This is the life....

Ok - I had to post this as I'm nearing 3 years of constant cleaning after a little one. This made my heart smile and laugh out loud as I saw Andrew helping to clean up after dinner the other night. I guess it all ties in with my last posting about his maturity.

I don't get the backpack - who knows where his imagination was taking him this particular evening. But that's ok... it adds character to him AND the pictures :)

Enjoy!

Growing up toooooo quickly!

So I've seen it lately in demeanor, conversation and of course - putting "marks" on the inside of the kitchen pantry to measure his physical growth. But it astounds me in some moments just HOW QUICKLY my baby is growing up! In all honesty, he truly isn't a baby anymore - but a little boy. And more honestly, a little man! Which I'm sure sounds funny considering he won't turn 3 until the end of February, but my goodness! He is SO mature.

For the longest time he has astonished people with his real age (and continues to do so!) I'll never forget on the first plane trip that Andrew and I took solo. We flew to Destin to celebrate Kaitlyn's 1st birthday with Ed & Melinda.

It started with dealing with Delta and their neverending logistical nightmare and chronic delays (long story short but we sat on the Tarmac for 2.5 hours - made it to Atlanta where we were guaranteed to be on the flight - SURPRISE! Missed that flight and by the grace of God only did we get on the last flight of the night...it was so harrowing that a complete stranger was going to give us his seat on the plane after he had been trying to get home to his wife and kids after 2 days of airport hell...)

Sitting 2+ hrs with a little boy who had not yet turned 2 could've been a major disaster. But by the grace of God, he was in a good mood and we had a good time. As the plane finally took off and we continue our banter, a guy sitting in front of us turned around. His face was a little surprised as he stated, "You are not his mother.." Confused, I confirmed I indeed was and he shook his head. He smiled and said "You guys talk like you are best friends." This made my heart smile as I answered that I was so Blessed to have him as my son and that yes - he was my special and dear "little Buddy."

I digress to say that this comment was made before Andrew was even 2. His vocabulary, social skills & interaction as well as his maturity make him seem so much older than his years. And while I have always said that Andrew has "an old soul" - seeing his physical appearance age over time allows me to see him growing into that "old soul." (and before you ask - NO! I'm not referring to reincarnation, but wisdom!)

I hope you enjoy these latest pictures of my sweet prince as they reflect how time is making him age (of course more kindly than how I am - LOL!) :)

More later.....

Good Bye 2009

Wow - this year has really flown by... But I guess that's what everyone says, particularly those who have little ones at home :) Speaking of - that boy has grown about 3" since September! And about 1/2" - 3/4" this December alone! Sigh...he'll be going to college before I know it! :(

I don't know if you can tell from this pic - but these pants used to hit the bottom of his feet...

We had a great Christmas with David's family coming over on the 19th. Mike, Brenda, Ethan & Isaac spent the weekend with us and all the boys had a blast.

The rest of the Davlin/McCoy/Toy gang joined us on the actual 19th as did George & Chrissy.
We had lots of fun and all the kiddos enjoyed opening gifts. Andrew really liked his guitar from his Uncle Jeff!

He also got a new "dog" from Nanann. He's perfect. He doesn't require vet visits, to be fed or watered OR to be let out. He doesn't destroy the house or furniture PLUS he's 100% hypoallergenic!

Welp - that's about it for now...time to veg and wait for 2010 to enter. Best wishes to all for a Happy, Successful, Healthy and Blessed 2010!

Some Decorations....

This year has been fun to decorate as the house is finally not in shambles and Andrew is finally digging the Christmas "Bling" :) And yes...he knows Christmas is about more than just the "bling" and the gifts...that it's Jesus' Birthday! (Once in awhile he'll say it's Santa's Birthday but 99% of the time, he gets it right!) ;o)

Not suprisingly, I have fallen horribly behind with pictures but here's a few of our little decorations... I will try to post some of the house lit up before it's time to take those down. David worked hard getting those lights up:)

Below is our main tree in the front living room which is full of family ornaments and fun memories! We're not necessarily the aestheticly perfect trees, but into ones with memories. (The gold ribbon is a personal touch of David's!)

