however you spell that), and Colin had the paper towels to clean up the spots I missed. It was pretty awesome teamwork (you could practically hear the Wonder Pets theme song!!) They also helped Oma pick-up flower trimmings outside and clean the front walkway. As a reward they got to go swimming! But I think they wore themselves out cause they were in bed by 7:40, and I haven't heard a peep from them since!

We miss you lots! I'm glad we got to talk to you on the phone some tonight. We'll have to do that again before you go off to camp! Love you!
- Jo

Note to TJ - Friends & Family

So today was a pretty good day. We started the day off reading comics at the breakfast table - the boys and I - it was a Kodak moment (which, of course, Oma got!)

Then the kids and I played in the morning before going to lunch with the Kittle & Lloyd families. Everyone was laughing at the boys singing "Boom Boom Pow" and loving on Emma while she was trying to take her nap. While we were there we told everyone about all of our super powers, and Tre gave Ray the power to sing (good choice, huh?) and Brenda the power to drive (but I'm not sure why...) Anyway, we had a great time and it was so good to see everyone and catch up while we were all in town!

After lunch we had nap/rest time. Colin & Tre did great, but Emma was not in the mood to be in her bed. I guess with so many people holding her at lunch she still wanted to be in someone's arms even at home. After nap Heather Ruhle came over and visited with us! She was walking around with Emma waiting for Brian to show up cause she wasn't use to carrying a baby for so long and wanted to tag out! But I ended up tagging her cause it was time for Emma's bottle. Then Brian showed up in time for dinner and playing with the boys; he even watched bathtime and was laughing at our crazy boys in the bath!

Overall, it was a pretty good day... except with the sad news that TJ's grandma, Jean Fisher, passed away today. She was a great lady; I'll remember her smile, and her sitting at the table playing cards or just talking with everyone. For the past two weeks her family has been by her side caring for her and saying goodbye. She passed peacefully in a room filled with memories, pictures on every wall. When I went by today I was amazed at this incredible family who, in their grief, were still taking care of one another: Jan was reminding Grandpa to take care of his breathing medicine (or something like that), Heather was getting travel arrangements for you, Corin was taking care of Ma - who was taking care of everyone, and I was offering to help with the service. It was really cool seeing everything in action: everyone pulling what we do best in the real world for this familial situation. I am very proud to be part of such a family... and I know Grandma Jean was too! We'll miss you Grandma!

More to come...
- Jo

Note to TJ - Toy Story

So here are notes to TJ - part 2. He's in Alabama while the rest of us are in Florida (read previous blog for what's going down with that...) Anyway, I figured you're reading this to know what's going on with the kids just as much as TJ is...so, here we go:

Today Tre watched Toy Story for the very first time! I asked him which part was his favorite, and he described a scene that I don't think was in the movie. Something about toys coming together to rescue a girl? I don't know... I'll ask him tomorrow and see what his answer is then. BUT, I did ask him which he liked better: Buzz or Woody. He likes Buzz!

Colin got a special outing with Oma and Papa to run errands at Sam's. They must have tired the boy out cause we had some major tantrums during bath and while trying to go to bed. He was mad at me cause I only gave him a few bath toys and not all of them; it could've been World War 3 for all I know the way he was crying. Good Grief! And even after I put him to bed he was still whiny and cried about every five minutes. I finally gave him some drugs (read: Tylenol), so let's hope that works!!

And Emma is very close to rolling over! Even though TJ told her not to do anything fun while he's away, she's might do it anyway! I know that Colin's foot in her side prevented her from rolling over today... but we'll see about tomorrow!

I'll try to blog more over the weekend!!
- Jo

Crazy, Sad, Whilrwind of a Summer

It's been just over a week since my last blog about Mike Wazowski. We're still healing... and now we're dealing with the soon-to-be passing of TJ's grandma. I'll try my best to explain the whirlwind this summer has been so far:

We left for Florida a day earlier than planned two weeks ago because TJ's grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer and given six months to live. We wanted to make sure we saw her as much as possible, so we jumped in the car and hit the road. After visiting with her some we headed over to the St. Pete area for my brother's wedding. So far this event has been the only shining star in our otherwise crappy summer. It was a beautiful event! If we weren't dealing with the death of our beloved dog, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more... but, what can ya' do?

