This is our fairytale

So, I just wanted to post real quickly to let y'all know that my sister just started a blog! Yay!! She follows mine pretty closely and is always quick to point out how long it's been since my last posting, so now I can give it right back to her! haha. Please go visit her site thisisourfairytale . I have a feeling that she's a really good writer and might become a better blogger than me. eek!

On a side note, I helped her set her's up last night. I remember when I started mine not long ago, it seemed like there were tons of options for names of your blog. However, when I was trying options for her's they were all - i mean all - already taken! That means there must be tons and tons of bloggers out there. I hope I get to "meet" more of you! :)

I'm also excited to announce that my sweet friend, Becky, just had her little girl. I'm excited to see how life at the Gore residence goes as they already have a little boy like us. So, it will be interesting for me to watch them and imagine what my life might be like if we have another one. (Not anytime soon, i promise!) You can read all about sweet Marley Ann here.

Well, today is my day off and yes, I got up at 6:45, because little pumpkin had started talking to himself and I knew that soon it would turn from sweet babble to "Feed. Me. NOW!" So, we are going to play a little this morning, and after his morning nap go to the grocery store to buy stuff to make a cheesecake for my dad's 50th birthday party!! (it's a surprise, so don't tell him!) Then, we may stop by my grandparents' house for a little bit. I hope this is a warm and fun day for you, too!

Has anyone seen my baby?

I was just wondering if you've seen my baby. He seems to have gone missing! And who is this big boy that is living in my house?

My cousin just recently had a baby girl so we went to visit her yesterday. She is right at 9 lbs. which is what N was when he was born, but she is so tiny! She's so light and little and sweet. She slept the whole time (I forgot my camera....), and was a little angel. Then, I looked over and my big hoss of a son was sitting there weighing in at almost 20 pounds, sitting up by himself, smiling at everybody and it hit me! He's not a baby baby anymore. He's a big boy!

Y'all he is the sweetest child. I know every mother says that about their children, but mine really is. He's just so dang cute! One day recently, he was fussing for no apparent reason, so I started patting my hand over his mouth like an indian and he thought it was funny. Now, all I have to do is pat my hand over his mouth and he starts humming. I have yet to get it on camera, but I will and I'll post it as soon as I do. Y'all should see him in his walker. The first couple of times I put him in it, he acted like, "Umm....okay. Mom, are you sure about this?" Then, he got to where he thought it was fun because being in it moved him. He wasn't sure how he was moving or how to get to where he wanted to go, but he was liking it! NOW, he's obsessed. If I go to put him in it, his little feet are already moving then I set him down and Zoom! He's off. Gosh, it's hilarious! And this is nice, because I can finally start getting stuff done. I definitely don't leave him in there for too long, but I can actually put a load of laundry in without having to hold him at the same time! Thank the heavens!!

He's started sitting up by himself. Or, sitting unassisted, I should say. He can't pull himself to a sitting position yet, but he'll stay for awhile if I set him up like that. And he's getting up on his hands and knees. Not moving, or rocking, but propping up on them and then looking around like, "Oh no! What do I do next?" Bellyflop. Last week, I was putting him in his carseat and he was fussing while I was buckling him in. It sounded something like, "wha, wha, wha....da, da, da." And I said, "WHAT? DID YOU SAY DA DA? DA DA DA DA DA DA?" Poor little guy will never say those words again. He looked at me with huge eyes like, "I dont' know what just happened, but that made her act a little crazy, so I'm definitely not saying that again!" haha. Oh well....

Finally, we had a short little play date with our friend Joel. He was born just a couple of weeks after Nathan and we haven't seen them since the babies were very little. So, we stopped by to let them play. I can't believe how big they both have gotten! We love our friend, Joel, and hope that we'll be able to get together again! Here are some pictures that I took of the new friends. Don't they look like little old men?

Valentine's Day, er.....a few days late.

I've been meaning to publish this post, but keep forgetting to. How was your Valentine's Day? I really love these Hallmark holidays because a) it gives me and opportunity to be loved on and b) it gives me a great conversation piece with my clients while I'm doing their hair. It's so funny to me to hear the plans that people make.

So, Jason was home! (And has been every weekend for a month or so - yippee!!) We decided not to go out since it was on Saturday we knew that there would be really long waits and if you know my husband at all, you'll know that he is not a very patient person. So, we decided to grill out steaks instead. His absolute favorite cake in the whole world is homemade strawberry, so I used Paula Dean's recipe and whipped up a sweet cake for my sweet Valentine.

Here's the recipe, if you are interested:

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake
Makes 1 (9-inch) cake
1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
1 (3-ounce) box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2cup vegetable oil
1/4cup water
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Garnish: sliced fresh strawberries
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2 round 9-inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, if desired.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 4 cups
1/4cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream sheese,m softened
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1/2teaspoon strawberry extract
7 cups confectioners' sugar
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup strawberry puree, reserving remaining for another use. Beat in extract. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth.
Note: For pinker frosting, add 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring to frosting.

Yep, people, that's 7 cups of confectioners' sugar. It was delish!
Here's a picture of my little helper:
We are on a tight budget these days, so I knew that I shouldn't expect a bouquet of flowers, but I did mention to him that I do love it when he gives me flowers (especially because he always includes a sweet card with them that I can keep forever.) But, he was quick to remind me of how expensive flowers are right now and how we have so many other things that we need to spend that money on. :( Sneaky, fella...I call them the economy-friendly bouquet. The card was so sweet and those flowers have lasted me almost the whole week! He did good.

Tiiiiiiime???? Where arrrrrrrrrrre you?

I know I haven't posted in forever. I've just been so busy that I haven't had a chance to sit. I promise I'll be better about it.

So, Mason was here ALL last week. Susan and Howard brought him here on Saturday the 31st and then Jason and I took him to meet his mom on the 8th. That's a really long time. We had so much fun, though! You can really see him and Nathan starting to bond.

Sunday morning, I got up early with the boys and decided to make everyone a big country breakfast. I even made pancakes! I just knew Mason would be extra excited when I told him I was making pancakes, but instead all he said was, "nah...I'm not hungry." He's such a picky eater! We even invited Mr. Mark over to come over to have breakfast with us. I must say, it was yummy!

So, after we were finished, I was cleaning up a little and realized that everyone had disappeared into our bedroom. I went back there to find them and there was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Daddy playing with his boys. I just had to get my camera and grab a couple of pics.

God, I love those boys so much. It's amazing to me to see how much our family has grown. When I met Jason little Mason was almost 2. I had just moved into my grandparents' basement and Jason was living with his Dad. Now, we have our precious little house our big almost 5 year-old, Mason, and now our sweet Nathan. I swear, I didn't know life could be this good! I am very, very blessed...