October 30-November 11...

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks...We enjoyed a FUN time with ALL of the Tallahassee Batey's at Billy Sunday's annual Birthday Party held about 45 minutes West of Tallahassee in a quaint country town. Then on Sunday the kids dressed up and visited the ol' neighborhood. Cole was a Jedi, Lily an angel and Owen drove a Space Rocket. I ended up sewing Lily's dress...and believe me...it is nothing to brag about! I couldn't get the sewing machine working right until the final stitch...and I did it patternless, so she looked like a Kimono wearing Angel...Thank the Lord it amazingly fit!

 Here is Little Whit-kins on her way the the Sunday's Party:

 I Love the way Lily's wings are glowing!

 Love my Boys!

 Cute pic of Aaron and Meggan...

 My brave Jedi...

 Cousin Love

 I love this picture. I wanted to take one of Cale and Tom...I was thinking about getting a picture of just the two of them...but then I realized this is a more truthful photo! They are always taking care of and loving on some one...usually a little someone. I heart this shot:

 Lily and Grandpa have such a sweet and tender relationship:

 Owen and Lily doing their Cave Paintings one day as we were studying the Ice Age and Ocher paint. So cute!

 Hilar! Lil is feeding Whitney a bottle while perusing through a Sephora catalog! Such a multi-tasker!

 Clark celebrated his 2nd Birthday at the Property in Havana. Look at those CURLS!

 Tim and our bundle of Love!

 Me and My One True Love...of almost 13 years!

                                                                  Love my Daughter!

 Tom insulated the grapes and blueberries with COTTON he got at Quincy! Genius! Owen looked like he was playing in the snow!

 Owen is telling Clark a scary story (I think about a bear) when they were playing in the tent.

 Baby Whitney's Baby Dedication on November 7th at E3! Love her, so THANKFUL to GOD for another beautiful baby!

 After we ate lunch at Grandma's and played "Leaves on Your Head"...its an actual game!

 Random shots at home I LOVE:

 I asked Owen what he was doing...the answer? "Smelling the Markers Mama":

                                                             Lily holding her Sissy:

                                                                   From behind:

                                Celebrating Aunt Meggan's Birthday...what a super fun night!

                                                    I love the way Tim holds our babies:

 We had a great week in school, family, business and of course I am loving my girlfriends and Bible study time! These are happy days!

BLONDE MOMENT

 

I only share this for two reasons: 1) I know I am smart...I just happen to be nursing a baby and NOT sleeping through the night yet...and 2) I really just crack myself up sometimes. 

OK, so a few weeks ago, on a Friday night, Tim and I were driving home from finishing up grocery shopping (we're party animals, remember)...we were actually in the Parking Lot of Wal Mart. So off to the left in the back of the parking lot is an OLD, rusty, beat up, huge Chevy- looking car or something. I notice though a shiny license plate...it was garnet...then I notice it said #1 Fan! "STOP THE CAR!" I yell to Tim as I scramble to get my camera phone in focus..."LOOK at that guy's License Plate! How do you think he got it?"

Then I notice the look of astonishment married with pity in Tim's eyes..."Hon, its not a real license plate...you could buy that at Bill's Bookstore...anyone can! Look at the car."

"Oh." I put the camera down. I chuckled. I felt pity for Tim...he married me! Only later as I replayed that scene did I laugh until I cried! Oh man! What is it with me and cars???

So we left off last week as Kristen and JP left town. Sad. That also happened to be Tim's 33 BIRTHDAY! Happy. Happy Birthday Tim! Love you. Cale & Tom, being the awesome in-laws they are, had all of us to their house for Tim's B-Day dinner (they knew I had company all week)...plus they would have done that anyway! We had a sweet family time together:

 All on her own Lily made Tim a birthday card and taped her own $1 bill to the back. SO CUTE:

 Lily loves her Daddy...

 Grandpa with his Whitney Girl Girl...

 Moving on...a few days after the Birthday Party Lily comes walking into the house crying a muffeled, high pitched, I-am-really-sad type of a cry. 
"Lizzie is dead, Mommy! The ants are getting her!..." 
"Who is Lizzie?" I ask in a semi-panicked confusion? 
"Our Spider Mom! Lizzie!...and she hasn't even met her babies yet!" 
Dagger to the heart. You know how during Charolette's Web you can get caught up in the moment and shed a tear or 2, but after the credits roll no amount of Julia Robert's slapped onto that spider is going to change your view on bugs? Well you should have heard the way Lily was talking about Lizzie and how her babies are still growing and how they will never meet their Mommy. Seriously, I really dislike bugs and I could still cry about poor Lizzie (which btw I had NO idea they had named her). Lizzie was the huge Banana Spider living on the side of our house. The kids loved her, so we left her alone... and I think you know what I mean by alone. She has 2 sacks of babies growing on the side house. Well, apparently she died and fell off of her web and Lily and the kids found her getting devoured by red ants. So the Mom instinct in me took over. I got up, found a spoon and picked up sweet Lizzie, brushed off the red ants and dug her a grave. It was pretty surreal (am I really digging a grave for a spider?). Even though Lily was still whimpering, she felt better giving Lizzie a respectful burial. She did all of the rocks and the paper grave stone. Lily checks on her 'Kittens', which is what she calls Lizzie's babies, everyday. Lily, I love how you love! Stay tuned after the Pumpkin Patch photos b/c you are not going to believe what happened...

