Soccer Time!

So Samuel's cousins Johnathan and Joseph are playing soccer again this year. So this weekend they had a soccer tournament in Crossville and Samuel and I decided to go cheer on his cousins. And what good luck he was, they won the tournament! It was a long and hot day but Samuel did great and so did all the kids. We can't wait to cheer on Best Friends all season long.

Look who's 6 months old!

 This guy is just getting bigger and bigger. He can roll whichever way he wants now. And can move in circles and he is sitting up by himself for short periods of time! I can't believe how quick things are changing. Loving every minute I get to spend with him.

Summertime!

 Samuel and Daddy enjoying a dip in the water on a hot Saturday at the lake!

Uncle Clay got a boat. So our first weekend would no be complete without a trip to the lake! The boys took turns on the tube and Jayne Elizabeth got to drive the boat...not while the boys where on the tube of course. But it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Clay and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary. While Clay was upstairs sleeping Samuel and I decided to make him a cake for when he woke up. Butter Pecan and it was yummy. I can't believe it has been 4 years or the we have a baby. I can't imagine my life without either of those two guys!

Look's who 4 months old!!!

Hard to believe it has already been four months since this little guy was born. Some things we have accomplished in the past month are: sleeping 11 hours at night, if I will let him (work requires me to wake him up), making the razz sound, talking a lot, we have lots of ah-goo's and la,fa, ra. but no ma ma or da da just yet. He is just starting to try to roll from his belly to his back but not quite there yet...He makes me one proud Mommy. I love the time I am home with him and get to see all the milestones he is checking off!

The farm life!

If you would have asked me ten years ago where I would be I don't think living on a farm in Tennessee would have been the answer. But now I couldn't imagine anything else. Samuel and I enjoy walking through the garden regularly to check the progress of Clay's work in the garden. Today Granna came over and she and Clay made blackberry jam! 

Family is the best!

Aunt Toya came and spend a little over a week with us and helped me with Samuel while I worked. The weekends are still a work in progress for child care and so far since I have been back to work Aunt Anne came and stayed with us and Aunt Toya came and stayed with us. My next weekend at work Clay on Sunday so he will get to spend his first Father's Day keeping Sam!


While Aunt Toya was here we took a day and went to visit our brother Rickey and his family! It was a great day. My nephew Caleb even decided to come and stay the weekend with us. He enjoyed fishing with Clay and then we went to the Tennessee Aquarium and River Bend! I think he had a lot of fun, I know we enjoyed getting to spend time with him! I still can't believe how fast Samuel is growing. His fourth month well child check up is in just a little over a week. I can't wait to see how big he has gotten! 

The Neals visit the farm

Our friends Alicia, Allison, Gatlin and Easton came to the farm for a visit. This is the first time they got to meet Samuel and the first time we got to meet Easton. Easton is three months older then Samuel. It was very cute to listen to them "talk" to each other. It wouldn't be a visit to the farm without checking for and collecting chicken eggs and checking on the new chicks. It was a great day with friends. Can't wait til our next visit here or there!

A day at the lake!

Granna and Papa called and asked if Samuel and I would like to ride to the lake to visit the Warlicks' today. Samuel is always up for a road trip so we packed a swim suit and jumped in. Samuel enjoyed the water. After the beach the lake was a piece of cake. After some afternoon swimming we watched the kids fish. It was a fun family day. And swimming is exhausting when you are three months old, two naps later and he was still in bed before nine! I love family time!

Looks who's 3 months old

So it's hard for me to believe that it's been three months already! Samuel is getting so big. Last time I weighed him he was up to 14 pounds. He is a happy little guy, especially in the mornings. He loves to talk and squeal. His squeal is so cute. We are smiling a lot now and the best part is he sleeps through the night. I have went back to work now and I swear he changes so much, the most I work in a row is just two days but he's just growing so fast. Aunt Anne is here from South Carolina to stay with Samuel while I try to adjust to being a Mommy who has to work the 12 hour shifts. It will take some getting used to but we can do it! Samuel is adjusting well too! Aunt Anne even got him on a schedule which will help everyone out with me going back to work. Don't know if I could have managed without her! And Samuel loves her, she makes him smile so big! Can't help but know how loved this little guy is and how blessed I am to have him.

Happy Mother's Day!

