Road Trip to Cincinnati

We took a road trip to visit Aunt Coco and Uncle Daniel in Cincinnati this past weekend and had an awesome time!  We are so glad to know that if they have to be so far away, that they are surrounded by great neighbors and are doing so well.  We left on Thursday afternoon and made it all the way to Horse Cave, KY before we stopped to get some sleep in a hotel.  The kids were WIDE awake and they did not seem to be interested in sleeping in the car anytime soon, so we decided to stop and rest up for our weekend.  We arrived at the Cox household around lunch on Friday and the fun began.  We caught a Reds game Friday night, had a block party on Saturday and played in the slip n slide on Sunday.  We were sad to leave on Monday morning, but we knew that it would be a long drive so we hit the road early and were back in Birmingham by dinner.  It was a fabulous trip and we can't wait to visit again.  Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Emerson and Caroline - our sweet girls!

 And here are the rowdy boys watching Shrek in 3D in Daniel's movie room.  It was pretty sweet.

 The happy siblings reunited.

 My sweet Em trying so hard to join in the outdoor fun, but not quite ready to stand and walk

 There was LOTS of bike riding this weekend.  Check out these two riding machines!

 Clayton was intense on his bike.

 Time for the slip n slide!!

I took these last two while the kids played tonight after dinner.  Griffin was one sweaty little boy.

While in Cincinnati Emerson decided that the time was right to stand up and walk.  Today she was all over the place.  I think that she is really getting a hang of it.  Mom and Dad are so proud of you, baby girl!!

Look who is standing up!

So, there have been a few changes since our last blog post. For those of you who feel out of the loop, don't feel bad. This has all happened so fast that my head is still spinning. But, the short story is that we sold our house in Dacula in about 10 days and closed and moved out within about a month and a half. We have moved in with my very gracious in-laws for the time being until we can find a more permanent living space here in Birmingham. We are excited about the move and the kids and I are having lots of fun having playdates with new friends and exploring our new town. We have visited a church that we LOVE and are excited to get plugged into.
As for the children...
Emerson stood up for the first time today!!! She is growing up so fast, is a GREAT eater and is on the move! She is still not a great sleeper, but I will blame that on getting her front teeth. As of now, she has two bottom teeth and one front tooth and is working hard on the other front tooth.
Griffin is completely and utterly two. I don't know if it is all the change that is happening around him or if it is just his age, but he has been a real handful lately. I mean BIG time fits and crazy attitude, but after all that he will still roll over to me and say "I love you, mom" as he is drifting off to sleep. I love that kid.
I will leave you with this video... and I know that I owe you all some pictures, but I'll have to get them to you later because this mama is tired!

Baby Dedication and the Beach!

April flew by even though we spent lots of good time at home soaking up every minute with our cuties!  On the 22nd, many of our family members came into town to help us celebrate our Baby Dedication at our church.  It was a very special day and we were so thankful that those who were able to come traveled to be with us.  Here are a couple of shots from the day. 

Emerson was wearing the infant baptismal gown that I wore.  My grandmother made it which made it even more special.

 It was so special that the church allowed us to have both children dedicated in the same service.  This is a picture of the pastor reading to each child the meaning of their name, a special scripture passage for each one and a prayer written especially for them.  The volunteers and church staff did such a beautiful job of personalizing every moment.

 Emerson  turned 7 months old on April 25th.  She is growing up so fast and is just so pretty.  She is such a smiley baby and I actually think that she may have a dimple after all.  It might not be as pronounced as mine and Griffin's, but it's there!  And how about those beautiful big eyes??

 The week after the dedication, we packed up and headed to the beach for some fun in the sun.  Emerson has started clapping her hands and she knows that she must be doing something special because every time she does it she just smiles.  She is also so close to crawling.  She will get up on all fours and just rock back and forth.  She will be on the move in no time!

