A Day in the Life of the Williams

Philip Update

2009-11-05T20:36:00.000-06:00

Since it's been forever since I've posted to the blog, I thought I would just summarize what's been going on with Philip and then do a few other posts to hit the highlights of the last couple of months.

Since the last post Philip has become an excellent sitter and can go from lying down to sitting up all by himself.

He has started baby Bible class. This is a picture of him on his first day.

He has also learned to pull-up and can stand up at some of his toys to play.

He's also learned how to make a mess.

Most recently he has started trying to cruise a little and has mastered the army crawl. He'll even let go with one hand in order to reach something he wants. Unfortunately at this rate he might be walking sooner than I wanted. We'll just have to wait and see.

This last pic is just because I don't think you can get a picture without him smiling!

Big Socks

2009-11-05T20:32:00.002-06:00

Matthew decided he needed to wear "big socks". Don't know where he got this from but he wanted them pulled up as far as they would go. Not necessarily my style choice but oh well.

Trunk or Treat and Halloween

2009-11-05T20:26:00.003-06:00

The week before Halloween we went to a trunk or treat. Matthew had the most fun throwing rocks in the water of a ditch. He wouldn't wear his costume (at least he had on his Halloween shirt) and didn't even want to stay for the trunk or treat part. We barely made it past dinner. Therefore I went home with all my candy; not a good thing.

Halloween was no different for the costume. He wouldn't wear it (it was Superman by the way) and Philip only kept his on for about 15 minutes (he was a dinosaur). However Matthew loved the trick or treating part. Everytime he finished at one house he would take off running and yell let's go to the next house. Forgot my camera so no pics but I don't guess it matters since they didn't wear their costumes anyway.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-05T20:12:00.004-06:00

This year Grandma, Melanie and AJ attended the Pumpkin Patch with me and Matthew. Todd stayed home with Philip because he was getting over an ear infection. It was VERY muddy but the kids had a great time anyway. Here are a few pics from the day.

Looking at the animals.

Photo op.

Climbing Hay Mountain.

The hay ride.

Finding the perfect pumpkin.

My Little Pisces

2009-08-14T21:24:00.002-05:00

Found this onesie on clearance at Gap. Had to have one for my little man. Too cute.

Using the Highchair

2009-08-14T21:21:00.001-05:00

Philip is sitting up better every day. He sits well enough now that he can have his meals in his highchair.

Just hangin out....

2009-08-14T21:18:00.001-05:00

in the Excer-Saucer. And yes Matthew still likes to sit in it. He will however allow Philip to sit in it...sometimes.

Matthew's First Movie

2009-08-14T21:13:00.003-05:00

I decided to take Matthew to see his first movie a few weeks ago. We were going to see Ice Age. We get our tickets, our popcorn and Sprite and found us some good seats. I think we made it a total of 20 minutes before we had to leave. First the sound came on showing off the sound system. That was REALLY loud and he did not like that at all. I told him to wait for the movie to start and maybe it wouldn't be so loud. It was a little softer but then he got scared first by a mammoth running across the screen but the final straw was when a lion came jumping out of a bush to attack a gazelle. That was it we left. We'll just have to try again another time.

Random Facts

2009-07-11T20:43:00.003-05:00

*The only toy Matthew likes Philip to play with is this one butterfly; he tries to steal every other toy from him. Matthew will say Philip wants the butterfly and Matthew wants the (insert any other toy).

*Matthew likes to help feed Philip his cereal.

*I think Philip is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen. He always has a smile for everyone. Such a charmer.

*Better watch out; Matthew likes to try and pick Philip up. One time he wrapped his arms around Philip and said "I'll get him Mommy." I said no thanks, I'll take care of it.

*Whenever Matthew wants to play something with me and Philip is awake, Matthew will say are you ready to bowl Philip or are you ready to race cars Philip. So sweet of him to want to include Philip.

*Todd's nickname for Philip is peanut. Matthew has picked up on it and goes around calling Philip "peanutty" and sometimes just "peanut". Sounds cute coming out of Matthew's mouth.

*Philip is rolling around like crazy now. If you put him on the floor you better watch out.

*Philip had oatmeal for the first time yesterday. He seems to like it too; next week we are going to try bananas and peaches.

*Matthew has decided all of a sudden that he wants to dress himself. He's getting pretty good at it. Don't try to help him though or you'll start WWIII.

*Matthew recognizes around 40-50 words now. We've been working on sight words recently. I really think he'll be able read through a "first reader" by the end of the year at this rate.

*It's fun to watch Matthew's vocabulary expand and to hear new sentences. The other day I went upstairs to get Philip up from his nap and Matthew yelled after me "Wait on me Mommy!" Todd didn't think it was as cute as I did; must be a mommy thing.

*Matthew's newest chore is to feed Luke his lunch. He loves scooping out the dog food and taking it to Luke.

*Matthew loves to cook right now and loves to help make things in the microwave. I think mainly he loves pushing the buttons.

*Matthew is finally over his waffles for breakfast (he's probably eaten waffles for breakfast for nearly a year). Now the daily breakfast is a biscuit with strawberry jelly and 2 pieces of bacon.

*Matthew has finally started "trying" foods again. He may not like all of them but at least he's willing to try again.

*Matthew has developed the disgusting habit of picking his nose. He has also developed the habit of picking his brother's nose if needed :)

We'll end on that note.

The Football Player

2009-07-10T13:25:00.002-05:00

Todd has been taking Matthew out to the Pelham High School football field lately for some football practice and to run a couple of laps around the track. They usually run a 1/2 mile. Matthew loves running around; it's a big open space for him to roam in. Todd even has him running the football in for touchdowns. If Matthew doesn't end up liking sports it won't be Todd's fault. He's always doing something sporty with him.

