The Cruthirds Family

Worried

2009-09-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wally the Orkin man just left our house and of course Ella followed him out the door. Andy got her back inside and as she does when anyone leaves our house she stood at the door and watched him pull out of the driveway. As she watched Mr. Wally leave she and her daddy had a very interesting conversation.

Andy: "Ella, don't open that door?"

Ella: "I need to go outside."

Andy: "Why?"

Ella: "I need to go check on that."

Andy: "What?"

Ella: "That outside. I need to see what that is."

Andy: "There's nothing out there you need to worry about."

Ella: "I am worried about it!"

Oh, just one of the many reasonings she can come up with. You would never know that just six hours ago she was recovering from Outpatient Dental Surgery! Other than a being a little cranky when she came out of anesthesia and not wanting to wake up....she did GREAT and is back to her normal, playful self!

Updates

2009-07-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

Ella & Paci
It's been one week without paci and Ella is doing GREAT!!! It's been much easier than I ever imagined. The first few nights were a little rough, but very manageable. However, she hasn't really even mentioned the paci in the past two days! Yeah Ella! We're so proud of you!

Brennan Bass
Keep the prayers coming!!! Brennan had an ok night and they did not take him back into surgery this morning. It's my understanding that this is a good thing because they feel his body is able to hold off so I assume the antibiotics are working. They postponed the surgery to give his body more time to get stronger. The doctors left the incision open so I think they will go back in in the morning to make clean him out again and make sure his body is fighting the infection and then close him up. His vital signs are good and his color is good. He is in an induced comma, but I got word a while ago that he squeezed his mommy's hand earlier today....PRAISE GOD!!! I know most of you do not know Brennan or his family, but please don't let that stop you from praying for them. God knows Brennan! Thanks for your prayers!

Calling all Prayer Warriors!!!!

2009-06-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Please, please, please be in prayer for Brennan Bass. His mom was Brady's K4 teacher. He's been sick for the last week and was not getting any better. From what I was told he had dehydrated and had a horrible night last night so he was sent to the hospital for a CAT scan. While they were preparing him for the CAT scan he coded. They were able to resuscitate and stabilize him and then transport him to the children's hospital. He went into exploratory surgery and they found his appendix had ruptured. They removed his appendix and cleaned him out b/c he was filled with infection. He is out of surgery and in ICU in critical condition. He is still very very sick and the next 12 hours are CRUCIAL. It is my understanding that his body was so terribely covered with infection that if they antibiotics don't work they may have to go back in in the next 12 hours. Please be in prayer with me and pray for Brennan. Pray for healing and pray his body responds to the antibiotics. Brennan is 8 or 9 years old....going into the 3rd grade. Thanks in advance for all your prayers! I'll keep you posted as I get updates!

Goodbye...

2009-06-26T07:44:00.001-07:00

In the past two weeks we've said "goodbye" to two things in our household and in doing this not only have we lost those two things, but we've reached milestones in our life.....milestones in which we realized we no longer have "babies" in our house.

FIRST: Hudson got his very first "big boy" haircut. I had no intentions of cutting his hair.....we were just going for a little trim to clean it up. But something happened that day. Hudson decided he wanted "spiked up hair" like daddy's and Brady's. I tried everything to talk him out of it and as he sat in that chair and begged I realized he's not a baby anymore.....he'll soon be 5! His face lit up when I agreed and I knew it was more than "just a haircut". For Hudson, it was gaining a bit of independence and being just like his two favorite people - his daddy and his big brother. For me, it was heart wrenching....I couldn't watch. My stomach was in knots and my heart was broken. My little boy was growing up and I was having to let go a little and allow him grow. For those of you who know Hudson, you know his long hair fit him.....words can't explain it other than his precious hair was an example of his sweet, precious personality. Well, he's still such a sweet boy, but now just minus his precious hair. Here he is before and after!

My heartache was worth this smile!!!!

SECOND: Ella has been paci free for 2 days!!! HOORAY! I've been telling her she had to get rid of her paci when she turned 3. Well, her 3rd birthday came and went and her paci was still existent.....I guess it would have something to do with the fact that I was dreading giving up the paci more than she was because this girl is obsessed with her paci!! I finally decided this wasn't going to be an easy task and and there's no time like the present!! So long story short I created a little story about the paci fairy.....she's really into fairies and Tinkerbell. She took interest in this so I started talking it up and telling her that when the paci fairy sees that you're a big girl and you can do big girl things like ride a big girl bike and swim without floaties they come and get your paci's and leave you a special "big girl" suprise.....by this point she was all into it and telling the neighbor's what a big girl she was and she didn't need a paci anymore. So we went home and I distracted her while I did a quick run through the house making sure there weren't a stash of paci's anywhere. Andy and I both were thinking of any and everywhere she might put a paci....we searched the house hi and low and found not a one. Not sure where they are....I'm beginning to think the paci fairy may be not be make believe after all!! It's been much easier than I ever expected. Other than a few short crying spells in the middle of the night she has done GREAT!!! Way to go Ella....I'm so proud of you!!! Since the whole paci fairy was kind of on a whim, I told her that the paci fairy left money for her to go and pick out her own special suprise.....so today we're headed off to Target for Ella to pick out her very own big girl suprise!!!

Two of the few pics of Ella without a paci!

I know this post is about milestones for Hudson & Ella, but I just couldn't leave out this handsome big boy!!!

Ella's Birthday Party

2009-06-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday is Ella's 3rd Birthday so we celebrated last night with a party at our neighborhood pool. I let Ella decide what kind of party she wanted to have and she chose Tinkerbell. Since we were having the party at the pool I wanted to do a "splish splash" or "flip flop" theme (she has the cutest smocked flip flop swimsuit) but she wouldn't even consider it.....she wanted Tinkerbell! It's her birthday, so she won! It was the perfect day for a pool party.....the heat and humidity made the pool even that more inviting! Ella had lots of fun and before the night was over she was swimming by herself! Hope you had fun Ella! We love you!!

Tinkerbell Cake....it was YUMMY!!!

Mommy & Ella

Lots of fun girly gifts!!

Trying out her new stroller...watch out Katharine!

Struting her stuff!

Look, I can dive!

Playing with Daddy...she loves her Daddy!

Hudson's new trick!

Brady relaxing in the pool!

Dressing up with Hudson & Ryleigh

Check out that pose!

Too Cute!!

Brady Graduates

2009-05-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's not quite high school graduation, but it's still a big moment at our house. I still cannot believe my baby, I mean my big boy, is old enough to have completed Kindergarten and enter 1st grade in August. I'm just not ready to let him grow up. I'm so proud of everything he has accomplished and how much he has learned, but it makes me so sad to admit he's leaving the little boy stage and becoming a "big" boy. Can we not put the brakes on and just slow this growing up thing down just a little bit!! I asked him the other day what he was most excited about going to the first grade and his response was, "staying all day like the other big kids and learning to write in cursive." Yes, he is eager to stay all day.....what kid wants to stay at school all day!! His school offered K5 half-day or full-day and I just couldn't send him all day. I guess he was ready, but of course mommy wasn't ready to let go. Of course like every other event at our house things were pretty hectic so I didn't get many great pictures, but here's a few of the one's I did get.

The Class of 2009

Is he excited or what!!!

I love that smile!

Thank You Hubby!!!

2009-05-24T17:23:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to my dear sweet husband!!! Today is my birthday and this morning he and the kids gave me an iPod, which is exactly what I asked for - a simple iPod. After church he and the kids treated me to lunch at one of my favorite eateries, Sal and Mookies, and then we stopped at Andy's and the kids favorite store Best Buy!! Well, Best Buy turned out to be my favorite store today because my dear sweet hubby bought me a new laptop....Yippee!!! Thank you honey!!! So, I'm finally back into the world of blogging!! Brady graduated from kindergarten Tuesday so I'll post pictures of that tonight!!

Proofs are In!

2009-04-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for so few posts....still no home computer so I try to sneak on Andy's (or anyone else's) when I get a chance. Check out the proofs from our Spring Photo Session with Jeanelle. Go to www.jcarawayphotography.com click on client ordering and our password is Cruthirds. Sorry, but those are the only pics I have for the blog right now....I'm hoping to upload some pics from Easter this week!

Spring Photo Sneak Peak

2009-03-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the kids pictures taken. I wasn't sure how they did because once we got there I handed them off to the photographer and then walked out of site. I just checked the photographers blog and she had a sneak peak of the pics she took on that day. Jeanelle Carraway is the photographer and she is WONDERFUL!!! I've only seen one of the pics, but I'm just amazed that it's a good shot of all three kids....that rarely happens!! Check it out at www.jcarawayphotography.com Then click on her blog and the post for Saturday, March 28. My kiddos are the 5th ones from the top. Many many thanks to Brittany for referring me to Jeanelle!!

Updates to come!

2009-03-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

Once again I've neglected my blog.....but not on purpose. My computer went kuplump....dead.....it won't even turn on. Andy has been so kind to let me use his work laptop, but unfortunately the times when I've had a few spare moments to blog he's either been working or he's been out of town. And to be honest, I get easily frustrated when I use his laptop. It's a smaller laptop which means the keypad is smaller.....hence lots of typos from me!! Oh well, until we decide what type of pc or laptop we want to get I'll just suck it up and use Andy's laptop. I don't have time to upload any pictures right now but I promise I will do that over the weekend. Until then, here's an update on what's been going on in the Cruthirds corner!!

(1) Ella is COMPLETELY pottey trained!!!! Okay, so she's been tee-teeing on the potty since last June - she started right before her 2nd birthday. I put her in panties last September and she's did GREAT!! However, she would not take care of her dirty business in the potty. She would just go to her room put on a pull-up (we still sleep in pull-ups at night) take care of her business and then come tell me to change her and put her panties back on. She threw such a fit when I tried to get her to poop on the potty that I just gave in and let her do things her way. She NEVER once had an accident.....we could go anywhere in panties. Then about 2 months ago she told me she needed to get a pull-up and go poop. I asked her why don't you try to go on the potty and she suprisingly said Okay! And that was it.....she's been pooping on the potty every since then. I have no regrets about letting her do things her way because she was so easy!!! And she's still been accident free!!!

(2) Brady lost his first tooth and has a second one loose!

(3) Andy celebrated his 34th birthday on Wednesday!

Have a GREAT weekend and check back soon for pictures!

Brady's Baptism

2009-03-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

What a special day for our Brady and our family.....Brady was baptized this morning!! Andy and I are so proud of Brady and his decision to accept Jesus as his Saviour. Words cannot even begin to express the excitement and joy I felt.....talk about a proud Momma!! Although he's only 6, he truly understands the Sacrifice Jesus made for him and what it means to be saved! When Brady started talking to us about accepting Christ as his Saviour we were a little hesitant because we were afraid he just wasn't ready or that he was too young to understand. Oh, how we were so wrong....he completely gets it. I wish I could take all the credit for this, but I have to give praises to his wonderful sunday school teachers at FBC and all of his teachers at PPCA! Andy and I are so grateful that our children are able to attend a christian school where learning GOD's word is just as important as academics. He's surrounded by an awesome group of Godly men and women. I'm amazed at the scripture Brady has learned and that not only has he learned so much scripture but he can explain it as well. Thank you to all of our family and friends that were there to support Brady. I think there were about 17 of us up there for him....we definitely brought a crowd. A special thanks to Brady's teacher Ms. Cole.....how sweet of her to come and watch one of her students get baptized. Congratulations Brady....I'm so proud of you...I love You!

Getting ready....check out that precious smile!

Chillin' with Dad!

Checking out all his "fans"

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T17:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!! Andy and I had a great night out to dinner last night and then spent today loving on our kiddos!! They are so precious and bring a whole new meaning to Valentine's Day! I made the kids heart-shaped cookies and I think we've eaten every one of them today!

Brady & Hudson had their Valentine's party at school yesterday. Thank goodness Andy was free Friday morning because their parties were at the same time. Andy & Ella joined Hudson first while I set things up for Brady's party and then we switched.....that way we were both able to go to both of their parties. I believe Hudson has a new Valentine.....this precious little girl, Claudia, sits next to him and he just adores her. When she left he said, "Bye, Claudia. Happy Valentine's Day....I love you!" He's such a hammm.....or should I say he's just like his daddy!

Happy Valentine's Brady!

Check out Brady's "big boy" haircut!

I think Hudson was excited to see me!

Do you think Ella might be a tad bit jealous???

100th Day of School

2009-02-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday Brady's school celebrated the 100th day of school. Unfortunately, Brady was home recovering from the stomach bug. He was so sad to miss the 100th day. He knew that his teacher had lots of fun things planned for them. I felt so bad for him not only because he didn't feel well, but I knew how disappointed he was that he wasn't going to be able to join his friends in all the fun. I decided we'd have our own celebration. That afternoon when he started feeling better I pulled out the M & M's I'd bought for him to take to school and let him count out 100 of them. He was excited....not sure if it was because he was so eager to count to 100 or the fact that I told him he could eat the M & M's after he counted out 100. So he counted his 100 and then made the number 100 from the M & M's he counted. He was even nice enough to share some of his M & M's with his mommy!

I Haven't Forgotten!

