William's Visit! (Baby Ali, Too!)

Will, Allison, and William came to visit this past weekend. Allison is pregnant with Ali and is so cute! Anabelle kept telling her that she liked the baby in her belly. The kiddo's got along great. My nephew is so well behaved and so sweet to be around. Not to mention smart, too! We attempted to watch a Barron's game Saturday night, but it was too cold for the kids, so Allison and I took them for milkshakes and left the boys. The kids did get to play in the kid zone and spent their time jumping in bounce houses and climbing a monster slide.

I was very sad to see them go:(

Here are some pictures from the weekend. They always bring our kids MS State stuff (better than Alabama or Vanderbilt, Josh says!) We tried to get their pictures in matching t-shirts. There are a few decent pictures, but with little ones you just have to take what you can get!

Christmas, Easter, and Birthdays!

These pictures are from the church Easter egg hunt. A sweet girl walked around and helped Jack pick up eggs. He was pretty content to pick up one egg and carry it around. Anabelle did great! I tried to coach her before hand on getting as many as possible and not stopping to see what was in each egg. Sure enough, she stopped to open the first egg she found. John John and I convinced her to put it in the basket and keep going!!
The Easter Bunny came! Actually, everyone in our house got a little something for Easter. Josh and I got new shutters from the Easter Bunny. (AKA John John:) Anabelle got a craft kit, a dora doll, dvd's, and lots of candy. Jack got some candy and a beach ball. He was very content with his beach ball and all of his sister's stuff. We went to church and the kids hunted eggs at our house afterward. Jack had 2 eggs and Anabelle had the rest. Belle "hunted" eggs, too. She popped as many as she could get a hold of and ate the candy (wrapper and all). Geez...
I am not sure why Jack was crying in the picture above. I thought it was funny, though. He is so laid back but if he gets mad enough, he will let you know! In case you are wondering why his Easter outfit is unsnapped, it is because he outgrew it in a week!

These pictures are from Gigi's house. The kids loved their Christmas gifts. Jack got a football tent and Anabelle got boardgames.



Santa Claus! Play kitchen and gear for Anabelle, and a wooden train and cars for Jack. Anabelle had to point out the fact that the kitchen was not pink (first words that came out of her mouth when she saw her toys) but that she still liked it. By the end of the morning, she was not happy with having her picture made! (bottom left corner) Bea and John John got her a new baby she named "Rosemary" and red cowboy boots. I have learned that red cowboy boots apparently match everything.




Anabelle skating... What can I say? She spent more time on the ground than she did standing up. She finally just stuck her feet out and I pushed her around the rink.






Jack's first birthday!!!




Meal: Meatloaf, Mac and Cheese, Black-Eyed Peas




The kid can eat! He was banging on the oven waiting for the meat loaf.




Cake: He had his own cake to smash. Anabelle helped him eat it, as well as Belle. At that point, I had to take the cake away. Yuck!




Present: Little People Construction Ramp




Jack started walking shortly after his first birthday on February 9th. He just took off. It wasn't pretty, but he did it! He still walks like baby godzilla. He is very bow-legged, but has finally started bending his knees. He is in upper 90 percentiles for weight, height, and his head. He has blonde hair with curls.






Strawberry Shortcake 3rd birthday!!




Anabelle had a big time- she got lots of presents and a scooter!! The cake was a hit.
We recently painted a chalkboard in our kitchen to write messages. This has been great for birthday pictures!



She is so tall and her hair is light brown with curls. She is potty trained and off of the passy. She loves to cut with scissors and dance to music.

Jack is 1 !!!

I don't have any pictures to upload today. I am so far behind, that I am going to have to take a night to post from Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Today Jack is 1 year old. Wow. No more babies in my house.

Last night I was putting away his bottles to make room for his sippies and it hit me that my baby is now technically not a baby. Where does the time go?

2011 was a whirlwind. Jack was born, Josh took a new job, our house went on the market, Josh started commuting to Alabama, I quit my job, we moved permanently to Alabama, bought a house in Alabama,the kids started a new preschool, I got a new job... the changes in the past year were almost too many to count.

Jack is now trying to walk, but not very interested. He has taken a few steps, but he is content to crawl. His hair is blonde with curls in the back. Never thought I would have a blonde child!!!
He is so content to play and hang out. He is wearing size 2t clothes and a size 5 shoe. He loves to sleep with his goofy at night. He has learned that it is "funny" to toot and entertains us with this when we are eating. Anabelle, of course, loves this. In fact, any sound like a toot send both of the kiddos into a fit of giggles. Speaking of eating, this child loves to eat!!! When I fix spaghetti, he eats at least 2 plate fulls. I am really going to have to bargain grocery shop when this kid gets older. On January 17th, he said Mama. I am not sure if he knows that is me, but he said it and it counts.
We are having a family birthday party for him tonight. I was/am very conflicted about birthday parties this year. The kids won't remember them and they end up being about who is there/how many presents/ all the details. Josh reminded me that the birthday parties he remembered were the ones that he ate dinner with his family and had cake. He didn't remember anything over the top, just the fact that he was with family. So... I am making meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and macarroni and cheese. He and Anabelle will have cake and icecream and the rest of the night we will PLAY LIKE CRAZY!

