Right on, Target

Because I never want to forget what it looks like when we go to the store ... 

There's something else I never want to forget about yesterday's trip to Target, too. A friend gave us a $25 Target gift card to celebrate Freddie's birth. I immediately knew we'd use it for formula. The good thing about Target is that they sometimes have Freddie's type of formula (it was Jones's, too) in a "20% more!" container that costs less than the regular size carton. How they do it, I do not know, but it's like finding the last Cadbury Egg of Easter when you luck into one.

Well, yesterday, I sat in the Target parking lot and prayed, "Lord, please let them have the '20% more' container for $23.99," and when I made it to the right aisle of the baby department, what did I behold but a whole bunch of regular-sized containers and that ONE with "20% more!" that God had placed to answer my prayer. 

I record this here to remember God's blessing but also as a record for the boys of how God provides for us and hears us when we call on Him. 

Thanks be to God!

Happy Father's Day!

In all our celebrating of Freddie's dedication, Father's Day almost got lost in the shuffle. It wasn't until we got home from the luncheon after church that it even occurred to me to get a picture of just Jeremy and the boys.

Some self-proclaimed "family historian" I am.

In spite of this, we did celebrate Father's Day. Jeremy got a few little gifts before church, not the least of which was his favorite apple fritters for breakfast (thank you, Ingles Bakery). He also got a pair of swim trunks (because he'd coveted my dad's at the beach), a growth-chart (made by me and every other Pinterest user this year), and this sign, made by my friend Jennie and inspired by a quote by Freddie's namesake.

The story goes that Daddy and Uncle Dave were out playing one day when a friend of Papaw's started to worry that their backyard basketball court and baseball diamond may ruin Papaw's lawn. When the friend voiced his concern to my grandfather, Papaw's response was perfect:

"We're not raising grass; we're raising boys."

Wise words that Jeremy and I will be wise to remember as we raise OUR boys. This sign will help us to do just that.

Happy Father's Day, Sweetie!

Pops are tops!

My boys lucked out in the Pop department. In their granddads, they've got two of the best men I know. Here are a few videos from earlier this week where Jones plays cat-and-mouse with one Pop and dances with the other one.

I love that laugh.

Freddie's dedicated!

We celebrated Freddie's dedication yesterday. 

Just as we'd decided before Jones was born to have his dedication on Masters Sunday, so had we chosen U.S. Open Sunday for Freddie's dedication before he was born. That they were both almost six months old on their respective Sundays was a happy coincidence ... OR proof that God likes symbolism as much as I do.  We ARE, after all, made in His image ...

ANYWAY.

Like Jones's dedication, Freddie's went so well, praise the Lord. He took a longer-than-usual morning nap before church, leaving him just as happy as could be when the service started. Our pastor always walks the babies around the congregation during the dedication. For Freddie's "baby parade," the music minister sang "Be Strong in the Lord," which is what I sing to him every nite and what we pray for both of our boys daily. James's rendition - a simple arrangement, just his voice and a piano - was absolutely perfect. His willingness to let me request what he'd sing for both of my boys' dedications has really made them that much more special, and I am so grateful.

According to some ladies in the church, Freddie Bear was very jovial in his stroll through the church. I couldn't see him, but from what I heard, he was smiling at everyone, which doesn't surprise me for a second. I couldn't hear him, either, because I was distracted by Jones's incessant "beep-beep ... beep ... beep-beep-beep." Either he's obsessed with cars, or he thinks he's R2D2. Either way, it all went well. When Jay gave Freddie back to Jeremy, baby Brother decided to use his daddy's tie as a teething toy. Other than that and the "beep"-ing, it was a success!

So was the luncheon afterwards. Of course, we had it at Sid's ... same Masters-themed menu as Jones's (what foods is the U.S. Open known for?!?). Both boys behaved really well. Jones liked having his usual run of the restaurant, and Freddie hung in there for about ninety minutes before he conked dead out in my arms as Jeremy and I were trying to get packed up and leave.

