Look Who is EIGHT!!!!!!

Can you believe it?

  Eight years old!

 I decided to include some photos in this post that were a little older and after we have our CELEBRATION tonight after Football, I will post more photos.

Technically, this is not Todd's first Halloween, his first was spent, at 4 days old, in the Pediatric Wing of Tallhassee Memorial Hospital with a billirubin count of 25 with shades over his eyes and lying under a phototherapy lamp.  So, this was his first Halloween to Trick or Treat.... and we only went to one house... but isn't he the cutest Dumbo you have ever seen??

This is Todd at 2.  What a handsome young man...

I made sure to edit this so I would not be sent to jail...

We had always heard that potty training a boy would be really difficult, but Todd Jr was really easy and rather funny... check out the goggles... can't remember why insisted on wearing them...

maybe I don't want to.

I am not sure if we have ever put a photo of Robin on the blog... well, here she is... Dat Dat caught Todd and Robin napping by the front door one afternoon. 

The first day we brought Todd home from the hospital, she walked right up to him licked him on the face and turned around and walked away... guess she decided she had no choice to accept him.

She is such a good dog...  yep, she is in a cast in this photo, for those of you who don't know, it is a long story and it involves a road trip to Michigan, a lacerated achilles tendon, trips to the Vet School at the University of Florida, and a corrupt veterinarian...

Finally, for the last photo for this post...

This is Todd at Aunt Grace and Uncle Cory's wedding.

He and is cousin Timmy were ring bearers.  He was sooooooooooooooo Good!

He carried the pillow perfectly and he watched Grace and Cory intently... My only regret was that we did not get more photos of him dancing at the reception... he danced until the last song was played and he was disappointed to leave.

Dat Dat and I are so lucky to have such a special little big boy. 

He is a wonderful son and a great big brother and we are so proud of him.

Since I was Called Out

Since I was called out about posting my pictures of DC, here they are.  I visited at night while I was up in Annapolis for a recruiters summit and went to DC on my first night off and it was spectacular.  The picture to the right is taken from the bottom of Lincoln Monument looking over the reflecting pond (lake if you are in Florida) at the Washington Monument with the Captiol Building just to the right.  It was awesome being there and looking at the lights reflecting.











The picture of the left was from the top steps of the Lincoln Monument back over the reflecting pond.  If you look close, you can seed the pillars of the Lincoln Monument on both left and right foreground.

Here is ole Honest Abe himself.  If you have not been, he is huge.  Must be about 30 feet high.

This is a seal in the World War II memorial.  This was absolutely beautiful tribute to the men and women who served in WW II.    Made me think of Grand Dad.  In case it is not said enough, thanks Grad Dad for your service.

To the right is one of the pillars that mark the perimeter around the WW II memorial.  It is the one for the State of Florida.

Of course I had to visit the White House. The President was busy that night and I wasn't able to meet him.

This is the doorway to the Espicopal Church (Church of the Epiphany) in DC right around the corner from the White House.

and last but not least, this was what I cam home to, a full bed.  Altough it was great to be up there it would have been better to have the family there.  I enjoyed my time, but nothing beats home with the family.

Life With Boys!

Aren't they handsome, sporting their Halloween Shirts?  All three are so excited about Halloween... Grant is really working on the "Trick or Treat" even though it sounds a little more like "tweet"... however Grady has reinforced the necesssity to do the Gator Chomp whenever he can... Grady got his goodie bag filled to the brim last year when he did it for a family that had a Florida Gator Flag in their yard... he is hoping for a big take again this year.   So, do you want to know what they are going to be.... would you like to see their costumes???  Sorry, still gotta wait... but let me tell you, they look AWESOME...

The Lynn Haven Raider Might Mights had their Homecoming Tuesday night.  Unfortunately, Mommy did not get to make it, but Dat Dat got a few shots in... here are all the boys on the field... however the highlight of the evening was the fact that Todd actually got some playing time... oh, and they won!

Here are the 2 G's watching their big brother... it was a little cool Tuesday night... we have been so glad to finally have a change in the weather!  Unfortunately, it is warm and rainy, but apparently there is a cool front headed our way!  Bring it on!!

There was a major catastrophe in our family on Monday... the BIG TV... well, it just won't turn on... and unfortunately, the Geek Squad won't come until NEXT FRIDAY to even look at it.  So, here are the little boys on our bed watching Mikey Mouse Clubhouse... Grant was copying the way Grady was laying on the bed and I just had to take a photo...

Yes, those are pants on their heads... and yes, they did it themselves... again, too cute not to take a picture... Now, you can ask MeMe and Foe Foe, but I am pretty sure this was not something you would have found me or my sister, Elizabeth, doing... So, that leads me to ask Grammie and Dada, are there any pictures of Dat Dat and Uncle Tim that might resemble this?  What about Aunt Grace?  Now that I can see... Love you Grace!

Finally, one last photo of Grant... Talk about BED HEAD!  Yesterday, I went to get him up from his nap so all the boys could head to football practice and look what I found... so many photo ops this week... I could not stop laughing at him and as you can tell from the picture, he did not appreciate that very much... Anyway, that is life with the boys this week.. I am still trying to get Todd to blog about his trip... maybe this weekend... especially since the TV is non functioning....

Just like a movie we just watched....

Mr. Smith Harris Goes to Washington.... thank goodness there was no fight against a corrupt government... at least not this trip...  Here are some photos one of Todd's co workers sent... I will make him blog and post his own photos when he gets back tomorrow....

