GiGi & Poppy

A Southern wind found its way North this morning. Jon's parents, who recently moved to South Carolina, spent the day visiting with their grandchildren and "children." A visit like this was truly over-due. Landon finally met his paternal grandparents and Shawn spent quality time with his GiGi and Poppy. Shawn spent pretty much the whole day by Poppy's side. Our little bookworm wanted him to read just about every book in his extensive library. After reading each book Shawn had his grandfather get up to put them away properly. Poor Poppy is going to need knee replacements after Shawn was through with him ;-) GiGi seemed to enjoy her day entertaining my "I need to be held every second of the day" baby. She even got him to take a little snooze this afternoon (snoozes are hard to come by with this kid!) Landon really enjoyed all the attention and commotion watching Shawn run around and play and his grandparents making silly faces at him.

It was really a wonderful day and we are so glad that we could all get together!


***side note: In our family their are so many different terms for the kid's grandmothers and grandfathers. We already have a Peeps, Pappy, Pap, and Grandpa. We decided on Poppy for Jim because when Jon and I were dating I would torment Jim by calling him "Poppy." And he would always respond by saying "I'm going to Pop you a shot." On me and Jon's wedding day when I called him Jim he said "Its Poppy to you." We found this term fitting, as it is something different and holds a significance in our family.

Fillin' the ol' piggy bank

Three Handsome Generations

Silly Shawn making GiGi and Poppy laugh

Little Tough Guys

The kiddos and I spent the afternoon at Lindsey's for a LONG over due play date with Shawn and Owen. The past couple of times that we had a play date for them one or both of the boys were pretty shy at first and it would take a while for them to warm up. Despite the length of time it has been since they have seen one another Shawn and Owen quickly acted like the "best buds" that they are ;) These two boys have been playing together since Shawn was 8 months old, and Owen 11 months old. And today they finally "rough housed" and actually played very nicely. It was so much fun watching them chase each other around the house, play with crayons and coloring books, roll around on the floor, dance, and just be goofy boys... They were hilarious!

The boys had a blast rolling around on the floor (they looked like they were doing Stop Drop and Roll!)

Owen was very happy to hold baby Landon (now if he could just get his little friend Shawn so enthused about it.)

Lindsey and Landon

Owen and his big sis, Riley

The three "big kids" dancing to Mexican music.

Little Loves

Today Liz came over with her little one, Delilah. We matched up the kiddos in the outfits we purchased for them before they were born so we could have a little photoshoot. The two of them looked adorable together!

*click on the images to see them in full frame

Mommies and Babies

Shawn watching Baby Noah (Baby NoMa) as he calls it. He's more in-love with this DVD now than what he was when he was a baby!

My little matching monkey's!

Surprise at the door

Shawn had a little surprise at his door this morning... his MeMe came for a visit! He was beyond thrilled to see her and re-show her his toys, books, and movies. I love seeing his face light up like that.



After my mom left we went to visit a friend of mine for our kiddos to play and take a walk to the park. Shawn and Ayden had a blast dancing and spinning around the living room. Those boys sure have energy! Landon finally got to spend some one on one time with little Alexis. These two babies were absolutely adorable together! Landon was grabbing a hold of her ear and at one point they were both holding hands. It was the sweetest thing.

"Bye Barber Shop... Hi Leaves!"

Shawn in his infinite wisdom decided that he had had enough of Peep's place of employment and that it was homeward bound to play... in the gigantic piles of leaves! As we pulled off of the parking lot he cleverly stated "Bye BaBa Shppp." And back to Nan and Peeps house it was. For Peeps had promised this little guy if he sat in the barber chair and did not throw a tantrum while his hair was being trimmed that he would play in the leaves as soon as we were finished. Shawn kept up to his end of the bargain until it was time to trim around the ears... then he let his 2 year old tantrum fly! None the less, it was his best hair cut yet. He sat still with bribery of M&M's and lolly pops (something Mommy rarely lets him have.) When it was all said and done, Shawn held Peep's to his promise... forgetting he didn't keep his end of the deal. But hey, spoiling is what these great grandparents do best ;)

After an outdoor adventure... my little artist sat down for some serious coloring he had to finish in his Sesame Street coloring book.

And this post just would not be complete without a few pictures of my favorite red-head!

Trick or Treat

Trick or treat... smell my... BANANA! Our little monkey celebrated his 3rd Halloween tonight, and our little tiger's 1st. This year was so much fun taking Shawn trick or treating. He loved walking up to everyone and saying "ooh ooh ahh ahh" and and getting little "tokens" for in his pumpkin bucket. We stopped to visit with Aunt Lizzy, Uncle John, Mary (Liz's mom), and Delilah. Shawn and Landon finally got to meet their new little play mate. Mary's ego was inflated nicely by Landon as he smiled adoringly at her. Shawn's first encounter with Liz's mom started and ended with tears. We are still trying to figure that one out, as she is one of the sweetest ladies!

Monkey Business

He's Grrrr-eat!

Happy Halloween!

Delilah and Landon's 1st picture

Book Worm(s)

From day one Shawn has been a book worm. Even before he could sit up on his own there was a book firmly lodged in his little grasp. I have pictures of him sitting in his bumbo baby seat with a serious look on his face as he tried (and successfully) turned each page himself. Now that Shawn is a big brother one of the only times that we can get him to sit near his little brother without bribery is when he's "reading" a book to Landon. And Landon being completely infatuated with his older brother just soaks up all of this precious attention that he is getting from Shawn. Talk about melting our hearts to see our little "worms" sharing a book.