Ben's Big Day!

 

 Ben is baptized! What a wonderful celebration with family!! I was so proud to be this sweet little boy's Godmother; however, I almost missed the entire thing! Greg had to work the morning of Ben's baptism, so he left at 5:30 to try to see some patient's before the baptism. I got myself and the boys all ready for the big day. Right when we were about to leave, West Cobb Pine Straw decided to deliver our pine straw. Unfortunately, as they were piling up the 100 bales that we had ordered, they had completely blocked our driveway. I had to wait for them to unload before we could leave. Then, on the way to the church, which I have now been 3 times, we got lost. I am not placing any blame, but a certain daddy on this blog did tell us to turn the wrong way :) I finally made it just in time!!

 Here is sweet Ben before the big moment! All smiles!!

The last time we were here, it was for James' baptism. I had to keep a close eye on Jackson during this portion for fear that he was going to take a swim in the baptismal water. This year Mimi had a close watch on James :) Luckily, all the kids did great!!

Baptism! Ben was not thrilled about this part, but it didn't take him long to be all smiles again!

All better! Ben definitely had a lot to say that morning! He was jibber jabbering the entire time. It was really very cute!!

Pic with the proud Godmother!

Kiera's brother in law, Austin, was supposed to bet the Godfather. Unfortunately, their newest little baby boy became sick with RSV and they were unable to make it. Luckily, Kiera's dad was able to step in!

There is a really cute bench outside the church and I tried very hard to get some cute shots of all the kids. Not easy!






I think Jackson got sleepy in this shot!

Beckett loved climbing on the bench!







After the baptism, we headed over to Brad and Kiera's for a beautiful brunch outside! Everything was delicious, and the day couldn't have been better! It is so nice to be able to celebrate these special occasions with family!!

Just a couple of other pics from the week. 3 silly kiddos! We were at La Parilla and they decided to use the tortilla containers for hats! Jackson is doing his best to keep his head straight so his container of silly string didn't fall.

Who loves chocolate?

I am always impressed by how well Beckett uses utensils!

We had Beckett's 1 year photo shoot in the Roswell square last week. (Better late than never) This is him right before. It started out a little chilly but the sun was shining and Beckett was smiling. Can't wait to see how they turned out!








Jackson has a lot going on right now. Between baseball, soccer, and swimming, he has a full plate. He is loving all of them though! I am so proud of him!! We are at the end of baseball season and Jackson has improved so much his first season. He started off batting 3rd from the bottom, but has now moved up to lead off hitter and short stop! He is doing so great!!

Spring Break 2013!

 Spring break 2013.....has a much different connotation than it did 10 years, but I must admit, I prefer the present spring break! Since daddy was covering the hospital all week, we had a spring break at home and had a blast! We started swimming lessons with Mary and James, played water games outside, went to the zoo, and stayed up a little later than usual! All in all, it was a great week! We made our first trip back to the zoo this week. Jackson has been asking me when his buddy from school, Charlie, could come over a play. I thought a playdate to the zoo would be perfect, so we picked Charlie up early that morning and headed out! The weather was perfect and the boys played so well together. They ran around and looked at all sorts of animals.

 Here they are watching the Kimodo dragon. I have never seen it so active! It was walking all over the place! Beckett was mesmerized!!

 Silly boys!

 They couldn't wait to get on the train! Everytime they heard the whistle blow, they would get so excited!!

 As well as the carousel! They had to ride together, which was hilarious!!

 We ended the zoo experience at the playground. Beckett loved playing with the drums.

 Then it was water fun on the playpad! We bought some new water guns, bubble, sidewalk chalk, butterfly net, and a magnet fishing pole. We spent most of our afternoons outside enjoying the warm weather!! I think by far the biggest hit was the hose though!!

 Beckett would try to drink from it like his brother and get it all over himself!

Posing with his new water gun and spray bottle!

 Ahhhh! Much better!!!

 These two are quite the pair! Jackson loves making Beckett laugh and Beckett is my little observer. He watches everything his brother does and tries to imitate him. It is really very sweet! I often times have to remind Jackson that little eyes are watching him and to try to set a good example :)

Swimming lessons! We started swimming lessons with Mary and James and I have to admit I was a little nervous! Jackson has done lessons at the hospital and country club, but they were very relaxed. I really want Jackson to be able to swim this summer, so we decided to do some more intense lessons with Coach Rob. Luckily, Jackson did great and listened to what coach Rob told him. The second lesson we had a little bit of crying. Jackson had stayed over at Mary's house for a sleepover, which they ask for every time we are together, and I don't think they got enough sleep :) The swimming lessons are pretty vigorous, he was just too tired. He has now done 4 lessons, and he is really improving and no more tears!

 My funny 4 year old! He says the funniest things sometimes and I wonder where they come from! The other day we were up in the playroom and Jackson came over to me. He put his hand on my cheek and said, "Mommy, could you be a dear and go downstairs and get my toys?" It was hilarious! How could I possibly say no to that!? Then, this past Sunday, I told Jackson that we had to get ready for Church. He said he was too sick to go. I said, "Don't you want to learn about Jesus and God?" He said, "Is Aidan going to be there?" I said, "Probably." He said, "Well, then he can tell me about it." :)

 My funny 16 month old! Beckett loves to make people laugh! He will do something and watch for your response. If you laugh, he will get a big smile on his face and repeat it to get another laugh. Too cute! Beckett also continues to be a champion eater and I am always amazed at what he will eat. He is definitely a Nesmith and ate an entire bowl of Granddaddy's ceasar salad!