This post isn't about Jones (don't tell HIM that), but here's a funny story from lunch. He'd fallen or something and was crying for me, so I was holding him, walking around. We walked by where his Nan was sitting, and she offered him a bite of Page's strawberry cupcake. He took the bite and was, suddenly, WAY less interested in me. He reached for Nan and sat a spell with her.

Below are some of my favorite pictures of the occasion - most of them taken by the one and only Leslie Bell. The video(s) are also below. Though he recorded all of Jones's "walk" with Pastor Jay, Daddy only got the start and finish of Freddie's ... second child syndrome ... thus, the two separate videos, but they do the job of telling the story of our blessedly wonderful day.

I love this picture. I think he looks so beautiful.
I'm still in shock that I have a son with such
big, blue eyes. Talk about an answer to prayer!

Who knew a tie would taste so good?

Videos

In the past several weeks, Camden and Payton have taught Jones how to give a fist bump. They've also taught him the accompanying sizzle sound to match the "exploding," post-bump, spreading fingers.

Here, Jones demonstrates his new skill, and look! Pop can do it, too!



This second video is one that I found on my phone last nite. One of the quickest ways to silence a screaming Jones is to hand him my phone. Most of the time, he puts it in the crease of his neck and tilts his ear down to it, as if he's having a conversation with someone (most likely, Brooke, Lori, Leslie, or Wex). Or he'll summon Siri and ask her "duck-a-duck-a-ducka-ducka?" which is his most commonly said phrase and which is your best guess as to what in the world he means by it.

Never, however, has he taken a picture I've not known about, much less a video ... ... until our trip to Pawleys Island last weekend. According to the ambient sound, we were just about to pull into 572 Myrtle Avenue when he somehow figured out how to capture the moment. I absolutely love this video, though it does make me wish we were back at the beach.

#pressleysatpawleys

We're back from what was the best week at the beach I can ever remember. For years, Pawleys Island has been my dream destination, and this past week was every bit as awesome as I imagined it'd be.

The boys did great - they had their own room, and Freddie spent a few nites and most naptimes sleeping in the bathroom of that room. For his part, Jones finally started walking more than crawling, and he even climbed the entire flight of stairs without a second's hesitation. He liked to climb those stairs, because he liked to reach the kids' loft where he got to pretend to be a big kid. On one visit, he fell off Camden's mattress (which was on the floor to begin with, so it wasn't a long fall) and busted his lip. There was no blood, thankfully, but I could see the big bruise under the skin in his mouth.  I'm sure this is just the first of MANY busted lips we'll encounter with two boys in the house.

Jones also did much better with the sand than I thought he would. The first time we set him down, he flipped out, but it literally took seconds - from one camera frame to the next, practically - for him to be laughing and playing in it. He also enjoyed the waves, though he wanted to be held the entire time he was in the water. As soon as he woke up each morning, he'd spend some time standing at the back door and pointing to be let out, presumably into the ocean that was just a few yards away.

Freddie got in, too, though he spent most of his outside time in his swing in a tent.

Oh, and one funny story about Jones. He was playing with Payton when he had a particularly fragrant diaper. Payton and I asked him if he needed dry drawers, and he nodded and pointed at his diaper. It was really cute; he'd never done that before, but it makes me think we're getting close to being ready for potty training! YAY!

Also, Jeremy proved his love to me by stopping in Columbia for lunch at Qdoba on the way home. Needless to say, I can't wait to go back.

Did you hear me, Pop?!?!

Jumping In at the Lake

It's premature to say for sure,
but this may end up being my favorite picture of the entire summer.

The lake was great!

As expected, Memorial Day weekend with the Pressleys in Hayesville was absolutely awesome. Jeremy and I first spent the holiday at Lake Chatuge when I was pregnant with Jones. We've been back ever since - a tradition I hope continues in perpetuity!