Below is the miniature Christmas tree in Andrew's room. He decorated it pretty much by himself. I tried to re-distribute some of the decorations but Jeff was here and he reminded me that it was HIS tree and to let Andrew decorate it...so I obliged. I think he did a pretty good job actually! :) Next is a picture of the little tree in our family room that is also "Andrew's tree". Next to it is a picture taken with Santa last year. Andrew was scared so I had to sit with him. And even though he's grown up SOOOOOOO much from when that picture was taken, he's STILL terrified of Santa so we won't try that again this year. (I'm sure Santa's everywhere are sighing from relief!) :)

Below is some greenery and baubles to compliment the beautiful "NOEL" my Aunt Laura gave us last year...

The last picture on the blog for tonight was one of both pride and frustration (?). Somehow the 3 wreaths I had previously have been misplaced/lost/sold/burned/who knows! But they are missing and at the very least, I have to have a wreath on my front door.

SO....visiting our local Hobby Lobby recently (I am a mad lover of their 50% off sales!), I found some "decent" looking wreaths that were pre-decorated. At 50% they were $45.00. That's FORTY-FIVE DOLLARS AT 1/2 PRICE! And they really weren't too attractive! So, I grabbed a $7.00 wreath and about $5.00 worth of accents (mind you these were after the 50% off reduction but still!) and VOILA! Our new front door wreath!

And now it's 11:07 p.m. and this sleepyhead has to watch the news on DVR and hit the sack. I'm pooped! Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. Oh...wait...this weekend is family Christmas for the Davlin-McCoy side of the family. Welp...I'll sleep Sunday night! :) Let the good times roll!

The Holiday Season has begun!

So the season is actually in full swing... and it's actually almost over... but I'm trying to get this blog updated before it's January and will have more entries...so...here it goes :)

Below is a picture of our little Andrew last Wednesday looking a bit like I felt...confused (note the 2 different shoes!) and just wanting to stay in my jammies all day :)

David recently listened to a radio talk show where the host was describing the Christmas Season as one where we spend the least amount of time with our kiddos and the most time blowing money and digging ourselves deeper into debt. I guess that talk show host knew what he was talking about. I feel like we're so on the go that we neglect what is most important - what this Season is all about! We're so busy shopping, wrapping gifts, writing our Christmas cards, shipping gifts and so on - that we miss the Season and what it's all about.

Before the craziness of the Season got into full "madness mode" though, we did take a few fun pictures with Andrew as we started digging decorations out. One of the first to come out was the hat...we took some fun pictures and then our man was tuckered out.

And to all... a Good Night!

Thanksgiving Week 2009

For Thanksgiving, David and I had a total of 9 days off work. We were elated!! :) We spent the majority of it in Jefferson with Munner, Aunt Paula, My Mom (Memi), Aunt Laura and later had a few surprise guests :)

David and I also had the opportunity to leave Andrew with the ladies at Munner's and have an overnight date at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino. Which was fun and depressing all in one. If we could just keep in mind that the House always wins! :)

In the picture below, we all went to watch my brother Joey (Shadeaux) play basketball. He is a sophomore on the JV team for McLeod. Memi and Munner were sitting behind us.
















On Thanksgiving Day, we were finishing up our yummy lunch and my mom walks in holding this baby:
















It was our nephew Christian! It'd been a while since I'd seen a picture of him so I didn't recognize him. I was thrilled to the point of tears! My brother, Kelly, had driven 23 hours straight from Maryland with his 4 month old, Christian, and his 2 1/2 year old, David James.

Kelly brought a friend (Rusty) along for the ride to help him but we were in awe that he undertook such a long hard drive to surprise us! So the 4 siblings were together again! It was one of the BEST presents ever! Definitely made not going on the trip down the Danube River not QUITE as bad! :)

Below are some pics of Andrew and David James back to the antics of being cousins so close in age (they are about 1 month apart)....

Below is a picture of David James with Santa Claus. We took the boys downtown to ride the Christmas train but it was booked. David James got cozy with Santa quite quickly, but Andrew was too scared to sit with him. Oh well, one of these years :)

What a GREAT Thanksgiving!

Random Pics in November

Here are a few random pics from November...








Andrew rocking his Spiderman Bookbag...just because. :)

















My guys snuggling watching the football game...















Andrew flossing his teeth. He loves it and I'm encouraging the good oral hygiene as long as I can :)