2009-01-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, so yes I have neglected my blog for the past month. However, I haven't forgotten it completely. I have thought about it many times, but until now haven't had much free time to update. Like everyone else, our December was BUSY!! Between celebrating Christmas numerous times with family and friends, a New Years Celebration with our neighbors, and then a recent trip to San Francisco with our friends The Wells, I'm just now settling back into everyday life.

Christmas morning is always a little crazy around our house (a good crazy of course), so I wasn't able to get many pictures. But here's a few of what I did manage to get! (I understand most of you have moved on and are way past Christmas, but this is for my family before they completely disown me!!)

Winter Wonderland Pics

2008-12-11T11:01:00.000-08:00

We still can't believe we have snow....our ground, car, house, even garbage can is covered with snow! The kids were so excited that I picked them up early. Once I got there to pick them up I found out they were closing school early so I was glad I got there to beat the rush. I barely got everyone's snow gear, oh yeah we live in MS and don't have any snow gear, before they were out the door and in the snow. Brady and Hudson loved the snow, Ella wasn't so sure about it. By the time we got out to play there was a little sleet mixed in with the snow and she just didn't care for that so much. The boys took of to play with the kiddos behind us but were back home within 15 minutes. Brady was completely wet, you know our MS snow gear consisted of old tennis shoes which are NOT water friendly. The other two had rain boots, but unfortunately Brady had outgrown his rainboots. Maybe I'll invest in some snow gear so we'll be better prepared for our next snow.....it will probably occur sometime in the next 5 years!!

Winter Wonderland!

2008-12-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

It's SNOWING!!! And I mean SNOWING!! I don't have any pics yet because I'm trying to charge the camcorder batteries and camera batteries. I'm leaving in just a few minutes to pick the kids of from preschool a little early and then we're coming home to play in the snow.....check back later for some pics from a Mississippi Snow!!

Cold Feet

2008-12-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

So Hudson and and the little girl next door have become the best of friends....sometimes it's even safe to say she is his "girlfriend". One day he tells her they're getting married and they are off playing "wedding." Two hours later he's breaking up with her and moving on to the older girl next door. (Such a typical male!) Well, this particular night things were going pretty good so I think they decided to go ahead and get married. By the time the lovely Bride was all dressed and ready for her special day I guess Hudson had changed his mind. He was on the floor playing and not a bit concerned that she was looking so lovely in her wedding attire. I think this really annoyed her as her response was, "Get Up! You need to marry me!"

Hudson continued to play and I'm sad to say the wedding did not go on as planned! I just love these two....they're so much fun to watch!!

Giving Thanks

2008-12-02T19:17:00.001-08:00

Once again I'm just a little behind a posting. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday....don't get me wrong I love Christmas, but there's just something I love about Thanksgiving. I think it's the joy of being with loved ones and just the simplicity of that....the pure company of our family and friends and no "hoopla" to go with it. I have so much to be thankful for today and everyday. God has definitely bestowed his blessings upon me and my family and for that I am most grateful.

This year I hosted Thanksgiving at my house. The day before Thanksgiving I starting stressing just a slight little bit and thought what in the world was I thinking volunteering to have Thanksgiving at my house....I must have been completely insane. But when I woke up Thursday morning I was very excited. It seemed like noon just couldn't get here fast enough. Before I can take all the credit, I must inform you that by hosting I meant I allowed my home to be the place of gathering and fellowship. I, by no means, prepared the entire meal. I did contribute somewhat....I made the black eyed peas (fresh...not canned or frozen...you're suppose to be impressed), macaroni & cheese, and two desserts. A many, many thanks to my sweet mom, mother-in-law, sister, and sister-in-law for contributing to our wonderful Thanksgiving feast. The food was delicious and the day was lots of fun. There was no other way to end such a perfect Thanksgiving meal with nothing other than a little Rock Band fun. Yes, that's right after our plates were empty and our bellies full, we pulled out the Wii for a little rock-n-roll revolution. I must admit that while no one is knocking down our doors to sign us up for the next American Idol or Who Wants to Be a Rock Star, my brother can rock out the guitar, my hubby & oldest son aren't so shabby on the drums, and my sister, by far, has the best voice in the family. I didn't even think to pull out my camera until we were all just about done for the day, but I did manage to get a few picks of my mom rocking it out on the guitar....she's probably going to kill me for this!

I guess I can say that I'm thankful for a family that loves one another and most of all loves to have fun together!!

More Wedding Pics

2008-11-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

My brother and Jennifer just celebrated their one month anniversary and I'm just now getting all my pictures from the wedding downloaded to my computer. I have some great ones of the boys, but unfortunately have very few good ones of Ella.....keep in mind she's two and the wedding was at 6:00. She had about a 45 minute nap both the day before and the day of the wedding so I'm sure you can imagine how fun and cooperative she was!!! Even though she wouldn't walk down the aisle, I must say she was the cutest darn flower girl I've ever seen.....No, I'm not partial or anything, but hey it's my blog and my little girl so I'm entitled, right!! The boys did great! They were such handsome little dudes!! Brady was so proud to usher his mom down the aisle....he grinned from ear to ear and made sure he held his arm just right. He also thought he was "all grown up" escorting guests to their seats...he was so handsome and made me so proud! As far as Hudson goes, well he was the most precious ring bearer EVER!!! I'm not kidding ask anyone there and they will tell you he was a CUTIE!! Don't believe me?? Check out the pictures below....I think they pretty much speak for themselves!

I love this pic....Hudson releasing some energy at the rehearsal!

Taking a practice walk....lollipop and all!

Taking a quick peek at the candy bar....how tempting!

Here he is in action! I'm mean how cute is that!

Spotting mommy in the audience...PRECIOUS!

Handsome dude....I could just eat him up!!!

When will we ever get to get out of these suits??

The bride and her nephews!

Best buddies....aren't they so handsome!

This looks like trouble to me!

Brady getting ready to escort his mommy...I love this little man!

Ella getting all "fixed up"

She's so loving this!

I love this pic....check out her face in the mirror!

What girl doesn't love makeup!

Thanks Mrs. Katie for glamming me up but keeping me looking like a little girl!

One last practice run!

And there she goes....runaway flower girl!

Okay, so she didn't perform....but hey she sure looks cute!

Mary Katharine, Zachary, & Jacob

Jacob & Ella sharing some love at the rehearsal!

My new sister-in-law...isn't she beautiful!!

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Chappell

Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm a little behind posting but honestly I've been too tired to post lately. Actually, I had strep throat last Thursday & Friday. I managed to drive myself to the doctor last Friday and was diagnosed with a "severe & ugly" case of strep....those were the docs terms, not mine. Thanks to the shot of rocephin, celstone, & one other drug I was feeling much better Friday afternoon. Even though I was feeling better and functioning again, my energy level was nonexistant. Finally, I think I'm back to "normal".....whatever that might be!

Even though I felt horrible....I was not about to miss out on trick-or-treating with these cuties !!

Hudson, Brady, & Ella

Indiana Jones

Leonardo - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Kitty Kat

Ella & John Thomas

Since our area trick-or-treated on Thursday my neighbors decided to have a Halloween Party for the kids on Friday. We thought it would be fun for the kids to have something to do on Halloween plus it would give them one more chance to wear their costumes. My friend Racheal came up with some great games for the kids to play. They had a blast.....I think they enjoyed the party just as much as halloween. There was good fun, good food, and good times had by all....I just wish I would have been feeling a little better.

Silly Kids with Silly glasses

Ghost games

Sweeter than pumpkin pie!

More ghost games

Hudson's Birthday Party

2008-10-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hudson's 4th birthday was last Wednesday (10/22) and we celebrated this past Sunday with a party at our house. The weather was absolutely beautiful.....actually it was very warm.....more like May instead of October. The warm weather explains why my child, and a few others, ran around most of the party without his shirt on.....welcome to mississippi....maybe we should change the title to "My redneck birthday party." I 'm pretty sure that everyone had a great time at the party. The kids loved playing on the inflatable slide and bouncer and the adults enjoyed some "hangin' out" time. Hudson was too funny. He was not waiting to open presents so as the guests arrived he greeted them and took their gift and opened right there. Yes, I do try to teach my children manners but come on he's only 4 and you know at that age the only thing on their mind is the gift. I don't think anyone was offended.....it was actually pretty cute. I'm being lazy and instead of sorting through all the pics and uploading my favorites I'm just creating a slideshow of the entire party. Hope you enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Hudson!

2008-10-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

Has it really been four years?? I cannot believe Hudson celebrated his 4th birthday yesterday. He's just growing up way too fast. Even though he's left the toddler stage and quickly approaching the "big boy" era, he never ceases to make us laugh. He's so full of personality. Andy and I are so blessed with the joy, laughter, and love he brings to our family. He's such a happy, fun, and easy to love child!! The kids were out of school yesterday for parent/teacher conferences so my sister and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and suprised our kids with a trip to the Ag Museum. What a beautiful day and great way to celebrate Hudson's 4th birthday!! His party is this weekend so I'll post those pics later. Happy Birthday Hudson!! We love you!!!

The birthday boy.....isn't he just so darn cute!

The Cruthirds/Holloway Crew

Mary Katharine, Ella, Brady & Jacob

My sister, Kim, Hudson, Zachary, & Ella

Sweet, sweet Brady

Sweet sibling love!

BOO!

Jacob taking a pose!

Pumpkin Pickin

Sweet girls!!

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Chappell

2008-10-16T20:23:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Chappell. My brother and Jennifer were married last Saturday at Dunleith Plantation in Natchez. I must say that it was by far one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended and I'm not just saying that because it's my brother. Everything was absolutely BEAUTIFUL including the weather!! I can honestly say it was a fairtytale wedding. Not only was everything so beautiful, but it was just fun, fun, FUN!! The Pouncey/Chappell gang just knows how to have fun. I think it has something to do with the fact that we are all pretty much laid back and easy going and we really like one another's family. We also celebrated my brother's 30th birthday on Friday night at the rehearsal dinner...Happy Birthday Jonathan!! Here's just a few pics from the weekend. More pics and details from the wedding to come.

The Flower Girl

Program Attendants & Ushers

The Ring Bearer

Ella's First Haircut

2008-10-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Ella's hair has been needing a slight little trim for some time now, but I've been so reluctant to have it cut. She always goes with her big brothers to get their hair cut and climbs in the chair when it's her turn and Mrs. Kathy of course "pretends" to cut her hair. Ella just loves it and thinks she's such a big girl. Well, I decided it was time for an actual trim and made an appointment for her when I took the boys to get their hair cuts. She was such big girl and climbed right up in the chair and this time got a real haircut. Well, it was more like a "itty bitty trim". Thank goodness Kathy & I were on the same page and she knew I was not ready to part with any of her length. She made sure it was just a slight trim. Thanks Mrs. Kathy....you're the best!!

Happy Birthday Brady!

2008-10-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to play "catch-up" so of course I'm a little behind on posting pics from Brady's birthday. My sweet boy turned six on September 26th.....YIKES!! It's official....he's no longer a baby! Somebody please slow down the clock...he's just growing up way too fast!!. We celebrated family and friends with a party at Pump It UP.....you just can't go wrong with Pump It UP. All you have to do is show up and they take care of the rest....that's my kind of party!! Happy Birthday Brady! I LOVE YOU!!!

Proud Birthday Boy!

Wedding Showers

2008-10-08T12:23:00.001-07:00

Last month (I know I'm a little behind) my sister and I hosted a Bridal shower in honor of our soon to be sister-in-law, Jennifer. I think Ella had just as much fun as Jennifer. She helped Jennifer open a few gifts and then moved on to her true passion: purses, shoes and jewelry. Of course I was a little busy hosting and didn't get any pictures of this, but Ella took one ladies purse from the floor and put it on her shoulder, then took another ladies bracelet, and then tried to take another ladies shoes....please note that she did not politely ask for these things....Oh no, my kleptomaniac child stole them!! Here's a few pics from the shower.

The cake

Aunt Jennifer & Ella (yes, that's food in her mouth)

One of the many nice gifts she received

Ella helping open presents

Ella wearing the gloves I wore on my wedding day. My sister and I used our wedding dresses to decorate for the shower....that's my dress in the background!

That same night some of Jennifer's friends hosted a lingerie shower. It was a nice lingerie shower with lots of beautiful floral arrangements. I must say that this was by far one of the classiest lingerie showers I have attended; well, with the exception of the unexpected entertainmnet. That's right there was some entertainment, but trust me it was "clean". Unannounced to me or anyone else at the shower, my dear sweet husband was the entertainment for the night.....you read correctly.....he was the "entertainment" or "stripper". (Don't worry he didn't really strip.....it was clean, fun entertainment.....more of a joke to Jennifer. My mom & grandmother and Jennifer's mom & grandmother were there so I can assure you it was good clean fun....I don't think any of us there are the "stripper" type.)

