Let it snow ... let it snow ... let it snow

We had our first snow of the year. Clay and Jacob stayed home from school that day while I went to work. Luckily, there was still snow on the ground when I got home. We had a great time! All our neighbors were outside playing, except Josh (he was stuck at work). We had about 3 inches of snow.

Our front yard.

Jacob didn't like standing in the snow at all. He had tennis shoes on, so his feet got wet, which probably wasn't helping him at all. I found some boots in the attic to put on him later, but he still didn't want to walk in the snow.

Our Family

Sweet baby smile

He did like walking, and running at times, in the tracks the cars made in the snow and ice.

Clay and his Hunter Snowman.

Clay's snow angel. Watching him fall on the ground was the funniest part.

My boys!

Hey, Mama.

We came in from the snow, and Jacob wanted to watch Elmo while I put a pot of chilli on the stove. I looked in on him after about 5 minutes and he was asleep. So sweet! He wore himself out.

My new Camera

I got a new camera for my birthday from Mama and Clay. Thanks!!!! I love it!! Jacob helped me "play" with it. He also got a new haircut that I wanted to show off. Thanks Jo!!!!

"Cheese." Whenever we have a camera out, Jacob automatically says cheese now. It is funny.

Angel ... kind of!

Jacob was an angel again for his school program. He was not a happy angel though. My poor baby didn't feel good and was tired. But he looked cute!

The angel wanted his Mama.

Jacob and his best friend Cole from daycare.
Cole's Mama was my labor and delivery nurse when I had Jacob. She was pregnant with Cole at the time. It's a small world.

Soccer

Jacob loves soccer now! He has gotten very good at kicking the ball. And he kicks it with his left foot!!! Hopefully that will be the same with his arm! Cross your fingers!!!

Notice his "big boy" shoes. Thanks Lisa! You are the best.

"Occer Ball"

"Catch, Mommy!"

My sweet baby boy is growing up so fast! Who knew you could love someone so much!

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. Of course, I don't let Jacob eat that much candy, so we only went to four houses this year, including ours. I taught him how to say "trick or treat." We went to visit Julie and Andrew and then Joanna and Josh ... multiple times! Jacob was running between their houses with his pumpkin saying trick or treat. We also went to visit our friend Lauren. She will be trick or treating with us next year with a little bundle of joy! YEAH!!! I did let him have 3 packs of smarties that night though! What was I thinking!!!! Then at 9:30 Clay, the smart one, gave Jacob a chocolate chip cookie. He was so hyped up on sugar that night.

This is the best picture I got of him. He would not smile for me at all.

"Jeez, Mommy."
Aren't my devils cute? My Granny made them.

Jacob and Maddi

Jacob and Abigail

"Football! Off!"

Jacob kept calling the barrel that came with his St. Bernard costume a football, but he did not like it on him at all.

This may have been the cutest part of this costume, but you had to see it in person. His little tail wagged whenever he ran. And the extra padding around his rear end was so cute!

Jacob and DeDa

Jacob and Mommy

I voted ... but what a morning!

Well, I did my American duty this morning, and it was not pretty. First, my morning started out really, really early. 4:30 am to be exact! We all know that I am in no way shape form or fashion a morning person. But Jacob decided it was time to get up. And it was my turn to get up with him. He has been during this get up early thing for a while now and the time change has not helped us at all! So, I let him cry a bit, hoping he would go back to sleep. Nope! I go get him, pick him up and rock him in my arms for a bit. He is asleep! But ... 30 pounds gets really heavy really quickly at 4:30 in the morning. So, we move to the rocking chair in the living room. He is dead asleep, so I go to put him back in his bed. He wakes up, cries for a bit and eventually goes back to sleep for about 30 minutes. It is now 6:15. So, I get up again and try to put him in the bed with us for a little bit longer. Nope! He crawls out of the bed. Sits on the floor right at the door to our bedroom facing the kitchen. And signs "more," meaning that he wants breakfast and he wants it now. So I get up again, and give him a cereal bar and some milk and lay on the couch since I was trying to be a nice, sweet wife for my wonderful husband! Jacob finishes his cereal bar and decides he needs another one!!! So here comes the"mores" again!!! I give him one and go back in the bedroom because it is time for Clay to get up. Clay forces me to get up 15 minutes later! 15 minutes!!! The following two pictures are what I saw at the end of our bed.

He was gone!!!!! Clay actually dressed him and changed his diaper while he was asleep. While I was getting ready, he woke up and pointed and asked for his baseball bat. I hand it to him and within two minutes, I took the picture below!

