Guess who's back in business!

I have to admit this has been my longest absence from blogging! I think about it, I upload my pictures, I have everything ready to sit down in front of the computer and then I hear, "mommy, what are you doing?" Or the kids are sweetly tucked in for the night and I have a few hours to myself before bedtime and instead of blogging I plan the week's dinner, fold and put away at least 2 loads of clothes and if I am lucky I steal away a few minutes to just veg in front of the TV. Needless to say, my to do list is forever growing and blogging seems to get pushed to the wayside. But, I enjoy it and I hope you do too. So I am going to try and make it more of a priority the next few months to at least get caught up. Now, we are approaching the holiday season so don't hold your breath!!

As I have heard from many folks, 2011 has been a very difficult year. Our family is no different, we have had our share of sadness and chaos. My dear grandmother passed in February and then we recieved the terrible news that Norman had lung cancer. We had a wonderful spring and summer sharing some special times with Norman and the York-Simmons family. Norman, passed away at The Hospice Home of Surry county on September 13. This was a very sad journey for all of our family. Our boys had a speical relationship with their Granddaddy and Hunter still asks often about his happiness in heaven and how much he misses him. It has been especially hard on David. He has lost both parents and this is so unfair at such a young age. I could not imagine not having mine. We are a strong family and a close family and can manage any situation together.

So to catch us all up and to keep from boring you guys to tears with some to the activities we do on a daily basis I will attempt to catch us up by posting on each of the boys and then hitting the highlights of the activities we have done over the past four months! This is no easy task as I am going to have to look back through at least 600 pictures and choose the best ones to post and talk about. It will be fun to remiss, but give me some time to do it!! Okay, so maybe not 4 months...I am serious, I WILL GET CAUGHT UP!!
....Maybe not much more today...I hear Lucas up from his nap and that means no more computer time for mommy!

Some Springtime fun

We finally started getting some warmer days. The weather has been doing some crazy tricks, but in the spring when you get a few of those nice warm days you just don't want any more unseasonable cold snaps!

First tractor ride with Papa..and yes he loved it. I think both of my boys could ride on big machinery all day long!

Chloe in the pool.

Cute pic of all three of them on the four wheeler. They all fight over who gets to ride on it with dad. It is much easy to manage them on the Polaris.

Okay, I know this doesn't look eactly safe....but he as only driving it out of the garage and into the front yard so that I could take a picture! Then they all went on a Polaris ride.

Easter in Pilot Mountain!

We had an Easter egg hunt at Gaga's house before Easter lunch and the kids had a blast. Hunter was much more comfortable scrapping around for eggs here. By now this was his third hunt and he was getting the hang of it. Now they are all sitting on the porch and counting their loot!

Lucas and Cowboy having a moment.

Hunter racing for eggs!

Chloe, also known around the Hunter household as 'Hawkeye', is a professional egg hunter. The Easter bunny had to find some pretty tricky spots.

Lucas had more fun playing with the Easter grass then with anything in his Easter basket. I should have known!

An after picture of Hunter's Easter basket. The Easter bunny left him some Scooby Doo.

Easter Egg fun and hunt inside the Fellowship Hall of Gaga's church. This was not the best idea in the world, but the kids had a lot of fun. It was so cold that day and it was raining outside so they had the hunt indoors. Imagine 50 kids all picking up eggs just thrown about on the floor! This was Hunter's worst nightmare. I don't think he moved 3 feet from my side....don't worry Lucas and Chloe had a blast.

Dying Easter Eggs at Gaga's.

Lucas thought this was one of the greatest activities EVER!! If it wasn't so messy I would do this with them more often. They both love it.

Easter

Lucas at the preschool Easter egg hunt. He is not about to be outdone by the bigger kids.

He learned very quickly that if you open the eggs, you will find a sweet surprise!

I feel silly posting about Easter during the middle of the summer, but in my own defense it was really late this year!

Hunter and the rest of his classmates awaiting the single to start the hunt!

Some of his friends ended up giving him some eggs. It was such a sweet gesture. Hunter is still so shy and he had a hard time competing in the search. All the other kids were pushing and running and grabbing...but not Hunter. He hung out in the back, I was so tearful that he only had about 3 eggs compared to the dozens the others had so I was relieved when these sweet girls offered to share.

Still searching!

Lucas's first big boy haircut

Just like his big brother, he was born with and has kept a full head of hair. The first few times I noticed a few straggling pieces I cut them myself. I did the same thing with Hunter, but after a few times of this they need some professional help. Lucas is a bit more spirited than Hunter so I was very anxious to get this first cut out of the way. Needless to say, he enjoyed this about as much as being pinched but we all survived. I have to give Cheryl, our fabulous hairdresser, major props for this haircut. This was not an easy task! In the end he got his big boy haircut and even a sucker. We can always hope that the next time will be a little easier...for everyone.

Thank goodness we are all done here!

Starting out was not so bad. There is this cute little chair but he wouldn't have any part of that, nor did he want me to sit and hold him. He preferred to be held standing up. I guess he thouht I could run away if we had too!

Hunter taking it all in. Occasionally he would pipe up and say, "it's okay Wucas."

Funny video...if blogger works!!!!

This is Hunter caught in the act of falling asleep!

The Big ONE!!!

Opening presents with Granddaddy. Still his favorite spot to sit.

Eating his cupcake. Not one little crumb was left.

Playing pick up ducks with our party friends. It was a barnyard bash that had to take place in our basement due to tornadic weather that we were having. I am so thankful that we didn't lose power!

