Take that, strep throat!

Late Sunday night, Lee woke up with a high fever and crying with his throat hurting. He was saying that he couldn't swallow and that it hurt to breathe. He was pretty pitiful. On Monday, we went to the doctor, who confirmed that Lee had strep throat. We must have caught it early, because after only a couple of doses of his 10 day! antibiotic, he was a new kid, with endless energy. We haven't left the house since going to the doctor, so cabin fever is setting in. Since he hasn't had fever since yesterday afternoon, I think we're safe to venture out into the world again tomorrow.



Before Matt gets home each day, Lee wants me to help him find a hiding place, so that Matt can find him when he gets home. Today, I suggested he hide under his train table. He thought it was hilarious.

By the time Matt got home, he had decided on a new place. He is not a very patient hider, so Matt usually only has to follow the giggles to find him.

Matt and I recently got a DVR and decided to hook it up tonight. It was supposed to be a quick 2 step process to make the switch. After 2 hours, 3 technicians, and still no TV signal, we decided it would be best for a professional to come to hook it up. Lee wanted to help so badly, so Matt told him he could hold the flashlight. He was completely in the way, but Matt was very patient with him.

We told Lee to go pick out his pajamas and this is what he came back wearing. They are a 4T, but they fit like a 2T! I don't know why they were even still in his drawer, but he insisted they fit fine and he was wearing them. We laughed so hard at the tight band in the shorts and his belly hanging out from under the mini-shirt! As for the headband, the only explanation I have is that he was channeling Richard Simmons. Who knows about this child? He certainly has a mind of his own.

Here are a couple of videos from today. There is a tiny chance that he inherited my musical abilities. We were about to brush his teeth when he turned on the musical toothbrush and started conducting with the other one. I was so proud.

This is his very favorite song. He calls it the "Mack Song," because it plays on Cars when Mack is hauling McQueen to California. He got this CD in a Happy Meal months ago and has worn it out on this song.

Busy Weekend

We have had such a fun weekend. I took far too many pictures, so it was hard to narrow my choices on which ones to post today. I love so many of them that you might get a few every day this week!

On Saturday, we celebrated the first birthday of this little princess with a luau.

Lee loves a party!
Uncle Matt wore a lei from the birthday girl.

This was my favorite part of the party...CAKE TIME! She knew just what to do with it.

She demolished her little cake in no time. Both hands were full of frosting, and she was still going strong. We were laughing at her, and she would act shy and try to hide her face. That made us laugh even harder.

Wonder what these 2 were up to?

Hope got this little horse that she can ride, and she loved it. She would push back with her feet. I remember Lee doing that same thing with his little John Deere tractor. Of course, once he got the hang of it, he was super fast. I bet in a few days, Hope will be the same way on her horse.

After Hope's party, we headed to Paris Landing State Park for a family reunion with the Geurins. After supper, we took a hike outside while the families visited. That is the Ned McWherter Bridge in the background. (Just an FYI for my family.) It's beautiful in pictures, but I sure hate to drive across it!

The boys are running off to throw rocks in the lake.

Hayes, Lee and Paul

This is more like it!

Paul and Lee just threw their rocks. Can you see them in mid-air?

Back inside, it was family picture time. Here are Matt's great uncles and great aunt.

A failed attempt to get all 5 kiddos together (and looking the same direction)

Today, Matt taught our Sunday School lesson and did a great job. After church we went to another family reunion. Today's reunion was with the Hayes family. In the rush to change clothes and grab our food after church, I forgot my camera. So the pictures I took of Lee this afternoon will have to do.

The reason he is so sweaty is because he "helped" Daddy load the remaining gravel from our driveway and haul it to our basement. I don't know who was sweatier when they were done, but I do know who had more fun!

Friday

There were no more "stranger dog" sightings today, so apparently we were just a layover for him. I hope he has a home with a nice family. Now I wish that I had tried to check his tag for some identification. Our Buzz went missing about 4 years ago for a week, and it was horrible for us. I hope his family isn't looking for him and worrying about him like we were then.

