Summer is Here!

Hey Mom!

I am so happy because today is the last day of school for my students. That also means that I am just that much closer to staying at home with my boys all Summer! I still have 3 more days of post-planning. I am going to miss my students! They have been so funny and enjoyable all year...for the most part.

So, last night, Tuf woke up around 3 a.m. He cried, but stopped as soon as Josh went in there to get him. I'm not sure why he was upset, but one thing: we did find out that his pajamas glowed in the dark! HAHA! He was the sweetest boy when he was up that early. He was giving kisses with his little lips pursed together. He would lay on one of us. He would try to wake up Tate so he could play so he would say "Tay-Tay!" He is the sweetest little guy when he wants to be!

We went to St. Augustine this weekend for a quick trip. It was so fun! We did the beach...but only for an hour. Tuf would have stayed all day, but Tate wasn't having it. He doesn't like being hot and sweaty we decided. We got there Saturday afternoon and went straight to the beach. Our hotel was right on the water. After playing at the beach, we got ready and went to eat at a Japanese steakhouse. After that, we went downtown to see the shops. It was so nice. We put the boys in the double stroller and walked around for about an hour and a half until it was time to put the boys to bed. They both actually slept really well that night, surprisingly. The next morning, we got up early, packed the car, and went to breakfast. Then, we went to the Fort. That was neat, but too hot! We were all sweating up a storm. We walked downtown and had lunch at a pizza place. After that, the boys were more than ready for their naps, so we left and they slept in the car on the way home. We made a quick pit stop at Grandmother's for some dinner (Roast! Yum!) and to see Kylee for about an hour. After that, we were on our way home. It was a really nice and quick vacation. If I could go back, I would go with a babysitter so Josh and I could spend more time shopping or on the beach while the boys slept.

I just hired Kylee as my interior decorator this Summer. I'm hoping she can bring out the "crafty" in me and help me make my tiny little home cute. Give her some good advice in her dreams, please! :) You always had a niche for decorating!

I have a few more things to tell you, but since this is a blog, we don't want it to be known by everyone yet. I wish I could talk to you about it and talk it out. It's times like these that I need your ears and words of wisdom. I talked to Grandmother and that was close to you, but it's not you. I try to imagine what you would say to me if I talked to you about these things. You always gave the best advice, whether I took it or not. I was stubborn when it came to a lot of things, but I always listened to your words. You were a great Mom. I hope you know that. I'm trying to instill the things you taught Kylee and I in Tuf and Tate. Well, all the things but to "act like little ladies." :) I don't think the boys need to do that one. I hope you are proud of the mother I am trying to be. I am working on my relationship with God and I want the boys to grow up knowing Jesus, too. After all, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for Him! I think being at the high school has helped me to set an example up for my students. I know they need a good example in their lives, and so do my boys. I am working on it.

I love you so much. Tell Jesus I said, "Hey."

Kam

Growing!

Hey Mom! Let's just say I have lost track of the last couple weeks. I feel like it rushed by, but at the moment, I had so many things to do! It was a little ridiculous.

We have registered Tuf for survival swimming lessons with Infant Swimming Resource. I am really excited to get Tuf into it. He starts June 11. You know I will have pictures to go with it! They had us buy some little swim diapers that look like a Speedo...so cute! Once Tuf sees the fun in being in the pool, I know he will enjoy it. I am a little worried about how he will respond at first, though. He will do fine, I'm sure.

I know you know already, but BB passed away. I bet you were one of the first ones up there in Heaven to greet him with a big hug! You had the best hugs. If I really think hard about it, I can still feel it. I still remember a lot of special things like that about you. I let Andy know, too. He said BB used to help him with pianos. Didn't you guys take him and Will Carlan to the Nascar race that one time? It was the one not long after Dale Earnhardt died and you wouldn't stand up on the 3rd lap and raise 3 fingers in honor of him. Haha...you sure were strong-willed! I bet there were some rednecks pretty mad at you!

