Happy Six Months to Sam Nolan!

This little cutie pie turns six months old today!

 At six months old, he has one tooth on the bottom right. He loves to eat baby food for breakfast and lunch, but prefers bottles most of the time. He like to make a short high pitched sound to get our attention and he enjoys grabbing at his sister's hair.

 He has been known to be a flirt with the ladies, so I'm not sure what this means for our future.

 Delaney adores her brother, but doesn't appreciate the hair pulling nor the high pitched sounds.

 She does love getting her toys out to "share" with him.

 Everything he touches is now going straight to his mouth, so we have to be careful of what's around him.

 This is the typical situation. Taking pictures of Sam Nolan, Eric trying to play with both of them, and Delaney telling him that she "needs" him to watch her do something. Or maybe that she wants the animal that Sam Nolan has back. :)

By six months, he has also taken his first ride on the lawn mower. Practice makes perfect. Eric and Sam Nolan worked hard to make the yard look wonderful for the shower last weekend.

 For now, Sam Nolan would rather stay with his mommy inside than ride on a lawn mower.

Celebrating Baby James!

We recently celebrated the upcoming arrival of baby...

 Before everyone arrived, Sam Nolan and I took the opportunity for a little mother/son photo.

 Delaney decided to grace us with her presence join us. This was about the 10th try for a good picture. We failed miserably. :)

 The decor turned out beautifully. The awesomeness that is my KK, Memaw, and Mom helped turn my home into a celebration on the new "birdie in their nest" shower for Terri Lynn.

 Complete with feathered favors.

 And all of the lil' chicks from the guests were there, too. :)

 Some of the guests...Of course my camera would go dead shortly after this!

 Terri Lynn opening her great gifts!!

We are super excited to meet our newest cousin! Sam Nolan can't wait until September when he arrives!!

Fourth of July 2012

Sam Nolan celebrated his first fourth of July in style.

 Pretty boy and his shiny eyes.

What? Boys can be pretty.

And happy.

 Not only did we celebrate our freedom with a yummy meal and great company, but this little girl did something EXTRA special! You can tell Daddy is talking her into something.

Delaney took her very first swim underwater without floaties!

I was in shock considering only a week ago she ended her swim lessons with floaties still intact. Yay!

This was the only family picture that we took that day. We all look pretty tired. :)

Twins

So, one thing is for sure...everyone says something different when it comes to Delaney and Sam Nolan and who they look like. When I started going through some old pictures, I noticed that Delaney is a definite mixture of both us (and looks more like me than I thought), but Sam Nolan is looking more and more like Eric's twin! It's crazy how much he has changed! Here's some pictures to show evidence of my thinking.This is Eric at around Delaney's age.

 This was me.

This is Delaney.

Now, Sam Nolan..I mean Eric!  Look at the one on the left, then scroll down.

Crazy!!?? Eric had a little darker hair, but Sam Nolan could be his twin.

Delaney at 6 months. I had forgotten about how all her pictures looked like she was crying in her right eye.
He is super messy in this picture, but I was trying to get one of them in almost the same position. They are definitely related. :) We have been amazed at how much they have both changed and can't wait to see their personalities develop. If they're both as spunky as Delaney, we are in trouble! :)

A "Non-Vacation" Vacation

Delaney and Sam Nolan have been busy helping each other with eating..

 and playing. Eric and I thought it was time for a little vacation. We had originially planned to go to Lake Winnie (an amusement park), but decided that the 103 degree temps wouldn't been a great idea with our little ones. Since Eric had already taken off, we opted for a little "day o' fun" on the extrememely hot day.

We started off with a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Delaney was soo ready to start our day!!

 Sam Nolan was equally as excited.

 The Galleria seemed like a good choice while we waited for Toys R Us to open. Our first stop: Build-A-Bear. It was Delaney's first time to make one. (I know, I know. I was told, "I can't believe anyone hasn't been here before??!!" by the sales lady. Thanks for making us feel really good.) She picked out a bunny, chose a laugh sound, stuffed it, gave it a heart, and named it Bunny LaLa.

 And dressed it in a ballerina tutu. :)

We found a photo booth and couldn't resist! I love Sam Nolan's face!

We have decided that this little girl is very decisive. At Toys R Us she picked out a princess beauty bag with a play curling iron, straight iron, brush, etc. We tried to persuade her of other things, but she wouldn't budge. She was ready to use it as soon as we got the car. It made Eric laugh that she already knew how to use the straightener. I use it on her hair everyday. :)

We ate at Stix for lunch since Delaney had never been to a Japanese restaurant before today. The cook made a fire choo-choo, and Delaney thought it was hilarious.

This is about how we all felt on the way home. We were super hot, tired, and needed a nap. But it was so worth it!

Nothing like an afternoon tea party on mommy and daddy's bed.

Eric picked up their new sandbox and Delaney put on her swimsuit in anticipation. She told Sam Nolan all about it.

He got ready, too. Only he didn't want to get sandy so all he needed was a hat.

Later, a tent and some conversation made a great ending to a wonderful "vacation."

No traveling necessary.