Playtime At The Park

Gentry wasn't feeling so good and had an awful cough throughout the night Sunday night, so Monday morning Larson took the day off from work so we could carry Gentry to see his pediatrician together.

Turns out, Gentry's chest sounded clear, but he does have some nasal issues going on.  Unless he starts running fever or it becomes hard for him to breathe, we have to just ride it out.  If it persists for more than a week, though, his pedi will give him an antibiotic then.  He's sounds so pitiful.  I wish there was more I could do.  I just try to make him comfortable until this old yucky stuff leaves him alone.  I wish I could stay home with him when he's not feeling well instead of sending him to daycare, but we gotta work to pay the bills. :(

We had Jubal's ears checked out while we were there because he keeps pulling at them.  His ears are clear and look very good.  Doc says it's all because of his teeth coming in.  It makes his ears hurt, and causes him to run a low grade temp, as well.  That is why he missed school on Friday.  He ran fever throughout the night on Thursday for reasons we couldn't pinpoint, so we kept him home on Friday since he was still running fever that morning.  He's good now, though, and I'm glad his ears are fine.  I don't want him to have to have tubes in his ears.  His doctor says he has no worries about that. Yay!

Jubal also got his flu shot while we were there.  It was one of the inhalant shots, yet you would've thought they were giving him an actual shot with a needle the way he was screaming & crying.  Poor fella!  He hates shots & haircuts.  Screams like crazy! ;)

Anyway, all this to say that while we were in Statesboro to take the boys to the pedi, we went to Mill Creek afterwards to let Jubal get some of this wonderful fresh air and sunshine.  It was such a beautiful day.  We kept Gentry in the shade, since he was sleeping in his car seat, while we both played with Jubal for awhile.

What I love about this park is that it is always so clean, you never have to fight gnats away, and I've never been bitten by a mosquito.  The equipment is very toddler friendly, and it allows Jubal to exude a little independence since we don't have to assist him on every little thing.  Love!  He likes it pretty good, too...this being independent thing.

When Gentry woke up, he & I went over to a picnic area and sat in the shade while Jubal continued playing.  Larson even felt comfortable enough to let Jubal stay on the playground while he joined us for a soda.  Of course, the playground is only maybe 50 ft. away. ;)

As I sat and talked to my sweet Gentry, I noticed that the mark that was on his foot when he was born is still there.  I don't know what caused it or if it's just simply a permanent birthmark, but it's still there.  I'll just call it my boy's beauty mark.  Ha!

While Jubal finished having his play time on the playground, I sat and took pics of some of Gentry's many facial expressions.  He's so funny sometimes.

Such intense eye contact. Love those blues!

OK, woman! Get that camera outta my face.

Here comes that smile...

Hahahaha! That's my boy!

When it was time to go, after a good hour of non-stop play, Jubal still wasn't ready to leave.  That boy can go, and go, and go I tell ya.  However, as soon as we got them loaded up and started home, it wasn't 10 minutes before both of my sweet boys were knocked out.  It was a good day. :)

I hope my sweet Gentry gets to feeling better.  His cough has gotten worse, but he still hasn't ran any fever and seems to be breathing okay.  If he's not better by this coming up Monday, I'm taking him back to see the pediatrician again.  I need for him to feel better so my heart will feel better.  I hate when either of my babies feel bad, as I'm sure every mother does.

Today is  Larson's birthday and since it fell on a weekday, we'll be having dinner with his mama Saturday evening.  Then we have a family reunion Sunday for my mama's maternal side of the family.  We have a fun weekend coming up.  I want my boy to feel good.







Dirt Roads

I said I wanted us to take more time out of our busy days to just relax with our boys and we have been, even if it's just spending time in our own back yard in the evenings after work & daycare while Jubal rides his four wheeler or we pull him in his wagon.

The weather has been so nice lately and it makes it easier to get out and do more.  Gentry doesn't do well in the heat (his little face breaks out), so it was hard for me to be able to get outside with Jubal & Larson until it cooled off some so we could take him outside with us.

