From the mouths of babes...

Myers has really started talking up a storm lately. Some of his favorite things to say right now are: "I read a book." "I fix it." "I share" (even when he isn't sharing!) "I want cheese toast (or yogurt or waffle or milk) please."
Today we saw a tow truck loading a truck and Myers said, "Oh no, truck!" Except that truck didn't quite sounds like truck! It had an "f" sound in the front of it if you get my drift...hopefully no one else heard him!

Myers' new room

Myers loves his big boy room. He doesn't always sleep through the night, but he is really good about staying on his bed when it is time to go to bed! The room still isn't entirely done because "Santa" is bringing a kitchen set for one corner and for Myers' birthday he is getting an easel and art supplies for another corner.

Disney Trip Update...Finally

Myers checking out the Lego dogs outside of the Lego store

George and Myers at Sanaa

Dinner at Chef Mickey's

We had a wonderful trip to Disney in early October!

Our room at Kidani Village was amazing! We could see the animals from our balcony and Myers loved it. When we had to close the door to the balcony, he would cry because he couldn't see the animals anymore. One day he accidentally dropped Bear off the balcony. It very narrowly missed the animal enclosure, and luckily fell on the balcony of another room. I called the front desk and they quickly retrieved Bear for us!

Myers was fascinated with the Monorail and said "Monrail, Monrail" everytime one went passed us! Luckily we have the Monorail playset that goes around our Christmas tree, so we got it out when we came home so Myers could play with it!

We also got to meet up with two friends at Walt Disney World. We met up with Myers teacher from school, her daughter Lexi and her husband in the Magic Kingdom. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise together which the kids loved. We met up with a friend Susan, that I met on the internet several years ago when we were both pregnant. Her daughter Sammie is just a few months older than Myers. We met up and ate dinner together at Epcot and watched Illuminations. Neither of the kids liked Illuminations very much and cried through the whole thing!

On Saturday, we met up and had breakfast with Mom and Dad. We ate at Boma which was a great breakfast buffet with several traditional African breakfast foods plus plenty of American choices as well.

We had a wonderful trip, and as always it was hard to say "Bye" to the World until our next trip! But it is so exciting that on our next trip, we will be a family of four instead of just three.

Hello Third Trimester....

Today I officially entered the third trimester! Baby Jacob will be here before we know it. Although I am trying for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section), we have a c-section scheduled for January 27th if Jacob doesn't arrive before then. Due to the risk of an inducement in a VBAC situation, Jacob either has to come on his own or we will have a repeat c-section.

We are almost finished with Myers' room and I will post pictures as soon as we get it all set up!

Getting ready for baby Jacob

I am 24 weeks pregnant now! I said to George the other day, "Do you realize that Myers will be 2 in 3 months?" That made me realize that in about 3 and a half months I will be the mom of two instead of just one!

As a exciting as this is, it also means we only have about 16 weeks to get Myers' big boy room put together and train him to sleep in his toddler bed. EEK! I feel like the toddler bed transition is going to be pretty tough, because when Myers realizes he can get out of bed by himself I think he will get up and play at night instead of falling asleep!

When we are at Walt Disney World in a few weeks we will be looking for the finishing touches on Myers' room decorations. We need some postcards or pictures of Mickey and the gang for the wall and a quilt or throw for the bed. Once we have this we can pick a paint color for the walls. When Myers gets settled in his new room, I will be able to tackle the nursery. I need to get all the newborn clothes and other supplies out of the basement and ready for Jacob's arrival. I have a feeling that the next 16 weeks are going to fly by!

The Zoo, Oakland Cemetery, and lunch at Six Feet Under

Inside one of the most elaborate mausoleums we saw at Oakland Cemetery

Myers running around at Oakland Cemetery

George and Myers petting a goat at Zoo Atlanta

Today we spent the day with Mom and Dad before they leave for their cruise tomorrow.

We went to the zoo in the morning. Myers had so much fun petting the animals at the petting zoo. He also loved watching the pandas and naked mole rats.

After the zoo, we went to Six Feet Under, a pub across the street from Oakland Cemetery. I had a shrimp po' boy and it was so good! Everyone's food looked delicious, and I would love to go back there again!