When we got back into Orlando we realized that TJ's grandma health was rapidly decreasing, so we made sure we saw her as much as possible. We left Florida knowing we would be back soon... but we didn't think it would be three days soon. Since TJ has his student ministry camp next week and some other travel arrangement-hoops that we need to jump through, we're back in the car tomorrow. We're praying for grandma to not be in any more pain, and also praying for the rest of the family as we deal with our loss. I can't imagine trying to explain the loss to Tre - he still doesn't quite understand what happened with Mike Wazowski; but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

So I ask that you pray for our family. Pray that this crazy, sad, whirlwind of a summer will take a turn for the better, and we can see some more bright shining stars in our future!
- Jo

Mike Wazowski

It is will tear-filled eyes that I am writing this blog. Our beloved bulldog, Mike Wazowski, is no longer with us. He passed yesterday from heat-stroke and complications at the age of 6. He was a great dog. Loud, but great. A pain sometimes, but great.

TJ and I got Mike a week after we got back from our honeymoon. He's been a part of the Davis family from the very beginning. I'm not sure how he got the nickname Magoo, but if I wasn't calling him "Michael" for getting on my nerves, I was calling him "Magoo". And even though he was an English bulldog, TJ and I would tease that he must have had some German in him because he liked to do this high-step march at times. And when he was really excited he would wiggle his little nub and put his front paws down, then jump up at you. Yes, our bull-dog jumped! And ran sideways when he was really excited. And Mike was a tough dog. There was one time he got in a little fight with my brother's dog, Vader, and he came out with a broken jaw. But you wouldn't have known it, cause Mike never showed that he was hurt - he was bulldog!

Mike definitely prepared me for having kids. He was always loud except when he was getting into something he wasn't supposed to be doing. Much like my kids are today! Mike was my cuddle buddy, always trying to steal my blanket and my spot on the couch! I will miss Magoo very much... he can never be replaced.

- Jo

TJ's Back!!!

As you can tell from my previous posts, or just take my word for it, we survived TJ being out of the country!! He got back a couple of days ago sleepy, but had a great week of ministry! But I think he forgot just how crazy our yellow house can be! This morning Colin was running down the hallway screaming and TJ asked, "when did he start doing that?" I gently reminded TJ that that was Colin, and he's always done that! And Emma took a day to remember her daddy, but by today she was smiling and recognizing him again. When I told Tre that TJ had landed in Atlanta, he ran to the window, looked outside and said, "but, Mommy, I don't see a plane." He told TJ that he missed him more than TJ missed him back... it was very sweet to see their reunion early Sunday morning as Tre cuddled with his daddy!

So, all is well as we are reunited back under one roof! I really appreciate my mother-in-law coming up for a week to help me keep my sanity! I think now she'll believe me when I tell her the yellow house is a crazy house! She's lived here a week to understand!!

Oh, and a funny story before I go. Tre was looking at pictures of Emma's baby shower and picked two that he said were his favorite. One was me opening presents, and the other was me showing off the pretty cake. I asked him why they were his favorites, and he said, "cause they are the most beautiful." I asked him, "you like them for the presents & cake?" Tre says "yeah". I asked, "Or because mommy's in them?" Tre says, "Naaahh. It's the presents & cake." Eating humble pie again!!

- Jo

Note to TJ (5)

Another 7am morning, which was glorious! Except that it was a rainy morning so the kids were inside the whole time, and Tre kept asking when we were leaving for the movie! Which was awesome! I decided to do lunch & a movie so we left around 11:30 and headed for Donald's. That's where we sent you the "miss you, daddy" video! Then we left for the movie theater. He was very excited about getting a movie ticket, and even handed the ticket to the usher (which I was really surprised that he took the initiative!) We went to the concession stand and I let him choose whatever type of candy he wanted. Of course he chose M&M's! And I snuck in some juice boxes so he was a happy boy! The movie was good, but loud; he spent most of the time with his hands over his ears! And overall I think he had a great time! What was really funny, though, was that on the way home he asked about nap time and whether or not he had to take a nap. He got so excited when I told him that we had skipped nap time - I think he liked that almost as much as going to the movie. Anyway, he asked when we could go again and I told him next time we would have to take you cause you like movies a lot too! So get ready for the questions of how soon we can go!!