Jubal's favorite thing is riding in Pappaw's truck.  We like to go riding on the dirt roads around our house and everyone knows he loves "Moo Cows", so we're always on the lookout for a good cow pasture. ;)

Thursday evening, my sister cooked supper for us all over at my mama's house.  Alannah was at a friend's house, and Jubal was heartbroken, so we decided to take him for a ride while my sister & mama kept Gentry with them.

It wasn't too far down the road before we saw a field of cows.  Since we didn't have Mr. Gentry with us, I was able to get out with my biggest boy and see the cows with him.  Sadly, our little chihuahua thinks he is 10 feet tall & bulletproof and he scared the cows away from us. :(

Goodness! I am so country! ;)

We stopped by a few other fields and talked with Jubal about farmers and cotton and corn, etc.  I would have loved to have been raised on a farm, or even if Larson had been raised on a farm and still worked on it.  I would have made a great "farmer's wife", I think.  It would be nice to have something to pass on to our boys, as well.

I love how he is looking at his daddy, listening so closely to what he is saying. :)

On the way home, we saw some more cows back behind my favorite pond.  I love the rustic little pond house beside it.  I wouldn't mind waking up there and going out on the front porch to drink a cup of coffee on a cool morning to just stare out across this pond.  It's so peaceful.

We got on back to Mama's for supper.  Gena, my sister, had a crab casserole, broccoli salad, and biscuits cooked.  It was delicious.  We ate and then snuggled with our baby boy some. :)

After visiting for a little while, and against Jubal's wishes because he wanted to stay and play with Laney some more, we had to get back home for baths and bedtime.

I'm so thankful Fall is finally here.  It's my favorite season, with October being my favorite month out of the entire year.  I'm getting excited about going to the fair, pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, Halloween, decorating, hay rides, etc.

Actually, I'm just excited for the cooler weather so we can get out with our boys more. Fun, fun! :)



A Sunset Ride To See A Cow

Our days tend to run together since we have such a mundane schedule/routine every.single.day.

It's always wake up, get dressed, take the boys to daycare, go to work, get off work, go pick the boys up, go home, cook supper, clean kitchen, get baths, get ready for bed, watch a little T.V., rock babies to sleep, go to bed, get up and do the same thing the next day.

I feel like I never have a significant amount of good, quality time with my boys, husband included.  It's always the same ol', same ol'.

Last night I requested that we take Jubal to see the "Moo Cows" in Pappaw's truck, since he loves Pappaw's truck so much.  As soon as supper was cooked and we finished eating, we loaded the boys up and left out for the cow pastures.  I left the dishes in the sink.  That's a biggie for me. ;)

I need to learn how to let things go like that more often.  I need to let the "schedule" go.  I need to exhale sometimes.  It was nice just being with my little family last night.

Check out this amazing sunset just out of my backdoor.  Gorgeous.  There most definitely IS a God.

Just a little farther down the dirt road there is a pond and the way the sunset reflected off of the water was so beautiful.  This picture by no means does it justice.

As we made our way to the open fields and cow pastures, Jubal continued to look at me so sweetly and ask, "Cow, Mama?"  "Yes, Baby, we're going to see the cows.", I said.  He would just smile that breathtaking smile of his.

We don't make him ride in a car seat when we take him riding in Pappaw's truck because we're usually just on the dirt road riding no more than 10 mph.  He gets to ride up front, on the console, between his daddy & I.

I had my arm wrapped around his little waist for support and he grabbed my hand and pulled it around him.  I love it when he holds my hand.  He won't want to do this forever, so I take advantage every chance I get.

There just happened to be a huge cow standing near the fence when we got there.  All of the others were far off, grazing.  Of course, as soon as Jubal & Larson walked up to the fence, the cow ran away.  Jubal was so sweet trying to call the cow.  I caught some of it on video, though it's not a very good video since it was getting darker by the second.

I stayed in the truck with Gentry since we didn't have him sprayed down with bug spray.  The mosquitoes are awful.  I certainly don't want either of my babies to get the West Nile disease.

We rode a little ways on down the road to see if another herd of cows was in a different pasture, but since they weren't I told Jubal that their mama's had made them go home since it was dark and it was nite nite time. 