 She is also still teething!  She has her two bottom teeth all the way through, but it looks to me like there are two more on the bottom starting to grow.  No sign of teeth up top just yet...

 Our fearless boy was once again all over the beach.  He loved splashing in the waves and digging in the sand.  Here he is playing with Blake.  I took this from our balcony;  I was pretty impressed by how close I could get.

 My boys.

 Pop and Emerson on the beach.

 Family shot!

 Blake was trying to bury Griffin's legs, but he wasn't so sure about it... Check out the water behind them.  It was an absolutely gorgeous week in Destin.  I haven't seen the water this clear in years!!  We hope to get down there again before too long. 

A Tennessee Easter...

For Easter this year, we packed up the family and went to visit some really good friends in Cunningham, TN.

On the way up we stopped for lunch at Krystal and had a picnic outside. It was Emerson's first real (over 3 hours) roadtrip, so we wanted it to be really special. :)

Within about 5 minutes of our arrival Griffin mastered driving this speed machine! He LOVED it and was cracking us up riding countless laps in the driveway.

Emerson was all tuckered out from playing with all of Ava Claire's fun toys.

We even had an Easter egg hunt in the front yard. Griffin would pick up the egg and open it before putting it in his basket as if he wanted to first approve the stuffing ... haha!

The Easter bunny found us!!

And last but not least, here we are all pretty'd up for church.

Oh, and Emerson decided to make some milestones while we were up visiting with Travis and Adrienne, too. She has cut her first two teeth and she also pulled up for the first time on a toy basket.

Happy Easter to all!!

March in a nutshell

Well, March is a blur, but I wanted to get some pictures on the blog to atleast document that we survived...
It was a month of ear infections, bronchialitis, colds, sinus infections, hives and more... we have been slightly busy to say the very least. It all started with Griffin and a terrible case of croup and it all ended with us finding out that Emerson (while being treated for her third ear infection) is allergic to penicillin. Rough.
We did have some fun here and there, so I wanted to share these pictures to prove it. And remind ourselves. :)
OK, here goes...

Tunes and Balloons! We took a day trip down to Macon for a little Cherry Blossom fun.

Papa took a ride up with Bennett and Carson

Pic-nickin' with the kiddos.

We also caught the first game of Bennett's Wee Ball season while we were in Macon. Griffin was only slightly jealous that Bennett got to play.

Griffin and Gray enjoying their Ring Pops at the ball field.

We also took a weekend trip to Chattanooga for a little family fun.
Both mornings we took a walk down towards the river to have breakfast outside, we visited with some good friends and we even took Griffin for a walk in the woods to see a "waterfall." Here's a pic from our hike at Cloudland Canyon.

Isn't she lovely? This pic is pre-hives. She was covered from head to toe, but now she is as good as new!

What is it with boys and fire? This picture was probably taken sometime in Feb, but isn't it cute?

Bets and Papa showing some love to Emerson.

Best Daddy in the whole wide world.

One night in February, we decided to fire up the fireplace in the backyard one more time this year and roast hotdogs and marshmallows for dinner. Griffin loved it and we were able to spend some quality family time outside.

Griffin is obsessed with the movie the Jungle Book these days and goes on and on singing "Berry berry cessities..." (Bare Necessities) It is soooo stinkin' cute! Here is a shot of his "Mowgli face" from when Baloo is teaching him how to growl.

Can't remember exactly when this visit took place... it may have even been January. But the picture is so good, I had to share!

Blake got the most exercise of the day during our hike at Cloudland Canyon.

Griffin LOVED walking in the woods, looking at the "waterfalls" and eating lunch on the trail.

Nice looking family if you ask me :)

This picture pretty much sums up the end of February and much of March for us. :( This is Emerson's nebulizer in use.

Five months old!!

Hi all! More to come later, but I wanted to get Emerson's five month pic up before she's six months old :)

And here 's my first Pinterest activity with Griffin... it was so fun and not so messy!!