Oh! And Colin has learned how to hug; like really hug! It's so cute! He'll put his arms around my neck and I'll say "squeeze" and he hugs so tight, it's awesome! I can't wait for you to experience it!!

Well, I should probably get going; we're visiting with Dax & Melissa. They got here around 4:30, ate dinner (oh, Colin likes salad... I'll tell you more about that when you get here!), and now we're just hanging out and talking. Only a couple more days til you get home, and I can't wait! Seeing that movie really made me miss you more! Love you!

- Jo

Note to TJ (4)

Yes! We actually had a great morning! Wanna know why? Cause we all slept in... 'til 7!!!! Even Emma slept 'til 7! It was a glorious morning!

After breakfast I finally weeded the garden, with the boys help. Which means they were throwing dirt and digging holes... but still, we had fun. The rest of the day was spent inside playing games and such. It was a pretty quiet day as far as activity goes, but it was still a pretty good day.

Dax & Melissa ended up not coming up today cause of sickness & fatigue, so hopefully we'll see them tomorrow. Tre and I are going to the noon-ish movie of "UP" tomorrow and we're both pretty excited! I got juice boxes from the store to sneak into the movies, but I know we'll also go the concession stand - cause you gotta do that on your very first movie experience! As you can tell, I'm super excited! I wish you were here to be a part of it... but since you're seeing "UP" with the students on Monday (and I don't really like any of the other summer movies for Tre) I figured you'd be okay with it!

Well, I'm off to watch "so you think you can dance" with your mom! Aren't you sad you're missing it?!? Love you!!

- Jo

Note to TJ (3)

Well 6:30 am is a better wake-up time for our children... but it was still a long day! I made them stay in their room until 7, and then they came and cuddled with me in our bed until breakfast, so at least the tantrums were fewer today!

We went to the museum today and decided to feed the ducks first. I went on the sidewalk next to the pond and we fed the ducks from behind a small hedge, which actually worked out cause then the ducks couldn't attack us like they were the other children who were feeding them from the lawn (in front of the hedge!). I didn't actually plan that... but really glad it worked out that way! So I gave a couple of broken pieces of bread to Tre to throw to the ducks, then I gave Colin his piece of bread - which he put directly into his mouth! I should've known better: when you give Colin food he's gonna eat it!! But after watching Tre for awhile he got the hang of it, and we sent you a video of how much they enjoyed it! After the feeding we went inside the museum, which we walked through pretty quickly, so I think it's safe to say the best part of the museum was outside with the ducks!!

After nap we decided to hit the pool again, which now Colin actually says "pool", so that's pretty cool! It didn't last long, though, 'cause we heard some thundering. So we came inside and played games (video & card) for the rest of the night. Ben & Jon came by for dinner and games, which you'll have to ask them about Tre playing boxing with Ben and tennis with Jon... pretty funny stuff! The boys stayed and talked with Ma and I, and I think you got busted on a couple of things... again, ask the boys!

Supposedly Dax & Melissa should be stopping by sometime tomorrow on their cross-country trip. Dax said it would either be tomorrow sometime, or Thursday morning... so, we'll see about that! Anyway, love you lots. It's getting late so I'm gonna hit the sack! Love you!!

- Jo

Note to TJ (2)

Well.... we had a quite a day! Like I told you on the phone we were all up at 6am (which I just loved that you called, and I know the boys did too). But we had a very long day!

We decided to do a trip to Wal-Mart this morning to get some more sidewalk chalk and see if we could find another slip 'n' slide. Colin kept pulling the hose out of the one we have (remember, it's busted on the side) and it was getting super annoying! So off we went to the store, and actually found one for only $2!! We were super excited, and decided to splurge on a kiddie-pool as well! Well, when we got home, we realized why the slip 'n' slide was only $2... it busted in the same spot as soon as your mom turned on the hose. Soooo aggravating!! But the pool was a success, we just need to find a good/level spot in the yard!

