Richard's Fluffy Friends...

Richard was always a bit interested in the Sesame Street Gang, but he became a HUGE fan after his Poppa and PatPat took him to an Elmo show in Baton Rouge where he sat on the second row and was absolutely entranced the WHOLE time (even though it was nap time)... After Easter I found this "basket pals" on sale at Target so I brought them home to him. . . he LOVES to play with them. One morning last week, he was already dressed for the day and was helping mommy with the laundry - when he saw me folding his Sesame Street overalls he began pulling off his outfit and insisted that he "wear Elmo" - no problem. A little while later he went and retrieved his fluffy friends from his room, walked over and picked up my camera, brought it to me, and said "cheese Elmo", "cheese Ernie", "cheese Oscar", "cheese Cookie" - that just cracked me up - he wanted me to take pictures of each of his special friends. Last year he was so attached to his MegaBloks little friends that I actually had Monique McGonagill take some pictures of him holding them...he still loves them and a few live in mommy's purse to keep him entertained when we go out, but the Sesame Street Gang seems to be rivaling them as a new favorite. I just had to share these as I think they are so sweet!!

We Survived...and Actually Learned A Lot!

I have to admit that although the driving force for wanting to take swim lessons was safety as we visit the neighborhood pool and when we visit my in-laws at the Lake, I was a bit skeptical about just how much Richard would actually learn as a two year old... I thought well, " at least he will have fun with Wes" - No, he is not the little fish that some of the other students in his class were, but I really feel confident about the fact that he learned the basics: 1)close your mouth when you go under so you don't swallow Freddy the Fish 2) when you fall in the pool you kick kick kick and dig dig dig till you get to the side. The rest, I am confident will come as we practice. Last night (funny but not fun to clean up) he literally laid down face first in the bath tub and began kicking and digging and when I asked him what he was doing, he said "I swim!" One of his favorite ways to spend time waiting for our turn with Lou was to throw the sticks in the pool, then jump in and swim after them. I know that the picture of him jumping in and me catching him is NOT flattering at all for me, but it cracks me up that we both are cringing and have the same facial expression! We had a great time and will strongly consider taking lessons again next year. Y'all keep Mrs. Lou in your prayers as she has the first of her surgeries this Thursday morning...once she heals from the first surgery they will go back and operate on her other lung to remove the cancer from there.

I Took the Leap...

I donated ten inches of my hair to Locks of Love just after Richard was born . . . well, I had decided to donate this time to help my friend Barbie as she was heading the campaign for Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. I couldn't attend the official hair cutting day, so in my head I was procrastinating and kept saying "well, I'll get it cut closer to the start of school" - it has just been so bloomin' hot and I decided that when I scheduled Richard for his long over due cut that I would take the plunge and cut my "ponytails" as well. As you can tell from the fact that I am in my bathing suit in the pics, I was not 100percent sure that I was going to have "the cut", but decided to take the leap before I could procrastinate another day. It feels so odd that when I go to run my fingers through my hair there's not much there, and yes I miss my hair but I know that my hair grows VERY fast and that my nine plus inches of hair will help a very special lady fighting cancer to be able to take pride in her appearance and not be embarrassed by the looks that people may give her. I encourage each of you to donate your hair - it is something that costs you absolutely NOTHING, but the returns are PRICELESS!

Swimming Week Two...

Wes' Nana was at swimming lessons Monday and was kind enough to take some pictures of Richard as well....as you can tell from the smile in the last pictures he is really beginning to enjoy himself. He absolutely LOVES it when Lou praises him. We went to the neighborhood pool and let daddy see all of our progress as well.

Father's Day 2008!

Ty and Richard headed to Baton Rouge to be with his dad for Father's Day... I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself on Saturday as they drove away....after napping on the couch and watching some decorating shows, I decided to get dressed for the day (even if it was almost two o'clock). I went to Steinmart (I hardly ever shop there but there 12hour sale sign beckoned me) I took my time and roamed around - I felt guilty for taking three loads of six garments to the fitting room, but it was so much fun - I would peruse a rack looking and finding interesting items - go try them on - and do it all over again WITHOUT saying No Richard - don't touch and having to "hurry" so that he would not be impatient... fifteen dollars later I checked out with one pair of slacks for work...I am sure the dressing room attendant was shooting arrows to the back of my head with her glares...I did offer to rehang the items but she said no. Then I walked down to a shoe store that I have never given a second glance...I found the cutest polk a dot shoes for THREE dollars - they are a bit LOUD for my usual taste but I thought that they would be fun with black slacks. After that I walked around Target for a bit but exited empty handed. I headed to the movie theater and watched Vegas (okay but not great) and then went to Newks and used a gift card that one of my students gave me at the end of the year - by the way, their five cheese pizza with artichokes is AWESOME and I think that my new favorite dessert is there banana nut cake...comes with a warning though - too rich to eat the whole slice. I came home and decided I had indulged for myself enough so I did a little laundry and talked to Ty who said they were having a great time with Poppa. The next morning I joined my daddy in Clinton for church and then back to mom and dad's house for lunch. After a good visit, I headed home so that I could meet up with Richard and Ty - they beat me home. When I got home, Ty had made cotton candy snowballs - YUMMY - and he opened his card and gift from Richard - matching Elmo shirts - what more can a daddy ask for?!?! I am so thankful for my daddy and for my husband who is also a great dad, but most of all I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who has never let me down and is giving me strength as we face these health trials with my earthly dad. I hope each of you had a special day with the dads in your lives.

