Tres-man just kept smiling! He would sit there and say "Cheese!" all day if I let him. Not crazy about the lighting in this one, but the subject is so darn cute, it doesn't matter! 

This is Bryant's new scrunchy nose look! He did really well getting his picture taken, but he kept trying to nose-dive off the table!  

We go together like peanut butter and jelly! 

Since I had to wait 30 minutes for the lady to show up to take the boys pictures, we got a free 8x10 of this cutie. Tres 2 1/2 years old. 

Bryant.... my baby... will turn 1 on April 2nd! I can't believe it! 

I took the boys to get their first picture taken together this weekend! Look what handsome young men I have! 

~ Nashville weekend ~

We took a trip to Nashville this weekend. We left Friday evening and got into his parent's house around 10pm. On Saturday, we spent the morning with the Boemers. Tres helped his Pop Pop work on a plane he is building. Then we left the boys with Grammy and Pop pop to spend some quality time while Hank and I spent some time with Hank's best friend Danny and his new wife Jackie. We had such a good time! We had an early dinner at a Mexican restaurant, then Hank and Danny went off to play poker with a bunch of guys (Hankie lost, but had fun!). Jackie and I spent some down time talking and watching a couple of movies (The Ring--oh my gosh, it's scary!-- and Intolerable Cruelty-- wow, what a cheesy movie!). I always have a good time hanging out with Jackie! She is definitely becoming one of my favorite friends! Love you Jackie! Hank and I spent the night then headed back to his parent's house late morning. We packed everything up, and got the boys ready... then we went and had lunch at the Olive Garden with Danny and Jackie before we hit the road. They wanted to see and spend a little time with the boys before we left. I think they had a good serving of the Boemer Boys. While they weren't bad, it's definitely hard to maintain conversation when you are cutting up, dividing, and preparing food for 2 hungry little boys! We had such a good time!

Danny is also Bryant's god-father. I think they like each other a little! 

We got to spend a lot of time with Danny and Jackie Butler while we were in town! Danny and Hank grew up together. And Danny and Jackie just got married at the end of December. 

This wing needs a little adjustment, so Tres takes care of it! 

Tres is doing a little work on the tires... he's really working hard! 

Tres likes to help his Pop pop build his airplane. 

He was finally starting to wind down! 

This is his new scrunchy nose look he likes to give! 

Happy that he finally knows what it feels like to stay up till midnight... Bryant laughs out loud! 

We've got other fish to fry!

Last night, my family all got together to celebrate my birthday with a fish fry at my grandparents house. I have requested this 2 years in a row because I LOVE them! They are always fun and so good! And as usual it was very fun. Loud, crowded, and delicious! We had fish, french fries, baked beans, potatoe salad, hushpuppies, and for dessert lemon pie or chocolate cake... ummmm!
When I got my family home, I put Bryant straight to bed. And headed to Wal-mart to pick up diapers, baby food, etc. By the time I got home, my stomach was NOT feeling so good! So I sat down for a while to see if I had just over-eaten or gotten over-heated or something. THen Bryant started crying. He has been trying to cut his 2 front teeth through on the top for a while and I think we're finally feeling the effecets! I tried to let him fuss it out, then I took him some Tylenol... then I took him a bottle. And nothing settled him down. By this time, I had thrown up and visited the bathroom a couple of other times! So Hank finally told me to go to bed. The following pictures are from Bryant and Daddy's late night play session... I would say they were taken around midnight to 1 am. Then he finally settled down and went to bed!

Bryant chilling in his chair. He's such a joy! 

Tres brought birthday balloons to me at work! Of course he played with them all day!  

Queen For A Day

This has been the best birthday I can remember in a while! After being made to feel special all day... my husband requested that Tres go to my parent's house for the night. So I got home with Bryant, got him fed, bathed, and in bed. Then I got to have a nice long quiet shower. Then when Hank came home, he came bearing gifts! He brought me take-out from Outback! He fixed my plate for me and set me up in our overstuffed chair. We turned on American Idol and chatted while we watched. Then I opened my present from him (remember that my boys got me perfume). He had gotten me a cappacino maker! I have been on a cappacino kick lately! Then I ate while he figured out how to make me a cappacino. We still have to work out a few kinks, cause the first try was a little less than desirable (Thank you so much for trying Hankie!). Then Hankie painted my toenails for me and played with my hair! I tell you, I wish it was my birthday every week! My husband made me feel so loved and special.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:


Matt, Kayla.... and baby makes 3!! Well maybe 5 if you count Chloe and Bear! My baby brother Matt and his wife had a very special Valentine's Day announcement for us! Kayla is 5 1/2 weeks pregnant and they are expecting a little one sometime around October 15... this is very close to Tres's orginal due date. He was a month early though!

B-day / V-day Double Wammy!

So it's really tough on Hank around this time of year because Valentine's Day is the day before my birthday! He wants to make both special, but sometimes money hinders him. So this year, he came home from work, gave the boys both a car for valentine's day, and gave me the Natalie Grant Wow Praise and Worship CD and the SWEETEST card ever. I love my CD! I have been singing and praising to it all morning!
This morning, I got up and got Bryant up, and Hankie got up and gave me a birthday kiss. Then we talked as I got ready and fed Bryant. I was about to leave and Hankie said... "Aren't you gonna brush your teeth?" So I went into the bathroom and I had a surprise from my boys! I had smelled a sample of the new Donna Karen perfume DKNY and had loved it, so they had gotten me a bottle of it. But Hank says that the boys picked it out themselves! It sure did make me feel special, though! My day started out with a kiss and a present!