Hopscotch

2009-07-10T13:19:00.002-05:00

I took Matthew outside one afternoon to play with his sidewalk chalk. I thought we would make a hopscotch board. Well it probably turned out to be the world's longest because Matthew just kept wanting to add more squares. He liked putting the numbers in them. We ended up with 21 only because I ran out of room. Otherwise it would have been longer.

Mommy and Philip watching Matthew play hopscotch...

Playing with the chalk...

Hopping along sort of...

Matthew the Dog

2009-06-27T20:01:00.002-05:00

I bought a storage container for our dog food the other day while I was reorganizing our pantry/laundry room. Matthew loves it for some reason. He likes to scoop up the dog food with the measuring cup but for some reason today he decided to sit in it. He also tried to eat a piece of dog food and tried to drink some of Luke's dog water through a crazy straw (yuck!) We had to put the water bowl up for awhile.

The Bowling Tournament

2009-06-27T19:56:00.002-05:00

Today Todd and Matthew bowled in their first ever father/son bowling tournament. Matthew was ready to go when he got up. He kept saying "ready to go bowlin; ready to go bowlin". The child is obsessed with the game. They bowled 3 games and Matthew even got a strike. They didn't win but I know he had a great time.

Taking a break...

Matthew in action...

Philip's First Bowl of Cereal

2009-06-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

This morning I made Philip his first bowl of rice cereal for breakfast. It will take a few more trys for him to completely figure out the spoon thing but he was opening his mouth for more after he figured out what we were doing. Can't beleive it's already time to start the solid foods. They grow so fast.

4 Month Old Stats

2009-06-25T10:27:00.002-05:00

Philip turned 4 months old on Saturday and we took him for his 4 month checkup yesterday. Here are is stats:

Weight - 13lbs 10.5oz (45%)
Height - 25.5in (75%)
Head - 16.5in (50%)

The doctor said he was growing well and was meeting all his milestones (i.e. rolling over, smiling up a storm, found his feet, holding and reaching for objects).

He also said we could start with the solid foods if we wanted; so I think today I'll make him a yummy bowl of rice cereal. Picures to follow.

The Mohawk

2009-06-20T21:32:00.002-05:00

Thursday night after I gave Philip his bath I must have waited too long to take the towel off of his head. This is what his hair looked like. A natural mohawk. I left it that way because it was too cute. Had to get a picture of it tonight though before I gave him his bath.

Merry Christmas

2009-06-18T20:28:00.002-05:00

Today while I was at Toys R Us I thought I would look for some Christmas presents (I said I was going to start early this year). Matthew found a marble maze/racer where you can put the marbles in and they go through a series of ramps and loops. I thought this is perfect for him (he'll stand at the McWane center at that maze for literally hours watching it). It was only 20 bucks and I had my 15% off coupon so I decided to go ahead and get it and save it for Christmas. I highly underestimated Matthew's toy memory skills. I've always been able to put things away until now. As soon as he woke up from his nap he was asking for the "balls". I told him "let's wait until daddy gets home and then we'll get the balls out". I was assuming he would get busy doing something else and forget. Well as soon as Todd gets home the first thing Matthew does is go up to Todd and ask for that toy. So Merry Christmas Matthew in June!

Miracle

2009-06-18T20:25:00.004-05:00

Both of the boys fell asleep on our way home from Toys R Us this afternoon. I was actually able to get both of them in the house and put down without them waking up. Of course the peace and quiet didn't last long. Matthew was up within 10 minutes but at least Philip slept long enough for me to get dinner made.

ATTENTION

2009-06-18T20:23:00.002-05:00

Matthew and Todd will be in their first father/son bowling tournament on Saturday June 27th at 9:00am at Oak Mountain Lanes in Pelham. Actually Todd and Matthew are there right now practicing. We'll keep you informed on how the tournament turns out.

Painting

2009-06-18T20:16:00.001-05:00

I bought Matthew some new paint supplies the other night. He LOVES to paint right now whether it's with finger paints or his paintbrushes. Thank goodness they make washable paints. Makes my life so much easier.

Play Doh Time

2009-06-15T21:01:00.004-05:00

Matthew loves his Play Doh. He especially loves to make a snake family (baby, mommy, and daddy snakes) with spots. Today he also made a mutant catepillar. Here are some pictures of our creations.

Just a sweet picture of my boy...

2009-06-15T20:58:00.001-05:00

Sitting Up - Well Kind Of

2009-06-15T20:51:00.002-05:00

Philip LOVES to sit up as my mom found out this past week while she was here. Everytime she would hold him and try to have him lean back he would raise himself back up to a sitting position. He can't sit up for long but I do believe he will be sitting like a pro before he hits the 5 month mark.

What do you do on a rainy Saturday afternoon?

2009-06-13T14:43:00.001-05:00

Play in it I suppose...

We've begun the gnawing stage....

2009-06-13T14:41:00.001-05:00

Decatur Trip

2009-06-13T14:36:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday we all made the trip up to Matt and Lisa's house for a big birthday celebration for Nancy and Matt. The kids had a great time playing in the pool and I'm pretty sure all the adults enjoyed the spread of food. I know I did; especially the dessert table.

