Char-la-stin: The Finale

We loved being together.  I am sad that Uncle Laura is not in this picture . . . and that Anna’s face is totally shaded, and that my boys are nowhere near smiling, and that we are all squinting . . . oh well!

 

Our last day on the beach was great . . . and busy!

Someone had a boo boo on his knee so we had to lose the bathing suit!

Meet our pet:  Crabbie.

Crabbie, in my opinion, is fortunate to be alive.  The boys “checked on him” and did status updates throughout the day.  They also tried to protect him from the 1200 people who walked by us and tried to throw our sand crabbie into the ocean (Sand crabbies do not swim in the ocean).

Our last day was a day of purpose . . . 

Of asking lingering questions:  Bumpa, where those waves go?

And, of being quite sad that our trip was coming to an end . . .

But, when we think of the fun we had, it makes us smile . . .

Hey chubby watermelon!

Chomping on her giraffe!

And, another beach diggin’ project

Lately, when they do something together, the boys will scream “TEAM WORKKKKKKKK!”  :)  Hilarious!

I love these chubby fingers and toes!

Hey big Beach Bunny!

And, Home.  This was my Easter morning picture attempt.  It did not go well.

Hud’s generous kiss almost knocked his Sis onto the floor.  I caught her with my foot.  Talk about coordination!

Oh, and Mr. Precious.  In his finest.  I adore this boy, despite the fact that he calls everyone by name but me. 

And, we’re back to the ole grind . . . grabbing baby by the hair and chomping down on her pig tail!

Uncle Chris-to-pherrrr and “Uncle Yar-wa,” thank you so much for having us in Char-la-stin.  It was a wonderful week!  The boys still ask about you daily and wonder if you are going to show up everywhere we go.  We love and miss you both!  Y’all come and see us!  (Seriously, I can use your help!)

Life as we know it (in cell phone pics)

Today is one of those days.

Little Miss and Hudsey were up multiple times in the night for some reason. By the time morning came, and I had the presence of mind to check her diaper, I realized she had soaked through multiple layers of clothes and blankies. Poor baby. No wonder she was awake so much! After that, she gave her daddy a good morning gift of a diaper that went up her back, and right before he was about to go to work, she spit up on his shirt. :) Then, at our Bible Study, I almost won Mother of the Year by accidentally catching her chub into her paci clip. It was painful for me, very painful for her, and also painful for the 90 women who wondered why I was torturing my small child. {Note: She did not bleed, and she forgave me almost immediately. :)}

This is our leaning tower of Anna!

Hudsey has really decided to become artistic and two days in a row, he has drawn on himself with a pen. Yes, I took the pen from him, and yes, he got it back anyway while I was tending to his sister. I have a small creeping concern about Hudson and body art/tatoos at this point in time.

This one is giving me an extra dose of rascal these days. Yesterday, he told me he wanted to poop on my “yeg.” UM, NO. {remember, they think that poop stories and jokes are hilarious! However, I do not.} He still cries every time anyone even mentions Daddy working . . . and, he is especially sad at night and in the morning when he realizes Daddy is gone. This boy’s love for his Daddy runs DEEP. I think an office fieldtrip is in order, so he can catch a glimpse of Daddy’s office life and see him “at work.”

William refused to wear clothes or a diaper for about 8 minutes today. I eventually convinced him that Naked Jay Birds are not allowed to eat breakfast or get in the car. Good thing summer is coming, right? :) Last night, we had the following conversation:

W: Mommy, you like oranges?

Me: Yes, I like oranges. They taste good!

W: I try the oranges. They are YUCKY. I not like them. YUCKY.