Tater Tot is blowing bubbles now. He is also eating peas, squash, apples, and bananas! Tate-Tate loves food! He is such a fat little Gus! We fight that tongue everytime we feed him, though! He wants to stick out his tongue and push out every bit of the food! When we stick in the spoon, we have to push his tongue down and fight with it. It is really funny, but gets so frustrating. After a while of fighting it, I started to make him open his mouth on his own and then I hurry up and put in the spoon so I don't have to battle the tongue. He started to figure it out after a while that when he opened it up, he got more food. The only problem is that he only opens his mouth when he fusses at me to give him more. So here is how it happens: Tate yells at me with a pitchy, "ahhh!" and I shove in the food and he swallows it down so fast that by the time I get my spoon back to the bowl, he is yelling at me again. Geesh, Tate-Tate! He is a Hungry, Hungry Hippo!

Tate-Tate found his piggies!

Tate always has his tongue out!

Tuf's personality is blossoming. He is too funny sometimes. He is very strong-willed and stubborn. He knows what he wants to do and if you don't let him do it, he will try to find a round-a-bout way to! Let's just say he is going to have a tough-skinned bottom by the time he makes it through his terrible twos and threes! He can now hop like a bunny and jump. He likes to say, "OP! OP!" or "DUMP! DUMP!" as he hops and jumps around the house like a bunny. Tuf is also starting to play with the potty chair. Victoria took off his diaper and was trying to show him how to sit on the potty chair and pee-pee. To make a long story short, he ended up going pee-pee on her leg and on the floor. HAHA. It scared him, but I think he got the idea of what it was. Now he points to his potty chair and says, "bee-bee" and likes to jump off of it.

                                If you look closely, you can see Tuf saying, "teeessseee!"

Tuf is also into singing. He likes to sing into the foot board bed posts. It is HILARIOUS! Josh or I have to get on one side and he gets on the other. He will sing, "bay-bay-bay, bay-bay-bay" or he will sing, "muh-ma-may, muh-ma-may." It is the cutest thing ever. Tuf is a singer!

Tuf started KinderMusic. It is a really cute program that incorporates music and motions with brain development activities. There is a lot of sensorimotor activities, too. Well, Tuf started going on Tuesday nights and he loves it. The only down side is that there is 30 minutes of it and about 25 minutes into it, he decides to play along. It takes him the whole 25 minutes to warm up to everyone! Anyways, they did this thing where you look for a squirrel in your pocket, back-pack, and shoe and then you dig in the ground for him. Well, Tuf loves doing it. He will hold up his binoculars (hands) and look for the squirrel. Then you ask, "Is he in your pocket?" and Tuf will say, "NO!" Then you say, "Is he in you backpack?" as you reach around to your back, Tuf will say, "NO!" Finally, you look in your shoe and then say, "No!" Then you dig it up in the ground and pretend to dig. Tuf loves saying "NO!" when he is looking for the squirrel.

Tate is still smiling and cooing. He is just a fat, happy baby! He is so spoiled with love. Everyone just loves to love on that baby! He is a sweet baby angel!

Sorry it has been so long since I've talked to you. I got caught up in life's craziness. I will be talking to you soon. I love you so much. I think about you every single day multiple times a day.

Kam

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I know this is a day behind, but I lost track of time yesterday. I wish I could tell you how wonderful my day went...the perfect mother's day with my two boys and husband, but I can't. It seemed as though nothing went as planned! I guess that's the way it is, though, right? On the positive side, I spent ALL day with my two little boys. Josh was on midnights so he slept all day. Tuf and Tate were the sweetest boys all day to Mommy. Tate gave me all kinds of sugar and let me rock him to sleep, and Tuf sang songs and played all day!

Andy came to town to see the boys. Tuf-Man can officially say, "A!" This morning when I went to take Tuf over to Andy's Mom's house, I said, "'A' is going to get doughnuts for you this morning for breakfast! You wanna go see 'A' and eat doughnuts?" When we got to the house, Andy came out and Tuf said, "No-nut!" to Andy. I said, "We discussed this already and he wants his 'no-nut.'" Haha! He knew when he saw 'A' he was getting a no-nut!