After lunch we were all very tired, so I put on Wall-E for me and Tre to watch, hoping that he would fall asleep during the movie. No such luck. But he really liked the movie; his favorite part was when Wall-E and Eve were outside the spaceship flying around (and Wall-E had the fire extinguisher). After the movie we had quiet time, and got to play some Wii before going to Moe's. In Wii boxing, Tre knocks out Mamaw almost as soon as the fight starts every time they play! Not that I should talk, he knocks me out within the first round, but at least it's not at the beginning of the fight! But now neither one of us will play boxing with him, we just stick to tennis!

Emma is finding her hands some, which I know we both love that part of development. The funny thing is, she looks at it long enough just to stick her fingers in her mouth!! And she has this new thing where she puts her leg on the outside bar of her bouncy-seat, and then yells at you that her foot is stuck. Yea... that's fun!!

Dinner at Moe's was good. Colin kept saying "hey" to everyone! And once we got home we played more Wii and wrestled. Needless to say, I haven't heard a peep from them since I put them to bed! Tomorrow we're planning on going to the art museum, and hopefully be able to feed the ducks before hand. We miss you lots. It sounds like you're having a great time and I really wish we could talk more to hear all the details! Love you & miss you lots!!

- Jo

Note to TJ (1)

This blog is for TJ since he's out of the country (he's in the Dominican Republic on a mission trip), just to keep him updated on our crazy kids. It may be a little too much information for everybody else (you may not want to know how crazy our kids really are)... but you're more than welcome to read on! (If it is TMI, just check back in next week!)

The boys really miss you! Colin asks about three times a day, "Daddy?" to which Tre will remind him that you're at a DR meeting helping people build houses and VBS (the way he says it!) We had a good morning on Saturday, the girl was up at 4am but I managed to hold off on her bottle until 4:45, but I didn't get back to bed until 5:30 so that was pretty sucky. I'm not sure what time Tre got up, but when you called at 7:30 he brought me my phone from the TV room, which ended up waking up Colin, so by then we were all up. They helped me get ready for you Mom's arrival, and we even managed to get some Wii time in before lunch! After nap time we were outside, my goal was to get them super tired... it worked! We did slip 'n' slide, bubbles, and that sidewalk paint I told you about. It was pretty awesome! After dinner & bath they were in bed by 7:30 and we didn't hear a peep from them!!

Overnight wasn't too bad, but it wasn't all that great either. I had to give Emma her baba around 11-something; Tre was up for water around midnight (which somehow woke Colin up too, but after I gave him back his baba he was good); but the weirdest one was Magoo! I rolled over around 2-ish and saw Magoo staring at me from my side of the bed. He had stepped up on the rail and was breathing on me. It totally freaked me out! I pushed him down and tried to get back to sleep but then I was worried he really needed water or to go out (since he was a punk and didn't go out before bed) so I got up and tried to figure out what he wanted. I honestly think he wanted to play cause he was high-stepping and wiggling his nub at me when I tried to put him outside. I know you have to deal with kids in your over-night shift, I never realized you had to deal with the dog too!!!

Church was good, Colin went into his room without crying! And the nursery peeps actually fed Emma her bottle on time! And when we got home from church, Emma was still in her car-seat while we were eating lunch, and she soothed herself to sleep by sucking on her fingers (middle & ring fingers) cause we left her baba at church (argh!).... so who knows, the girl just might not need her baba and we'll have to deal with weaning her off of fingers instead of a pacifier?!

This afternoon we'll probably do more slip 'n' slide and outside time. But I gotta go now and feed the girl her bottle. Love you!!

- Jo

The Kids

I was going to write about Colin being a goose... but I didn't want to leave the other rugrats out. So here's an update on all of the kids:

For a while I've been calling Colin a "silly goose" cause he's just silly. He'll start swinging around in circles for no reason. Or just start singing randomly. Being silly is becoming normal for him. And somehow "silly goose" is the name that's stuck. But recently he's living up to the name in another way. Recently he's discovered the enjoyment of goosing people! Yep... if he sees a little butt crack, he'll goose ya'!! And no one is safe. Not even Tre as he's going to the bathroom. That'll wake you up! Luckily Tre laughed... But we all have learned to watch out for Colin "the goose" Davis!!

