Strawberries and Seuss

     I know that it's past time to post about the big move, but I have a couple short posts that I want to tackle before the big one. We went back to Mom and Dad's a couple weeks after the move to watch cousin Paige in her school fundraiser musical "Seussical the Musical." We headed out on a Thursday and came back on Saturday night, so it was a quick trip.

 Empty containers, ready to fill.

Mmmm, so good that Ace couldn't wait! 

 It didn't take long to fill the containers

     We had a day to enjoy Friday before the play that night, so we decided to go to "The Berry Patch" in Fairfield and pick some strawberries. It was such a treat! We enjoyed the picking and eating portions of the experience.

GG helped pick out the juiciest berries.

     After we picked, we headed to Ponte's for a late lunch before nap time. It was delicious and we even split a malt before we left.
     That night we headed to Corsicana for the play. We all filed into the crowded theater and found our seats towards the front. I was a little nervous about being in front of so many people but the boys did pretty good. Tucker and I had to leave and finish the second half at the back, but we made it.
    Ace and Cooper were big fans and watched with great interest! They were glued to the stage. Ace was really all about The Cat. Every time he would leave the stage Dad said he'd start asking "Where's the cat?"

After the curtain closed we waited for our actress and took a few pictures. Ace even got his picture taken with The Cat and was pretty excited. 

    Then we braved the late night and headed to a restaurant to eat. Everyone did good and Parker put Tucker to sleep in her arms. Finally, with three tired boys and a baby we headed home. Pearson came back to GG and Papa's too. We thought it would be straight to bed, but no such luck. Once we got home they all played and ran around for a while and then finally settled down to sleep. 

    

  

    The next day we got up and around and headed out. We stopped by the Franks' to drop off Pearson and winded up staying there an hour or more. It was nice to get to visit with them all, and helped shorten the trip. I'd been wanting to get the boys' picture in bluebonnets all weekend and so when I saw some in Corsicana I couldn't help but turn around and attempt. Having Pearson there to help was a contributing factor!

 I won't say it's the best bluebonnet picture ever taken, 

but the moment was captured. 

   
    We made it to Graford without anyone crying, and they napped most of the time; we even made a pit stop at Sonic for a happy hour drink. But at Graford we had to stop and feed Tucker. And you know how it is. Once you stop it all goes crazy. I let the kids get in the very back so that they could stretch their legs while I fed Tucker. As I was feeding, Ace climbed back over the seat and got tangled in the TV cords. Then I heard Cooper say "I have to go poo poo." Great. I asked him if he really had to go and couldn't wait. So I laid Tucker in the front seat, closed the door and went to the back hatch to put the boys' shoes on. They usually shuck them at some point during the ride.
    After getting that done I went back to the front, opened the door and found Tucker on the floorboard on his belly with a "How'd I get here?" look about him. He wasn't crying though so we were good. Then I pulled the car over to the gas pumps to get a little gas before we headed inside. You see, when our car is below a quarter of a tank it won't start up again, so I had to make sure I was filled up before killing it. I put in as little as I could to keep it above the key level, because gas wasn't cheap. Then I strapped on my baby harness, loaded up Tucker, took a deep breath and got the other two out of the car. We waddled across to the door and made it inside, where both boys immediately let go of my hands and attempted to explore. I asked the attendant where the bathroom was and then herded the kids to the small space. Someone once told me that getting kids to go somewhere was like herding chickens, and with my experience having both chickens and kids I'd have to agree wholeheartedly!
    Once into the clean (so thankful) bathroom Cooper got down to business. Meanwhile Ace started unrolling the toilet paper off the roll. As I bent to pick it up and reprimand him, Tucker spit up all over the floor. So I grabbed some paper towels, cleaned up the mess, rolled up the toilet paper and herded Ace to the other side. Cooper then informed me he was finished…..and by finished I mean nothing happened. (I totally understand and know that this isn't something that is in his control, but if I'm going to go through all of this just to take him to the bathroom I'd appreciate some success.) While I was helping Cooper button up Ace was pulling a little trash can over to the sink and had the water on by the time I finished. I got him off the makeshift stool, washed Cooper's hands, wiped the sweat off my brow and grabbed two little hands before I opened the door. Back in the open store Cooper said he needed to look at something, meaning he wanted to buy something. I told him if he didn't have any money in his pockets he didn't need to look so we continued out the door. Back in the car, once all the kids were strapped back in and the car successfully started, I stopped, breathed out a sigh and we headed off for our last leg.
    We made it home and then shortly left again for Mere Mere and Popsey's house to visit with Aunt Kim and Rita, who were in town. It was a nice evening to visit and we enjoyed catching up with everyone. Kim and the boys even played some baseball in the back yard.

"Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!" Psalm 150:1-6

Ace's 2nd Birthday

   

    Wow, I can't believe that this post is a month late! Time has flown and we've been so busy moving and getting adjusted to our many changes in life. This year was Ace's birthday year….which means his year to have a big party. We're trying to limit big parties to every other year for each boy so that we aren't overdoing it and they don't get used to big ones all the time.

I had some one on one time with the birthday boy shopping for his party. 

     As I was trying to think of a theme I couldn't settle on anything for sure. Ace is really not into anything particular and mostly does what Cooper does. But there is one thing that Ace really likes and has an opinion about and that is Winnie the Pooh. It is the only movie that he will sit down and watch, and he really likes Tigger. So we decided to go that route.