Today, we went to the library to pick up Lee's certificate that he was given for participating in the Summer Reading Program. I was so proud when he excitedly asked the library worker if he could still check out books. She smiled and assured him that he could come any time. I get so excited when he wants to choose his own books and then makes a special effort to take care of them. Next we went to Studio J to retrieve the baseball bank that Lee painted last week with his friend, Harrison. I was concerned that it wouldn't look like much, since Lee was more interested in playing with Harrison than painting. But it turned out really cute, and Lee is SO proud of it. He begged for some coins when we got home to put in there. He'll be cleaning out Matt's pockets for spare change until it's full.

Matt had asked me earlier in the day if I would like to go to Murray for supper when he got home. Of course I did, so we were ready when he got home. It was sunny and pretty when we left, but as we were passing through Whitlock, it began to rain. By the time we got to Hwy. 641, we could barely see, because it was raining so hard. Thankfully Matt was driving slow, because we came over a hill and saw something in the road and a car off the side of the road. As we got closer, the car started driving, and we saw that it was a long ladder in the middle of the road. Matt and I agreed that we couldn't leave it there. So, being the hero that he is, he pulled off of the road and ran back to get it. He tried to stop the car that was coming, but the driver was on a cell phone and was not paying attention and ran over the ladder. I was watching in the mirror and was afraid they might rear end us due to their lack of attention. Matt quickly grabbed the ladder and threw it off of the side of the road and ran back to our car. He was pretty soaked by then. I felt bad for him, but he handled it well and kept going. It was a scary couple of minutes watching the cars swerve. I was surprised that no one else stopped to help. Matt really saved the day. We kept on toward Murray and by the time we got to Puryear, it was sunny enough that we needed sunglasses again. Such strange Tennessee weather we have! We had a wonderful time and delicious meal at the Big Apple Cafe.

I was putting Lee to bed tonight, and he was being especially sweet to me. After we finished his books, he handed me one end of his prized blanket and asked if I would like to cuddle it. So we each had an end to the blanket to cuddle. Then in an attempt to keep me from leaving, he threw his arm around my neck and kept it there until he was asleep. I didn't mind it one bit.

Stranger Dogs...

Lee came running up to me today, with his hands clasped over his chest, and he was panting. I asked what was wrong, and he proceeded to tell me the following, almost all in one breath.

"Mommy I'm panicking, because I was standing at the door, when all of a sudden I saw a dog in our yard that was not our dog and it was not the Paschalls dog. I call them stranger dogs. He is bigger than Jake but not bigger than Buzz. He has white on him and not white on him and he's wearing a red collar. Could you come see? I'm really panicking." So, off we go to see the stranger dog. I saw nothing, not even Buzz. Nothing or no one comes into our yard without Buzz sniffing it and checking it out. The meter reader even calls him by name now. So I began to doubt Lee's story. Since he was still "panicking" we went out on the back porch to look for the dog. Still nothing. I did take the opportunity to tell him that he did the right thing by coming to tell me, and how if that happened while we were outside, he should never try to talk to or pet a stranger dog. He then assured me he wouldn't, because he would be, you know, PANICKING! I was barely able to stifle my giggles. He was so, so serious. We decided that the stranger dog had gone home. Back in the living room, we're sitting in the floor playing, and I saw one of the biggest heads on a dog that I have ever seen. That is saying a lot, because most of you have seen my dog, right? BIG head! Buzz's head didn't compare to this size of this dog's head. Lee was both excited and skittish to go to the door. Buzz was inspecting him/her, and they seemed to be getting along. Even though he/she looked friendly enough, I didn't like him/her in our yard without knowing anything about him/her. He/She was wearing a collar and looked healthy, so I'm sure he/she is just visiting. Lee gave a great description. He/She is white and "not-white" which most people call tan. He/She is bigger than Jake but not as big as Buzz, well, except for that massive head! It really is a pretty dog. I think it might be some sort of collie mix. It has longer hair and a really bushy tail. He/She hung around all afternoon and played with Buzz. I finally got the nerve to go outside when Matt got home to do some cleaning. As soon as I opened the door, he/she took off. I felt better about him/her being here, but I do hope that he/she has a home to go home to and soon.