And my funny husband....Greg was out of town this weekend playing a tennis tournament in Jacksonville with his good friend Ben. I sent him the above picture with caption "Can't get the salad in fast enough!" He replied with this picture and caption "Can't get the fries in fast enough!" I think I need to take these boys on the road! My boys may have inherited my husband's sense of humor, but luckily they seem to have my eating habits!!

Hello Spring!!!

 Spring has finally made its way to Marietta and we couldn't be happier!! There are so many things I love about spring....the flowers are blooming, the weather is warm but not too hot, popsicles, planting the garden, picnics...I could go on and on! We have definitely taken advantage of this beautiful weather and have spent most of our time outside playing! This first picture is of our picnic lunch on the play pad!

 I forgot to add this picture to my Easter photos, so I thought I would add it now. The Easter bunny always brings a chocolate bunny!!

Another love of spring...the farmer's market!! This year, Jackson wanted to ride his bike all the way there and he did like a champ! There are quite a few hills and I couldn't believe he was able to pump his legs hard enough to get up them, but he did! We experimented with taking the training wheels off, but we really don't have a flat area to practice, so it was a bust. He never fell though!

 The crew heading to the market!

 The fountain is back on!

 Before we got our popsicles at the market, Jackson wanted to play on the train in the square. Beckett was just watching him!

 Beckett's first King of Pops popsicle. I think he liked it!

 Spring also means it's time to plant our garden! Jackson loves planting the garden and can't wait until the tomatoes grow! We planted tomatoes, yellow pepper, green beans, strawberries, cucumbers, carrots and some herbs. I hope the garden is as fruitful this year as it was last year!

 Beckett is my little observer and he sure has learned a lot by watching his brother! First I pick up the ball and place it on the tee....

 Then I pick up the bat....

 And I swing! He loves doing this and will keep repeating the process!

 Jackson is such a good big brother and loves teaching Beckett new things. Here he is teaching him how to ride the motorcycle. Hold on Beckett!

 Popsicle time!

 My messy little boy! Here he is after he ate his dessert cakepop after a picnic lunch. It was so warm that the sun melted the chocolate everywhere! Luckily we were outside and a hose was easily accessible :)

 Riding the jeep in the meadows! Peyton is such a sweet girl and LOVES Beckett! She loved giving him rides around the meadow and would keep her arm around him so that he was safe. It was really sweet!

Spring has also meant a change in our routine. Because the boys are outside all day, they get very dirty!! Now we take baths before dinner to get rid of the grime! We just finished a fabulous spring break at home so there will be lots of pictures next week! Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather!!

Easter 2013

 He has risen! What a beautiful, blessed Easter weekend! We had quite a busy weekend, but so much fun! We started the celebration with family and friends at the club for Easter egg hunt and brunch. Before the hunt, a special visitor came to say hello to all the children! He sure must have been tired from all the eggs he hid!!

 The kids all geared up for the big hunt!

 What is everyone so excited about?

 There were so many eggs for the kids to find! This was Beckett's first year participating in the hunt, and he really didn't get it. He would see the eggs, pick them up, put them in his basket, take them out of his basket, and throw them. He had so much fun doing it though! I am sure next year he will be running around collecting eggs like the rest of them!

 What are these things?

 My two little bunnies!! Beckett is constantly watching Jackson and imitating his every move!

 After the hunt, we headed inside for a delicious brunch. Not only did they have great food, but nothing says Easter like a blue balloon sword :)

 And face painting....

Spiderman!

It is not easy to get all the kids to look at the camera at the same time!

 After the brunch, Beckett was free to roam around for a little while.

 He loves to walk around! Typically after the club brunch, we would head to our church for another Easter egg hunt, but believe it or not, Jackson had a tee ball game. So after brunch, we headed straight to the baseball field! The weather could not have been more perfect for the game! Jackson continues to love tee ball and gets better each game.

That evening, we headed to Kristin's house for pizza and yet another Easter egg hunt. The kids were so excited! You would have never known they had all done a hunt just a few hours ago!

 Intense searching!

Beckett had zero interest in this hunt. Give this boy a piece of pizza and he is good to go!

 All the activities Saturday must have worn this child out, because I actually had to wake him up Sunday morning. As soon as I said that the Easter bunny had come, Jackson shot out of bed and ran down the stairs!

 Unfortunately, the first basket he found was Beckett's.

After a few more minutes, Jackson found his basket!

Jackson is really into Power Rangers right now and was so excited to see that the Easter bunny brought him some Power Rangers dress up!

Wow! This is heavy!

Checking out all of his loot!

Power Rangers!!!

After the Easter bunny, we headed to church for a wonderful Easter sermon. After church we took a family shot in front of the cross.

After church, we headed straight to Brad and Kiera's for a delicious brunch and Easter egg hunt!

After we finished eating, we told the kids that the Easter bunny had come and left some eggs. They were so excited! As soon as the door opened, they were off!

James found one!

2 professional egg hunters!

Beckett found one!

And threw it :)

Easter family shot!

We tried to get all the kiddos to cooperate for a picture but either James or Beckett would take off. I snapped this one right before James took off.

This one they are all sitting....just not smiling :)

Beckett and Ben. All of a sudden we looked over and Beckett just kept giving Ben kisses. It was so cute!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter celebration! Our family has been so blessed and it is this time of year that we remember and celebrate that through Jesus all things are possible!