Getting Ready

2009-06-02T16:12:00.002-05:00

Today I've been getting the house ready for our photography session tomorrow. We'll be having Philip's 3 month, Matthew's 3 year, and our family portrait taken. The photographer we've chosen only does "on-location" sessions and since Philip is still so little she said it would probably be best to hold the session at our house. I hope things go well and we get at least 1 good family portrait. I think it will all depend on our boy Matthew. Pray that he is in a good mood and will cooperate. Luckily she prefers more natural shots so that should be in our favor. If you want to take a look at some of her work you can go to www.abernathyphotographics.com

AJs 1st Birthday Party

2009-05-31T21:32:00.005-05:00

AJ's birthday isn't officially until June 10th but since we were all together at the beach we decided to celebrate his birthday while we were there. It wouldn't have been a beach trip without birthday cake anyway since we've always celebrated someone's birthday while at the beach. Can't believe he is already 1 year old. They change so much over the first year. Compare the photos from his true birthday and 1 year. Can't wait to see what year 2 brings.

2009 Yarbrough Family Beach Trip

2009-05-31T21:16:00.002-05:00

We headed down to the beach on Thursday with all of the family in tow. This of course was Philip's and AJ's first beach trip since we were hurricaned out last year. Philip spent a little time at the beach but was up in the condo most of the time. AJ wasn't quite sure about all the sand and water but didn't mind hanging out on the beach chairs under the umbrellas. Matthew of course was in heaven. There was unlimited dirt and water. What more could a boy ask for. I tried to get him in the swimming pool but he didn't seem to fond of it so we just stayed down at the beach pretty much all day except for a lunch break. Matthew conked out both afternoons while we were getting ready for dinner. All that playing was very tiresome. Can't wait till next year when Philip can actually get out and play. Here is a slideshow with some of our pics.

Caught Up

2009-05-27T22:44:00.001-05:00

I have finally caught you up on our lives. Tomorrow we leave for the beach for our annual "Yarbrough" family trip. Hopefully I'll have some good pictures to share.

Mother's Day Art

2009-05-27T22:42:00.002-05:00

I let Matthew finger paint some artwork for Mother's Day. It was his first experience with finger painting. He loved it and asks to paint quite often now.

The Little Gardner

2009-05-27T22:21:00.003-05:00

Earlier this spring I bought some plants to put in the planters on the deck. I thought this would be a fun project for Matthew and I during one of Philip's naps. I figured he would get bored after the first planter or two (we had 5 to plant) but he had fun the entire time. He just had to take a juice break about halfway through. Other than that he truly enjoyed putting the dirt in the planters, placing the plants, and watering them. He was even ready to go the next day with his gardening set but we didn't have anything left to plant. Here are some photos from the day.

Preschool

2009-05-27T22:17:00.002-05:00

Went and toured the Montessori school off Hwy 119 this morning. It was great and Matthew loved the classroom. Unfortunately they only offer a 5 day a week, half day program for 3 year olds and after I saw the tuition rate ($481/month can you believe that?)I decided we were too poor to attend this school :( Too bad; I think Matthew would have loved it and would have learned tons. We'll just have to keep looking.

Rico

2009-05-17T21:42:00.004-05:00

The newest member of our extended family is Scott and Addie's dog Rico. They brought him down to mom's house when Melanie and I were there. Matthew of course loved him and wanted to harass him continually. Luckily Rico got in a little harassing of his own as you can see from this video.

Visit to Grandma's House

2009-05-17T21:17:00.004-05:00

In the middle of April, Melanie took a few days off from work and we all headed to Grandma's house with the grandbabies. We had a fun week: Matthew played with AJ, the neighbor dogs Bo and Sally, played piano with Grandma, and too many other things to mention. Here are a few pics from our visit.
AJ fights naps with the best of them...

Hanging out on the deck with Bo and Sally...

Such a cutie...

Can you tell Philip is a little leary of his big brother?

Just hanging out...

Learning to play the piano...

Easter at the Hendrixs

2009-05-17T20:58:00.003-05:00

Finally the last Easter post. On Easter Sunday we spent lunch as has become our tradition at Jennifer and Chris' house. Every year several of the families with young kids at church go to their house for Easter lunch (which includes Lawlers barbeque ham; yummy)and an Easter Egg hunt. As usual it was a fun day for the adults and kids. Matthew actually hunted for a few eggs but once he saw the baseballs and basketballs his attention was quickly diverted.

Easter 2009 Family Photos

2009-05-17T16:04:00.004-05:00

Here are pictures of the boys and of us on Easter morning. Both Matthew and Philip look so handsome in their Easter outfits.

Our First Family Photo

2009-05-17T16:02:00.003-05:00

I know it took forever (about 1 1/2 months) to get a picture of the 4 of us together but Matthew just wasn't into posing with his brother before now.

Matthew the Runner

2009-05-17T15:08:00.003-05:00

The Saturday after our Easter party Todd took Matthew to his first road race. Todd ran the half mile fun run with Matthew. In order to keep Matthew focused, Todd had to make a game out of the run. They played chase daddy where Todd would run backwards while Matthew chased him. Matthew placed 19th out of 19 runners but he was the youngest of the group. Matthew got a medal for finishing the race and a little frisbee too. Matthew is so proud of his medal; he likes to wear it around the house sometimes.

2nd Annual Easter Party

2009-04-29T21:51:00.006-05:00

This year I hosted my 2nd annual Easter Egg Hunt for the preschoolers at church. It was definitely more challenging trying to prepare for a party with a second child to take care of but I can't wait until next year so that Philip can actually participate. But all the work was worth the effort. We had another great turn out this year. We had a great lunch and let the kids play for awhile before some of the moms hid the eggs in the backyard. All of the kids were excited about hunting eggs except Matthew. He preferred to play in his sandbox. Maybe he'll get into it next year. I suppose what is important is that he had a good time.

