Taylor Plus Triplets

Brayden, the fish.

2011-07-23T23:23:00.001-04:00

Bowling with the boys!

2011-06-21T15:26:00.000-04:00

Day 1 Swim lessons 2011

2011-06-21T15:10:00.000-04:00

Carter

2011-04-18T22:01:00.000-04:00

So, we started our day like this:and ended the day like this.

Working again?

2011-03-12T14:41:00.001-05:00

Well, not quite.

I am, however, putting a more concentrated effort into expanding my photography business in Aiken. It's so much fun and I'm so in love I only wish there were more hours in the day. It seems like yesterday I got my Canon Rebel and couldn't take a focused picture to save my life. Of course, countless hours with that baby in my hand led to not only focused images, but every now and then one that I was amazed I had taken. Well, as that started happening more, my expectations grew. With several workshops behind me, hundreds of tutorials and thousands and thousands of practice shots I felt like I had outgrown that camera; which led me to the Canon 5d Mark II. Or Livi Grace II as I refer to her. My new love. Don't get me wrong, I still love Livi Grace, in fact, I still carry her everywhere with me too, only now as a back up. I love that I can look back on some of my previous images and cringe while ten "flaws" jump out at me. It's a nice reminder I'm making progress.

Speaking of progress, I'm so happy with the progress I've made in Aiken already and all the new people I've gotten to meet through this art. I can't wait to see what the future holds. I'd love to do this more full time, ya know, in about 29 months when the boys start kindergarten. but who's counting? For right now, I'm loving being a mommy all the time and a part time photographer by appointment! Life is good.

Now my shameless plug:

So, if you stumble across this in the Aiken, SC area go to www.jlloydphotography.com and give me a call!! ;)

Basketball Season!

2011-01-31T14:26:00.000-05:00

Basketball Season is well underway and Taylor is loving it! Taylor's been in every sport (except soccer) that we've been able to get him in. He's loved them all and been pretty good at everything he's played, but he's really liking basketball. I don't know if it has something to do with his age - maybe as he's getting older and understanding the fun and sport of it or maybe it's basketball... We'll find out next month, he starts baseball at the end of February. Hopefully he'll be just as "in-to" it as he is basket ball.

on a photography related note - I'm not liking basketball! The lighting paired with the speed of motion out there is making it hard for me to get clear, crisp, non-blurred photos. When I increase my shutter speed, there isn't enough light. So, what's the trick?! btw - these were with a zoom lens, 55-200mm 5.6f/s - I'm thinking the lens f/s limitation may be my problem. ??

Helping Mom make lunch

2011-01-31T13:49:00.002-05:00

These pictures are from about a month ago, but it was so much fun I wanted to be sure to post it. The boys like helping me in the kitchen and with this meal they knew what was inside and ate it better than they would have otherwise.

I used to make these as a kid on this same snackster machine I think!

Here's Carter: He demanded he be first. I think just so he could see what was going on and then direct his brothers on what do to. He's such a bossy little thing!

Taylor: He and Brayden couldn't wait to cook it before eating some.

Here's Tuck: I kept having to prompt him to put more. He just wanted to toss a little on and be done. He was much too busy playing to be cooking his own lunch!

Then there's Brayden. Brayden's a fan of food. The big guy loves to eat and stops dead in his tracks when I mention food or eating. No matter how much fun he's having playing, he's always ready to eat. He'll also try anything at least once.

Who has time to wait for it to cook???

A Language all their own?

2011-01-28T23:29:00.000-05:00

Parents of multiples often get asked if their multiples have special ways of communicating together, or a special language only they know. I can't speak for all multiples, but here's my thoughts on my boys.

At two and a half years old they have the vocabulary to pretty much convey to me anything they want. Their birth order is Carter first, Brayden second, and Tucker third. In that same order their dictation and pronunciation of words goes from best to worst. I can understand MOST of what Carter is saying, if not, I can ask him questions until I figure out the mystery word. I can understand MOST of what Brayden is saying, if not, I ask him questions until he takes me and shows me or until Carter clears up the misunderstanding by saying it clearer or in a different way. I can understand A LOT of what Tucker says. However, if I don't understand him he gets frustrated and can't or won't try to work with me in answering questions he just starts saying the mystery word over and over and sometimes whining or crying or throwing something etc. Tuck's very laid back and sweet, but boy does he ever have a temper. That's where his brothers come in. Should the notion strike them and they decide to help ole momma bear out, they'll tell sometimes successfully get me to understand what he's saying. A secret code language? They understand each other, but I don't... But I don't know. I think maybe it's less of their own language and just a baby dialect variation that they are lucky enough to have 2 others around at all times that know their broken English dialect well enough to carry on conversations with one another with ease. Whatever it is, it is definitely special.

As they laugh and play together it seems they can predict the others thoughts and movements and feelings before they're apparent to others. There is no doubt they are close brothers and close friends. They look after each other and always know where their counterparts are at. When one's in time out, the others anxiously await and often ask for the jailed party to come out. They love one another and there is a special bond between them all, including their older brother who likes to mimic the pronunciation short falls they sometimes have.

SNOW DAY!

2011-01-10T13:51:00.001-05:00

Today, Aiken, SC has officially closed down. The schools, daycares, municipal offices, pediatric clinics, you name it, closed! We woke up this morning to a wonderful winter storm and the boys were SO excited! It snowed the day after Christmas, but it was a wet, short lived snow that the little boys didn't even play in because it was so mushy and wet. Not this snow! It snowed for a few hours then came the freezing rain which encapsulated the snow with a hard candy like shell. The boys had a blast! Here are a few pics of their snowy winter fun!

I feel the need to add the disclosure, I didn't take Livi Grace (my camera) out to play in the snow. There was way too much snow and ice flying in my direction to take her out, so these are all with my cybershot point and shoot.

Tuck finding out that ice is a lil slippery:

Taylor getting smashed with a snowball by Carter:

Don't let sweet Tuck fool you, I didn't get a shot of his face, but the blue jacket gives him away. He was looking for me I'm sure, Tuck picked on me the whole time!

Brayden bracing for impact:

Sundee Supper

2011-01-06T12:52:00.002-05:00

As the week starts drawing to an end, I start running out of things to cook. I start making things from left overs and throwing meals together. This week is no exception. I was missing an ingredient or two from every meal I could think of to cook. So, I decided to put a new spin on a meal and make something a little different and it was so good I'm sharing!

Chicken Mexi-Stuffed Bell Peppers

You need:

Bell Peppers

Fajita style chicken

Handful or two of frozen corn

2 cans Rotel

Black Beans, drained and rinsed

Cooked rice

Taco Seasoning

Cheese (as optional topping)

Salsa (as optional topping)

Cook your chicken and add taco seasoning.

Cook your rice.

In a large bowl add cooked rice, slightly drained Rotel, rinsed black beans, corn, and chicken. Mix it up and stuff it in prepared (tops cut off and cleaned) bell peppers.

Pop in preheated oven at about 375 for 25-30 minutes. Add cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until melted.

Top with Salsa or picante sauce.

About to go in the oven:

Ready to top with salsa and eat!

Now, for those of you with kids. I like spicy food. So, should you choose to make this with spicy rotel like I did, you can easily hold a little out for the kiddos. I gave them plain rice, black beans, corn, and the seasoned chicken. They LOVED it!!

Here's a link to a beefy Italiany version of the stuffed pepper. You could also use beef with this Mexican version, it's good either way!

A couple lessons we've learned already

2011-01-02T10:57:00.000-05:00

30 seconds in the microwave will do this to cheese puffs.

We still need to ask for help with the chocolate milk.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T23:25:00.000-05:00

I can't believe today is the first day of 2011! Time flies.

This blog has been such a great way for me to capture and remember the past couple of years. I look back over the old posts sometimes and I love being taken back to how I felt, what life was like, and what my boys looked like, and maybe even what our struggles were at that time. I love it and can't wait to do the blog to book thing at some point.

I love it; yet finding time to update it has gotten harder.   The reason, the culprit - facebook. It's so easy to throw an album out there and be done with it. Your loved ones and friends see it instantly and it's done. The blog on the other hand takes a little more time. But for me, I know I really need to update out here more. Maybe in the new year I can focus on it more... ahemmmm.

