This is Big Daddy's Baby!!!
Can you feel the love!?!
I love to see these two together! They have a bond like no other. Alex typically sticks to the women for affection but makes an exception for his Big Daddy. Don't get me wrong, he L.O.V.E.S. his Nana and is usually stuck to her like glue! He knows who feeds him!
These pictures serve as sweet memento's of the bond between Alex & his Big Daddy!
There is a really good reason why Tripp looks like he wants to die in this picture!
Tripp & Jason participated in the Muddy Buddy competition in Dallas on Oct. 26th. It is a two man race in which you alternate bike riding and running for almost 7 miles. Between each transition is an obstacle course you have to complete before moving on. At the end of the race, there is a HUGE mud pit you have to go through to get to the finish line.
Their team name was Team KoolAid. At this point in the mud pit the announcer was screaming," Get your bellies in the mud KoolAid!" Funny for a number of reasons but the most important one was the fact that they both had their hineys high in the sky!!!
Alex & I went to St. Luke's Pumpkin Patch for some Mommy & Me time. We really enjoyed ourselves. Alex loved the Swan Squash. I have never seen them before but they do look like swans~pretty neat!
He searched and searched for the pumpkin that was just right in his eyes. He finally decided on a teeny tiny baby one that matched one I had picked out so that we could have two babies. Sweet!
I totally adore this picture!
So, can you spy the beautiful blue eye?
I have so many thoughts swirling around in my stuffed up little head. Where to start!
I follow several different blogs. I find great joy in going to each site and checking in. As nosey as this can be...I still find great joy in it. I love to see how different people live their lives. I pray for each of these families and think of them constantly. My heart goes out to several of them who are going through very difficult times. I am encouraged by their enormous amount of faith in God for strength, guidance and leadership. I am struck by the realization and understanding that my faith is not anywhere close to where it should be. I do not go straight to Jesus when I am going through a struggle. I do not turn straight to Him when I am hurt or confused. I know what I am supposed to do and what I should do as a Christian but for some reason, I tend to hold back. The part about this that strikes me the most is that some of the people in which I admire that do the things that I should are all going through very hard times. Either their children are ill, their pregnancies are not going well or they have lost a loved one. Here is what gets me....The faith that these particular people have is not just due to their circumstance. They have a genuine deep rooted love for Jesus. A personal relationship. Something I yearn for.
I love Jesus and I know He loves me. I know that He holds me in the palm of His hand and wants to protect me and care for me. For some reason...and I think I have an idea of what it is...I cannot break through all of my insecurities to get what God is trying to give me. The super frustrating part is that once again....my past is holding me back. I am so afraid of being let down or disappointing God that I tend to not invest what I should into that relationship. How stinking selfish is that! I am thinking about how I could get hurt and how I could be let down as opposed to the fact that I am hurting God and I am letting Him down.....which makes me start to think about why He would want me. Why would He want me when I do not give Him what He deserves? My answer to this.........because He can! because He wants to!
Anywho....I felt like I needed to write some of these thoughts out. To put my thoughts into a blog so that I can reflect apon it.
God, please help me to move past my past...to yearn for You more. I know you know my heart and take comfort in that!
Ok..time to wrap up...my mother in law is fussing for me to hand over the laptop.
Toodles for now!
***I think this post is pretty much all over the place and may not make much sense. So goes the life of me...Katriana!
It will be no problem at all to drive over to visit with the Duplissey family. Afterall, they have 3 of my favorite people! 5 if you count the grandparents...which we do! D Family- We love you guys!!!!
My two youngest brothers recently welcomed new babies to the world. Bobby brings Corbin Wayne and Zach brings Phoenix Ray. These new cousins are only about 2 weeks apart with Phoenix leading the way. PLEASE include these sweet babies in your daily prayers! They are both in sensitive situations and need all of the prayers we can offer! God is good and has a wonderfull plan for the lives of these two angels.