Matthew's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-04-29T21:40:00.003-05:00

I can't believe Matthew is already three years old. Time really does fly by when you have kids. This was the first year Matthew actually got into his party. He actually opened some of the presents and tried to blow out his candles. This was also the first year we invited some of his friends from church. He had a great time and I look forward to year number 3 with my sweet little boy. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Thomas the Train

2009-04-11T21:15:00.003-05:00

The day before Matthew's birthday I took him to see Thomas the Train in Calera while my Mom kept Philip. We went last year and he had so much fun that I decided to take him again. I guess we'll have to make it an annual tradition because I think he enjoyed it even more this year. His favorite part of the day was playing putt putt golf. I think we spent 90% of our time doing just that. He was a little OCD about it too. I showed him how each one was numbered up through 7. After that he had to go in numerical order. He refused to skip around even if it meant he had to wait. Each time he completed the course he would put up his ball and get another color and do the whole course over again. It was pretty fun to watch. We'll have to take him to a putt putt course when we go to the beach in May. Besides putt putt he jumped in the big blow up thing, we rode the train, had some lunch and got a pink dog ballon made for us at one of the tents. All in all a great day.

Mud Puddles

2009-04-11T21:08:00.004-05:00

We went to a birthday for Matthew's friend Caroline at the end of March. The party was at Veteran's Park in Hoover. Matthew had fun playing at the playground and eating pizza but at the end of the party I gave in and let him play in the mud puddles (I think it had rained all week prior to the party). He had a blast. He wasn't happy when it was time to leave though. I think we caused some problems though for some of the other moms at the park. At least 4 other little boys tried to go play with Matthew in the puddles but their mom's wouldn't let them. The little boy in one of the pictures tried very hard to go play with Matthew. He tried sneaking over to Matthew at least 4 or 5 times before his mom just decided to take him home since he wouldn't stay out of the water. Poor little boys. I'm sorry they weren't allowed to have as much fun as Matthew at the park.

My Worst Nightmare

2009-04-11T20:59:00.004-05:00

As most Mom's know getting your shower is probably one of the biggest challenges of the day. Since I now had to deal with an infant and Matthew, I had to make sure I had a safe place to keep Philip (see photo of Philip's scratched forehead in last post). His crib was the natural choice since Matthew had never made any attempts to climb into Philip's crib or even his own for that matter. One morning I heard Matthew running down the hall toward Philip's room while I was in the shower. That meant Philip was probably crying. I decided I better hurry and get out of the shower and make sure Matthew wasn't doing anything bad to Philip. To my horror I find Matthew sitting in the crib with Philip. Luckily Matthew was actually being nice to him (believe me when I say he hadn't been very nice to Philip up to this point); he had even given him his paci. Matthew even decided he liked playing footsie with him. I recreated the scene for a photo op since I would never have left Matthew alone with him even just to get the camera.

First Tub Bath

2009-04-11T20:53:00.004-05:00

Philip's first true bath in his tub went pretty well. He didn't cry but I think it startled him when I put him in the water (he threw his hands up in the air like he was saying what's going on!!!) In the last picture you might notice a small scratch on his forehead. That's where Matthew scratched him. Such a sweet big brother.

Proud Big Brother

2009-04-04T22:14:00.002-05:00

Finally about 3 weeks after Philip was born Matthew is starting to slowly warm up to having a baby brother. He's had a hard time adapting to the new addition and has shown more aggression toward him than affection so far. However on March 13th Matthew made a big leap forward when Todd let Matthew hold Philip. He was so proud of himself. Hopefully Philip will continue to grow on him.

Snow Day

2009-04-04T22:02:00.004-05:00

Yes I'm still slowly catching up.
Matthew finally got to see some more snow. His first snow was when he was 9 months old in Ohio and we had about 6 inches or so. His second snow not quite so big and it was almost gone by the time we got back from church. He had fun though throwing snowballs off the deck with Daddy.
I have to say that snow is the only thing I miss about living in Ohio.

Sooo Cute

2009-04-04T21:56:00.003-05:00

I love the way they throw their arms above their head when they sleep. And I feel sooo lucky to finally have a baby that actually likes to sleep (so far anyway). He naps during the day and has a great nighttime schedule. Ever since he has figured out day and night (took about 2 weeks) he has only gotten up twice a night to eat. Which to me is a breeze seeing that Matthew pretty much got up every 2 hours. Hope Philip keeps up the good work.

Self Portrait

2009-04-04T21:41:00.003-05:00

Matthew has really been interested in looking at video and pictures of himself on my camera lately. Several times while I haven't been paying attention he's been using the camera and has (accidentally?) taken pictures of himself. Here's one series that I've put in slideshow format because there were so many.

Do They Look Alike?

2009-04-04T21:36:00.004-05:00

I was looking at some of Matthew's baby pictures from his early days and decided to compare them to some of Philip's pics. I think they definitely favor.

Hospital Visitors

2009-04-04T21:29:00.000-05:00

We had lots of family and friends come by to visit us at the hospital. Almost all of the family was able to come by and see us at the hospital which helped pass the time away. Somehow we didn't end up with any pictures of Todd's family so if anyone has some please pass along. Here are the pictures we do have though of our visitors.

Philip Anderson Williams is Here!!

2009-03-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Thursday February 19, 2009 we left Matthew with Nana at our house and headed to the hospital to check in for our scheduled induction. They started the induction at 7:00 am on Friday February 20th and Philip was officially born at 1:58pm that afternoon. He was 8lbs 4oz and was 20.5 inches long (about the same size as Matthew who was 8lbs even and 20.5 in). This labor was much easier than Matthew's so we started out not being quite as tired. Of course he is adorable and a sweet addition to our family.

Valentine's Playdate

2009-03-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

We went to our friend Kelly's house for a Valentine's playdate. The kids decorated bags to collect their valentines, played outside (it was actually warm that day), ate lunch, and had a book swap. All in all it was a fun afternoon.

