Summertime!!

Well, once again I am slacking on this thing. Funny how time just gets away from you, huh? Anyway, things have been going pretty good this summer. Isaac is definitely loving the warm weather and playing outside. I think he would stay outside all the time if we would let him!! Anyway, I hope this entry will cover just about everything that's happened since my last post. I really didn't mean to go this long without updating this thing!! Sorry!

Anyway, on June 26, Lifespan had our summer employee picnic. It was held at the Shiloh Golf Course in Adamsville where they have eating areas and pools. Darren stayed home to work on the boat, but me and Isaac went and had a good time, as you will be able to tell from the pics below. It was SOOOOOOO hot that evening!

This was Isaac when we first got there. He didn't waste any time at all getting in the water and would have gotten in with all of his clothes on had I not stopped him!

After he'd been in a few minutes, he started splashing (of course!)


And then a little more splashing!!

As you can see, my child is not afraid of the water AT ALL, which can be both good and bad!

By the end of the night, this is what he was doing!! I bet the kid jumped in 50 times and NEVER got tired of it!

And this was the pitiful look I got when I told him it was time to go. He cried because he wanted to stay and swim some more!!

Thanks to Lifespan for having such a fun party for us all!

Due to all the craziness and the insane amount of people that go out on the lake here for the 4th of July, we decided to take the boat out on the 3rd since we were all off. Isaac LOVES going out on the boat to the "big water". We stayed out all afternoon, but left a little early because even though it was only the 3rd, there were still a ton of folks out. We ended up anchoring out in a cover where we usually go and just to give you an idea of how many folks there were, out in the middle of the cove were 10 (yes, I said 10) boats tied up together. That was just 1 cove and this was on the 3rd so you can imagine what it was like on the 4th!!

This was taken after we came in and showered and yes, Mommy got quite a bit of sun that day!!

This was after we finally got home that night. Isaac was actually cooperating with the camera more than he usually does. I was calling him "Hollywood" and he was saying "I not Hollywood Mama, I big boy!!"

This was a little later on that same evening. He was just being a card that night! (I just love that this is a real, true smile and not the fake kind!!)

This past weekend, Uncle Derek, Aunt Jill, Jakob, and Ethan came in to visit. Saturday morning, me, Isaac, Jakob, Jill, and PawPaw took the pontoon out. As you can tell, Isaac and Jakob had quite a large time!

We had to come in fairly early because that night, the Howard family (and I mean the WHOLE Howard family) was having their yearly get together. They weren't able to do it last year and this year, we did it at Boots's house. The weather wasn't too bad actually and there was lots of good food and fun!


Isaac had quite a big time playing in Boots's garden!!

And had an even better time when his DaDa let him sit on Boots's big John Deere tractor!!

I just love this serious expression on his face!!

On of the other cousins brought some homemade toy guns that were a HUGE hit with the little boys because as you know, this Howard family just can't seem to have any little girls!

And that pretty much brings us up to date with just about everything. We've had several birthday's this month. Dad's was the 10th, Hope's was the 11th, and Darren's was the 14th. Happy Birthday to you all! I have a few pics from Darren's birthday, but they are still on my camera as of now so maybe next time, I'll get them on here.

And now, I'm going to do like my dear friend Holli. I have an area on the right side here to sign up as a follower of this blog. Now, I know I don't update and all nearly as much as I should, but if you do read this blog and you do try and keep up, please sign up as a follower. I would love to know who all is keeping up with us!!

Until next time........

Isaac's Birthday

Ok, I hope you don't think I'm a bad Mommy, but I am a little behind with updating this thing. This may be a little bit long, but you will definitely be caught up on things when I get finished!! Anyway, as a lot of you know, my birthday was May 24 and I turned 29. Woo-hoo!! Last year as a twenty-something. I can remember being in high school and thinking 30 was just OLD!! That's hilarious to me now because I definitely don't feel even close to being old. Anyway, Dad and Hope came down the weekend of my birthday because they weren't going to be able to make Isaac's birthday party so they got both of us taken care of in one weekend! Isaac had a big time and loved his presents, which included a t-shirt, a tool set, and a bright yellow "boo dozer" as he calls it that he can ride around the yard and driveway. Thank you guys for the gifts and hope you are able to come and visit again soon.

