What We've Been Up To

Well, as usually happens, it's been forever since I last posted... but I feel this has been with just cause! :) I am hoping to get back on a normal posting basis. This summer has been non-stop since it started. I can't even remember my last post.

April: We survived the devastating tornadoes that hit the South hard. My car was crushed and totaled by a tree, which was saddening... but a new car makes that all better. A new paid for car makes it even better. We are now the proud owners of a 2011 Nissan Rogue, and I looooove it!

May: Well, this actually when we bought the new car. And we celebrated our birthdays. Stephen was presented with a full-time job offer to start first of August... so begin lots of discussions and prayers and things on this offer.

June: Stephen took the youth group to Nashville WorkCamp. They got back late Friday night, and then we left Sunday morning with the youth group for a week of Church Camp, Alabama Christian Service Camp. It was the first time since I was in a youth group that I had been to church camp! It was very fun and challenging. I hated being away from the kids, but the camp kept us so busy I barely had time to notice but at night.
Just a little insight into the week: This is how the week started- "Jennifer, is this all you are going to carry?" Stephen pointed at my duffel bag with my clothes and toiletries. "Yes." With response, "Well, what are you going to sleep on or dry off with?" To which I said, "I have to bring that stuff? You mean it's not provided?!" Stephen got a good laugh out of me thinking I was going to a Hampton Inn or something. I carried my sheets from my old cheerleading days. It wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined after that conversation... but some people haven't let me live that one down yet.

July: Stephen went on his annual camping trip with the youth group to Fall Creek Falls. We also moved into the church parsonage in Decatur. That was quite the workout... man, we always accumulate more and more stuff when we move. It never ceases to amaze me. But both kids have handled the move well. The week we moved was also VBS at the church so VERY busy. Then we left and went to the beach for a week with my family. It was the best trip yet since Will was born. Will looooooved the beach and ocean and everyone being there and everything. Julie Beth enjoyed it too. She's just such a laid back, easy baby.

August: We got back from the beach and then left on Monday for an overnight trip with the youth group to Atlanta. On Tuesday we went to White Water, the park. It was a fun day. The highlight of the trip was definitely when we happened to bump into our old BFF from Nashville who had joined the Peace Corps and we hadn't seen in 3 years!! Then the next week Stephen went to Idaho with the Senior Minister for a conference and was gone all week.

So here it is, August 16, and I loved the summer and can't believe it's over, but I'm ready for some routine and normalcy in our life.

I hope to update soon on the kids, with pictures and maybe even video. Julie Beth has started walking and it's so awesome! She still prefers to crawl when something is across the room but close by she is choosing to walk. Will starts back at Miss Kim's nursery school at the first of September. That's all for now. Seeya soon!

The Long Awaited Post

So I guess this big news hasn't officially made it onto the blog yet. This is our baby girl showing off her skills of sitting up. She started sitting alone when she was just 4 days shy of 5 months old. It has changed our lives. She's much happier and loves watching Will.

The mess on her shirt is from her eating a biter biscuit. She loves these things.

This child LOOOOOOVES Dance Mickey. We tease that he is our baby-sitter! She will sit or stand in her exersaucer for a long time and watch him.

My big, sweet boy. He's getting to be so big.

Again, as I have told y'all before, he loves her, and she loves him. He likes for her to hang out with him. This was after he got home from school today right before both their naptimes. He had eaten lunch and was getting to watch The Cat in the Hat before nap.

On another note, a few things I want to note so I don't forget them. Will says everything at least 3 or 4 times these days. He's to the point of repeating EVERYTHING you say. He's starting to sing songs, which just melts my heart. He loves loves loves chicken nuggets, cheese crackers, and sandwiches (PBJs). He drinks tons of milk a day. He does not care for juices at all. Milk, water, and the occasional tea... and white milk only. We tried chocolate milk, and he wouldn't drink it. He is a total copy-cat and will do anything anybody does. He's really taken a liking to baseball these days as Kalon has started baseball practices. He says the sweetest, most heart-melting prayers every night with Stephen, and it is our greatest hope that he will love the Lord one day with all of his heart, mind, and soul. He absolutely loves to go bye-bye and ride in the carseat. He's really starting to learn his way around town and will recognize when we are close to someone's house or to his school. He's reached the age where he would must rather be with either his Grams (my mom) or PoppO (my dad) rather than Mom and Dad (us). He loves looking at photos and naming people, coloring, painting, unloading the dishwasher, taking baths/showers, swinging, letting Ellie in and out to go potty, getting Julie Beth up in the mornings or from naptime. The list could go on and on. Two and a half is such a fun age... we are really enjoying this time with Will!

