2 years and 4 months old....

I wish I could capture this time in our life. The boys are so much fun. They are into everything and discovering so much about the worlds around them. They are growing so fast.

Playing in the Sprinkler at Mimi and Pops



James on the playground



Jackson playing the piano



James playing Thomas- He LOVES Thomas!!



James and his "blankie"

 They are learning so much. Their language skills  amaze me the are constantly chatting. The boys know all the letters in the alphabet, can name numbers 1-10 and sometimes (not consistently) count to 10.  They are in the stage where they repeat and mimic everything. Sometimes it is cute...it definitely reminds us to watch what we say. My favorite thing right now is the boys love of singing. They have always loved music but now they sing along.

Jackson playing guitar and singing Jesus love me

 The boys love going to church to learn about Jesus and play with their friends. They also love to go to the "Gym". We recently joined the gym and they have a daycare  the boys go to while we work out and they love it! The love to play trains and with the other kids. The other day I asked James what he did at daycare he said "play house, play trains and go fish". I am not sure about the go fish part but I know the older kids play so who knows :). You never know what will come out of their little mouths. Oh how I wish that I could have a constant recording of our lives these times are so precious. I am often reminded of how blessed we are to be parents to two wonderful boys. 

Almost One...

I can not believe in just a few short weeks my babies will turn one! That is crazy! Where has this year gone? We are gearing up for a Mickey Mouse 1st Birthday Party. I am so in love with all the ideas I have gotten from Pinterest (that site is addicting). I have been such a horrible blogger this past year. I wish I had written more about the boys at their different stages but I am thankful I kept notes for their baby book because it has been a whirlwind. Right now the both boys are walking, and saying a few words like dada, mama, daw-daw (dog)and bye-bye. They finally caught on to the sign for "more" when we are eating we are still working on "all done" but these boys love to eat! The are feeding themselves and get a little offended when you try to give them baby food. The eat everything and love new things. Today they had gyro meat and hummus and loved it! They are such sweethearts but snuggle time is rare as they are always on the go. The love to play but their favorite thing is to read. They pick up a book and open it and turn the pages babbling like they are reading aloud it is precious! Our favorite books are Guess How Much I Love You, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I am so beyond blessed to be mama to the these two amazing boys!! 

 Reading books

Family Picture after church 

 James Sidney

 Jackson Esker

 Swinging at the park

Party planning!

I can't believe they are going to be ONE!

October visit...

Hey guys it has been forever and the boys are growing like CRAZY! 

They are six months old can you believe it I can't so now we have internet at the house!!! YAY! We have been living out here since February without and having it is so exciting so I can blog again. The boys are changing so much so quickly so I am really challenging myself to blog! This past week was fall break from seminary for Bob and we were planning on going out of town but had to cancel and so  instead my family came to us. Nana, Mimi, and Pop-Pop drove up from Georgia and stayed Saturday till Wednesday. Pop-Pop and Mimi brought the boys the cutest walkers/jumpers that look like cars and the boys LOVE them! The boys also had a few firsts last week. They got new high chairs since, they started solids, and they are starting to sit up by themselves for a few seconds. Tonight they rode in the stroller without their car seats and loved looking around at everybody! Time is flying by it does not seem like we should have two 6 month olds! I love them to pieces and have been blessed to have been off work since the 1st (except for a few hours Saturday) and have had lots of time with them! I go back to work Wednesday and it has been a challenge working full time and leaving the boys but leaving them with their daddy instead of a daycare makes it a lot easier! Well I have to sign off now because I need to write a paper for my class Biblical Foundations of a Ministers wife that I am taking this semester at Seminary (I am loving it!) but of of course I will leave you with a few pictures before I go! 

Eating in their high chairs

With Pop-Pop

James and Mommy

James being SILLY

Jackson laughing at Pop-Pop

James loving on Izzy

Cool Dudes in their cars

Playing in their Bumbo chairs

With Mimi and Pop-Pop

With Nana

Jax and Pop-Pop

James not taking a nap today :-)

Jackson in his Wonderbug

James in the carrier while Mommy cleans the house

Jax in a big boy highchair at Griffins Friday morning

Traffic Jam in the living room 

Drive in movie: watching Baby Einstein Old McDonald's Farm

Family, Fun, and Homemade Ice Cream

Today was wonderful! We all went to church with my parents and the boys did great. After we go home from church we took a few family pictures, we never get to do that at home. Then around lunchtime my best friend Becca arrived in town from Mobile. I was overjoyed it has been over a year since we have seen each other. We had an amazing lunch mom made, baked ham, macaroni, biscuits, and crowder peas; delicious! After lunch we had a get together with family and friends. Dad and Matt Miller made homemade peach, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream. Ironically it was National Ice Cream Day.  It was so nice to see everyone and introduce them to everyone. After everybody left Bob and I got the boys in their first pool and they loved it. I think they thought it was bath time. Saragrace came and got in the pool with the boys, she was so sweet with them. After that the boys were ready for a nap. While they napped Becca, Dad, Matt, and Saragrace and I went fishing in the pond. It was a lot of fun I caught two baby brim and bob caught a brim too.  After a little fishing we had a pizza dinner and then started watching a new show on Netflix, Well new to us. We started watching Swamp People, thanks to Becca.  I think Bob has found a new show! Overall it was a great day!

Day 4 in Georgia

Today was our last day at Bob's parent's house, tonight we are at my parents. The boys slept till about 7:30 this morning. Grandma and I fed them and then they took a good nap, unfortunately their only one today. Today we had Grandpa's 70th birthday party. There was lots of family and close friends there. Most of the people at the party Bob and I hadn't seen since our wedding. 

 Me, Sarah, and Jackson

 James talking to Grandma

Some of our extended family on Bob's side: 

 (left to right) Aunt Barbara, Grandpa, Grandma with James, Me with Jackson, Bob, Ben, Leah (Ben's girlfriend), Sarah, Chris, Grandma Gooch, and Uncle Theo.

 Bob and I took our first family picture since the boys turned one month old

 James and Grandpa

We had such a great afternoon. Tonight we came to Mimi and Pop-Pop's house.

They were so happy to see the boys! We had dinner with them, the Millers, and Nana. We had a great night but we were exhausted and so were the boys. They went straight to bed when we got home. I am so excited that one of my best friends will be in town tomorrow. Becca is driving in from Mobile to come see us! Tomorrow we are also getting together with some more family and friends who have not met the boys. It will be another big day but I am sure a great one.