Matthew's church friends (we are so lucky to have lots of kids his age at church)

The Valentine bags...

The book swap...

It's always fun playing with someone elses toys...

Baby Shower Number 2

2009-03-18T09:00:00.002-05:00

We were lucky enought to have Todd's work family throw us a second baby shower. I never thought we would get this many gifts for a second child. But I'm not complaining. It still takes a lot to get ready for baby number two even if it is a second boy. There were even several thoughtful people who remembered Matthew that day and gave him a couple of gifts too...
The cake...

Matthew enjoying the festivities...

I let Todd open the gifts for this shower...

Playing with his new toys...

Roxanne made us a beautiful blanket...

Baby Shower Number One

2009-03-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

I was lucky enough to have some friends and family plan a baby shower to help welcome baby Philip into the world. We had lots of good food and received lots of wonderful gifts to help fill Philip's nursery. Here are a few pics from the day.
The presents...

The food...

Opening presents...

Me and the hostesses (Tori, Christie, Julie, me, Amy, Kelly, and Jennifer)

My family (Aunt Dot, Melanie, me, and Mom)

More family (me, Christie, Lacy, and Pat)

The things a mom will let their child do...

2009-03-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

in order to get dinner on the table by the time daddy gets home from work. Sometimes your children want your attention when you really don't have the time. So what could entertain a 2 1/2 year old more than playing with an empty yogurt cup in the kitchen sink? Apparently not much. I was able to fix dinner without an interruption :)

Yarbrough Family Christmas

2009-03-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Finally the last of the Christmas blogs. On Christmas Eve we headed to Sulligent for our final family Christmas celebration. As with all the others there was lots of food and presents (mainly for the kids). As usual we had lots of fun and even added a dirty santa game in this year. The hot ticket item came from Melanie: lottery tickets. Very clever gift which ended up with my Mom. I think she ended up with about 12 dollars in winnings. Maybe next year will be different...
Since I took a lot of pictures here too, I'll try to send the rest by Snapfish this week.
The Yarbrough family tree...

Opening presents...

AJ's first Christmas...

Scott and Addie...Getting more loot...

Our Family Christmas

2009-03-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Tree...

The Train Table...

Playing with his new Hot Wheels...

Opening more presents...
This year was the first year Matthew really got into Christmas though he still didn't quite understand it all. But he did have a big smile on his face when he saw his new train table that Santa had left in the living room that morning. He also got a new soccer goal and a Hot Wheels 18-wheeler to store his cars in to name a few things. Because we had to leave for Sulligent by lunch he didn't get to play with his new toys for long but he has certainly enjoyed them all since then.

Some Assembly Required

2009-03-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

One of the fun parts of Christmas this year was staying up late the night before and putting together Matthew's new toys, setting out the presents and filling the stockings. The only major thing to assemble was the train table. I think the hardest part was figuring out how to put the train set together. I look forward to many more of these late Christmas Eve nights getting ready for Christmas morning.
Preparing to build...

The finished product...

Williams Family Christmas

2009-03-15T08:15:00.000-05:00

After we left Avery's party we went to Nana and Papa's for the Williams Family Chirstmas extravaganza. Lots of food and of course lots of presents. It grows every year especially with the addition of the new babies. I think I took a million pictures but I'll post only a few. I'll try to send the others out by Snapfish soon.
The Christmas tree and presents...

Davis riding his new bike...

Avery enjoying her new dress up clothes...

Matthew playing with his new basketball goal...

Enjoying more presents...

Our family...

Avery's Birthday

2009-03-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Big weekend planned. First stop Avery's 3rd birthday party. It was a very rainy day but the kids had fun playing inside and Matthew even took a run through the front yard in the rain. He'd much rather be wet and dirty than nice and clean. I guess that's a boy for you. Here are a few pics I took.
On our way to Athens...

Waiting to blow out the candles...

Eyeing the ballons...

Opening up the presents...

Next stop Williams Family Christmas!

Catching Up

2009-03-14T16:23:00.001-05:00

I'm really behind on the blog thing. So I'm going to try and update as much as I can starting with our Christmas pictures. Hopefully over the next week or so I'll be caught up.

Christmas Pics

2008-12-18T20:33:00.007-06:00

Thought I would share some of our Christmas decoration pics too. The only thing I didn't get out this year was the Dickens village. Just couldn't bear the thought of having to take it down after Christmas. Just way too much work. I already have enough to put up anyway. It seems the decoration pile grows every year.

This year we decided to go with the big fat colored Christmas lights. Matthew loves them. Every morning we have to go turn the tree lights on. If I don't get to it quickly enough he'll do it for me.

The fireplace decor...

We put 1 tree on either side of the window in the dining room.

Had to make the foyer festive too...

Thanks to help from my mom, I was able to get the outside decorated the weekend before Thanksgiving. We fluffed alot of garland attached between 80-90 ornaments to it with florist wire, and finally stranded the lights before attaching to the porch railing. I think in all it took us about 3 hours of steady work to finish it but I think it was worth it. Should also give a shout out to Todd for hanging the icicle lights for me :)

Daddy's Little Helper

2008-12-16T22:03:00.003-06:00

I came home from doing errands on Saturday to find Matthew helping his Daddy rake leaves. Matthew was really working hard with the rake Todd gave him.

The Bama Fans

2008-12-16T22:00:00.002-06:00

Friday night Todd took Matthew to the Galleria to get an autograph from George Teague (I guess that's how you spell it). I personally didn't know who it was but Todd informed me he played for the 1992? championship team. Here is a picture that Todd took of Matthew with George. Sorry it's a little fuzzy.

