What a life we lead.

What an amazing, chaotic, beautiful, stressful, extremely blessed life we lead! I haven't updated in over 2 months. The crazy thing about it is that it seems like it was last week. I swear the wind blew and April was gone. Good thing I take my camera most places, just so I have some sort of proof that it did actually exist and that we lived through it.

Spring Baseball has consumed what feels like every night since mid March. There was an opening ceremony and a parade. The boys had a blast painting the banner and tossing (well beaming, really) candy at the parents sitting on the sidewalks.

Drew's league got to be involved in the Atlanta Braves Little League Night at Turner Field. All the teams in our league were able to walk around the outfield with their coaches. While it was so exciting to see all our little guys in the big field, Drew was sound asleep in the stands by the 5th inning. :)

And...just last week, we found out that Drew made the all star team!! We are so, so proud of him for truly busting his tail at tryouts. It was a good lesson on working hard for something you really want. He wanted it and he got it! His all star team will play in 6 tournaments over June and July. It will be long, hot days at the ballfield, but I am excited to watch him play this summer. He truly has developed a love for the game over the last year. Makes his daddy proud (and mommy too!). :)

Easter was really fun this year. Drew "taught" us what he learned in church about what the true meaning of Easter is and that simply melted my heart. It lead to us having a real conversation about Christ and what it means to have him in your heart. He is such an awesome kid that gets smarter and more entertaining every day. Jett was just old enough to really understand the concept of hunting for eggs and it took about 2 seconds for him to discover that there was CANDY inside!!

Matt forced me to take Jett to get his hair cut last week. We compromised on a "trim". I just wasn't ready to part with his cute blonde curls.

The next day he had his personal photoshoot to celebrate his upcoming big birthday. Here is a sneak peak:

Today we celebrated Jett's 2nd birthday with a family BBQ. It was small and perfect. The look on his face when he sees balloons is priceless. A friend made his cake and it turned out FABULOUS!! Becky can be contacted here: Cake Ops Cakery.

Cousins and a few friends...

Tomorrow is Monday and we will have another busy week including Drew having baseball Monday-Thursday night. As draining as it is, seeing him smile when he makes and play is totally worth every minute of it. :)

The little things I will miss.

Last night, while washing my hair, I kept stepping on little bath toys that somehow had made it into the bottom of our stand up shower in the master bathroom. My initial thought was "Geez, I can not wait until I can have my bathroom back to myself!"(well, and Matt of course) Then...I stopped mid-thought and realized how sad of a day that really would be. To not have bath toys in my shower would have to mean that my boys would be too big for bath toys, too independent to want to bathe in our bathroom at all. And, I know that day is quickly approaching. How sad the day will be when I won't hear their sweet voices in the middle of the night or the day when I won't have to walk to the bus stop, or scrub muddy baseball pants until my hands hurt. How lonely I will be to not have someone little always here that wants to play games with me or dance around the living room. Time is passing so quick and even quicker the next day. I thank God for this realization though. So this afternoon, tomorrow, next month and so on, I hope to be able to cherish these little "hassles" that I know will disapper well before I am ready. I want to think of them as little treasures and be able to remember them always. I take lots of pictures because I do know that we often forget. We forget LOTS. Especially lots of the "little" events...like simply playing outside in the yard or hugging a grandparent. My hope is that my boys will miss these little events too one day and be so thankful for all the pictures. Here are some from our outside play yesterday afternoon. Drew wanted me to get a shot of him jumping the curb on his scooter and did it over and over until I could get a good one of him in the air! :) Love that kid!

This is the scooter Popsy and G-mommy gave him for Christmas. It *SPARKS* and he thinks it is the coolest thing EVER!

A shower for baby Micah!

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of helping host a baby shower for one of my favorite people on this planet! Lydia and I have known each other since the 6th grade and I am so lucky to call her a best friend. She is one of those friends that I actually "do life with" and I can't imagine my life without her a phone call away. Micah will be her first baby and should make his debut in about 7 weeks. Hosting with other friends, Mandy and Lauren (and Lauren's mother's help & gorgeous home), her shower turned out absolutely fantastic! We had a seated brunch with delicious food, then dessert outside around the pool. Micah is so lucky to be getting such an awesome mom and dad!



Micah's gift from his Auntie Jen was a warm blanket and some burp cloths made just for him (UGA colors, of course):

The most magical place on Earth!

