A whole new world!

On August 23rd, 2011, Gusley started Pre-School! We have been talking about this day all summer long. I think he was very well prepared. Mommy on the other hand, not so much. I did hold all my tears back, but it was not easy leaving my baby bear on that first day, or any day so far and he only goes 2 days a week and we just finished week 4!  He tells us he "can't want to go to school", but once he is there and I leave his teacher says he is great!  After the first day, he told Jake that he was "all done"!  Oh to be so naive!  The first 2 weeks he teared up when I would pick him up and he would tell me that he needed to hug me.  The last 2 weeks he tears up when I am leaving in the morning and still wells up a little when he sees me in the afternoon.  

Giving Paw some love before his first day of school!!

Eager to go to school!

Obligatory first day of school family picture!!

Scoping out the playground!

Mommy, are you leaving?

First project in school....name necklace!

I'm baaaaack!

Wow wee...it has been forever and lots has been happening here in TN. We rang in the New Year in Louisiana with wonderful friends and started the new year off with family and cabbage (Jake ate our family's share of cabbage!) Thanks, babe!

We came home and started to plan Gus' 3rd birthday party.....Busytown Theme (I started a post for that, but it is still under construction, if you will!). Gi-Gi came to town for a visit, we found out we were having a girl, it snowed, it rained, rained some more and then the sun came out and we have nice weather for a few days, then the weekend came and it rained some more and on this particular weekend Jake had to work outside in the rain. Danny and Bridgette and their 3 children came for a visit during Spring Break and they stayed with us for a week, then Aunt Beth flew in and visited for 5 or so days.....during these visits LOTS of laughs were had by all and we all had a great time catching up and reminiscing!

Somewhere between those visits Jake and I had date night at Bonefish Grill and it was marvelous.....$5 Bang Bang Shrimp on Wednesday nights...I think I know where I will be!!

Celebrated Nanny's birthday at Loveless Cafe while Aunt Beth was in town. Enjoyed some Pinki time while she was on Spring Break! Made a crown of thorns for the St. Joseph's Alter at mom's church...ate lots of chocolate dipped pretzels while making said crown. Had a 2nd ultrasound of the baby. Attend Bunko and actually came home with a few bucks. Celebrated Pinki and Pop's 36 year anniversary on the 27th and finalized some of our moving plans. Went to Zumba last night and it felt great! Giving up on trying to get to the post office to mail March birthday presents to Louisiana...we will be there soon enough and we will hand deliver them! Well that is all that comes to mind right now, but rest assured that we will be using this weekend to catch our breath as it all cranks back up next weekend!!

In the midst of all the above, Gus has learned how to sing his ABC's and count to 40...both were accomplished in about a week!! Jake and I are so very proud of him!!

A bakers' dozen!

Yesterday we found out that Sarah, Jake's sister and her husband are expecting!! She is due 09.18.11 ~ 2 months after me! We are 10 weeks apart so it will be fun for the little ones to grow up together, despite us being in 2 different states! Sarah, Buster, Camryn, Karlie, William and sweet Pete we are so happy for ya'll and can't wait to meet the baby! Congrats on the addition!

I am sure you are wondering why the title of this post is "A Bakers' Dozen".....well you see after the birth of these two babies, Gi-Gi and Paw will have "A Bakers' Dozen" in terms of grandchildren!! Wow, who thought 4 children could reproduce into 13 grandchildren?!!

Gus, when did you get so big?

Today Gus walked passed me with no diaper on, wearing a sweatshirt and his Cat in the Hat backpack on his back with a new diaper in his hand. He went to the bathroom and I could hear him grunting so I gave him a minute and then I peeked in on him. To my surprise he was ON THE TOILET and he had peed and was in the process of pooping!! I was one happy, happy momma!! We had a big celebration and I praised him and told him how proud of him I was and he was all smiles. We washed his hands and then he got to put a star sticker (sticky as he calls them) on the mirror!! Don't worry they are re-stickable stickers so they leave no residue on the mirror. Anyway, this was a HUGE accomplishment and I am just a touch proud of my little big boy! He has been taking his diaper off after he pees and throwing it in the trash, but this my friends was a major milestone!

We have been telling him that he will get a bike if he consistently goes in the potty and I think it has finally set in because he wants to bring it to Pete (his cousin) and Gi-Gi's house to ride so we are aiming to have this milestone complete before we head down for the holidays! Here's to hoping we have a bike under the tree or soon after Christmas!!