With all that being said, the boys are doing incredibly well. All of them.. We are so blessed. We are thrilled that I am staying home with them again after working fulltime for 4 months. I don't think any of us were ready for it. The boys stayed sick and weak, I stayed tired and on the go, the boys stayed 12 hours a day at a daycare, and we all missed them, my evening stress of trying to help with homework and do dinner and keep up with laundry and cleaning left NO time for me to enjoy my babies. They're only little for a short time, so I'm perfectly content to stay home with them.   ..most days. ;)

For Christmas this year we went home for 4 days. We didn't have near enough time there and even had to cut our trip short a day due to SNOW moving through the area. Taylor was thrilled and played in it til his fingers were blue and had several snowball fights with his friends. The littles never got out in it because it was so wet and mushy.   ...maybe we'll have another chance to let them play in some soon.

Ok, so once again I'm going to post a link to my pictures on fb - When I do print the blog, they won't print, so I will start adding more out here. Just not tonight... ;)

Soooooooo. for now:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81024&id=1577670409&l=7adf290160 or click here.

Christmas 2010 Card

2010-11-30T12:36:00.002-05:00

Gifted Tag Christmas

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Boys Fall pictures

2010-11-16T21:32:00.001-05:00

Click here to see the pictures I took of the boys last weekend!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-06T14:24:00.000-04:00

The boys had so much fun this Halloween. They helped me carve the pumpkin... By 'helped me carve the pumpkin', I mean Brayden was stopped in to check on my progress in between football passes. Carter directed me as to what to do Taylor popped in here and there between playing with friends and Tucker played with everyone.

Saturday we got dressed up and went downtown to the "trunk or treat" with Grandaddy and Mimi. It was packed with lots of vendors and trunk or treaters, so we took it all in, took some pictures and headed back home to grill out.

Brayden was so scared of Taylor's costume and it took him a long time once he started screaming and crying for him to calm down. Then when we tried to get his costume on him (a giraffe) he was equally as scared. After a few bribes and a few pieces of candy, we got his costume on and he was fine.

The little boys embraced their costumes and really played up their characters. They were so cute and would tell anyone who asked (and many who didn't) what they were dressed as. They'd walk up to each door and say, "Twick-ah-Tweet, Tank you!" They were so stinking cute! Taylor has a big time playing with his brothers and jumping out from bushes and scaring them.

Sundee Supper!

2010-10-21T20:15:00.000-04:00

I've found a recipe that's too good not to share! It came from Skinny Gina and I made it with adaptions that of course added lots of fat to a skinny recipe!

Low Fat Baked Ziti with Spinach
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1/8th • Points: 6 pts
Calories: 331.9 • Fat: 7.1 g • Protein: 17.5 g • Carb: 54.7 g • Fiber: 7.8 g

1 lb high fiber ziti such as Ronzoni Smart Taste
28 oz crushed tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic,minced
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
salt and fresh pepper to taste
8 oz fat-free ricotta (I used cottage cheese)
1/4 cup Parmesan
2 cups (8 oz) part skim mozzarella
I added 1.5 lbs of hamburger meat browned and drained cooked with diced onions and bell peppers.

Preheat oven to 375°.Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with oil spray.

In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta according to instructions until al dente. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, add olive oil and sauté garlic. Add chopped spinach, salt pepper and chopped tomatoes. Season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Add sauce to the pasta and combine the ziti. Add half of the mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and ricotta. Mix well then transfer to the baking pan.

Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with the remaining mozzarella.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned.

This can be made up to a day in advance and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.

And VOILA! Here's mine:

And this time of year... my favorite dessert:

I'm so backwards!

2010-10-11T20:29:00.000-04:00

Aunt Barbara - I hope you haven't given up on us!

ok - so when I lived within 30 minutes from a lot of my family I posted blog updates all the time - now that we're half a day away, I never post! SORRY!

I still don't have a long post about life in SC in me right now - but I will post some links to some pictures I've posted on fb for my non-facebooking family and friends!

Our trip to the pumpkin patch - It was a small country farm in Martin SC - but the boys had fun!

or - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71770&id=1577670409&l=cf574a3b18

We're headed to the Columbia, SC Zoo* next weekend to help the boys get into character* and then to Kackleberry Farms in Louisville, Ga the weekend after that then the next weekend is our great escape from the ZOO!

*hint hint!

I don't think I ever posted Taylor's b/d pictures and our trip back home on here yet... So here they are:

or - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68674&id=1577670409&l=3337822221

I'd like to request that a few more hours be added to the day please!

2010-08-24T14:32:00.000-04:00

24 hours is not enough!!

I've neglected the blog lately as I've been getting used to working full time and juggling the kids schedules. To make matters worse, we have a Verizon aircard as our only internet and we rarely get a signal out here in the boonies where we're living now. That will all change Sept. 15 - we're moving into town to yet another temporary housing arrangement. We went 10 years and never moved - now we're living like gypsies! oh well, you do what you have to do, right?

Taylor's a week into 2nd grade and he loves it.

We finally have a pediatrician up here now. Carter had to go yesterday because he had symptoms of thrush (white mouth). I don't like going to the doctor, and rarely do. Wouldn't have if daycare didn't require a note - but they did and so we went and the doctor was great and Carter did great. He's in the 25th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. He carried on conversations with the doctor, the nurses, other patients, me....he was quite the chatterbox despite not feeling well from a cold he has in addition to the thrush. It was a good reminder that I need to try to get out with them more one on one. He hammed it up and loved his "alone" time.

Fire over Aiken and 4th of July 2010

2010-07-16T15:00:00.002-04:00

I wanted to hurry and get an update out here before I start my new juggling act on Monday. I’ll be back to working full time, with 4 kiddos, and baseball, and golf, and school, and homework, all the other fun stuff that I’ll have in the air. ;)

The weekend before the 4th of July, there was a small Fair and a Celebration of Aiken County and Independence Day called Fire over Aiken. After waiting for a few hours for the fireworks show, they announced that the storm earlier in the day and caused their computer to malfunction and the fireworks were canceled.

While we were waiting, we had fun though…

The next weekend, July 4th, we went to the Augusta RiverWalk. We had Mexican food near the Savannah River and listed the brave Karaoke performers before heading down to the river.

The view was something like this when we made our way to the river bank. Still not quite dark enough for fireworks….

Still waiting on the darknesss…

Almost time…Patience was wearing a little thin…

Almost dark! It’s dark…and we’re still waiting… We’re afraid it may be a repeat of last week, when at 10:45pm they were cancelled…

But, no, we watched a spectacular fireworks show that lasted about 30-45 minutes. No pictures because we had to hold kids up where they could see them because people rushed down in front of us blocking the view we had.

We got home a little after midnight. As you can see, Taylor still had lots of energy!

Father's Day Photo Shoot for Daddy

2010-06-23T14:42:00.000-04:00

Click here to see the boys' facebook Father's Day shoot album.

Mothers Day to Fathers Day

2010-06-22T13:57:00.001-04:00

Fun at the park in Aiken:

Mother's Day at Mom's:

That's a corn cob in Carter's mouth that he carried around and rolled in dirt and ate on.

Dad took time out from packing/moving to give the boys a little ride.

Last day of 1st grade:

First driving range adventure for the boys:

I left my computer at Mom's when we went home to get our house cleaned up and ready for the renters. She mailed it to me with a gazillion peanut things for the boys to play with.

Father's Day 2010 - We dropped the cookie cake face down on the ground and didn't get to eat it. But, it's the thought that counts, right?

Wade and Taylor played at a course called Bogeyville, here in Aiken on Fathers Day. They only got to play about 7 holes before a storm hit, so they have a rain check to go finish the back nine.

Still no pictures

2010-06-14T13:46:00.003-04:00

Pictures take entirely too long to upload right now.

So, I'm just gonna gripe about the cost of childcare for a minute.

Registration fee: $65 each x 4 = $260
Material Fee: $55 each x 4 = $220
1 week deposit required up front = $373.75

Yes, $373.75 summer fee or $359.50 during school year when Taylor would only need after school care.

That's $1227.50 just to START daycare for one week, plus all the book bags, and lunch boxes, and nap mats, diapers, wipes, clorox wipes, paper towels, and all the other stuff you have to supply.

And that is with a discount:
1st child: $115/week
25% off additional children: $86.25/week each
after school: $72/week

So, we're looking at $1500/ month for childcare plus we have to provide snacks and breakfasts.

My boys are to the age now, I'd like them to go to preschool, but my goodness, it's so expensive!

Greetings from Aiken!