Carla-I just thought as I was typing this that the stranger dog could actually be a "Beazey Dog." Does this description fit any "Beazey Dogs?" Don't you love how Lee names all the neighborhood dogs? Jake, the neighbor dog, is the only one that Lee calls by his real name. It would be a huge relief to Lee if the stranger dog is really a Beazey Dog. If it is a Beazey Dog, tell your Granddaddy that I'm holding him ransom for some tomatoes!

Tuesday with the Coffields

Alex and Katie came to stay with us today, and I surprised them with a trip to the city pool. Lee has been wanting to go ever since he took swim lessons. Katie and Alex have been going every week with their group from Kids Club, so they already knew they loved it. There were very few kids there, probably due to the chance of rain and cooler temperatures. We had a blast, and the kids swam until they were just exhausted. Katie swims like a champ, and Alex is just getting confident enough to jump off of the diving board. I knew if he jumped once, he would be hooked. I was right. Lee jumped enough times that he was tiring out in the middle of the pool and needing help getting to the side. So I made him head to the shallow end to rest. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked, but I was a "Nervous Nellie" so I stayed very close while they jumped and swam to the ladder. Here are a few of my favorites though.

They wanted to jump at the same time. I didn't get the best picture, because I didn't want to walk around the pool too far from them, for the sake of a better angle.

3 Amigos

Lee called the diving board, the "high dive." I guess it was because it is higher than an average board. From a nervous Mommy's perspective, it was pretty darn high!

What kind of swim day would be complete without popsicles??

Recording Memories

I originally started this blog for the grandparents and family to keep up with Lee. Instead of the constant flow of emails with pictures attached and funny stories circulating, I thought this would be more practical. As it turns out, I have enjoyed it so much myself, maybe even more than the grandparents. I look back at older posts and laugh out loud. It's sad to think how fast I forget funny things Lee said or get confused as to which kid said what. One day, I hope to look back and find all of this just as funny as I did at the time. Without further adieu, here is the latest crop of things I found funny.

The other day, Lee woke up a little hoarse. After a while, he was talking fine but kept telling me something was wrong with his throat. I asked him if it hurt, and he said, "Nope. My voice is just all cribbed up." I have no idea what that means, but he was very serious about it.

Matt was getting Lee ready for bed, and Lee said that he was working on his "chep list." Matt asked what that was and Lee said, "Blanket, chep. Friend to sleep with, chep. Milk, chep. Book, chep. Brushed teeth, chep." Getting ready to go to Nam's yesterday, I asked Matt if he had loaded Lee's bike, gator and helmet. Before Matt could answer, Lee said, "Chep, chep, chep."

I was working on some pictures on the computer, with my camera on the couch beside me. Lee ran and jumped on the couch, causing the camera to crash to the ground. I gasped, and Lee grabbed it really fast and said, "You'd better be thankful this didn't break!"

While Lee was watching tv in the living room, I went to the kitchen to get a drink, and he yelled, "Hey! Bring me back some Pringles, will ya?" (Yes, I laughed in private and then had a discussion with him on manners:-)

Matt and Lee were washing my car the other day, and Lee picked up his sponge and told Matt to "spray a little wet on it." Later he tripped over the hose and skinned his knee and elbow. We came inside to patch him up, and I sat him on the bathroom sink while I got supplies. The process took awhile, mainly due to his watching himself in the mirror and prolonging the crying. When we were finally done and he got down, he said, "Whew! It sure feels good to be back on the ground again."

While he was taking a bath, he tooted really loud. I said, "What did you do?" He was laughing hysterically and said, "I just made a bubbly surprise for you, Mommy!" Gee, thanks!