Alex's #1 summer past time...hanging out at Unk & Aunt P's waterpark. He LOVES it when Tripp throws him high to the sky!
Just look at that sweet face!
Tripp's dad, step-mom and sister came in town for Joseph & Charly's wedding this past weekend and Alex LOVED getting to see them. He has a precious relationship with his Papa...which is truely unique as they do not see each other very often. We were able to get several sweet moments of them together.
How sweet!
Aunt Ami & Alex could play together for hours! Alex loves to show her his room, wrestle with her and just all around give her a hard time. When he realized she was gone Sunday after church, he cried for her. Awh! Aunt Ami, Alex is yearning for you!! :)~
I just learned how to seperate pictures with text! May not sound like to a big deal to many...but for me..excitement! For forever, I have been posting several pictures and texting at the bottom of them all. Now I can seperate them! Whoo hoo! Just want to celebrate for myself! Toodaloo!
I use that phrase to sum up these last few weeks.
We have been so incredibly busy. It seems like we are running here, visiting there..you name it. Sadly, it is all my fault. I am the one making all of these plans so really...I should kick myself! No one else to blame but me, myself & I. As much as I am complaining, I do like it sometimes. It is nice to get to spend time with family & friends or to just be out with Tripp & Alex. I especially love the Mommy & Me time I get occasionally with Alex. I don't mean the boring stuff like grocery shopping or any of that. I mean the fun times to where we can just goof off.
Like last Friday for example. Tripp had prior arrangements so Alex & I loaded up and headed to the big city, ie Longview. We went to Wet Pets & Critters, which let me just say that place stinks to high heaven...but Alex loves getting to see the animals (I make him walk around with his hands in his pockets the whole time..quite funny) followed by an extensive rub down with some serious antibacterial soap, then a trip to Chick-Fil-A. We ran into a friend of a friend which was really nice because she & I were able to visit while our children played together. A whole lotta fun for us all! Afterwards, Alex & I went to grab some quality time at Target. One has to wonder how much fun could a two year old possibly have at Target and my answer is LOTS of it! Especially when they get cool goodies...like a super cool bike!!! He has loved his little bike which he named Ike. So funny! I am really glad I got it for him as he has had so much fun on it already and it has only been a week since he got it.
Lately I have felt like Alex and Tripp & I were in a very weird spot. Alex is two and naturally is testing his limits. There are several times when Tripp & I are not exactly on the same page regarding how do deal with Alex. I am more of a disciplinarian and Tripp is more laid back. This is both a good combo as well as a bad one. I am super quick to want to get Alex in control and Tripp wants him to have the opportunity to control himself. These past few weeks seem to have been filled with lots of correction for Alex. I was starting to worry about crushing his sweet little spirit, but after last night, I think I am better.
Alex was taking a bath and was pretending to be a whale. Out of nowhere, he said that he swallowed Jonah. I asked him why he swallowed Jonah and his reply was, "Because he did not obey." I asked him why Jonah didn't obey and he said he said he didn't know but that he would spit him out soon. I asked why he was going to spit him out and he said, "Because he is ready to obey God." Then he said, " I'm gonna obey God!" I told him how amazing & great it was that he was going to obey God. Alex told me that he was going to obey me & Daddy too. I always tell Alex that it makes my heart happy when he obeys and is a sweet boy. He told me last night that he was going to make my heart happy all the time. HOW SWEET IS THAT!
Honestly, this conversation with my son really put alot of things into prespective for me. I think that God used my two year old little boy to remind me that even when situations are trying and frustrating, the Lord is in control. I need to just go to Him and leave it all at His feet. I know that I am not the only person in this world with a two year old that can be a handfull. Thank you God for using Alex to point out the fact that you are in control of everything. For helping me to realize that I need to choose to do your work & live for you as Jonah did. Thank you Alex for being such a sweet reminder of how much God loves us all! O~how I love my little man!!