How you doing, Baby?

Every time we would visit Maw Cenac we were always greeted with, "How you doing, Baby?" and a kiss. She would always ask about us and what we were up to and would just talk about life in general. She always had stories from the old days, which Jake and I always love to hear. The family threw Maw a surprise 90th birthday party 3 years ago and although we were not able to make it we were told that she enjoyed herself and seeing all of her family.

The first time we brought Gus over to meet Maw, she just held him and kept telling us what a darlin' little boy he was. This picture looks like he is trying to get away, but he did get very comfy on her and settle in for a nice nap while we visited with her for Mother's Day - 2008. Maw loved that she had such a large family and it always seemed like the more that were there to visit the bigger her smile would get.

Today we were informed that she passed away early this morning. I know the family has wonderful memories with Maw Cenac and that they will never be forgotten. I am so grateful that Gusley was able to know 4 out of 8 of his great grandparents because I never knew any of mine. What a special thing to experience. Maw, we love you and will always remember you and each time we are asked, "How you doing, Baby?", we will always think of you!

Happy 81st Birthday Paw Earl!!

Happy Birthday Paw Earl!! Paw Earl is Jake's grandfather and Gus' great-grand! Paw Earl has a GREEN THUMB!! He can plant anything and it will grow. Back home Jake and I would go for drives and check out the area. The first time I ever went to Montegut, LA was with Jake and we went to Maw and Paw's house (I may have been a time or two before but do not remember it). I would always admire Paw's flowers and plants and he would always give me clippings and tell me exactly how to plant them. I would do just what he said and some would take and others would not. I guess I have 1/2 of a green thumb!!! We really miss spending an afternoon visiting with Maw and Paw out in their backyard during the fall. When we see Paw and ask how he has been, we always know his response, "Like Old Folks"!!

These days, Paw is known for his pecan and fig picking. He can spend all day in the yard picking. We love when Gi-Gi and Paw Ken come visit because they always have a bag of something from Paw Earl.....figs, pecans, satsumas, kumquats or grapefruit that he picked in Gi-Gi's yard. Paw we really miss you and Maw and sure hope that y'all can make a trip up here to visit. We would love to have ya'll! We sure hope you had a great birthday and we wish we could have been there to celebrate. Gus would have certainly danced and clapped when we sang Happy Birthday to you!! We love you and miss you very much!!

Definition of Tardy = a picture of me!!

Gus slept in this morning....8:15am! It was snowing out, Jake was out of town for work and we had a birthday party at 9:30am about 45 mins. away. In case you haven't noticed, I am notorious for being late. **Disclaimer: To all those that have had to wait on me, especially my dear patient, loving, understanding husband, mother and mother-in-law, I AM SORRY. The intent to be punctual is ALWAYS there, but the ADHD often takes over and I get side tracked with many other tasks and loose track of time. Now throw a baby/toddler into the mix and I am totally off! My promptness is a work in progress, but mom seems to think that I will be late for my own funeral. That is what she says when she is at the impatient point with me. In school when we would have to write our best and worst traits and how we can improve on the worst.....tardy/promptness/better time management was all my worst. Again, I AM SORRY for all the wait time. Okay, so I digressed a bit. We were suppose to meet our friend and ride with them to the party.....didn't happen. In my defense, it was snowing and the dog refused to go out and do her business and Gus was being a clingy crab and he was still sleepy. We pulled out of the driveway at 9:05am, I called my friend told her to go if she wanted to go....she went ahead. Thankfully I now have an iPhone because Jake had the GPS and I had no idea where I was going!! We pull over and I get the directions pulled up on the phone, read over them and off we go...in the snow! We made it to the party at 9:58am...not too bad. I have been much later for other functions....trust me, this is not bad. The party was at this really neat little place that was jammed packed with kids at first, but them began to clear out and Gus began to enjoy himself and let his guard down a bit!

Our day turned out to be a good one. A cold snowy one, but a good one!! Gus and I had a nice morning and early afternoon together then met Jake in the city and came home. Did a little grocery shopping and Jake and I went to dinner at Pei Wei, which I have to say if you are ever in the vicinity of one of these we highly recommend it!! After dinner Mommy needed a drink so we headed over to this local bar Kimbro's and had a nice evening enjoying each others company. Thank you Pinki and Pops for babysitting!!!!!

Digging in the rubber dirt pit!

At the train station! Trains are at the top of his list these days. I am thinking Daddy's next project is going to have to be a train table!