Now, Isaac's birthday was on June 3 and it blows my mind to think he's now 2. Where in the world does the time go? It really does fly by and as much as I'm looking forward to watching him grow and learn, I know it will go by in the blink of an eye and if I sit and think too long on it, tears definitely come to my eyes. On a lighter note, here is a picture of the birthday boy on his actual birthday.....(can't you tell he's just rotten??)




So, fast forward a few days 'til Saturday, the 6th. This was when we decided to have his party. My Mom, Grandmother, and brother all were able to come down for this so we were excited to see them all! Grandma and Moms were able to stay the night, but Patrick went back home to study for his state boards that he was taking this week. Isaac got some cool presents from them which included a new Wiggles DVD, a couple of trucks with trailers, and some $$$ to get a front-end loader to paly with in the yard. Sounds like a trip to Toys R Us is in our near future!! Anyway, back to the party info......One of Darren's old high school buddies has a business called Party Inflatables so we thought this might be fun to have for the party. This is what we got.....

It was a 16 foot slide that I would have thought Isaac would have just loved.........WRONG!!! He went down the thing one time with Darren and that was enough for him. He wouldn't go down it anymore all day!! He had much more fun playing with his riding toys and such outside. At least all the other kids seem to love it! I went down it myself and it was fun, but could easily see how it might be a little intimidating to a 2 year old.

Here are Isaac's cakes that we had made. Our sitter Michelle's sister made them for us. She did his cakes last year too and they were just wonderful!! Once again, I was very happy with how they turned out (and they tasted just as good as they looked!) Thank you Mrs. Teresa!!

Here is Isaac getting ready to blow the candles out on his cake. He was pretty amazed that all these people were singing the Happy Birthday song to him and he just kept looking around at everyone. It was cute!

Afterwards, the kids got ice cream cones and cake and as you can tell, Isaac definitely was enjoying his ice cream!!

Here's the birthday boy getting ready to open his gifts. He was pretty tired at this point because it was WAY past nap time, but he managed to muster up enough energy to open presents!!

This was Isaac after his bath that night........He definitely had a big day and was just completely pooped out. Thanks to everyone for coming and making his birthday so special!! We love you!

We slept in the next day and later that afternoon, went to MiMi and PawPaw's to visit with Jakob and his family before they went back home. Isaac has the best time playing with Jakob and is always glad to see him!

That pretty much brings things back up to date. I will leave you with the most precious boy I know.......I just love him!!

Rock and Roll, Baby!!

So I'm sure you are probably wondering about the title of this post so let me explain. Yesterday afternoon, Darren took off to Wal-Mart with Jakob and Isaac for a quick trip. When they returned, Darren told Isaac to tell me what DaDa had taught him. So, he raises his arms and says "Rock and Roll, Baby!" It was the cutest thing!!

Ok, so now on to the rest of my update. I know I told you in my last post that I would have LOTS of photos to share next time because Patrick was graduating. Well, Patrick graduated all right, but his silly sister didn't have her camera handy when all the "photo opps" were available. So, PaPa Murf and Amanda, can you please, please, please burn me a cd of all the shots you got that weekend? I sure would appreciate it!!

So, now on to the whole graduation story. Friday night was the pinning ceremony, which was a very sweet and personal ceremony strictly for the nursing students. It was held in this large church in Lebanon, but Isaac didn't do to well. He wasn't bad, but after sitting in a car seat for a little more than 2 hours, sitting in a church pew, being quiet and still was not something he was interested in at all! Luckily, there was a playroom right outside the sanctuary so DaDa was able to keep him entertained there. Meanwhile, I had big time playing with little Callie Grace, who isn't so little anymore. She's growing like a weed!!