Mom found a huge Tigger and Pooh randomly in Graham the day of the party.

They were sitting in a chair outside a 'junk' shop, too perfect not to pass up. 

    The next decision was what to get him for his birthday. We don't want to be extravagant, but also don't want to fill our house with a bunch of little stuff, so we were at a standstill. Cooper got a ride on tractor a couple years ago and now that Ace is old enough to use it, it's been a bit of an issue. And with the new place with lots of land to ride around on we thought he might benefit from something like that. We knew better than to go the tractor route again because we didn't want to have to buy something else for Tucker, so we decided to go with a Gator. If you don't know, those are pretty expensive. We knew we couldn't do it on our own so we enlisted help from the grandparents. Even then though it seemed extravagant. After researching and calling around and being on the verge of backing out, we located one in Wichita Falls for over $100 cheaper than any others. Hoping that it wasn't too good to be true, Dalton and I loaded up and went to get it. I sent Dalton in while I stayed in the truck with Tucker (it was pouring down rain), waiting to see what the verdict was.
      After waiting a bit Dalton came out with the Gator. I asked him if the price was true and he said yes, but only by God's graciousness. You see, he went back there and found it, marked cheaper and took it to the front. When she rang it up it showed the more expensive price….uh oh. Dalton said that 3 managers and a couple of associates later they gave it to him for the cheaper price, even though it had only been put in the wrong spot. Dalton was shocked and so was I, and we were reminded of how faithful God is in our life, even to help us out in these non-spiritual things. So beaming, we sped out of the parking lot before they changed their minds, with a steal of a deal on the back of the truck.

Mom and Dad made all the cute signs out of an old picket fence, 

made the theme really work!

 

Nana and Tucker watching from the warm house.

      The party planning came along great. I used Pinterest, of course, and some ideas of my own to create a 100 acre woods in Mere Mere and Popsey's back yard. We could not have had a party if they wouldn't have provided the spot, and what a great party spot it was!! The day dawned and we were ready. The guys worked on the new house all day and we set up party stuff. Then guests started to arrive and the fun began. It was a bit cool, but if you stayed moving it wasn't too bad.

Most of the kiddos at the party

      We also had a big bonus…a bounce house, thanks to Mere Mere and Popsey and their winning bid at a charity auction. It was a hit and after seeing how well it babysat the kids throughout the party I think it may be a wise investment in a couple of parties to come! We had a table full of Pooh Bear themed foods, hot dogs and an adorable cake with Pooh and Tigger on it.

The birthday boy is trying out the bounce house before guests arrive.  

     Ace had a great time, smiling at all the guests, spending lots of time in the bounce house and eating yummy food. When it came time for gifts he wasn't that interested. Although I couldn't blame him because he had a throng of older kids there 'helping' him open presents. Since then he's enjoyed playing with his gifts though.

 

     Finally all but a couple of the guests left and it was getting dark so we brought out the Gator. They were excited! Cooper of course wanted to drive and Ace obliged. He is so great about knowing his limitations. He's content to sit in the passenger seat and ride around with the expert driver, as long as he's holding onto the safety handle. Their friends Wyatt and Ella were still around so Wyatt got to ride along and drive it too.

His first time behind the wheel

     Before we left, Dalton, Cooper, Ace and I romped around in the bounce house for a while. We wanted to get our use out of it, and honestly it was really really fun! I think I'd be a lot skinnier if I had one of those to exercise in every day. We were all exhausted by the end of the evening!

One big happy family

Little did we know that Tucker was having his own photo shoot outside while we bounced.

     The next day, Ace's actual birthday, we let our 2 year old go home with GG and Papa (along with Cooper) so we could spend the week packing and moving. I hated to let him leave but knew he'd have a great time. Little did I know just how great of a time……he went to Chucky Cheese on his way home, the Waco Zoo that week and even got to "see a monster truck crush cars" before he came home. I was a little offended when I kept asking them if they were ready to see me and they'd say "I miss you but I don't want to come home." Luckily I was so busy here that I didn't have time to dwell.

Chucky Cheese! They had lots of fun, but Ace didn't like moving rides.

The boys were scared of the mouse. 

Cooper said "If I would have given him a high 5 he would have eaten me." 

The Raminator!! They liked him better still than moving I think.

Two little zoo animals. Ace came home roaring like a tiger. 

Happy Birthday Ace-miester!! We love you. : )

Ace:
likes to wrestle and play rough, likes the dog a lot, enjoys riding horses with Daddy, will drink milk 24-7 if you let him and has started rubbing his ear lobe as he drinks when he's tired, follows Cooper around and does whatever he does, counts and sings and likes to yell "NO" : / wants to carry eggs to the house but always seems to crack one, still comes to sleep with us most nights and kicks all the covers off of everyone, has the cutest curls in his hair, has a smile that makes you melt and sparkling eyes that are very friendly, enjoys strawberries, grapes, spaghetti, french fries, and casseroles, won't watch much TV but will read books all day long, likes singing song with motions (Zaccheus is his favorite), says prayers with us at the table and adds his own at the end, is bad about stealing toys and sometimes hitting with them, gets wound up and mad and will only calm down when you put him by himself and let him decide when he's ready to be happy, likes baths, showers and brushing his teeth, didn't have any cavities on his first trip to the dentist, talks a lot and uses lots of words, is attracted to water of any sort and will soak himself any way he can, is my sweet sweet, most challenging boy.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14