Jennifer's mom had this great idea to play a joke on Jennifer, and every one else at the shower - including the hostesses. Gotta love Jennifer's mom Ms. Cythia...she's just nothing but FUN!! She thought it would be funny to make the night "unforgettable" and arrange for some entertainment for the night. For some reason she thought my husband would be perfect for the job. I guess b/c he's always joking and nothing embarrasses him (those of you who know Andy best know why she chose him). So she and Andy (along with the help of my sweet friend Misty - you know the one who always comes to my rescue) planned the whole thing. I had no prior knowledge of any of this. I found out when the the doorbell rang and in walks my husband dressed in scrubs with a boom box in his hand attempting to do some type of dancing to I'm Too Sexy. He did rip off his scrubs, but don't worry he had shorts and a shirt underneath....and he didn't know what to do after that point. Everyone was laughing so hard...I think because he's such a terrible dancer and has absolutely no rhythm that they felt so sorry for him. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life....it was too funny. He was such a great sport about the whole thing and laughed just as hard as we did. Needless to say my husband does not need to quit his day job.....we would definitely STARVE!! These are the only pics I managed to get....I was too busy laughing.

One of the many beautiful flower arrangements

The entertainment!

Trying to figure out his "sound system"

Jennifer realizing this was my husband....her soon to be brother-in-law!

I think she was a little relieved that it was Andy playing a joke on her and not a real stripper!

It's been a While!!

2008-10-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I'm a severe "slacker". It's been almost a month since my last post and I'm so sorry I've neglected my blog, but we've been living life in the severly "fast lane" lately. Here's just a quick run down on the somewhat major things that have happened in the past month. Ella had her second set of tubes put in and adenoids removed, bridal showers, lingerie showers, couples showers, (my brother is getting married in 9 days and we are sooo excited), a funeral (my mom's baby brother passed away from a heart attack....please pray for my mom & grandmother as this has been extremely difficult for the both of them), Brady celebrated his 6th birthday(my baby is growing up too fast), and in between all of this we've had everyday, ordinary life going on....not to mention I've been running around getting things together for Jonathan & Jennifer's wedding. All 3 of my sweet babies are in the wedding so I'm trying to make sure everyone has exactly what they need for the rehearsal dinner, bridal luncheon, and wedding itself. Needless to say, when I have had a free moment I've just been way too exhausted to even think about blogging. I promise to do better. I have some great pics from the showers (and a funny story) and pics from Brady's birthday party and hope to get them posted before we leave next week for the wedding. I'm short on time tonight, but hopefully will have some time tomorrow afternoon to post pics. Just don't give up on me yet!!!

Playing in the Rain

2008-09-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hudson has been asking everyday to go swimming....of course it's been pouring down rain for the past week! Tuesday I was in the garage cleaning out my car and Hudson came out with his swim flippers and snorkel and asked if we could go swimming. I replied, "Hudson, we can't go swimming today...it's raining. His reply was oh so simple, "duhh". I then tried to explain how cold the water would be and we should wait until the sun comes out and warms up the pool. I figured he was okay with my explanation because he said "O'tay" and went on to something else. I went on to vacuuming out my car. A few minutes later I heard him again and turned around to check on him and this is what I found:

Hmm...doesn't look deep enough for a dive!

Watch out...this snorkel can be used as a weapon too!

He's just so darn cute!

Going back out for more!

That little stinker....he's fast!! He had stripped down to his undies & put on his flippers & snorkel in a matter of about 15 seconds. Gotta love this kid.....it's always the simple things that make him so happy!!

A Brave little Boy

2008-08-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a little bit of trauma at The Cruthirds household this past week. I'll try to give you all the details without getting too long winded (my apologies now if it get's too long). It all started Tuesday night around 6:00 pm. I was getting dinner together for the kids and had asked Brady & Hudson to go ahead and sit down at the table while I finished getting everything together. And being the sweet obedient children that they are they did just that - no kidding I didn't have to ask but once.....they must have been really hungry. Poor things I don't even know if they ate because in about 30 seconds everything turned to complete chaos. I'm in the kitchen, but have my back turned away from the table and I hear a loud bang and then bloody murder screaming. I turned around and see that Brady is out of his chair and it has fallen on top of his foot. He's screaming and hoping around so I can't really tell how bad the damage is. I finally get him to let me look at it and I see that his big toe is swollen, it's completely blue, and blood is gushing everywhere. I try to stay calm and immediately call my friend Misty who is a nurse and thankfully lives down the street. She's here in about 10 seconds and when she walks in the door everyone in my house is crying. I'm still trying to keep some type of control, now mind you I don't do blood very well.....It doesn't take much to make me quesy, but I managed to keep my composure. I give Brady to Misty so she can take a look at it and then I try to calm Hudson and Ella down. They didn't have a clue why they were crying they were just upset b/c Brady was so upset. Bless their hearts, they were so worried about Brady. Brady knew this and he looked over at them, tried his best to stop crying, and said, "It's okay. Don't cry....bubba's okay...it's not hurting anymore. I'm ok." My heart just broke into for this precious little boy who was in soooo much pain, but didn't want his little brother or sister to be upset so he put on this "I'm okay" face. He's such a sweet big brother!!

Anyway, Misty and I decide to get a third opinion from Heather who lives across the street and is a nurse practioner. She comes over examines Brady's toe and her and Misty both agree I need to take him to the ER. I finally agree it's ER worthy and now try to locate my mom and Andy. Thankfully, both are only a few minutes away. I load Brady in the car and send Hudson & Ella with Misty (thank you Misty....I don't know what I'd do without you!) Andy & my mom pull up within a matter of seconds and both give Brady's foot a look....both agree we need to get to the ER. So I send my mom to pick up the kids from Misty and Andy and I head to the ER at Baptist. The Baptist ER is the only ER I will go to. I call ahead and see who the ER docs are and how crowded the waiting area is . We're in luck! At the time I called no one was waiting in the waiting room and my two docs of choice - Dr. Bobbie West & Dr. Jeff Fitzgerald were both working - HOORAY!! We were immediately taken in to triage and I asked the traige nurse if at all possible could we see either Dr. West or Dr. Fitzgerald. We were blessed and were able to see both Dr. West & Dr. Fitzgerald. They were WONDERFUL!! I highly recommend Baptist ER. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the entire staff. They were so sweet to Brady and he was such a big boy. He didn't cry once the entire time we were in the ER. People were in and out taking x-rays, cleaning his toe, examining his toe, and not once did he even flinch. The diagnosis - Brady's toe was definitely broken but the problem was the cut and why it would not stop bleeding. To look at it from the eye it just didn't look deep enough for stitches. Andy & I, along with ER docs, made the decision not to put Brady through the trauma of stitches when they weren't even sure it would even work. Dr. West recommend we put pressure and I think some type of medicine (I didn't catch all the terminology) try to stop the bleeding and then wanted us to see Dr. Robbins, a Pediatric Orthopeadic Specialist. So they wrap his toe pretty good and send us home around 10:00 pm.

Fast forward to Wednesday at about 12:30 our appt. with Dr. Robbins. He walks in introduces himself and begins to talk to Brady. I immediately liked him and liked the fact that he tried to get to know us, especially Brady before we got down to business. He unwrapped Brady's foot and as soon as I saw the look on his face I knew it wasn't going to be good. I don't think he was expecting what he saw. He stepped out to get the x-rays and study over them a few more minutes. He came back in and was still very sweet and joked with Brady and then looked at Andy and I and basically said something to this affect, "this needs to be fixed in the operating room today." WHAT?? Did he just say OPERATING ROOM and TODAY???? I'm just hearing things, right? Andy looked at me with the "Are you okay look?" and it was then that I realized I'm not hearing things....he did say operating room and today. He then explained what had happened and why it had to be fixed today - remember the injury happened the night before and it is still bleeding. The fracture was an open fracture and apparently when the bone broke it pushed up through the nail bed and that's where the open fracture was....hence all the bleeding. He had to go in and remove the toenail, clean and repair the nailbed, possibly pin the fracture, and then replace the toenail - OUCH!!! We told Brady he was going to have surgery, but we didn't give too many details. We just told him Dr. Robbins would give him some medicine to make him sleepy and while he was asleep he would fix his toe. He was completely okay with that and not once made any complaints. So we left Dr. Robbins clinic at about 2:00 and had to be back at Baptist hospital by 5:00. I don't remember too much between the time we left his clinic until the time we checked in at the hospital but I some how managed to make a few phone calls and get arrangements made for Hudson & Ella. A special thanks to my sister, Dad, and Diane for taking such good care of Hudson & Ella. It was nice to know they were being well taken care of and I didn't have to worry for one minute about them. Back to the surgery. Everything went GREAT!!! Dr. Robbins was able to repair the nail bed and able to reattach the toenail. He didn't even have to pin it which was GREAT news. Brady did WONDERFUL!! He never once cried.....even after the surgery. He was such a BRAVE little boy and I couldn't have been any prouder of him. I don't think I would have been that brave. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and phone calls. He's wobbling around pretty good. We go back Monday for our checkup so I'll let you know how that goes. I did manage to get a few pics but they're from Andy's phone so the quality is not the best. I did take one of his toe while we were at the ER so if you have a weak stomach you may want to skip the first one!

The Damage - it just looks so painful!

Getting cozy while we wait to go down to surgery

Watching a little TV in his Doctor hat while we wait

Wheeling away into surgery!

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-08-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Ella's new favorite thing is to help with laundry. She absolutely LOVES to help me put clothes into the washer and then from the washer into the dryer. What use to take about 4 or 5 minutes to put a load of clothes in to wash now takes about 10 - 15 minutes!! If I want to do laundry alone, I either have to sneak into the laundry room or do laundry while she's sleeping. (I hope she's this excited about laundry when she's 15!) Well the other night she was helping put me clothes into the dryer. She kept opening and closing the dryer door, another new favorite, and of course I kept going behind her closing it. I finally managed to get her out of the laundry room. A little while later I walked in the laundry room to put something away and noticed the dryer wasn't running but the timer was on 30 minutes. So I pressed the restart button and then heard the loudest K-Plump sound ever. I opened the dryer and this is what I found:

The result of the K-Plump sound!

a camera box, American Girl Baby doll, & a microphone

Gotta love the help of a two year old!!

First Day of School

2008-08-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well, the day is almost over and I survived!! Today, my babies started school. Brady started Kindergarten and Hudson started K3. I can't believe they are both in school. My babies have turned into big boys!! They were so sweet this morning as they were getting ready for school. Brady kept telling Hudson what he was going to do when he got to school, where he would go, and he even told him when he'd go to recess....he's such a GREAT big brother!! (FYI - Hudson has Mrs. Jenkins, which was Brady's K3 teacher. She is AWESOME & we are soooooo excited to have her!!) Brady has Mrs. Cole and she is such a sweet, sweet lady. I'm so glad both of my boys got the teachers we had been praying for.....looks like we're in for another great year at PPCA. Hudson was so sweet this morning. He said, "Mommy, I don't want you to cry." So I was going to have to make it through the morning without crying in front of him. It was tough, but I did it. I think it helped that they were so excited about school and Hudson was especially excited about carpool -it's always the little things that make him happy. Andy & I both took them to school....and we were so proud of them when they kissed us bye, hopped out of the car at carpool, and went in like this was no big deal. My eyes were filled with tears and my heart overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions - joy, happiness, excitement, sadness, and even emptiness. The sadness & emptiness didn't last too long because I realized they're only gone until 11:30 each day and I still have Ella at home to keep me busy! I didn't get any great pictures because they were too excited to cooperate....you can see the excitement in Hudson's face in the picture below!!

Hudson, Brady, & Ella

My big school boys waiting for their turn in carpool

Getting out at carpool

I think Brady was trying to grab Hudson's hand and walk him inside!

Sweet Ella....where'd my bubbas go???

Biker Babes!

2008-08-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

My dad has started riding motorcycles over the past couple of years and recently got a new Harley Davidson. He rode his new bike over this past weekend and of course the kids thought it was very "cool". Well, all except for Ella....she's not very fond of the loud noises it makes. They've always been interested in Papaw's "motormykle" as Ella calls it, but never cared to sit on it too much. They're must be something about a Harley because all of the sudden my kids were very interested in riding Papaw's "motormykle". Hudson was the first one to hop on and ask for a ride. I don't know what got in to me because I put their bicycle helmets on and let my dad take them for a ride down the street.....I'm I crazy or what??? Actually, my dad was very careful with them and they went maybe 100 yards down the street and back. Thanks Papaw Chappell.....they loved it and keep asking when they can go again!!

Hudson & Papaw

There they go!

Jacob (my nephew) & Papaw

Brady & Papaw

Nascar's Newest Rookie!!

2008-08-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

For our 10 year anniversary I gave Andy a trip to Indianapolis to attend the Richard Petty's Driving Experience. Well that trip actually turned into another "Anniversary Celebration". I originally planned to stay home that weekend and just Andy go and visit some friends in Indy. However, at the last minute we decided I should go and my sister said she'd watch the kids.....gotta love having a sis so close!!! I'm so glad I decided to go....we had a blast!! It was such a relaxing weekend. For the most part we just hung out with our friends-Brad, Erin, Brian B., Brian D., and Lauren. The weather was beautiful - no humidity!! I just loved sitting around outside doing nothing. However, we did manage to see a movie on Saturday then dinner at St. Elmo's steakhouse in downtown Indy and then went bowling. The driving experience was Sunday and I'm so glad I was there for that. I thought it was incredible just watching and experiencing it from pit row so I can't imagine how awesome it was for Andy. He was able to drive 8 laps around the Brickyard 400 (which is 2.5 miles long). He said it was an amazing experience and he definitely wants to do it again soon! I think next time I may opt for the ride along experience where you can ride 3 laps with a professional driver. I think I definitely scored a few "brownie points" for a while....he said for our 20 year anniversary we're going to Italy to race ferarri's!!! Of course I never had my camera with me except for when we were at the race track so most of the pics I have are of Andy and his driving experience.