Then, Saturday morning came and if you know us at all, you know that we (mostly just my husband) are almost always late and this drives me NUTS!!! So anyway, the graduation ceremony was initially supposed to be outside, but as you all know, here in TN we seem to be in the middle of our own monsoon season so of course, the weather did not cooperate. They decided to hold the ceremony inside, which would be fine, if they had a building large enough. The building that held graduation was full, and of course, the building they had set aside for all the overflow was also full so we got to spend all of graduation outside. I hate that we missed it, but for Isaac's sake, we were probably better off because I know there is no way he would have sat still in a tight space for that length of time!! We pretty much just took pictures and let him run around outside. If you've never been there, Cumberland has a beautiful campus, it's just pretty small. This is their notorious chapel with the clock tower.


Since it had been raining so much, there was water and puddles everywhere. Isaac managed to find a little buddy to splash around in the water with. They were so cute!!

These are 2 of my favorite people!!


We made a trip back to Savannah after graduation and lunch because the next day was Decoration Day at church. Isaac and Jakob had a big time just playing. This is them with their Papa Boots, which is Darren's grandad. Isaac just loves Boots and he's at our house most nights just to see the "little boy."

Isaac cracks me up with this smile he does. If any of you all are fans of one of the best shows of all time (Friends) you will know what I mean when I say this is Isaac's Chandler smile. Hilarious!!

This is my favorite smile. I think it's just precious!

Isaac is now at the stage where everything Jakob does, Isaac has to do too.......which usually isn't good at all!! They did get to go out on the boat fishing with their PawPaw this weekend, so yes, they had a ball! Isaac has never really been out on the water until this year, but he has no fear!! They finally started to wind down, but not before getting a good scrubbing together!!

Finally, a shot of Isaac, Ethan, and Jakob together. This is a very difficult task to accomplish!!

As you all know, yesterday was Mother's Day and although I didn't get to spend the day with mine, that doesn't mean she wasn't on my mind. I think of her often and it seems that the older I get, the more she means to me. She is my very best friend and I love her more than anything. I'm grateful that she instilled in us the morals and beliefs that she did which in turn, I will pass on to my little one. I could never be half the Mother that I am had it not been for my own Mother, so Mom this is for you. I love you so very much and thank you for shaping me into the person that I am today. I am eternally grateful for all that you do and have done for me in the past.

And thanks to this little guy who has brough more joy, happines, laughter, and love into my life than I ever thought was possible. He is my pride and joy and I hope one day he will be proud to call me his Mom. I love you Isaac!

Boys will be Boys

Once again, things have been kind of hectic around our house. Guess it's something I better get used to, huh? Anyway, Isaac's Papa Boots (Darren's grandad) comes by the house just about every evening to help Darren out in the yard or whatever and of course........to see the "Little Boy", which is what he calls Isaac. Isaac just LOVES Boots and they always have a big time together. This was a shot I took one night right after they had come in. (Notice the mowhawk Darren gave Isaac) Cute!!




This past Friday night, Isaac went to a birthday party for Will, one of his daycare buddies. All the other kiddos were there too and they all had the biggest time! Will had all of his riding toys out for them all to play with so needless to say, by the time the party was over, Isaac was pooped out! He had a ball though and it was good to get to visit with the other Mommies too. Thank you Mrs. Dana and Will for such a good time!!

This was after church on Sunday and I just wanted to add it in because I thought it was such a cute picture!! (if you can't tell, Isaac is yelling out "cheeeeeeeese")

And this one was after lunch when he was in MiMi and PawPaw's back yard playing. Another favorite of mine!!

And now to the incident report. Saturday, I was in our bedroom getting some clothes together to wash. I had sent Isaac in the kitchen to pick out some noodles (his absolute FAVORITE) for lunch. All of a sudden, I hear a loud thud and Isaac starts bawling. I run in the kitchen (which is the very next room) and by the time I got in there, it was already purple. Isaac had dropped a can of chef boyardee beefaroni on his toe. Luckily, it was one of the small cans, but it got his toe good. He was just freaking out and squirming and of course, I was bawling too because I couldn't stop the hurt. I finally got him calmed down after about 20-25 minutes. The rest of that day, he really wouldn't put any weight on it at all and was asking to be held and carried. Talk about making a Mommy feel bad!! Anyway, by the time Sunday rolled around, he was still limping some and complaining of it hurting, but funny, when it was time to play outside, he seemed to forget all about that toe!! I know it hurt like crazy and nothing hurts a Mommy more than seeing her little one hurt and not being able to fix it. Luckily, he seems to have mostly forgotten about it now, unless he hits it on something or just happens to notice it. Here is a pic of his pitiful toe...

