Brothers

They look so much alike! I wonder if they will continue to look alike as Isaac gets older....

I put Isaac in the same onesie that Michael was wearing in his picture, but you can't really tell. I'm glad I got these pictures yesterday because our dog ate the onesie last night! She's a trouble-maker like that...

Pickin' Strawberries

While we were in Blue Ridge, we stopped by Mercier Orchards for their U-pick strawberries. We bought our baskets and hopped on the blue tractor and rode up the hill to the strawberry patch.

There was a man giving us instructions during the ride. His number one instruction was to taste the strawberries before you even put one in your basket and to continue eating them every once in a while as we picked them! Well, Michael had absolutely no problem with that!

Look at those dirty fingernails...oh my!

I really am not a huge fan of strawberries unless they have lots of sugar, are really gooey, and are eaten over some fresh baked p0und cake, but these were the absolute BEST strawberries I've ever had. They were red and juicy all the way through! I probably ate most of that basket...rarely sharing with my family!

We had so much fun! The fun part about this orchard is that they do all sorts of different fruits during the different seasons. They're about to have cherries and blueberries! They have apples in the fall. They also have the cutest little gift shop with the BEST strawberry pepper jelly (that I eat with cream cheese and crackers....yum!)

We will DEFINITELY be going back!

Chugga Chugga....

A few weeks ago, I took the boys to visit my Dad's cabin in Blue Ridge. My brother and his family came to visit on Saturday and we took the Blue Ridge Train to the border of Georgia and Tennessee.

Michael loves trains and has never been on a real passenger train before (actually, after I think about it, I had never been on a real passenger train before). I knew he would love it!

Michael and Kennedy loved spending time with each other!

We got to meet the conductor! I told Michael that it was like Mr. Topham Hat from Thomas. He liked to look at him, but did not want a picture with him. The funny thing is that when the conductor came around to punch our tickets, Michael looked up at him with wide eyes and this face of amazement and said "Mr. Topham Hat!". So funny! Not sure if the conductor liked being compared with that guy, but I'm sure he gets it all the time!

After the hour-long train ride, we stopped for lunch at a good ole' BBQ place, walked around the town a bit, and got back on the train to head home.

Then we cooled off with a Yoo-Hoo and some ice cream!

Isaac slept through most of our train adventure, but I'm sure he just loved it!

And just for kicks...here's that sweet little man! I feel like most of my pictures of him are in his carseat or when he's asleep! He makes this funny face all the time and it just cracks me up!

One more thing...

Oh... and because of that little toddler mentioned below and a little newborn taking up all my time, blogging has been put on the back-burner lately. I am slowly starting to feel like I can do other things besides feed a baby and squeeze in a shower. I plan on putting some updated pictures on here soon!

I'm glad you're still reading my blog.... :)

Opposition

op·po·si·tion

[op-uh-zish-uhn]

–noun

the action of opposing, resisting, or combating.

Well, I thought I missed it. I thought my child was going to turn 3 years old this summer and fly right by the 'terrible two' stage.

I don't know if it's because Isaac is here now and Michael is no longer the center of attention or if it really is his age and he's hitting this 'terrible two' stage coincidentally at the same time his brother arrived. However, Michael has become quite the oppositional little man!

Exhibit A:

Yesterday when Michael was eating dinner. He asked me what to eat first. His choices were rice or roast beef. I said "How about eat a bite of your roast beef?". He looked at me and then proceeded to take a bite of rice instead. ha!

Exhibit B:

When taking of his shoes at night, I asked him to put them by his closet door. I took one and showed him how to do it. He then took the other one and threw it across the room. Not in a fit of rage. He did it just for the heck of it. Thanks, son!

It just seems like every day is opposite day with him! Sometimes it's comical and sometimes it's downright frustrating!

Don't get me wrong, Michael is just as sweet as ever. He loves his little brother so much! He's always wanting to give Isaac kisses and hugs. He loves to help hold his bottle when I feed him or tell me when he is crying. We still love playing together or meeting our friends for playdates. He will randomly say "I love you, Mommy" or "Mommy, you're pretty" and it just melts my heart...

But sometimes Mr. Bad Attitude takes over. There's some stomping feet and some shouting of "No!". Some whining and crying when things don't go his way. When I ask him why he made a bad choice, his reply is "...because Michael wanted to." (Yes, my child talks in the third person and I think it's just adorable!)

I can't complain that this is what I'm dealing with right now. It could be WAY worse. It's hard to not have such high expectations of a child when he is YOUR child. You know, I want him to be perfect! I want others to look at him and just praise his behavior! I basically want him to act like he's 28. I have to keep reminding myself that he is just two and a half! I have to give him room to breathe and not correct his every mistake! I have to let him be a BOY!

It's Raining...It's Pouring...

That's about how our April has been....lots of rain, several tornado watches, thunder, lightning...

Michael has been dying to wear his rain boots outside, so we finally took advantage of the warm rain before the thunderstorm hit. He had so much fun!

Sidewalk chalk in the rain... kind of pointless, but so much fun! Why not?!

Say Cheese!!

My mom is quite the photographer. She's recently taken several classes to learn more about her craft and has acquired a lot of props and equipment. She usually uses her family - especially Michael - to practice her skills. Now that Isaac is here, she was able to venture into the world of newborn photography as well.

Here's some of my favorites from our photoshoot this past weekend....

Thanks Mom for the great pictures! Now I just need to print some out to put in frames!