A few random things…

1. Catelin’s Nursery

I am almost finished with the nursery (it was Ty’s room before we moved him in with MJ).  It is the smallest room in the house, but it works since babies don’t need that much space!  I decided to go with an owl theme after I saw this adorable decal. 



And matching hamper:



I then found a monogram decal on Etsy to go over her crib.  I have an irrational fear that anything hanging over the crib might fall on the baby, so I didn’t want any heavy frames over it.  I think the decal is perfect!



My Aunt Amy made Catelin this gorgeous cross stitch:



And here is the name plate from Aunt Ann:





2. Warrior Dash

We went up to Lake Lanier last weekend to run in an obstacle course 5K.  The rules were that you started and ended as a team.  I was on a team with two of my sisters-in-law (Kerry and Lee) along with Lee’s sister Dallas and friend Heather.  Steve was on a team with Nick and Mike and a co-worker named Laird.  We had a blast and got muddy!  The kids were there to cheer us on.

 Please note that I am wearing my navy college cheerleading Soffe shorts because I refused to wear red and black! 

 

3.  Boys will be boys.

Pictures taken at a local park:

The two of them couldn’t resist the waterfall.  Yes, they are fully clothed.

 

After stripping them down to get into the car, MJ just HAD to climb the rock wall on our way out.  I swear, one day that kid is going to be arrested for public indecency! 



4. MJ-isms


I just love this age.  MJ cracks me up EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  I affectionately call his funny statements/conversations “MJ-isms.”

Here is one that made me laugh the other week.

(After MJ swam across the pool by himself)…

Steve: MJ, great job buddy!  You swam all the way across the pool by yourself!  Can you believe you did that ?

MJ:  Of course, dad.  That’s because I have mad skills.

Steve (laughing): You have mad skills??

MJ: That’s right, mad ski-zzzzzles.

Does he have it down or what?!



5. Breastfeeding woes

Let me preface this by saying that I really am a huge advocate of breastfeeding, especially when it is mutually beneficial for baby AND mother.  My sweet baby girl gave me mastitis (yes, for the second time) last week.  Thankfully, I know what to look for now and caught it early enough where I didn’t feel absolutely horrible.  I love the bond that nursing provides, but this has been rough.  Trying to hang in there for a little while longer….say some prayers!





6. Catelin swings for the first time

She liked the swing for about 2 minutes and then had enough.




7.  Ty, Ty baby

I still think of Ty as my baby (even though he is now 22 months old and quite independent!)  He has been calling MJ “bruh-ber” (brother) for months… I love it so much that I rarely try to get him to say MJ.  The other day, “bruh-ber” was walking down the stairs while Ty was eating his snack.  He looked up and said “There’s bruh-ber,  there’s MJ.”  I don’t know why, but I felt a twinge of sadness when I heard him say “MJ” for the first time - he is really growing up.  My sweet Ty baby.





8. The good, the bad, and the ugly

I had some professional pictures done of the kids last month. To say that the photo shoot was a complete mess would be putting it lightly. I know the photographer thought I was insane believing I could get 3 kids under the age of 3.5 in a good picture together (and of course, she was right)! The boys were running around, Catelin was screaming her head off, and we couldn’t get the three of them in a pose to save our lives. After Catelin peed on me for the SECOND time during the “naked” part of the photo shoot, I gave up on getting all of them in a decent picture together. Honestly, I was laughing hysterically by the end because it was so ridiculous. Thankfully, the photographer (who swore this wasn’t the worst shoot she’s ever done, even though I have doubts) was able to cut and paste the kids to get a couple of good ones!

The good:





The bad:





The ugly:



Yes, those are Steve’s hands trying to keep the boys down long enough to get the picture!  I actually think we put Teddy Grahams next to her head to get them to kiss her at the same time.  Sigh


9. The long and short of it…

I have been growing my hair out since Ty was born.  While I do love being able to pull my hair back in a ponytail, one day last week I decided I had enough.  It was too long and thick and driving me crazy.  So, I cut it off!

Ok, not the best pic, but you get the idea.

10. One more MJ-ism

Preface: Ms. Lisa’s granddaughter, Sierra, was in town a couple of weeks ago. She was playing with the boys’ toys and MJ was being a bit territorial (understatement).

MJ: No, Sierra, you can’t play with my tiger… I want it back!

Ms. Lisa: Why can’t you share your tiger with Sierra? You share it with Ty.

MJ: Oh yeah, well Ty’s my brother and he RESPECTS me… That’s why.

Me: (well, I was standing there laughing my behind off. I mean, how do you respond to that?!)