What A Day...

What a day the Lord has made... and I will find a way to rejoice in it! :) It's just been in that kind of day. I stayed in the nursery during Sunday School and Worship today, so that was a little tiring. I had some adult help during SS but was at the mercy of a teenage boy's help during worship. There's Julie Beth, Stella & Elijah. Stella and Elijah are both 18 months... so busy, busy, busy. I left church very tired. The weather doesn't help. And then I get home, and I'm getting settled in... I eat lunch. I feed Will. I feed JB. (These 3 things really happened at the same time). I changed Will's diaper. I straightened up from our wild morning getting out the door. Then I was going to sit down and play with the kiddos and watch some basketball... then I decided to go back into the kitchen because I just kept hearing sounds like our fridge was running, and I thought it was odd. Well, it was. There was water EVERYWHERE at this point. The water line (pipe or whatever) that connects to the fridge to make water and ice had busted. The line from the ground, not the fridge. I called my mom freaking out... because Stephen was still in Decatur with the youth group at this point. She came over, and we were shoveling water outside by a cooler. We eventually found the water key and shut the water off to the house. Got in touch with my landlord and the plumber. Everything got fixed and cleaned up. But if you could just have been a fly on the wall... JB was screaming because she was tired. Will wouldn't stay out of the kitchen. Mom and I were getting soaked. It was just crazy!!! Thank you Lord for my mom and for plumbers... now let's have an uneventful rest of the afternoon, please!!

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Well, folks, it has finally happened... the Macbook is back up and running, and I am back into the cyber world. I have missed it oh-so much, and I have so many fun things to share with y'all. My kiddos are being a tad bit difficult this afternoon---- It's Sunday, so Stephen has youth group activities after church, and then this week he has a planning meeting so he won't be home until well into the evening... so I'm flying it solo. But just rest assured that the picture and story sharing of the Davis family will continue on now... Missed y'all!!

MIA

So as you can tell from looking at my blogs, I failed miserably at the blog challenge. I will take some of the blame, but my computer also died. Boo. And I have been having to use Stephen's ancient old Sony that weighs like 15 pounds and is monster thick and requires the power cord at all times, and if the power cord gets moved, the computer shuts off. Oh, and it's missing the letter "e" so it makes typing very difficult. We took my old Macbook that I had given to Stephen (which died back in December) to the Apple store, and they are fixing everything that is wrong with it for a low-flat rate. It will be back in about a week. So then we will be an all Mac family since Stephen got a Macbook Pro back in January. My blogging with hopefully resume to it's normalcy then. I can't wait for you to see how much my children have grown! Seeya soon!

February Facts: Day 15

So, finally, all caught up. Today wasn't too exciting of a day. Lots of work involved for Stephen and myself.

1. The pictures below just makes my day. My little girl already loves sunflowers!! She just looks at them in awe. I honestly do hope that she grows to love them when she gets older.

2. I had a little bit of the mixture left over from the cheesy chicken enchiladas last night so for lunch I whipped up some baked nachos with it, and man, it was very delicious.

3. My dad (Pop-O) came and played with Will tonight. For the first time ever, Will cried (not screaming, like pitching a fit, but real, true sad tears) when he left. He kept saying "Pop-O come back." I could tell it broke my dad's heart some too, because he kept staying a little longer hoping that it would help. He was kind of taken back since it was the first time Will did it.

4. I actually got a shower today and at a decent time on top of that...

5. Stephen and I watched One Tree Hill tonight. It's a show we've seen every episode of. But tonight as we watched it, we talked about how far-fetched the episodes are getting and how it has to be coming to an end soon. We still like it, but it's dropping on our list of favorites.

Anyways, good night to all... I'm exhausted. Seeya tomorrow!

February Facts: Day 14

Happy Belated Valentine's Day blog world! I am still playing catch-up but plan to be completely caught up by the end of the day...

