Duck River Canoe Trip

So back in August, Jake and I and some friends of ours decided to canoe the Duck River. I had called during the week to make reservations and to ask a few questions and I had to call the owner's cell phone. He is this older hillbilly truck driver and was obviously on a hot-shot because he talked me head off and told me story after story and that they were going to drive into the river and drop us off...that they did!!

We had lots of fun and even tipped the canoe 10 minutes after being on the water!! Yes, I was a little peeved at first, but did eventually laugh it off. Despite all our towels and extra clothing being soaked all was good...we had a great day!

He we are right before Jake flipped us. NOTE: I had just put the camera and wallet in a Ziploc bag and was in the process of putting my cell phone in one when we flipped.

The Duck River was so green and lush....beautiful!

Here is the 'legal' stop sign that the told us to look for when we were nearing the end!!

During the trip I came up with the title to our #1 hit song, "Jesus, Shake the money tree" and low and behold when they came to pick us up this is the front plate on the van........omen??

Eat more Chikin!!

We found out that every Tuesday night is kid's night at Chick-fil-a!!!! It is a great deal, for each adult meal you buy, you get a free kid's meal, plus each child gets a free ice cream cone!! Doesn't get much better than that!!!

Gus loved the cow! He would shake his hand then turn and look at me with a huge smile, but I just couldn't snap the camera quick enough to get the smile!!! There will be a next time!!!

Eat more chicken!!!

One giant leap for all of us

This past weekend, mom and dad offered to babysit so Jake and I could go to dinner and maybe catch a movie. We opted to eat local and buy 4 movies! I know, I know 4 movies, but Movie Gallery has a special buy 2, get 2 free. We had chosen I love you, Man, but the rental added to our late fee was almost $20 bucks so we found 4 movies on the $5.99 rack and spent $12.00!! Anyway, we dropped Gus off around 8ish and headed out. I talked to mom at 10pm and he was all snuggled in bed sound asleep and I did not talk to her again until 10am when I woke up and called to check on Gus!! He did great! Woke up twice, but went back down pretty easy. Folks this is music to our ears as he has NEVER slept away from us and we were a little nervous, but figured it was best to try it now. Since all went well, we will have to do this again as we enjoyed our night, Pinki and Pops enjoyed some one on one time with the little munchkin!!

Gusley, we are so proud of you! You are such a big boy these days!! Thanks mom and dad for having him stay the night! Let us know when you have caught up on your sleep ;-)!!

Parent Tot Swimming Lesson 2

I know this is a little late, but lesson 2 went a little better. Bubbles were actually made and there was some kicking too! The instructor wanted me to work with Gus on cupping his hands and digging into the water. I tried, he was not amused. Unfortunately the weather so far this week has not allowed us to go to the pool and practice. Hopefully tonight we can get some "digging" in!!

Stay tuned, as we go back for thirds this weekend!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Gusley and Marley have a wonderful friendship. Marley is the best cat ever. Just a smooth operator. Nothing gets his feathers ruffled and he loves Gusley and will go up to Gusley and swipe him with his tail to get Gus' attention. They are rather entertaining when they are together!

18 months and growing....

18months???!!!! Where do I even begin? It seems like everyday Gusley grows a little more. He is become such a wonderful little toddler and is really interested in making Jake and I proud. He loves to be praised for doing a good job, which leads me to write that at this point he LOVES to pick up his toys, clean cloths, dirty cloths (**even if he is putting them in his new potty chair), his toothbrush (**even if he is putting that in his new potty chair too), he helps me with the laundry by putting the cloths I hand him into the dryer and after bath time all his toys have to be picked up before he gets out. I must mention that he gets so excited when I tell him to "let the water out of the tub!" He loves to pull the stopper! Lately, I think he wants to be just like Jake when it comes to bedtime and his wardrobe....he fights me tooth and nail to put a shirt on, we can get through the diaper and shorts, but when it comes to the shirt he refuses, so he sleeps like a big boy on these summer nights in his shorts with no shirt! I have to say it is one of the cutest things to wake up to every morning :-)

**Please note, the potty chair has not been used, can't even get him to sit on it yet. We are just starting to introduce it. We are totally open to any tricks, tips, advise from anyone who has been there and done that!!!

When we ask him to call for Marley, mom and dad's cat, he makes a kissing noise and purses/puckers his lips in the cutest way, stops for a moment, babbles "Marley" in his own language and makes the kissing noise some more. It is just adorable! He just loves cats. At Target the other day he picked up a webkin kitten ( http://customerservice.webkinz.com/collectionscatalog/us_en/black_and_white_cat_1.html) and held it so close to him the entire shopping trip. It was sad because the one he chose looked just like out cat The Dude, who has been missing for almost 3 weeks (he will get his own post very soon). I must say that cat kept him busy, we may have to make our way to the webkin kitten each time. I did manage to get out of the store without buying it....hopefully it is still there next time!

We have some plastic Mardi Gras cups that are from when I was Queen, so my picture is on them. We use one in the bath tub and we have been telling him that it's Mommy on the cup and the other day he looked at the cup and looked at me and gave me this ear to ear smile. It was like it all finally clicked, "Mommy, that really is you!"

