Who would've thought...

...that laundry baskets and blocks could be so much fun?

When we arrived home from TN this afternoon, the boys' laundry baskets were sitting in the foyer and Lawson suddenly found them quite entertaining!

He began by "shooting baskets" with the tennis ball and given the size of the ball vs. the basket, he was very successful in making the shots, and he was so proud! Next he stacked them as seen below...

And then came the blocks... he slowly dropped them in one by one until he emptied his block box... he was having so much fun!

Next, we ALL stirred the "block soup"... :)

And we scooped the block soup which was made up of chicken, pasta, peas, beans, potatoes, and tomatoes.

Lawson became very good at this scooping block soup business...

Dad scooped soup (and so did Mom)

And Lawson was entertained with this for 45 minutes, at least! At times, it seems as though the little things are much more enjoyable for them... this afternoon, it was blocks, laundry baskets, a ladle, a french fry scoop, and a wooden spoon!

And in addition to laundry basket fun, I had to post this sweet picture... I bought two beverage tubs on clearance at Target last week. Russ brought them in from the van and Lawson began playing/sittimg in them. Russ was playing with him and talking to him when he picked Lawson and the tub up and began swinging him back and forth... and you can imagine what the continual request was for the next 30 minutes... again, again, again!

He was loving it!

Fun times!

:)

Emmitt's First Day

It was a big day for Mr. Emmitt.

Today was his first day at school.

Next week, I will return to school to begin preparing my classroom for my new students and the new school year. As we did with Lawson, we decided to take him for a few days prior to the "necessary" time for him to be at school.

So, today was the big day! It was a rough start to the day, to be honest, but we got there with everything, but... diapers! :) Yes, I took Emmitt to school without diapers. As I said, things were hectic and I walked right out and forgot them. I am very thankful that Mandy knows us very well or I am certain she would think this poor baby had a terrible mother. I ran them back over and got to see how he was doing... and as I expected, he was receiving love and doing very well.

Here are Lawson and Emmitt ready to go school "together".

Caused lots of mixed emotions.

Here is Emmitt with Ms. Stephanie, one of his teachers. She was very sweet to him and me today; I can tell Emmitt really likes her!

And here is our Mandy holding Emmitt... she will be moving up to the Toddler Room on Friday and I wanted to be sure that Emmitt got some lovin' from her so that is another reason he went this week. :)

He also has a few other teachers who weren't there and/or available when I was taking pictures.

When I arrived to pick them up this afternoon, he was fussy as he had only slept 1 hour and 40 minutes the entire day! I am sure the change of scenery, new noises and new people, had something to do with that. He made up for his missed sleep tonight and I am hoping he will remain in a peaceful slumber throughout the night.

His daily report was good and the cutest part of his day is that he painted today!!! Yes, he painted a lion with his feet. :) I will post a picture of his first piece of art when we bring it home... the school days for Emmitt have begun.

Signing off with a thankful heart for their loving teachers, and with mixed emotions that Emmitt is officially a little school boy.

Wedding Weekend #1

This past weekend, Russ, Lawson, and I traveled to Kansas City for a wedding. Our friends, Johnny and Rachele, got married and we were excited to be a part of their special day.

The trip was a long 7 hour trip and was initially supposed to be just the two of us going, however as we were getting ready to leave the house, Lawson went into complete melt-down mode so we decided to take him with us... not so sure that it was the smartest decision we've ever made, but we survived. Mom and Julie Anne stayed here with baby Emmitt, and we appreciate it very much. I am certain their time here was much more relaxing than ours!

So, our planned departure time of 8:30 became 9:30... the music started at 6:00 and we knew we were pushing it with regard to travel/arrival time. The ride was challenging... Lawson quickly grew tired of his seat, the movies playing, he needed a few diaper changes, of course, wanted a snack, but nothing we had satisfied him and the list went on and on. Honestly, it was quite pitiful. The trip truly exhausted him. Lawson doesn't handle "surprises" very well. He needs lots of preparation with regard to the "events" to come. It has just occurred to me as I type this that he must take after Russ on the "mentally prepared" aspect! Ha! Those of you who know Russ well, know exactly what I am talking about... yelp, I believe Lawson has to be "mentally prepared" to deal with things. So anyway, as we got closer, we began to explain the hotel, quickly changing our clothes, going to the wedding, the reception, etc. He immediately began crying telling us "I don't like o-tel!" (referring to the hotel) Over and over again. I really wasn't sure we were going to make it. However, we arrived at the hotel at 5:00, unloaded our things and found our room. Low and behold, Lawson LOVED the o-tel! He was so excited to be out of that van that he didn't know what to do with himself. The room was extremely nice... actually, too nice for $89, but we weren't going to complain! He jumped on the bed, turned on both T.V.s, and explored the room for the first 10 min or so we were there. And somehow or another, we were out the door and to the wedding site by 6:10!!!

