The Latest

Life has been in the way of our blog and it has been a while since my last update. Halloween has come and gone. I am pretty sure most of you are on Facebook and saw them dressed up as Caesar and Cleopatra. When we were out in Vegas last May and staying at Caesar's Palace, I saw the costumes in the gift shop and from there my idea for them to be Caesar and Cleopatra was born. Numbered are the days where I can pick out ideas for them. Both of the babies are pretty strong willed so I am biding the time before their choice will win out over mine!
Last week was filled with fun events, starting with GiGi treating us to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse tickets last Sunday in Bossier. Jake loved it...Landry Grace didn't sit still for very long! Jake is my tv watcher(bad parent, I know) while LGT could really care less about what is on the tube. She is very active...hence her 22 pound 35 inch lean figure! This week we had a play date after MDO on Thursday and played with the Hall kiddos and James kiddos. They had a blast playing together at our house. On Friday we went to the Tech game and let the kids play at First Friday(the first Friday of every month our church has free child care from 6-10:30). At halftime the Dawgs were getting beat pretty badly and so we left the game around 8:30, went to get a bite to eat, and then headed to get the babies. When we got there, the Dawgs were making a comeback against Boise State and Jake was telling Matt that he wanted to go to the game. So we went back to the game and within 15 minutes they were SACKED OUT! Made for a pretty cute picture.

So other than that we are just enjoying the fall. We love in a pretty wooded area so leaves are EVERYWHERE! It's beautiful but upkeep of the property is a necessity! As of September 15ish I have not run at all. I needed a break emotionally from it when LGT was in the midst of her hair pulling and I just couldn't handle training for a marathon at the time. So now almost 8 weeks later I have found myself enjoying the sleeping in but now realizing it is time to hit the pavement once again. My 2 running partners that are running White Rock in December are hoping to qualify for Boston(which is April 19). I qualified with my time at last year's Boston, so if they run a time of 3:40 or better at White Rock my plan is to train with them for that marathon. Last week I started a boot camp at Tech. It starts at 5am and is on M/W/F. There are over 40 women in the class and it is a pretty good workout. I am still missing my cardio and hoping to start back up soon. That is all for now. Hope all is going well this fall season and I will try to post sooner than later.

GiGi with Jake and Landry Grace before heading into Playhouse Disney

Landon Hall, Ava James, and Jake playing

Landry Grace and Kennedy Hall hanging out together

Landry showing off before heading to First Friday

And my favorite.....sacked out. Notice Jake hasn't let go of his popcorn. Enough said!

Farms and Football

Thought I would catch all of you who read our blog up on the latest! Where has October gone? This week I have found myself looking forward to Thanksgiving break and ordering birthday party invites(hello! Etsy has always been a site I liked but now I am addicted. All things Minnie and Mickey they have!)as December will be here oh so soon.
Anywho....back to last week. I took the kids last year to Papa Simpson's Farm in Arcadia. They only have tours once a month and during October they get to go to the pumpkin patch and pick pumpkins. We had so much fun (before the meltdown!!) last year that I made plans to do it again this year and bring Matt and my mom along. The Hall family also joined in the fun! The only thing I did different this year was pack some snacks and pb and j's(the frozen kind that are pre-made) and some extra juice boxes. Little did I think they would go for them. Well, that was the lifesaver and the reason for our meltdown last year. So the tour started at 10 and we left around noon from the farm. The tour last longer but we left out early. They petted all kinds of animals, gave a bottle to a calf, and even ran amongst the goats and tried to catch them. Jake was all about milking the cow but when he walked up to the cow's utters at the farm he was not a willing participant! You can google Papa Simpson's farm if you are interested in going. I highly suggest it as it is a good family activity!

That same afternoon we made it to the Tech homecoming game late....but better late than never. We waited for the babies to wake up from their nap and decided to take them with us to the game. Normally we get a babysitter since we are in close quarters with our fellow season ticket holders and only have 2 seats. Next year we will have to spring for 4 seats as the kids will be at the age that they can enjoy the atmosphere a little better....hmmmmmm! But we had a good time and the babysitter came AFTER the game to babysit while we went out with some friends.