2010-06-07T18:26:00.000-04:00

I'm still alive! The move to Aiken was a pain to say the least, I really don't like moving. It was my first time and I wish my last, but since we're in a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath trailer for the time being, I'm glad it's not the last! Our house still hasn't sold, but it may be rented out soon. {fingers crossed}

I haven't had internet access since the move a couple weeks ago. So, I feel so high tech to be surfin the web again! We have a TV and DVD player, but no cable or live TV. We can't even get the local channels.

We're about to enroll Taylor in the local First Tee program and we've been invited to several churches and we plan on visiting them all before we settle down at one. So, we're about to quit acting like tourist and start acting like we live here.

I've found a job I really want at the plant Wade and most of the town works that I'm going to apply for. I sure hope I get it, although it would be a huge change and I would miss hanging out with my boys during the day.

Pictures and a better update coming soon. For now, I must cook dinner for 5 hungry boys.

Taylor's Spring Pictures

2010-05-04T11:09:00.000-04:00

non facebookies - here's the link to Taylor's album.

2 year old photos

2010-05-03T18:12:00.000-04:00

for all my non facebookies = here's a link to their album.

Tucker

2010-05-03T14:13:00.002-04:00

Tucker Martin. Named after his maternal grandmother and grandfather, Tommy and Donna Martin.

Tucker was the 3rd born, and the smallest, weighing 4 pounds 13 ounces. Tucker had to have a feeding tube when he was born because he wouldn't eat. They removed it when he was close to a week old and then they put it back in because he wouldn't eat. Tucker, is still the smallest and he's the pickiest. Tucker doesn't mind missing meals if the meal isn't what he wants.

Tuck won't eat vegetables. Occasionally he'll eat carrots and maybe corn. He loves chips and french fries. He prefers those salty treats over sweets. He doesn't really like sweets either, but will eat a cookie or 2 without much fuss.

Tucker is the baby of the bunch and he has held true to the title. If his brothers take a toy from him, he cries and rarely tries to get it back. He's very laid back. He's a happy, carefree baby.

He has little sense of danger. He's the one that wonders off and gets into predicaments.

Tuck loves hotwheels. I often find him with a car rolling it along the window ledge, or my leg, or the table. He loves cars.

He also loves his "bubba's" (Taylor) Wii and Nintendo DS. He's always with him if he's playing, watching every move. Tuck will sit and watch TV too. I may have to do something if he continues all these bad habits as he gets older...only eating chips and watching TV/video games...

The first thing people notice about Tucker are his eye lashes. He has the longest eye lashes.

Tucker was the last to start talking, but he's talking more now and his pronunciation is better than Carter and Brayden.

2008

2010

Brayden

2010-05-03T13:55:00.000-04:00

Brayden Michael. Named after his maternal grandfather, Michael Lamar.

Brayden was the 2nd born. He was the biggest at 5 pounds 5 ounces. But Brayden had some breathing problems and was on a C-PAP for a few days. He didn't get to eat until he was 4 days old and he's been trying to make up for those 4 days ever since. I didn't get to hold Brayden until he was 4 days old. I couldn't really even touch him for fear it would over stimulate him. He stayed in the NICU 11 days. His brothers did too, but they stayed to accompany him more than anything.

We refer to Brayden as our little Brayden Bear because he's like a big thumb sucking teddy bear.

Out of 4 boys, he's our only thumb sucker. And boy does he love his thumb. It stays wrinkled from being in his mouth so much.

Brayden is strong, and big, and solid. He's starting to discover his strength as use it to get what he wants.

Brayden is out "hall monitor." He wakes up and makes sure everything is child proofed. If we've left a remote, or anything he knows they shouldn't have out, he'll run to it and say "UH OH!" and bring it to me. If we've left a door open, he'll proclaim "UH OH!" and shut it. He picks up every speck on the floor and gives it to me for me to dispose of.

Brayden is my big helper. He'll gather up all their clothes for me. He'll find all their juice cups and bring them to me. He'll go get Carter or Tucker's pacifiers and take it to them if they're crying. He always wants to help. He's also my tattle tale. He lets me know if anyone is doing anything they shouldn't be.

Brayden is my eater. He eats a lot and he's the least picky of the bunch. He'll try anything. When I'm cooking, he's at the kitchen gate saying "BITE! BITE" and nibbling the whole time. Unlike Carter, he doesn't hoard or play with his food.

Brayden likes talking on his play phones, and often will walk around playing with other toys while he holds the phone (or as he calls it, "bone") to his ear. When our real phone rings, he runs to me "bone, bone" until I answer it.

Brayden was the first to start saying ROLLLL TIDE! They all say it now. ;)

Brayden does everything left handed. It's too soon to tell, but he may be a lefty.

The thick blue and white/clear tubes are pumping the oxygen into his nose. He also had an IV for a week and a feeding tube.

2008

2010

Carter

2010-05-03T13:17:00.001-04:00

Carter Edward. Named after his paternal grandfather, Clifford Edward.

Carter was the first of the triplets born at 9:30pm weighing 4 pounds 14 ounces. He didn't realize he was a preemie. He came out breathing well, eating well, doing everything a newborn is supposed to.

He's definitely held his position of first born/leader over the past 2 years; doing everything first and catching on to things a little quicker than his brothers. However, the past few weeks Brayden has started vying for the leader role, lessening Carter's dominance.

Carter is also my biter. He doesn't do it too often, but if Brayden is trying to take something away from him, he will bite to protect what is his.

Carter loves ketchup. He asks for it with everything. Even cereal. Carter has to everything his way at meal time. He wants his juice (everything, including milk is juice) exactly where he puts it. He wants the things on his plate just the way he arranges them. He takes a lot of time and pride in how the food is placed and gets very upset if it's disturbed. He hoards his food and is always the last to eat and therefore get up from the table. He likes to take one item with him from his meal to carry around, roll in dirt, play with it, and lick it, and eventually eat it.

All animals are kitty's (keeeey). and they all ROOOOOAAR!

Carter wakes up wanting to go outside (owwsiiii). He likes changing his shirt and asks me to do it frequently and will make me put his shoes on in the morning so he'll be ready when it's time to go outside.

He loves baths and brushing his teeth, but not getting his hair washed.

Carter LOVES vegetables. He eats raw spinach and salads. He will eat his green beans, carrots, peas, etc. on his plate before anything else.

Carter is a daddy's boy. He talks to his daddy on the phone and asks for daddy in the mornings. Carter has a harder time with daddy leaving than the others. He was the first to start saying DADDYeeeeeee instead of Dada. They all say "daddy" now.

Carter loves to give kisses and hugs and blow kisses when we're leaving. He hugs me and holds on to me so tight when he's not sure about something or somewhere. He's very cautious and seems to understand danger as much as a 2 year old can.

Out of all 4 boys, Carter is the only brown eyed boy.

2008

2010

Birthday Boys!

2010-05-03T09:18:00.001-04:00

The boys had so much fun this year on their birthday. We played, we ate, we opened presents, we enjoyed time with our family, we sang happy birthday, we ate cupcakes, we played some more, and then played some more, and then we went to the Riverwalk and played some more. What more could one ask for?

Don't you hate it when someone shows up to the party in the same dress?

Happy 2nd Birthday to my 3 sweet baby boys!

two year old pictures. take one

2010-04-23T21:58:00.002-04:00

Here are some of the first set of 2 year old pictures, edited. We’re going to the Riverwalk next weekend to take some more. This shoot it seemed Tucker was my most willing model, hopefully the other 2 will warm up to the camera next time.
This is my first try at taking their ‘professional pictures’ myself.

A day in the life of three ‘almost’ 2 year olds

2010-04-22T22:45:00.001-04:00

Here are lots of pictures I took today. Some are for the boys official two year old pictures and some are just happenings of the day. We love playing in the backyard and we are going to miss it dearly. We did find a nice park in Aiken, and since I’ve been home, looking on the internet, I’ve found more. None can compare to opening the back door and letting them run though! I have pictures from our trip to SC too, that I need to post, including pictures of our new sleeping quarters. A very tiny, teeny tiny, 2 bedroom trailer; complete with towing hitch and all. Nice. We’ll be camping out there until our house sells. Have I mentioned that we REALLY need our house to sell???? BAD!

Our official move to the ‘campground’ is May 22. It’s getting close fast.

ice cream!

2010-04-10T21:39:00.001-04:00

More pictures

2010-04-06T21:20:00.001-04:00

We’ve been playing outside a lot. everyday. We’ve been enjoying every moment of the beautiful weather we’ve been having.

Carter is trying to steer and Brayden is not having it.

Look close and you can see the “buddles” they’re chasing.

