Thanksgiving

Almost here... turkeys to eat, cranberry sauce to shimmy out of the can, stuffing to fluff and pumpkin pie to top!

We are ready

We will be putting up our tree in a couple of weeks and Xavier is excited about that. we have been getting him ready and the cold weather sets the mood.

Work is still crazy and Jeremy still doing good in school and of course our little guy is growing like a weed. Pictures soon I promise.

Stress

Today was a particularly high stress day for Jeremy, and of course I hit the road bright and early this AM, leaving my boys until Wednesday. Poor daddy cleaned up lots of bdily functions today that created havoc on his afternoon!

I love you daddy, hang in there!

Mixed Bag

I love the holidays! I am so glad they are upon us, I love to cook and try new recipes out. We are frying our turkey this year, looking forward too not burning down the house. I cant wait to get our tree up and cozy up the house and have family come over and enjoy good food and fun times.

Xavier has the idea this year with gifts, and he is excited of course. I have already been wrapping and he is so curious about whats inside.

We watched Law Abiding Citizen this past weekend and I have to side with the dad, I think I would lose my mind if anything happened to my boys and no justice was served. we have such a crappy system, I dotn think it will ever be completely flawless.

Work is busy as ever, and I am always moving! I hope after the first of the year it will be calm again. New people and lots of training makes me tired. I love my job but I could deal with less fires to put out.

Jeremy school is going well, he is such a good student carrying a 4.0 average with a 16 hour course load! He is making this time count for sure

Growing up

Xavier is getting to be so grown up, everyday he looks and acts like such a little boy. He is changing so much so rapidly. I want it to slow down, my chubby cheeked baby has been replaced by this walking talking rambunctious little boy!

One thing that is funny is even though he growing up in age, he still has to wear and 18 month pant, anything bigger falls off of him. He still isn't interested in using the potty chair, may as well use it as a planter outside or something. Don't get me wrong he knows when he has pooped and pee peed, he just has no interest in doing that anywhere near the potty chair. Hopefully soon I think we are really going to start pushing it after Christmas.

He is completely on straw cups though, and eating more on his own, something are still tricky and require some help of these being rice, yogurt, or anything that can't be stabbed or poked at. I'm the push over when it comes to him asking for help eating, I'm trying to do better with making him try on his own.

Here are some cute ones of our boy from my birthday.

First time Camping

We went camping for the first time with Xavier, he loved it and was super curious about everything outdoors. He did great, of course I was an over-reactive mother, but hey whatever.

He had a good time with his fishing pole, didn't catch anything though. And he liked feeding the ducks every morning.

Dance your heart out

A true dancer emerged last night as Xavier took to the floor with some moves that even Jeremy and I were shocked that he had. This boy can move. He heard the music and his body took over and did the rest.

A hat experience

Xavier got a new hat! Well his first official hat to date. He really likes it and the fact that its a cars hat helps a lot! Isn't he just the cutest thing you have ever seen, we sure think so.

Still here

Yes we are...

We have just been so busy lately. My work is hectic right now and I have been working 50 plus hours weekly to get everthing done. We have been tackling projects around the house gettig things done that we have been putting off. We cleaned out the side of the house and we are getting it ready for pavers and gravel. we also cleaned out our gutters, now we have the slickest gutters on our street.

Jeremy started school back and he is settling into his study patterns. Xavier went to the dermatologist and was diagnosed with Eczema for sure this time! We are doing all the right things to treat it already but nothing is more comforting than spending that $50 dollar co-pay to ease your mind. Not when it comes to your children!

I have some new pictures I will post soon, of course our boy is just talking talking talking. new words all the time and stringing 2-3 of them together. What a joy to watch!

Hobbit's

Thats what is stupid.

We remembered we have been tellin him about the stupid fat hobbits, from the lord of the rings. So yeah, that is where he got stupid from, not to mention he now says hobbit.

Kids say everything, he is picking up new words left and right.

check out this picture of our crazy boy dancing with his morrocca's!

What did he say?

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid....

thats what!!

Everything lately is stupid, stupid, stupid. His cars - stupid, His sandwhich -stupid, even his monkeys are stupid. How does he even know what stupid is? Or when to use it appropriately? And where in the world did he here that. He is definately 2!

The other word he has learned is No. Do you want _____ Xavier? No. Doesnt matter what you are offering the answer is No.

He is talking more and more and repeating more and more. He dances like crazy sometimes only to the music in his head. He is full of energy and always on the go. Xavier loves rice, go figure. Cars are his toys of choice and he can name them all. He really likes to play outdoors, and we have to drag him in kicking and screaming at dinner time. Always a spectacle!

His 2 year old apointment went well, he is hitting all his marks and on a normal growth pattern. He is still bothered with the dermatitus but the doctor says he will likely outgrow out in a couple of years. So we have a more years of increasing the stock value for Lubriderm

2 yr olds party too...

We had Xavier's birthday party this past weekend, and he had so much fun tearing into everything and playing with his new sandbox and tree house. He turned 2 years old on the 8th and we just cant believe how much he has grown!! The first picture is from his birthday last year and you can really tell how grown up he is.

Happy 4th

Xavier ate corn, watermelon, cupcakes, smores and more... We didnt know where in the world he was putting all the food he was eating. He had fun running around with Tupper and running down the hill to Daddy. We are so blessed to have him and watch him grow up and be curious about everything.

He is so smart too, he is putting words and thoughts together. His birthday is this Wednesday and we are having a party on Saturday. Our little guy turns 2!!