Now once in the church building, he once again told us that he didn't like it. There were lots of people, and many people smiling at him, waving at him, talking to him, etc. and he just wasn't so sure about that. We had attempted to prepare him for the ceremony, but never thought about all of the people. Lawson's face was buried in Russ' shoulder as the ceremony began and then he suddenly turned around and became very interested in all that was happening. It was a sweet wedding and then we were off to the reception which was tons of fun! Good food, good friends, good music, and a GREAT time!

Below are a few shots from the reception which he LOVED!!! And overall, he was a very well-behaved 2-year old. We really can't complain.

Me and Lawson

Russ and Lawson... looking good! :)


The Reception Hall... so pretty!

Johnny and Rachele are the same couple that went with us to STL. Johnny and Russ work together and fortunately, the entire Cargill Leadership Team was in attendance!

Us, The Stalkers, The Bhaskarans, The Garbers, and The Lopez Family accompanying the Bride and Groom!

Johnny and Rachele

Lawson made a new little friend; she was so cute!

Kayce having fun on the dance floor!

Lawson dancing with Mom - he was having a blast!

Molly dancing with Lawson

Lawson dancing with Kim

Vee and Sonja doing "The Cotton-eyed Joe"... had never seen this dance, however it did look like fun!

And lastly Lawson breaking it down on the stage... this is where he spent most of his dancing time. And boy, did he have fun!

Congratulations, Johnny and Rachele, and thank the good Lord that we made it home safely!

The ride was rough for us all, but we made it, just like we always do... with that said, we will leave Lawson AT HOME the next time as I truly believe he would be much more comfortable screaming here at home than strapped in his seat! :) So is the life with kids, right?!

And as to the "#1", we have another wedding next weekend in TN. One of Russ' fraternity brothers is getting married in Grand Junction... there will be no children in towe, screaming or not!!!

The Big 3-0!

June is a big month for us!

In addition to our anniversary, both of our birthdays are in June so it is a big month of celebrating!

This year's birthday was a mile stone... the big 3-0! Russ and I celebrated our 30th birthday with family gatherings. Below are a few pictures from the celebrations!

The weekend following my birthday we traveled to Martin to be with family. This was Emmitt's first trip to Martin and our family and friends were excited to see him! We did celebrate my birthday here in Evansville... Russ lined Mandy up to come keep the boys, unannounced to me (wasn't that thoughful?), and we went out for dinner. It was a nice break for the two of us.

Back to Martin... On Saturday we had a little birthday party at my Mom's. Family on all sides were invited and we had a great time! It was initially planned to be out in the back yard, but the heat index was in the 100s so we had to move it inside.

-Our birthday cake-

You can imagine how excited Lawson was given his love for "happy birthday to you"! : )

Lawson watching Nana cut the cake

Brayden and Jenna

Grandmother, Mrs. Jane, and Aunt Donna feeding Emmitt

Granddaddy, Mr. Richard, and Daddy Denton

Dad and Aunt Shelia

Lawson and Daddy Bell eating birthday cake, yummy!

Lawson, like me, loves the icing!

Granny and Mama B are visiting...

Mama B and Emmitt - doesn't she look pretty? :)

And that's all of our Martin birthday pictures!

We did go to Jackson to have dinner with our friends Ben and Jennifer on Saturday night, which was another nice evening, and then my best friend, Jennifer and her little Miss Ruby Claire, came to visit on Sunday and it was nice to see her, too!

A great weekend in Martin!

The next weekend was Russ' birthday and Father's Day. Mr. Richard, Mrs. Jane, and Granny came to spend the weekend with us for his birthday. We cooked dinner which was enjoyed by all! His birthday dinner consisted of steak, hamburger for Granny, baked potato casserole (delicious!), grilled asparagus, and rolls. It was a very good dinner!

And of course, a birthday cookie cake, which was also very good!

So, celebrating the big 3-0 was not so bad... as a matter of fact, we had a great time!

Back to see the Otters!

We returned to Bosse Field this past Saturday night for more Otter fun! The weather was pleasant so we decided to make this Emmitt's first game! And let me tell ya, he enjoyed it thoroughly... a dreamy kind of experience! Ha! He slept through the whole game... however, Lawson made up for his silence.