Sitting in the fishing pond watching this sweet little girl fish!!

This table was really neat. Those plastic pieces he is holding are magnetic and the table has a night under it and it too was magnetic.




Gus and Endi shopping on the empty shelves at the store!

The sweet birthday girl!

The Monkey's Treehouse!!

This is my favorite picture of the day!

Nearing the end.....

The entire time he slept he clung to his balloon string with all his might!!!

Gusley, mommy is so proud of you. You were so well behaved and if someone took a toy you just went and got another one. You explored and Mommy just sat in the passenger seat and sat back and let you do your thing and check out what you were interested in. We did see several children hitting and being bullies with no mothers in sight, but luckily they left you alone!

Technology........has come a long way!

Last year I had the basic model cell phone...no camera, no internet. Just dial and text. Gus took care of that one for me......he put it in the toilet and shut the lid! I went without for a while. Then I got a newer phone. One that had a camera! I really liked it. We went canoeing and flipped.....phone got wet and a month to the day later the phone squigged out and quit working. Gi-Gi sent an old phone that she had laying around the house for me to use in the interim. After making a claim with AT&T and getting a new phone shipped to me we learned that it was simply the battery that shorted out. When we get picture mail, we can't open it because we don't have the picture package so we are always left hanging as to what the picture is. Most importantly we couldn't update our FB status.....NOT!! Anyway, the point of this post is to say that I no longer feel like I am in the dinosaur ages and outdated. I really felt out of touch the last time we went home and my niece was asking her mom for a new cell phone, I think she wanted the Impression? She had a perfectly fine cell phone that took pictures and had internet and all the bells and whistles. I had to give her a reality check by whipping out my Nokia 6010 that Gi-Gi sent for me to use (Gi-Gi, don't be offended, I am very grateful that you had an extra and sent if for me. Really, I am, because honestly it doesn't matter to me what kind of phone I have.) Below is the phone that Gi-Gi sent to me!! When my niece saw the phone her face dropped and she was like "Whoa, you are in the dinosaur ages"! and my sister-in-law told me she had a light up case that would fit my Nokia 6010. Just what I needed!!! With all that being said, Jake and I have graduated to iPhones and quite honestly, I am still in shock and amazed by the capabilities of this phone. Everyday Jake comes home and tells me something else the new phones do. It is incredible. Which is why I feel the need to reiterate the title of this post...technology has come a long way!!!

So for the recap....I went from this............................

To this........................................

Pajama Party

A little back-blogging.....Gusley telling Paw all about the Backyardagains!!! The weather was a little crazy...cold, rainy, and a little bit of snow, so we had a few lazy mornings while Gi-Gi and Paw were visiting. It felt good to stay in our jammies till noon one day!!

23 months.....

23 months?!! Where do I even start? First and foremost the past 23 months have been a wonderful journey. From birth to sitting up, crawling, walking, beginning to talk and to think now a full blown toddler is in the house!!!! It is a very exciting time in our house these days! For example every night we count with Gus and we hold up our fingers for each number and he follows along on his hands. Tonight each time we got to five he would squeal with excitement and sometimes he just could not wait until five and would squeal at four!!!

Gusley still enjoys watching Stuart Little, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, The Backyardagains and The Wiggles, but he has found a new love for Sesame Street, Follow that Bird (1985 movie about Big Bird leaving the Street) and Disney's new movie UP!!

He is really into music and at the tender age of two he has enough instruments to be a successful one man band. The inventory includes: 2 recorders, 2 possibly 3 harmonicas, a tambourine, a small drum and a drum set, 3 guitars (not with real strings yet), a xylophone, a kazoo, a few shakers, Daddy's keyboard (that he knows how to turn on and adjust the volume and play), and a clapper. I'm sure I am forgetting something!! I think he will play at least one instrument, don't you?

He has added a few more words to his vocabulary, but does not say them on command. He says them as he deems it necessary! Di-per when he needs to be changed, duck for his rubber ducks in the tub, well any duck he sees, up-dare for upstairs, UP, be-bir for Big Bird, car for Oscar, and ussel for Russell (the little boy in UP). He is very good at uh-oh, ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, daddy and yesterday when Jake walked in from work he looked up at him and said "Hey Da"!!

His diet varies from day to day. I just offer him a variety and he chooses what he is in the mood for. I do not like to stress myself out over how much he does or does not eat. I just look at it like when he gets hungry (if he didn't eat much at a meal) then he will let me know. He does sign 'eat' and 'more' and does make me aware of this! A constant is cheese and bananas and yogurt.