First popsicles! Brayden, wishin we had sprung for the riding lawn mowers:

Carter is chasing bumble bees with a lawn mower handle. He also like to chase them with the baseball bat:

Brayden hit Tucker, then blamed it on him:

721 Pictures

2010-03-28T22:05:00.002-04:00

721 Pictures. That's how many pictures I just transferred from my 2 camera's to my computer. I'm overwhelmed and can't even begin to go through them tonight, but I thought I'd at least post an update. Wade just went back to South Carolina. As much as I love Sunday's, I don't like that part of Sunday and I can't wait till that is no longer a part of our Sunday's.

Today is my birthday. The last time my birthday fell on Sunday was when I turned 21. I felt cheated because I had to wait a whole week to go hit up the bars downtown. A lot has changed in the 6 years since then. Not that I was ever big on bars, but I haven't been in one in about 3 years or more. And more recently Wade and I have joined a Church and couldn't be more happy. Today, celebrating on Sunday has a whole new meaning. I got to celebrate it at Church, learning about Jesus and I couldn't be more honored.

Brayden came down with a fever Saturday night, so Wade stayed home with all the boys. {Although, now I'm thinking he may just be teething or something... He has no other symptoms.} But anyways, I missed having them with me, and I really would've loved for Wade to be there since it's been a few weeks since he's been in town and able to go. I did offer for him to go, but he insisted I go to get out by myself. And it really was nice! Starting first thing this morning when I had extra time to drink my coffee in peace and just get ME ready to go. Ahh...so nice.

We've decided we're moving the last week of May whether our house is sold by then or not. But man, I sure hope it is!! We've got to do something. There are so many reasons living apart isn't working, but mainly the financial strain of keeping up 2 households, and the strain on 4 kids only having 1 parent. Taylor couldn't play baseball this spring because I couldn't handle the schedule. It's just not fair for them. So, South Carolina, here we come! UNLESS, a job opportunity comes up here between now and then, in which case, Wade's packing up his bags and heading home!

ok, well, I can't leave you without a picture, so here's my little mechanic at work.

What we’ve been up to (in pictures) II

2010-03-11T14:12:00.001-05:00

We’ve been busy, busy lately. Always on the go. So busy, that I’m just going to post all these pictures straight out of the camera, with no editing, to save time. ;)

We’ve been outside a lot. It’s been so pretty and the boys just love the freedom of the backyard.

Rusty started rolling over every time the boys came around. I thought it was cute and he was just giving in, knowing that he was out numbered and he may as well lay there and let them pet him. Knowing what I know now, he was too tired to do anything else. He was born with a really bad heart murmur and by the time it was diagnosed he had so many other ailments that his little heart was just too tired to keep going. Rusty went to heaven on March 9, 2010.

Within just a couple months time Taylor has lost his Great Grandmother and a dog he’s had for as long as he can remember back. He’s cried and asked a lot of questions and felt grief, and mourned for the first time in his life. He’s so young to be dealing with these feelings that many adults don’t even know how to deal with. But he’s doing well.

Last weekend was a busy one, so Wade came home to help. My good friend Jenny had a surprise birthday party at a place called Brushes and Beverages. It’s a place where you can drink a glass of wine and paint a picture with the aid of an instructor and enjoy each other’s company. It was a lot of fun.

Jenny being surprised:

My masterpiece:

The next morning I went with Mimi to a Walk for Bibles at Idle Hour Park. It was chilly to start off with, so Wade stayed home with the boys and brought them up there after it warmed up. We were going to let them throw the ducks some old bread, but they just wanted to eat it and threw a fit when we took it away. Next time I will have to take good bread up there so they can have their fill and then throw it to the ducks.

After the park and naps we went back outside!

Then, Church on Sunday, in the nursery:

Daddy won’t like this picture, I’m sure.

Then, back outside!

I attempted to finger paint with the boys, but they did not like it at all!

Carter decided he was done!

He was so upset he didn’t even like his bath afterwards.

Brayden pushing him around helped cheer him up a bit.

Another one Dad won’t like. lol!

One tired puppy!

Brotherly love:

What we’ve been up to (in pictures)

2010-02-25T19:28:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was beautiful, so we played outside. I can’t wait for the summer. The boys are at the age where I can let them run loose in the back yard. It’s SO nice!

Notice the static in his hair:

Headed to Church:

We’ve done some light reading.

And since last Sunday, we’ve been sick. Tuck has had it the worst by far. He has been running a super high fever (the highest I checked was 103.7) and just laying on the couch for 3 1/2 days. He broke out in a rash today, I’m hoping that is going to mark the end of the virus (it did last time), he’s showing improvement this afternoon.

His brothers and I have been sick as well; but have all gathered around to take care of him. They’ve all been bringing him toys, even when he doesn’t want them, and trying to force him to drink. It’s so sweet.

oh, and for all you bloggers that read this, I will never pen another post from blogger. I LOVE live writer!! It took less than 30 seconds to add ALL these photos!!!

Valentines Day

2010-02-17T13:20:00.002-05:00

This is my first post using Live Writer. It’s supposed to help in composing the actual post since it’s more user friendly than the blogger composition tool bar. For example, after I add my pictures, I can click a button and add a watermark to my pictures… pretty cool, huh? It also can add other cool features to pictures, like the rounded corners effect, other borders, or even a Polaroid border! Plus, it’s free.
Now to Valentine’s Day. I didn’t get a picture of Taylor making a picture, but he did at school. And it’s on the fridge. I need to get a picture of it. But for now, here are the one’s already uploaded.

More Snow!

2010-02-12T21:07:00.002-05:00

We had so much fun playing in the snow today. It's the first time I can remember that it snowed all day long. It started about 8:30am and continued until dark. It's rare for it to snow here, but when it does, it's usually one of those things where we wake up and there is snow and we have to hurry out and play in it because by noon it will be gone. But not today. Taylor played in it off and on all day. The boys went out once. They were not to sure at first. They wanted to stay on the sidewalk. But when they saw that they could run in it and it didn't hurt, they had so much fun and threw such a fit when we had to come in. Luckily, it was snack time and some milk and cookies calmed the savage beasts pretty quickly. They wore some fleece footed pajamas (with shoes on over the footies), a sweat shirt, some sweat pants, and a jacket with 2 hats. No mittens. They wouldn't go for mittens/socks over the hands! Regardless, they didn't mind the cold and neither did Wade or I. We loved watching them all so excited and having so much fun.

I'm so glad Wade came home this weekend!!

The 'snow family pic' isn't great as they wanted no part of us holding them, but we're all 6 in there!

Click here to see our snow pictures from last year!

Yes, snow 2 years in a row!!

It's SNOWING!

2010-02-12T13:59:00.000-05:00

The many faces of Tucker

2010-02-10T22:47:00.001-05:00

He humored me for a minute, then he was done!

Me

2010-01-29T22:49:00.001-05:00

Grandma 1915-2010

2010-01-24T22:11:00.002-05:00

Random pictures and updates

2010-01-19T20:18:00.008-05:00

This can't end well... Tucker is learning, and patiently waiting his turn.

Wade came home this weekend and we went to get some much needed haircuts on Friday.

This was Brayden's FIRST haircut and he did great!

This was Tucker and Carter's 3rd haircut. Think Tuck needed one?

Obviously these pictures aren't in chronological order, these are from before the weekend and the haircut...

When I took the boys in for their 18 month check up the doctor was asking me all the normal questions and giving me all the normal advice and instruction. Then he told me to continue to go behind the boys after the brush their teeth. This struck me because I'd never even let them hold their own tooth brush, I always put them in my lap and did it then let them go on their merry way. Now, I let them brush their own teeth and they love the new freedom. They don't, however, like me taking their tooth brushes away. Major meltdowns...

These pictures are from Friday as we waited on big bubba to get out of school so we could get haircuts.

Look at Brayden's hair!

We love when Daddy comes home!

After haircuts.

Last week I took Carter and Tucker's paci's away. They did pretty good for the most part. Carter started throwing awful fits and would become inconsolable at times, mostly out of anger when things wouldn't go his way. Wade felt so bad for him that he gave the paci's back. We talked about it, and maybe now isn't a good time to take something else away. They've already lost their Daddy, only seeing him a handful of days a month. We waited until Taylor was 2 and he didn't have any sort of speech problems or anything; just a little bit of a late talker... Our boys are all already talking and telling us what they want so much more than Taylor did at their age. So, we'll let them keep the paci until we are all under 1 roof again, which hopefully will be SOON!