         Let's just discuss how fat Tate-Tate is for a minute...Fat Baby Brother??

Tuf can also sing "The Muffin Man" since he hears it everyday several times a day in the car when we're driving. He likes to sing, "Muh-meh-mah, Muh-meh-mah" and he sings it with some tune he gets out of his head. He sings more and more each day. It is so adorable. I try to point it out and say, "Oh, you're singing!" so he will sing more often. One day I'll be able to tell the boys, "OK, do your parts" and they will break into 3-part harmony with me just like we did with you. :)

Tate-Tate is now my official alarm clock set for 5:30 every morning. It never fails, when 5:30 hits the clock, he kicks his covers either off or over his head, starts breathing heavy through his nose, and begins grunting because it is time to eat! If I don't get up with him, he will "snooze" until about 6:00 and give me a 30 minute snooze time. Once I go over to his bed to get him out, he greets me with a sleepy-eyed smile that makes it all worth it. As soon as I pick him up, I get all the sugar I can!! He is full of it!

When I wake up Tuf in the mornings, I will say, "It's time to wake up, Tuf! Good Morning! Are you ready to wake up?" And usually he will just lay there sucking his thumb and stretching his legs out straight. Well, it usually takes him a while to open his eyes and to hurry the process, I'll sing, "Where is Tuf-man, where is Tuf-man? Here he is! Here he is!" Then he will either move his head like he is dancing or he will begin moving his fingers for "Where is thumbkin?" like usually. I have found the secret. When I do this, he will wake up in a really good mood. It is so cute how much he loves music.

I know you were with me all day on Mother's Day. There were so many reminders. I wore the dress that I wore to your funeral for Mother's day. It's not the dreary typical funeral dress, though. It is a light teal with paintbrush-stroke flowers on it in grey, yellow, and white. It is that cool, 50s house-wife style with the boat-neck, sleeveless, high-waisted, pleated, full skirted dress. I love it. It felt like it was time to wear it again...on a happier day. Also, the special song that was sang at church was "The Basics of Life" by 4HIM. I remember listening to that song when we were little on the radio. I just felt you all day. My day really wasn't wonderful, but you were there around me to make me feel not so bad about it. I wish you were here for real so I could get some advice. Could you please tell God I need some help? Thanks, Mom. :)

I love you and miss you more than words can say. Happy Mother's Day to you. You helped me to become the mother I am today because you were the best Mom.

Kam

Update

Hey Mom.

Sorry, I've been bad at keeping in touch this week. I could possibly be losing my mind.

Tuf got his tubes done on Friday and he did GREAT! He was way braver than I would have been. He went right to the male nurse and he never looked back when they walked him off because he was so excited about seeing new things. Josh and I were so proud of our big boy!

Tuf in his little hospital gown.

When Tuf got back he was very groggy, but ready to eat! He ate so much food and then we went shopping. :) Immediately, Tuf-Man was saying sounds that he hadn't before. It was well worth it.

                     "Don't ever let me go that long without eating, Mom!"

Saturday, I went to prom with my good friend from work. We had a blast!! I danced so much. It was nice to get out on my own and cut loose. Tuf would have loved all of the music! Another plus of working at the high school.


Tate-Tate started eating cereal with a spoon last night. It took us a little bit, but once he figured out that he is supposed to eat the cereal, he did pretty good. He ate most of the bowl! He would kick his feet and breathe hard when he was waiting on the next spoonful of cereal. It was pretty cute. :)

                                      "I cleaned my plate, Mama!"

                     Tate is saying, "What was that? Gimme some more!!"

Tuf now will stretch his arms out to Tate and wiggle his fingers when he wants to hold Tate. It is so darn cute. So, needless to say, we give Tuf what he wants and he gets to hold him! Here's a picture:

We miss you lots, Mom. Talk to you soon.