And on to upcoming news....we are headed down to Baton Rouge for the LSU/Auburn game. We are tagging along with some friends and staying with family while Jake and Landry Grace will be in good hands with GG and Papaw. May I say it again how blessed we are to having loving and doting grandparents on both sides of our family, along with Aunt Lou. We do NOT take this for granted. Yes I used to be a little more protective when they were under the age of 1 but now...they would rather go with any grandparent than stay with us:). I don't blame them!

Have a great weekend!

Showing off their pumpkins at Papa Simpson's.

The trailer ride down to the farm.

Petting a baby goat with his buddy Landon Hall.

Landry Grace getting to sit in a seat all by herself while our neighbors went to the concession stand.

Just thought this was priceless. I truly tear up when I think about how FAST the last 3 years has gone by and how soon they will be in school.

Yay for October!

Quick post...nothing too big to report. I never have been big into Halloween, but with kids I have now found myself getting into it a little more. We bought about 10 pumpkins on Friday and decorated the flowerbed with them. The kids had a blast going to the pumpkin patch at The Townsend House and then we went to Super 1 to get the rest of them:)!

Last night we cooked pumpkin cookies and I let them wear their Halloween shirts. Below was a quick shot of them hugging one another. They have recently begun doing this and I could never get enough of them hugging. I suppose when they are older I will have this picture to remind them of when they loved to play together!

And tonight Katie, her mom, and sweet kiddos boo-ed us(sorry, we weren't supposed to know but they didn't leave out in time before we answered the door) and brought Jake and Landry Grace some fun Halloween treats. Looking forward to trick or treating this year! It will be a blast.

Last but not least LGT is doing great with her new hair cut. The first 2 mornings she got up earlier than normal because she could not comfort herself by pulling her hair. Other than that, we have had several "what is wrong with your child she has no hair" or " I cannot believe she cut her hair" looks. It's almost humorous to me! But this is another lesson I have learned: Do not judge until you have walked in her shoes. Lesson I should have learned a long time ago but was reminded of in our current circumstance. I shouldn't dwell on the negative because honestly I have had so many encouraging words from so many people and we are grateful for you. We are now certain that we did the best thing for her and she is doing wonderful.
Pardon the fingerprints all over the stove!

Jake......the picture says it all. He is AAAALLLL boy.

Landon giving Jake part of his boo-ed present. Of course they wouldn't stay still and I love that Katie brought Landon in his Halloween costume!! Who will we boo???

The girls: Landry Grace, me, Katie, and Kennedy

Landry Grace's New Do!

Well, we made it through our haircut this afternoon. Matt and I decided last week that we needed to do something drastic or she would continue to pull her hair indefinitely. I wasn't high on doing it at the salon downtown due to so many people being there and I thought I would be emotional about it, but God provided a safe haven in which I didn't have to worry about anyone else watching.

A friend that I graduated from high school with, Angie Taylor, does hair at home and our children go to MDO together. We ran into each other on Tuesday and as we were talking she said she could cut her hair if I'd like....God provides. And yet I haven't been emotional at all about the whole process since we just decided to do it. That doesn't mean that I didn't cry last week, but since the decision was made I never looked back. This truly has been a learning lesson for me in that I now realize what is truly important and that is Landry Grace's well-being.

Angie did a super job and so did LGT. Poor Angie had hair all over her floor as she had to shave it while Landry stood there but the cut turned out pretty good. Landry Grace did get a little frustrated on the way home when she realized she could no longer pulled it but that is going to happen for a little while.

I must say that although this might be trivial to some, when you are going through even minor issues such as this with your children it is all consuming. Perhaps the Lord is preparing me for something much bigger later in life or just around the corner. But that being said, I truly appreciate all of the comments, calls, FB messages and such. So thank you and your prayers have been felt. I cherish the friendships that have been made and made stronger through Internet and in-person.

And thanks again to Angie. Landry Grace will have your picture along with her hair in the baby book:)!!