I took him to see Willy Wonka, Jr. and he loved the Oompa Loompas or the "Hoompa Loofas."

Glorious Saturday

"Glorious!" That's what Lee said when he stepped outside today, and I could not have agreed more. If you were lucky enough to be able to get outside today, you also know it was one of the most perfect weather days of the summer. We even turned off the A/C and opened all of the windows for some fresh air. Matt and I had a busy day planned in the yard, so we were excited that it turned out so nice. While I was mowing, Matt and Lee washed my car. Every time I would make a lap around to where I could see them, I wished I had my camera. It was so cute watching Lee trying to do everything his daddy was doing. He even had his own sponge and little stool so he could reach where Matt was washing. I was glad I missed the spanking that occurred somewhere in there. Matt informed me later that Lee asked him if he was wet. When Matt said no, Lee sprayed him up and down his back with the hose and said, "Well, now you are!" I laughed but knew it wouldn't be so funny if he did that to me. Next, Matt took over on the mower while I cleaned the inside of the car. Since cleaning the inside didn't interest Lee, he washed his gator and then drove around picking up sticks out of Matt's way. Aside from the soaking-daddy-episode, he had such a great day. We got a lot done since he was so good. We asked what he would like to do for a reward, and he wanted to go to the park. We haven't been in awhile since it has been so hot, but today was the perfect day. He was so excited and wanted to show Matt all of his tricks.

After we left the park, we went to eat at Lee's favorite Mexican restaurant for supper. He decided to try an enchilada tonight instead of his usual taco, and he L-O-V-E-D it. Before we knew it, he had eaten the entire thing and was scraping up the crumbs. I have a feeling he will be requesting them at home soon. I had better start practicing!

TGIF

I have to include this precious picture of my eldest child. He is only cute in a picture these days. I'm not sure what he has been into, but he smells AWFUL. I feel a tad bit bad for him, because he still runs up to us for love, and we quickly shoo him away. He doesn't understand, because obviously he thought whatever he got into smelled good or he would have left it alone. Matt asked if I thought it was a skunk, and I said I wish! At least he looks pleased with himself here.

After a fun lunch with the Vances, we headed home for an afternoon swim. Lee was showing off all his new skills in the pool. Now he likes for you to throw things in the pool, and he'll swim to the bottom to get them. Of course we have only mastered this skill in our little pool, but I was impressed anyway. He kept asking me if I wanted to watch him swim the "whole link of the pool." Of course I did! He swam until I made him get out to eat supper and get ready to go see Willy Wonka, Jr. There is no telling how much longer he would have stayed in if we weren't going to the play.

Since Matt had a late meeting, Lee and I went to see Willy Wonka, Jr. at KPAC. It was one of the best performances I have seen there. The kids in this production were ridiculously talented, and I loved it. It started at 7:00 and wasn't over until almost 9:00, so Lee was really tired by the end of it, but I think he enjoyed it too.

Wednesday

Lee has been begging to see this movie since we saw it in the previews when we saw "Up." It said "Coming in July," so every time Lee has seen a commercial for it, he asks if it is July yet. We have missed the last 2 weeks' matinees, because we were busy. But I promised him last week that we would go today, and it did not disappoint. After he settled in with his popcorn and sprite, Lee did not move a muscle the entire movie. He laughed out loud several times, which made me laugh even harder. There were a couple of scenes that I thought were scary, and when I looked over at him to see his reaction, he just smiled back at me. He loved it so much that I'm considering investing in the first 2 Ice Age movies for future prizes for him.