Love,

Kam

Singing

Dear Mom,

Tuf has started to sing! Josh and I sing a lot around the house. Well the other day, Josh started singing a song (way off key) and when he stopped, Tuf picked up singing while he was playing with the baby monitor. It was just him making sounds and holding out the notes. When Tuf stopped singing, Josh picked up singing again. They kept going back and forth. It was soooo adorable! When Tuf would stop, I would say, "Tuf, are you singing? That is so pretty! Good job!" Hoping that it would encourage him to do it more. Yesterday after church, I was singing a song and he would try to sing it back to me. It warms my heart to know that I am passing on the love of music to my boys! I didn't realize that they could pick it up this early!

Tate has finally started bouncing in his Jumperoo! He just started this weekend. We began putting him in it about 2 weeks ago just giving him something to look at and play with. Sunday night, I put him in it so I could do a few things and all of a sudden, I saw it bouncing! It was so cute. He wouldn't laugh or anything, but you could tell he was so surprised when it started bouncing up and down. He did it a few times. He is growing up!

I wish I could see you see these boys.
I miss you.
Kam

My Boys

Dear Mom,

I am so overwhelmed with the joy my boys bring me everyday.

 Sometimes Tuf isn't the happiest child because he is breaking in teeth, but he still has his sweet moments. He is so funny. He is straight faced, but is going to be hilarious. Tuf will have a dry sense of humor.

I mean look at him...(not the Nascar carseat, Mom! I know, so ridiculous but cute in a way, right? No? Ok.) He is rotten!

Now, Tate-Tate will always be happy! He is full of smiles. He will smile just because you look at him. You don't even have to smile to make him smile. It's like when you talk to him, he becomes so bashful and embarassed that he makes the cutest smile! Ahh! I could eat him up!

Here they are together. They love each other so much already. Who would've thought that a 1 year old would love a baby as much as Tuf loves Tate! And Tate totally knows who his brother is because he is always staring and smiling at him.

(Once again, please ignore the "characters" on their couch. I know, I know, you don't like characters, but it was a gift for Tuf...and it makes a good "tummy time" mat for Tate because it is so colorful!)

I'm overwhelmed. Who knew I could love this much?

I miss you.
Kam

Tubes

Hey Mom.

I'm stressing out. Tuf was recommended to get tubes in his ears. I'm worried because my little boy is about to have a surgical procedure. Tuf has had about four ear infections in about nine months. Josh and Justin both had to get tubes when they were little because of constant ear infections. Dad mentioned that Kylee and I had ear infections a lot, but we never had tubes put in. I think that is what makes me the most nervous because it is foreign. I have heard a lot of people say how easy the procedure is and that Tuf will never notice, but it isn't helping my worries any.

I don't want my baby to have to go under anesthesia in the first place. The nurse said it was general anesthesia, which I think is laughing gas, but it is anesthesia none the less. He is just too little. He just turned one for Heaven's sake!

Second, I don't want something not normal in his body. They're going to put little tiny tubes in his ear canals. I don't want him to be uncomfortable in any way. What are we going to do when he has to go swimming? Will we have to put that wax in his ears?

Will it hurt him? Will he pitch a fit when we try to put the wax in so he can get in the pool? What will happen when water does get in his ears? My biggest problem is that I don't want my baby to be in any sort of pain. I would take it for him any day...every day if I had to. He has no clue what is about to happen to him. I don't want Tuf to be scared when we take him to the hospital to have this done. I am doing my best to protect him from these things.

It is supposed to take only 15-20 minutes. That shouldn't be too bad, right? Maybe I am overreacting. Maybe I am making this a bigger deal than it should be. My anxiety levels are so high worrying about what Tuf might think or how he will react to it all. I just need to breathe...breathe. Wooosssaaahhh!

Josh will be with us when we take him to get it done. It is a short recovery time, so maybe he will be just fine. I need Josh there. I couldn't take him there on my own. Josh is my rock and I need him there to help me stay relaxed just as much as Tuf needs him.

Ok. I guess I am done stressing. Maybe. For now.

I love you.
Kam