We like to move

Things in our house are rarely calm and quiet. But now, Reid is officially a walker! He took his first independent step or two at Sweetie and Pops' house over Thanksgiving, but we are big time now.

Lucy is doing her best to keep up with her brothers, but doesn't seem to have as much desire. She is loving her push toy and just yesterday, walked from the coffee table to the couch (maybe 2 steps, but that's how you start).

Lucy likes to move...to the music too. She literally cannot sit still if she can hear any beat.

Oooops!

Hampton came in this morning from driving his jeep in the backyard and announced, "I don't have a surprise for you, Mom." My immediate response was, "Oh no, Hampton did you have an accident?" He quickly replied, "No!" Then asked with complete surprise and disappointment, "Do I have poop in my pants?" Thankfully when I checked, the coast was clear, so he changed his announcement to, "I don't have a surprise for you outside." Ben and I quickly looked out the kitchen window to see this...

Aparently, the fence was in the middle of Hampton's road. Ben spent a good chunk of our Saturday morning mending the fence. Truthfully, it is much better off now! We're learning what it means to be a safe driver :). Later this afternoon, he had his jeep privileges taken away for being a reckless driver. Like I said, he is learning...

Meet the Hexabooty...

While making shapes with play-doh today, Hampton informed me that this was not a hexagon, but a hexabooty. Where does he come up with these things?

Apple Sauce

Peas, yum... sweet potatoes, yum yum...applesauce???

It looks like applesauce may not be the hit I thought it would be. I am absolutely crazy about this boy!!!

Lucy is not a fan either, but her reaction (true to form) is much less dramatic.

This afternoon I told Hampton that it was naptime. He quickly replied, "That's not a good idea for me." It may not be a good idea to you, but it's the best idea to me...

Jumping Lucy

Lucy has enjoyed the Jumparoo before, but nothing like today. She bounced, laughed and squealed until she couldn't handle any more. Here are some videos of her progression throughout the day.

Just after morning nap

Meeting Rio (my cousin's jack russell) after lunch

Tonight at dinner

My precious girl!!!

Hampton just "etercised" with me to a workout video. After about 10 minutes, he looked up at the screen and said, "Hey, Mommy. Der naked. Why dey naked?"

Throughout the work out he repeatedly said, "Dis is hard for me Mommy. I'm done." Of course I encouraged him to stick with it and not be a quitter, but readily admitted that it was really hard for Mommy too. I'm worn out!

Baseball with Daddy

This boy adores his daddy...and his daddy adores him!

Takin' BP with Daddy

Pitching to Daddy

And that's the ball game.

We are throughly enjoying this Memorial Day weekend!!!

Just Like Daddy...

Can you guess what's going on here?

Anything to get closer to potty training :)

The Easter Story According to Hampton

He really can quote the simple verse Luke 24:34 very well. "Yes, it's true. The Lord is risen."

You also get a little taste of his new "lanaguage." It doesn't get old, I promise :)

Breathing a Little Easier

We listed our house today. I can breath a little easier now and most of the work is done. I'm glad. I have worked ridiculously for the past few weeks and now, all I have to do is maintain. We are having an open house this weekend and a realtors luncheon on May 8th. I'm hoping we are under contract by then though. As thankful as I am that there is a sign in our yard, today is a sad day. This is our home...and we are leaving it. I am thankful that even though we are entering a new phase of life, we still have many memories to hold on to.

When Hampton left for MDO today, things were still in a state of disarray. We were mainly ready, but still had lots of paperwork and misc stuff to clean up. When we pulled up after school, there was an exciting sign in our yard. H had fun hitting it and watching it swing (it's a fancy sign). We played in the front yard and visited with Daddy for a few minutes before we walked inside. When he walked in, I noticed him looking around, seemingly in disbelief. I asked him, "What do you think?" He slowly replied, "Mommy...our...house...it...pretty." When Ben walked in the room Hampton looked at him and said, "Daddy, our house. It pretty."

Please laugh at the sweet story and don't let it be a reflection of my housekeeping :).

Here are a few pictures of the home we have truly enjoyed. I won't say we loved it, because I'm always telling Hampton that we don't love things, we love people! That said, I love and treasure the memories we have made here.

Oh Sweet Racquet Court :)

GRACE!!!

The other evening I told Hampton that he needed to stop playing around the babies or he would get Sadman. He chose to disobey and as I walked toward him he got up and ran to the nursery. He got to the door and realized that we had moved Lucy's crib, his previous hiding place. Standing in the doorway he said, "Where is it? My hiding fwace is gone!"

I knelt down beside him and said, "Hampton, I know you realize that you disobeyed because you tried to hide. What did Mommy tell you would be the consequence if you chose to continue to play by the babies?"

He frantically replied through tears, "I want you to give me grace not Sadman!"

He fully understands grace..."Not getting a 'pankin' when I should."

Bunny Ears

This kid cracks me up!