Facts about our Valentine's Day:

1. We started the day at the bright and early hour of 5:55 am due to Will's early waking. We think he had a bad dream or something because he woke up SCREAMING, which is very unlike him. Nevertheless, he didn't go back to sleep and was in a HORRIBLE mood all day.

2. Julie Beth, however, decided to sleep until 8:05, for 11 hours straight I might add. Too bad our children have yet to decide to do this on the same night yet.

3. We played outside again yesterday. Will just loves playing in the backyard. We are definitely going to love our new backyard this summer, especially with all the shade. Will swang for a while, but then just walked around and played with his outside toys that he hasn't seen in a long time. Julie Beth and I sat on the bench swing, and I read while she just enjoyed taking in the scenery. Stephen also read a book he's required to read for church while he pushed Will in the swing. Will swings so long that we will pull up a chair to sit in to push him in. Lazy, I know.

4. We had three home-cooked meals yesterday... yes, three. We had biscuits (frozen kind), bacon and eggs for breakfast. We had chicken fingers and sliced potatoes for lunch. And then I made cheesy chicken enchiladas for dinner, and boy were they YUMMY. It's been a while since we had had them, and I realized why they used to be a favorite!

5. I finished Harry Potter Book 5, so I'm now onto Book 6. I really hope to finish this series soon, and then I'm taking a short reading break to get completely caught up with things around the house.

February Facts: Day 13

1. We had a "birthday bash" at our church. For those of you who don't know, our church is exploring the possibility of merging with another church close-by. This was an effort in which each table in the fellowship was decorated for a month, and you were assigned to sit at the table of your birth month. So, for example, Stephen and I sat at the May table, and Will are the September table, which thankfully was very close by so we could help with him. The point was to "force" you to talk to people you might not normally talk to.

2. Sunday night we had a local, small get-together at Mama Rie's house at with my aunt and uncle, my cousin, and her daughter. It was fun to watch Will play with Sophie and stuff.

3. I got to read some of Harry Potter... woohoo!

4. We got to play outside. Will swung. He and Stephen played basketball. We even went on a short family walk around the neighborhood.

5. I found out who bought the house next door which has been vacant since we moved in. It's a couple I went to high school with... the girl 2 years behind me, and the boy one year ahead of me. They are getting married in June. They are fixing up the house, and the boy is moving in in a few weeks, and the girl will after they get married. Still, fun having someone I know, somewhat close to my age living next door.

February Facts: Day 12

Here I am playing major catch-up, yet again. These are facts from Saturday, February 12th:

1. We are Chick-fil-A for lunch.

2. Will proved without a shadow of a doubt that he waited until now to start his terrible 2's. He pitched the BIGGEST and UGLIEST fit when Mom tried to bring him home.

3. We watched the Memphis game, which they won. This was a major need for their record and possible entrance into the tournament.

4. I did like 10 loads of laundry, no lie, and by the time we went to bed that night, everything but what was on our bodies was clean, and we crawled into bed on clean sheets.

5. Will was still with my mom Saturday morning, but Julie Beth was wide awake at 6 am, so Stephen and I dozed off and on until 9 am... as did she.

February Facts: Day 11

I will post some pictures with my true post from today. Day 11's post is a day late because yesterday was SO busy, and I got home super late so no posts. Anyways, here's 5 facts from our day yesterday:

1. Julie Beth went for her 4 month check-up. She's in a great health and is a petite little baby girl. She was 24 inches long (27%) and 13 lbs, 2 oz (27%). I am just glad her weight and height are right in balance with each other, as is the doctor. Remember those teeth I mentioned? Well, the doctor said they aren't her middle teeth, but the teeth beside them. I knew there was a big gap between them... this is where her middle teeth will go. He said it's funny if her top teeth do the same thing and no other teeth come in before the top outside middle because she will look like a baby vampire. Haha. That should be interesting.

2. I went on a brother/sister date last night with my younger brother, Jonathan. I went down to Tuscaloosa. We went and ate (at Moe's) and went to the Alabama vs Auburn gymnastics meet. Alabama spanked Auburn. Roll Tide!

3. Will had a slumber party last night. He spent the night with my mom. They however stayed at my grandmother's, Mama Rie's. Mom was asked by both my older brother and I to babysit, and of course she didn't turn down either of us, so she had Kalon (my adopted little brother), Will, Charlie (my nephew), and Julie Beth, so that's why she went to my grandmother's, for the help. Stephen went and got Julie Beth when he got off work and brought her home and put her to bed. I'm not ready to spend a full night away from Julie Beth yet, and I technically can't, since I'm still nursing.

