Birthdays

Change. I have decided that is what birthdays are about. A lot has changed for us. I honestly can say I don't even feel like the same person I was 3 birthdays ago. There has been a lot of water under this bridge. Not in a bad way. Just different. I am now the big 30 thanks to my most recent birthday. That is officially "old" in my child's mind. People call me maam. I don't know a lick about the current pop culture (and it doesn't bother me.) I have to pluck gray eye brows.

Today my baby turned one year old. Time seems to move so slow when you haven't left the house in 3 days but yet you look back, and that baby has changed so very much in a short amount of time. Grant is not the same baby he was 3 mos ago. He is still very cute and cudley but only if you can catch him. He is very mobile - crawling everywhere. He is pulling up on furniture. He is communicating more with some words - ball, bye bye, da (dog), and the usual mama and dada (sometimes.) I have heard him say hey, bubba (brother), and will imitate sounds regularly. You can growl at him and he will growl back. We were at the park and a dog barked. He barked back. Its a very fun game. Sometimes he hears the last word you said, and will repeat what sounds like the same thing. Bizarre actually.

To celebrate all this changing we had a party in Searcy. Mr. Jesse (my step-father) and Grant share a birthday. Also, some of Jesse's family was in town for the big races in Batesville. It was summer themed and we had a kiddie pool, sand box, lunch and cake. It was fun times for all.

Fun times in the backyard pool. We had set up a smaller pool for the youngest ones so they wouldn't be trampled by the older ones. You see how that turned out.

This is Grant's future girlfriend, Amelia. Isn't she the cutest little thing ever?
And her parents are pretty swell too. They would make great In-Laws :0)

Allison was the only one who played in my homemade sandbox. And she even built a sandcastle.

This is the edible sandcastle I built. It has its very own story here.

Testing the cake's texture.

Testing its taste. Double fisted.

Approving the cake!!

He opened a few gifts.

This one is from Mamaw and Papaw.

Grant had a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen and we are so happy and blessed to have such a great family to share it with.

Baby (Parent) Dedication

Grant had his baby dedication a couple weeks ago. I'm not sure why they call it BABY dedication because it is more like PARENT dedication. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is comparable to a Christening because it involves babies, but has NOTHING to do with the child's eternal salvation. During it, the parents pledge to raise the child in a way to point him/her to Christ. That is why I think calling it BABY dedication is somewhat deceptive to those outside our denomination. For those of you who could not attend, here is a video. ( You will need to turn your volume up quite high in order to hear it. Sorry.)

Need Knows No Season

No. It's not Christmas In July. Our church helped out the salvation army (since they are behind in their receipts but have an increased request of services) with a little extra bell ringing. I got some funny looks but I would say the majority of people gave and were supportive of the Salvation Army in general.
I thought this would be a good opportunity for Miles to have some exposure to charity and to make noise with my permission. He wasn't as enthusiastic about the bell ringing as I thought he would be.

He was a good helper. He did not want to put the money in the bucket but would say a cute little "tank you" to the donors.

He hung in there for about an hour before I had to call Mason to come get him and take him in the mall.

How could you resist THAT face!

I pray we will never be in the position to need their help - but you never know. I know your budget is tight, but I would encourage you to donate a buck or two, even if you wait until Christmas. But now would be better. Need knows no season.

Peabody South

We went to visit Mason's gradparent's over the 4th of July holiday. We lovingly call it the "Peabody South." When we want to come down and stay, we call Parthenia and ask if we can make a reservation. We have not been turned down yet.

This is why I love this place. There is absolutely nothing to do here. During naptime I stretched out on the swing in the backyard and browsed through the latest southern living...
Because Mason's grandparents' home was close to our college, we would come here to study.
It is the perfect retreat.

View from the swing - Huge gorgeous trees

His grandparents are THE master gardeners.

When we have a gardening/yard question, these are the people we call.

Look at this grass (not my feet.) It is like carpet. Absolutely gorgeous and green and thick. Not a weed in sight.

We went on an excursion to Hampton to a fruit farm where we picked...

blueberries...

peaches....

and blackberries...

We were there when they opened so it wouldn't be too hot. The morning sun also made for some fantastic pictures.

Isn't she the prettiest peach you have ever seen?

I like old tractors.

Settling up with Suzanne's father (or grandfather - don't remember.) We paid $25 and got 22 lbs of peaches, 4 lbs of blackberries, and 2 lbs of blueberries. Cha ching - a steal in my opinion.
This is looking to be the highlight of my summer and may be the start of a tasty family tradition.

We took the long way home and stopped by a relative's grave. This was an old cemetery with graves dating back to the 1800's. I love the shape of this big oak tree. I think I would like to be buried under a big oak tree. It feels very restful.

Call me strange, but I like visiting old cemeteries (during daylight hours.) I like to think of the history of the lives represented. What struck me during this visit was how many infant graves were in this small country cemetery and how we take modern medicine for granted. There were numerous graves for children younger than my own. Mason's great grandparents had two graves of baby boys. Oh the grieving those parents had to endure. I don't want to imagine.

As I stated earlier - there is not much to do other than visit and eat. For a two-year old that can get old quickly, so we brought a few of his favorite toys.

We don't go far without a "beep-beep" or two.

Grant smiling for me. Completely unrelated topic- but he is very, very close to crawling.

It would not be a holiday without blowing something up. We were given permission to do small fireworks - don't want to stir any of the nieghbors up.

This was the most "exiciting" display of the evening.

And this is where Miles stayed during the display. He was not pleased with the loud pops and screams produced by the fireworks. If you have ever been around a startled Miles, you know lots of shaking is involved. He was standing by himself when one went off and he dropped to the ground shaking as if someone was shooting in his direction. Poor thing did not approve.

A fruitful excursion, lots of R&R, and pyrotechnics- I would say it was a successful4th of July holiday.