Tre is doing well (aside from getting goosed by Colin!). He did have a mohawk for awhile and his behavior matched his punk haircut (read: he was a punk!!). But now that the mohawk is gone he's been much better. He's officially out of school. Last Thursday was his last day, the class spent it at the Art Museum feeding ducks (& turtles) outside and playing in the Kid Works area inside. We had lots of fun! We've been playing lots of Go Fish lately, which is always fun! And Tre has recently started the life-long enjoyment of video games!! He can play Wii tennis & boxing cause those are the two games that we have that don't require button pushing! He's actually really good at both!!

And Emma is officially in her own room at night! It happened by accident almost a week ago. After her bath I put her in her crib just to hang out while I was dealing with the boys, and by the time I got back to her room she was sound asleep. She fell asleep unswaddled, lights on, door open, and boys being loud. We've recently discovered this is how she falls asleep best. If you put her in her room with lights off and try to be quiet, she takes longer to fall asleep and usually cries in the process. But if the lights are on and the boys are being loud, she's out. Which is probably a good thing, cause more often than not someone is loud in the crazy yellow house!

So that's the update with the kids. TJ and I are doing also doing well. TJ leaves next week for his mission trip to the DR (Dominican Republic). Luckily his mom is coming up from Florida to help me! Can you imagine me by myself for eight days with these crazy kids!?! I don't think I would survive!

- Jo

Would You Like a Spot of Tea?

Ever since Tre started drinking from open-lid cups ("big boy cups") he's not allowed to carry his drink around the house like Colin is with his sippy cup. And he's okay with this... he just goes to the refrigerator, takes a swig, then goes about his day playing and what-not. See where I'm going with this? Well, not quite...

COLIN came up behind Tre and grabbed the jug of tea. Now there wasn't a lot of tea in the jug because Colin was able to lift it up and take it out of the refrigerator. And then the tea hit the floor!!! All over my newly mopped kitchen floor! (I had just mopped it last week, my first time since baby Emma's arrival!!) After using a half a roll of paper towels and mopping again... the kitchen floor is now clean... again. Not sure how long it'll last, but I'll just add this to the list of things my crazy kids do.

So for all of you keeping score
Kids - 3 (powder, tre pooping outside, tea on kitchen floor)
Mom - 0

Now I gotta go make more tea, which hopefully will NOT end up all over the floor!
- Jo

Family Movie Night

Last night was our first official Davis Family Movie Night!

I've been waiting for Tre to be the right age for him to sit through an entire movie before starting movie nights with him. I've noticed recently that he's able to focus and actually watch movies, so I thought now would be a good time to start! So last night the entire family took a trip to Blockbuster!

Tre was very excited. Of course the first movie he picked out was Veggie Tales "the pirates who don't do anything" movie... but we had already seen that on TV! So we were going to get Despereaux, until we saw Bolt! TJ and I actually saw Bolt when it was in theaters, so we knew all the parts that might be too scary for Tre. So Bolt (aka, "the dog movie") is the one we picked. We have nothing over Despereaux, it's just that I didn't know what to expect... and didn't want our first movie night to be disasterous!

After bath we set everything up. Popped the popcorn, laid out a blanket and some pillows, made it as dark as possible for 6:30 pm... and had our first official movie night! Tre loved the movie! He wants to watch it again today, and probably tomorrow too! Of course Tre doesn't like popcorn (he's the pickiest eater ever!) so he had cookies instead (actually, that's not a bad trade!) Colin watched for all of five minutes before he was off running around the room. He, of course, loves popcorn AND cookies! He liked laying on the blanket, but I think he realized that if he stayed there he would've fallen asleep (and we can't have that now, can we?!)

So the first family movie night was a great success! Woo Hoo!
- Jo

Tre Did What?!?