So, since Isaac is older now and much more steady than he was this time last year, he spends most evenings outside with his DaDa. They have the best time and I'm so glad Darren and he get some quality time together. The only thing is, when he comes in, he is absolutely FILTHY!!! This was what he looked like the other night when he came in and no, that's not chocolate or any other food on his face.........it's pure dirt!!!

And this is is his perfectly cute, nice and clean, innocent looking little face afterwards!!

That's about it for now. We're headed to Lebanon Friday evening to (hopefully) make it in time for Patrick's pinning ceremony. Then, Saturday morning at 10:00 is his graduation. We're so excited for him! He's already accepted a position at Vanderbilt in the ER so he's looking forward to that. After graduation and some visiting, we will head back to Savannah since Sunday is Decoration Day at our church. Should have lots of photos to post though so stay tuned!!

Easter Weekend

Happy belated Easter to everyone! Ours was pretty hectic and it seemed we were on the road more than anything. But, we did get to see lots of family and while our time with them was short, time together is always good!! Mine and Isaac's weekend started with sleeping in on Friday, since Daddy had to work. It was nice to not have to wake up to an alarm and me and Isaac just hung around the house and packed until Daddy got off work. Once he got home, we loaded up and headed to PaPa Murf and MaMa Hope's house for the night. Our new niece, Miss Callie Grace and her Mommy, Amanda were waiting for us when we got there. It was so good to finally meet her!! Isn't she just the cutest?? She has a head FULL of hair and will most definitely have to have a haircut before Isaac ever will.



Isaac wasn't quite sure what to think of her because he's never had to share the spotlight there before. He wasn't mean or ugly to her, he basically just ignored her, but I have a feeling that will change as she gets older. He was still his usual self though and he loves to perform when there's an audience so there were definitely lots of laughs. He does this thing now where he's really trying to smile good for the camera, but he says cheese and it's almost like that old episode of Friends where Chandler can't smile. It's much funnier in person, really!

We got up Saturday morning and got to visit a little while longer, but then we headed out to Uncle Derek and Aunt Jill's house. They were having a party for Ethan's birthday. Isaac was glad to see everyone and had a big time playing with his cousin Jakob. Here is little Ethan. Happy Birthday buddy!! (doesn't he have the most amazing eyes you've ever seen??)

After the party, we hit the road again and went to Grandma's house for the night. We visited and played awhile that night, but turned in pretty early because we were all pretty worn out. Isaac got up Easter morning and found some treats that the Easter Bunny had left for him. And me, being the wonderful Mother that I am, totally forgot to take any photos of this even so that's why there aren't any. I could just kick myself!! Anyway, we made it to church and it was just a beautiful day. Here is my little guy in his Easter outfit. Handsome little fella, huh??

Here's a photo of Isaac, Grandma (my Mom), and Moms (my grandmother).

This is one of my favorites!! I just love that little guy!

After lunch, Isaac was having a fit to go outside so off we went. He just kind of explored my grandmother's whole yard and loved every minute of it.

After visiting a while longer, we headed back to Grandma's house to pack up and hit the road home. Like always, I love going home and visiting with family, but it's so hard when it's a short trip like this. It's almost as if it's a tease!! Maybe they can come visit us all here soon. We will be headed back to middle TN in a couple of weeks. My brother Patrick is graduating from Cumberland University's nursing school. Woo-hoo!!! Congrats little bro! We're so proud of you!! We love you all and will see you very soon...

Good Times

OK. So, we went to the wedding this past weekend as planned. I was afraid it was going to be really chilly, but it turned out to be a pretty nice afternoon and evening. Derek and Jill and the boys came in too so Isaac was definitely glad to have a play-mate for the weekend. Before we get to the pictures, I have to tell a funny about our little boy during the wedding. He was actually pretty good for the biggest part of the ceremony. Towards the end, he started playing with the chair in front of us. There was no one sitting there, so I didn't see the harm. The preacher just spoke the words "You may now kiss the bride" when my child must have got his finger caught or something because he said, out loud "Owwwwww". The entire pew we were sitting on just about fell out of their seats, which of course, got Isaac tickled too. All in all, I guess that's pretty good for an almost 2 year old at a wedding. Anyway, this lovely family shot was taken between there ceremony and reception.