Look at this sweet face.

you wouldn't believe the fit he just threw!

As for other updates, Carter is climbing out of his crib, into his crib, and into his brother's cribs. So we've decided to go the crib tent route. We still have another 15-16 months in the crib, so we definely have to keep them from breaking a leg or neck from falling out. Taylor stayed in his crib until he was 3, without a crib tent, and when we swapped to a 'big boy' bed he was so excited and he never got out of his bed at night. Never. Not once. So, we'll take our cues from the boys, they may even be older before they graduate from the crib; they have to earn them and prove to us they can handle them.

Our house is still on the market. No bites yet. We SO need this house to hurry and sell! I'm killing myself trying to keep it in 'showing' condition. Wade has traveled a little here and there since we were married. I jokingly tell him that he missed my best 3 months of pregnancy. He was home when I was sick during the first 3 months, gone for months 4, 5, and 6, then came back when I was 40 pounds heavier, miserable and ready to pop. He was gone for a few months when Taylor was just a little older than the boys now. When he came back, Taylor didn't even remember him at first. He was scared of him and had to warm back up to him. We're "used to" him traveling. But this time there are so many other variables thrown into the equation, and so much going on, it's been really hard. And the hardest part is not knowing when it will end. Or even how it will end. I'm a planner. I like to plan things. Unknowns are not good for neurotic planners like me. We're all just ready to be under one roof and be together again.

Impromptu Photo Shoot - January 14, 2010

2010-01-14T19:16:00.016-05:00

i heart faces

2010-01-11T23:07:00.007-05:00

I am 3 for 3 on my 365 project! Go me! Now, if I can just keep it up for 362 more days...

I have followed this blog, i heart faces, for some time now. I'm a facebook fan and used to get weekly messages about the weekly contests they have, but hundreds and hundreds of photographers (many professionals) enter the contest, so I never would do it. I mean these people are GOOD and they know how to edit photos to make them a.m.a.z.i.n.g. I always just stop by the blog and admire their art from afar. But tonight, for some unknown reason, I've decided to throw my meager little picture in the mix too.

Maybe oneday I'll win something like photo editing lessons from them! ha!

If you've never vistiting the site, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy! Happy 1st Birthday i heart faces!

Here's my

Week 2: Photo Challenge - “Best Face Photo”

Project 365

2010-01-09T23:27:00.003-05:00

I've decided to take the plunge. I'm going to begin a 365 day project. A photo a day for 365 days.

I may not post everyday. But the photos will be from each day and will be in chronological order starting on January 9, 2010.

To see the first photo, click here.

Hopefully just as we watch the kids grow, my photography will improve as well! It's a dual purposed mission!

Rollllll Tide!

2010-01-07T21:21:00.002-05:00

Sweet Olivia, that Rebel

2010-01-07T18:31:00.012-05:00

I hinted towards the love/hate relationship Olivia and I have. You see, she can do quite amazing things. But I'm afraid she's not living up to her potential though. It's not her fault, it's mine. Which makes it all that much more frustrating. I've got a lot to learn, but I'm making progress.

At first, most of my pictures looked something like this:

No matter how still I tried to hold my hand, that's what I got. Then I got frustrated and determined to figure it out. So I skipped over to Amanda's then to The Pioneer Woman's sites for some lessons in DSLR Photography. LOVE THEM! And I learned about things like Aperture and ISO, and the various uses of lenses and the best way to use light, including my Speedlite (Thanks to Amanda's tip I knew to point the Speedlite at the ceiling instead of directly at the subject). Then I pulled Olivia out again and just like that - they're not great photos by any means, but a marked improvement!

This is one of my favorites, because I was practicing manually adjusting my focal point (thanks again to Amanda) on the object Brayden was trying to give me.

These images are right off the camera, no editing whatsoever. You see, I know how to use Photoshop to make bad pictures okay. Like, if there's a section that needs to be cropped out, I'm your woman. If it's way too dark (underexposed - see I'm learning) and you need the picture brightened, I can hook you up. However, if it's an already pretty good picture and you need to take it to great, you know the pictures you look at in awe and amazement... well, I can't help you. I need to learn more about how to use the layers and whatnot in photoshop. Currently if the "auto adjustment" or a little "cropping" won't take care of it, I'm out.of.luck.

On that note, if anyone knows of any great tutorials or tips (aside from Amanda's and The Pioneer Woman's) I'd love to know about them. In the meantime, you will have to look at my mediocre (at best) pictures.

Now that I have Olivia, I'm thinking of doing the 365 thing, a picture a day for 365 days.... Can I do it??

BTW- Brayden isn't my favorite child or anything, just my most willing participant lately.

It's a GIRL!

2010-01-06T20:06:00.001-05:00

Finally!

Another girl in the house.

I never thought I'd have another baby.

But, alas, she is here!

She is such a surprise.

Another perfect and equally shocking gift from my loving husband.

She is beautiful.

Her name is Olivia.

Some of you may know that Carter Edward (our first born triplet) was going to be named Olivia Grace (to be called Livi-Grace) until we discovered that he wasn't a girl after all.

She's a little stubborn and hard to get along with at times.

We're still in the bonding stages; learning and exploring one another. I still have so much to learn about her.

I get so frustrated and I'm ready to give up on her, then she shows me something old in such a new, beautiful light and she's won me back just like that.

Would you like to meet her?

ready?

Here she is:

and she came with this too.

Pretty awesome, huh?

lots and lots of pictures to come, of course!

PICTURE OVERLOAD, seriously.

2010-01-01T21:42:00.011-05:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. Wade has moved to South Carolina; so I've been a single mom most of the time. Thankfully, Wade's been able to come home a couple weekends a month to give me a small, but appreciated break. A lot has happened that I want to document on my online baby book/diary of life events, aka my blog. ;)

We finished our first season of football as coach and team mom. We survived and learned a lot. Mostly, that no matter how hard you try, you can't please everyone. It's a sad truth that always upsets me.

We've put our house on the market. This is our first home. We closed on it February 21, 2001. We've had 4 kids here and learned a lot about life here. It's kinda bittersweet when I think of selling it to someone else. But I'm excited about the new adventure, whatever it may be.

Tucker is so attached to his big brother. It drives Taylor crazy at times.. like here, when he's trying to play his game. But Tuck loves hanging out with him and laughs so hard he loses his breath when they play. Taylor is such a good, and patient big brother.

I love making the boys things. One of my projects this Christmas was "Quiet Books" for all the boys. Sadly, I didn't finish in time for Christmas, but will have them done soon. Here are some of the "pages."

The 'blast off' page: the rocket moves up and down the ribbon.

Carter isn't my favorite or anything, just the first one I did. ;)

The barn. The animals are finger puppets.

Each book will have 12 pages front and back - so 24 scenes total. I'm making them all different and fun. I can't wait to finish them all. The pages will be sewn together and have a clean finished look, unlike their current state.

My 2nd big project for them was 100 hand.painted.blocks.

Here are a couple older pictures I'm just getting to. They are from Thanksgiving weekend, which we spend at our friends, Clay and Amy's house in Lexington, SC. The boys were checking out their cat with great intensity.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Clay and Amy's Church, then played on the playground afterwords.

As I mentioned earlier, Wade's been gone a lot. Here's the boys reaction after 2 weeks of missing Daddy.

We had a mystery gift left at our door one morning. A truck for Taylor and 3 books for the boys. Here's Tuck reading the book he just tore out of the bag.

My 5 favorite boys. ho.ho.ho!

They were over the Santa hats by the time I got on the other side of the camera.

Twas the night before Christmas...

Christmas morning:

Christmas Day at Mamaw and Papaws:

Taylor with his new Crayon Maker, it melts small crayons and drops them into a mold to make them big again:

The boys room goes from this:

to this:

in the blink of an eye.

The boys love their new chairs Mamaw gave them for Christmas.

Lego's anyone?

in other news, we're becoming more civilized and eating from plates now without throwing them. They are even telling me when they are hungry by saying "eeeeeee" (eat) and "all duh" (all done) when they are finished. Much better than screaming until I figure out that they're hungry and throwing their food when they're full. We've come a long way. They're talking more and more, repeating lots of what I say.

That brings us to New Years. Here's Taylor while he was watching the fireworks show our neighbors brought over to our house and shot off for us.

Happy New Year!!! (fireworks show over.)

Cheerios?

One more shot of our civilized diners:

Santa: Friend or Foe?

