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-isms

It is unbelievable what a jump Gus has made lately. He is talking up a storm. A chatter box for sure! I have been trying to keep track of the cute little "Gus-isms" that he says or conjured up because they are so stinking cute. Here are a few....

Shabe = shave

Dribe = drive

Kill George = Curious George; NOTE - he has NO idea what kill means, that is just how he thinks curious is pronounced!

Cow's House = Chick-fil-A

Oucho chips = nacho chips

Flickee = Flicker the Flashlight from Handy Manny

Star Stickee = star sticker that he gets after he goes to the toilet

Da Da Sue = Dr. Suess

Tat Hat = Cat in the Hat

Bouncehouse House = Jump Zone

Oakshake = milkshake

B-yack = black

Mew = Blue

Mo-A = more

Bus-stache = mustache

MM = Cousin William

Kids or cuzz = cousins

Ibb = Cousin Vivian

Taa-kee = tacos

I know I am forgetting some, but I will add as they come to me!





Expressions:

Oh Dear!!

Oh My!!

K, K, K! = OK

Inside (insert where ever we are going) house!

A few weeks ago we were all sitting in the living room playing and Gus got up and walked around the living room and counted off 10 different random items, but counted to 10 all on his own! A very proud moment for Jake and I!!

Lately he has been really in to rocket ships and 3, 2, 1, blast off so he will count down and blast whatever he is playing with off into the air! Total little boy!


A little white lie as told to me by Gusley:

The other day I picked Gus up from Mom and Dad's house and on our way home we were talking about what all they did. Here is a breakdown of the conversation.

Me: Gus did you have a good time with Nice and Pops?

Gus: Eat oakshake at Nice house.

Me: You had a milkshake at Nice's house? What else did you do?

Gus: Nice cat, bite Gus.

Me: Nice's cat bit you? Where?

Gus: Nice cat bite Gus toes.

Me: Really? Which cat? Rosa or Marley the black one?

Gus: B-yack one bite Gus toes.

I knew he was more than likely fibbing, but I do know that Rosa is infamous for biting toes (hence her nickname "Tosa") so I called mom to see what happened. I told her our conversation and she said that never happened as far as she knew, but that Rosa did bite HER toes and she fussed her so maybe he wanted in on the action and added his toes to the equation!!

Little mister Gusley, what are we going to do with you? I love that it was so innocent and he was so serious the entire time we talked about it!

Grayton Beach ~ day 6

Yep, another rainy day! We decided to swim in the rain...that did not last too long as it was rather chilly considering the sun hasn't shown in 3+ days! Little Mr. Turtle hanging out waiting for the rain to go away!

Mommy, I think it stopped!

All the boys in the house sitting in age order, and no, we did not sit them like that. It is where they landed after showers!! Check out how Gus is looking at his Paran Cory in this picture!!




Good ol' Teenie came to the rescue with sand art! She save baby food jars during the months leading up to the trip and she brought sand back from the beach and we bought some food coloring and baked the sand to dry it out then colored it and there ya have it...sand art!! Gus had the best time helping mix the colors. He was more interested in that than he was making his "art"!











After dinner we headed over to see the family at the State Park. Jake spending some time with his niece and nephews and Gusley.....talking about NASA, stars or something to that effect with Evan no doubt!!

Viv and her uncle Jake!! Gus in the background with the beer box using it as a fan for the fire just like uncle Danny!

Reading up on the contents of beer??

Lucas being Lucas!!! Such a little hambone!!

My picture of the moon taken by none other than my amazing husband!! I tried and tried and tried again to get this picture and he did it in about 3 clicks! Thanks, babe'!

Grayton Beach ~ day 4...part 2

After a movie and a nice nap during the thunderstorms we were able to enjoy the beach in the evening followed by an amazing Cajun dinner....gumbo and jambalaya!! Though a little windy, still a lot of fun!!

Gus holding his prize possession....a lime!!

Me, Gusley and Vivian!

Evan and his new spectacles!!

Sweet baby girl!

Grayton Beach ~ day 3

Today started off with a little rain, but we were still able to get a good morning swim in! We all took a 3 hour nap and headed to the beach for sunset. We rode our bikes over and met Danny and Bridgette and the kiddos. Gus had the best time with Evan, Lucas and Vivian in the sand and surf. He is totally a beach bum!

Having a great time with daddy in the pool!

Watching the older kids very closely to see just how to swim!

Hummm, I think I got this!

Gus and Vivian deliberating the best way to make a sand castle!

I think they have reached a decision!



Deep in thought....the wheels are always turning!

This is what we do with the boys...put them in a whole and tell them to dig!

Signs of a true beach bum......

Lucas with the first crab of the trip!