New Baby Furniture

2008-11-15T19:25:00.002-06:00

Today I bought the crib and dresser for the baby's room. I had looked last weekend at Babies R Us and Storkland and had found a couple I liked. However, I found out that Storkland had a clearance center downtown so I decided to check it out before I made a purchase. And I'm so glad I did. They had one of the exact same crib sets I was looking at at their Vestavia store but at half the price. It was a former floor model. A leg or two on the dresser had a few scratches but they said they would touch it up before delivering it. They are supposed to deliver it on Tuesday. I'm glad I got that out of the way before the Christmas rush starts. Here is a picture I found on the manufacturer's website. These are the two pieces I bought and they are in the finish pictured.

Halloween

2008-11-15T19:10:00.006-06:00

Halloween night we went over to Stacey and Jason's house for trick or treating and a yummy dinner of taco soup (once all of the hard work of collecting candy was done). Matthew got the hang of trick or treating really quickly and had to eat the first sucker he got. At one house he had a lady hold his sucker while he raided her candy bowl. At another house he decided he'd trade his half eaten sucker for new candy and placed his sucker in the candy bowl and grabbed a new handful of loot. He also tried to go in just about every house we went too. After a while though he wanted to be held so it was time to head back and wait on dinner. It was a fun night; we are already looking forward to next year.

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-15T18:48:00.009-06:00

After an afternoon at the pumpkin patch, we headed home so we could get ready for a trunk or treat some of our friends were having at the Indian Springs Town Hall. The most tragic event of the day happened literally 20 minutes before we had to leave. I had made some really cute cupcakes (from scratch no less) and dropped them all over the floor trying to get them to the refrigerator so the icing would set up before we left. It was a very devastating moment. We had to go by Publix on the way and pick up a dessert so we wouldn't show up empty handed. Besides that moment we all had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from our evening.

Playing in the dirt in his turtle costume (minus the hat).

Tried getting a picture of him with Snow White and Rapunzel; he wouldn't stay still long enough.

Literally the only 10 seconds the hat stayed on all night.

On our second hayride of the day.

The turtle costume had to come off. It got in the way of playing football.

Matthew wouldn't sit still long enough to get a picture with the other kids but I managed to get his head in this shot.

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-30T21:06:00.008-05:00

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch at Old Baker Farm last weekend. They were also having the "Cotton Pickin Festival" so it was very crowded. But they did have some extra things going on that they normally don't have: arts and crafts, bluegrass music, Civil War reenactments, and Matthew's favorite the tractor parade. Here are a few pics from the day.

Listening to bluegrass...

Listening to the band play daddy's favorite song "Rocky Top" :)

Exploring the hay maze...

Matthew loved the animals; especially the chickens...

The tractor parade...

Searching for the perfect pumpkin...

Matthew Regressing

2008-10-30T20:59:00.004-05:00

I guess being around a baby makes a toddler regress to the infant state sometimes. We recently went to see my sister and nephew. Matthew played in the bouncer and stole AJ's pacifier (several times) and used it! He hasn't had a pacifier in nearly 5months. He really seemed to enjoy it though.

The New Baby Bedding

2008-10-30T20:54:00.003-05:00

I broke down a few weeks ago and bought the bedding for the baby's room. It was on sale and they had an additional 15% off the sale price the day I went into the store so of course I went ahead and bought it. Matthew really likes it too; he got upset when I put it away.

Matthew Is Nesting

2008-10-30T20:48:00.005-05:00

I thought it was the new mommy that was supposed to start nesting as time for the new baby draws nearer. Apparently Matthew thinks he needed to get a head start too. The other day he found the jumper, baby bathtub and mobile and dragged them all out to play with.

The Big Day...

2008-09-24T16:39:00.006-05:00

Today is the day that every pregnant woman waits for besides birthing day. Today was our ultrasound to make sure the baby was developing properly and to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. Everything looked great; the baby is developing perfectly so far which is always a big relief to hear.
I'll let the pictures tell you the big answer everyone wants to know. I know sometimes it is difficult to see what's in the pictures so I'll try to give a description for each.

This is a picture of the entire baby from head to foot. The head is to the right (facing down) and you can see the spine going to the left with the legs tucked up near the stomach.

This is a picture of the face. A little alien like I know...

This is a picture of the face, a hand, and tummy.

And now what you've all been waiting for... Yes it's another BOY!! And the ultrasound tech said she was 99.999% sure.

We're excited to know that Matthew will have a little brother to play with. Hopefully they'll have some fun times together. Now the hard part...picking out a name. I'll let you know what we come up with.

The worst thing ever...

2008-09-17T22:40:00.006-05:00

happened early Monday morning. I came over to the computer to do something and it just stopped working. I tried turning it back on but kept getting an error message "chip heat sink not detected; startup aborted". About nine months ago the same thing happened and with a little Dell tech support search using my sister's computer I was able to fix the problem with a little Super Glue. When I opened up the computer this time, nothing looked out of place but I tried super glueing another part as a last ditch effort (the other option was replacing the mother board; and I didn't like that option). At first it didn't look like it worked. I went Monday-Wednesday without a computer. I didn't realize how attached I had become to it. I even had to pay some bills the old fashioned way by actually writing a check. I had resigned myself to calling Geek Squad to fix the problem; so tonight I went over to the computer and turned it on so I could write down the error message so I could give it to the repair people. And then miracle of all miracles happened. The computer actually worked. I guess I just needed to let the glue set a little longer. It's amazing what a mommy and some Super Glue can fix :)

16 Week Appointment

2008-09-17T22:40:00.003-05:00

Matthew and I went for my sixteen week checkup last Wednesday. Everything looked good and Matthew did much better this time. He cried alot the first visit because he thought he was going to the doctor. I kept telling him the visit was for Mommy but that didn't seem to help. He didn't cry this time but didn't care too much for the nurse being in the room taking my bloodpressure. However, he always perks up when he gets to hear the heartbeat.
The most exciting part of the visit was getting to schedule my ultrasound. We'll be going back Sept 24th (a week from today) to find out if it's a boy or a girl!