Part of that tradition is attending the Memorial Day Parade on the square in Hayesville. This year didn't go as smoothly as last - either for the organizers or for us. They got started late, and Jones was in meltdown mode for much of the mid-morning for reasons I still don't understand. He did get to pet some dogs (even a Great Dane, to his daddy's delight), though, and the tailgate seats in our new van got broken in, both of which were great. 

After the parade, we went to lunch at the Country Cottage. The food was awesome ... the wait for it, however, put ME in meltdown mode.  Then, the boys took naps followed by Freddie's first boat ride. Jones has settled into his role as Captain of the Pressleys' pontoon. He sat in his Pop's lap almost the entire time. When he wasn't manning the ship, he was wearing a hooded towel draped over him like Obi Wan Kenobi. The child didn't have a drop of water on him, but he kept wearing that towel, walking around on his knees like he had good sense.  He'd done the same thing in the house earlier in our visit.

For Freddie's part, he hated the life jacket as much as Jones did last year (though we got Jones a less uncomfortable Puddle Jumper this year, he still doesn't love being "vested"). Once he got resigned to the reality of it, though, Freddie settled down for nice naps every time we set sail.

Another favorite lake tradition is going to Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. Last year, Jones would stay home with Nan and Pop, while Jeremy and I went to church. This year, though, he went with us, and Freddie stayed home. He did great in the nursery, and I loved having him with us there! They have a really big VBS every year, and Jeremy and I have talked about making it a tradition that we spend VBS week at the lake every year, so the boys can go there.

But I digress.

Here are a few more highlights of our trip:

• Freddie ate his first cereal ... if you call spitting cereal out "eating it." He's been eyeing table food for a few weeks now, so I figured it was time, even though the doctor said they're recommending waiting until six months now (with Jones, they recommended four; why the change?!). We set him in his Bumbo on the table on the porch and fed him oatmeal cereal, mixed with formula. With an audience of five, Freddie didn't exactly love the cereal, but he didn't cry like Jones did the first time, either, so I'll count that as a victory.
• Jones got to "ride" a pit bull.  No. That is not a misprint. And no. I didn't have anything to do with it. Jeremy and his dad were talking to the neighbor's granddaughter. The granddaughter breeds pits, one of whom ... Slayer (brother to "Outlaw;" I couldn't make this up, if I tried) ... was with her. She said she wanted to come and see the boys, so here they all came. As soon as Mr. Pressley said that Ashley was bringing the dog over, Mrs. Pressley and I, knowing what breeds she had, bee-lined for the deck, where everyone was. Though I can surely see the strength of pit bulls - Slayer, for one, looks like an offensive lineman - he was perfectly nice and gentle, obviously well-trained by Ashley, and at no point did I ever feel like any of us were in danger. Still, it was more than a little scary to think about your 19 month old face to face with a breed known for threatening babies! Needless to say, we are NOT considering pitbulls in our search for Jones's dog.

I'm sure there are other things I'd like to remember, but since I can't think of them, I'm just gonna stop and let these pictures do the talking.

Nan was holding Freddie. When Jones saw this, he
insisted she hold him, too, which reminded me of how
my sister and I used to fight over who got to sit beside our
Mayme out at restaurants ... and anywhere else.

They're in the wrong hue of blue, but seriously.
I'm not sure it gets any cuter than
these two in t-shirts and ball caps.

Our wait for food at the Country Cottage
was long enough that Freddie was able
to catch a cat nap.   

Captain Jones & his Crew

Jones has just started to lay like this - to watch TV, usually,
or, in this case, to talk to Brother about something. 

Jones LOVES wearing Pop's hats. He especially likes it when
Pop plops it on his head. Just after this picture, Pop took the
hat off of Jones and put it on Freddie, which Jones thought
was just HILARIOUS.

He's handsome. AND sweet.

See? Sleepy Bear. 

Jones has developed a bizarre interest
in playing with condiment containers
and empty milk jugs. We allow this,
because it keeps him from screaming
while we eat.