LIZZIE 2010

Mother of Many

R.I.P.

OK, now back to SWEETNESS! Look at the girl girl. She is 25% in her weight (8lb 10oz), 75% in her height (22.25"). Not bad for someone born under 10%! She is sleeping and eating well. This was about 2 weeks ago. LAST NIGHT we put her in her crib for the first time. That is always the ultimate symbol of parenting...putting them in their room that first night. Its a perfect mixture of heart-break and relief all in one. I slept on the couch :) She did well going down...which is really our main goal...but did wake up at 2am. I happily scooped her up and nursed her in our bed and slept with her the rest of the night :)

 Googie Muffin and Whit-kins...

 YAY...FALL is one of my FAVORITE TIMES...and the Pumpkin Patch holds most of my treadured kid photos!
***Disclaimer: I have relaxed tremendously over the years. I consider myself a hard-worker...but I try not to label myself Type A for a multitude of reasons. However, Type A Jenn ressurects herself when it comes to Pumpkin Patch Photos. ***
I was looking at pics from pumpkin patches years ago, how we are all in fall clothes, smiling, looking happy and TOTALLY SWEATING b/c it was 90 degrees out that day. The point? These pictures are planned. Every year, this included, I tell myself "Relax...just go the the patch in what you have on, take candid photos, have fun"...and every year I bust out the iron to iron their jeans, pick out co-ordinating outfits, and literally give the kids the same speech in the car on the way over. Let me sum it up for you: "HI Sweeties...you look so cute. Ok, we are going to the Pumpkin Patch and you can each pick out a pumpkin...but remember (insert Chris Farley's Voice doing the "Lay Off I'm Starving" Gap Girl Skit):
 

NO ONE IS HAVING FUN UNTIL I GET SOME PICTURES OF YOU HAVING FUN!!!   

Now the pleading begins: "...remember to look INTO the camera...I will even give you MnMs if you do a good job". Yes, yes...I know...I should be ashamed! Bribery, performacne, sugar, dare I say lessons in fabrication? :)  I know, I know...but I truly can't help it...and I don't want to help it- that's the bad thing. I LOVE PUMPKIN PATCH PHOTOS! Maybe it is because as a child growing up near the farms on East Long Island, Pumpkin Patch Days were HUGE! So FUN! And, in my defense...I counted with NO EXAGGERATION 50, YES 50!!!! photos of my 3 last year and not 1 of them made eye contact with the camera and the same time! That is enough to make you want to throw your Cannon across the parking lot :)  Or laugh bc they are kids. So anyway, I had a lot more peace then other years internally, but I still worked it in the beginning (It's all about the 1-2 photos in the beginning of all 4 of them looking at the camera). The rest actually portray them having true fun!

Worth it!

 I HEART taking photos of Pumpkins...they sit so still:

 YAY, I got it!

 Poor Lily, She is 7 going on 14...so she really didn't want to do this pose...you can see it in her eyes. Last one like this for a while I think...

 Not for these Hams:

 Whitney Baby and Mama:

 Look what I found in the Pumpkin Patch:

 Sweet Dada:

 Love These...Owen was REALLY tired on our way here, so after this photo I tried to do a few more. He took the stem and chucked it with a bit of frustration across the parking lot. It was soooo unlike his personality that I couldn't help but laughing. I know...great parenting again!

 Trying...

 Biggest stem ever award:

 Lily picked out one for her sister:

Ok, exhale all of the joy from the Patch. My amazing, and long time friend Darcy, brought her sweet daughter Madeleine over last Friday for a playdate. So the girls were playing in the yard and a strange experience happened. Lily walks into the house again, this time NOT crying, and announces that "Finally is Dead!"
Here we go again!
"Who is finally?"
"Our bird!"...GROSS. Ok, Finally was A bird, not OUR bird. The girls found this semi-headless bird in our yard and decided to give it a proper burial as well (Lizzie's was a funeral since I actually prayed out loud with the kids for her)! So, R.I.P Finally (the girls named it that...so appropriate!) Thank the LORD that Darcy and I have been friends long enough that she is still going to let Madeleine over...how creepy if this was a 1st play date. Anywhoo, now our backyard is like a pet cemetary in one corner.
Editor's note: A smile breaks out over Jenn's face as she ponders the fact that she is renting :)