Gusley has never dropped his 11pm nursing, even to this day, he still wakes up at exactly 11pm to nurse then he his down for the count. It doesn't matter what time he goes down, rest assured that he will be up at 11pm to nurse.

Teeth update: we are still at 8....I know I told you that he had 4 coming in at once, he does they just haven't broken through yet, but I feel the big knots in his gums, hopefully soon the count will be up to 12!

Lastly, Gus is a nail biter...wonder where he gets it from?? Mommy and Daddy?? I have to brag on Jake and say that as I type this he has quit biting his nails (it has been 2 weeks). Me on the other hand I am working on it. Gi-Gi, looks like you might finally get to buy that remote control airplane!! Maybe times two (if Gus quits biting his!!!!) ;-)

Looking back on the past 18 months, time has flown by. It seems like yesterday we were at the doctor's office looking at this ultrasound (20 weeks) and saw those sweet little crossed feet and we were so excited to be half way there! I have thoroughly enjoyed the last 18 months of motherhood and can't wait to see what the future brings for our little "peanut butter" (one of my many nicknames for sweetsie, Gusley!)

I just love this picture. This was the second time I got to hold him (and really check him out!). Soon after this picture was taken I began nursing him and he immediately grabbed my finger and held it tight as he began to nurse for the first time. He still does this...each time is such a bonding moment that I am so grateful I have been able to experience.

Now I take you to toddler hood....need I say anymore??!! I just love this little crinkle face!

Patiently waiting on Mommy to get him changed and dried off after a nice dip in the pool!

Jake and I feel so fortunate that we have such a happy go lucky child who for the most part is content and almost always has a smile on his face. Don't get me wrong there are grumpy times, cranky moments and down right defiant times, but the good seem to far out weigh the bad. Gusley, you are such a wonderful son. Thank you for all the joy and happiness you have brought into our lives. We love you, Mommy and Daddy.

After looking through all the pictures when Gusley was first born, I came across this video and felt compelled to share it. It is just the sweetest thing ever...his first night out of the womb and he just cooo'ed and cooo'ed. This was very special at the time, as Jake and I watched it over and over tonight it was special and I know it will still be special to us 50 years from now!

Parent Tot Swimming Lesson 1

Gus and I signed up for Parent/Tot swimming lessons and last Saturday was our first class. Interesting, very interesting. First and foremost, up until two weeks ago this was our water baby. He loved to be in the pool, but now he feels that he needs to be let free in the big pool, which is what brought us to swimming lessons. He has been sleeping until 9-9:30am and lessons were at 10am - not good, his usually morning routine was off. He was coming down with the miserable cold, but I did not know that at the time of the lessons. Lastly, he refused breakfast because he had not had his entire 30 minutes to wake up and get acclimated with the day. At the pool he wanted OUT, he bit his nails, but did manage to float on his back for a few minutes and eventually "jumped" to me from a stand in the water. The teacher was a little standoff-ish because of his behavior and kept asking if he was kicking. In my head, "does it look like he is kicking, he has a kung-fu like grip on my neck and is wanting nothing to do with this, NO HE IS NOT KICKING!"

The 30 minutes was up and he had his way...out of the pool. We went walk to outside to the zero entry baby pool area and he was a totally different child.

I have posted some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Michele, I don't want to scare you, but I know you will one day expect this since you teach swimming lessons!!

Here we are...me trying to distract him from his fingernails!

Oh wait, a little kicking happening here.....!

Jumping in from in the pool....liked it until his face hit the water!

Once again..jumping in! Baby steps!

Outside at the baby pool!

Come back next week to see how we made out at Lesson 2!!!

Sundays are fundays

A few weeks ago Aunt Lisa was in town for a visit so we all headed out to Mt. Pleasant, TN. There is a really great little restaurant out there that mom and dad had been to, but wanted everyone else to experience it so off we went. On Sundays they have a "homecookin buffet" it is superb...home style fried chicken, green beans, carrots, potatoes, greens, roast and gravy, pineapple casserole, cornbread muffins, mac and cheese, and it just goes on and on. They also have an old time soda fountain where they make A-mazing shakes! Pops kept pushing for Gus to get on and that is my weakness so, of course, we broke down and tried one....not sure who wanted the last drop more, me or Gus!!

After lunch, there were a few other little cities around Mt. Pleasant that Jake had been to for work, but wanted to show Gus and I so we took a little road trip to Lawrenceburg, TN and Ethridge, TN (Amish country....getting its own post!)

Lawrenceburg is the birth place of Davey Crockett so there is Crockett Park, Crockett Circle, Crockett Street, Crockett Grocery, Crockett Gas...you get the picture. Mind you this is all in a 8-12 block radius, but it was a nice little city nonetheless! We drove around Crockett Park since it doubles as a campground. A very nice park and campground, we were impressed. We decided to get out at one of the playgrounds to let Gus stretch his legs. These days he absolutely loves playgrounds (hint, hint Santa Claus...that is if you read our blog!)