Since last year when Tre became potty trained he's enjoyed a certain perk of being a boy: peeing outside. He would drop trow, do his business, and then go on playing outside. Today he decided to take that a step further. He pooped outside. Yes... number two right next to the fort. But unlike number ones, number twos are a bit messier, and he didn't know what to do when he was all done. So he waddled up to the back porch (yes, waddled, because his pants were still down around his ankles) and asked for help. And after regaining my composure, I helped the kid out. And no... no video this time!! (The last time I had to regain my composure the boys had gotten into powder, and the video is on my facebook if you want to check it out!) So that's what Tre did today - pooped outside!

As for the other kids:
Colin will now kiss me before leaving the house and then says "Bye. Eee Yaa" (Bye. See Ya.) So Cute! He also has gotten into the habit of trying to crawl into Tre's bed at bed time instead of going to his crib. I have to grab him before he gets up there or he throws a tantrum!
And Emma is starting to coo and make other sounds besides crying! And she likes to fall asleep during tummy time. Tummy time, for those who don't know, is a set aside time for the baby to lay on his/her belly so that they can get use to lifting their head up and strengthening the neck muscle. And Emma sleeps during this time! I don't know if that's good (she's comfortable on her belly and so it will be a breeze in the months to come) or bad (her neck will never get strong and every time she lays on her belly she'll immediately fall asleep) - oh well, only time will tell!! (Just kidding, I know she'll be fine! Her Momma likes to sleep on her belly too... and my neck muscle is just fine, so it's all good!)

Okay, so that's what is up with my crazy kids! The boys are at the store with TJ and Emma is doing tummy time (read: sleeping!) so I'm gonna go enjoy the quiet while it lasts!!
- Jo

a month

So I know it's been about a month since our last post - sorry about that! I told you I would try my best to update as soon as I found a quiet minute! Well, it's not all that quiet, but here's a quick update anyway:

Emma had her one-month check-up last week. She's growing good, a perfect bill of health. She has a bit of thrush (white stuff in her mouth) so we have medicine for that; but other than that she's great. Sleeping, eating, burping, and making dirty diapers - oh the life of a new born!

The boys are running around even more. If you haven't seen the powder video yet, please check out my facebook page and comment about my crazy boys!! And then pray for me!!

We've also had lots of family & friends in town the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago Jodi's girls were in for the weekend. TJ was working a lot that weekend so we basically stayed at the house and they got a first-hand look at a typical day for Jodi with the kids! We had lots of fun playing games, including Tre's new favorite 'Go Fish!' (thanks to Sara & Tara). We also celebrated TJ's 30th birthday with lots of family in town - which was good to see everyone and surprise TJ!

Upcoming we have Easter (yeah!) and doctor's appointments (boo!) - again, I'll try to update as much as possible!

peace out!
-Jo

Growing So Fast

Well... it's been two weeks since Emma's been here, and this is what we know about her:
She likes to sleep on her side when we hold her... and doesn't like to be swaddled except at night
She has a dimple on her left cheek (just like her momma!)
The girl can burp! (just like her daddy!)
She is very intrigued by her brothers, and looks for Tre when she hears his voice
Other than that she pretty much just sleeps and eats.

The boys are growing fast too! Tre has been done with sippy cups for about two weeks now. He's doing pretty well so far, only a couple of mishaps at the dinner table. And Colin has moved into Tre's room as of last week, so it's officially "the boys' room". He's still in his crib, but the fact that they can share a room makes it easier to care for Emma overnight. Colin has also added the words "no" (which he says very emphatically) and "bye" to his vocabulary. Every time he sees a car he says "bye"... it's very cute!

So everyone is doing well, growing fast. And I'm trying to keep up with them all!

- Jo

Emma's Arrival

Yes! She's here! Emma Kay Davis joined us at 4:36 a.m. on March 1 - TJ & Jodi's six year anniversary! And it was snowing in Alabama!! The girl definitely knows how to make an entrance!

The labor & delivery went great. We checked into the hospital at midnight Saturday night. At the first check I was 4cm so we knew it was the real deal. After phone calls to moms and drugs an hour later we settled in for whatever came next. I figured it would be a little while before she arrived - yeah right! By 4 am I was fully dilated and the nurses were calling the doctor on call. He must've stopped to get a coffee on the way because he didn't get there until 4:30, and after one push Emma was here at 4:36!