Me: Okay, thank you. {what do i do with this child?}

After Bible Study today, Hudson was laying down in the middle of the hallway instead of walking like a normal human being and therefore causing the 90 women and their 110 children to hurdle him. Well, Brother was oblivious to this and tripped over Hudsey’s feet and busted his lip. Fat lip and “bweeding,” too. {Note: I am not a fan of the way his eye looks in this picture. I think it is distorted because I am holding his face. BUT, that does remind me to ask you to pray: We increase William’s dosage again today for the medication. Please pray for Jesus to continue healing William’s eye. Pray against complications, pray for health for William, for patience as we have to have another blood draw this Thursday, and for peace for the mama. :) Thank you!}

When we got home, I was getting sweet Sissy Loula Lou out of the car, and the boys had instructions to take off their shoes and go upstairs to their room. Instead, the boys pulled all of my flowers out of my flower pots. After naps, they will help me put them back into the pot. Their love for digging is a wee bit destructive.

This is Sissy . . . I think she grabbed her Elephant and fell asleep in the midst of playing with her and her toys. She is so sweet!

Also, last week, I found a hamburger in the warming drawer of my oven. It had been there for over two weeks. Something is wrong with my brain, I think. I’m wondering if we should stick to a strictly take-out dinners diet. :)

Someone asked me today if I have a Mother’s Helper lined up for the summer. I laughed and said no. But, after realizing we have about 4 more days of school and 2 more days of Bible Study (which provides amazing childcare for my babes) for the semester, I think that a Mother’s Helper may be in order . . . for my sanity, if nothing else!

why we love weekends . . .

{do you see hudson holding his daddy’s hand above hatch’s head?  precious!}

only 4 more days . . . 

Char-la-stin: Round 3 (Beach Babes)

Spending my days on the beach may be one of my most favorite things of all time.  Now that the boys are at an age where they really really love to play, the beach is so much fun.  I mean, there are miles and miles of sand that provide great opportunity for both diggin’ and runnin’.  What’s not to love?

We had many a lunch on the beach while in       Char-la-stin, and here is one of the cuter times!

It was Uncle J’s idea to bring Wago, and having Wago on the beach was a huge hit!

Little Miss also had a ball!

Having two babies at once didn’t provide for many naps on the beach when the boys were little . . . chaos always ensued and naps were taken indoors.  So, having Little Miss snoozing in the stroller right beside me on the beach was just heavenly!

 

My lovely view! 

Anna loved the beach!  She is just so adorable!  We loved playing with her—William and Hudson would come and pop his head into her stroller to check on her and give her a sandy smooch.  Precious!

Our chubby watermelon!

Oh, my heart!  I just adore this sweet face! 

And, the eyelashes . . . oh, the eyelashes!

Checking out the view!

Posing!

This afternoon, Charlie was especially snuggly with his Uncle Ju-Dah.  It was so adorable!

Little Miss loved the entertainment! Although we all enjoyed relaxing on the beach, it was really a “working vacation” for the boys! {These boys are playing with the best sand toy ever.  Thank you, Sugie!}

Daddy helped the boys work . . .

 

And, they did a lot of work together, too!

I love their expressions!

Wild man!

We found lots of treasures at the beach this year!

And, tiny crabbies . . .     

And, there were lots and lots of starfish, much to the boys’ excitement!

Yook, Daddy!  Did you see dat?

Oh, how I love a sleeping beach baby!

After a great day on the beach, we had a MUCH anticipated visit with our friends, the Caldwells!  The Caldwells lived in Richmond several years ago, and they ended up being on vacation at Isle of Palms while we were there!  Anna and sweet Gaines are about 5 weeks apart, and we were so anxious for them to meet!

The outdoor shower became a big play area for our boys . . . 

 

Don’t we all want our outdoor showers to have a nice peep hole?  Seems fitting, right? 

I see you!

We were hysterically laughing while trying to get this picture taken . . . wrangling all of these boys was a hoot!  The crazy part is that none of us had children when we met . . . in less than four years, Mary DuPre and I have had a total of SIX children and FIVE of them are boys!  WHOO!  Watson turns 4 in June, Trib turned 2 in March, our boys are almost 2.5, Anna is 6 months and Gaines is 5 months.  OH, how I wish we lived closer!  We could just lock ourselves in one of our houses and let the chaos ensue!  We love and miss y’all, Caldwells!  Come see us!