2009-12-15T23:36:00.002-05:00

The answer to that varies depending on which of my kids you ask.

Tucker: Definitely no friend of his.
Brayden: He's a very comfy, cool guy.
Carter: Although you can't tell by this picture, he was okay.
Taylor: Definitely leaning towards foe. I mean, what kind of guy threatens to take Christmas from you if you don't behave?!

School Santa Picture: We still have to go see the real Santa at the mall...
Can you tell by Taylor's eyes that he's not buying into this Santa at all? He was quite upset at this "disguised Santa."

More pictures from tonight

2009-12-04T20:54:00.001-05:00

Professional Pictures

2009-12-04T20:32:00.004-05:00

Wade is back in town for the weekend so we decided to hurry today and have our family picture taken for Christmas, since we probably won't be together again until Christmas. Our intentions were to take those pictures, head to the mall and get Santa pictures, then head to the NICU tree lighting, where we would take yet more pictures, the we would come home just in time for the boys to go to the All Star game. As it turns out, it took us 3 hours to get our family pictures done and then it was time for the game, so Santa pictures have been delayed to another day and we missed the tree lighting this year. = ( BUT, we got some great family pictures AND our Christmas cards WITH NO TEARS or melt downs, or any destruction what so ever. The babies were Angels. Perfect. Sweet. Angels. I'm not bragging; actually I think I'm in shock. We went to a little chain photography place called Portrait Innovations. It's neat and pretty cheap; it's kinda like Sears, but bigger and they seemed to really care about making us happy. But the best part is that you get your pictures in hand in about 15 minutes!

Taylor's 1st grade picture:

We're alive!

2009-11-30T20:05:00.003-05:00

Really, we're alive, just busy and when not busy, just plain tired. I last posted on Halloween, wow. Since Halloween Wade has basically moved to South Carolina to work at his new job. We are so blessed that he was able to get a job so quickly after being laid off. That pretty much makes the fact it's 4 1/2 - 5 hours away seem like such a small detail. Our house is on the market. Anyone want to buy our house? We're hoping it sells quick so we can quit paying a mortgage and rent soon and so we can all be under one roof again. ~~I need help.~~ I miss him.

That takes us to Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving in Lexington, South Carolina with our friends Clay and Amy and their 2 kiddos. Their family is here in Alabama too. They were such gracious hosts to have all 6 of us invade their home; although I'm sure had no idea the impact 4 extra little one's would have had beforehand. I'm happy to say we escaped without breaking anything, although we did leave behind lots of fingerprints, smudges, and milk spills. It was sad to be away from our family on Thanksgiving but so nice to have such great friends to spend it with. We went to Clay and Amy's Church for a very delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I got my camera out to take a picture of all 10 of us at the table, but I was distracted and missed the moment. I do have some pictures from the past month that I'll post soon.

Halloween Pictures

2009-11-01T11:57:00.004-05:00

The boys had fun trick or treating despite the weather. It rained a good heavy mist all night. We walked our street together, got LOTS of candy, and came back to get out of the rain. Taylor and Wade walked around the whole block. Here are some pictures in reverse order..

Carter looking out the glass door waiting on ""Bubba" to come back.

The first house:

"Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" "3 Little monkeys jumping on the bed...."

Waiting on the rain to stop...

Tuck did not like the monkey costume at first... he came around once we got outside.

Jack of all Trades

2009-10-31T11:20:00.007-04:00

I have tons of pictures piling up, so before we go trick or treating tonight and add to the collection, I thought I should post some.

We've been carving pumpkins and eating lots of candy (lol) to prepare for Halloween. I've gobbled up a whole bag of Indian Corn with just a little help from the boys. They love it as much as I do!

Wade is officially unemployed. I've been a little stressed out about that... I think that's what led to the demise of the Value Size bag of Indian Corn. We have a lot of decisions to make regarding our family's future and it's all very daunting. But, as always, we will survive. So, enough of all that and on to the happy stuff - PICTURES of SWEET BOYS!

Here are a few of my favorite picture mess-ups:

This boy SERIOUSLY needs a haircut! That's one of the first things on our "to do" list now that Wade will be home to help for a little while. {{Hopefully only a little while... we're hoping he gets a job SOOOOON!}}

At the doctors office... The silver lining was, we had our own waiting room. The disaster part was that we had an appointment for 4:30 - they called and asked us to move it up to 3:50 - so we did - and we didn't leave until after 6:15. I had all 4 kiddos by.my.self. Wade got off work at 6 and drove up there to meet me and arrived just in time to hear the dr say the bumps coming up all over Taylor would go away on their own in about 18 months. He has Mulluscum Contagiosum.

I love these shirts... I made each of them one, but I can't seem to be able to get a picture of all 3 - so here's Tuck.

We're all ready for Halloween... Even our candy bowl has a costume:

Last Friday we carved pumpkins at Taylor's school, then over at the Smith's that evening. My arm was sore that night!

This pumpkin has 396 seeds. It was 41" around and it floats - as all pumpkins do.. ;)
Did you know that?

The Smiths Annual Pumpkin Carving Party:

The masterpieces:

Nothing is safe!

2009-10-16T15:42:00.005-04:00

The boys will be 18 months old in about 2 weeks. They are getting so big and so very fast. They climb, and tumble, and destroy and bite, and fight, and love, and play, and figure out ways to get into more trouble. They are so much fun. Here are some pictures from the last week or so:

This stunt never ends well.

Even the wild child gets tired.

They now push this box everywhere to use it to climb on things, they even climb up on their highchair table! yikes.

They play together.

Not even the pictures hung high on the wall are safe... he's working on getting up there.

A picture of deep concentration.

Tucker Monster!

Jumping off the couch onto the pillows.

All my boys.

Running wild at the neighbors!

Carter noticed Tucker running wild and then we all went over.

Whew! Long day.

Trying to figure out that lock.

the light.

This can't end good. Notice Brayden's leg!

Modeling the Halloween shirts I made them. The boys are in size 24 months. They need it for the waist in pants, but they are too long, so unless they have shoes on, I have to roll up their pants.

A visit to the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-04T20:53:00.007-04:00

I can't believe I'm getting these pictures out the same day I took them! Especially considering how busy and incredibly fun today has been. We haven't had this much fun in a long time. It was so refreshing to spend the day outside. We had a picnic, went on a hay ride, played in huge barrels of corn kernels, we got dirty, we ran in the open fields, played with pumpkins, went through a hay bale maze, we pet goats and wampums, watched a sheep herding demonstration, we quacked at ducks and gobbled at chickens and turkeys. We had SO much fun. The babies had so much fun and even though we skipped their naps, they were little Angels. Tonight, they were exhausted. We went all summer without sunburn, but that streaked ended today. They've got little red foreheads, cheeks, and noses. It was a little chilly when we got there, but the last hour the sun came out (you can see we took their long sleeve shirts off when it got hot), but I never dreamed of needing sunscreen. It's not bad, just a little rosier than normal.

Here's much of our day in pictures:

While Taylor practices, the boys play!

2009-10-01T15:42:00.007-04:00

Only have time for pictures today - I'm headed to Taylor's game.

Carter wanted to play with this BIG spider. Can you see him? Luckily I did before he got him in his hand!

The boys are going to be the last 3 little monkeys jumping on the bed for Halloween. Taylor's going to be the doctor that momma calls and the dr says, "No more monkey's jumping on the bed!"

Brayden got to be our model, and he loved it! He paraded around the house not wanting to take it off.

We heart football season!

2009-09-28T21:58:00.003-04:00

We had a busy, busy weekend. Since Taylor started football about a month ago we haven't slowed down. Wade's the head coach and I'm the team mom; between that and trying to keep up with school and the boys, it's pretty crazy around here. And as crazy as it seems, we've figured out that we can swing a season of basketball (per Taylor's request) in between football and spring baseball so the craziness continues...

The boys got new shoes...again. Man their feet grow fast! Each time they walk like they're wearing moon boots and they struggle with them at first. Carter usually does pretty good and Tuck always melts down. I took the boys out to the front yard to break in their shoes and get their minds off of them BY MYSELF because I am CERTIFIABLY INSANE and they all instantly ran down the hill towards the road. It was awful. It was literally like herding cats. AWFUL! From now on, we're sticking with the fenced in back yard. I took them to the front because we have an equally wild Jack Russell in the back yard. But I'll take a crazy dog and three wild men fenced in over no fence and no dog any day!

Ready to go!

