"Toobeeeee!"

Wow, what a busy past couple days! Yesterday Jon and I took the boys over to his Pap's to say goodbye for the winter. He will be moving down with Jon's parents to South Carolina and return home in the spring.

Shawn certainly stole the show by chasing after Toby (Pap's tubby little dog who Shawn calls Toobee.) I rounded up all the guys outside for a four generations photograph. What a neat picture... The boys Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, and Father all in one shot!

That evening Jon's brother Cody and his girlfriend Lynda came by for a visit and to meet Landon. If I can say one thing, these two will make awesome parents some day. The boys really enjoyed their company. Aunt Lynda was so good with Landon (and all his squirming.) Shawn adored his Uncle Cody (and his beanie hat which he wanted to wear.) After we got the kiddos to bed Lynda and I went out for a girls night... dinner, shopping, and a movie. We had so much fun! Jon and Cody did some catching up and played X-box for the night and ordered in pizza. We really wish they lived closer to us :( Tomorrow they will be heading back home (2 hours away from here) and all of us will be sad to see them go.

The boys... and Toby.

Jackpot!

I wanted to take a few minutes to express how blessed I feel as a mom to have a son like Shawn. Four days before his 2nd birthday he became a big brother. And for the past five months Shawn (as a whole) has been more patient, more kind, and more helpful that I could have ever imagined him to be. Only two times can I recall that he actually was jealous of Landon (or something Landon was doing.) And those two times did not end in a tantrum or a time out. They ended rather comically and we went about our day. Shawn may not want to hold his brother, or shower him with many kisses (most of which are posed). However, he holds a great deal of understanding and consideration for the needs of a five month old baby, a mom running around like a crazed monkey, and the fact that things can wait and it does not need to be "now now now." For two and a half years old I would say that isn't half bad ;) We certainly hit the jackpot with this little guy!

***Now, the next time that I am sitting this wonderful little boy in the 10th time out for the day, I will need to come back here and read this blog.***

Our names have been changed, but we still remain the same.

For the past few days Shawn has decided that Jon and I are no longer "Daddy & Mommy"... we are now "Jon & Ashley."

Jon was upstairs getting ready and I was out in the kitchen and I hear Shawn pitter pattering around (obviously looking for us.) All of a sudden he yells "Don! Ashy!" Then he goes to the door to the upstairs "Dooooon!" And then to the gate at the kitchen... "Aaassshhhyyyy!" I kindly reminded him we are Daddy and Mommy.

Then at dinner time Jon and I were discussing the events of the day and Shawn started whining for something he wasn't allowed to have. I told him "just a minute, Mommy is talking to Daddy." So he looks at me and says "Ashy Ashy!" And once again, we kindly reminded him that I am Mommy, and Jon is Daddy.

I can see why now after all these years my grandmother refers to my grandfather as "Dad." My own mother pulled this trick as a little one and Nan just got into the habit of calling her husband "Dad." Oh the things kids say ;)

(and a few pictures of the kiddos from today... its a shame I can't put my camera down for a day, huh?)

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.