The days in the hospital were fine; surgery went great, and by Tuesday we were home. And we had a great homecoming! Tre had colored a welcome home mommy & Emma picture, and Colin poked Emma in the nose! Luckily she didn't cry... I guess she's already adjusting to having older brothers! And throughout the week the boys have been adjusting to her: Tre likes to say good morning to her, and then goes about his day as normal. Colin is concerned whenever she cries, but other than that he's in his own world. Except for when I'm changing her, then both boys pull up stools next to the changing table and watch all the action.

All in all we're adjusting very well. We are a very blessed and happy family. Updates will come when I'm not too tired from chasing after two boys and caring for baby girl!

- Jo

She's Here!

We are very tired, yet excited. "Little" Emma Kay Davis joined our family this morning at 4:36am. She is 9lb 9oz, 21 1/4" long, Emma and Jodi are both doing great! Me and BG took the boys up this morning before lunch so they could meet the new boss in town. Of course she slept through most of it. Please pray for Jodi, tomorrow morning she will have surgery to tie her tubes. The doctor has reassured us that it isn't that crazy of a procedure...but it's still surgery. Well, I think I've rambled enough for now, I'll try to get pictures up here tomorrow.


-TJ

Humble Pie

I had dessert early today; my humble pie was served by Tre... here's the story:

Tre was looking out the window and saying, "Mommy, I like summer." I told him that yes, the weather was very nice, but it's not summer. I explained that it was winter now, then it would be spring, and after spring came summer. So Tre asked me "when is it going to be spring?" Since I didn't know I sent him to TJ (my typical trick for most questions). Turns out... TJ knows exactly when spring starts and told Tre "in about a month". So when Tre came to tell me that his daddy had answered the question I said, "Wow! You're daddy is very smart!" And Tre said, "Yeah, and you're not!" Thanks, Tre!

- Jo

Busy Weekend

We had a very fun, busy weekend this past weekend!! It all started Thursday with celebrations for my 30th birthday! On Friday both my mom & TJ's mom came up from FL to visit. While moms were here we did lots of shopping (Tre got a big boy bed and I got new glasses!!) and home projects (rearranging the kids' rooms & putting up pictures!). It was so good to have both moms up for visiting and helping out, and I'm so glad they got to see the boys playing & wrestling! On Sunday TJ led worship for "big church" as I like to call it, and we had Emma's baby shower at church afterward. We got so many nice things, and now I'm officially getting ready for Emma (cleaning clothes and getting her room together!). So I guess the "busy" part of our week isn't quite done yet, back to work I go!!

- Jo

Randomness

There's this poll on facebook going around about 25 Random Things you post about yourself. I caved and did one, although I don't really like it. There are some things I forget to put and other things that were just throw-aways; I don't know if there really are 25 interesting/random things about me. But there are certainly random things about my kids, so I thought I would do a blog about them. Here are a few random things about my kids:

1. Tre sleeps with several Pooh Bears in his bed, but only cuddles with one which he calls "favorite".

2. Colin has three Eeyores in his bed, but ignores all of them for a Webkin puppy dog.

3. Tre is an incredibly picky eater; and not just with food but with drinks as well. He will only drink apple juice or water. And sometimes grape juice, but only at school.

4. Colin eats pretty well, as long as it's before six or right at six. Otherwise he doesn't like trying new things or anything. He just wants to eat. So we can feed him something he knows (hot dogs/ritz crackers) to fill his belly, and then he'll try something new or out-of-ordinary.

5. Tre could probably be playing professional baseball when he's an adult; his hand/eye coordination is incredible, hitting the ball more often than not!

6. Colin, on the other hand, will probably be playing football. It's one of the five words he uses on a daily basis, brings me a Gator book saying "football" (and can correctly identify the football on the sports page), and knows the three-point stance already!

7. Tre can correctly name the authors of his favorite books (Dr. Seuss, Norman Bridwell, Laura Numeroff, etc)

8. Colin also likes to look at books, but his most favorite is one called "I Love You Through and Through" that TJ and I got him for his 1st birthday. We read it every night before bed (along with his other favorite, "Go, Dogs! Go!")

9. Tre's new favorite show is called "Phineas & Ferb" about two brothers making mischief during summer vacation. It's also TJ's new favorite show!