Here's the one pic I got of Andy & his friends, sorry Brian D. you missed this one....so this is what the guys did while you worked!

Andy, Brian B., & Brad taking a spin in theSpeedster!

Suiting up!

Doesn't he look so cute in that suit!

Climbing in & getting ready to go!

A few last minute instructions...he looks a little nervous!

There he goes!

One of the pit crew grabbed my camera & took this picture

He then took this picture as Andy came around

Coming in to Pit Road!

The Wiggles

2008-07-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

We went with our sweet friends The Salters this weekend to see The Wiggles Live in Birmingham. This was our 4th time to see The Wiggles....I guess you could call us "groupies". I know some people aren't too crazy about The Wiggles, but we LOVE them!! Believe it or not, they actually put on a GREAT show.....I think the parents enjoy it just as much as the kids. I'd much rather see The Wiggles than Barney or Dora. Don't get me wrong, we like Dora and even Barney, but I just think The Wiggles are little more entertaining. Anyway, we had a blast. This was probably one of my favorite shows.....definitely worth every penny. I was a little worried that Brady might think he was "too old" for The Wiggles, but he probably enjoyed it the most. Oh yeah, thanks to my sweet friend, Jennifer, we had amazing seats - 6th row from the stage!! We were able to go up to the stage after the show and Anthony (the blue Wiggle) and Murray (the red Wiggle) actually said hello to us and posed for some quick close up snap shots.

The Wiggles and The Big Red Car

Anthony Wiggle - my favorite Wiggle

Sam Wiggle

Murray Wiggle

Jeff Wiggle

Wags the Dog

Dorothy the Dinosaur

The Wiggles

Captain Feathersword

Up close with Anthony after the show!

Hudson & Ella in complete "awe"

Will & Brady

Ella waiting for The Wiggles

Sweet Wyatt....he loved The Wiggles!

Jennifer & Addie (not the best quality, but still sweet)

Family Florida Fun

2008-07-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, but we've been beach bums for the past week!!! This was our first "successful" family trip to the beach.......We went to Destin 3 years ago but that trip didn't turn out so well. Let's just say it stormed (and I mean stormed) the entire time we were there. We actually left a day early and never once stepped foot onto the beach. While we were there running from the rain I feel while holding Hudson and twisted my ankle....needless to say that was a horrible vacation! After 3 WONDERFUL trips to Disney in the past 3 years we thougth we'd give the beach one more chance. I'm glad we did. We had a great time! The weather was absolutely beautiful and the trip was completely relaxing! The kids had a blast. They were a little unsure about the sand and ocean at first, but by the 3rd day they began to like it. Ella even took a nap on the beach the last day we were there.....talk about living the good life!! My friend Lisa and her family were staying in Perdido Key so we met up with them one afternoon and went to dinner and then met up with them again the day we left and went to the Aviation Museum in Pensacola. If your ever in Pensacola I highly recommend the Aviation Museum.....my kids LOVED it. Here's a few (okay alot) of pictures from our trip. I tried at least a thousand times to get a good one of all three of them together and of course that didn't happen.

Hudson starting his daily dig in the sand

Brotherly Fun

Daddy & his little girl!

Sweet, clean babies!

Bathing Beauty!

Ella still not sure about the sand!

Too cute....or is it Mr. GQ!

I love that smile!!

Pool fun!

Life at the beach!

Running from the jellyfish!

Sleeping Beach Bum!

Don't mess with me....I'm a ninja turtle!!

My sweet big boy Brady!

Every girl loves her sunglasses, shoes, & cell phone!

Ella's 1st Date

2008-07-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Ella had her first date the other night! She absolutely loves John Thomas. He lives across the street from us and they are about 6 weeks apart. He is too cute and Ella takes off running to his house almost everytime we go in the front yard to play. Well, the other night John Thomas invited Ella over to play for a while and of course she had a blast and didn't want to come home. Tiffany (John Thomas's mom) went to take their picture and she said Ella immediately put her arm around John Thomas.....she definitely gets that from her daddy! Aren't they too cute....check out all that blonde hair and those blue eyes!

Saturday Picnic

2008-07-07T13:43:00.001-07:00

My dad and stepmom (aka Papaw & Deedee) came by Saturday to visit. They barely got through the front door before Hudson and Ella attacked them and drug them into the playroom. We all went into the playroom and visited for awhile and then I went back into the living room to finish sweeping the floor. After about 15 minutes I noticed things were a little quiet and I hadn't seen my Dad or Diane in a while so I went to the play room to check on everyone and this is what I found:

Hudson set up a picnic for everyone. He loves to have picnics and cook for everyone and he says he is the "cook man". Maybe he'll be a really great chef one day!!

Ella turns 2!

2008-06-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today is Ella's 2nd birthday and we celebrated by having her "Butterfly" birthday party at our church gym, which was the way to go!! We rented a bouncer, which everyone, especially Ella, loved. The kids also enjoyed roller skating and playing basketball. I think there was about 25 kids ranging in ages from 1-10 and I'm pretty sure all of them had a great time! And of course Ella had a blast. I still can't believe my baby is already 2!! She's growing up way too fast. She's definitely leaving the baby stage and becoming a toddler all too quickly. Oh yeah, she's even potty training.....No kidding. For the past week she has been running around the house in her "birthday suit" and tee-teeing on the potty every chance she gets. (She won't wear panties....she just prefers to run around naked, which is fine with me as long as she goes potty.) Today at her party she took her diaper off twice and went and tee-tee'd in the potty....YAAHOO! I hope she keeps this up and will be completely potty trained very soon!! Enjoy the slideshow of her birthday party!

10 Wonderful Years!

2008-06-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

Andy & I are celebrating our 10th Anniversary today!! It has been a wonderful 10 years. I'm so lucky to be married to such a caring and giving man! Since our recent trip to New York was part of our anniversary celebration we decided we would keep it low key and just go out to a nice dinner tonight. However, my sweet man wouldn't settle for just that. He went a little overboard.....which turned out to be just fine with me. He surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers delevired to our house and then came home with two beautifully wrapped packages. One was a beautiful chocolate pearl bracelet and the other was an addition to a previous gift. When Hudson was born Andy gave me an "add-a-diamond" bracelet with Brady's birthstone, Hudson's birthstone, and then mine & his birthstone with each birthstone seperated by a diamond. Well, today he come home with another diamond and Ella's birthstone added to the bracelet. Am I not married to the most WONDERFUL man in the world or what??? Andy always does a great job with our anniversary, my birthday, christmas, whatever the occassion he does well, so I had a feeling he would break our agreement and get me something anyway. So, I had a little surprise for him as well. He got a trip to the Indianopolis Motor Speedway for the Richard Petty Rookie Driving Experience. No, we're not die hard Nascar fans or anything like that, but last year Andy was able to go to the Brickyard 400 with some friends who live in Indianopolis and he said it was an incredible experience. Since then he's always talked about how he thougth it would be neat to get to do one of the driving experiences where you actually get to drive a nascar on the track. Well, in August Andy will be at the Indianopolis Motor Speedway experiencing the "Richard Petty Driving Experience". Happy Anniversary Baby! You are the best Husband, friend, father a girl could ever want! I love you!!!

My Beautiful Bouquet of Flowers

Chocolate Pearl Bracelet

Add-a-Diamond/Stone Bracelet

New York City

2008-06-10T13:31:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late posting these, but Memorial Day weekend Andy & I went to New York. Our 10 year wedding anniversary is coming up and my birthday was May 24th so this trip was a celebration of my birthday and our anniversary. We had a great time, but were completely exhausted from trying to fit everything in to 3 days. We went to see The Lion King, which is absolutely amazing....a definite must see. We also went to a New York Yankees game, Dinner at the Rainbow Room on top of Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Shopping on Fifth Avenue and Times Square, Ground Zero, Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty, and went to Brooklyn to eat pizza at Di Fara's. While waiting to go up to dinner at the Rainbow Room in the Rockefeller Center we actually saw Conan O'Brien as he was shooting a segment for his show. I was literally a foot away from him and he smiled and said "hello". Then about 2 minutes after that we turned around and saw Abe Vigoda - the grandfather in Look Who's Talking. We had such a great time in NYC. The weather was wonderful - sunshine with temps. in the mid 70's. You couldn't have asked for better weather. I'm already trying to figure out when we can go back just to shop, a few more Broadway plays, and of course pizza at Di Fara's. Here's a few pictures from our trip. There are very few of Andy & I together because we were so busy trying to fit everything in we just didn't stop and ask people to take our picture.

Rink Bar at Rockefeller Center

The New Yankee Stadium- opening 2009

Our view from the very top of Yankee stadium

Yankee Stadium

I think this is Derek Jeter batting? Maybe A-Rod?

Central Park

A view from Central Park

That's not us, but it is the same guy who gave us a
ride from Braodway to our hotel the night before!

The FAO Schwartz Guard

The Ferris wheel inside Toys R Us

A closer look at the Ferris wheel

A little blurry, but this is where we had dinner
before we went to The Lion King

AWESOME!!!!

The Empire State Building

Hey it's my b-day & I'm in NYC

Rockefeller Center

Engine Co. 10 across from Ground Zero

A view of the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park

I'm Back!

2008-06-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've neglected the blog for the past month, but we've been busy. I know we're all "busy," but I'm serious I've been going nonstop for the past few weeks with barely enough time to sleep. The week of May 15th was Brady's last day of K4 and Hudson and Ella's last day of MMO. Of course I was running around crazy that week getting things ready for end of the year parties. Not to mention we had birthday parties and ballgames. The next week we had ballgames, birthday parties, and sick babies. Then I started feeling bad....oh yeah, I forgot to mention that somewhere in my running from ballgames, to parties, to dr. appointments, I still had to do "household things" and, oh yeah, get ready for my big trip!! What big trip??? Andy and I went to New York for my birthday/10 year anniversary - more on that later. We got home last Monday and of course that night Brady started running fever. So I spent all week last week taking care of sick kids (again), recouping from the trip, washing a zillion loads of laundry, cleaning house, and tons of errands. Wouldn't you know that Friday evening I started feeling bad and Saturday I was miserable. Thank goodness I started feeling better this afternoon. After a relaxing Sunday afternoon, I'm finally back in the blogging world. Sorry, I've been a slacker, but hopefully I'm back on track. Here's a few pics from the past few weeks.

Brady's Field Day

Outdoor Fun:

Brady's last day of School

Field Trips

2008-05-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

The K4 classes went on a field trip a few weeks ago to the park and then to the library for story time. Andy was actually able to join us which made the trip even more of an adventure. For those of you who don't know Andy, he is a big ole kid!!! He was right up there in the middle of all those 4 & 5 year olds having a blast! It was so much fun to watch Brady having such a good time with his friends and daddy. I'm so blessed my kids have a daddy who loves to be with his kids and loves to be involved in everything they do!

Andy playing ball with the kids

My sweet nephew, Jacob

Best buddies - Brady & Eli

Sweet Abby, Brady's other best buddy

We really can draw out here?

Mrs. Bass' K4 Class

Hudson's mother's morning out class took a trip to the science museum and then to the park. Okay, that was just complete chaos. First of all, we knew it was going to be crazy when we pulled in the parking lot and there were about 50 school buses parked in the parking lot. There were kids all over the place....you would have thought they were giving out A's or something. Andy actually came to this field trip as well, but couldn't handle the crowded chaos so he didn't stay too long. The place was so packed that we could hardly move without bumping into someone so Jennifer, Misty, and I decided we'd just head on over to the park for our picnic. Yeah, that was even crazier. Hudson was running all over the place like he was the only kid in the park. He was too funny because he wouldn't stop and play.....he would just run as if he'd never been to a park before and he just didn't know where to start. Hudson had a great time with his friends, especially Addie and Addie Hart, but I was exhausted!!

It's crazy in here....where do we begin?

Check out all this cool stuff, mom!

Look at me...I'm going to climb over this.

Best friends - Addie Hart, Hudson, & Addie

Sweet, sweet Hudson...I love this picture!

You can't catch me....I can run fast!

Check out that hair!

Here I am, Mommy!

Addie Hart enjoying the swings

Addie taking a quick break for a picture

Ella's Addiction

2008-04-21T19:04:00.001-07:00

As most of you know Ella is completely addicted to her paci!! I was looking through the blog and noticed that in almost every picture I take of her she has a paci in her mouth. One paci is just not enough. She usually has one in her mouth and one in each hand. No matter how many she already has in her mouth or hand, if she sees another one she will grab it and if it's out of her reach she cries, "paci, paci....two paci". Well, this is how I found her this morning when I went to get her out of her bed. She even has a third paci in her right hand! Taking the paci away from this little girl is NOT going to be fun! I keep saying when she turns to we're getting rid of it, but as June fastly approaches I'm sooo not looking forward to it. I mean as long as she doesn't go to K5 with it we're okay, right! Just kidding, I've always said when a kid is old enough to take the paci out and speak in complete sentences then there's a problem. Brady was so easy to give up the paci and Hudson never took one. When the time comes, I'm sure it will be a complete nightmare....it's only April so we still have 2 months. So until then, have at it Ella!!