Todd's 40th Birthday Party

2008-09-13T13:58:00.005-05:00

Well he doesn't officially turn 40 until Wednesday but last night I had a suprise party for him since this birthday was such a milestone. Todd was truly suprised when he arrived at the clubhouse which made all the work worthwhile. We had dinner from Leondardos and cake from Edgars. Lots of family, friends, and co-workers came to help us celebrate and make it a fun evening. The most miraculous point in the evening came when Christie and I actually managed to get all 40 candles lit and Todd actually was able to blow them out in one big breath. Congratulations Todd on the big achievement!
I have to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped get everything set up and cleaned up. It took a lot longer to get everything ready than I thought it would!

Suprise Party Slideshow

2008-09-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

Matthew's First College Football Game

2008-09-08T18:51:00.009-05:00

Todd was supposed to write something for this post but since I haven't received anything yet I'm going ahead with it myself.
Last Saturday Todd and Papa took Matthew to his first official college football game and more importantly (for Todd) his first Bama game. Papa came and picked them up and they headed off to Tuscaloosa about 3:00 Saturday afternoon. Nana was kind enough to pack them a tailgate dinner to eat before the game. Sounds like Matthew had a good time and did pretty well sitting there for so long. I guess all the noise from the crowd and the game itself was enough to keep him entertained.

Friday Night Lights

2008-09-08T18:48:00.002-05:00

This past Friday night Todd chose the high school "Game of the Week" for him and Matthew to attend. They went to see Pelham vs Spain Park. I think Pelham won. Anyway Todd's making sure Matthew gets his football training early. Luckily it looks like Matthew likes it.

Sorry...

2008-08-30T20:50:00.003-05:00

for the long drought in blogging this summer. Honestly just didn't feel like doing it while I was sick. I went ahead and caught you up on part of our summer since we didn't do a whole lot nor did I take a lot of pictures.
The only news of note (which I think everyone knows anyway) is that we are expecting baby number two. The due date is February 23, 2009. Most people think it's a girl; the only boy vote so far is from Pat. I personally don't have a feeling either way but we will be finding out in the next 3-5 weeks so I'll let you know what I find out. Thankfully after about 5-6 weeks of "all day" sickness and literally 5 weeks without me cooking a meal I'm feeling better and offically started cooking again last week.

Annual Yarbrough Family Trip

2008-08-30T20:23:00.011-05:00

For the first time in about 10-11 years we did not get to go to the beach for our annual family vacation. Thursday night my brother called and expressed his opinion that he didn't feel like driving into a tropical storm and sitting in the condo all weekend while it rained. So after about a million different phone calls to all the family members we decided to just go north. Thanks to Scott and Addie we ended up in a great house up in the mountains in Blue Ridge, Georgia with a great view. This change in itinerary literally happened the night before we were leaving but everything went smoothly.

There was a waterfall next to the driveway which Matthew could have thrown rocks in all day (and he did).

One day we rode the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad to McCayesville where we had lunch and did some browsing in the local shops before hopping the train back to Blue Ridge.

The other day Scott, Addie, Andy, and Todd went whitewater rafting on the Ocoee while Melanie, Mom, and I took the kids first to the Mercier apple orchard where we stocked up on lots of fresh preserves and apples. After that we took them to Helen, GA. Helen is a little alpine inspired town with lots of little shops and restaurants (probably a better place to visit without children). But we had a good time and found a park for Matthew to play in before heading back.

It was a great trip and we are already looking forward to next year.

Matthew the Gardner

2008-08-30T20:18:00.003-05:00

I bought Matthew a little gardening set from my beach trip in June. He loves to help water the flowers. Unfortunately Mommy was too sick to stay out in the heat most of the summer so Matthew hasn't gotten to use it alot or be outside alot for that matter. Hopefully next summer will be better for him.

Girl's Beach Trip

2008-08-30T20:11:00.005-05:00

Back at the end of June I went to the beach with about 8 other girls from church. We stayed in Sea Grove? near Destin in a beautiful beach house which had it's own pool in the backyard.

The house was only a block off the beach but it rained practically all weekend. I think we had a total of about 1.5 hours of beach time. But that was ok we had plenty to talk about, had many great meals, did some shopping, and during one of the worst thunderstorms had our devotional and singing which we all really benefited from. Here is the only picture I took of some of the other girls that went. I need to request some others from our official photographer Laura.

We've already booked the same place for next year over the same weekend. Can't wait until trip #2.

Williams Playday (from June)

2008-08-30T20:05:00.004-05:00

I baby sat Avery and Davis one day way back in June. They had a great time playing and eating snacks. It's always fun playing with the cousins.

Wearing Mommy's Shoes

2008-06-20T22:45:00.003-05:00

At least they were my running shoes.

Play Date

2008-06-20T22:39:00.002-05:00

We had a play date at our house on Thursday. Everyone arrived about 10:30 and then we let the kids play inside for a while. After lunch we let them play in the kiddie pool and sprinklers. The pool was a hit; they all loved it. Afterward we went back inside for some ice cream. I think all of the kids were exhausted when they left (which was about 2:30). Matthew fell asleep at 3 and took a 2.5 hour nap; which says alot. Mommy took a short nap too. It was a busy day but lots of fun. The mommies got to chat it up while the kids played.