Gusley is very much an organizer. I think he gets it from his Mommy. Every day when he takes his nap and once he is in bed for the night all the toys go to their places and are neatly organized for him to start a new afternoon or day of play. If he takes a toy out to play with it he makes sure to pick it back up and it usually gets put where it was taken from. I can get used to this!! He loves for me to sing the clean-up song and in turn he helps me! Santa brought him an easel and one side is a dry erase/coloring paper and the other side is a chalkboard. I showed him how to erase the chalkboard with a wash cloth and now he will draw something then quickly erase it. This is rather fun to watch...almost looks like an episode of Win, Lose or Draw!!

Since the weather has been so dry our noses don't know what to do. Gus carries around a Kleenex and will wipe his nose (usually there is nothing to wipe) and then head to the garbage to throw the tissue away. Speaking of throwing away, while Gi-Gi and Paw were here he took off his pj pants and Gi-Gi told him to throw them away as a joke and he brought them to the garbage and put them in the can. Smart kid!!

Each morning it is funny to see what he is going to attach to for the day. The last few days it was his little yellow school bus. Yesterday and today is was a pumpkin rubber duck and a fish squirt toy from the tub (both of which are currently sleeping in the bed with him). His harmonica and kazoo have been very close by too!

Mimicking is very big right now. And singing "If you're happy and you know it" and "boom, boom ain't it great to be crazy" in the tub is oodles of fun!

Bedtime kisses are so cute right now. You ask for a kiss and he gives you his cheek. Jake still tells him a 'secret' every night and he loves and anticipates this by putting the back of his neck/ear in Jake's face when he goes to kiss him...very cute!!

It is truly amazing to me to see how much he has grown and all the things he is learning and doing. I find myself just looking at him some days thinking WOW, this is our child. I love every minute of it, even when he decides to throw something down because he is frustrated or when he goes limp like a banana I just have to turn away and chuckle to myself because now I know what I put my mom and dad through. Mom and Dad, thanks for loving me even when I would go limp like a banana!! Fun times in the department of disciplining are knocking at our door. I will be sure to keep y'all abreast on how we are doing!! "These are the days" is my daily mantra and it is so fitting because these are the days that I will cherish the most. The nurturing, mothering, loving, laughing, singing, dancing, running, playing, snacking, napping that we do together is making a lifelong bond between us and it feels good, very good. Spending everyday all day with my son is the greatest feeling in the world and I am so thankful that I am able to do just that. Gusley, Mommy and Daddy love you so very much and you are a remarkable 23 month old toddler. Thank you for being so patient with us. As first time parents this is all new to us too, so bear with us, but I think we are doing a great job, so enjoy the ride!!! Here is our little doodle bop at Sweet CeCe's tonight enjoying some yogurt. I bet you can't guess what flavor he liked???!!

Harmonicas and Hats!!

The two things that Gus can't live without these days........A HARMONICA and A HAT! I think we will work on the letter "H". Before Christmas he was really into his hat then Gi-Gi and Paw gave him another one and he just can't take it off! His Nanny Camryn gave him a harmonica for Christmas and since then he has found Jake's and has been alternating between the two. He sounds pretty good. The other day when he was playing Jake and I stopped what we were doing and looked at each other because it sounded like he played a little snip-it of "London Bridge".

Since the weather is soooooo cold we have been cooped up in the house so he has been getting lots of practice with his harmonica and roller coaster! Video to come soon! Happy Friday!

January 6, 2010 post....

I can't believe I already broke my resolution....the intent was there, I promise! Jake baked fish for supper (thanks, Gi-Gi and Paw for bringing that up to us) and mom and I fried some fish. Jake bathed Gus we had a little play time and Gus played the harmonica for us then it was off to bed for Gus. Every night he has to bring something to bed with him. Tonight was Jake's harmonica! The three of us sat in the bed and he played the harmonica for a good 5-10 minutes....it is so cute!! He breaths in and out slow then fast then slow and so on. He sounds much better than I ever do and that is no joke! Once the lights were out he cuddled up next to me and every few minutes he would play a few notes then snuggle back up to me. He did this about 5 times then the harmonica fell and he went limp and that is where I went limp as well and drifted into the great unknown! When I woke up the clock said 12:07am...so here is yesterday's post!

