Ketchup

There is a definite difference between boys and girls. Okay, I mean, I knew that, but to experience it is quite eye-opening! Charlee has always been a sweet, go-with-the-flow, loving, nurturing, cuddling, little thing. Barrett? ALL BOY! Ha! This kid is all over the place, all of the time. He is still army-crawling, has been for two months, but buddy, he GETS it and gets it FAST! He is not scared of anything and could care less about sleep. My two Castles have been taking baths together for a few months now, and until recently it was fine. A few weeks ago, though, Barrett decided he wanted to teach himself to swim. When we put him in the tub, he is on his belly in no time, crawling over Charlee, climbing up the side of the tub, pushing the soap and shampoo off of the side, reaching for the faucet. It is near-impossible to get either kid bathed because he will not sit still! I can only imagine when he starts walking/running. (Sigh) He is a big ole belly of sweetness, though, and his smile makes it all worth it. Speaking of that smile, he has finally gotten a couple of teeth. The first one, of all places, came in up top. No, not the middle teeth, but the one next to the middle. Not sure of the name of it, but I can't wait to see what that will look like when it comes all the way in. Ha! The second tooth just popped through on the bottom (this one in the middle) a few days ago. I was getting a little worried that he was missing some teeth, but the pediatrician pointed out the buds under the gums and told me they should be making their grand (and no doubt painful and sleepless) appearance soon.

Charlee is quite the little priss-pot lately. She has been labeled as one of the "mother hens" of her preschool class. Great. Praying that doesn't turn into one of the bossy kids! She says the funniest and cutest things now, though. She is a SPONGE and picks up EVERYTHING said or done around her. Yesterday I heard her tell Barrett, "I told you tree times, Bubba. You listen to me? I'ma pop you!" Can't imagine where she picked that up from......
I'm teaching her Puggles (Awana) class at church, and it has been so much fun! Those two-year-olds are quite the handful, but it is so incredibly sweet to hear them sing and see them listening so intently to their lesson. Charlee loves pointing out all of the things that God made, and it melts my heart. :) A couple of weeks ago she said, "Mommy, God made the flowers to us! That is so sweet of Him." BIGGEST GRIN I've worn in a long time.

Pampered Chef is going fabulously! I'm having so much fun with it, and making some extra money! I've already earned over $350 worth of free products, too, which is AWESOME!

Running? Well, I have been consistently falling off the wagon! I'll do really good one week, then slack off for two weeks when something comes up, then do really good another week, and another two it's pushed aside. I keep managing to push back the 5k, too. I'm not even going to tell you when I'm planning to do one. I'll just surprise you and post about it if it happens. Ha!! I will say that jumping back into it after a hiatus hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I can run 2 miles after not running for a couple of weeks usually, and that's pretty impressive given my history of athletic involvement (nonexistent). I'll take it!

The season is upon us. Where did the year go?? My little man will be a whole year in less than two months. My big girl will be three in less than two months. I will have been married for 6 years in less than two months. Christmas will be here before we know it! Yes, that's right. Two birthdays, an anniversary, and Christmas all within 2 1/2 weeks. Fun (and slightly busy) times!

My sweet "nephew" was born 6 days ago. :) I leave this for last, today, because it's the hardest to talk (or write) about. My bestie, Kim, delivered a sweet baby boy November 4th, and he is absolutely precious! At least from the pictures he is, anyway. :) I can barely stand being 8 hours away from my sweet friend and her sweet little man. Through her pregnancy, I couldn't look at pictures from her showers or of her belly without crying because I missed out on all of it. Life has gone on without me there. Not that I think it shouldn't, but the pictures make it all more real that it has. I'm happy where I am and where I'm raising my family, don't get me wrong, but I miss my friends. I miss their babies. I miss Target. Ha! (No, really, I do.) I can't wait to meet you, baby Cade (aka Ossy). I'll be there just as soon as I can! We'll be talking with your Mommy and Daddy about opening up the Culver's market in Mississippi......