4. I was 12:30 getting home last night. I'm not young anymore. Heck, even when I was young, I still slept all the time... even as a child. I was the first to go to sleep at slumber parties. I am one tired mama today because of my late arrival last night.

5. I didn't get to read any Harry Potter yesterday due to the hectic day. Sad, sad, sad.

February Facts: Day 10

1. Our children LOVE to nap together, especially in our arms...

2. Will LOVES to hold Julie Beth... all the time.

3. Today we had Will's Valentine's Day party at school. All those kids are so precious.

4. These two kiddos are my Valentine's...

5. Will woke up even earlier this morning. He was up and going with no cuddle time in bed at 7 am!! His school was delayed a couple hours due to the snow, and he tried to fall asleep in the car on the way to school. Crazy!

Be sure to check back for tomorrow's post... Julie Beth has her 4 month check up!

February Facts: Day 9

1. We baked 100 chocolate chip cookies for Will's school's Valentine's Day party tomorrow. 16 of which are heart-shaped for all the kids in his class. The rest are round shaped for the parents and extra for the kids.

2. I'm pretty sure Julie Beth has a second tooth breaking through. This may not count as a fact, but I'm making it!

3. We ventured over to Decatur today (even though youth program stuff got cancelled because they didn't want Stephen and me driving in the bad weather tonight), and we spent 4 hours... I repeat 4 hours cleaning the youth room. Sure, we had both kiddos with us, but they were very good! There was just so much to clean. It was soooo messy! Teenagers! :)

4. Will woke us up bright and early running at 7:30 this morning. That's made for quite a long day. Normally, on a non-school morning, he wakes up around 8 and comes and sits in bed with us while he watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse till 8:30 and then if it's a good day he'll watch an episode of Handy Manny and then we go downstairs and eat breakfast. Nope, this morning he came out of his room at 7:30 wanting to go straight downstairs. Boo.

5. It's snowing here, again. I'm sick of the snow, really. I'm ready for warm weather. I'm not ready for spring though... with spring comes all that pollen junk that messes with my sinuses bad. And I'm definitely not ready for the extreme heat of summer. I guess I just want regular, warm weather... no particular season.

Goodnight... my eyes are fighting to stay awake. Seeya tomorrow!

February Facts: Day 8

Here are yet again on time...

1. Julie Beth slept till 6 am this morning.. the child went 13 hours without nursing and slept in her crib like 11.5 hours. And she got up ate, talked for like 20 minutes if that and went right back to sleep for another 2 hours. I wish I could sleep that much again... she's my daughter!!

2. Julie Beth laughed out loud on multiple occasions today. It. melts. my. heart.

3. My championship nurser is back... and I'm so relieved.

4. Julie Beth's tooth has broken through now, and she has another one on the way. Oh joy.

5. I have about 15 loads of laundry to do... seriously. I hope to tackle some of this tomorrow.

February Facts: Day 7

So, so, so... I plan to post pictures tomorrow, just for those that come to see pictures of the kiddos. Anyways, on with the facts:

1. We are possibly in for a very long night. Julie Beth has been sickly as I mentioned on previous posts. Well, today she went to sleep around 1:30 and has only been awake about an hour since then, and it's now 8:45. She is in her room in her crib asleep. So either she's going to continue sleeping because her body needs extra rest, or she's going to wake up at 4 am and be up or something. I will definitely let you know tomorrow what happens.

2. Our house is the cleanest it's been in FOREVER. At least since Julie Beth was born. The upstairs still has a ways to go, but we conquered a lot downstairs. I can say the kitchen is completely clean. Will and Stephen did a lot. Will loves to help Stephen to do, and Stephen has the patience to let Will do it at his speed, unlike me. I am so rushed cleaning these days I end up doing it because I can do it so much faster, but I did my things (like load the dishwasher, wipe off counters and vacuum floors), and they picked up ALL Will's toys, unloaded the dishwasher, picked up trash, cleaned Will's room. Major accomplishment for all of us!