On our way home from dinner this evening, Hampton and I ran into Target to get a birthday present for his friend Carsen's party. On our way in, we stopped at the Dollar Spot to look for some fun stickers to add to her gift. Hampton quickly found these bunny ears. He looked at me and matter of factly said, "I need to put deese on to hop like a bunny." I helped him put them on and he proceeded to hop like a bunny all through the store. I was doubled over laughing because they kept falling off so he held them on. Everyone who saw him smiled or laughed too.

I let Hampton pick out some new art supplies for Carsen. We debated between some Color Wonder products and sidewalk paint. I wanted him to get her the Color Wonder stuff, but he insisted we get the paint. I have really enjoyed watching Hampton make decisions and stick with them. He is definitely becoming who he was created to be and I am so grateful to be a part of the Lord's plan for his sweet little life.

After we checked out at Target, he wanted to wear his bunny ears out to the car. Ben rolled his eyes when he saw Hampton's treat, b/c boys don't wear bunny ears :), but he too laughed to see Hampton's excitement. Hampton held his ears on the whole ride home and hopped into the house like a bunny. So much fun!!!

I am crazy about my precious family!!!

I guess his excitement faded more quickly than I thought it would. He will probably be excited about them agian in the morning. Night all!

Last night as Ben was putting Hampton to bed, the following conversation took place:

Daddy - "What do you want to pray for tonight?"

Hampton - "Boogers!"

Daddy - "Boogers? What about boogers?"

Hampton - "For people with boogers...bunches of 'em."

Then they both burst into laughter.

How sweet it is...

We are working on memorizing Psalm 1 as a family. The first line is supposed to be, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,..." When I asked Hampton to say his Bible verse for me today, he started, "Blessed is the man who does not walk...he have to run in the counsel of the wicked."

Today was such a fun day. We started with breakfast with Santa followed by Christmas shopping and lunch with Daddy.

He informed Santa that he wanted an orange monster truck and a Mack truck with a blue car (which happens to be one of his gifts that he found in the garage and hasn't stopped talking about it since). We don't really talk about Santa much around here, but the breakfast was a fun outing.

Of course, I couldn't get all 4 kids in one pic.

Hampton was such a happy boy and so obedient. We made our first trip into the mall without the stroller. I intended to go into one store, purchase a gift and leave. Of course, the first 3 stores didn't have the gift we were looking to purchase. We covered some ground in that mall hand-in-hand. Hampton obeyed so well and was eager to hold my hand. As a reward for his obedience, he got to ride one of those rip off toys at the exit. He loved it and was so proud of himself for being "such good boy." We enjoyed Qdoba with Daddy and then headed to this store:
As I was unloading Hampton, the following conversation took place: H - My wan go in that 'pankin' store.
M - What?
H - My go into that 'pankin' store.
M - That's not a spanking store. What are you talking about?
H - Yes it is, see?
M - Do you want a spanking in the store?
H - No, my good boy. My not want 'pankin'.

I tried to remember the last time we went to REI and if he had indeed been disciplined inside. We hadn't been there in probably a year and I could not remember any discipline. As we approached he said, "See dat SadMan."
Do you see it?
The door handles are ores, which strongly resemble SadMan. Sweet boy!

It's Football Season

Luby's is one of my favorite places to eat and Hampton likes it too because he gets mac and cheese and red jello. What a treat! Ben is traveling this week, so H and I ate there this evening. He ate ALL of his turkey, broccoli and mac and cheese. He drank a carton of milk and ate his jello. As we were walking to the car he arched his back, threw his head back and said, "My full Mommy. My tummy hurts." As I was buckling him into his car seat he said, "Not too tight, Mommy. Tummy hurts."

Conversation with a 2 year old

After MDO open house I changed Hampton's dirty diaper in the parking lot...obviously, no trash can. On our way to meet Drew for lunch I asked Hampton if he could smell is diaper in the back. The following conversation took place:

"Hampton, can you smell your dirty diaper?"

"Yes, I do."

"What does it smell like?"

Long pause..."Umm, dat smell wike fowers."

"I don't know what flowers you have been smelling..."

Fro My Juice

Hampton has gotten in the bad habit of throwing everything...and I have gotten a bit lazy in disciplining. This morning he had to go to time-out for throwing Thomas, his train. Shortly after getting out of time-out the following conversation took place:

Mommy- "What did you just do?"

Hampton-"Fro my juice."

Mommy-"Didn't you just have to go to time-out for throwing Thomas? "

Hampton-"Uh huh"

Mommy-"Do you think you need to go back to time-out because you didn't learn your lesson?"

Hampton-"Uh huh", as he starts toward his room.

Mommy-"You should probably go get in your time-out chair. "

Hampton-"Okay", as he enters his dark room..."My not obey Mommy. My fro juice. Go time-out", as he climbs into his chair.

You would think he had learned, but he ended up in time-out for throwing at least 3 more times today.

I LOVE this boy!!!