Month of October

The month flew by with many fun Fall activities:

We started out at the Pumpkin Patch. John Lawrence had a ball there. He was able to ride in a tricycle race, ride a cow train, go on a hay ride and pick a pumpkin out of a real pumpkin patch.







Next, Dad and Diane came over Fall Break. We had a great visit with them. It is always so great to see them, but never long enough. They brought their new camper and the boys had a ball in it. JL stayed in it the entire time. (We even picked him up from school in it).



Then it was Fall Festival time in our neighborhood and at JL's school. They were both tons of fun. JL got to go on the Euro Bungy. He loved it and was not scared at all.









The week of Halloween consisted of a school party, carving pumpkins and eventually Trick or Treating.











Wow- now it is time for Thanksgiving, Mac's Birthday and then Christmas. Where has the year gone????????

Conversation between John Lawrence and myself

This morning on the way to preschool John Lawrence and I were talking. Here is how it went....

Mommy what are you going to be for Halloween?
What? (I am trying to think of what to say in case he holds me to it)
Mommy what are you going to be for Halloween?
Maybe I will be a witch. (Still thinking will he really make me do this)
No mommy I think you should be a ballerina.
Are you sure a ballerina?
Yes, I want you to be a ballerina.

So, anyway we will see if I can get out of dressing up as a ballerina for Halloween this year. Maybe he will forget about the conversation. I thought it was such a cute one that I had to put it in my blog, so that I will not forget our conversations at this age.

Mac's Baptism

Mac was Baptized on September 16th. We had a lot of family in town for the big event. We went to the service and came back to our house and had a great lunch. Mac was wonderful during the service. He never cried and tried to smile and laugh to keep everyone entertained. He did not mind water poured over his head or the walk with Father Tim around the church to meet all the members. Eric and Ellen were the Godparents and we thank them for coming home early from vacation to be a part of the special day for Mac.

Godparents Eric and Ellen

Family with Father Tim

Grandma Walker and Mammy

Mac after the service

Mac's Nine Month Check Up

Mac went for his 9 month checkup on September 17th (I am very late reporting). Here are his stats!

Weight: 25lbs 14oz -96%
Height: 31 1/2 in- 99%
Head: 18 3/4 94%

As you can see he is our big boy and almost off the charts!!! He still only has 2 teeth.

Trying on Halloween Outfits Mac and John Lawrence

I finally got John Lawrence's 1st Halloween costume out of the closet to see if Mac would be able to wear if this year. I am so excited that it fits!!!

I was convinced the boys looked identical in the costume so I searched on the computer to pull the pictures of John Lawrence and I now see they look nothing alike. It is amazing!

See if you know who is who.


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First Day of School

Here is John Lawrence on the first day of school-September 4th. He was so excited about going (and so was I). He goes 3 days a week and really loves it this year. He did not cry at all his first week so we rewarded him by taking him to Chuck E Cheese! He loved it!

John Lawrence's 1st USC football game

We took John Lawrence to his first ever South Carolina Gamecock Football game. We had a great time. My brother Gregory joined us as well! We tailgated, grilled hot dogs, went to see the band, chased Cocky around and even saw the first half of the football game. His favorite thing was cocky the mascot! Mason is just glad to have turned him into a Gamecock! Mission Accomplished!!!!!!


John Lawrence is truly tailgating!!!





Mason and JL just minutes before going into the game

Thanks Allison, Dad and Diane for babysitting Mac overnight so we could go to the game!

Another picture post

Tallulah Falls Hike with Martha Jane.

Picture Post

The first few pictures are at the beach on family vacation.








Mac's first day crawling.

Highlights from rest of July and August

Mac got another tooth on Tuesday, July 16th (only 2 days after his first tooth!!!). Mac is almost 9 months old and only 2 teeth so far.

We went to Allison's house on July 23rd for a few days. We had a great time. We went to some parks and Holly wild. The boys played great together.

Friday, July 27th we headed down to my Grandma Hunt's house. We always stop there on the way to Myrtle Beach for the Walker family vacation. We had a nice visit. My grandma and aunts always cook for us while we are there. It was a wonderful meal and so nice to see everyone. John Lawrence got to ride a go kart and a huge tractor. He had a ball. Mac was held the entire time so he was in heaven.