I have posted some of our favorite pictures from our Sunday funday a few weeks ago. Gus and I sharing his chocolate shake....it's a good thing he doesn't know the word 'mine' yet, because I would have been shit out of luck for a sip if he did!!!!!

RUNNING!!!

"I'm free, free as a bird"

Climbed to the top of the slide all by himself...he is beaming with pride!

Coming down for another adventure.....

Swinging!!! So glad to see that swinging no longer bothers him, since it is one of my favorite past times!

I'm a big boy now!

Going down the slide sans mommy and daddy~

Daddy, no need to catch me. I got this!

Contemplating if he is up for another round??!

Amish Paradise

On our Sunday funday we out to Amish Country. I have been itching to go and we finally got out there. It is absolutely beautiful, but if you blink you will miss the "town", however, there are plenty of farms so you are sure to see those. I was a little bummed because Sundays are their Sabbath so there was only one horse drawn buggy out and about, but we did come upon the house that they were all gathered at for worship which was very neat to see all the buggies parked and the horses in the field and the little children (3-6 years old) dressed in the clothing like the mothers and fathers playing in the front yard.

When we were getting closer to the town, Jake told me that I would start to see horse poop on side of the road, and I did!! He also pointed out to me to notice the ruts in the road from the steal wheels on the buggies. This was interesting, I would have never put two and two together, but leave it to Jake to make those two points!!

We decided to turn off on a country road and we immediately saw a farm house and rows and rows of crops! I was in heaven...I had been waiting to see this. We drove slowly discussing the ruts in the road (which had become very noticeable at this point) and all of a sudden Jake says, "there was one". I asked, "one what?" and he turned the car around and there it was a horse drawn Amish buggy. We followed the buggy down a gravel road (they travel faster than what I was expecting). It was an older couple in the buggy and they waved at us, I wanted to stop, but then again, I did not want to bother them on their day off.

The land was beautiful, rolling hills and farm, after farm, after farm. Each family makes signs to say what produce/veggies/jams, etc. they are selling. We were bummed that no one was selling, but after seeing these farms the folks need a day to rest!

I find this way of life very interesting and I have so many questions that I plan to make a list and go back and sit with some of them to have all my questions answered. I did some research online, but I think it would be much more interesting to sit with them and talk about their way of life. Simple, very simple for sure.

We are definitely planning to go back on a Saturday and if any of you dear readers come for a visit don't be surprised if we take you there. It is truly something to see. I would love to make a monthly trip out there to get fresh produce and vegetables. We want to raise Gus with an open mind and show him the different cultures, what a great place to start....Amish country. I will be sure to keep you all updated with our visits out to Amish Paradise!! Stay tuned.....

This is the town of Ethridge, TN......don't blink!!

Trying to get a picture of the sign showing the horse drawn buggy....

The one lone buggy out and about.

There is something peaceful about this picture.....

One of the many farms we saw......

And yet another.......

Teen Amish boys hanging out in a buggy

All the buggies parked for worship.

Summertime Blues

Saturday night Gus started with a summertime cold....not fun for mommy and daddy, but we are making the best of it. For instance, Sunday for lunch we made a "baby tv tray" for Gus to eat with Jake on the sofa. It was a hit. He ate like a champ!

Although he is still not feeling up to par, he is doing better. I am beginning to think that he has a summertime cold and he is still trying to work 4 new teeth out. Poor baby, this is no good, but at least we are on the road to recovery! I have to say that the medicine must be working because there are no qualms when it is time to take it. Thankfully!

Gusley and daddy have lunch on the baby tv tray! How cute is this??!!

Sleepy Head

I do believe that The Gus Man is going through another growth spurt!! Good news for baby, bad news for Mommy who can no longer rock him in the glider because he is soooo long! Anyway, back to my post. Last night we stayed out a little late playing with our friends and Gus went to bed for 10pm. He did not wake up until 9:30am!!!! Getting to the teenage years a little early? For nap time he was a little off and went down later than usual (2pm instead of 12pm) and he is still sleeping as I type this post (4:19pm) over two hours!! I guess he is getting his growing rest!

Rest your weary bones little sleep head! Mommy loves you!

Private it is......

Jake and I have been discussing this for quite sometime now and we have both agreed that it is best we set our blog to private. In the last month several blogging friends of mine have also set theirs to private for different reasons, but the most recent is the story that was on the news where a picture of a child was stolen from the family blog and the picture was being used on Craigslist to portray another child up for adoption. SCARY.

I will set it to private by the weeks end so if you want to keep on keeping on with our journey, please email me at laurynac@hotmail.com and I will make sure to send you an invitation to view our blog.

Peace~
Lauren

Ner-nie

Since we have the car, I took Gus to the library today on my lunch hour. He was fascinated by the children's area...it had been a while since our last visit so he was like a child in a candy store! We went over to the video section and I showed him a few movies and let me know which one he wanted with a big, loud, proud, exclamation of NER-NIE!!! I was so excited and beaming ear to ear...couldn't wait to get in the car and call Jake and tell him about the word of the day!!!

Ner-nie it was, we checked out our movies and books, headed home and he is down for a nap, but will be watching Ner-nie very soon!! Go Gusley!!!

This is the Ner-nie movie he chose!