Walt Disney World lived up to the expectation! Our little family, along with our big extended family, had a blast! If Jett could talk, I think he would tell us his favorites were the big carousel at Magic Kingdom, which we rode three consequetive times and he screamed when I made him get off, and the ride through the animal safari at Animal Kingdom. He sat in Matt's lap through the safari and pointed at every animal he saw with a big grin. Drew said his favorites were Space Mountain where he got to "drive" the space ship(ride in the front seat) and the Indiana Jones show where he saw a "huge esplotion"(explosion). Explosion is hard to say when you are missing your four front teeth. :D

A few funny things...while sitting down to eat, bird poop dropped on my leg. Drew asked why the bird "shat" on me. The next day my sister in-law, Staci, was hit by more bird poop. Not sure why we were the targets. At a late, rather chaotic dinner on the last night, my seven year old nephew, Tyler, muttered "When I get back, I'm gonna need a shot!" Funny part was that I'm sure every adult there was thinking the same thing! Matt tried to "booty dance" with Timon from the Lion King at the Animal safari dinner. And...The kids all loved the up close view they got of the hippos butt hole in the aqaurium.

Of the 600+ pictures I took, I have narrowed them down to 68 that are here in this album: Disney 2011

The "Backpack"

I broke down. I bought it. The thing (at one point in my life- before kids) I swore I'd never own...and I'm thinking about making myself a t-shirt that reads one of the following: "My kid's a runner!" or "You must not have kids!" or "It's not a leash, it's a backpack with a tail!" (feel free to vote). That's right, I bought a backpack that has a long tail that you hold on to in order to keep your child close by. Some call it a leash; call it what you may.
We are heading to Disney World in less than 2 weeks and it just makes sense to use it. I wouldn't want to be forced to ride in a stroller for hours and HOURS while my brother and all of my cousins get to walk. I would want to walk with them...and I know Jett feels the same way. I let him pick between the dog or the monkey in the store. He wanted the monkey. He held it all the way to the register and wouldn't let the lady put it in the bag. He couldn't wait for me to open it once we got in the car. I think he likes it!! I snapped this picture before we even made it out of the parking lot!
Only time will tell if he still loves it once he figures out that it will prevent him from "exploring" so "independently"...running from us, in other words. :)

Jett and his sauce...

I think Drew was about the same age, almost 2, when he discovered dipping sauces. His world has never been the same. Jett has joined in on the dipping sauce obsession. Barbecue seems to be his favorite, but I haven't seem him turn his nose up to any kind yet. These were snapped over the last week...all followed by playtime in the tub!

Drew is six.

Drew turned six this week. I have to let that really sink in for a moment...six. SIX.

I remember January 10, 2005 still so vividly. I woke up about 4AM with some cramping. Having no idea what labor pains felt like and being 2 weeks early, I tried to play it cool. Matt got up and went to work about 6:30 and I then got up and drove myself to work about 8:30. All along, the cramping continued. I wasn't hungry, but forced myself to eat some crackers once I got to my desk. I didn't do much all morning, but wonder if I was over reacting. My best work friend, Mary Jane, sat with me. At 2:00PM, she drove me to the hospital. I had been 3 times before already with false labor, so I really didn't want to call Matt at work yet. When I did finally call him, I swear I could hear his eyes rolling at the sound of my scared voice saying I was at the hospital waiting for someone to check me. I had a sweet nurse, Stephanie, that could tell I didn't want to leave again without my baby in my arms! She made me walk the halls of that hospital for two hours. Matt showed up just in time to hear the words "We're keeping her...you're going to have a baby!" I was in my room by 6:00PM and my family and friends were all arriving. It was a big party in the delivery room. Drew already had so many fans and people so eager to love him and hold him and support him through the life he had yet to enter in to. People came and went for hours.
While most were sleeping in the waiting room, at 2:32AM, on January 11th, Andrew James Conner entered this world. This crazy, fun, scary world. (I'll spare you the not pleasant details and visuals of me pushing for what felt like hours...)He was 8lbs even and had a head of dark hair.
He was perfect. I was a mom; Matt was a dad...and we were a family. It was absolutely the most wonderful feeling I had ever felt.

And I couldn't wait to leave that hospital with my baby finally in my arms!

We had no idea, then, what kind of kid he'd be. I remember walking around the living room holding him in the middle of the night as he cried that sweet newborn cry and softly singing to him and thinking the whole time about who he'd grow up to be, sure that he'd be something great!

He has brought so much love, humor and innocent laughter into our lives. He is smart. He catches on fast and doesn't forget. He's passionate and strong-willed. Generous and stubborn. He has gorgeous eyes and a strong grip. He's a sore loser like his dad, but will let you win at checkers if he's beat you over and over. He's something great. God knew exactly who he'd be.

On Tuesday, while we were snowed in, we made a cake to celebrate his special day. I can't wait to see what this year holds for him. I can't wait to see what he'll learn and how he'll change. I also want him to stay six for a while...maybe I can talk him into seven not being all that fun. This kid changed my life that day in 2005 and continues, every day, to be a huge contribution to my life being complete. I love this kid!