The next day (July 28th) we made it to Myrtle Beach where we did nothing, but relax by the pool or beach all day everyday for a week. We stay at the same house every year; however, this year they put in a pool and I must say it was the best year yet! The entire Walker clan came: Larry, Jan, Martha Jan (that is what JL calls her-there is no e on her name if you ask him) The Pangles and our family. The weather even cooperated with giving us a nice breeze.

The night before vacation was over John Lawrence and I were talking on a bed and JL was sitting Indian style and slipped off the end of the bed. He tried to catch himself and ended up breaking his left arm (he is left-handed). We took him to the emergency room immediately and they gave him morphine through an IV and then transferred us to another hospital that had a orthopedic surgeon on call. At about 1:30am he was put to sleep so they could set his arm back into place. He broke both bones in his arm about 3 inches above his wrist. We ended spending the night there and staying all day the following day before we could leave and head back to Atlanta.

We came back to Atlanta and have been seeing a pediatric ortho. surgeon weekly since he broke his arm. It is healing great and JL is adjusting just fine. It is amazing how fast kids recover and forget things. JL is already jumping on beds again-even though he was not jumping when he fell out. The downside of the broken arm is we had to cancel a camping trip with Allison, Dan and the boys, cancelled a week long beach trip to Edisto with Mom and Ron and JL is not going to play t-ball this fall. We all were so excited about t-ball. It would have been the first organized sport JL would have participated in.

==Milestone==
Mac started crawling at Larry and Jan's house on August 10th. He is happy to finally be mobile!

Jan and Larry had Mac the weekend of August 10th, so Mason, John Lawrence and I got to do things that we can't do with Mac. We went to a movie, the mall and on a hike. We went to Tallulah Falls in North Georgia for the day with Martha Jane. We had a great day. We went hiking, exploring and ended the day eating lunch at a nice restaurant in a small town nearby.

August 13th, MaryRose, Matt and the kids came in town for a visit. We had a great time. The kids played hard and stayed outside most of the time. We even went to the aquarium and it was not busy at all. Kids are back in school and going on a week day made it perfect. The adults all stayed up too late both nights, but we got to catch up.

Jan was in town for 2 days last week on Aug. 16th and 17th. She babysat for us while I took Mac to the doctor and then went shopping the following day. It was so nice to have a break! Thanks Jan!

Next week Mammy (Mason's grandmother-Jan's mom) is coming into town and spending half the week at our house and half the week at Ellen's house. We are looking forward to spending time with her and eating some great food!We are so looking forward to school starting for JL on September 4th. I think this year he will be as excited as I am.

July

July is half way over and man has it been busy!

It started with a bang! Larry turned 6o years old on July 5th. We had a surprise party for him in Spartanburg. It was great party and he was very surprised. Jan out did herself with this party!

Mac got his first tooth in on July 12 and another today (16th). He is following in John Lawrence's footsteps with his teeth. They wait until 7 1/2 months then they all come in at the same time! Ouch!!!!

This past weekend The Duplers came for a visit. We went to the pool the first night and ate dinner there. The next day was more playing in the morning and then off to Henry's 1st birthday party! It was a fun party and he put on a show for us. He loved his birthday cake!!!! The boys all played great together and had a ball. We will see them again in about a week!

I am planning on keeping up with my posts due to the fact that I take more pictures of events if I know that I blogging. I looked back on my camera and I do not have even half as many pictures I should have at this time. That makes me mad and sad!! I have to do better!!! More later.

Summer is flying by...

Well, Summer is here and seems like it is almost over. I have not blogged in forever, sorry about that. Lets see where I left off....

We went to Kentucky around the middle of June (14th). We had a wonderful visit. The boys were great, weather was perfect and Diane always cooks great meals for us. Bob and Carol came over for dinner and it is always so great to see them. We don't see them enough!

On June 20, my Aunt Sandra (on dad's side) came for a visit with Uncle Ronald and my cousin Shelly. It was their first visit to my house. Shelly is in Med school and she came to take a test here and to go look for a wedding dress. I went with her to look for dresses and she found the perfect dress at the first store and it was the 3rd dress she tried on!!! We had a great visit and I was so glad they came and included my family in their trip to Atlanta.

On June 22nd, my girlfriends and I got together for a weekend at the lake (thanks to Hillary's parents). It was a childless trip and it was much needed by all. We had a great time and stayed up way too late on both nights.