*Disclaimer: Hudson picked out Ella's pj's....note the blue striped boys pants....it was very sweet and thoughtful of him though!

Brady's Spring Program

2008-04-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Brady's school Spring Program was this morning. It was a short, sweet program....very much to the point. They sang a few songs about their colors, feelings, and my favorite was their "worship" song they sing each week in Chapel. I can't believe K4 is almost over and soon my baby will be in K5!! Thank goodness his school offers a half-day K5 program.....he's growing up way too fast and I'm just not ready for him to be big enough to go to school all day.

Play Ball

2008-04-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Brady and Andy had their first baseball game on Tuesday night. Brady loves playing t-ball and loves the fact that his daddy and Uncle Shane are his coaches. He's in the 5yr T-ball league, but it's not strictly t-ball. I think this is the age they start trying teach the fundamentals of baseball. The coach throws 5 pitches and if they don't hit one of the five pitches they bring out the tee. I was so proud of our little team...they did GREAT! Only two players had to hit off the tee....I thought that was pretty impressive for 5 year olds. They were so proud of themselves too....you could just see their little faces light up when they made contact with the ball. Some of them were so excited they forgot what to do next....we had to yell, "run to first base." Brady got three great hits and even stopped the ball a few times (I'm not trying to be boastful....I'm just a proud momma). I was also so proud of my sweet little Hudson. You see, he's not old enough to play yet and he doesn't quite understand why...... he gets to play ball with his daddy and big brother all the time at home, so why not on the big field?? Well, Andy and I have been telling him that he can't go out on the field with Brady and his daddy during the games. I was so nervous that he would escape from me and run out onto the field during the game, but he did GREAT. He was so precious, he just stood at the fence in the dugout and watched the entire time. (Check out the picture below when he saw Brady hit the first ball....he was so excited for his big brother) You could see it in his eyes how he wanted to be on that field with his daddy, big brother, and cousin, Jacob; I guess all that "threatening" paid off. It actually almost made me cry to see him standing there watching, knowing how bad he wanted to be out on that field with his best buddies. I'm looking forward to the days when my sweet boys will playon the same team!

Fielding First Base

Hit me something....I'm ready!

Watching for the right pitch!

Here it is...

Wow! Brady just smoked that ball!!

Giving centerfield a try

Jacob, playing 2nd base

Outdoor Fun

2008-04-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, but we've been busy outside enjoying the nice weather. We're outdoors playing every opportunity we get....so much that when we're inside I'm too busy with my neglected "chores" that I haven't had much time to post. Here's a few pics of the kids playing on the swingset. Brady has learned to cross the monkey bars, Hudson loves to swing and is trying so hard to swing by himself, and Ella loves to swing on her tummy. Brady has also learned
how to hang upside down on the trapeeze bar. He's such a daredevil and isn't afraid to try anything. I've even caught him standing on top of the monkey bars....scary, I know but the child has NO fear!

HELP!!

2008-03-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I need help!! When I saved the new template for my blog I lost all of my links - OH NO! Of course, I don't remember everyone's blog address.....I did have a few saved to "my favorites" and was able to copy & paste a few via "blog hopping", but I still don't have everyones. If your link is no longer listed will you please send me your blog address so I can add it back to my links. I hate that I lost them and can't get to all of my friends blogs!! Thanks!

Easter Pics

2008-03-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter! Andy's mom came in town for the weekend and went to church with us on Sunday. After church we went to my mom's for lunch and for an easter egg hunt. The kids had so much fun finding eggs and even hiding eggs for the adults to find. Ella & Brady were really into hiding and finding eggs, but Hudson, not so much! He wanted to play baseball with my brother. so instead of finding eggs to put in his basket, he picked them up and swung the bat at them as if they were a baseball! Gotta love lil' Hudson...he just lives in his own little world doing his own little thing....Sorry, but these pics aren't the greatest. First of all, getting my 3 to sit still and all look at the camera is completely impossible. Secondly, I'm still learning how to use my camera and can't figure on when to use which setting so my color seems a little "yellow" to me in some and others are a little blurry, but oh well, you get the idea!

Mom, we really don't want to do this!

Boy, don't they look happy!

Why is she taking so many pictures?

Mom, are you ever going to be through?

Look, two eggs!

I think I got all of these!

Forget finding eggs, let's play ball!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE
I LEARNED FROM THE EASTER BUNNY

Don't put all of your eggs in one basket
Walk softly and carry a big carrot
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears
There's no such thing as too much candy
All work and no play can make you a basket case
A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day
Some body parts should be floppy
Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans
Good things come in small sugarcoated packages
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare
To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

Happy Birthday Andy!

2008-03-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late posting this, but Tuesday (3/17) Andy celebrated his 33rd birthday! He wasn't feeling very well so it was pretty low key. The kids and I baked a cake for him...it was so sweet because Brady kept saying, "Mommy, it's more special when you make a cake for somebody, because it means you really love them." And then Hudson would reply, "yeah, we're more special because we made this for Daddy and he lubs (translation - loves) us." I mean, how sweet is that! Happy Birthday Andy! You are such a wonderful husband and daddy! You are the most giving person I have ever met. Happy Birthday! I LOVE YOU!!

Making the Cake!

It's not pretty, but it was Yummy!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

JACKAROOS BOUTIQUE!

2008-03-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

My college roomate and dear friend, Jennifer Walker, has started an online boutique specializing in children's clothing and gifts. Jennifer made each one of my children an outfit when they were born, and they were so unique and so darn cute! She actually was the first person to make something for Brady......sorry, mom she only beat you by about a week!! Jennifer is very creative and very talented. Her dream has always been to start her own business, and now she has done it. I'm so proud of you Jennifer and LOVE your designs, website, and labels. Well here it is....... Jackaroos Boutique!! (http://www.jackaroosboutique.com/) She's got some great personalized baby items and very cute fabric for jonjons and dresses. Check it out.....you won't be disappointed!

Boys will be Boys!

2008-03-11T07:52:00.001-07:00

So, this is what happens when you let your little boys play in the sandbox and then walk away for a few minutes! The boys and I had been outside playing and they decided they wanted to go play in the backyard. I went back there with them and watched Brady cross the monkey bars and played a little football with them. They went about playing and I decided to go clean out my car. I kept checking on them and they were playing so nicely in the backyard so I kept cleaning out my car. I then heard Brady come inside and ask for some water.....he's self sufficient so he got himself a glass of water. A few minutes went by and I hear Hudson come in and ask for water, well he helps himself to a bottle of water from the bottom of the fridge. I continue on and about five minutes later I hear Brady come through the door and in the backgroud I hear Hudson yelling, "get alot of water Brady....we need it!" In the back of my mind I knew they could not have been that thirsty, but they were playing so well together and I was getting so much accomplished (Ella was napping during all of this). So a few more minutes went by and I decided to go check to see what was going on....well I knew it was NOT going to be good when I walked into my kitchen and saw a trail of sand down my refrigerator and on my floor leading to the back door! Uh, oh this can't be good! Well, that's how I found them.....covered in sand! It wouldn't have been so bad had we not been going somewhere in about an hour. I couldn't help but laugh.....don't they look like they had sooo much fun! Hudson's response was,"we made yucky sand stuff, mommy, we made it for you". How sweet....Brady piped in with, "yeah, and it was lots of fun!" How could I be upset.....aren't boys suppose to play in the sand and get all dirty and muddy?

Wedding Bells

2008-03-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to my brother, Jonathan, and his sweet girlfriend - I mean fiance, Jennifer. Jonathan proposed to Jennifer last night at a really nice restaraunt in Hollywood - sorry, I can't remember the name. We are very excited for them and so glad that "Aunt Jennifer" finally becomes official. Oh yeah, her answer was yes! Congrats Jonathan and Jennifer.....we love you!

Pirate Hudson!

2008-03-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Rrrr! Our little Hudson has turned into a Pirate! We recently discovered that Hudson's left eye is significantly weaker than his right eye. We saw a wonderful specialist, Dr. McVey, who was very optimistic, especially since we caught it so early. He said we can most likely avoid glasses and surgery if we can get his left eye (the weaker one) to become stronger. So, we're starting with "pirate" therapy. We've convinced Hudson that for one hour everyday for the next two months he gets to turn into a "special pirate". He was all pumped about this idea while we were at the doctor's office, but once we got home and actually tried to "turn him into a pirate" he'd lost all interest. It was actually pretty pitiful. I even cried.....I know that sounds so silly, but he was awful. He cried and screamed, "no, no I don't wanna be a pirut!". Once we finally got the patch over his right eye (strong eye) he kept crying, "it hurts, my eye hurts....I can't see mommy, my eye hurts." Okay, as if that wasn't heartbreaking enough, he was turning his head up and to the side trying to focus as he was looking for us. Thank goodness that whole episode only lasted about 3 or 4 minutes and then he was completely fine. The next day he cried for about one minute but hasn't cried since then.....hopefully, we are over all the "drama". If not, we have to go to the next step which is putting some special drops in his right eye which blur his vision in his right eye and forces him to use his left eye.....now, that just sounds cruel to me....at least with the patch his right eye is covered and not blurred.

Figuring out it's fun to be a Pirate!

Trying to find the camera & say "cheese"

What Pirate doesn't love ice cream sandwiches

Aren't they sweet!

The life of a Pirate - this is how we found him less than 10 minutes after removing his eye patch!

Disney

2008-02-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Just a few more pics of our recent trip to Disney! As you can see we had a blast and can't wait to go back!!

Downtown Disney & The Walkers

2008-02-20T18:17:00.000-08:00

During our trip to Disney World, we were able to meet up with my college roomate, Jennifer, and her family. They recently moved from Mobile to the Orlando area. Jennifer, Scott, and Jack met us at Downtown Disney for dinner at Captain Jacks. Although, I wasn't able to really sit and visit with Jennifer - we were in a restaurant with 4 kids ages 5 and under (3 of them were my kids) - it was nice to see her, Scott, & Jack and do a little catching up. After dinner we headed over to the Once Upon a Time Disney store and between chasing the kids (mostly my kids) we were able to visit. The kids were in "Disney Heaven". Brady & Hudson ran straight to the Star Wars display where they were able to build their own light saber. Ella found a princess Minnie, which she later switched out for an Annie doll from Little Einstiens; however, Jack was the cutest of them all as he was intrigued with the light up Mickey that spins. You know the one they sale on Main Street right before the parade and fireworks for only $16!! Of all the toys in that place, that was the one thing that got his attention....it was too cute. Thanks Jennifer, Scott, and Jack for getting out in that nasty rain to meet up with us. Jack is just so cute and so funny....he is filled with tons of personality! It was great seeing you guys and hope to see you again soon!

Jennifer & Jack

Jack & his discovery of "light & spin" Mickey

He loved this thing!

Brady & Hudson building their own light sabers

They were in complete 'awe' and so excited

Ella discovers princess Minnie

I think she's eating her nose!!!

The Walkers - Jennifer, Jack, & Scott

Me & Jennifer - great pic of Jennifer, not so great of me....please keep in mind we had just come from the pouring rain (I had no umbrella....just that lovely plastic disney poncho!!!)

Disney World

2008-02-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry, it's been awhile since my lost post, but I've been in the "happiest place on Earth" for the past 7 days! Yes, we just got back from Disney World. Well, we actually got back Saturday afternoon, but I'm just now finding a few spare minutes to post. We had a BLAST and can't wait until our next trip. We said we are going to wait 2 years before we go back, but I bet we go within the next 16 months. We absolutely LOVE Disney World! This was Brady & Hudson's 3rd trip and Ella's 2nd trip. The kids did great on the plane - yes, we flew with 3 little ones and would do it all over again. Andy refuses to drive that long of a drive with 3 small kids.....I can't say I blame him! You can't beat a direct flight from Jackson to Orlando.....and in only an hour and a half you're there!!! We were at Magic Kingdom just a few hours after our plane landed!! Andy & I had so much fun watching the kids get so excited.....they were so much fun!! Anyway, I took almost 600 pictures but I promise I won't post all 600 of them. Here's a few of the kids on the plane and our first day at Magic Kingdom. I'll post more pics and details of the trip within a few days! Hope you enjoy!

Daddy & his boys!

Mommy & Ella getting ready for take off!

On our way to Magic Kingdom...We are excited!

Monkeying around before we ride Aladin

Ella saying "hello" to Minnie Mouse

Visit with Minnie at Liberty Tree Tavern

Hanging out with Chip......where's Dale?