Mamaw got the boys some Baby Einstein plates and spoons. Before last night they've always only eaten off the table. Since we had them I decided to try them out. I was pleasantly surprised that we only had 1 plate dumped and thrown, although he did it several times. Not to name any names, Brayden Michael.

All the boys have been playing with the football a lot since we've been footballin' it up so much lately. Last night, Taylor was practicing snapping the ball and Carter got down beside him, balanced on his head looking between his legs. ..so dang cute, but no camera!

My 2 favorite teams stats:

Smiths Station BUCS: 1-1
ALABAMA: 4-0

GOOOOOOOO BUCS!

ROOLLLLLLL TIDE!

Crazy busy 'round here lately

2009-09-21T12:20:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures from Taylor's first football game. They played the 'best' team in the league and I think the final score was something like 38-0. We play them again on Thursday, hopefully it won't be quite as bad. Regardless of the score, the boys were so cute out there!

When we're not on the football field, we're performing dare devil stunts at home.

It's been raining lots lately too, but football goes on in the rain, so we've adapted..

Coach Carter blowing Daddy's whistle.

The boys playing on the wet playground while big bubba was at practice.

Look at what the humidity does to Tucker's hair.

I decided to try on their ~~leashes~~ child safety restraints this week. We're practicing around the house before I try to go off with them. The only issue we're having right now is that when they want to stop walking, they sit and refuse to go, scream and cry, and throw big kicking fits. What will I do if all 3 decide they're not walking anymore at once? I may only be able to use these when I have backup....

..again, dare devil stunts. Here we're waiting on Big Bubba to get home.

They each have their own ride on toy, but they insist on fighting over one.

7 years old!!

2009-09-14T13:43:00.006-04:00

Taylor had a great 7th birthday last weekend. Here are some pictures in reverse-random order.

Brayden pulling Tucker around:

...until he saw me take a picture, then he ran after me.

Rachel playing the 'Bozo Bucket' game:

Carter, catching up on a little light reading after the party:

Future Bama Quarterback:

Blowing out the candles:

Candy apples! So yummy and sticky!

Opening some presents:

Friends and Family:

Tater Sack race:

"Pin the Nose on the Clown"

Rachel managed to knock down only the bottom can:

The boys enjoyed the games too.

16 months old and football

2009-09-04T12:47:00.002-04:00

wow! Days are going by too fast! I've been telling everyone that asks (even today) that my boys are 'almost' 16 months old. Or saying on the 3rd they'll be 16 months. I didn't realize until I got an email from my mom telling me to update my blog today that the boys turned 16 months YESTERDAY!

So, here's what's been going on with us.

Taylor started football for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Wade's the coach and I'm team mom. It's a lot of work for both of us, but we both realize how fortunate we are to have the flexibility in our schedules to be able to take on such duties. Taylor is learning a lot and very into it. Although it's taken him a few times getting tackled to the ground to realize it's nothing personal. Then it's taken a few times of him tackling head first to realize that's not the best way. But, all in all, so far 7-8 youth football has been a great experience for us all.

We're also both super excited about college football season! We got our first dose last night and Alabama will play tomorrow night. I'm a little nervous about this first game against Virginia Tech at the Dome, I hope we can come out on top. After that, it should be smooth sailing for the Crimson Tide this year {in my opinion}.

Taylor's doing very well in school, still high above the class average in testing and whatnot. His only complaint is that he's not being challenged enough. Although I feel that as the year goes on and the 'review' stage of 1st grade is complete, he will definitely be challenged. I know it's too early to tell, but it looks like we're going to have a math whiz on our hands. He's doing lots of math in his head all the time now, even multiplication tables! I started multiplication in 3rd grade and I still have flash backs to all the hours and tears shed while trying to learn them. Math didn't come so easy for me back then.

We've been busy planning Taylor's 7th birthday carnival. I can't believe he's turning 7 on Sunday. He asked for the carnival again this year, and I agreed since we already had everything for it, but we're going a little lower key than last year. These birthday parties wear me out! I also recently decided that after not running/biking/seriously exercising in years that I would jump into all all head first. I now have a badly sprained ankle, a hurt and bruised knee and ego, and a sore body. That, my friends, is not helpful when you have 3 little ones running around, football practice 3-4 days a week, and 2 parties to plan and prepare for.

The boys turned 16 months yesterday {I now know this thanks to mom}. They didn't really start doing anything new in the past month.... I don't think... They're as silly as ever and so much fun! We're getting over a little head cold and Brayden is recuperating from an ear infection that the cold caused. Other than that, nothing new.

I'll post some new pictures soon and their 15 month stats!

More Summer Fun!

2009-08-21T11:45:00.006-04:00

I just realized that I left out a whole day of our 09 Staycation Part ii. So, here it is plus some! The Montgomery Zoo:
It was H.O.T. but we all had fun, enjoyed the sun, the wildlife, and each other.

The train ride gives you an overview of the whole zoo. Smart people would take this at the beginning of the visit. This was our last stop. oh well, live and learn.

We all had to take a bathroom break before loading up. Taylor was wiped out and rested his eyes and legs while he waited on the rest of us.

AUSTRALIA! We enjoyed our visit to Australia! Taylor already knew a lot about the land down under from VBS this summer, so he was very excited to tell us all about it.

The boys in front of the River Otter exhibit.

Just on the other side of this African exhibit where Zebra and Giraffe graze, they have the cheetahs, also native to Africa, but dangerously close on the food chain... Could this be considered torture? The cheetah's walk the same path, pacing the fence line that separates them.

Overall we had a great time at the zoo. We got there right at lunch time, at lunch next to the Lions (they didn't mind, they were sleeping) and left at 5:00 when they closed.

Summer at the Lloyd's means grillin!! Yummy!

The boys had peanut butter for the first time. Here Carter is with is all over his face, headed to the tub!

Brayden showing his excitement over the peanut butter.

Tucker just leaned close to the table and started scooping. He didn't dare take his eyes of his peanut butter.

My sweet Brayden Bear.

We went to Rachel's 5th birthday party at the skating center. Taylor was a little hesitant at first, but then loved skating, although he never made it out to the rink. He was much more comfortable on the carpet.

Look what I picked up at the store:

Anniversary Invitation

2009-08-20T21:23:00.006-04:00

My in laws are celebrating 50 years of marital bliss. We should all be so lucky! Here are the invitations I made for them.

Taylor's Birthday

2009-08-18T10:52:00.002-04:00

Boys will be boys, Back to School, My 5 Dates, 2009 Staycation Part II

2009-08-17T21:19:00.009-04:00

I uploaded the pictures in reverse order, or actually the sequential order which uploads to be reverse order... anyways, here they are!

The boys want to get inside the tv fence and they've figured out how to bulldoze their way through it. I added 2 more panels and moved it further away and then Carter climbed over and threw himself over the other side, got up and started pressing buttons.

The angle of the picture makes everything look off center, but it's not, I promise.

Carter's trying on Taylor's football shoulder pads. He loved them and ran around the room laughing and showing everyone. He threw such a fit when I took them off.

Taylor, just before his first day of 1st grade:

The week before school started, I realized we had gone the whole summer and I hadn't really had any good, quality one on one time with the boys. So, I decided to take each of the boys out and away to spend time with them individually. Taylor wanted to go to B Merrell's for lunch, so we did, and he played some games and ate ALL his grouper fingers and fries. Then we went to get his hair cut and then a couple stores to get a few last minute back to school items.

Carter and I went for a walk and then went to WalMart where he walked around and 'talked' to everyone. He is such a ham. He was blowing kisses, smiling, and chatting the entire time we were out. He loved getting to walk on his own.

Tucker and I went to Hobby Lobby and walked around, admiring all the pretty things. Then we went to KFC for lunch.

Brayden and I went out for ice cream. He loved, loved, loved the ice cream and loved being able to walk around too.

My last date was with Wade! Our neighbors came over and stayed with the boys while we went on our date. We ate Mexican, then 45 minutes after leaving home, we were ready to go back. But we knew our neighbors would probably turn us back around and make us leave again, so we went to a few stores and looked at football stuff for Taylor then went home.

Brayden at Brusters:

Earlier in the week we went to The Little White House. Wade and I both learned a lot, as did Taylor. He was surprisingly very interested.

The boys touching the chest of drawers. The sign under the glass there says: "DO NOT TOUCH."

Back to "boys being boys." They are climbing on everything! ..including the couch. ahhh!

