A Few Videos

Jack lovin' on Graham

Jack pulling Graham in the wagon

Happy Belated 4th of July!

We had a great Fourth! We took a last minute trip to the lake on Friday and then came home on Sunday in time for Daddy and Jack to go see fireworks at Oak Tree. Jack really loved the show and is still talking about it (and when I say talking, I mean walking around saying "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!")

One Big Helper and One Little Brother

(Posted by Randy)

Since Jack has turned three, his willingness to “help” has grown exponentially. I have a helper when I mow the lawn, “eat the weeds,” work on the car, make dinner, get dressed, put up my keys, close the garage door, make a phone call, fold the laundry, surf the internet, clean the garage, push the button to open doors as church, get something down from the attic, go to the bathroom, … you get the idea.

Mowing the lawn takes twice as long as it ever did.
“Eating weeds” entails the words “keep back, keep back” repeated incessantly.
Making dinner means keeping little hands away from hot objects.
Typing results in the computer delete key getting an incredible workout.
Getting dressed involves hoisting Jack to hang up the belt.
Moving things to/from the attic requires moving a toddler to/from the attic with each trip.

Of course, I wouldn’t change it for the world. He’s making that awesome transition from mama’s little baby to daddy’s big helper, and I think it’s great. Sunday, my helper and I took mommy’s car to the car wash for a much-needed cleaning. I heard quite a few more beeps from the machine than usual (insert more quarters… you’re taking too long), but it was well worth it to here belly laughs every time the water ricocheted off the car or to here “I did it!” when each part of the car when from brown to silver. He also altered the “see ya’, weeds!” mantra we use when we weed the garden to “see ya’, dirt!”

Graham, of course, is a mama’s boy through and through. He smiles when he sees daddy, but he nearly pulls a facial muscle when he sees mommy. I can’t tell you how proud I am to see him sitting up and playing with anything he can get his hands on. He laughs out loud, rolls over at will, eats his sweet potatoes like nobody’s business, and he even says, “mama” and “bubba” from time to time (notice “dada” is not in his repertoire). Jack gets so excited whenever Graham does something new, and I can already tell that the two of them will have some serious adventures a few years down the line.

Beautiful wife. Beautiful kids. Sometimes you just have to stop and give praise to God.

We Have a Tooth!

Graham has his first tooth! The sweet little guy was barely even fussy! He has been extremely drooly and has been biting everything, so we thought it was coming, but I certainly expected him to be more fussy when it actually came through. Plus, Jack didn't cut a tooth until 7 months, so we assumed we had a bit more time. He was crying in the car on the way home from the lake (on the fourth), which was unlike him, so I felt around and there it was! Congratulations, Graham!