Chip playing around with Brady & Hudson

Pluto stops by for a visit

Ella loved the Mickey's Toon Town Fair

Visit with The Hands

2008-02-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late posting these....somehow I completely forgot I took these pictures. Anyway, our dear friends Jeremy & Felicia were passing through from Georgia and we were able to meet up with them for a visit. They lived on the Coast at the same time we did and we all went to church together, were in Bible studies together, and then pretty much hung out together almost every weekend. We all moved from the Coast around the same time and have only gotten together 2 other times since we moved. (I know that's sad) So we were sooo excited to be able to visit with them. This was their first time to meet Ella Caroline and we hadn't seen Elizabeth since she was 8 weeks old. Brady & Anna Lee use to play together almost everyday so it was neat to see how much they have grown and how much they have changed. It was also sad to see how much they had forgotten one another. Thanks for taking time to meet up with us Jeremy & Felicia.....we miss you guys and can't wait for our next visit!!

Sweet Anna Lee - My how she has grown!

Little Ms. Elizabeth - no longer a little baby

Brady & Anna Lee - I don't think they remembered each other

Elizabeth & Ella meet for the 1st time

Ella meeting Mr. Jeremy

What is this crazy man doing to my brother?

Boys will be boys!!

Will these men ever grow up???

Like father like sons!!

Chuck E & the Gang

Countown to Disney

2008-01-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Yippie!!! We leave for Disney in 2 weeks and we can't wait!!! Every night Brady & Hudson ask us how many more times do they have to sleep? This is there way of comprehending we leave in 13 days. They are so excited and are talking nonstop about what they are going to ride first. Of course right now instead of getting things in order for our trip we are fighting off yucky colds & viral infections. Ella ran a fever first so we headed to the dr. thinking she had strep - it's going around like crazy here and one of the kiddos in her MMO class tested positive for it last week. Well, thankfully she tested negative and just had some type of viral infection. She was fine within 24 hours. Hudson then woke up Friday morning with a high temp....I decided to hold off on taking him to the dr. b/c I'm sure his was just viral.....siblings just love to share germs, right. Well he continued to run a high fever until Sunday morning, but then woke up Sunday with a yucky cough, congestion, and runny nose. Fevers now gone, but cough & congestion have moved in!! Most of the time that doesn't stop Hudson, but today this poor guy has been pitiful! So back to the dr. we go. She did a flu test, which came back negative....yippie b/c that's going around like wildfire too! She said his sinuses were completely blocked and the fever was probably from a viral infection. He's gotten worse since we came home from the dr. and has started running fever again......please don't let this sinus infection turn into the flu or strep. We're on Vantin for 14 days hoping he will be all cleared up before our trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth"! Let's just pray this does this trick and we stay out of that yucky, germ infested dr. office for awhile!!

Sweet Babies

2008-01-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

First, I must tell you that Ella absolutely adores her big brothers.....she just LOVES them! For the most part they adore her as well.......however, there are those occasional moments when they get a little frustrated with her - like when she tries to knock down the star war jedi's they have so neatly lined up. Well, last night this is how I found my babies. They had just gotten out of the bathtub and were watching a little "Super Why" before we started our bedtime routine. Hudson was snuggled up next to Ella, but as soon as I got my camera he moved over and insisted on being photographed by himself - little stinker!! (Sorry, the pictures are a little blurry....I'm still trying to figure out how to use my camera) These babies melt my heart.....I just love them to pieces!!

Saturday Fun

2008-01-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

Andy's been out of town since Wednesday and will return on Monday - yippie!!! Anyway, I've been going a little stir crazy in the house the past few days - we had some pretty yucky weather last week and have been stuck indoors. What about Chick-fil-A, Back Yard Burgers, or Gattitown.......great idea, but who wants to load up three kids ages 5, 3, & 18 months and hit the roads??? Sometimes it's just much easier to stay in the comforts of our own home. Other than leaving to pick the kids up from school and a trip to Target with my mom (I don't go too many places alone with all 3 of them) we haven't been out much! Saturday morning came and I was about to go crazy......I had to get out of the house!!! So the kids and I went to watch my niece and nephew play Upwards Basketball. Brady & Hudson love watching them play and even Ella had a good time cheering on her cousins. Afterwards, my niece, Mary Katharine, and my youngest nephew, Jacob, came over to play. The kids had a blast. The weather was great so we headed outside to play. I had a great time just watching them play. They played outside for hours. All that play must have been exhausting because my kids were well asleep by 7:45! Thanks Mary & Jacob for coming to play with us....we had lots of FUN!

Do you see what's missing?

Training wheels!!

Mary Katharine leading the gang

My sweet, sweet May-May!

Hudson....trying to give me his serious pose.

Whee, look at me mom!

Yes, those are cowboy pj's with his boots!!

Did you see how far I threw that?

Jacob just loves Ella.....she just loves to ride!

You can't really tell, but she is just a smiling!

Hold on, Ella!

Don't worry Ella, we'll get you out of this!

Wii are having FUN!!

2008-01-09T18:26:00.001-08:00

The title says it all.....and that's why it's been a while since my last posting. Andy got a Wii Nintendo Game system for Christmas and it has been more of a gift for the family than just for him. Our entire family, yes, even Ella, is having a blast! The first 3 nights after Christmas Andy & I were putting the kids to bed early and then staying up until nearly 1:00 am playing this thing. We've played so much that our arms were sore and we had to slack off a little bit....no joke I could barely move my right arm b/c it hurt too bad. We have had so much fun playing with the kids and even playing each other. We even joked about hiring a babysitter and instead of having date night inviting some friends over to play the Wii! If you're unfamiliar with the Wii it's an interactive video game system where you swing the remote to interact with the system. My favorite is bowling.....you actually swing the remote just like you would swing your arm to through the bowling ball. What stinks is that my 5 year old always beats me and gets a strike nearly every time he bowls! Brady has mastered baseball & tennis.....I don't even like to play with him because he beats me soo bad and I even stay up late practicing and still can't seem to even make the game interesting. We've have lots of friends coming over more frequently and Brady even had a spend the night guest (my friend Lisa's little boy, Jake) do you think it might have something to do with the Wii???

Andy testing out Wii Golf

Testing out Baseball

Brady & his friend Jake playing tennis

Brady & Ella doing a little bowling

Look, mom, I bowled better than you!

Christmas at the Cruthirds

2007-12-28T21:26:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I know this is a little late, but I'm finally finding just a few minutes to post. We had a wonderful Christmas. It was so nice and relaxing. This is the first time in almost 10 years of marriage that we have not had to rush and be somewhere on Christmas Day. We slept until almost 8:00 and then opened presents with the kids. They were so precious and had a blast. It's so much fun to watch them get excited........what a joy to experience Christmas through the eyes of your children. I wasn't sure how they would react because they never really asked for anything for Christmas - I know it sounds crazy, but we just didn't play up Santa brings you lots of presents.....we tried to keep it simple and stay focused on Why we celebrate Christmas. After we opened our gifts, which took awhile because Santa wrapped EVERYTHING and we tried to open one at a time, Andy made us breakfast and then we spent the rest of the day lounging in our pjs, playing with all of the kids new toys, and snacking on all the "goodies" we had made. We had celebrated Christmas dinner 3 times in the past few days so we skipped the traditional Christmas lunch and I made corn chowder instead.....yummy!! I think we finally got dressed around 3:00 and then headed to the movies to see The Chipmunks.....it's too cute and if you haven't seen it you really should. We then went to my Moms and finished off all of the Christmas dinner leftovers. It was definitely a fun day for us all!

Sunday Church Service

The Cruthirds Family - Christmas 2007

Wow! What's in this Stocking?

Opening Presents

Help me open this, Please!

I think he likes it!

Hudson's favorite - a Saints Helmet

Is this one for me?

Thanks, Daddy, for helping me!

Are there any more presents around here?

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a Merry Christmas & Blessed New Year!

Brady's Christmas Party

2007-12-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas Carols

Brady saying a prayer before we eat!

Mrs. Bass opening her Christmas Card

Silly Abby

Look, Mom, more Candy!

My sweet nephew, Jacob

Thanks Mrs. Bass

The Ornament

Brady's class had their Christmas Party at school yesterday. The kids suprised the parents with christmas carols and a special ornament they had made for us. The ornament was a glass ball with either a Christmas tree or Baby Jesus in the manger and was created using their fingerprints - mine was baby jesus. Brady was so excited to give Andy & I our ornament....his little face was beaming while we were opening it. Brady's in a christian school and they have been learning why we celebrate Christmas. I think he really understands the true meaning of Christmas this year. Whenever we talk about Christmas or what he wants for Christmas he says, "Mom, you know it's really all about baby Jesus and his birthday". I can't believe he really gets it. He really hasn't asked for anything for Christmas and tells me Santa just comes around to help us celebrate Jesus' birthday! WOW!!! That's pretty powerful especially coming from a 5 year old!

Christmas in Chicago

2007-12-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

Erin & Brad

Watertower on Michigan Avenue

The view from the ladies room on the 96th floor of the John Hancock building

Okay, so maybe we weren't there celebrating Christmas with anyone, but the Christmas spirit was definitely alive in Chicago. This was our first trip to Chicago and what a great time of year to experience Chicago. It's such a beautiful city. Even though it was freezing cold, I'm so glad we went when we did. It had just snowed the day before we got there so everything was covered in snow and still covered this morning when we left.....we even got to see some snow flurries while we were there. Hey, I can almost say I've experienced a "white christmas". The city was decorated in all of its Christmas decor, which was beautiful. Our friends Brad and Erin were the best host and hostess. We hit a museum, hockey game, shopping on Michigan Avenue and some of the "tourist" hotspots. But thanks to them we also got to experience some of the places where the "locals" go. We ate a fantastic dinner on Thursday night at Joe's Stonecrab (which was fabulous) then went to a local pub on Friday night - of course I can't remember the name. We also ate some of the best pizza ever at Uno's. Andy was excited to have his first Chicago hot dog from Wrigleyville dogs - I think thats correct.....it was actually pretty good! Needless to say we had a blast and although it's nice to be back home where it is much warmer (78) we cannot wait to for our next trip back. Thanks Erin & Brad for your wonderful hospitality.....you guys were so much fun! We can't wait to meet up with you in February at Disney World.

Chicago Bound!

2007-12-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

Andy & I are leaving early in the morning flying to Chicago! We're going to visit some friends and of course we would choose to go when it's freezing cold and they just got their first snow - 7 inches I think! I'm excited about going to Chicago, but not sure how I'm going to do in the freezing cold, wind, and 7 inches of snow!!! Please pray for safe travels and that we are NOT snowed in.....I'm so nervous I'm going to be stuck in the airport and unable to get home to my babies!!

Christmas in Canton

2007-12-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Brady's K4 class took a field trip to Christmas in Canton last week. He was so excited to get to ride the school bus. I think, at first, he was more excited about riding the bus than he was the actual field trip. It was fun watching Brady get excited about riding the train, carousel, and viewing the animation museums. It was a great field trip and my heart just overflowed with joy as I watched him play with his friends and get so excited about the train ride, the carousel, and the animation museums. Much to my surprise he really enjoyed the animation museums. It was also very cute to watch Brady experience his first crush. He sits by a little girl named Meghan and talks about her from time to time, but I've never thought much about it until the field trip. Brady & Meghan were inseparable. They rode together on the train & carousel and then were right next to each other through all of the museum tours. When it was time to head back to school I was just going to let Brady ride back with me, but oh no he had other plans. I asked him if he was ready to go and he looked over at Meghan and said "Are you riding the bus back?" She said yes, so he looked at me and said, "you go ahead mom, I'm riding the bus with Meghan." WHAT!!! I got shunned for a little girl....this isn't suppose to happen this early????

Loading the bus!

Mommy & Brady riding the train

Brady & Meghan

Mrs. Bass K4 class

Madi, Brady, & Meghan

Taking a ride on the carousel

Does this count as our first date?

The Elf on the Shelf

2007-11-26T14:07:00.001-08:00

Our family has started a new tradition this year and I wanted to pass it along. It's called The Elf on the Shelf. Have you ever wondered just how does Santa know if you've been naughty or nice? It's all because of the Elf on the Shelf! I don't want to give too much of this book away, but if you have kids I highly recommend this precious book. It's about a magic elf who comes to live with you during Christmas time and magically flies to Santa every night to give him a report on whether you've been good or bad. The elf then magically flies back home before you awake. He can see you and hear you, but you cannot touch him. We named our elf Snowflake and every morning my kids run to see just where Snowflake landed this morning. They get so excited when they find him. So far, he's landed in a different spot, but I told them he's sure to find a favorite spot and may land there a few times. He's also helped with discipline at our house because Brady & Hudson know Snowflake is watching them and they want him to report good things to Santa. I bought our book at Mistletoe Marketplace and the author was there signing the books as you purchased them, but you can order it online. My kids think the book is from Santa and that he wrote a special message to them...it's really cute. I had no idea this book would bring sooo much fun to our house....it's definitely worth the $30 bucks. Click here to get your very own copy of The Elf on the Shelf.....I promise you won't be disappointed!!!

Ella's 1st Piggy Tails!

2007-11-15T15:23:00.001-08:00

Ella's hair is getting fairly long so I thought I'd try to see if we had enough hair for piggy tails. Much to my surprise we did!! This was my first attempt at "piggy tails" and ,well, as you can tell from the pictures a squiggly 17 month old and an unexperienced hair dresser don't mesh so well. I took a few pictures of our first try and then redid them....she wasn't having a third try....she definitely does not enjoy playing "salon". I thought the second try turned out okay, especially for someone who is terrible at fixing hair! I can't believe our baby is now 17 months old and big enough for "piggy tails". The little things I that I just couldn't wait for are happening way too fast!

