The day after the great flood of N'ville

After being cooped up in the house for 3 days we were finally able to get out and enjoy some sunshine. When the rain started Gus' pool was maybe 1/2 full. Here he is assessing it!

Cheese! It's bright, but it feels good to be outside!

And when you have enough of playing in the sun, bring the party to the car and listen to some tunes with daddy!!!

Welcome Baby Jude Miller

Our good friends Jerry and Lauren had their baby boy, Jude Miller G., on June 4th, 2010 around 7am-8am. He weighed 8.5 lbs and 19 1/2 inches long!! Jake and I were able to go see him the very next day and he is just perfect. He baked in the womb for just the right amount of time. Lauren looked wonderful and was just beaming with joy as was Jerry!

Once we got there and I was able to hold him it brought tears to my eyes to see just how perfect, sweet and beautiful he was...not that I expected any less. It was a beautiful thing. We are so happy for Jerry and Lauren and can't wait to visit again and let Gus meet his new friend Jude!

Group shot...

Sweet baby Jude :-)

I have been meaning to post pictures from Lauren's shower, but time seems to be an issue these days or could it just be a 2 year old and a crazy hectic schedule these days?! Either way, Mom, Amanda, Endi and I took a field trip North of Nashville for Lauren's shower the day of/day before the flood, May 1, 2010. We had no idea how bad it was going to get, but once we were there. We were there for quite sometime because of the rain and flooding. We were able to make it home and home is where we stayed for the next 3 days!

Lauren got some really great gifts and baby Jude will always have something nice to wear! All the food was oh so yummy and the cake, oh the cake was delish!! Here of a few pictures of Momma with some of her great gifts!

Hidden Treasure

We have been eyeing this park for quite sometime, but did not know if we could play on it since it is a school playground. Once our neighbor told us they bring their daughter we decided to give it a go. It is AWESOME! Not many people so Gus was able to run free and enjoy himself on the slides, swings, playhouse, jungle gym and spinney thing (see last picture). Needless to say he loved this park and so did we because there is a gate that you can close and then the children are 'locked in' so we were able to swing and watch him enjoy himself!

And just how do I get to that slide??

weeeeee

Look at me and my static hair!

Acting like he doesn't hear us because he is too busy biting his nail!

NOTE: Since this picture, Gus has quit biting his nails!

Spinney thing.....

Spring Fling

Mom's school held their annual "Spring Fling" at the end of April and she invited us to go. Dunk tank, playground, chalk, bubbles, hula hoops, music, free chick-fil-a, and lots of goodies at the bake sale! Gus had a great time and loved to watch the dunk tank! He was a little overwhelmed with all the kids everywhere and wanted to be where the action was at all times which made it a little treacherous for us, but we survived!!

mmmMMmmm.....with all that running, I earned every bite of this cupcake!

The potty training movement....

Let me bring everyone up to speed on the topic at hand: POTTY TRAINING!

On Easter Sunday after a long day of eating candy, bouncing in the bounce house, wagon rides, eating eggs, blowing bubbles, sweating, a cat nap and some more candy Gus decided he was ready to pee-pee on the potty like a big boy and that is just what he did!! We were getting him ready for his bath and I asked him if he needed to pee-pee and he climbed up on the toilet and sat for a moment and then went!

I did not want to force the issue, but just let him decide and so the next night he did it again!! Two nights in a row! We would talk about it during the day, but he would tell me "NO" if I asked him. I left it alone.

And on the third day.............he pee-pee'd in the potty again!!! Way to go Gusley! Mommy and daddy are so proud of you and we know that with time and lots of practice you will have this down in no time!

This brings me to today, 04.23.10. The past two nights he has pee-pee'd in the potty for Jake before bath time and today he went for me after nap time!! He certainly knows when he has to go it is just a matter of him telling us/us asking him without over doing it that will get us to the finish line!

We have been letting him play in big boy undies and hanging out without a diaper after bath and he really seems to like the undies. When we put them on he is all smiles and walks around the house checking himself out in the mirrors!!

Slow and steady wins the race so our mantra for potty training is this: Slow and steady, steady and slow that's the way we always go! We will keep y'all updated as we progress. Wish us luck and any tips/tricks/suggestions are welcomed!! We will accept unsolicited advice on this topic!!