On to the reception......This was the first wedding Isaac had ever been to where he was big enough to know what was going on. Once it got dark and the lights were on and the music going, Isaac had a ball!! He and Jakob practically the first ones on the dance floor and just had the biggest time. As you can see, Isaac also found PaPa Boots to dance with too. Of course, we never even thought about taking the video camera. That would definitely have been an awesome moment to have on tape!

Anyway, after we got home from the wedding, Isaac was revved up again because he slept all the way home. He and I were in his play room watching The Wiggles (of course) and he opened the closet door to find his guitar that PaPa Murf and MaMa Hope got him. He drug it out and kept saying " DaDa guitar" and I kept telling him no, that's YOUR guitar Isaac. He then grabbed my hand and made me follow him into our bedroom, where Darren keeps his guitar. He wanted Darren to get his guitar like Isaac's and play so that's what they did. I just love this picture!! Aren't my boys just the cutest???

On Sunday after church, we had to post-pone Isaac's nap because it was just so pretty outside and Jakob was going to be going home soon. Isaac had the best time playing outside and I think this picture pretty much sums it all up! (If you can't tell, Isaac really gets into pictures these days and when you tell him to say cheese, he really yells "Cheese"!!!) This is my new favorite picture of him and I hope you like it just as much!!!

Spring is (hopefully!!) Here

I know, I know.....once again, things have been wild around our house and I haven't had a lot of time to update this things. Well, in all honesty, I've had SOME time, but I've spent most of it with the little guy! The weather has been so nice lately and with the time change and all, Isaac is definitely loving being outside!! Anyway, get comfy because this may be a long one!!!

The weekend of President's Day, we got a new vehicle. We decided that with all the trips to middle TN to see my family, the Murano was just getting a little bit tight. We found this awesome deal in Tupelo, MS and went to look at it, and ended up driving it home!! It's a 2007 Tahoe and I love it! It took some getting used to at first, but it's second nature to me now!!


Also in the month of February, we got a new niece!! Miss Callie Grace Holcomb was born on February 22nd to my step-sister Amanda. Mom and baby are both doing fine. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten to see her yet, but hopefully soon we will get to meet her!!


These next shots are some we took on our last trip to Carthage. We always have a good time visiting Grandma, Uncle Patch, and Moms. The time is always way too short though!! This photo below is Isaac when we got to Moms's house after church. He's looking pretty innocent here, huh??

These photos were taken of Isaac the very same day, after eating lunch and getting a little bit of energy! She has an old cedar chest that she uses as a coffee table in here living room and Isaac had a blast climbing on it and jumping onto the couch. We have several photos of this as this is a trick that his PaPa Murf taught him. Thanks PaPa!!! :)

This one here I took one night when Isaac was getting ready to go to bed. He was being such a sweetheart (like always) and I just couldn't resist taking some shots!!

This was Isaac the very next morning!! I thought it was hilarious that he was using Darren to sleep on. Yes, Isaac is in the bed with us. He ALWAYS starts out in his room, but with the exception of a rare occasion now and then, usually ends up in our bed. Yes, I know this is a bad habit to get in and I know he will be hard to break. That part I am definitely dreading, but at the same time, I know that a day will come when he will be "too big" or "too grown up" to want to sleep and cuddle with Mommy and Daddy so I figure I better take advantage of him while he's still little and willing!! (By the way though, if you have any trick on coaxing him back to sleeping in his own bed and his own room, please share!!!)

These next ones really have no specific occasion. I just liked the pictures!!

Again, I know it's been a long time since I last posted and I do apologize. It usually seems the only time I have to do this is when Isaac has gone to bed, but by that point, I'm usually exhausted myself and am not far behind him in getting some sleep!! I hope this weather continues because my little man just LOVES it! We are supposed to go to a wedding this weekend and if all goes well, I'll definitely have some more photos to post afterwards. Good night and much love to you all!!