Boris

A lot of the times when guys get deployed they grow mustaches. Lane is no exception to this rule - though I wish he was! He started his "statue," as Eden calls it {because she heard it refered to as a "stache"}, soon after his arrival in country and has since then become a stranger to our eyes! His mustache grew over night! I mean, one day he didn't have one, and the next it looked like a caterpillar was crawling across his face. It wasn't just that it grew fast...it was black and it was thick. Needless to say, I am hoping he doesn't come home with this unsightly thing on his face! Here is the story of Boris - the "statue"...

Look at that sweet, sweet baby face! No hair {well, sort of} and so handsome!

And then Boris started showing his ugly face. He came on strong! {This is just a few days in}

A few more days and Boris is getting more and more bold. {Lane was frustrated because we had a bad connection when we were talking, thus the weird expression.}

Boris is getting darker!

And there you have it, full on Boris. He came on that strong in a month! He had to be groomed and he was selfish. He stole all the attention when any conversations were going on. He eventually started stealing food from Lane {and that's where Lane drew the line and said he had to go...thank goodness for that!}

Boris was taking over our lives in every way! Even Hunter wanted to look like Daddy. He ate a chocolate cupcake and tried out Boris Jr. for a bit.

I know Lane misses Boris, so I made a memorial for him. I'm going to add the other names that were talked about. Oh yeah, there was a vote to name the mustache! And when Lane shaved it off one of the other guys slid a note under Lane's door that just said, "murderer," because he was upset that Lane got rid of Boris.

I just thought this was funny. When we went to story time this past Monday, this was the book that was on display as we walked in. I thought it was perfect for Lane!

So, Boris is gone for now. I'm crossing my fingers that Boris doesn't make a return because I love Lane's face without him. Here's hoping...we still have months left in this deployment, so who knows if we'll see Boris again!

Hunter Speaks

Recently, Hunter has been saying more and more. He talks a lot, but only occasionally says anything that's understood by others. One of my favorite things that he says is "thank you!" His version of the phrase is pretty clear and its more like "thaak ew!" I joke that I'll give him anything as long as he'll say thank you because it's just so darn cute.

Some of the other things Hunter says are:
Daddy! {Any time a phone rings}
Momma/Mommy
Uh Oh {Mommy}
Mimi
Doggie
Dah {Down, which actually means up. He says this with outstretched arms in hopes of being picked up}
Uh huh
Gah Gah {most of the time this is paci, but it could also be milk}
Wawa
Hah {hot, and then is accompanied by blowing off the food that has been talked about}
Shhhh {with his finger up to his mouth - usually on his teeth. And this is usually followed by some sort of squawk or scream. I'm thinking he needs to learn the meaning of "shhhh"}

Re-Do

When I got back from Georgia I jumped right into finishing the cabinets in the bathrooms. The bathrooms had terrible honey oak cabinets that were fading and nothing short of ugly!

Last year my mom and I re-did the kitchen cabinets so I knew the path I wanted to take to re-do the bathrooms. Once I got started I was on a roll! I started with the downstairs bathroom...

And I'm trying to decide on the hardware before making a commitment to anything. What I picked doesn't match the existing hinges, so I think I'm going to have to change the hinges sooner or later. That can wait. I'm not too worried about the hinges at the moment.

And then I moved to the upstairs bathroom...

And it was all in under a week for a low cost of less than $100!

Go Big Red!

I love Medieval Times! We've been many times, and it rained so much when I was in Georgia, and my dad's siblings were visiting, so we needed an indoor activity. Lucky for us they had half off tickets so we were able to go to dinner and a show at a reasonable price. Eden and Hunter loved it, and I thought it was great seeing their faces through the whole thing. We got to cheer for the red knight and we almost won! We lost by a hair, but it was fun and Eden loved seeing the princess.

The best soup ever!

Motherhood Is...{28}

This week I am blessed by great friends!

When we were in Georgia we left our house in the hands of our friends Angie, James, Tracey, and Jesse - and their kids! They couldn't have taken better care of our house and our dogs while we were gone. My house hasn't been this clean since we moved in. Tracey deep cleaned the house for us, James pressure washed the back patio, Angie folded my laundry and they all tag teamed taking care of our dogs.

Because my house was so clean and so well kept that I was inspired. I unpacked our suitcases within being home for less than 24 hours. I've pruned the palm trees in the back yard. Eden was inspired too! She looked into her toy room - which looked like a tornado went through it - and she said, "oh! This is a mess! I should clean it up!" And she did. She put away all the toys on her own and she's been making sure to pick up all of her toys each day. I've also started asking her to wipe off the table after clearing her dishes from the dinner table and she's doing it with a smile!

Hunter is just going with the flow these days. His communication is becoming much better. Even if most of it is listening with not much talking. He's doing his part helping out around the house too. He gets his cup for dinner so I can fill it with milk or water. He's also putting things in the trash for me - I just have to make sure to keep a handle on what goes into the trash.

Ahhhhh, a clean house and cooperative kids, I couldn't ask for more!

Georgia On My Mind

Throughout our trip to Georgia we did a lot of random fun things. I tried to make sure to capture most of it as we went along, but before long my tired, mommy brain took over! Here are most of the moments that I captured.

Leavin' on a jet plane!

We landed and had a delicious dinner at the Varsity!

We missed the family trip to the beach, but Barney was at Aunt Nanna and Uncle Papa's house, so we borrowed it for a few rides around the neighborhood.

Lunch at Summit Chase after Hunter's first haircut.

3am...this was after being awake for 2 hours.

Eden with the goodies from the Peachtree expo

The fountains at Centennial Olympic Park after the expo.

Cousin sleepover. Noah was on the couch our of view of the camera and made sure I couldn't snap a picture of him. Eden only lasted through the movie. After the movie was over, Alyssa marched Eden - at her request - back up to our room to sleep in her spot.

Eden in her pretty dress for the wedding in October

I can't go to Georgia without a trip to Gigi's Cupcakes.

I told Eden she could play in the rain...and then it stopped. I made up for it by giving them a bucket of soapy water.

Eden, Pop, Hunter, Mimi, Aunt Bettye, Uncle Tom, Uncle Richard, and Aunt Audrey cheering on the Red Knight!

My life these days. Wouldn't trade it for anything...except maybe to have Lane around too!

Jason, Eden, Hunter, and Lexi. 

Hunter at the trampoline park.

Eden wouldn't stand still long enough for a picture.

Caroline, Owen, Samantha, Hunter, me, and Eden at the trampoline park.

Leah came over with her parents.

Hunter was tired.

One of his refusals for sleep.

Getting ready to get on our plane to head home. Only a 3 hour delay and a maintenance issue before getting off the ground!

Good friends helping to make sure we came home to a clean house - inside and out - and feeding us for breakfast!