My very 1st "piggy tails" on top of my head

Am I cute or what??

Our 2nd try - more like "piggy tails"

Post nap "piggy tails"

Trip to the Zoo

2007-11-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

The weather was beautiful on Saturday, so we decided to take our three little "monkeys" to the zoo! The kids had so much fun. They were very interested in all of the animals and the sounds that they made. I really thought they would loose interest very quickly, but much to my surprise they wanted to see every exhibit. It was soo cute the way they would ask us what the animal was and then try to repeat it....Hudson was the funniest....we would tell him what type of animal we were looking at and he would then tell all of the other spectators as if he were the zoo keeper or something. It was too cute. Once we finished all of the animal exhibits we headed over to the train station for a train ride around the zoo.....my kids love trains! It was so nice to just have some fun, stress free time with the family.

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Anakin, Luke Skywalker, & Princess Leia

Luke Skywalker & Princess Leia

The Life of a Princess...even if it is in a Galaxy Far Away!

Anakin showing off his Light Saber

Brady showing off his contribution to his Class Project

Brady helping work the booth sponsored by his class

WOW!!! What a busy Halloween! We started out at 5:00 heading over to the neighbors house for pictures.....great idea but it just wasn't happening with my 3 little ones. They were all interested in their own agendas and it didn't include sitting still for a group picture. We then headed to Brady's school for their Fall Festival which was WONDERFUL!!! There were TONS of games and inflatables, a dunking booth, a train ride, horse rides, karaoke, and lots of yummy food. It definitely was a GREAT alternative to trick-or-treating. Brady and I worked his class booth and then we headed off to play a few games and play on the inflatables. We left the festival around 7:15 and headed back to our neighborhood to meet up with our neighbors for the tractor hayride and trick-or-treating. My kids were sooo excited about the hayride and the fact that a "real" tractor was pulling the trailer.....okay, I must admit we did have the best hayride....thanks Tiffany & Jack! I think my kids may have trick-or-treated at 5 or 6 houses. They were way more into the hayride than trick-or-treating. Once everyone was done trick-or-treating we headed back to Tiffany's for some yummy fresh cotton candy! Tiffany's mom comes over everyone Halloween and sets up her cotton candy machine and they pass out cotton candy....it probably was the BEST cotton candy I've ever eaten...thanks again Tiffany & Jack....you guys definitely win the Best Neighbors Award & Coolest place to Trick-or Treat! Needless to say we were EXHAUSTED! There was no argument at our house when we said "bedtime".

Pumkin Patch

2007-10-30T18:57:00.001-07:00

Hudson's Mom's Morning Out class took a field trip to the pumkin patch today. We both had lots of fun....I think we both enjoyed having some special time with just the two of us. His favorite part of the trip was the animals....he loved petting and watching the animals. However, he did have a pretty good time selecting just the right pumpkin! It was such a fun day for the both of us.....we're thinking we might just have to come back with the whole family this weekend!

Hudson's Birthday Party!

2007-10-27T14:34:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Hudson!

2007-10-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little late posting this, but Hudson celebrated his 3rd birthday on Monday (10/22). His party is this Saturday so there will be more pics to come. Until then here's a few of him opening one of his gifts and blowing out the candles on his cake. For those of you who know Hudson, know what a sweet, loving, and fun personality he has. He definitely keeps the laughter and action on full at our house. He's just one of those kids that is sooo easy to love. (Which is not always a good thing.....it's sooo hard to get on to him) Anyway, we've been asking him what he wants for his birthday and he will say "nuppin"....I don't want nuppin, mommy". And then I would ask him a few minutes later and his response would be "I'm not gonna tell you". He is just one of those kids who is happy all the time and very content....he really could care less what he got. Well of course I had to have something for him to open on his birthday. He absolutely LOVES anything from the Little People collection so we gave him the Little People Busy Day House to add to his collection. He loved it and has played with it nonstop since we gave it to him. Now I know some of you may be a little paranoid because my son is playing with Little People and you may think they're dolls....trust me he's ALL BOY!!! We have the Little People construction truck, firetruck and firehouse, ambulance, and school bus.....he does his fair share of "rough housing" with and without his little people......so we're not worried one bit!! Happy Birthday Hudson we love You!

Aren't they Sweet?

2007-10-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

On most days, Hudson & Ella play pretty well together. Well, I caught them being so sweet to one another Monday morning. They were just sitting on the floor in a deep conversation.....still not sure what they were conversing about, but I thought it was just too precious. I told them don't move and ran and got my camera.....of course they immediately started posing. Nothing warms my heart more than seeing my sweet babies playing so lovingly and nicely with each another. (Just for the record....I'm not leaving Brady out.....he was at preschool during this time!)

Happy Birthday Uncle Jon!

2007-10-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little late, but we've been very busy lately. Anyway, my brother celebrated his 29th birthday last Wednesday (10/10). WOW!! I can't believe he finally caught up with me.....you see I've been 29 for a couple of years now - ha,ha!!! We usually go to my moms for dinner on our birthdays, but this time we decided to go to Jonathan's favorite restaurant, Fratesi's!! This was my first visit to Fratesi's and I must say it was GREAT!!! Andy & I will definitely be going back again......I highly recommend the Baked Lasagna.....the BEST lasagna I've ever eaten!! Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JON!!! Your nieces and nephews love you!!

Uncle Jon, Aunt Jennifer, & all the nieces & nephes (minus Hudson). Uncle Jon looks thrilled doesn't he!!

Uncle Jon & Hudson (two peas in a pod...Hudson reminds me soooo much of my brother!) I tell him all the time he will probably never have a child as much like him as Hudson is!

Mom & the Birthday Boy!

It's Bathtime Ella!

2007-10-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

Ella absolutely LOVES to take a bath. If you just say the words "bath" or "bathtub" she takes off running to the nearest bathtub. Tonight I started running her bath water and then went to change her dirty diaper. While changing her diaper I asked her if she was ready to get in the bathtub. She just giggled and squirmed as she always does during diaper changes. Since she was getting in the bathtub I didn't put a clean diaper on her; however, I did let her get up while I went to dispose of the dirty diaper. Well, this is where & how I found her when I returned.....Now, we're only talking about a matter of 8, maybe 10, seconds here.

I guess I just don't move fast enough for her!! This girl is quick and at only 15 months old she can climb into and out of the bathtub by herself!!

Happy Birthday Brady!

2007-09-26T14:52:00.001-07:00

Five years ago at 10:53 p.m. our first child, Brady Andrew Cruthirds, was born at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Biloxi, MS. He weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 8 ozs and was 22 inches long! WOW!!! I CANNOT believe it's been five years! It's incredible to look back over these past five years and see how much he has grown and changed in such a short time. It's also funny to look back and see how much our lives have changed since then......five years, three cars, a move, and oh yeah three kids later, lol!!! WOW!! We are so blessed God chose us to be Brady's parents! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Brady got to celebrate his birthday all day long! He started morning with a "birthday present" and one small gift. I sent cupcakes to school and he got to wear the "birthday hat" and his teacher set aside a special time for his class to help him celebrate. Later that day when he got home, we let him search through the house for a "hidden treasure". He thought that was GREAT! Andy & I laughed at all of the creative places he searched. Then this afternoon Andy cooked out on the grill while the kids and I played in the backyard. After dinner, we had a small cake and then Brady got to open one last present. He was soooo excited all day.....he kept asking, "when do I get to be 6?" I'm hoping that he just enjoyed all the fun and special treatment and that he really doesn't want to hurry up and grow-up so fast!! Oh yeah, just in case you haven't noticed....Brady is really into Star Wars!

Daddy's Home!!

2007-09-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Andy finally made it home from California Saturday afternoon. He's been traveling alot lately......I think he's been home maybe 4 days in the past 3 weeks. We've missed him very much and are sooooo glad to have him home. Ella & Hudson were asleep when we picked him up from the airport, but when they woke up from their naps they both went straight to Daddy and this is how I found them within seconds of waking up.....

I think they all fell back to sleep for another 20 minutes!

San Francisco Pics!!

2007-09-19T20:22:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's taken so long, but here are just a few snapshots of our trip to San Franciso (I think I took close to 400 pictures....trust me I didn't put them all on the slideshow). Andy & went to San Fran over Labor Day weekend. It was so nice spending some time with just the two of us....it's sad to say, but I think that was the first trip - since our honeymoon almost 10 years ago - with just the two of us!!! We've been on several trips here and there, but with friends or family.....so this was a much needed vacation for just the two of us. We had lots of fun sightseeing and just hanging out with each other. We also did a little relaxing.....I'm almost a little embarrassed to say that we were in bed the first night by 8:30 and by 9:30 every other night.....okay, that's sad, I know but it felt GREAT!!! Enjoy the pics!!

Rags Land

2007-09-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a sales rep. for Rags Land children's clothing and am having my trunk shows this week. If anyone is interested and would like to attend a show (for those of you who live in the area) or would like to place an order, just let me know. You can view the clothes at Rags Land website, but I must say they are much cuter in person - for those of you who live nearby.
If you are not familiar with Rags Land they are a children's clothing designer out of Baton Rouge. They offer classis collections, smocked & appliqued rompers, dresses, and everyday knit wear. They also have a cute Thanksgiving & Christmas collection - especially for older boys......I love the "moose" applique tees. Their clothes are of excellent quality and very durable. They wash and wear very well. My kids are very "rough' on their clothes.....and I have been extremely pleased with the way Rags Land holds up to their everyday roughness, wear, and tear! Please leave me a comment or email me with any questions!

I'm Back!!

2007-09-04T19:55:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Things have been very hectic around the Cruthirds household. Andy has gone to work for a new company called Conceptus (it's still medical/surgical sales.....just a different type of product). Anyway, he's been traveling ALOT lately, and I've been very busy trying to keep things running somewhat smoothly around here. Once I get everyone into bed at night and then get things ready for the next day, I'm way too exhausted to even think about blogging. He will be in and out of town for the next few weeks, but hopefully by mid September he will be home and things will begin to get back to normal - whatever that is!!! However, in the midst of all his traveling, we did find some time for just the two of us and went to San Francisco for the Labor Day weekend. Andy was in San Jose last week for training, so I flew out on Thursday to join him and then we headed up to San Francisco for the weekend. Although I missed the kids terribly and cried for the first two days, we had a great time and really enjoyed time with just the two of us!! We got in Monday night around 11:45 so I'm still a little jet lagged, but I'll try to post some pics of the trip very soon!

Big Girl!!!

2007-08-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ella is turning into such a big girl! She thinks she is too big for her highchair and needs to sit at the table with her brothers. She has been climbing out of her highchair lately, so we decided to pull out Hudson's booster seat and give it a try.....she LO VES it!!! She sits with the family at the table and doesn't try to climb out- yeah! These pics are of her eating her supper from a bowl and using utensils for the first time!!! She did pretty good to be 14 months old! She definitely is growing up faster than I'd like for her to!

Happy Birthday Hunter!

2007-08-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

My stepbrother's little boy, Hunter, celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday. They had a "splash" party in the backyard with pools, a slip-n-slide, and outdoor toys galore. All 3 of the kids had a blast!! Ella hung right in there with her big brothers....she was slippin & sliden with the best of them. They were exhausted when we left and were asleep within seconds of us pulling out of the driveway! Happy Birthday Hunter!!

Hunter, The birthday boy!

The Cake!

Hudson slippin N sliden!

Brady slippin N sliden

Hunter relaxing in the pool!

Mary Katharine & Ella

Hudson's favorite toy!

Move Over Emeril!!

2007-08-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Back to School!

2007-08-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

Brady started back to school today. He's in K4 at Park Place Christian Academy. He was so cute this morning when he was getting ready....I was telling him how he was such a big boy and how he gets to move upstairs this year and how much he's going to learn this year. He looked straight up at me with the sweetest look on his face and asked, "I'm I going to learn to read today?" It was soooo precious. He is just so eager to learn! I just hope he stays that way!

We have a new teacher this year, Mrs. Bass. Although his K3 teacher is one of a kind and will always be so dear to us, I really think he's going to have a good year with Mrs. Bass. She seems really sweet and full of energy (which is a big plus for teaching K4). He's growing up way too fast! I still cannot believe that he will be five in September. Someone, please tell me how five years can pass in just the blink of eye!

Jellystone Park

2007-08-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today, some friends and I took our kids to Yogi Bear's Jellystone park which is a campground park on Pelahatchie Lake. It's about 15 minutes from my house and they open their facilities to noncampers as well. It's a nice campground area with a splashground (it's actually a large playground with geysers & slides in a small pool), a zero entry pool, a beach area & lake, paddle-boats, put-put golf, tennis courts, and a gameroom. Not only is this place clean and SUPER kid friendly, but it's also "pocket-book" friendly as well. It's $6 per person (on weekdays, $9 on weekends) and that covers everything!! They have a hay ride through the campground and supply you with water guns to shoot at the campers as they pass by....of course my kids thought that was great! Oh, yeah you can also bring a cooler with your own drinks, lunches, & snacks (once again, pocketbook friendly)! If you live in the area, I highly recommend you try it out.....it's definitely the best kept secret around!!! My kids had a blast.....Brady put it best, "tons and tons of water fun!" Needless to say, they were worn out when we left. No kidding, Hudson & Ella were asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot. I was able to get a picture of Ella in her bed once I transitioned her from the car to her crib.....she never budged! Here's some pics from our day!

