LaVoy Cousins

 

I have one sister and one brother. My sister has three kids, and my brother is still single. Above is a photo of the kids on my side of the family (my sisters children, and mine). Our oldest children are four, Connor and Jillian (In the back holding the babies) were born just 10 days apart. They have been best friends since birth. I nannied for my sister the first two summers of the kids lives so they were kind of raised like brother and sister. I was so lucky to have that time with both of them. Gabriel (far right, in the green coat) is  three years old and wild! He is always on the move and into something. He can be a terror but turns around and says the sweetest things like "Auntie, I just need a hug!" Ugh, melts my heart! I don't know if he really does need a hug or if he is playing me, he is a smart little stinker! Next is Zachary, he's the little chubby one down front with the red and blue coat. He is like a little teddy bear, sweet, and cuddly. You can't see it in this picture but he is kind of the odd ball of the group. He has dark brown hair, brown skin, measures in the upper 90th percentile, and looks nothing like his daddy! My kids, and Trisha's two older look exactly like their dad's (blonde hair, lighter eyes, and light skin) and Zac resembles my family, especially my dad and sister. Zac and Reese are only four months apart. He will be one year old on December 27th. I am so happy that my kids can have such a close relationship with their cousin's. They are always so happy to see each other, and usually play very well together (as well as kids can!). This picture was taken in front of my mom and dad's house. My mother knitted all of the hats for the kids! It made a beautiful picture!

Milestones

At this point my daughter is 7 months old. Every time I look I her little face I can't help but smile, first because she looks so much like her daddy (I married him for a reason) and second because she has the sweetest little personality. I cannot believe how fast  seven months has flown by! Lately it seems like we have been wishing away time. I want so badly to be done with school, and we want to get going on our move already. In that way, we are sort of wishing away our little girls time of being a baby.
Now at seven months she is just starting to crawl, and she wants to touch everything and put it into her mouth. She babbles and is starting to make the consonant sounds such as "ba ba" and "da da" not real words yet, but she is on her way! She loves her big brother! As soon as she sees him after preschool she starts giggling with excitement. She is actually easier to handle when he is around because she really likes to watch him play, and he likes to play with her.

I think I am kind of in a honeymoon period with my kids. Connor is really getting to be independant, and Reese is getting into a really good schedule, she is sleeping through the night and taking two good naps during the day! It makes me think about having another.. My husband thinks I'm crazy, and I tend to change my tune after a tough day! haha!

Christmas Time?

I just want to know why we need to start decorating for Christmas in stores as soon as Halloween is over. Don’t get me wrong.. I LOVE CHRISTMAS, but I just believe in celebrating one holiday at a time. With Christmas comes stress and worrying about what to get the kids and family members; I would rather jump that hurdle when Christmas is closer. Let me prepare for Thanksgiving before I start with Christmas.. Does it really need to be a 2 month thing?

                Connor is 4 ½, the countdown to Christmas for a 4 year old already seems endless, then they add another month to it! Poor Guy! He has already been asking me when we can put up our Christmas tree. I tried to explain that we had to wait until Thanksgiving was over. When I was explaining that Thanksgiving is coming first, he decided that he better start his “Thanksgiving list”! We had to have another talk about what Thanksgiving is; he is still looking forward to Christmas! HAHA!

A friend of mine posted this on her wall and I was very excited to see this! 
 

Hunting Widow

This week is hunting season. This is something I do not look forward to. I understand everyone needs their hobbies but none of mine take me away from my family for a week and a half and render completely useless to my husband.  I’ve been thinking of things that I could that would be equivalent to the time he spends hunting just so he could see how inconvenient it is for me and the kids. The only thing I can think about is shopping, go figure! But I have come to the conclusion that while I would be shopping I would be thinking about my kids, and shopping for my kids; when he’s hunting, he is only thinking of one thing and it sure isn’t me and the kids! One of Cody’s excuses for hunting is that it provides food for our family.. This is what I have to say to that.. BULL!! Deer meat must be the most expensive meat there is! From what it takes to prepare the sausage, buy the gun, buy the ammunition, and buy the hunting supplies we could save a small fortune (A little drastic, but I tend to over exaggerate when I’m tired!). I’ll keep thinking about what I will do for myself and keep you posted. For now I’m working on keeping my head above water!