Monday, we went to the Blue Bell factory for a tour. It's amazing how much ice cream Americans eat! We learned a lot of interesting, useless, facts and stats, which I enjoyed learning. Then, the best part, we got to sample the product!! You know the commercials where they say they eat all they want and sell the rest? It's true! The employee's can eat all they want!!

Their shirts said:
Carter - I scream.
Brayden - You scream.
Tucker - We all scream.
Taylor - For ice cream!

They were so cute!

15 MONTHS OLD!

2009-08-03T21:58:00.006-04:00

Today my babies turned 15 months old. To celebrate we took them to the Montgomery Zoo... Well, not really, but we did go. We were kicking off 2009 summer staycation part II, which just so happened to fall on their 15 month birthday.

At 15 months they:
**play "Indian Baby"
**Have a 3 word 'steady' vocab - "bye-bye" {and wave} "mama" "dada" are their 'all-the-time' words - they make other sounds, trying to say other words, which occasionally slip out, like "bubba" and "more" but they aren't regular yet.
**They have mastered walking and are running
** Their newest stunt is climbing on EVERYTHING
**They open and close doors
**They remove the "child proof" outlet covers
**They play peek a boo with eachother and others
**They play hide and go seek, but they usually only do the seeking and laughing when they find big bubba
**They are playing more and more with eachother {which is so stinking cute!! They cackle and just laugh out loud.}
**They are eating everything
**Carter and Tucker pretty much have 4 molars each
**Carter blows kisses and will give "high fives" {so cute!}
**They run to their high chair table when I say "Let's Eat!"
** When I tell one "Good Job!" they all clap!
**When I sing "pat-a-cake" they do the motions with their hands themselves now

I'm sure there is more, I'll edit as I remember. Since I haven't been keeping a baby book, I've gotta start getting these things out here!

I have LOTS of pictures, as you can imagine, but I'm way too tired to post them tonight; we left at just before noon and got home just after 9pm! We had tons of fun and the boys were perfect little Angels. I think their favorite part was the train ride at the end. My favorite was the chimpanzees, one of which was carrying a baby as she swung through the ropes. Taylor's was "all of the monkey's, especially the swinging ones." I'm pretty sure Tucker would say his least favorite part was his big bubba tipping the stroller over, landing little Tuck face down in the grass. Tuck was a trooper though, he didn't cry, but Taylor did - he felt so bad.

I think some little gremlins came in the house while we were gone. Surely I didn't leave it in this big of a mess, right?! Unfortunately fate has put a small damper on our fun. The brakes on Big Blue started growling and roaring in Montgomery, so it's to the shop with her first thing in the a.m.

Shoe Shopping for 3

2009-07-23T15:37:00.005-04:00

The other day I had to get the boys some new shoes. Should be easy enough, right?

I go, get them sized, and (yay!) they're all the same size. Now, I just have to find 3 pair of the same shoe that I like, and that will go with most anything they wear. I find myself standing in a sea of shoes at Wal-Mart.

I don't like any of them.

As I'm about to give up and load all the boys back into Big Blue (the van), I see a pair that is perfect! And what do you know, they're a size 4!! But only 1 pair. None in the back and no idea when or if more may come in. I'm still optimistic though, after all, we have about 15 Wal-Mart's in the bi-city area, surely between them all I can find 2 more pair, size 4, of this exact shoe, right?

WRONG.

I finally decide to get another pair, that I don't like near as much, but they will work, AND there are 3 pairs of size 4 at the store I am at.

No more running around!

I just have to go get the other pair and take them back. Whew! Shoe shopping over! I get home feeling quite triumphant. I've been dragging all these boys all around town, we had no melt downs and I got shoes in hand.

Mission accomplished!

A few hours later, I take the tags off, get the shoes all ready to be worn and grab my first victim, Carter. I can't get his foot in! What's wrong? I grab Brayden, it's not going in. Then Tucker.

What is wrong?!

I study the shoe. I look in the inside real good, nothing's in there. I hold the bottom of the shoe up to their feet; it's plenty long enough... Then, I notice how the shoe narrows at the top.

Their wide, flat feet were not squeezing into that narrow shoe toe!

I dig through the garbage, trying to find all the tags I ripped off.

The shoe search continues.

The next day I went to Payless. I found some super cute sandals just like the one's they just outgrew. I ask if they have 2 more pair {fingers crossed}...

"No, we don't at this location, but the Victory Dr. location has 2 pair."

Yay! I do a little happy dance and ask if she will call to confirm and ask them to hold them for me.

"Their phone hasn't been working all day, I'm sorry."

Now, for those of you who don't know. I was on the complete opposite end of town. Then, I imagined driving out there and then not leaving with 2 pair of these sandals. My vision ended with some sort of explosion... my head, the Payless store, I'm not sure what, but it wouldn't be good.

So, I went back and looked again. I found another shoe that would work. Again, not exactly what I wanted. But, at this point, really - can I be picky?

"Do you have 2 more of this shoe in a 4 wide?" I asked.

"No ma'am, we have 2 pair, and the Peachtree location has 1 pair in stock."

"Great! Is their phone working?"

It was. She called and asked them to hold them for me.

They were on sale cheaper than the shoes from Wal-Mart and since I had to drive to another location, I received a $3.00 coupon for that pair.

Yay! Things are getting better!

I get a parking spot up front at the mall near the entrance closest to the Payless. I walk in, she's waiting with the shoes at the counter for me, I pay, I'm out in 2 minutes.

WOO HOO!

I'm very proud I now have 3 pairs of shoes in hand again that I know will fit.

I still haven't taken the others back to Wal-Mart. I'm going to do that this weekend! I just hope they take them back since all the tags are ripped off.

I come home, grab Carter, put socks on him and the new shoes with tags, just in case.

Perfect fit!

Next, I catch Brayden, get him 'shoed' up then Tucker.

They all look at their feet like I just put 100lb moon boots on them or something. I stand Brayden up and he drops to the ground. He's acting like he can't move his feet.

I look at Carter, he's already got one off.

I put it back on, now Tuck has both off.

I get them back on. Look at them all, Brayden is chewing on his.

I get them back on and try to make them all stand up to walk.

They raise their feet up like they are high stepping in a marching band, then we repeat previous verse. Brayden's chewing again. Tuck's rolling on the floor in tears trying to get them off. Carter is squatting down examining them.

Carter actually started walking around semi-normal in his before taking them off again. At which point I decided it was nap time. It really was. Well, it was close anyways! Really. ; )

So currently, I'm the proud owner of 7 pair of shoes, all size 4 and I have 3 boys who won't wear a shoe longer than 30 seconds.

Now, if you've read all that, you deserve to at least see a picture!

Random

2009-07-21T14:49:00.002-04:00

If I wore this shirt I think I'd spend more time explaining it then just throwing those answers out quickly as I keep strolling. But it is so funny that all people, no matter where you're at in the world, ask the same questions about triplets.

These are all true for me except number 12. They're not my only children and that one throws off a whole other set of predictable questions to answer. Those answers look something like this:

1. One other.
2. Yes, he's a boy too.
3. almost 7.
4. He helps some.
5. He was excited.

HaPpY TuEsDaY!

The boys are back!

2009-07-17T09:47:00.012-04:00

The Lloyd family has officially gotten rid of THE BUG. {i think} I don't want to say it too loud, because it seems every time I declare victory over it, it comes back. But regardless, we're enjoying feeling better!

We all got out for errands, which I haven't done in a long time unless it's been necessity
&
for those of you who don't know this is how we roll... lol.

and if you notice, in both pictures Carter has swiped something from the shelves.

This morning we decided to try out one of Carter's new purchases, the Crayola Beginnings Tadoodle crayons.

and while the boys colored, Taylor tried out some water paints.

We got some of these handy dandy cups. You know, the kind that won't let Cheerios's fall out, but babies can reach in there and get them out. Well, it took my gang 5 seconds to figure out all they had to do was reach in, grab the top, and pull hard to get the top off. I have 2 suggestions for the makers. 1. Include a regular lid to completely close it. and 2. make the lid snap and lock instead of just being stuck on by the rubber grip.

Here's why.

time elapsed: 10 seconds

I took the boys to run and play outside for the first time ever. Before, I've always had an activity planned, something to do, something to keep their attention in one area. Yesterday, I just let them go.

..and go they did, in 3 different directions! But it was so much fun letting them explore and enjoy their freedom.

Then I made them stop and pose.

Then, it was time for a nice bubble bath,

and bed.

My canning adventures!

2009-07-13T15:15:00.000-04:00

Click here to read about canning from my garden!