This was my first Mother's Day as a mommy! We had a great day at church with Elizabeth, Anthony, and the kids along with Granna and Papa. Then everyone came to the farm for Mother's Day lunch. The weather was rainy and  dreary out but we still all had a great time. I missed my Mom but knew she was having a great weekend in Okeechobee with Toya and Lina. Over the last three months my life has changed tremendously. Even though Sam can't really express his thankfulness yet, if I had to guess he would be most thankful for me feeding him! He loves to eat, look at those cheeks. So on this Mother's Day I realize all the things I am thankful for...my Mom for all she has done as I was growing up but especially this year for all the help she has given me for the millions of new mommy questions that I come up with all the time.And a special thanks to Lina and Elizabeth for being such great mommies to their little ones, I have great role models around me. I am also thankful to have such a wonderful little boy. I am starting to accept that I will never have him completely figured out. When I look into his little eyes or when he just lays there and smiles at me it completely melts my heart. I love love love being his mommy! And look forward to each day as I am blessed to get to watch him grow and learn into a little boy and one day a great man!


I would like to wish all the mothers a Happy Mother's Day. 

Samuel's First Florida trip!

Samuel waiting for our flight to Sanford, FL

Samuel when we arrived in Sanford, FL. He was awake for the entire flight!

Samuel meeting his buddy Wyatt for the first time.

Brylee pulling Samuel around the neighborhood. Who needs strollers when you have a wagon.

Samuel's first baseball game. GO St. Lucie Mets!

First time in the ocean! Yes he is sleeping.

Happy Birthday, Tristen!

So Samuel and I had a lot of firsts the past weekend in Florida. Thursday night we flew to Florida. Clay was already there for the annual guys trip to the Keys. Samuel slept the entire time we were at the airport and woke up about 5 minutes before take off. I didn't think anyone would sit by the Mom with the baby, but we had a nice lady that sat beside us and Samuel entertained the entire flight. I brought a pacifier just in case but he spit it out multiple times and didn't fuss once on landing. While we were in Florida we got to go to a St. Lucie Mets baseball game. It was a little warm when we first got there and Sam was a little fussy but once the sun went down he seemed to enjoy the game. The next day we went to the beach! Samuel loved it. He cried at first when the water hit him but quickly adjusted to the temp and even fell asleep while I was playing with him in the water. We also got to meet Wyatt. Wyatt is our friends Justin and Angela's little boy. We attempted photos and got a few cute ones. Tristen turned 14 while we were there. It's hard to believe I was his age when he was born. He is growing up so fast which means I am getting old so fast! Samuel loved meeting his cousins. Brylee adored him. She would play with him and he would laugh at her. Tristen is a boy but when he held Sam you could see the awe in his eyes, it was priceless. Logan liked to ask lots of questions about him. Samuel also slept in a pack n play for the first time. He did great, he slept well and you would have never known he wasn't in his room or in his bed. And you all know Clay, it wouldn't be a trip to Okeechobee with his little boy if we didn't stop at Mike's Okeechobee Guns. Mommy got a new gun for Mother's Day!  The last first of Samuel's was the car ride from Florida to Tennessee. He ate in Yeehaw Junction, the first gas station where we always fill up, then slept until we needed gas again, well into Georgia. Then he woke up when we got home at at 0430 to eat and went right back to bed. I am pretty sure every Mommy says this but I am sure he is the best baby ever!

Living the Farm Life

Samuel's cousins came to stay the night with Granna and Papa. Saturday morning the kids came down to the farm. We all took Samuel on his first Ranger ride. The kids were excited to get to show their cousin the farm. There will be lots of teaching from these three in the years to come.

 While we were out the feed truck came to fill up. So we watched and learned how the feed is stored on the farm. Then off to check out the new chicken coop. Still a work in progress. But the kids enjoyed making sure everything was up to par. And then they worked on their hammering skills. 

 

No girl left behind on the farm. Jayne Elizabeth knows how to hang with the boys. 


We are missing Clay around the farm the last several days, but I am eagerly awaiting Thursday when Samuel and I are flying to Florida. I am nervous about taking him on the flight by myself. I am nervous I will forget important things or won't be able to fit everything I still need into just his diaper bag, but my excitement for him to get to meet his Florida aunts, uncles, cousins and friends out ways my nervousness. And he is such a great little boy he probably won't even know he was on a plane.