June 26th, Mason and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary over a nice quiet meal at a restaurant in Midtown Atlanta. I decided to plan the night. I arranged the babysitter (thanks Martha Jane), picked the restaurant and picked out a joint gift. Mason was wonderfully surprised and got to sit back and enjoy it. Now I see what guys actually have to go through!

The following day which was actually our true anniversary, I was off again with the boys to Chapin, SC. One of my best friends (Ashley) parents lives there and we always spend July 4th with The Smith's. It was a fun week. We took the older boys to swimming lessons and John Lawrence did an awesome job. He truly knows what is needed of him to swim now (kick and dig). Mason met us there on Friday and we stayed until Sunday afternoon. We relaxed, swam, and played outdoors. John Lawrence loves going to Chapin!!!

Pulling Pork for the BBQ

That pretty much took care of the rest our June. Now off to July.

Mac's 6th Month Doctor Appt

Here are the stats. Sorry they are over a month late.

Mac went in for his 6th Month doctor appointment on June 14th . He actually turned 6 months on the 29th of May, but that was the earliest appt that they had.

Weight 22lbs 4 ozs 96%
Height 29 1/2 inches 99%
Head 18 1/4 inches 96%

He is our big boy!!! He sat up unassisted on June 16th.

School's Out for the Summer!

Now that (Pre) School is out for the summer I am busy trying to think of fun free or cheap activities to do with the boys! Thankfully I live in Atlanta so I have access to so many great things to do. Here are a few things we have done in the last few weeks.

May 19th was John Lawrence and Mac's first Slumber party at the Pangle's House. Eric and Ellen were kind enough to keep the boys overnight while Mason and I went to a concert with Martha Jane. We had a great time and the boys had a blast!

John Lawrence takes a weekly Kid Fitness class at my gym (Gold's Gym) he loves it! The classes started in May.

On May 24th, we went to the Zoo with a large group and the Zoo provided us with a teacher who talked to the kids about different animals and we even got a discount on tickets! It was wonderful and the weather could not have been more perfect. That night Mason took JL to an Atlanta Braves Baseball game. The boys had a great time!










On May 28th, Mason was off of work for Memorial Day and we went to a parade. JL got a lesson in how much candy you can get at a parade. The kids were running for the candy at first and JL was right there with them. Then after awhile there was so much of it that it was just left sitting on the ground at their feet (even gum)!

May 29th was spent with the Pangle's at a water fountain that kids can get in and play. They had a blast and the day was ended with some much needed ice cream.

Mac got sick the following day with a sore throat virus. So we spent the next few days indoors.

The weekend consisted of playing around the house/pool and helping Ellen and Eric move into their new house! They are so excited and the house looks great!

Tomorrow (June 5th) is Mac's 6th month photo appointment. I have been getting them done every 3 months. John Lawrence will come along to help make Mac smile. I am sure we will get a great picture with big brother helping out.

End of April and Beginning of May

The end of April was busy as usual.
On April 27th, we went to Spartanburg for the weekend, while Mason was in Albany, GA for a golf trip with Eric. The boys and I had a great time! It was Hudson's birthday, so family came as well. We went to a great park on Saturday morning that had a train ride, which the boys thought was awesome. After the park, it was lunch time and more fun back at the Dupler's then it was off to Hudson's pool party! John Lawrence loves to swim so he had a ball. After the party was over, we went out to dinner and finally to bed. The next day was more pool time at Mom and Ron's hotel pool and from there it was off to Hollywild. It is a zoo for exotic animals and some of them have been in famous movies. The boys loved it! The Dupler's were wonderful hosts -the weekend was perfect!






May
John Lawrence's last day of preschool was May 10th. What a sad day for me, but I think he will miss it as well. He had an end of the year party and it was a lot of fun. Can't post pictures because I forgot my camera!



May 11-13th
We went to Beaufort for the weekend to see Mom. We had a great time and also got to go to my friend Jenny's daughter's pool birthday party. It was fun and nice seeing Jenny on that trip as well. We also went to the beach on this Bft trip. Mason reminded me in all of our years together I had never taken him to my hometown beach. Mom kept Mac for us so Mason, JL and I got to go and had a wonderful time. We went up in the Lighthouse and looked for crabs and even found a starfish. Sunday was Mother's Day. We went out for lunch before leaving Beaufort. It was nice spending the morning with my Mom on such a special day.