Round Hair Brush

Emma Kate found my round hair brush and was about to use it on Little Jim. I asked her "Are you brushing his hair?" She said, "Yes! It is going to be the curliest hair he has ever known!"

I'm a Bay-Bay

Emma Kate was enthusiastically telling her daddy "I am Rapunzel, Daddy! I am a princess!" and little Jim said, "I'm a Bay-Bay!" I also noticed as Emma Kate leaned up against the refrigerator this morning, Little Jim did just the same, watching his sister and trying to do exactly as she was doing. Jim came home for lunch today and sat at the table and even though Little Jim had already had his lunch, he climbed up in his high chair so that he could eat alongside his Daddy (Again!).

Preschool Princess

Emma Kate's 1st Day of Preschool (in her own words)

"I said your favorite restaurant was Applebees. Chloe's favorite restaurant was Zaxby's. I was being really quiet and sitting still. I ate marshmallow cereal and water at snacktime. My favorite friends were Bella, Chloe, and Cooper. I played on the slides outside and I was Princess Rapunzel and the boy who had black hair was a scary lion. I sat with Bella at the table and played with books and read stories." I then asked her what Mrs. Jane taught her and she said "Mrs. Jane tell me to sit in your chair." I then asked about Mrs. Stephanie..."She tell me to be quiet." :)

 Ready for Her 1st Day of Preschool

This is What She Has Been Working On At School:

Facebook Detox

This "No Face book" thing has been harder than I thought it would be! Now I know how important it really was that I delete it! I was spending much more time on face book than I needed to be with my 2 growing, precious children who need my full attention.  I needed a serious reality check (most of these "friends" aren't even really my friends!) and  to get my priorities in order. So it has been two days without face book now and I call it the face book detox, because it was really that much of a temptation for a few days (really, it was.) I have to say, my good friend Jenna was my inspiration. She deleted face book when she was studying for the USMLE and never looked back. My only way of getting in touch with her has been through text messages! So I thought, if she can do it, I can too! So adios face book and hello to all you friends who are really friends and care enough to read my blog. ;) Really I am doing this blog for myself and for little Jim and Emma Kate. Mostly as a way of keeping up with their milestones. Enjoy and  I encourage you to do the same and delete face book too. You will be amazed at how much more you can get accomplished in a day when you aren't stuck in front of the computer or staring at your phone screen.

Home Sweet Home. Oxford, Mississippi.

This Time Last Year! My how they have grown!

I can't believe that I haven't updated this blog since Emma Kate's birthday! What a shame...I have got to do a better job of keeping up with this blog! A lot has happened with the kids since then...little Jim learned to crawl, he took his first steps a few months before he turned one...then he had his first birthday! He has said a few first words here and there,  though he is not nearly the talker that his sister was at this age. Among his favorite words are "Dog" and "Ball". Every four-legged creature is a "dog" according to Little Jim. Emma Kate is now sleeping in her very own room and in her very own Rapunzel bed. She also has been fully potty trained for quite some time! The things that I get excited over now (shakes head)... We just moved back to Oxford, MS in the last several weeks. It is so good to be back! My favorite thing about being back in Oxford is that I don't have to waste an entire afternoon in the car just for the sake of running a few simple errands. This town is so simple and so Southern and I love it!! It's a shame that we had to move all over the world before we could finally appreciate our time spent in Oxford, but we are here to stay now and that is all that matters. So I hope that I will be able to spend every Thursday night (in the Fall and Spring months) for the next 70 years or so attending the taping for Thacker Mountain Radio at Off Square Books. That would be a good life! Today we had the privilege of spending the 4th of July at the Grove at Ole Miss. There were inflatable slides, train rides, face painting, great music, great food, and a wonderful fireworks display. Emma Kate had a great time, but unfortunatly little Jim wasn't feeling up to his usual self. I think he has a tooth coming in and he had a slight fever - poor little fella.  I didn't carry my camera along with me for long since the dark clouds were looming overhead and I didn't want to risk getting my camera drenched. So I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. Here are a couple from the day:

Emma Kate's Third Birthday!!!

Sunday, October 31st, was Emma Kate's 3rd birthday! I can't believe how quickly these last 3 years have passed. She has been such a joy to have around. We have been so blessed by her sweet, wonderful little self. On Saturday night, we took Emma Kate and Jim trick-or-treating at the Miromar Outlets in Estero, FL. EK was dressed as Abby Cadabby and Jim was Elmo. I made both costumes for them and I think Emma Kate was very proud of her Abby costume. She loved seeing all the other children dressed in their costumes. As usual, she enjoyed going up to the other kids and talking to them about their costumes. She spotted a Snow White, Belle, Jasmine, Tinkerbell, Woody and Jesse (from Toy Story), and Superwoman. She and Superwoman were very cute together the way they talked to each other.

On Sunday, she woke up to presents and balloons. Jim and I gave her a Cinderella costume and a Cinderella doll. She also opened a Jesse doll and "Beauty dress" from Gran and Grandaddy. She got a Snow White card with money in the mail from Mamaw and Papaw Booth. Aunt Sara sent a Disney princess castle tent that she was thrilled to get last Tuesday. Gran gave her Woody and Woody's guitar while she was here last week for a few days. EK was very thrilled with all the gifts. For lunch, we ate at her favorite restaurant (McDonald's) and celebrated with chicken nuggets and a Cinderella birthday cake (cake was beautiful and bought with money sent from Jim's mama and daddy). Emma Kate was the most thrilled with the Cinderella cake topper than she was the doll that Jim and I gave her -- LOL. Even so, she did act excited about the doll. She made friends with an older lady at McDonald's that gave her 3 pennies for 3 years old. I think she wanted to let the lady have her Cinderella doll. Seems like she may have the whole concept of sharing down, so that's good! I also need to add that she is now a pro at unwrapping gifts -- watch out Santa Clause. She also will say "I am three years old" when asked how old she is -- too cute! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from her day!

6 months old!

Jim  turned 6 months old on September 28th! He's growing so fast and babbling more and more. He has two teeth on the bottom, rolls over like a pro, and gets excited about Emma Kate. He ate his first solid this week - squash. Hoping that EK will become more adventurous with what she eats since she seems to be observing him very closely.