His sheep cupcake.

The cake and cupcakes my mom and I made for the party. It was so much fun making this. I am now inspired to make birthday cakes more often. It isn't hard to make the cake only to find the time to do it with little ones running around.

The barn for the party. Inside was a mother hen and a nest of eggs. The kids had to find the eggs and when they opened them up there was a little yellow peep inside. Yes, Hunter and I made the barn out of an old cardboard box. It was a fun rainy day project that worked perfectly for the theme of the party. We got a few good weeks of play out of the barn before it finally caved in!

I just can't believe my little man is ONE!!!

What's up with Lucas

Trying to get up to the slide!

Our first 80 degree day and Lucas loved it. Our boys love being outside.

Going down the slide with daddy at Wallabies, an inflatable jump house that is lots of fun.

Lucas spend a lot of time in the little car during our snow days. He tolerated wearing all the gear like a champ. I guess he learned pretty quickly wearing all that stuff meant he got to go outside. He can't wait for the day when his feet actually touch the pedals. Right now he settles for rides around the yard with Hunter.

Bike ride on the Creeper sporting his new bike helmet.

Well, I could go on and on about the changes with Lucas. It seems that just so many things take place during the first year. We had this tiny baby that didn't do more than sleep and eat to a running, babbling toddler in just a year. Unlike his brother at this age, Lucas is fearless and outgoing. He is all smiles and happy just about every waking moment. We have had some issues with sleep lately but those are quickly passing. Poor guy has had a terrible time with ear infections (1 a month since 3 months old, YUCK) so 2 weeks ago he had ear tubes placed. Hunter has them as well, but he was 2.5. It made the world of difference for him so we are hoping they do the same to help Lucas. In addition to his bubbly personality he is a very quick learner. It is amazing to watch him catch on to things and attempt to do everything his big brother is doing. David and I can show him how to do something one time and then he gets it. There is no guesswork to his dislikes. Little Lucas has quite the temper and unrelentless determination. He is strong willed and David and I work hard at redirecting, but needless to say, discipline with him has started early. I find this part of parenting the most challenging, especially at this age when they just don't understand.

Some milestones for Lucas

1.) He was crawling and pulling up at 5 months old!

2.) His first word was "dada", Hunter said "moma" first so I have had to let this go

Words he says now: moma, dada, uh-oh, go-go, look, moo, ga-ga

3.) He started really walking about 2 weeks before his first birthday. He was taking 6-7 steps since 9 months, but he was mostly still crawling

4.) Stayed in the nursery for the first time at the rec center. He had a wonderful time and unlike Hunter at this age he wanted down to play not to remain glued to my arms! He will LOVE starting preschool in the fall.

He is a wonderful little boy and just as sweet and cuddly as his brother. They are two different little people and like I posted earlier, I am blessed to be their mother. I look forward to every single day I get to spend with them. I only hope they enjoy spending so much time with me!

What's up with Hunter

Leaving the dentist! No cavities, yipppeeee!! I am having a hard time getting Hunter to smile for pictures, he always wants to do a cheesy face like the one above!!

There was a movie playing on the ceiling. He was super through the entire exam.

Running. Hunter loves to run with us and now when we get done with our run, Hunter finishes the last little bit running with me. I love it.

His latest obsession is pirates and swords. He LOVES to dress up and pretend. In these pics he had me tie an old baby bird toy to his shoulder to be his talking parrot and I had to make a patch for his eye and a belt for his sword. It is great!

Our last snow day of the winter season. It was sometime in March. I think the day before we actually had on shorts. We built our best snowman and donned him in beach attire!

One of Hunter's best friends, Emerson. They play so well together and we kid that one day they will be dating. Who knows, we love her family and we love Emerson!

Hunter is coming out of his shell at his own little pace. He is growing up so quickly and as I blog pictures of him I can see him turning into a little boy and less of a toddler. Just a quick upadate on some things that have been going on with him.

He had his first trip to the dentist and he did fantastic. He was fascinated with all the tools, especially the water squiter. We are proud to announce that he has no cavities!! In addition to the tools he was most pleased with his new toothbrush and big boy toothpaste. Which brings up how orderly and rigid he can be with routine. Hunter is a rule follower and likes things done a certain way every time. This can be both good and bad...let's just say that changes for Hunter can be a little difficult. For example, the new toothbrush he got at the dentist can ONLY be used with the new toothpaste, he only eats from his orange plates and the wrapper on an ice cream sandwhich must be left on the bottom about 1/2 inch so he doesn't actually have to touch the outside for fear of getting the outside of the ice cream sandwhich all over his hands. The list could go on, but hopefully you get my point! Hunter is very sweet and loving and will fall asleep in 10 seconds flat if he has someone to snuggle up with. He is the world's best cuddler and I often long to nap with him in the afternoons, but little Lucas somehow manages to keep me busy during those times. He is doing great in school and has lots of friends. We are very proud of him and I feel so blessed to be his mother.

And the fun week comes to an end!

Riding on the new plasma car. Linden needed some shades for the long ride back to Atlanta.

Lone man standing after a quick super hero picture taking session.

The cutest little folks ever! On this rainy morning Noelle and I took the kids to the library for storytime. It was great fun and the theme was all about being brave. The activity that followed included making a super hero mask. We all had a great time and the masks were a huge hit.

Roasting marshmellows.

Family pic at the park in Damascus.

Fun day at the park!