Mitchell Farms

We went to Mitchell Farms this weekend. We had a great time. We met Shauna, William, Cait, and baby #2 there. We have always wanted to go....but kinda felt weird going without a kid. Shad has been tempted to "rent a kid" every year so that we could go and "fit in". So now that Lawson is here :) we can go and not feel out of place!

Walking in the maze.

Looking at the boy goats.
Farm tour

Picking out the best pumpkin.

Riding on the train.

11 MONTHS OLD

HOLY COW! Handsome is 11 months old. Unbelievable.

• loves to eat



• loves feed himself



• loves baths



• loves to splash-pool, puddle, tub, river, dog bowl....anywhere



• loves to dig in sand



• loves to walk fast down the hill in his walker



• loves to climb



• loves to try to fall off the couch



• loves to get inside the dishwasher



• loves to share his passy with Blue (i know..)



• loves ice cream sandwich



• loves Blue and Ivory



• loves to throw his passies out of the bed



• loves cords- we have some in his toy box



• loves to plug things in- and do it correctly.



• loves to make noises with tongue and blow bubbles



• can say mama, dada, nana (passy, we have never called it a nana), aduh (duck), iv (ivory), oo (blue)...and we are working on few others



• can shake his head no
  He is such a joy!

Car is Packed

Saturday morning, about 6 am, I woke up to Shad telling me that the car was pack and handing me my swimsuit. He decided to take us to the beach for the day- YAY! So we left... and had the best time.

Summer

It's over. I'm sad. But life goes on. I made a big change in my professional life- I moved up with my smart babies to fourth grade. Some days I wonder if I did the right thing... just because change is hard. I LOVED third grade, and it's always hard to learn something new. But it will challenge me... or consume my life. :) I do like my new classroom-it's cute. I basically have my same class of kiddies. Well, -3 (they moved), -3 (are in a different class), +5 (new to me) and 13 of them are stuck with me another year :). Bless them.

I did have a great summer. I spent it with handsome. We played, strolled, swam, and shopped. He spent a week at Papa and Lovie's house while I taught a couple of class at a conference. It was good for us. He adores his papa and lovie. He is back in daycare....and we are adjusting.

Beach Trip 2011

*** I'm updating the blog...I have know idea why this didn't post; so without much more delay...

We just got back from the beach and it was so much fun! Lawson LOVED the beach! LOVED it! We had such a great time...eating, playing, going to gardens, and visiting great friends! It is so exciting to watch Lawson playing on the same beach that I grew up on....

My mother has a problem.... she's addictive to Words with Friends.

He loved it.





We went to the Butterfly House, and once a month, they release 100 butterflies. They gave us an envelope with a butterfly in it and instructed us to let it warm up in our hands. Once it was warm enough it flew away. It was amazing!

We also went to Blackwater River State Forest on two different days. It's a clear sandy three foot river that you can tube or canoe down. It was nice change with very nice pavilions and beach areas. Lawson loved floating down the river in his float and standing in the river.

We had a great time. I can't wait to go back.

Doggies Resort

Call me crazy. I promise it isn't the first time. But I love my Blue and Ivory. They are treated like babies...and that hasn't changed since Lawson. BB King is the BEST babysitter. He keeps Lawson laughing for HOURS. Becasue of my crazy love for them-We have also sent them to resorts when we go on vacation.... they have been to several different ones. However, I really like the one that they just visited in Pensacola. The name of it is Luxury Pet Boarding- Spanish Trail Veterary Hospital. It's very nice. Here is a pic of the hallway...

Rooms with a TV and private window... I'm not sure what they watch. I know the resort that they stayed in at Memphis had a TV too... and they watched Animal Planet :) They also what webcams.

And of course... Blue's fav. The bone shaped swimming pool.

The staff was great! And I'm so glad they took care of my furry babies.

5 years..

Wow. Time flies. FIVE years ago today I married my soul mate. It has been an amazing five years. Got married-moved to a new town-build a house- had a baby....and its been fun :). We are so blessed.

Mexico honeymoon... it was beautiful.
Shad and I aren't big gift givers... we have never been that way. But we both surprised each other this year. And I'm excited to say that I got a cruise! I can't wait to go~ I'll be on the boat soon!

A Day in May

We met my parents at Bonita Lakes in Meridian. We LOVE it there. In the past we would take the dogs hiking there...and I look forward to doing this again once Lawson is walking. But for now...we take turns running, and we stroll Lawson around while we admire the beautiful landscape.

Did you know?

I think everyone has a few random things that even their best friends may not know. I'm sure everyone has thoughts that run through their heads that seem normal...but when these thoughts are spoken aloud those "normal" thoughts are told that they are strange or biazarre. Well, I'm going to share a few things about me or some of my random "oh, so normal" thoughts.

1. Coast Guard- If I had a do over, I would join the Coast Guard. Seriously. I mean have the you seen the movie The Guardian... it's the closes thing to sexy as a military movie gets.