Earth Day 2010

Today is Earth Day! What did you do to help our Earth? We turned off the A/C, opened all the windows and did not turn on any lights until it was almost dark out. This is something that we pretty much already do on a daily basis because our house has awesome natural light at all times of the day! We really enjoy having all the windows open hearing the birds chirping and the wind rustling through the bushes. The sounds of Spring bring a smile to my face and peace in the air! We did go on a walk and planted some more wildflowers. Not to mention I did not wash one single batch of laundry today. I think overall we had a really good Earth Day and we treated Mother Nature pretty darn good on her day! If you are interested in ways to protect our Earth and promote Green Peace you can sign up for emails from Greenpeace.org and they will keep you in the know!!

PEACE, LOVE AND BE GREEN!!!

Pool, Gate, Tree - in that order!

For as long as I can remember every time we drive past or into mom and dad's neighborhood we always tell Gus there is the pool, and the gate and then the trees going up the hill. This used to be part of our discussion when we lived there and would walk everyday. Seems as though it has sunk in! He has been saying "Pooo-ol" and "Gea-te" but yesterday he added the "TEEE, TEEE, TEEE"!! He points to the pool and says pool, then when we turn in he points to the gate and says gate and trees line the boulevard so he is having to say tree a number of times!! Needless to say we are so proud of him!!

This evening he and I were at mom and dad's for a visit and we walked around the entire block and he touch each and every mailbox that we passed and after each touch he would look up at me and say "Nahh". I think that is a combination of night (for night, night) or now - either way it is appropriate. Also on our walk he took on the role of Mr. Recycle. He picked up all the newspapers in the driveways of the houses that are for sale (and no one lives in them) and brought them home to the recycle bins! I guess all this talk of Earth Day coming up has made an impact on him at the age of 2! AWESOME!! Keep up the good work Gusley! Mommy really enjoyed our walk this afternoon and I think Buttercup had a swell time as well! It certainly wore you out as you have been fast asleep since 9 o'clock on the dot! Nah, Nah!!

Going on a Egg Hunt

Gus and his two little gal pals had an Easter egg hunt at Endi's house the other day. The girls were very into gathering the eggs and putting them in the basket. Gus had other plans. Other plans that included Jake and I taking him around the yard on the tricycle to collect his eggs! That little monkey! I tell ya, sometimes he just surprises the heck out of us, but we love him oh so much and always seem to crack up at the end of each day when we are recapping the high points of the day!

A few eggs in the basket! Eventually he did get off and collect a few on foot. AFTER he realized they were filled with CANDY! Smarty pants!

Bunny Bungalow

What's Easter with out a Bunny Bungalow? The icing tasted nothing like I was hoping for, however, it seemed to be just right for my assistant! I think there was more EATING than decorating! I'm just saying......the pictures speak for themselves!

Tent & Toddler - Day 2

I am not sure how this happened, but this should be between Tent & Toddler - Day 1 and Day 3, but it ended up here! Oh well, such is life. Our 2nd day camping was great. The weather was perfect. We slept great. Ate great. Went to 2 different parks several times. Felt like kids going down the slide over and over again! Swung. Played hard. Rode bikes. Smelled flowers. Went down to the beach area. Drove through the Bison and Elk Prairie. Gus made sure the entire campground heard him in the shower stall. Not screams of excitement and happiness. More likes shrieks of horror and terror. It was a simple cat bath (i.e. I wet the cloth wipe him with soap, rinse the cloth, wipe him and repeat.). HE NEVER GOT IN THE SHOWER, but you would swear I was holding him directly under it. Mommy needed a drink after the shower episode. Gus fell fast asleep. Jake hit the showers. I saw two skunks while he was gone. I stayed on top of the picnic table for about 20 minutes or so waiting for Jake to return. I was scared. We did not get sprayed. Jake and Gus were snoring their booties off while I lay wide awake listening to little rodents milling around our tent. I know we are in their territory, but still GO TO BED!

I do not have a picture, but 7 or so sites down from us was a 1990ish red Camaro pulling a kayak trailer loaded to the gills and each time it hit a speed bump it would bottom out. Well they decided to go for a joy ride WITH THE TRAILER at 10:55pm (quiet time begins at 11pm). I will leave it at that!

A glimpse of what's to come.......

From the looks of it, I think we need to buy stock in Tide, Gain, Purex, etc.............



All in a days play!!! If knee stains are a fun detector, Gus had LOTS of FUN today!!!!!

SPRING TIME IS HERE!!!!!

All smiles for Spring!!!!

Doing his thing.....it is so nice these days to sit back and watch as Gus plays with his toys and "talks" to them as if they will talk back....which sometimes they do with the help of Mommy!!!!

I think we are starting to see the beginning signs of a baby mullet!! It's only appropriate for where we live....4 miles down the road from Billy Ray Cyrus!!