We then went back by the other cow so Jubal could tell him goodbye & goodnight.

It was nice to stray away from the same old routine.  I felt more at peace, feeling as if I had spent more time with my boys.  This is something I need to do all the time because they are what's most important to me.  More than a clean house, or any type of schedule.  I just want to enjoy the time God allows me to spend with them and never have any regrets about maybe not spending enough time with them while they're little, when they're older.

Sometimes I wish I could be a stay-at-home mom so I could spend more time with them.  That will never be, though, so we make due and do what we have to do.

It was a good evening. We're going to do it more often, I hope. :)





2-2-2

My big boy is 2 years 2 months and 2 days old today.  I just thought that was really cool, so I wanted to post a pic of him to remember him at exactly this age.

Silly, I know.  It is what it is. ;)

He loves playing with bugs right now.  See the big bug on the end of his stick?

Happy 2-2-2 day to my sweet boy!!!!

Three Months with Gentry

My sweet little Gentry Slade,

You are now three whole months old.  Instead of asking "Where did the time go?", I'm going to say it feels like you've been with us forever.  This is our precious life now, and I'm so thankful you are a part of it.

Let's see what you've been up to this month.

• You now wear size 2 diapers.
• You are still taking 4 oz. bottles.  You usually take 5 or 6 bottles, the 6th depending on if you wake up during the night.  Generally, if you wake up, it's only briefly and it's only for a little bit of bottle, then you're right back to sleep.
• You are an excellent sleeper! Just like your big brother, you've slept wonderfully since you were born.  Like I said, if you wake up at all during the night, it's only for a little bottle, then you're right back sleeping like an angel.  You sleep late on the weekends with us, too.  Yay! :)
• You're so cute when you cry.  You poke your little bottom lip out & it's absolutely adorable!  Your daddy & I get tickled every time you do it.
• You are still in 0-3 months clothes.  I'm starting to pick you up some 3-6 months, though, because it won't be long until you move up.
• I haven't weighed you lately, but I would say you're up to about 16 lbs.  You put on weight so quickly your first 2 months, but it's tapered off now.  You're still growing taller, though, which is why I'm buying you 3-6 months clothes.
• You like taking a bath even more.  You'll lie there and when your daddy pours water over your little body you just smile so big.  I can't wait for the day that you & Jubal can take baths together.  I imagine there will be water everywhere. ;)
• You smile all the time.  It's the sweetest smile ever. :)
• When we talk to you, you try very hard to talk back.  I love all of your little sounds.  Your hands are always moving, too.  I have a feeling you're going to be like your mama and talk with your hands a lot.
• Your little face is completely clear now.  We still put Vaseline on it sometimes, though, just to make sure.  We haven't been able to take you out in the sun or heat since it's been so hot (which intensified the "milk bumps"), but now that it's cooling off, we put your swing out on the back deck and you LOVE it outside!
• You adore your big brother and that makes my heart swell.  I love you both so much and hope that y'all have an outstanding relationship as you grow up.  God has surely blessed us with some awesome little boys!

That's about all I can think of for now.  I'm excited to see what each month of your precious life brings.  You have brought so much more happiness to our family than I ever could have imagined.  I waited a long time for my little family and it could not be any sweeter than it is.  I have two sweet, precious, precious little boys that I get to call MINE!  Please always know that Mama is always here for you, no matter what, and I love you with everything I am.  You are the baby of our family.  My last baby.  There will never be another one.  Just know that you are so special and I intend to make sure that you have a happy, wonderful life for as long as I live.  You are my sunshine.


Love you forever & always,

Mama

Just Life

We had a very lazy Labor Day weekend. We should have cut the grass, but it's still growing. ;)

Instead we stayed inside a lot (Jubal had a fever) and played in the floor.

Proof...

I love the look of love in my boys' eyes!

Gentry never takes his eyes off of his big brother. :)

Lie down already, Brother! ;)

While little brother took a nap, I tried to do some housework.  Jubal helped...

Then the boys laid around in our bed while I folded clothes and put them away.

Other than that, this is all we did...

Looks like fun, huh?  Relaxing time with my guys.  I can never get enough. :)