will...

is so handsome...

so happy...

so busy...

and so loved by his big brother.

hard...

This past week was hard. Scott was in the field and I've had sick boys. Will, just got a common virus... nothing bad. CJ on the other hand ended up in respiratory distress, was on a slew of medication, but is good now. 

Seeing CJ that sick and not being able to help him was hard. Having to hold him as he got two steroid shots and two antibiotic shots was hard. Having to hold him through countless breathing treatments was hard. Not being able to help Will rest was hard. Seeing him not smiley and knowing he hurt was hard. Hard, hard, hard...

But you know what, being a parent is hard. But you know what makes it worth it... getting to parent these two! They make all the hard moments worth it. And as I reflect on what I am thankful for, these guys are definitely at the top of my list. :)

confession and the farm...

I know I've needed to blog. But for some reason, I haven't wanted to. I guess it has felt like a chore and not a joy like it used to. I love the record of things we do. I love to look back. 

I hate to go through the 300 pictures I took at the farm. Really. 300. Have you ever tried to take pictures of kiddos once they can move? Have you ever tried to take pictures of two moving kids? It's not easy. Thus, I take a lot of pictures. My strategy is that if you take enough, surely you will get at least one decent one. Sometimes it works, sometimes you still get CJ frowning and Will crawling away.

But I digress. I've had a change of attitude, and here is our FUN day at the farm. 

It is actually a working farm, and I loved the cotton. It reminds me of going to church out in the country with my Nanny and Granddaddy when I was little. It reminds me of field trips in elementary school. Good memories.

What made the day even more fun was we got to spend it with Jake! We weren't in Tennessee a long time, and we tried to spend a lot of time visiting Nanny the Great, so we didn't get to see Jake nearly enough. Next time these two train lovers will have to meet at the train museum.

Here's a look at the little walkway with different stations in the different little barns...

You (the kids) got to ride tractors to harvest crops...

Pick apples...

Pick potatoes...

Pick tomatoes...

Milk a cow...

As the kids walked on the path, they collected all the little items in a small basket. CJ loved sorting them all back into the big baskets. These are the moments I know he's mine!

And just in case you were worried Will didn't get enough attention. Don't worry, Aunt Carla made sure he was loved. :)

These guys had fun playing in the cotton trailer....

CJ ran up to the top and kept calling, "Come on Jake! Come on Jake!" When they both got all the way to the top, they smiled BIG and laughed. Then CJ jumped all the way back down.

There was an old barn with animals. CJ, Jake, Becky, Jake's mama, and Aunt Carla all climbed up to the loft. I looked back down to see what Will was doing, and I almost passed out. He loved this goat (check out his climbing area!). His little feet get going when he gets excited, and I thought he was going to power his way over the fence. It was hilarious. My mom could barely control all 17 pounds of him.

The boys had a blast up in the loft. We tried to take a picture because they are just so cute, but like I said earlier, taking pictures of kids, much less two, isn't easy. So here's the best I got. :)

Then it was off to play on the tire maze and then play with pumpkins!

Here's another perfect example of taking pictures of kids. This was honestly the best picture we could get of the grandmas and grandsons. Jake would not turn around because he was getting another pumpkin. CJ was throwing a pumpkin. Will was so wiggly that Gran had him upside down. And you know what... I love this picture. It makes me smile, because kids aren't perfect and smiley. They are free spirits. And this captures it perfectly.

Can you believe the fun goes on? They had this cute "horse" set up. CJ though it was awesome. 

If I'm completely honest... I'm annoyingly scared of heights. They had a cool slide made from some farm piping. It was steep. You could see through the stairs. I held on to CJ as we climbed the first few times because I was so scared. Him, not a bit scared. Being a boy mama is good for me.

Check out the JOY!!! He was a little unsure the first time at the top. When he got to the bottom, he said, "Do dat aahhh-gain!" with the biggest smile possible on his little face. It was priceless.

And if that wasn't enough fun, instead of sandboxes, they had a corn box. Totally a great alternative to sand. It doesn't get stuck in your hair. You don't find it in your pockets. It doesn't hurt when it gets in your eyes. I would totally do this in my backyard. CJ had a great time.

We had such a fun day. I can't wait to go back. I love that we get to do stuff like this with family. That's what makes it even better.

fun around the house at Gran's...

Even though we did some fun things at Gran's house like go to church, the train museum and the farm, I think these two had the most fun just visiting with Nanny the Great and playing at Gran's house.

This was Will's preferred way to sit in his high chair. Can you tell he felt at home?

Will also had lots of fun with the light sockets. Notice there is no baby-proofing on this one...

That's because a certain baby will not be deterred from pulling out the plug covers...

Will also had lots of fun playing the piano. He would stretch to his tip-tipiest toes to reach.

CJ had lots of fun making a BIG mess. Basically, he dumped everything out into a big pile. One day I said, "Lets clean up." He responded, "No mommy. No clean up. Like my mess."

He also had lots of fun with a train set, mom's friend, Ms. Dale brought over.

But the most fun. Would you believe he loved vacuuming with Gran? Yep. One day I asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He said, "Want big vacuum like at Gran's house. Have little vacuum (a dust buster) at home. Want big vacuum at my house." I never know with this guy...

But my favorite thing CJ did while he was at Gran's house was to make play dough. I remember doing this with my mom, so it was fun to watch them do it together.

He had a so much fun playing with the cookie cutters. Check out his concentration!

We had a great time. Stay tuned for our fun at the farm!