Anabelle is now potty trained and says the craziest things! She asked me for a new puzzle and I asked her where her money was. She then said she didn't have any and asked Josh for some. Josh informed her he didn't have any money and that he was "broke." She put her head on her hand and said- Well, I guess we won't get a new puzzle tonight, Daddy is broke." She loves to have dance parties in the kitchen with us and the way she moves her hips is hilarious! She even tries to tap her toes, but she just pops her leg instead.
I feel guilty for not updating the blog, but I am too busy enjoying life with these 2 wild kiddos and their Daddy!

The Things kids say...

Anabelle talks. Anabelle talks a lot. Anabelle talks ALL OF THE TIME. And guess what? I love it! She is so vocal and has really started to make sense of all of her words and sayings.
We were in Target and I pushed the button on some pretend baby monitors. The monitor said... Mama, Mama. Anabelle very quietly leaned over, patted the baby on the head, and said "Hush baby. Your mama will be here soon."

On the way to school, Anabelle blurted out, "No, No. We don't do that in Mrs. Nancy's room. We don't toot."
I asked her to repeat and she said the same thing and that she got in trouble. I said- For tooting? She said yes. Daddy taught me that." 1. Josh was mortified and laughed a ton when I told him. 2. It is always nice when a child blames "the other parent" for something they are not supposed to do.

Catch up and Halloween!

So much catching up to do! In the last month, Jack has started crawling so much more, and he is pulling up and started to cruise! Both top teeth have come through! He is eating "Big People" food and loving it! Army crawling through our house is his favorite way to get around. He weighed 23 pounds at his 9 month check up and was 30 inches tall! He was in the upper 90's for head and heigth and 75th for weight.
Anabelle is 38 pounds and over 3 feet tall. She is the tallest girl in her class. The things she says are truly hilarious. She has started singing the theme songs to her favorite shows. She loves to help us cook and empty the dishwasher (totally not complaining.)
For Halloween, Anabelle was Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba. Jack had a dinosaur costume, but when I put it on him he wouldn't move. NOT even an inch! I took it back and he just sported a pumpkin outfit. The kiddos trick or treated at school and got goody bags with books and treats. The four of us trick or treated the neighborhood then went to Josh's co-worker's house for drinks and snacks. Mrs. Myra had Anabelle a monster cake (she ate the eyeballs first) and had both of the kids presents and treats. We didn't get home until 9 (late for a week night). Overall the kids had a blast!

Mommy and Foofa

Jack (excuse the Christmas hat... all I could find on the fly)

Foofa at a Halloween carnival decorating pumpkins

Jack and Foofa

Jack's first time to swing- Anabelle had to help

Anabelle piled toys on Jack while he was sleeping.

Katie Grace Phillips and the kiddo's

Katie Grace and Jack

Peek A Boo!

Jack crawling

Both "boys" of the house fell victim to Anabelle playing with her hair bows.

Josh and Jack watching football in the den.

So... not a fun post with pictures, but just some updates on the kiddos.
Anabelle is now sleeping in a "big girl daybed"! YAY ANABELLE! The first night that she slept in her new bed, we caught her stretched out and snoozing like crazy. She really is saying some hilarious things. "Ladies and Gentleman... Jack! Thank you and thank you, too." She said this while Jack was crawling through the door of a playhouse. He emerged grinning and the two timed it just right! I was in the foyer moving a desk, and I hear..."Look mommy, I am tight rope walking." WHAT??!! I turned around to see her climbing on the outside rail of the landing in the foyer of our house. I almost had a heart attack...

Jack...wow! Changing so fast it will make your head spin! On September 3rd, Jack started army crawling everywhere! He started using a sippy cup some, but is still perfecting using it. He got his second tooth about 2 weeks ago.

Yesterday, the 12th, he ate a vanilla wafer and a graham cracker at school! Granted he gummed them until they were soggy enough to swallow, but this was a big day for the little guy. He also loves shredded cheese and mashed potatoes. This boy is going to eat us out of house and home.

We lowered his crib after finding him peeking over the edge of the crib and grinning. He loves it! We played Peek A Boo the other night until he was wheezing laughing so hard we had to stop. Our house can be crazy, but it is a ton of fun.

Maybe next post I will announce that Anabelle is potty trained to go number 2...aahh how nice would that be? :)

Anabelle's new haircut

School has started and the Beasley's are in full swing! Getting back into routine has been amazing for us. Anabelle loves her new school! She takes a lunch everyday and is amazed that she gets fruit snacks, string cheese and yogurt. She always tells me how excited she was that these things were in her lunch box. I just smile... I don't think she puts it together that I pack it for her.

When I did ask her if she would like a lunchable, she told me that she thought it was a great idea and that she knew she could count on me...

Jack is also doing well at the new school. He is so laid back, they said that he just looks at the other babies when they cry like they are crazy.

Some new things...

May 7th- Rolling everywhere!

August 6th- First tooth!! Bottom left
August14th- Started putting his own passy in!
August 15th- Holds his bottle with one hand to drink! (Still needed a little help, though:)
August 15th- Up on all 4's trying to crawl!
Jack is still a big guy, but is starting to thin up some and has really gotten taller.
I started work last week and so far love it. I think Josh kinda likes it, too, because office days are a little more quiet around our house.