"Four score and seven years ago...."  (is that right?)  Sure do miss Dat Dat... can't wait to have him home tomorrow...

Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day

Today, October 15, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.  In my last post, I mentioned the pink and blue ribbon.  Check it out, you know the interesting thing is, I think this is also the ribbon for Male Breast Cancer Awareness.  

I have to tell you that one of my biggest regrets regarding Esme's time with us is the lack of photos we have.  This photo was taken with a digital camera that had been donated to the NICU at Tallahasse Memorial by another family that had spent time there.  In my mind I just kept thinking we would take lots of photos when she was better...

Got Tweezers?

First, I wanted to show you a "bra"nument that a local radio station put together here in Panama City.  In order to raise awareness and to encourage women to do self exams and get mammograms, the station collected bras durning the month of September and then strung them up between these two cranes in our mall parking lot.  Their goal was to collect 5,000 but their total on the day it went up was 7,100.  It is a little gawdy but it definitaly makes a statement.  And yes, I donated a couple of bras for the cause...

If you remember, I told you that Todd Jr would not be allowed to play in his next two games.  Well, I guess you can't call his coach a liar... I might want to call him something else, but not a liar.  Anyway, check out the two little brothers, they kept looking for Todd and got to talk to him a few times when he wandered off the bench.

And, this is  yesterday's game.  Unfortunately I had to work, but Dat Dat and the boys did fine with out me.  Check out Todd Jr "riding the pine" like a champion.  We are still pulling the splinters out of his rear... however, that is better than the time Dat Dat had to go buy tweezers because there was a tick stuck between... um, well maybe that is an embarassing story about Todd Jr I will save for another post...

christopher & banks Collegiate Tees

As some of you know, I now work at christopher and banks, a ladies retail location in the Panama City Mall. Well, I wanted to share with all of you who might be interested that on our website, we sell these 3/4 sleeve Collegiate Tees. I happened to find them when I was looking for something for a Guest while I was at they store.

Dada, wouldn't Grammie look nice in this on Gameday?!




So, the real reason I am putting these on here is so that if anyone is interested, if you call our store, at 850-769-3162, we can ship it to your house without a shipping charge.


Sorry Foe Foe, there was no Auburn one... but this would look good on Me Me, just as long as she doesn't wear it when the Tigers and the Crimson Tide play!



Also, to all our friends who are Florida State Seminole Fans, there is a shirt for you too, but I thought it in my best interest not to place the photo on our blog....

Still trying to talk Todd into letting me get this one... Have a great day and Go GATORS!!!!!!!

You can check out more of the Collegiate Tees at

http://www.christopherandbanks.com/

Yea!!!! October!!!!

Finally... it is October... yes, we have even already put out our Halloween Fiesta, Nightmare Before Christmas Decorations and we have watched the movie now about 20 times... "Old man Jack is king of pumpkin patch."

October is such a busy month. There is football, Todd Jr's Birthday, football, a visit from Grammie and Dada, football, and oh yeah, FOOTBALL!!!!

Here is a photo of our little gladiator, Grant, how funny. We just got his costume in the mail about an hour ago and he LOVES it... he was so excited, and yes, I did get some pictures, but you will just have to wait for Halloween!


Here is Todd Jr at his last football game. As expected, they beat Hiland Park 30 something to zero. But, the game was a real bummer, Todd did not get in until there was 30 seconds left in the 4th quarter and to top it all off, the coach told at practice the next night that "if your kid is not a starter, he won't be playing in the next two games..." Can you believe that! Todd goes to every practice and works his tail off. He was so upset that he did not get to play more in the last game. We have talked to him about the next two, but he still wants to go and cheer his team on... and we are very proud of him for that... I guess these are good life lessons, but it is hard to see our son so disappointed, especially when he is doing everything asked of him...

The only reason I put this photo on was for you to see if you can find Grady in the picture. Yes, he is there. Grant decided to block him from view at the exact moment Dat Dat took the photo... what a ham. Also, notice that we are wearing long sleeve shirts. Ok, so it wasn't really that cold but we are trying to will it to be colder... wish us luck... we will gladly trade some of our warm weather with our Michigan family for some cooler drier air!

I know it is everywhere, but I want to remind everybody who may be living under a rock that this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Get your Mammogram if it is time!!!! This one, as many of you know, hits close to home... Me Me has been cancer free now for several years and we are so thankful.

As another reminder, it is also Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Unfortunately, this truly gets no press or promotion, I think it is something that is just too uncomfortable for the mass public. However, remember that all of you who read this blog know someone who has lost a child. Imagine how many more people you may know who have suffered this same loss. If you do know someone who has experienced a similar loss to ours, reach out, let them know you care, it can be awkward and uncomfortable to you and you may not know what to say... well, then say that... tell them you don't know what the right words are and that you care... if they reach out to you, open your arms. Todd and I are so thankful for all the love and support we have received and continue to receive. As I have told you before, the pain never goes away... it is always with us... ALWAYS. I cannot tell you the number of times we have been out with our boys and people have innocently asked us when we are going to have a girl... I know it is not meant to be cruel, but it hurts just the same. We have a girl, her name is Esme and we miss her! So, if you feel so inclined add a blue ribbon to the pink one you are already wearing this month, the pink and blue ribbon is for pregnancy and infant loss, and let people ask you why... and tell them....