Macaroni & Cheese, Please!

2007-07-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to post them anyway. I meant to do it right after I took them, but somehow got distracted and then forgot about them. Anyway, I was feeding the kids lunch one day and walked out of the kitchen and into the laudry room to start a load of clothes (we're talking about maybe 15 feet from my kitchen). About 3 minutes later when I returned to the kitchen this is how I found Hudson:

So I walked into the kitchen and said, "Hudson, what are you doing?" His reply was, "Look at me Moma, I'm being silly!" I asked if his mac-n-cheese was too hot and he said "nope, I'm just being silly." He was actually standing in the refrigerator eating his macaroni & cheese, but the best part was he had no utensils.....just eating straight from the plate with his mouth!! Gotta love a kid who likes bring a little humor to the table (oh excuse me, refrigerator). He never ceases to make us laugh!!

Where's Ella?

2007-07-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

Ella has become such a little "busy" body. She is everywhere and into everything!! Her two favorite pastimes seem to be putting whatever she can find in her mouth and climbing into or onto whatever she can find. Now, you would think she would follow her brother's around and do whatever they are doing....but, no it's just the opposite here. Ella will go M.I.A. for a few seconds and then we're off on a mission to find her and see what she's into now. As soon as we find her Brady and Hudson join her in her mischief. Here's a few pics of me catching Ella in a few of her adventures. In the past few days she has started climbing in the toy basket, climbing in the media cabinet, the bathroom cabinet, boxes in Andy's office, and my linen closet! Oh yeah, she even climbed into the shelf of laundry detergent at the store the other day! It's "triple the trouble" at our house....Oh the joys and laughter of three children ages 4 and under!!

Trip to the Aquarium

2007-07-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it's been a while since my last post. Last week we were very busy with VBS/Mini-sports camp at our church. I directed a 4 year old class and Andy helped with the golf mini camp. We had over 1,400 kids in attendance....Praise God!!! While I had a great time at VBS, I was completely exhausted when it was over.....I think I'm still trying to recover!

Jane, Angelle, Me, & Jennifer

Saturday, We took the kids to the Aquarium in New Orleans. We met up with some of my friends from college. We're all spread out across the country now and don't get to see each other as much as we would like to. It was great to visit with the girls and their children. Although, chasing three mobile children around the aquarium didn't allow for a whole lot of visiting time, I did manage to do a little catching up. It's so hard to believe that we've been out of college for nearly 10 years........okay, that makes me feel old!! It seems like just yesterday we were in hanging out in the Pi Phi chapter room and our only worries were an upcoming exam!! Wow! How quickly our lives have changed! It was great seeing everyone and their precious children. We just need to make sure we get together every year!

Trip to the Hub City!

2007-07-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

Andy took the afternoon off and we went to have the kids picture made in Petal. I'm ashamed to say that other than a quick Easter pic and Christmas pic, I've only had Ella's picture made one time, which was when she was 3 months old. I know that's awful of me and I feel terrible. I did so good at having the boys pictures taken at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. I don't know what happened.....I guess it has something to do with her being the 3rd child. Well, I tried to make up for it yesterday. The plan was to have some formal ones made indoors and then head outdoors for some fun outdoor pics of Ella and her big brothers. Well, let's just say things did not go as I had so perfectly envisioned. It started raining about 30 minutes into our drive and didn't let up until about 20 minutes after our session was over. Since Traci's studio is an hour and a half away and I had already made plans to go yesterday afternoon, I was NOT rescheduling. (I know there are lots of good photographers in the Jackson area, but I've been using Traci since Brady was a baby....I wanted Ella to have the same formal picture that I have of Brady & Hudson.) We were just going to make the best of what we had to work with......thank goodness Traci has such an awesome studio and is so creative. Getting three children ages 1, 2, & 4 to cooperate was defninetely a challenge, but they did great and I think she got some pretty good shots. I'll let you be the judge of that....to view go to http://www.tracigoodwin.com/ then chose to view proofs. It will then ask you to login - andicruthirds - and then for my email address - acruthirds@hotmail.com Leave me a comment on which ones are you favorites!

After the pictures, we drove over to Hattiesburg to see our old neighbors and dear friends Dawn, Ashton, & Gentry. They lived next door to us in our very first home! Ashton was 6 and Gentry had just turned 4 when we moved in...they are now 15 and 13! We haven't seen them in a couple of years, so we were completely shocked at how much they have grown! We picked the girls up and then headed to Chuck E Cheese for dinner, our kids needed to get out of the car and run around......a sit down restaurant was not an option for us.......too bad because I sure could have eaten some Crescent City Grill. After Chuck E. Cheese, Dawn was through at work and met up with us at Marble Slab. It was great to catch up with the Dawn and her girls......we miss them so much! Sorry, to all of our other friends who live in Hattiesburg that we weren't able to visit......hopefully we'll be in town again soon and have more time to visit everyone.

Ashton, Dawn, & Gentry

Andy, Gentry, & Ashton

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

We had a very relaxing and uneventful 4th of July. We hung around the house most of the day, which was actually pretty nice....we never get to do that very often. We joined some friends this afternoon for BBQ and swimming at The Club. The weather wasn't the prettiest, but the kids didn't seem to mind.....they still had a blast at the pool. Happy 4th of July to all of you!

Brady & Hudson monkeying around before our trip to the pool!

Brady's got this swimming stuff down pat!!

Ella taking a little "prance" around the pool!

Hudson, just being Hudson, relaxing in pool!

Kelly & Justin come to visit

2007-07-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Kelly & Justin, came to visit this weekend. Kelly and her sister, Shelby, use to cheer for me when I was teaching and coaching in Hattiesburg. Andy and I became good friends with their family......they were like our second family. Kelly's now a senior at USM majoring in Elementary Education and Justin recently graduated from USM school of nursing (first in his class I must add). Justin had to take his nursing boards in Jackson on Saturday, so they came to stay with us for the weekend! We had a GREAT weekend.....lots of fun and laughs!!! The kids had so much fun with Kelly and Justin.....Sunday morning Brady woke up and asked if they could spend one more night. While Justin was taking his boards on Saturday, we drug Kelly to a swim birthday party at the YMCA. She was a such big help with the kids (thanks Kelly). They are such a great young couple. They are much more mature than Andy & I were at their age. Sometimes I forget that they are in their early twenties. Justin is already back in school taking classes so he can apply for medical school......we're hoping he is accepted to UMC and will be moving here soon!! After this weekend, they may be having second thoughts about moving so close to us.......I think they left here reassured that kids were no where in their near future! Thanks for a fun weekend Kelly & Justin. Best of luck, Justin,with your boards and your classes for Med School!

Kelly & Ella - instant friends

Brady, Hudson, & Justin- playmates for life!

Aren't they sweet!

Like father, Like son!

Splish, splash!

2007-06-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Ahh.....rub-a-dub-dub....three clean kids in the tub!!

Once again it was very quiet in my house......this is why!!

Hudson's response: "I was helping you, Mommy.....I cleaned the mirror, my hands, and my feet. See mommy.....we're all clean!"

Good Bye, Farewell, & Best of Luck!

2007-06-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well, We've always known this day was coming....but never did we think it would get here so soon! The Freemyers' have said "goodbye" and made their move to Texas. "Who are the Freemyers?", some of you may ask. Well, they were our neighbors across the street, but they are more than just neighbors. They have become dear friends to us. Kristi and I have spent many, many hours sitting on one of our porches visiting while our kids ran around and played. They moved in just a few weeks before we did and our kids became friends instantly! We knew the first day we met them that they were only here for a short while. Vincent, excuse me, Dr. Freemyer, was doing his residence in ER at UMC. Their intentions were to finish residency and move back to San Antonio.........our intentions were to convince them to stay.....we'll that didn't work. Vincent graduated from his residence program on Friday (Congratulations Dr. Freemyer!!) and they loaded the U-haul and headed for San Antiono on Saturday. We will miss them dearly.....the first thing Brady asked is "Mom, who will we play with now?" My heart just broke when he asked me that. They have played together almost everyday for the past two years. Hudson wanted to know where was Emma and when was she coming home! Poor baby, he's too young to understand the whole concept of moving to another state. Their house has not sold yet, so we are just praying that God will bless us again with more wonderful neighbors and friends.
Brynn, Ashlyn, Ella, and Darci saying "good-bye"

Goodbye to the Freemyers!

I tried to find some pics of the kids playing together over the past two years, and I guess I never had my camera while they were playing. Krisit and I were too busy running our mouths (I know so many of you are soooo suprised!!) Here's a little slide show of what I did find:

One Year Check-up

2007-06-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ella had her one year check-up today! She had a great check-up and appears to be very healthy!! We're still battling some reflux issues, but nothing major. We just have to put her back on her prevacid for a little while. I was hoping we'd be over that by now, but what I thought was a cough and congestion appears to be reflux. It doesn't seem to bother her - thank goodness! We went in thinking we were getting 3 vaccinations, but much to our suprise we only had to get 2 - yippie!! She didn't have to get the chicken pox vaccination because she had a pretty good case of the chicken pox when she was 4 months old! She did great with the shots....she only cried for a few seconds and then was back to her cheerful, happy self!! Thank goodness she's turned out to be such a happy, healthy little girl.....she sure didn't start off that way! Here 's a quick look how much she's grown in the past year:

12 Months:

Weight - 20 lbs (50th percentile)
Length - 29 1/4 in. (90th percentile)
Head - 17 1/4 in. (20th percentile)

6 Months:

Weight - 14 lbs. 14 ozs (25th percentile)
Length - 26 1/2 in. (75th percentile)
Head - 16 1/4 in. (10th percentile)

Birth:

Weight - 7 lbs. 12 ozs
Lenth - 19 1/2 in.
Head - 13 in.

We're not use to those 25th & 50th percentiles....the boys were always way off the charts!!! I kept asking her doctor, are you sure nothing's wrong with her? She assured me that she was fine....she is just a petite little girl!!

Look, I've grown this much!

I'm tough. I've got big brothers.....shots won't hurt me!

Happy Birthday Ella!!

2007-06-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Ella's first birthday was Thursday, June 14th. I cannot believe a year has already passed. I know I say this all the time, but WOW time really does fly!! It seems like just yesterday we were battling those crazy days of COLIC!! (Okay, I'm so glad that time has flown by and we are way beyond that.) But really....it's like I went to bed one night and she was 10 weeks old and then I woke up the next morning and it was her first birthday!!!! How does that happen??? She's growing up way too fast!!

June 14, 2006

June 14, 2007

We celebrated today with a little party at our house. Ella was so precious and had so much fun at her first birthday party! It was like she knew it was "all about her". She was interested in everything that was going on around her......especially the presents. I don't remember Brady or Hudson being that interested in opening their gifts on their first birthday. Here are a few pics for Ella's party!

Nine Years!

2007-06-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Andy and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, June 13. WOW!! I still can't believe it's already been nine years. We celebrated with a nice dinner out and then a trip to Target (I know it's not very romantic, but hey we didn't have any kids with us and I had to get diapers and apple juice!!). We ended the night with ice cream from Marble Slab. It was nice to be out with Andy and actually be able to talk and enjoy our meal. I have the most wonderful husband in the world!! He is so thoughtful and always very helpful with the kids. I tried to reflect upon the past nine years and what we have experienced. Here's just a quick list of what we've been through:

Lived in 4 different cities (Brandon, Hattiesburg, Gulfport, Biloxi)
8 different job changes between the two of us
Purchased 3 homes (one we built)
Purchased 4 vehicles
Adopted a dog (our first child - Mollie)
Had 3 children within four years
Hurricane Katrina (Andy's parent's home was severely damaged & several of our friends and family members lost their homes)
Experienced the loss of Andy's dad

Those are just the experiences that have had the most impact on our lives and our marriage. Everyday has not been fun nor easy, but we have grown closer through our experiences. I'm so blessed to have a husband who loves and values his family and makes us his number one priority. I can honestly say that every decision Andy has ever made, he has put me and my feelings first as he made his decision. Thank you Andy for the past 9 years.....You are such an amazing husband!! I love you!

June 13, 2007

order="0" />
June 13, 1998

Could someone get us a Dentist, Please!!!

2007-06-12T20:20:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I couldn't resist!! We went to our friend Hatcher's birthday party on Saturday and in the goody bags were these "lovely" bubba teeth. Of course my boys (and husband) thought they were the greatest things ever!! I'm not kidding....they wore them all day. Andy even drove around with them in his mouth and when we pulled up next to people at a red light he would just look over at them and Smile!!! I must admit, it was pretty funny!! I tried to use the teeth to my advantage and let the kids know that if you eat too much "junk food" or 'sugary snacks" that's what your teeth will really look like....of course, my kids think the teeth are funny. So I'm not so sure if that was a good idea or not.