3. We did not leave the house today. Monday is the only day that Stephen is completely off work from both jobs. So we had relaxed as much as we can. The kids have taken turns being in horrible moods, but we have done what we can. He's worked in a little video gaming, and I've been reading Harry Potter book 5.

4. It is so strange feeling being 8:45 and both kids being in the bed. We are watching one of our recorded TV shows without the disturbance of a child. It's crazy!!

5. I did not cook one meal today. Mom brought fast food for lunch, and Stephen handled breakfast and dinner. It was a nice treat.

Seeya tomorrow! Pray we get sleep but that nothing's wrong with Julie Beth..

February Facts: Day 6

I am actually posting on the right day... hooray!!

1. Let's start with the fact that we went to a Super Bowl party that my Sunday School class at church hosted. It was a lot of fun! Will played with the other little boy his age. They are so cute together! And of course everyone wanted to hold Julie Beth so it made for quite the relaxing time for Stephen and me.

2. Because of said Super Bowl party, we stayed in Decatur ALL day. I tried to get Will to take a good nap. This just didn't happen. So he napped for like 30 minutes. By the time we got home and did bathtime, he had been awake for like 14.5 hours with a 30 minute nap. Now it's 10:19 at night and we still can't get him down. He's overtired. Bad, bad thing.

3. Julie Beth had an awesome night. She slept from 9:30 pm till 6:30 am in her crib, which worked our perfectly because that gave me just enough time to feed her before I had to hop in the shower. She went right back to sleep and only woke when I dressed her for church and went back to sleep on the car ride home.

4. It was a pretty day in Decatur. We let Will spend most of the afternoon outside at church while Julie Beth and Stephen and the youth watched a movie inside.

5. I am exhausted. I am practically falling asleep typing this, so I'm going to go give it another round with Will (Stephen and I have been trading off) and then hit the bed. I just pray Julie Beth sleeps good tonight... she screamed the whole way home from Decatur so she should be pretty tired!

Seeya tomorrow!!

February Facts: Day 5

This is going to catch me up so that now I can get back on track!

1. We did our normal Saturday morning Wal-Mart run this morning. We get up early (because we have kids) and eat breakfast and run to WM before everyone else gets up and out. We got Will's Valentine's for his friends at school. So exciting!!

2. Pop-O (my dad) came and played with Will today. Will loves him so much. We told him on the way home from WM that Pop-O was coming. He immediately ran to the front door when we came home and watched for him until he got here. He even made Stephen carry him out in the cold the last few minutes to watch for him and ran out to his car to greet him. He loves his playtime with Pop-O. They have so much fun. He's always sad when it's time for him to leave.

3. My LEAST favorite thing about having a baby is cutting those little fingernails. Julie Beth especially still likes to keep hers balled up into fists. It makes it extra challenging. I cut both kids fingernails today is what brought this up.

4. I am extremely tired. Julie Beth had a rough night last night as she is still sickly. I am hoping and praying for some sleep tonight.

5. We are watching the Memphis vs Gonzaga game right now. Come on Memphis! GO TIGERS!!!

February Facts: Day 4

So yesterday was Day 4 of the facts list so all of these facts pertain to yesterday:

1. We had leftover chicken casserole for lunch yesterday. We absolutely love leftovers in our house. We love lunch being decided and having something good to eat for lunch. Casserole is something we both think is actually better left over.

2. Will, Julie Beth, and I had to deliver payroll for my mom as she was out of town and had the company supervisor enlisted on another task. I enlisted the help of Mama Rie to ride along with me. She did a great job of keeping both the kids happy.

3. Julie Beth HATES the carseat, hence the reason I enlisted Mama Rie... to talk to her and sing to her and try to keep her happy. Julie Beth did good except for one little stretch. But it took us 3.5 hours so considering that, she did great!!

4. Will LOOOOOOVES riding in the car. He, like Julie Beth, hated the carseat as a baby. Now he just rides and looks out the window and points at thing and talks. I'm so glad he's such a good car rider now.

5. I finished Book 4 of Harry Potter so I will start Book 5 later. Stephen finished the series last night.

February Facts: Day 3

Goodness, I have already failed miserably at this task. I never came back last night and posted about Day 3. Oh well, I will catch up today... I promise!