Ruston Buddies

Thought I would post something "uplifting" tonight to make up for my last dreary post! We have been on the go most weekends as fall is such a busy time of year. Thought I would post some pictures of our most recent happenings. These aren't the greatest but you get the idea.
On to more our happenings, we decided to put Jake at MDO since they had a spot for him. He will be going there 2 days a week just to have a change of scenery, learn some new things, and to be there the same days as his sister. Somewhere in all of this I told him he would be able to play in the gym while at MDO and he has been asking to go ever since. God love the teacher(Mrs. Melanie) that gets him tomorrow. He will ask about the gym until they get to go. And after I pick them up tomorrow we are headed to Barnes for LGT to model for a fairy shoot they have going on. I almost decided not to do it but thought "why not?". The fact that she doesn't have much hair on the left side of her head doesn't mean she isn't precious. So that will be something fun for her and I to do together. And just to brace you, we have decided to cut her hair. For a month I have firmly stated that I would never cut/shave it, but after doing research and talking to countless people, we feel that it is the only way to BREAK the habit. Everything else we're trying to do was masking hwe hair pulling for moments of time. So I have shed my tears and come to the conclusion that this is an obstacle we will get over and move on. Just had to say it.

Celebrating Landon Hall's 3rd birthday...so fun watching the boys trying to "help" him open up presents.

Kennedy was having her 1st birthday party with her brother....this wasn't the best shot but they wouldn't stay next to each other for long. Sweet Kennedy looked precious in her little monkey dress that day!

Hannah Lee, Katie Hall, and me at the birthday party.

Me, Mandy Brown, and Jennifer Sexton. We went to Genusa's in Monroe Saturday night for Jennifer's and Ryan Madden's birthday. Would have gotten a few more shots but my camera battery went dead. Bummer. Thank God for good friends.

Patrick Sexton, Nick Brown, Ryan Madden, and Matt at Tech's first home game.

And we are looking forward to Tech's Wednesday night game against Hawaii. Should be a fun one.

Landry Grace

So most of you know the issues we have been having with baby girl. And though I don't normally have pity parties, I am deciding that I have an excuse to have one. We have made some changes with the day care issue and she is no longer at Mrs. Dorothy's. Not saying it is any one's fault...but sometimes you just have to do what is best for your child. Jake is still there..he is fine. We have a sitter for Landry a couple days a week that comes to our house, so even though she did not know her, at least she is in a familiar environment. Twice a week she is going to MDO and her favorite nursery worker from our church is her teacher, so no new person to get use to there.( And Mrs. Glover said she had a wonderful day today and I was SO grateful for that plus Mrs. G came in early to stay with her during early morning drop off since it was LGT's first day. There is truly something to be said about wonderful people like her) And then mom and dad are keeping her another day. I do not think this will solve the problem but I do think we made the right move.

I took her to the pediatrician today who suggested that I put gloves on her hands at night to keep her from pulling out her hair. It seems to me that at night is when she does it the most. So tonight I did the dreadful and had to put a sock on her hand and then tape it so she couldn't get it off. I only did the hand she mainly pulled her hair out with until I went and looked on the video monitor and saw her yanking her hair with the other hand. So I had to go and fix her other hand as well. Now not only can she not pull out her hair but she cannot suck her fingers and I hate that I am taking that from her. This may be too much info for some of you and I know others aren't as open about personal things that go on behind closed doors. Yet I feel that this is something that needs prayer and therefore am telling you, not so that I can be judged. I have prayed and prayed and feel that we are taking the right steps to helping the problem, but it is so hard to watch Landry do what she is doing.

So please pray and I will let go and let God. Have a good night.

Shower for Jenny

Today we celebrated the upcoming arrival of Jared "Camen" Stowell who is due to arrive in late October. Jenny(in the polka dots) looks amazing at 33 weeks! I was never one who did pregnancy well!!! She is doing a cowboy theme, hence the cake. Has anyone else seen the explosion is cakes these days? The bigger/more expensive/elaborate the better, or so it seems. What a business the cake industry has going. I am already thinking about the kids' birthday party in December and what we will do for a cake...better to think ahead of time and be prepared. Yet I have to come to the conclusion that the more expensive does not always mean better. Creativity is the key, I think. And yes, I already have a theme: Mickey and Minnie in celebration of our summer trip to Disney World. Did not mean to veer off the subject, I just got to thinking about cakes after today. Jenny's certainly turned out very cute!


Carrie, me, Katye, Jenny, Melody, Emily(pregnant with another girl), Lacey, and Julie(pregnant with a boy)