Trouble

2008-06-20T22:31:00.004-05:00

I set up Matthew's computer keyboard so he could play his computer game. One minute he is sitting in the chair playing his game. Then you turn your head for one second and this is what you get.

Going Strong

2008-06-19T21:47:00.003-05:00

I don't know how I got so lucky to have a child who doesn't like to nap. Here's a little snippit of him on a no nap day at about 8:15pm. I guess I should just be happy that he isn't cranky when he doesn't get a nap.

Summer Fun

2008-06-19T21:43:00.002-05:00

I bought Matthew a sprinkler to play in outside since has been so hot. Matthew hasn't even wanted to stay out too long on some of the scorchers. He liked it okay but hopefully he'll like his pool better.

My Little Artist

2008-06-19T21:38:00.004-05:00

I thought I would get Matthew something new to do around the house to occupy his time so I picked up one of those painting books that have the dyes already in the page. All you do is let them dip their paint brush in water and then the water spreads the dyes out on the page. Of course he couldn't sit still long enough to finish it in one sitting. But he did enjoy it and went back to it off and on all day. By the end of the day he had completed his first painting.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-19T19:57:00.006-05:00

I'm pretty behind here so I'm going to try to catch up. On Father's Day I gave the Todd the choice of going out to lunch or a home cooked meal. He chose the home cooked meal and he requested beef tips and rice, green beans, and rolls. It was yummy. We didn't do much but just hung around the house until time for church. I tried to snap a picture of Todd and Matthew to commerate the day but Matthew was having no part of it. This is the series of photos I was able to capture. None of them very good; Matthew is a blur or unhappy.

So Sweet

2008-06-15T20:31:00.002-05:00

Tonight after dinner Todd and I were finishing the kitchen cleanup and Matthew was hovering around my legs. He was babbling some stuff and being kind of whiny like he wanted something. So I told him, "Matthew you know how to talk; just tell me what you need." And he said, "I need mama." It just melted my heart.

Matthew Meets AJ

2008-06-15T15:05:00.008-05:00

Matthew, Todd, Scott, Addie and I carpooled to Chattanooga on Saturday so everyone else could meet their newest nephew/cousin. Matthew wasn't too interested at first but evenutally he enjoyed peeking in on AJ in his Pack-n-Play. After our visit we headed back to Birmingham and ate dinner at Johnny Rays before heading home. Long travel day but lots of fun; and Grandma got to have both of her grandbabies with her for the first time. Here are a few pictures from the day; Matthew wasn't too interested in staying still for the photo op.

Baby Name Change Alert

2008-06-12T20:18:00.003-05:00

Apparently after much thought Melanie and Andy decided that Ryan just did not fit their baby. They kept calling him Ryan but they said it just didn't feel right. They called him AJ (Andy Junior) throughout her pregnancy so they decided to name him Aaron James so that they could nickname him AJ if they felt like it. Luckily they hadn't turned in the paperwork yet; they just filled out another set with the new name. I changed the name in the earlier post to avoid any confusion.

Aaron James Bender

2008-06-11T15:19:00.011-05:00

Tuesday June 10, 2008 Melanie gave birth to little Aaron James Bender at 9:44 am. He was 7lbs 9oz and 19.5 inches long. We think he is going to look more like Andy right now. Here are a few pictures I took at the hospital.

Truck Shirt Update

2008-06-09T21:28:00.003-05:00

Since the last truck shirt post, Matthew has asked about his truck shirt everyday. I had to get it out of the laundry hamper several days and let him wear it around the house a little while. I did forget to pack it for his trip to Nana and Papa's but hopefully he'll forget about it since he's not at home.

First Day at Work

2008-06-09T21:22:00.002-05:00

Well today was my first day at my new consulting job. It was a short day. I was only there for a little over an hour but I did work for another hour or so when I got home. I'll be going in again on Thursday for a more structured day. Since I don't have to go in tomorrow or Wednesday I'm going to head up to Chattanooga. Melanie is being induced tomorrow and I want to see the arrival of my newest nephew who is yet to be named. As soon as I get back I'll post some pictures of the little fellow.
Mattthew I hope you are having fun with Nana and Papa!! See you soon.

Our Little Helper

2008-06-02T20:53:00.003-05:00

For some reason Matthew enjoys putting laundry in the dryer. Let's just hope that he still enjoys it when he becomes a teenager.

The Shirt

2008-06-02T20:45:00.002-05:00

Saturday when we were getting ready for Ben and Lindseys wedding, Matthew came to me with his truck shirt. He kept handing it to me so I finally put it on over his wedding clothes and let him run around in it until we left. Then Sunday he got it out again and Todd said that he had to have it when they laid down on the bed to watch cartoons and go to sleep that night. Then this morning the first thing he did when he got up was go to his drawer with his play clothes and get out the truck shirt. My mom gave it to him at Valentines Day so it's not new. But I have no idea why he has become so infatuated with that shirt. Since he wore it today it will have to go in the laundry hamper. We'll have to see if he starts looking for it again tomorrow.

How Did That Happen?

2008-05-27T21:23:00.002-05:00

This morning I changed the sheets on our bed and then went to go get a shower. When I got out, Matthew came into the bathroom with no diaper on. I asked him, "Where's your diaper?" and then immediately went out and started looking for puddles on the floor. Luckily I found none on the floor but then I looked at our bed. He had peed on the sheets and the pillows! And I had just changed them. So 1 load of laundry turned into 3 washer loads and 5 drying loads. I told him next time he decides to take his diaper off to try peeing in his new potty and not on our bed.