I love my baby boy! He is just so stinking precious & wonderful & amazing & joyful & fantastic! All of these plus a million more! That being said, I pray that I can focus on how wonderful he is the next time he is overcooking my grits! Yesterday was one of those days and in all honesty, no, I did not focus on how he lights my day, how me makes my heart happy, how fills me with purpose. I got blocked by the frustration & irritation that comes with raising a toddler. But today is a new day. A new day to pray for forgiveness for not being as patient as I should. A new day to pray for direction. A new day to savor my toddler. Because remember...I love my baby boy!
Alex got to go to his first "real" baseball game this past week. We had free tickets from the Kilgore Chamber. Tripp had plans allready so we grabbed Tonya & Drew and made our way. I would like to tell you that Alex & Drew sat and watched the game but that was not the case. They had a BLAST running up and down the bleachers. We met the Woods family there so they got to play with Elle also. The three of them really had a good time. Derrick, one of the two mascots (don't really understand why they have two) paid the kiddos a visit. At first Alex was a little hesitant but he came around pretty quickly. Judging by how much fun they had there...and add in the amount of fun had at the park afterwards, looks like this will not be our last Pumpjacks game!
So a professional I am not...but I did have a really good time making this cupcake cake for my friend Kristie's little girl. I love how the flip flops turned out! One of the little kids even took a nibble out of the bottom of one! So cute! Thank you Kristie for letting me do this for Kynlie! Glad you were happy!
**Aunt Brenda~ hopefully, maybe, one day...I'll be as good as you are! I know what you are thinking ...but quit! Your cakes are AMAZING & NOT beginner AT ALL! Love you and thank you for the great advice!
As we were leaving for school/work today, we noticed two bunnies chomping on some goodies right by our driveway. As is now custom for little Alex, he proceeded to chase them. The first time he chased the bunnies, he chased it all the way around our house, several times getting within about 2 feet! He was so excited! I followed him laughing like a mad woman. Afterwards, I kicked myself for not having my camera. I just know we could have won some funniest video award! Anywho...I just so happened to have my camera in my hand this morning as was able to catch a few pictures. You can't tell how hard Alex is laughing because he is running..but he was laughing HARD! So sweet!
These little guys crack me up! They love each other and talk about each other all the time...but something happens when you get them together! For a while, they liked to chew on each other..literally. Now they just like to run from each other. Mostly Alex running from Drew, screaming like a girl, and Drew just wanting to play. Makes for great entertainment! Alex has learned how to say 'proximity' from the ordeal so if there is a silver lining..there you go! It is very comical to watch them together. Once they outgrow the 'watch as I pester the living daylights out of you' stage, they will realize that they are great friends and have been all along!
Alex LOVED his room @ Great Wolf Lodge. It was so precious to watch him 'play' with each of the wolves painted on the wall. He continually said "What's his name?" and wanted each of them to have their own special name. So sweet. He also enjoyed the window in his room. I could sit all day long and watch him enjoy that window! Many games of peek a boo were played that day!
We had a really great time during our stay at Great Wolf. I would love to share the pictures with you....BUT goofy me..I didn't want to hurt our digital camera so I bought a water proof camera from the gift shop. ($19.99 later...definitely recommend purchasing that item before you get there!) Guess what...that's right...not a single picture turned out! Go figure! Broke my little heart! But we did have a great time! Sadly, Tripp got REALLY sick early the next day so we had to leave early. That broke out hearts too! We hated to leave...but mostly we hated Tripp being so sick. For those of you who don't know..I hate to drive in Dallas. Not good at it at all. You add a sick husband in the next seat to the situation...and well...it just gets all kinds of ugly from there! We made it to Tripp's parents house and he was out for the rest of the day. Not exactly the way we all planned on spending the last day of our mini-vacay but it is what it is.
Another funny note...Alex thinks that all people who have a pool have a water park. So sweet!