2. Dead Bodies- EVERYtime I see a garbage bag on the side of the road my FIRST thought is, "I wonder if there is a body in there." Crazy I know- but I bet you'll think about it next time. :)

3. Buzzards- I don't care what science says... I think that a turkey mated with a quinea and that's how we got buzzards. It totally makes since to me.

4. Hotdogs- I'm not a huge fan, but I like them burnt. Same for bacon, bologna, and marshmellows.

5. Morning- I have a burst of energy in the morning once I GET up. I really don't lay around thinking about it- I just do it...get it done...move on.... check it off.

6. Tapping- I usually tap my foot three times before I put my foot through something ex. pants. I don't always to it- but I still do it. It drives Shad nuts. So I do it more.

Material Things

I'm not one who thrives off of a particular brand-
I honestly don't understand all the hype.
Don't get me wrong I LOVE nice things...

I have a nice house, ONE nice car, and some nice clothes.
And

I love for things to be beautiful and complete.
I love decorating...
having parties....
buying clothing...
which all have to do with material things
BUT
I don't understand someone who HAS to have a
Chanel bag, a Tiffany this or that...or a certain type of car, shoe, or jeans.
You get the point.

To hear someone say-

Oh, that a (insert brand name) ______...

is very nauseating to me.
I don't think it is a money thing-
if I love it, I'll buy it.
Period.
Recognizing a material thing because of it's brand- not because of it's beauty

is a nauseating.

For example:

But I would never
-mark my words-
NEVER
own Louis Vuitton bag.
I said OWN.
Not because I think they are ridiculous amount of money;
it's because I love beautiful things.
I see nothing BEAUTIFUL about a two tone brown bag.
I wouldn't want it.
I see nothing beautiful about anything that has a brand name slapped all over it.

Just saying.

Sorry if you are offended.

Tubes

I told Lawson yesterday that he would be getting tubes in his ears and here is his reaction in pictures.

"Handsome, I have some news for you... listen carefully to Mommy."

"Lawson, mommy is serious."

"It's kinda bad, but it will get better."

"You are getting tubes in your ears, and it will make you feel better. We have to be in Laurel at 6:15 in the morning to check in. Lawson, you can't have any food after midnight. I think the worst news is that you can't have your passy after midnight either..."

"It's going to be okay; it's just a few hours without it. You can keep it for now. AND you're going to feel SO MUCH BETTER!"

****** So we get up, get going, and drive to Laurel. Check in, go back, and talk to the doctors.

Lawson did great. They warned us that when he woke up that he would cry a lot. Which he did! They said it was from the anesthetics. The doctor said that his ears were horrible; I've never heard a doctor say something was horrible. So they must have been bad. He said that he didn't see any permanent damage. Lawson's ears drained a lot of gross fluid when we first got to go back to see him- he's gotta feel better! Seven infections in six months is rough. Hopefully, happy days are ahead!

6 month

I can't believe it... 6 months. Lawson is rolling over and over... If I put him on the floor he is never where I left him. He is eating rice cereal once a day and taking 5 oz in each bottle. He has had MANY MANY ear infections (5 in 5 months- plus he has fluid behind both ears as I speak), so we have now scheduled to get tubes on April 5th. Hopefully, this will really help him out! We go for our 6 month checkup on April 8th. He is a really happy baby except when he is hungry...then it gets ugly FAST. I think I may be rubbing off on Shad or brainwashing him with my favorites... we were just getting Lawson ready for bed and it was getting UGLY...He was STARVING...as we tried to give him his medicine, change his diaper, and put on his pjs, he was SCREAMING, because he was starving. Shad muted the scream by sticking the bottle in his mouth while I was trying to get him ready. Shad proceeded to reference my favorite movie- He said, Lawson you are acting like Gustoff (Augustus). Just hold on a minute, and you can eat. Don't act like Gustoff. Andrea, he wants the chocolate river, NOW!- I laughed and laughed! Do you know the movie?

You're my cousin TOO!

Shad's cousins flew down to Tupelo from South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. So during spring break, we traveled north to Tupelo to spend a few days with them. We had a great time letting all of the kids meet each other....FYI- four babies born this year alone! We all went to Ballard Park to enjoy the beautiful weather and feed the ducks. Here are some photos-

Mimi and Lawson

All the little cousins PLUS Brad and Shad

Our Schipke boys


Too much cousin love can wear some girls out~

Grandma Jo with her two boys. They were born 12 HOURS apart.

While in Tupelo, Lawson got to see his other cousin , Harper. They are three months apart. They enjoyed looking at each other.

They were sweet to each other. Lawson told her how pretty she is, and Harper shared her toys with him. She even let him put her foot in his mouth. :) The next two photos are of my grandparents and Lawson. He LOVES Mamaw.... he talks to her NONSTOP, and smiles at her all the time... I think he likes her hair :) That afternoon is when Lawson starting "mouthing" mama. He didn't have the sound until the next day, but flapping those jaws in the motion mimicking me was really cute! Mamaw kept telling me that he was trying to say Mamaw NOT Mama :)

We had a great time with all of our cousins...it seemed like ALL weekend I told Lawson, "that's your cousin." I really wouldn't be surprised if his second word wasn't "cous-in."