Christian's fun times!

Having fun together!

With school starting in just a couple weeks, I have really been trying to enjoy every minute I have with Christian at home with me. In the mornings, Christian likes to watch a few cartoons. He sometimes asks to hold Andrew while he watches them...like the picture above.

Christian LOVES to help me cook. Above he made this Mexican Chicken Pot Pie all by himself (of course I opened all the cans). We even used the extra dough to make a smiley face!

ARRRRR! Ahoy Mates!

Our friend Nora spent a few weeks on the east coast, and she brought back a pirate outfit and book about Blackbeard the Pirate. Christian loved it! One of his favorite movies he has been watching lately is the Veggie Tales pirate movie.

Here he is without the eye patch and he put on the earring. Jim didn't like that part of the costume much. ;)

Speaking of movies, we have been watching lots of movies this summer! Thanks to Netflix, I have been ordering all the latest kids movies plus lots of the Disney classics....like Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, etc. I had never seen these movies before (shocking I know, but I grew up watching Cheech and Chong Up in Smoke and The Jerk when I was five...yes, I had quite a different upbringing). So it has been fun getting to enjoy these movies for the first time with Christian!

I recently taught Christian how to use the computer.
He likes to play the learning games on PBS Kids website www.pbskids.org
Jim and I were both amazed how quick he learned everything! And to think, we both took a whole class in college dedicated to just learning how to use the mouse and to point and click! (CISQ 1121 with Ms. Van Es...bring back any memories fellow business majors?)

Christian has also been riding his bike a lot. He does great and loves to ride back and forth from our house to our neighbor, Mrs. Linda.

I think these two will miss each other during they day when school starts! :)

A tooth already??!!!

Yep, that's right. We woke up this morning to see that Andrew had cut his first tooth overnight.

A little sharp white thing is poking through his gums...bottom front tooth! First tooth at 3 1/2 months? Pretty early. But his big brother Christian got his first two teeth at 4 months old. I guess my babies just get their teeth early. Andrew had been drooling and chewing on his hands like crazy!

Daytrip to Branson!

This morning I woke up with a desire to head to Branson for the day. I know. Kinda crazy, especially on my own with the boys (Jim was playing in a golf tournament) but I have been wanting to go up there and take Christian to a couple of the sites before school started.
So at 9am I decided we were going and at 10am, we were pulling out of the driveway!

Both boys did great on the way there...Andrew slept most of the way or jabbered. Christian listened to his headphones. Though he did get car sick from the curvy roads, we had to pull over and take his shirt off. It wasn't too bad. So when we arrived in Branson, I headed to Tanger Outlets first. We strolled into Gymboree with Christian shirtless. ;) He said, "I can't go anywhere until I have a shirt!" (you see, going to Branson on a whim...I forgot extra clothes for Christian--though I had PLENTY of extra onesies for Andrew). After Christian got his shirt ($4.99 off the sale rack). We sat outside at a table with an umbrella and enjoyed our lunch "al fresca". I had a couple Lunchables in the fridge and threw those in the car. That way we did not have to fight the crowds at the one and ONLY place to eat at that outlet mall..A&W Rootbeer and burgers...saving time and money. Yes, I am a smart one. ;) It was so nice and relaxing watching all the people while we took our time. Andrew drank his bottle and we enjoyed some shopping. Then we headed to the Titanic exhibit!

Christian outside the Titanic exhibit. They would not allow cameras inside.

Christian has really been into boats recently and I thought he would enjoy getting to walk through the big boat exhibit! He was SO excited when we got there! Though it had lots of artifacts and interesting information displayed about the ship and a five year old could care less, he LOVED going into the captains area and "steering" the boat with the big wooden steering wheel. It had the grand staircase and some other fun stuff Christian really liked too. Andrew slept through the whole thing in the stroller.

After that, we went to the Ripley's Believe or Not museum.


Christian on some crazy contraption in the museum

Personally, I thought the museum was lame. Christian really only enjoyed a few things in it, but I am glad we went so we know what it is all about...and to not waste our time there again. ;)
After that, we called it a day and headed home.

Christian and his souvenir boat from the Titanic. He wanted a "soft and squishy boat to snuggle with". Too cute. Do you see those tired eyes?!
What a fun day!

Kids Say the Darndest Things....

I live with a 5 year old that starts talking as soon as he wakes up and never stops! :)
And to think, he did not say but three words for the first two years of his life! Christian is at the stage in life where he wants to figure out how EVERYTHING works, why certain things happen, etc. Some questions are silly but some are really deep and make you think.
Here are just a few questions he has asked me recently...

"Do firefighters get dirty?"

"Are people important?"

"Why did God make bugs that sting?"

"Why do babies have to fuss?"

"Where does the moon go when the sun comes up?"

"What makes rain wet?"

"Mom, why does your face get broken out?" (I wish I knew that one!)

But the most recent deep question was asked of me yesterday while we sat and ate lunch.
Christian asked "When you go to heaven to be with God, is it for a long time?"
Hhhhhmmmm, pretty deep question for a five year old. So I told him, "When you die and go to heaven to be with God and all the angels, it is a place that you will be forever and that's a wonderful thing." I could see the "wheels turning" as he thought about that one. He then asked, "Is that where Grandad is?" Jim's Grandad passed away recently when Andrew was just a week old. I told him, "Yes, Grandad is in heaven and when we die we will go to heaven too because we love God and have His love in our hearts, and we will get to see Grandad again."
He sat and thought for a moment then replied, "I would love to go to heaven with you mom, and I will take you to go see Grandad". I was holding back tears at this point and all of this happened on what would have been Grandad's birthday yesterday.

All American Baby!

Look at my all American boy! His 3 month old picture courtesy of Legacy House photography!

Mt. Magazine!

This past weekend, we stayed in Van Buren again. Christian took his first swim lessons and did great! I was so proud of him! Saturday night, I went out with friends. Sunday after Christian's swim lesson, we went on a long a scenic drive to Mt. Magazine.

views from Mt. Magazine lodge


GoGo, Pops and Jim enjoying the view

A little tidbit of information on Mt. Magazine.... At 2,753-feet, Mount Magazine is Arkansas's highest mountain, rising dramatically above the broad valleys of the Petit Jean River to the south and the Arkansas River to its north. Graced with timeless natural beauty, this plateau-a remnant of an ancient sea floor-runs east-west stretching six miles long and up to a mile across. It is a popular place for hiking, hand gliding, horseback riding and camping.

The lodge had lots of rocking chairs where you could sit and enjoy the views!

A beautiful water feature at the entrance to the lodge.

The lounge with a huge rock fireplace

We had dinner at the Mt. Magazine Lodge and it was really nice and relaxing.


Andrew did great for the whole trip and through dinner! After dinner, we got in the car and drove home and the boys slept the entire way! Yea!

July Girls Night Out!

Saturday night, I went out with my gal pals to celebrate Kellie's birthday! 17th Floor, a band we used to go see when we were in college, was playing at the Rib Room in Fort Smith. It was a lot of fun but WAY too hot! We were melting by the end of the night....literally! Luckily, we took lots of pictures early in the evening, before all the heat and dancing made us look like we had jumped in a lake! But we still had a blast!

17th Floor!


Happy Birthday Kellie!