Out like a light!!! So, I finish getting ready and am headed out to vote. I wake him up to put him in the car, so that we could go vote. I leave my house 15 minutes early. I knew it was going to take a little longer to vote this morning. I stood in line outside for about 30 minutes. The line moved pretty quickly. There were a lot of nice people around us, including a lawyer right in front of me. We talked for a bit ... very nice man. He is going to have a baby in February and Jacob is one of the names he and his wife are considering. Jacob enjoyed looking at the army trucks (we vote at the armory) and airplanes in the sky. Then, we get inside! That is when the melt down begins. If you vote in Rankin County and your name beings with a letter F-L, you need to take a chair and a good book to read. I would recommend War and Peace. You will have plenty of time to finish it!!!! The lawyer's last name was Williams, so he moved into another line. He left the building over 40 minutes before us!!! Our line was not moving. Jacob was ready to go. "Go Go," he kept saying. Then he starting throwing his baseball bat at people and crying. He wanted up and down ... up and down. And you women at there will completely understand this. I am having a skinny day today. Great, right? Nope! Not when you pants are a little big. Jacob almost pulled my pants down in front of everyone!!!!!!! And I am so not kidding! We finally get to the front of our line, and I figure out what the problem was. I really don't think the lady that was looking up our names could see, much less read!!!!!!!!!!!! My blood pressure was through the roof at that point. I ran into my friend Joanna (next door neighbor) on my way out, who is praising the Lord that she married Josh Coltrain because her line was the fastest line in there! She called me when she got finished and I told her that if I was a drinker, that I would have gone and gotten a drink with her!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a morning it has been! But, I voted, got Jacob to school and made it to work. I think it is going to be Clay's turn in the morning with Jacob!!!

Elmo Live

Elmo came to Jackson! Jacob loves Elmo and Clay actually got to go with us. We had the best time. Jacob was so excited!! When Elmo came out on stage, he just screamed, "Elmo! Elmo!" He turned and looked at me and said, "Mama, Elmo!" It was awesome!!! What a great experience!

Our Family at Elmo Live. Notice the football. We don't go anywhere without a football.

This is one of the best stories of the night. We walked into the Coliseum, and there was a booth selling Elmo items. Clay said, "Well, I guess we have to get him something." He had this little smile on his face. I said that we didn't have to because I could get the same thing they were selling for $12 for $5 at Target. Clay said, "But do you really think we can get away with not getting him anything?" I said yep! Then we went to our seats. Kids were running around everywhere with Elmos and shirts with Elmo and balls with Elmo on them. Jacob kept pointing and screaming, "Elmo! Elmo!" Clay turned and looked at me and he had this weird look on his face. He said, "I going to get him one. And I am getting the big one!" Clay was like a little kid! He was so excited about getting Jacob his Elmo. A $25 Elmo, I might add! They came walking back to me and Clay was smiling saying, "I got him the big one." And Jacob was smiling saying, "Elmo!" Clay is a great Daddy!! You can see in the picture above how excited Jacob was about his Elmo.

This is a picture from where we were sitting. We had great seats!

Jacob and Elmo and football.

Jacob wanted Elmo to sit beside him.

I thought this was a great picture. You can see how much he was really loving the show. And Elmo too!

During the intermission, Jacob thought Elmo was a little thirsty and needed a sip of milk.

He also shared his chicken quesadilla with Elmo.

This is Jacob reaching for the lights. They had a great light show. This was during the song, "The Hustle." They had a "disco ball" light effect going around the room. Jacob was trying to catch the lights.

This was towards the end of the show. Jacob and Elmo wanted to sit in the chair by themselves.

Yeah! What a great show!

Carving My First Pumpkin

Mama and Daddy spent the weekend with us. We had the best time! Jacob is a trooper. Mama and I had him shopping from 9:30 am until about 5 pm! He is obsessed with balls, as we all know. Well, he thinks a pumpkin is a ball. Mama wanted to carve a pumpkin with him over the weekend, so we were in Wal-mart picking out the "perfect" pumpkin. Right beside the big ones were little ones. Jacob had to have one. However, he has been treating it like a ball ever since we got it. It is in the front yard now with my decorations. That is one tough pumpkin! He has thrown it down so many times on the driveway, and it has not broken yet!

Gabby is always teaching!

That sure is a big "Garner" bite!

"Nasty." That is his new word. Can't you just imagine what was going though his head as he looked inside the pumpkin.

Doing it all by himself.

DeDa (this is what he calls Clay now), you want a bite?

This is fun, Gabby! Thanks for showing me.

Chillin' on the Deck

Grandma, aka GG, bought Jacob this table and chairs set for his birthday. He loves them!! We keep them on the deck. He has to have both chairs and the table. And laughs and laughs at himself when he picks them up and moves them where he wants them to be.

"Man, this sure is a nice night."

"Hey, Mommy!" I love this picture. He is in this stage where he is so funny. He will do things that will make me laugh so hard. So much personality!

Kids at the Park

Mary Ann brought the girls home for a long weekend, and Mama and Daddy wanted to take all three kids to the park. So, we had a picnic. This is a great park at Grenada Lake.

Perrin is teaching Mary Pinson how to drive. Scary!!!!

Me and Mary Pinson

Jacob and Perrin had a blast in this tunnel. They were kicking their feet and making lots of noise. The sound of children laughing is the greatest sound ever!

Mary Pinson decided that she needed to get involved.

Cheese!

"What do you want this time Ne' Ne'?" Isn't that the sweetest face?!?!?!?!