Happy Valentine's Day

To all my family and friends... whether we live 6 miles a part or 600, I love you all!

A weekend of "togetherness"

Hank and I have been doing some talking about how to keep our relationship a priority lately. So this weekend, we decided to go out on Saturday. My friend Jennifer Jones kept the boys for us (THANK YOU SO MUCH JENNIFER!), and we went out. We headed towards the mall. First we went in and hit JCPenney. I had gotten a gift certificate for my birthday (which is tomorrow) for $15. Tres needed some new shoes cause he's got monster feet for a 2 1/2 year old (sz 9 already!). And we had to pick up a baby shower gift and a couple of other things. Then we went to the food court and had lunch. Then we hit the Disney store and got a couple of prizes for the boys out of the clearance section. Then we headed back through Penney's to the car. As we walked through the woman's clothes I kept spotting things I liked, and Mom had given me some money for clothes for my birthday. So I decided to try on a few things while Hank ran a quick errand. I ended up getting a pair of dress slacks, a blazer, and a sweater... all off the clearance racks... and all pieces I can mix and match! After that, Hank and I headed to the Rave theater and used some movie passes we got for Christmas to see "The Wedding Date." It was a decent movie. What I like most about it was just being with Hank, holding his hand... sharing a coke. After the movie, we hit Parisians to finish my birthday money (I found 2 shirts, a skirt, and a pair of pants), and then went to Marshall's just to see what they had. Then we headed home to spend the evening with out sweet little munchkins. It was a wonderful day! Then Sunday, we went to church. Then came home for a quiet afternoon. Then we loaded up our family and headed back to the church! We deposited the boys in nursey and went to a couples fellowship at Carraba's. This was the first time to eat there for either of us, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know if the food was just THAT good, or if we just enjoyed the fellowship. It was a great weekend!

"I'm playing with my trains, I am!" 

Our Own Personal Yoda

So Tres is a non-stop, full steam ahead, go get 'em little boy these days. He likes to have conversations about just about everything. He tries to bargain for more time before bed times. He mimicks a lot of what we say and do. But one of my favorite things right now is his Yoda phase. Here are some of the comments you could hear on a daily basis in our house:
"We're going to church, we are."
"I'm having a treat, I am."
"We're watching cartoons, we are."
You get the point... I don't want to forget some of these things! What a wonderful precious blessing my little boys are! They definitely keep me on my toes.

The Littlest Boemer

I just wanted to give everyone a little Bryant update. He is working on walking already! He has been 'cruising' along furniture for a couple of months now. Lately he has been letting go and holding on with just one hand. And this last weekend, he starting walking behind a toy across the room. He gets so proud of himself and starts laughing... probably because of mine and Hank's reaction! He is so cute! He looks A LOT like Hankie, and I love his little brown eyes! He mimicks noises people make, and he is beginning to mimick actions. He picked up the portable phone the other day and put it between his chin and his shoulder. He is working on table foods now. In fact he had noodles and chicken broth last night for dinner. He loves grits, eggs, mashed potatoes, ice cream, cobblers, green beans... the list keeps growing! He is a very active little muchkin! His hair is finally starting to thicken up too. Now it's starting to look kind of scraggly around his ears, but still super cute! He is still our sleeper! He goes to bed 7-7:30 and we see him in the morning around 6:45 or 7... which is perfect since that's when I'm up getting ready! He goes to his sitter (Valerie) 3 days a week. He loves that! He gets to play with her daughter Felicity. They are huge buddies. Bryant follows Tres around like a little puppy. He loves to get into all the toys in Tres's room. Tres gets upset with Bryant, though. Tres is into order these days. He likes to line up his toys and organize them. And Bryant disturbs the order! Heaven forbid! Anyway... that's a quick update on the littlest Boemer!

Prayer Request and Update

I wanted to update you guys on a prayer request I had posted at the end of last year. Josiah Atchison was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor at the base of his brain stem. He has undergone treatment and is going in tomorrow for an MRI. Because I know that my God can do all things, and even more than what we expect, I am asking you all for some serious prayer! Here is what Josiah's dad, Dan, posted on his website today...

"Well tomorrow morning is the MRI. Not nervous... curious. But not nervous. God has really been helping us. He is so faithful. What a miracle... the miracle of his presence. Funny thing is - it's not a miracle to him, it's just who He is. What a God we serve. I cannot fathom the depths of his love for me and my family. As for tomorrow, it doesn't matter what the doctors say. I believe that it will be a good report but when you make up your mind what "truth" you are going to believe... it narrows your options. God helped us make up our minds a long time ago that the guiding truth for us would be His Word and only His Word. Not the doctors. Not our fears or the voices in our own heads. Not his physical changes due to the medications. Not his moods. Not the MRI. The only real truth, is God's Word. So going in, we know that there is a big difference between getting your hopes up and putting your hope in God...."

PLEASE AGREE WITH DAN AND MARIA FOR THE HEALING OF THEIR SON JOSIAH!