We also spent some time walking around Oakland Cemetery. The cemetery is very interesting with all the mausoleums and historic graves. It is a very beautifully landscaped and peaceful place to spend an afternoon.

Myers wants you to know....

Okay, that is awful quality, but it says "I'm gonna have a baby brother!"

School's back in session again

Showing off my newest word "eye" at school

First day of school

School is back in session and Myers and I are trying to get back into a routine. Most days we are at school from 8-1. On Mondays and Tuesdays we stay for the extended day program until 6pm. Mondays and Tuesdays are very tiring, but the extra money will be helpful when I am on maternity leave!

Salem Campmeeting

A cute picture taken by my friend Katey

Walking to the Tabernacle with G-Daddy

Playing in the spring

18 month check up

Myers had his 18 month check-up on Monday, and he was given a clean bill of health. He is 24.5 lbs (40th percentile), 30 inches (5th percentile, and his head circumference is 30th percentile. His tubes are still in place. Dr. Royal said that his speech development and physical development were right on target. I have to admit that I was a little worried about his speech development because he only has about 10 words that he uses a lot and about 22 words all together. It seems like so many other kids I know his age can say 50-100 words! She said that his speech is very normal for this age. Dr. Royal commented that we must read to him a lot because he sat and quietly read a book while she was examining him!

Other things Myers can do now:
He can point to his ears, nose, hair, mouth, teeth, tongue, belly button, fingers, toes, and knees.
He can roar when he sees a lion or a tiger, say vroom-vroom when he sees a car, stick his tongue out when he sees a frog, and pound his chest for a gorilla.
Eat with a spoon and fork.
He does pretty well with a regular cup too.

Big announcement!

I have made this announcement on Facebook, so I feel like I should make it on our blog too since it concerns our family. Myers is going to be a big brother! We are expecting baby #2 on or around January 20, 2011. We had an ultrasound around week 7 and were able to hear the heartbeat on the doppler last Friday at 10 weeks. We are very excited to be adding another little one to our family.

Trip to the Monastery

On Monday we spent the day with Honey. We took a picnic to the Monastery and visited the geese. Myers loved seeing the geese even though they ran away from him! We also looked at the Bonsai trees that the monks grow and the Monastery store.

First harvest from the garden

We had the first harvest in our garden. Corn and green beans! Myers loved the corn. He cried when it was all gone. We haven't cooked the green beans yet, but will probably do so this weekend. Yummy!!

New Adventures in Cloth Diapering

I have been thinking about trying cloth diapers for awhile, but was afraid to make the leap. You are probably thinking about the old fashioned cloth diapers with diaper pins. Guess what, you don't even need pins anymore because of this ingenious little invention called the Snappi. Plus, some cloth diapers (like All-in-Ones and Pockets) go on just like a disposable.

Well, today I ordered a few to try out. I ordered 6 prefolds (the old fashioned ones), 1 Thirsty Duo Wrap, 1 Bummis Super Brite (these are to cover the prefolds), 1 Snappi, and 2 NuBunz One Size Pocket Diaper (which go on just like disposables). That will give me enough diapers to give this thing a try and see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Imagine It! Children's Museum

Playing the piano at the Children's Museum
Trying out the John Deere tractor

As a going away present, some of my co-teachers at Young Life gave us a membership to the Imagine It! Children's Museum in Atlanta. Last weekend, we used our membership for the first time. Myers loved it and so did we! There was an area just for kids 5 and under with water to play in, and an area for kids 2 and under with lots of soft stuff to climb on and over. There was also a place to paint which Myers loved. I am sure we will make a lot of use of this membership over the coming year!

It's food time!

I would much rather eat with my hands...

even though I have pretty much mastered the use of spoons and forks.

Myers has some new favorite foods: blueberries and hummus. We went through a pound of blueberries last week alone! He also loves dipping carrots in hummus and then sucking it off.

He tried a green olives today and was not a fan. I wish I had gotten a picture of the awful face he made!

Visitng with friends

Now that summer has officially started we have been busy visiting with friends that we don't get to see very often. Yesterday we went to see Jenny, Topher and Matthew. It was the first time we got to meet Matthew (who is 7 weeks old). BUT, I didn't take a picture of him (oops)! This is a picture of Topher and Myers playing in the water table. They had a blast together!