I will try to get some video of Gus with the harmonica and share on here. It is hysterical! He has revamped his nightly routine a bit. We still rock, but he lets me know when he is ready to go lay down in the bed and we go lay down and he snuggles up to me and slowly drifts off to sleep. It is just so sweet! I can't wait for him to wake up tomorrow morning....they are predicting 1-3inches of snow in the morning!! Should be beautiful when we wake up!!

Happy Birthday Paw!

Happy Birthday Paw!! We had a great time visiting with you and are glad we got to spend the start of your birthday with you! Hope you had a great day and we can't wait to see y'all again!

Gi-Gi, Paw and Gusley this morning!

Today we had our second day of snow this year and we are only 4 days into the new year!! They are predicting a downfall for Thursday....we shall see!!

Happy New Year!!

I can't break my New Year's resolution on the first day so here is my first post for the new year! We had a great day doing absolutely nothing! We stayed in our pajamas until 1:30pm, Gus took a 2 hour nap and we showed Gi-Gi and Paw Alan Jackson's home. Pinki cooked cabbage and black-eyed peas and we had a nice evening at their house! Gus decided Pinki and Pops needed a little color on their wall and made some nice RED markings! Thank goodness for Magic Erasers......Gus helped clean the wall and had to bath with the Magic Eraser and held it tight all the way home and then fell asleep with it.

That was our New Year's Day in a nut shell, hope everyone had a great day...looking forward to twenty-ten!!

Last Day in Louisiana

We left the very South and headed just a tad north to visit some friends for the evening, but before we did that we stopped at the shop to tell Gi-Gi, Paw and Uncle Danny good-bye.

First things first when we got there...straight to the swing!

Biting his fingernails while looking at all of Paw's paperwork!

I wonder what was going through his mind??!!

Adding up the numbers and answering the phone....he gets plenty of practice working from home with his Mommy!

Hanging out under the desk is always so much fun!

Looks like he is passing inspection on clean the floors are!

One last play date with Viv before we head out!

She was so kind to give him a cell phone for the ride! Thanks, Viv!!!

Three little monkeys and Uncle Jake!!

Vivian just loved Jake's beard!! She would tickle him then he would tickler her back...it was the cutest, sweetest thing!!

South Louisiana Day 3

Our last day down south was Labor Day. We had a nice relaxing day. Just visited with family and friends and munched on yummy south Louisiana food all day!

Trying to get a picture with Gus while visiting with Maw. There was just too much for him to see and do over there. He did figure out how to turn all of her lamps on. Well all of the ones with pull strings, which are all of them. He would turn them all on one by one then go back and turn them all off one by one.

Here he is making an attempt to turn that one on!

Maw gave him a music box with a blue bird on it and as soon as he saw her wind it up that was it, he too was winding it up!

Maw stealing some sweet sugars from her great-grandson!




Back at the ranch.......

Second wind???

What I would do to get a trampoline for my birthday??!! I forgot just how much I love these things....though I did not get on this one because it turns everything that touches it black. But watching Gus jump, all the memories came flooding in........Jake, take this as a hit, when in doubt, a trampoline will do!!!

Can I take your order??

weeeee.......see what I mean about the black!

Which brings us to the bath tub before dinner on this particular night. Gus looked like a chimney sweeper when he came inside he was black from his head to his toes!

Lily and Camryn flashing a smile for the camera!!

Gus and Will having a deep conversation! I love both of their expressions in this picture.

Gus is really into what Will is doing and Will seems like a big brother explaining it all to him!

Hanging out with Daddy while Mommy enjoys a few more boiled crabs!

Round 2.......

South Louisiana Day 2

Sunday = Funday!!!! We invited several of our friends and family over for an afternoon visit and had a great turnout. Thanks to all that made the trek and came visit!! We really enjoyed seeing you all!

Gus has a thing for boxes these days....big or small, short or tall.......he had the best time playing in this box while Jake and I got dressed and packed up for the big day! Thank you Huggies for keeping our child entertained!

Almost has the whole tricycle concept put together.....next time he should have it!!

Some of the gang....Gus taking a minute to sip some water and chat with Paw!

Ahhhhh...that's some good water!




Evan making a string and cup telephone. The line broke once he called Jake!!

Hanging out at the volleyball court!

Back at the see-saw......could be catching raindrops, but I think he just liked the feeling of leaning back while going up and down! Thrill-seeker?

Lily just couldn't go anymore......poor baby did manage to eat her ice cream cone before passing out!

Lucas on his second wind!