We have been feeding squirrels in our yard for over a year, and we have gotten attached to them. I don't know for sure that we have the same squirrels every day, but Lee has named them, so we're going with it. I could sit at the door and watch them for an hour. I have never tried to take pictures, because I didn't want to scare them off. However, I finally decided to give it a try today. I took these through the glass, so they're not great, but you can tell how cute they are. They were both in the pan at one time, until one fought the other out of it. Lee and I giggled until we were breathless watching them. We were almost late for the library program, because we were just sitting at the door watching these critters. There was a magician at the library today, and I wasn't sure that Lee would "get it" or like it. On the way there, I asked him what a magician was, and he said, "It's the man that makes people disappear." I immediately thought, "Uh oh. He's going to be very disappointed when no one disappears." He must have forgotten about that, because he never mentioned it. The magician was great, and Lee kept raising his hand to volunteer but was never chosen. He chose older kids for all of his acts. Lee was mesmerized by him and laughed so hard at his tricks. Then we checked out our final books for the summer reading program. Lee has read 25 books this summer, so he will get to attend the end-of-summer program next week. I was a little nervous at first about participating in the program, since there is such a large number of kids who attend, but we have really enjoyed ourselves this summer. In addition, Lee now loves to go to the library and choosing his own books.

Fun Friday

We had a very full and fun day planned for our last day in Obion County last week.

Aunt Clara made the boys these cute Cars pajamas, and guess who wants to wear his every night!?
Uncle Roy's sitter came at 10AM to stay for a few hours, so we were off and running to enjoy our time. Nicholas was ready to run, can't you tell?

We went to Graham Park in Union City, and it was awesome. There were 2 parts. The first had modern equipment that the boys loved....until they spotted this wooden "castle" across the yard.

I have never seen anything quite like this play area before. It had so many neat things to do that the boys were just running in every direction trying to do it all.

Aunt Clara supervised while I took pictures.

Lee finally found someone brave enough to ride on the tire swing with him. He wanted it to go 'round and round' really fast. Aunt Clara warned him that might not be a good idea.

This is where it all started going downhill....

Someone got dizzy and then got the giggles and couldn't get off the swing.

Still giggling....and Lee bailed on her at this point.

Then she called for someone to help her up. I'm pretty sure she regretted asking.

Look at those sweet faces! I can't believe they stood still for longer than 2 seconds to take a picture.

Aunt Clara had to show them how to slide down the fireman's pole. Lee thought this was hilarious.

So he made Aunt Clara "help" him down.

Lee really wanted to master the balance beam, but he got frustrated after about 5 tries and moved on to something else.

Aunt Clara had the best seat in the house!

Of course Lee found the sandbox and was so excited that it had a digger built in it.

Did I mention it was 100 degrees that day? The boys were SO exhausted and couldn't drink enough water.

Nicholas is quite the poser these days, so he was happy to stop by the creek for a quick picture.

Meanwhile, Lee had convinced Aunt Clara to carry him to the car.....spoiled much?

How do you cool off after 2 hours of non-stop play at the park? By sharing a root beer float, of course!

After lunch, Lee and I went to visit this cutie pie. Brandt's mommy and I have been friends since I untangled her hair from her pencil in first grade. She has been enjoying being a stay at home mom with Brandt for the past year, but she is going back to work to teach 5th graders in a couple of weeks. Lee was fascinated by Brandt and was in his face the whole time we were there. Brandt liked Lee, too and followed him everywhere.

Brandt's cousins, Claire and Leah, were visiting too. I love this picture with all the kids gathered around him. He was the happiest and funniest little guy. We loved our visit with them and are looking forward to them coming to our house soon.

Then it was back to Aunt Clara's to enjoy an afternoon movie with Nicholas. They were snuggled up in the bed and were so cute....after they finally agreed on which movie to watch.

After the movie, it was time to meet Paw for supper at the lake. I was hoping for some sunset pictures of Lee, but the pier by the restaurant was being repaired. By the time we realized it, the sun had gone down too much to move to another location.

I'm pretty sure Paw was distracting him here. Paw doesn't know how serious I can be at picture time. I'll be issuing him a time out the next time he interferes..ha! Reelfoot is heavenly this time of year, so I hope I can get back over there for some pretty pictures. I really wanted to take Lee's picture at the place where I was baptized, and I planned to go the next day, but it rained. After I wrangled Lee and Paw away from the lake, we walked to Boyettes for some yummy catfish. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day.