Gus being brave. I am having to force him to hold my hands. The water was very rough since Hurricane Alex was brewing in the Gulf.

This my friends, is what the beach is all about!

Oh What a Night!

Danny and Bridgette and their children came to visit over Easter holidays. We had a wonderful visit with them and did not want to see them go home! Their one request was that we had to eat at the old spaghetti factory. We figured Good Friday would be the best day. Jake and I got off around 2 or 3pm and we met D & B in downtown Nashville. We were a little early so we took Gus to the playground at Centennial Park. He had a blast! Once they got there, we parked and all walked around the pond to the Parthenon. Everyone was very impressed and we had worked up an appetite so we agreed to have an early dinner.

We got to the restaurant, waited about 10 minutes and we were at our table. Here is where the fun began. These will be short concise sentences. The waiter was AWFUL. He talked to himself. It was HOT as Haiti in the restaurant. I was sweating, Gus was sweating, Jake was sweating. Gus was a wiggle worm. He did not want anything to eat. Somehow the waiter got the orders almost completely right. He withheld giving us seconds, thirds, etc of the yummy bread. I ordered Gus milk. When the milk didn't work, I asked for his scoop of spumoni ice cream. Bad move, very bad move. Jake inhaled his food. I got mine to-go. D & B's kids ate everything on their plates. Bridgette was in heaven with the mizithra cheese. So was I. I think we all were!! Jake takes Gus for a walk outside while waiting for our check. They come back with a flower for me. As soon as Jake's butt hits the chair Gus begins to spew. The entire place is looking at us like we have 17 heads and like they have never seen a little person vomit. Funtimes. My poor child looked so pitiful. Jake takes him back outside with Evan and Lucas (who starts to gag!). I clean the vomit as the bus boy proceeds to tell me how he watched it all go down and how gross it was. I KNOW it is gross. Shut up and get me more towels, pronto. Who in their right mind thinks there is anything great about vomit, I do not know. Gus sleeps the entire ride home. Enjoys a bath and little down time with his cousins and he is off to dream land. This my friends, is by far the worst restaurant experience we have had as parents.

Gus had a runny nose a few days before and I should have known that vomit was on the horizon. The mucus just gets the best of him and he has to get it out. That dear readers, was how our Good Friday went down!

Daddy and Gus on the steps of the Parthenon!

Danny, Bridgette, Evan, Lucas and Vivian ready to eat mizithra cheese. Pre-vomit!

Spumoni.....not a good idea. Nope, not at all!

Happy 5th Birthday Lucas, love Cocoon Baby

Today is our sweet little nephew, Lucas' 5th birthday! We hope he has a great day and we wish we could be there to celebrate, but he is coming here in 2 1/2 days so we will celebrate then!! Since Gus was born we have said he looks a lot like Lucas. It could be the big brown eyes they both have, but their personalities are a lot alike as well! Lucas, we sure hope you enjoyed your bowling party!! Have a happy birthday and we love you and miss you so very much!!

Here is cocoon baby all snuggled and warm after a nice bath and no nap!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Lily!

Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet little niece Lily!! We wish we could have made it to your "pig party"!! Lily was so excited about having her birthday party and kept telling us all about it while they were here visiting us. She loves the color pink, hence the pig party (because pigs are pink!). Last year she had a flamingo party because they are pink! Can't wait to see what she comes up with next year!! Happy 5th birthday Lily! We love you very much and can't wait to see pictures of your pig party!!! Hope you had a wonderful and special day!!

Visit with family in pictures

The Monday that Jake's brother and his family were here visiting we took them sight seeing despite the snow! Gusley and Canon started their day with a little rehearsal...Gus on guitar, like his daddy and Canon on drums, like his daddy!









Then we headed out to Nashville. They opted to get out and go souvenir shopping, we stayed in the warm, dry car and drove around the city. I was so peaceful because it was President's Day so the government buildings were closed. Not much traffic and lots of beautiful scenery. Here is the capital covered in snow.

Then we headed to Opryland Hotel. We take all of our guests here because it is just so beautiful. So, if you come for a visit and you have never been....you will go!!!

Gus smelling the flowers.

Getting just a little closer.

Now, that is how you smell a flower folks!!

Lily and the pink flowers!

Gus going in for another sniff!

Matt, Sandy, Canon and Lily with the horses at Opryland!

Gus enjoying some of Jake's ice cream while watching the fountain!

Then we took them out to Lieper's Fork and this was our view on the way home.

And we were greeted by this! Our little house was so warm, cozy and inviting after a long day on the road.

And Gus went straight to the circus!!

We had a great day with the family showing them around our neck of the woods and we hope they enjoyed it too!!