An Early Father's Day Visit with DD. . .

Since Ty and Richard are headed to Baton Rouge to see Poppa for Father's Day, Richard and I headed to Clinton on Friday to spend the day with DD. The first thing Richard had to do was to play ball with his DD. MeMe and DD had saved a lot of "duck food" so Richard, DD, and I walked down to the lakes and fed the ducks - we laughed at all of the HUGE fish and turtles we fed as well - they were faster than the ducks! Richard had so much fun!!! Walking to the lakes was "hard" work so we headed back to the house and DD went and got lunch for all of us...Daddy even came to Clinton for lunch (and to work on mom and dad's computer)...after that EVERYONE took a nap...and what would a play date with DD be without playing the "letter" game - Richard is so obsessed with his letters and numbers - but hey that is fine with me - I'm pretty proud that my lil man knows ALL of his letters and his numbers to 12!!! He must get that from his DADDY!! We had a fun day - sorry that MeMe and Daddy missed out on the fun by having to work! Thank you DD!

Is Three the Magic Number?

I thought that today was going to just be more of day one and two - little interest and more in the pool distractions of goggles, floaties, sticks, and toys. At first all Richard wanted to do was throw and retrieve the sticks - all of this being OUT of the water of course! Gradually I eased him into the water and into his seal and floaties - at first we just cruised the pool together, but then he seemed to relax. When it was his turn with Mrs. Lou he was a STAR - he kicked his legs, held his mouth closed, and even began working his arms without her telling him to do so. . . he just soaked in her praises, hugs, and kisses. I was so proud of him!! Even when Lou moved on to work with other students he would say "mommy swim lou" so we would "swim" towards Lou with him working his legs and arms while mommy gave a bit of support! Lou came back to give him a hug which he wasn't too sure about - I think he thought it was one on one time again, but when we got out of the pool he just had to lean down and get one last hug from Lou! Hmm...can't wait to see what next week will bring!

**On a more serious note, please keep Lou in your prayers - the spots they found in her lungs are cancerous and she is going back to the doctor tomorrow.

Time for Those Southern Grads...

Two of Richard's favorite "non-family" people are Mrs. Aubrey and Mr. Jamie. Ty and Jamie used to work together and as an added bonus, Aubrey and I became friends. Aubrey came to take care of Richard while I went to visitation for Owen W. I wasn't sure how Richard would react to me leaving, but I told him that mommy's friend Mrs. Jennifer was sad so mommy was going to go give her a hug, but Mrs. Aubrey was coming to play with him while I was gone. When the doorbell rang, Richard went running and jumped straight into Aubrey's arms!! What more could make a mom feel at ease (hmm...also knowing that Aubrey is a nurse and has seen it all in the ER - that helps a nervous mom as well LOL)?!?!?! So off I went in the pouring down rain...the weather so perfectly matched how I felt inside. Yes, we know that Owen is in Heaven but my heart is so heavy for Jennifer - the pain of our children we have lost through miscarriage came rushing in on me...the comfort is in knowing that one day we will ALL hold the children that God is keeping in His arms for us till one day we are together. When I arrived home, Mr. Jamie was off of work and had come to play with Richard as well. When Ty got home we all decided to head to Ichiban - no one was in much of a mood to cook and Ichiban somehow can always make any day better! Other than "breaking your budget" regrets later. My lil child who can't stand to be messy was cracking me up as he tired of using the proper utensils and decided to eat his ice cream face first!! As the adult conversation continued Richard grew restless, but thank the Lord for Little People "friends" that live in mommy's purse!! Richard has always enjoyed lining them up just so - sometimes by height, and sometimes by color - whatever the mood is that strikes him. We must have a night together again very soon Aubrey and Jamie - we love y'all even if you do cheer for that "BIRD" rather than the DAWGS!!

Sneakin' In Some Daddy Time...

We headed to North Park Mall to meet daddy for lunch after a morning of fun with our Mrs. Beth Buddies! Richard always loves the view from daddy's shoulders...who wouldn't?!?!? For an added surprise full of fun - there is a train ride in Center Court - so our Lil train fanatic rode in the front car and rang the bell for everyone to hear. It was so much fun getting to see daddy in the middle of our day! We love you daddy!

Play Place Fun!!!

We had the day off of swim lessons so that Mrs. Lu could go to the doctor. Kozy suggested that we meet at the Play Place for a morning of fun so that is exactly what we did! We met Kozy, Claire, Cindy, Emma, Amy, and Wes for a couple of hours of indoor fun away from the scalding heat!!

The effects of Swim Lessons!

OH MY!!!! This is what Richard looked like after nap time - we had played and worked so hard with Mrs. Lou and in our backyard that we were both exhausted!!! Amy texted to ask us to come on over - I was sleeping so hard I never heard the phone ring the first time!! We did rouse ourselves, change clothes, and head over to Big G and MiMi's house (Wes' grandparents). . . Wes had fun showing Richard how to make bubbles in the whirlpool and how to stomp the water that cascades into the pool. We had a fantastic time! Thank you for having us over Amy, Wes, Big G, Mimi, and Mamaw!