I phone…

I am iphoning and loving it. I am totally addicted. Believe it or not, the function I use the most is the weather. Call me crazy, but I like knowing what the weather is going to be like everyday, throughout the day. I even have it programmed to show me the weather in my families' towns, (Powell, Tn, Piedmont, Al, and South Africa). Is that ludicrous or what? Granted, the weather is not all that different in TN, AL and GA, but I have to notice. I use to think (well, still think) my parents are crazy for watching the weather channel 24/7, but I am beginning to change my tune. The other feature I like is the entertaining music and games I can download to keep the kids occupied. We were at the doctor's office the other day and "Peanut Butter, Jelly Time" was a nice alternative to Chase running circles around the waiting room. You got to hear that song and see that banana do that dance. It is quite hilarious.

Angel child….Ryan.

I am loving 2009! For whatever reason, Ryan has turned over a new leaf. He has never been a real problem child, however we did go through a rough December with him not EVER wanting to get dressed. I was seriously late for work almost everyday in December. It is a game now and we have a race. Works wonders. I don't know if it is the game or if he is just growing out of the terrible threes. With boys, I don't believe in the terrible twos, as it is all about the threes. Whatever the reason, I am loving it. With the exception of an occasional tackling of Chase to the ground, Ryan has been an angel. And I think he is liking me more this month too. He is insistent on sitting by me wherever we go, just because. Yesterday, while at home, he said, "I have so much fun with you mom." What an angel. And what a blessing to have gotten through December which was a little rough patch. There will be days, right?

Dog or no dog??

Chase, who will be 2 in March, ADORES dogs. So the question of the day is....should we get a dog?? I cannot ever remember having a dog, a cat named FiFi, but no dogs. I really don't have a clue about how to take care of a dog. There are many pros and cons to caring for a dog, so let me have it. Anyone have something to contribute to this decision? If you have ever seen Chase's face when encountering a dog, you would agree there is no decision here.

Christmas 2008

Hard to believe January is 1/3 over already. I have been pretty lax about my blog lately. December was pretty busy. We welcomed Janey Kate, my new niece, into the family in earlyDecember. That was the most fun of December. Right behind that was un amazing Christmas. We had a great time in Piedmont the week before Christmas and a great time in Knoxville the week after Christmas. And for Christmas....for the first time ever, we were at home. We arrived at home on Christmas Eve. It was WONDERFUL. The kids loved it and we did too. We actually had Christmas lunch in our pajamas. For real...it was awesome. I included a few pictures here from our Piedmont visit and our time at home.

Kelly and Hunter....

The Martin grandkids.

Ryan making cookies for Santa.

Dad, do you recognize this rocking horse? (Christmas Eve)


Our gigantic tree amongst our herd.

Halloween

Okay, we had an awesome time trick-or-treating with friends in our neighborhood. Ryan and Evan have been talking for weeks about being Auburn Tigers and tonight was their debut. Chase also debuted tonight on his first trick-or-treat outing. He was more interested in the various dogs he met at each house. It is an understatement to say that he loves dogs. We found out that Ryan loves tootsie roll pops. I think every picture we have of Ryan shows him with a tootsie roll pop. Not the same one mind you. Oh no, he had several.....

Tootsieroll pop Number 1, 2 and 3

Pumpkins Galore

Saturday pumpkin patch visit was a blast. They loved the hay rides, pumpkin pickin, and the fried apple pies. This is a tradition we started with Ryan when he was 7 months old.

Favorite Chase Moment

Two weeks ago we went to the North Georgia mountains with some friends for the weekend. We had a awesome time visiting with friends and seeing the mountains beginning to be in their prime. So unlike Chase who likes to sleep a lot, he woke up Saturday morning around 6:30. He and I had an awesome sunrise moment. The cabin was dark and quiet when we laid down on the den couch. I let him lay down on my chest facing out east towards the large french doors that led out to the porch with a view that is incredible, mountain view. In the pitch dark, I told Chase to watch that the sun was coming up. I only expected him to sit there for about 10 seconds and then jump up but I was wrong. He sat there for a couple of minutes and I kept whispering to him to watch for Mr. Golden Sun. After a little while the sky started to turn from black to gray and then barely light up. Chase didn't make a peep but he started pointing. Amazing. He had been listening to me and watching. He seems to love nature and he seems so intrigued, inquisitive, and observant. He surprises me. After we witnessed the sunrise we both fell asleep which was also a treat. He is such my sweet baby boy. I hope I will always remember this Chase moment.