1. Julie Beth did great in her crib, and she is continuing to do really well. Last night she slept from 10-4:30 and then got up to eat and slept from like 5ish till 8:30. Besides Stephen and I need her out of our room, this morning was a prime example of why she needs her own room. Will woke up at 7:30 and came to watch cartoons in our bed, and he would normally wake her up, but this morning she got to sleep until she was ready to get up.

2. Julie Beth is also kind of sickly. She has a runny nose and sounds like it's hard to breathe. Breaks my heart. She also hasn't been eating as good. I don't know if this is due to sickness or teething or if she's ready to wean herself. I would like to nurse a little longer as long as she will eat.

3. When I went to pick Will up from school yesterday, he came walking down the hall holding hands with another little boy in his class. I thought it was so sweet. He's such a friendly child. Someone the other night even commented, "He doesn't meet a stranger; does he?" He's definitely a youth minister's son and encouraged to talk to everyone.

4. Will asked to take a nap yesterday. I was floored. He's never done that!

5. I cooked dinner and dessert last night... with Stephen gone and both kids here. They were good for me. Will loves to help cook these days so that helps.

Seeya later for Day 4 Facts!

February Facts: Day 2

Okay... so yes, I am a day late posting this. I have already failed this challenge but I am going to stick with it anyways... this are all facts about yesterday.

1. Wednesdays are ALWAYS hectic. I have manager's meeting with Domino's. Plus we have to leave early for church on Wednesday nights. Last night we left especially early because we had dinner with our preacher and his family before church. I just love their little girl to death!

2. Julie Beth did great in her crib. Her first night she slept from 10 pm until 6:15 am. And then last night she slept from 10 pm until 6:45 am. Getting better... but I'm glad she seems to have adjusted well. She looks so incredibly tiny in her crib.

3. Our downstairs heat has been acting up. So we just turned it off. It was off the reading cold this morning. I gave in and called our landlord to have it checked out. They came... said we needed to change our air filter. I feel awful for calling our landlord now. Stupid me!

4. About a week and a half ago, I started reading the Harry Potter books. I am about 3/4 the way through the 4th book. I love them! Stephen does audio books since he is in his car so much delivering. He is on the 7th HP book.

5. Will went to bed without a bath tonight. It's what happens on a busy, Wednesday night. He seemed to have slept just fine.

Seeya later for Day 3!

February Facts: Day 1

So I'm going to take on a "challenge" from the blog world to post everyday for a month... some did December Dailies and January Journals, and I'm going to do February Facts. I will post 5 facts everyday during the month of February.

1. Tonight will be Julie Beth's first night in her crib in her room. Until now she's been sleeping in a bassinet in our room. I'm so sad it's come so fast for her to move into her room. But alas, it's time.

2. Julie Beth is also cutting her first tooth. It's going to break her gums any day now. I'm scared to death. Will didn't cut his first tooth till he was 9 months and I quit nursing him at 7. So I'm scared to say the least.

3. Today we ate brunch with our new preacher at Cracker Barrel. I love their biscuits and gravy. It was heavenly! And a meal without the kids, having interrupted conversation is nice.

4. It's a monsoon here in Guntersville tonight. And poor Stephen is out delivering in it. But he's gotta make the money honey!

5. Speaking of honey, the other day someone said, "Thanks honey" to Will... now honey is his favorite word... especially in reference to Julie Beth. Lovely.

And yes, there will be pictures with some of the posts! :) Just tired tonight...Seeya tomorrow!

My Baby Girl is 3 Months

Here is some pictures of Julie Beth at 3 months old.... she's growing so fast!!

She's quite a talker these days!!

All smiles!

Talking to Mommy

She's squealing in this picture...

I'm a princess!

She's falling in this picture a little bit, but I wanted to post it to show how petite she is. Everyone comments on how small she is, and she really is. She's growing like a weed, but Will was at least 3 pounds heavier at this age.

These uploading in the opposite order, and I'm in a hurry and didn't have time to fix it. She started out with her paci, but then got happy and spit it out to talk...

At three months, we guesstimate her weight to be around 12 pounds. That's what the Wii says anyway. We are ordering her sound machine this week, and we plan to move her out of the bassinet in our room and into her crib in her room when that comes in. It's time to try to drop that middle of the night feeding she's still holding onto. We love our princess so much!!