Superstar

No pictures please, cant even get a break without the camera out! Hos cute he is in his superstar glasses.

Cutie Pie

What can I say, he is a show stealer, all those pictures of Jamaica vacation, and these three little pictures just make the page.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

We had a really good time, I have to say the all inclusive trips are well worth it. The food was good, the people were all really nice, the resort was nice and most of all our company wasn't bad either! Thanks for a good time.. WATER TURKEY OUT..



Courtney being Courtney


Pretty


Pretty


Pretty


Pretty


Meat pies, yes we ate them, yes they were good


Whats up... Ninja Warriors


Come play in the cold water


Us at the falls, climbing the rocks.


James won the contest, and also had to stay for the funny dancing


Jeremy lost, so he has to stay for the funny dancing


Jeremy entered the beer drinking contest.


Ahhh how cute are we...


They look pooped..


She is so freaking rude... She was like this all week.

WOOT

Jamaica

Was a blast! We had such a good time, what a wonderful place! Pictures will be put up this evening, just trying to sort thru them at the moment. But there was meat pies, beer drinking contests, climbing waterfalls, and dance offs all included in our trip. No goat racing, much to Jeremys dismay!

Update

Well here is an update on baby Emily. She has moved out of ICU, and is getting tons of therapy to get her strength back, she is in a regular room now and has a lot of work to do, but is doing better and is expected to get better each day.

Thanks for all your prayers and kind words! We all feel like family!

Pray

One of the families in our close travel group is in ICU with their little girl. She is very sick and we need lots of prayers. She is such beautiful little girl with a world yet to be discovered. We want to send our love, thoughts and prayers to Margaret, Todd and Emily!

Please bend your knees and pray that Emily makes a full recovery!

Zero to Angry in less than a second

Any guesses who that may be?

Yep, our little one has the unique ability to do this without cause. He is however easily distracted and this behavior diminishes quickly. I will say this though he knows exactly what time out means and doesnt want to go there. Working like a charm.

I talked to him on the phone today, and he actaully said "Hey MaMa, luv u.. How sweet! Of course again he was easily distracted by the pizza daddy was feeding him, and handed the phone back to him, but honestly that was enough for me!

I love my job, but I do miss my boys when im gone! When I get back to them this week it will be almost time for vacation! We are taking the computer and I hope to post a few pics!

Vacation, Birthdays, and more oh my

This is a busy month. That being said, we have only have 14 more days to go till Jamaica will do its worst to us! We are so excited to be leaving for vacation.

Today is Daddy's birthday, Happy Birthday Baby! We love you very much and are so proud of you!

Courtney graduates on Wednesday for High School, and she will be off to wilmington for what? More school! LOL

My dads birthday is on Wednesday also, happy early birthday paw paw! We love you!

Xavier is turning 2 on 7/8, and we can tell he is entering his terrible two's for sure. He has these moments of sugary sweet goodness and then follows those with moments of tantrum ridden terror! We are using the time out method, and he knows exactly what it means to "Go to the chair" Now thats not to say that he doesnt push the envelope, but at least we have some tools in our parent toolbox.

He is talking up a storm, says anything that he wants to, sometimes on command but mostly he is into repeating what you say. We love it when he says "Razzle" it is so funny because it mostly comes out "Azzhul" Its the little things. Of course when we are in the grocery store and he is saying it over and over and over again and everyone we pass things they have been called an A-hole, its not so amusing.

On the topic of weight I have lost 30 pounds so far, Jeremy has lost 48 and is at his goal. I would like to lose another 20 pounds and am still working hard at shedding those last 20. We have really changed all of our eating habits, for the better. I am in a size that I havent seen in quit some time! Go us!!

Aquarium pictures

Here are the pictures that I promised.

update

Jeremy starts school tomorrow, and I think he is looking forward to getting back into it. We are proud of him!

Xavier will be 2 in about 7 weeks, I just cant believe how fast he is growing up. I can remember so vividly holding him for the first time, and blowing on his fuzzy little head because it was so hot in Vietnam. Wow how he has changed.

We went to the Aquarium and the World of Coke this weekend in Atlanta. We had a great time, and he of course loved the "ish" and "ales"---translated Fish and whales!
As soon as I get home I will post the pictures, got some good ones!

I have noticed that Jeremy and I speak "xavier language" pretty well, but I guess most parents do. He is just going to town on the talking, he can say anything he wants to. He repeats just about everything we say, and he is beginning to sing songs in the car. It is so cute! He loves Lady Ga Ga right now, and he just bobs his head and humms the chorus.

Its great to be parents, and i think we are doing a decent job, Jeremy is so patient and knows just what tone to use when he needs xavier to respond. I also have learned more patience and which battles to pick!

We are going to use time out, we have semi started it and he is responding well to it, i like it because we dont have to get all frustrated at all, we just go to time out and he knows. Not to sound like tyrants or anything cuase he only sits there for 20 seconds if that. You would be surprised at how much he understands!

Aunt Capfee

Here a couple from our visit with Aunt Capfee, as Xavier says it. We had a good visit, and Xavier and I wanted to take their dog home with us!

animal action

Here are a few of our wild and crazy guy observing all the animals at the nature center. He had such a good time.

Konk

Xavier fell today....

He saw a elephant on TV and he was so excited and went running for the TV, and tripped and fell and slammed his head into the entertainment center. It immediately had a blue indention in his forehead. Now it has turned a nice shade of pink and purple, and he has a know on his head. Poor fella.

I'm sure that's going to look good, not sure if he will have a big bruise, black eye or what.. It looks so angry, and swollen.