I am sooooo paying for my raising!!!!!!!!!! We are now boppy free and with mixed emotions. We were rushing out the door to get to school one morning last week when we couldn't find the boppy. I thought there was probably one in the van so I got everyone loaded to find there wasn't. Ran back inside and still couldn't find one amidst the messy house that seems to be neverending since we've become parents of two. Ugh. Anyway, attempting to make it on time to an aerobic class after dropping Lawson off at school, I decided to forgoe looking for it and he would just have to suck it up. I told him it was lost and he simply said, "ok". Very surprised by this response, but thanks to Dora playing in the DVD player the ride to school was quiet. And... we never "found it"! I struggled with not giving it back to him, but found out that day that he hasn't been sleeping with it at school since he moved up to the two-year old room and was making it fine so we've continued with deep breaths over the past week-in-a-half as we hurdle the tough no boppy times. And my other worry was Emmitt's boppy... hasn't been too big of an issue until he is tired. He is surviving without his boppy and I guess we are too, I think. :)

Back to paying for my raising... no boppy means no silence. Literally. In the vehicle he talks NON-STOP!!!!! It is truly exhausting. Sometimes he calls our name and then says, "ummmm...". Nothing to say. Simply wanting to talk. Oh, my goodness. I am sorry mom and dad. No conversation occurs between the two of us when we are in the car. If we are in the van and the TV is on then it is not as bad, but he still talks, and sometimes to the TV. :) Yes, he answers questions on the movie that he is watching. Oh, my.

Now back to the Otters game... from the minute we told him we were going to the Otters game on Saturday afternoon, he spoke of NOTHING BUT OTTERS GAME for the rest of the day. His mouth did not stop from leaving our drive to returning to our drive. Seriously. I finally told him to stop talking and rest his mouth - he began to whisper. So we heard all about the Otters for approximately five hours straight on Saturday.

A silent moment only to smile and show me his Otters ball which he received from one of the previous games... we were hoping to get it signed, but our time at the game was cut a little short. The Otter mascot came around and he became a little frightened so he asked to leave and we obliged.

Emmitt's first game!

Lawson sporting his Pujols STL Cardinals shirt... he is already asking to go see a Cardinal's game.

Lawson tried and tried to wake this baby up, but it just wasn't happening...

It was a fun, but noisy night. And Mr. Lawson... we love you and your talkative little self!

So goes the saying, The apple doesn't fall far from the tree... he got it honest. :)

The 4th...

We had a nice 4th of July weekend. Between the 3-day weekend for Russ and the two gatherings we attended, we had a great time.

Our celebrating began on Saturday night, July 3 at the Lopez's house. They had their annual 4th of July party and as always, it was a very good time. Both the food and fellowship was great... nothing like good ole' Texas style brisket! You're an awesome cook, Jon; it was delicious! :)


There were many friends there including little Miss Sidney. Sidney is 5 months older than Lawson and they had a good time playing together. Of course, he enticed her with his baseball and she was a good sport.


For some reason, having another child to care for really limited the number of pictures taken...

Sidney and Lawson

The night ended with fireworks, which Lawson was scared of so he and Russ enjoyed the coolness of the indoors as we enjoyed a spectacular firework show... better than any small town display I've ever seen! Thanks Jon and Kim for a fun evening!

On Sunday night, the 4th, we went to Russ' office for the annual July 4th Customer Appreciation Celebration. It was lots of fun, as always! There was approximately 800 in attendance this year and the riverfront was full of fun with friends and family.

Hotdogs, hamburgers, and brauts were served along with chips, beans, the trimmings, and soft drinks and water. One of my favorite parts of the food is the ice cream... for some reason, it always tastes so good at this event... I suppose it is the atmosphere.

Lawson played and played and had a great time. Clowns were present to entertain the children and were enjoyed by many with the exception of Lawson. They were painting faces and twisting balloons into cool creations and he wanted nothing to do with it. He finally accepted a smiley sticker which you can see on his forearm. The Elmo face painting wasn't even enough to convince him! And like the night before, he was afraid of the beautiful fireworks and immediately began asking to go to the truck so off he and Russ went. It will pass with time, I'm sure.

Russ and Lawson

Lawson is enjoying a hotdog and potato chips, along with a few pickles and a slice of cheese.

The view of the river and the crowd

A few of the Cargill kids!

Simone, Saveena, V.J., Clayton, Kayce, and Emmitt in the stroller.

Emmitt wasn't the least concerned with the events happening around him!

Lawson and his glow-in-the-dark necklace... fun!

Not only is Lawson into baseball, he is still all about singing and dancing... he can turn most anything into a guitar, including his necklace. And he's also dancing a little jig! I believe Johnny Cash was being played over the speakers at this time.

More rhythm than Russ or I even begin to think about having!

He is a funny boy!

Lawson and Dad waiting for the firework show

Beautiful Evansville fireworks!

Mom, Lawson, and Emmitt

And that was our fun weekend!

We are so thankful to live in this great nation... may God continue to bless us as Americans and may He also bless the farmers and ranchers with plentiful harvests.