Will Walks The Dog

So last Christmas (as in Christmas '09), Will received this dog as a present. He wasn't really into it until this summer when I moved some of his toys to his sister's room for when she got older. And all of a sudden, it was his dog and he was all into it! Here he is playing with it the other day:

Here he is telling his doggie to sit...

Oops! He rolled over while walking...
Around the corner they go!

Stopping to let Doggie go potty...
And they're walking again...

Petting his doggie....

As you may remember, Will has a real, alive dog named Ellie. But he likes this one better because it (he hasn't decided if it's a he/she yet) doesn't try to take his food.

Sibling Love

As I have mentioned before, Will loves Julie Beth to death. He truly cares about her and her feelings.

Here he is chatting with her...

And then giving her her pacifier....

Here they are in his playroom (which will be THEIR playroom when she gets to the age of playing). He wanted her to sit beside him while he ate his lunch. He wanted to actually hold her, but this was sufficient enough.

And here they are in their first bath together. Our normal routine is that I bathe Julie Beth, and right after that while I'm dressing her, Stephen bathes Will. Well, Friday night, Will begged to take a bath with Julie Beth. So here they are!

And although you can't tell it in this picture, they are dancing. See Stephen's laptop in the background? He was playing music, and Will was standing in the chair, holding her hands and swaying side to side. It was so sweet.

I am just so glad that Will loves her and isn't jealous. Here's a couple of stories about them:

One morning Will came and got in bed with us, as is our morning routine for about 15 minutes of family cuddle time, and he said, "Get girl." He wanted to hold Julie Beth. And we let him!

And today I was loading the dishwasher, and I had Julie Beth sitting in the Bumbo on the kitchen table, and Will was in a stool between us, and he begged and begged and begged for a napkin. I kept saying no but finally gave in because I was in a hurry trying to finish before Julie Beth started crying. So I look over, and he was cleaning her up...she had spit up and he was cleaning both her and the table. It was so precious!!

Updates on Will

So I wanted to blog about a couple of big things happening in Will's life:

No. 1, Will is pacifier free!!! We were going to start 2011 paci free as stated earlier. We got back from Memphis on December 30th. We normally keep like 8-10 pacis in his bed so that at night Will can always find one. Well, when we got home, I didn't get all of his extras out so he just had the one. He loves to have extras, so he found me 6 more around the house that afternoon! He had quite the stash hidden. So I put those up, and on the 30th we put him to bed with just one pacifier. He woke up Friday morning and came and got in bed with us, as usual, and asked "Where's paci?" And we responded, "I don't know." If he had found it, he could have had it for one more day. But he never found it and never asked for it again. So I put it up that night before bed, and we have been paci free since. He still hasn't asked for it or tried to use his sister's. Those first few days were a little hard because he missing it even though he wasn't asking for it, so he was a bit whiny and fussy, but we survived and have been paci free for a week and a half. Hooray!! He says new words almost every hour now. I truly thought this would be my battle. I'm so relieved it wasn't.

No. 2, Will is becoming a good little prayer. Now, he doesn't pray yet, but if you ask him to pray, he will fold his hands together and look down. He doesn't close his eyes yet. But he will sit still and quiet while you pray. Then when you say, "Amen," he repeats you. So precious!!

No. 3, he is great at calming his sister down. All he has to do is talk to her or give her a paci and she will stop fussing. They really do have a great relationship already.

No. 4, Will is a neat child. Now, he is a child so he does love to make a mess, but he always cleans it up. I have really been working with him on this. So now every time he's done playing, he puts all his toys up. He even does it in the bathtub. Yesterday he went to church with my mom, and she said she had to wait on him to leave because he had to help the nursery workers put ALL the toys up. And it has to be his way... Stephen says he's almost OCD about it. His wife will appreciate me one day! :)

We just love our little guy and are amazed at how fast he's growing up!!

Snow!!

So in case anyone missed it, it snowed here in Alabama. This is a rare thing. We are all under the weather but Will insisted on playing in the snow for a little while. So I bundled him up good... He has on like 4 layers on top... and the top to his tiger Halloween costume was the perfect fit so please excuse our tackiness.

Geared up ready to go!

Wow! Snow!

Snow angels!

Just not so sure about this...

I stayed inside where it was dry and warm with Julie Beth while they played outside for like 5 minutes. After that, Will was cold and ready to come in. It was fun though!