10. Colin's favorite thing to do is dump toys all over the ground. Not play with them so much, just dump them and move on... I, myself, don't like this game so much!!

So there are some random things about the kids; maybe you already knew them, maybe not. Just thought I'd put it out there!

- Jo

Getting Ready for Emma!

So the past week or so the boys have been as crazy as ever. From Tre doing crazy dance moves around the house to Colin climbing on top of the dinner table to get food - things are a little hectic around the yellow house! And to think... we're adding a little girl to our mix in about a month!

Preparations are starting already! I've been nesting like crazy, cleaning everything from the shower caddy to a laundry basket! Moms are coming up bringing more clothes and toys (for both boys and the girl!) and we're having a baby shower soon to get more things this little girl will need! I still have to organize everything, of course - but that'll just help my nesting desires!

As for the boys, whether they're ready or not, that's kinda hard to tell. Tre will say, "I can't wait for Baby Emma to come" and feel my belly when she's moving. I think he's ready for his sister to be here, but we'll see how he adjusts to another little one running around! And Colin has no clue! He's so busy jumping on couches that I don't think he even realizes his world is about to drastically change! Again, we'll have to wait and see and how he reacts to Emma!

I, on the other hand, am ready! I'm trying to enjoy the last days of my last pregnancy... but it's kinda hard when your back hurts and the baby kicks hurt; I'm ready to have little Emma in my arms and not in my belly! We're super excited, and the countdown is going: only 4 Sundays left! Woo Hoo!!

Jo

What a 15 month old can do

Last week was Colin's 15-month check-up. And as the nurse was asking TJ the typical "can he do this" and "can he do that" questions Colin was doing pretty good (pretty much able to do most of the things she asked). Then the nurse looked at Colin's charts and realized she had asked all the 18 month questions! Apparently she had just looked at Colin and thought he was 18 months! So once she asked him the 15 month questions, he did great!! Here are some things Colin can do:

*feeds himself cereal with a spoon (it still counts even if he's a mess afterwards, right?!)
*put his juice in the refrigerator when the door is open (Tre usually opens it for him!)
*assists in putting clothes on/off
*carries his clothes to the hamper before bath
*he tries to jump but doesn't quite get his feet off the ground!
*can play "football" (gets in three-point stance, yells "down" and then runs at BG)
*likes to wrestle with Tre
*assists in brushing his teeth (we're still working on this because right now he likes his tongue brushed more than his teeth!)
*gives hugs and kisses

A cute story about that last item...
The other night when going to bed, Colin went to give Tre a good night kiss. I think he aimed for his cheek but got his ear instead! Tre was completely grossed out, which, of course, made Colin crack up and try to do it again (what are little brothers for, right?!). Colin tried again but Tre put his hand up telling him, "no," so Colin high-fived him instead, multiple times!! At this point both boys are laughing, and their high-fives turned to pounds/fist-pumps. Lots of brotherly love going around as they were saying good night. It was very cute!

So overall both boys are doing great.
- Jo

Wear this hat...

Today Tre, who was wearing Colin's Gator hat, brought me the cowboy hat and said:
"Mom, you be a cowboy. I'm gonna be a winner."

'Atta boy!!

-Jo

Words

The past couple of months Colin's vocabulary has been growing. We think his first official word was "dog" - and I say "think" because it wasn't exactly clear (kinda sounded like dawgie), but we're pretty sure it was "dog" because he said it as he was pointing to a dog. Here's a list of other words coming from Colin now a days:

Dadda
Momma
Cookie (when getting Ritz crackers)
Down (when playing football)
BG
Dude
Whazzup (with TJ)

And a bunch of blubbering that we think are words... but just can't figure out what they are just yet!

Meanwhile, Tre's vocabulary is pretty amazing for a three year old. His words include:

frustrating
"What are we discussing, guys?"
"this toy isn't cooperating"
seriously

It's pretty amazing these days with these boys and their words. It'll be pretty funny when Colin talks more and the boys can discuss how to spoil Emma, or torture her... boys can be boys! Anyway, not much else to tell - I'll write soon with an update from the yellow house. Until then... Happy 2009!!

- Jo