We also got to take a walk with Leah and Cannon the other day, and we will be having a play date with our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) friends next week. Summer is going to be a blast!

Strawberry Pickin'

I loved walking down the rows of strawberries.

Yummy strawberries! I wanted to pick up all the strawberries (even the rotten ones) and put them in the bucket.

Pictures!

Playing with wood chips at the church playground

This is my "I am about to get in trouble" face.

Playing in the dishwasher...what a trouble maker!


Stacking rings at Honey and G-Daddy's house .

Georgia Renaissance Festival

Today we went to the Georgia Renaissance Festival with Ginny and Allen. We met Mother Goose and got to pet the "duck" as Myers called it. Myers also got to meet King Henry VIII. King Henry was very impressed to meet George Myers the V, but very jealous that Myers was flirting with the queen (and you know what happens when Henry VIII gets jealous!). We also got to meet the King's hunting dogs.
After meeting the King, we ate at the Peacock Tea House and watched "Tartanic" which is a group that plays bagpipe music. Myers really liked it. He danced and clapped along and shouted, "Hey" when the song called for it.
Even after all these years of visiting the Renaissance Festival I still can't talk George into dressing up!

He is Risen!

Why is it that I usually get more out of the children's sermon than anything else? Is it because I spend all day with 4 and 5 year olds so my mind works on that level most of the time? Whatever the reason is, it is the truth. During the children's sermon at church today, our preacher was telling us how in the early church there was an Easter tradition to say to one another "He is risen." and the other person would reply "He is risen indeed." They would start out speaking quielty at the beginning of the day, but by the end of the day would basically be shouting it from the roof tops, "HE IS RISEN INDEED!" So I say to you, "He is risen!"

Garden!

George is preparing the plot for garden this weekend. He is using many of his Grandfather's tools and seeds this year which will give the garden special meaning. Today, after George tilled the plot of land, we all worked to pull out the rocks and clumps of grass. Myers was having fun throwing the dirt in the bucket and digging with his new garden tools that Grandma and Grandpa got him for Easter.

Surgery

Today Myers had surgery at the Children's Health Care of Atlanta Surgery Center near Scottish Rite to get tubes in his ears. We had to get there at 6:45 in the morning! By 8:30, I went back with him to the operating room. He was such a good little guy that he didn't even struggle when they put the mask over his face to give him the anesthesia. George and I hardly even had time to settle into the post-op room before Dr. Baktha was coming in to tell us that the surgery was over and that Myers had done well. When Myers woke up post-op, he was very fussy because of the medicine, but after awhile he calmed down. We were able to leave for home by 9:00am. We all took a nice nap once we got home. Tonight he is back to himself, although he is still awake and playing in his crib right now. What a little stinker!

Myers the Daredevil

Myers has become quite the daredevil recently. He is climbing on everything. His favorite thing to climb on is his push car. He also is a daredevil when it comes to getting off of things. Tonight he did a somersault off a box that he was standing on! Maybe we have a future stunt man on our hands???

Topher's 2nd Birthday Party

The birthday boy Topher and Myers playing in the bounce house.

This is fun!

Serious Myers and one of the little girls at the party playing in the ball pit.

On March 6th, we celebrated Topher's 2nd birthday. The party was a little early because Topher's baby brother is due on his real birthday! At Topher's party last year, Myers was just a tiny thing, but this year he had so much fun playing with all the other kids and all the new toys. Happy 2nd Birthday Topher!

Happy Birthday George!

Today is George's birthday! At George's request, I rented a cabin just north of Elijay, Georgia for his birthday weekend. The views were amazing and we had a wonderfully relaxing weekend.

Myers got to stay with G-daddy and Honey and he had a great time also!

Snow Day

We had quite a bit of snow (well by Georgia standards) on Friday. At first Myers was unsure about the whole thing, but once he realized he could touch the snow and push it off of the chairs and table on the back porch he enjoyed himself. George and Myers planned on making a snowman on Saturday, but Myers shoe fell off and his foot got wet. Even after his sock got changed he wasn't interested in being outside anymore. I guess he takes after his Momma and Daddy in his dislike for cold weather!