We made our nearly-annual trek to Tennessee to visit with Nana and Poppy over the July 4th weekend.  Before we left, we were thinking about things we could do and we checked the schedule for the Chattanooga Lookouts (their minor league baseball team).  They had a home game on July 3rd.  Perfect!  Harry continues to love all things sports and would be thrilled to go to a baseball game, plus they would be having fireworks that night to boot!  We had talked with everyone about buying tickets on line before hand, but for some reason, we just didn't do it.  The locals thought we would be fine getting them at the gate.  So we head out for downtown Chattanooga that Friday night.  Harry was super excited since we had been talking about it all day, and both boys were decked out in Lookouts t-shirts that we had purchased when Harry was only a few months old.  When we pulled up to the parking garage, the attendant asked Travis if we were headed to the game.  Yep, we sure were!  Did we already have our tickets she asked?  Nope, we sure didn't.  She then informed us that the game was SOLD OUT!!  My stomach fell through the floor!  How were we going to explain this to a 3 year old kid who was out of his mind excited for the game?  We all felt like total idiots as well since we hadn't already purchased the tickets.  We decided to head up to the stadium just in case she was wrong, but she wasn't.  So, Travis headed up to the gate to see if any of his relentless persuasion skills could score us some seats.  Nana, Poppy, the kids and I waited for him on the street corner to wait, and I started praying.  I don't know that I've every truly prayed for something so superficial, but we had been having a rough week with Harry.  He had been a little bit out of control with being defiant, back talking, complaining, whining, you name it.  We were nearing our wits end, and we had used the game as leverage for good behavior that day.  I knew that if we told him we couldn't go to the game, he would have been really disappointed and I really did not want to deal with a tantrum. 

A southern belle angel approached us and asked us if we had tickets to the game.  I thought she was going to ask us if we had any to sell.  We told her no, we didn't.  She said she had some extras and wanted to know if we were interested.  We said that we definitely were but we would need six tickets, thinking there was no way she would have that many.  She said she had seven.  We were floored.  We asked her how much she wanted for them, and she said she wanted to give them to us!  We practically begged her to let us give her some money, but she refused.  My eyes welled up with tears when I called Travis to tell him that we had found some tickets.  The tickets were for general admission seating (like we cared) and she saw where we were sitting and came over to chat with us for a while.  It turns out that her sister and her family were supposed to come with them to the game so she ran all over town that day trying to track down tickets for them all.  Her sister ended up not being able to come, and she told us that she knew God had a reason for her having those extra tickets.  When she saw us, she knew we were supposed to be the ones to get the tickets.  She sounded like a really sweet lady.  They do foster care which is amazing, and her husband was originally from Indiana.  I will never forget that woman and how she totally bailed us out.

I learned 3 big lessons that day.  First of all, be prepared!  Buy the tickets on-line next time!!  Secondly, I need to pay that favor forward, be more proactive about looking for others in need, and be more giving.  That lady probably didn't know how desparate we were for those tickets and how much she made our day, but I did.  Knowing that I can do something like that for someone sometime makes me happy.  And lastly, I don't always turn to God for everything I need help with.  I still get in the mindset that a lot of my concerns don't matter and aren't that big of a deal.  God has better things to do with his time!  But I did turn to him this time, and look how awesomely and perfectly he provided for us at a minor league baseball game of all places.  He is so good!  The rest of our week was much less drama free!  The kids had a blast in the pool, and it was great to spend some time with our family!   

Life with Harry has been such a rollercoaster lately full of wonderful highs and scary lows.  We were definitely in a valley during our time in Tennessee, but we are slowly trudging back up the hill during the week we have been home.  We started a sticker behavior chart with him.  He needs to earn 10 stickers to receive a prize (a Veggie Tales DVD), and he can earn a sticker for generally good behavior for a day, not having any accidents, or doing something nice for someone with out being asked.  It has been about 3 weeks or so, and he will finally get his 10th sticker today for not having any accidents yesterday!  I am trying to instill in him the knowledge that he has choices.  He is smart enough to know that if he needs to go to the potty, he should go.  If he chooses to go in his pants, no sticker.  Holding him back was his unwillingness to go #2 in the potty.  We finally decided to start restricting his freedom some if he decided to continue to hold out.  He was already not able to play Wii unless he pooped in the potty, and we stepped it up to include no TV until he decided to go.  It was his choice I continued to remind him.  He went almost 4 days with no cartoons!  Finally, on Sunday, #2 appeared in the potty!  I'm still not convinced this will be the norm, but hopefully a strong step in the right direction!  He hasn't wanted to try again, so we have been warning him that the TV will be taken away again if he decides to have another accident.  We'll see...keep your fingers crossed for us!!  The break from Nick Jr and Disney programming was nice, but I would rather be done with this whole potty training business for a while!!

All I can say about the month of June is...whew!  Just thinking about it makes me tired!

Before we left I checked the weather report for Florida and realized how stinking hot it was going to be.  Poor little Elliot's head would have suffered greatly with all of his long, flowing, golden locks.  So, sadly it was time for a haircut.  He was not happy about it, but like the good boy he is, he still sat still in the barber's chair.  Here he is after the trauma, almost back to his normal smiley self.

We left June 5th for sunny Orlando.  Travis wasn't set to join us until the 8th, which made the trip down there a bit of a harrowing experience for me.  Getting 2 toddlers, myself, my carry-on, and a double stroller through security while everyone stands and stares at you is something I could have done without, but I guess it's all part of it.  The boys were as good as could be expected on the flight, although I'll have to say I don't think I would try to save money by not buying Elliot a seat again.  We could have used the extra room!  We didn't have much on the agenda except the pool once we got to the resort since we wanted to wait for Disney until Travis got there.  Thank goodness our friends Nate, Krista, and Mary were there to keep us company!  We missed him so much...it felt sad to be on vacation without all of us there!

One of the pools at our resort was absolutely great for the kids.  They were able to walk in and out by themselves since it didn't have steps in the shallow end, and it had fountains all around that they could play in.  It also had a little beach/lake area so they could play in the sand a little bit.

Once Travis got there, we hit the ground running!  Six straight days of Disney!  Since we were going with a 3 year old and two 1 year olds, we decided to do half days so we could still sneak their naps in.  We would typically head to the pool in the morning, head back to the room for lunch and a nap, then get to Disney about 4 or 5 and stay until the park closed.  We made it to Magic Kingdom 3 times, and the other 3 parks (Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom) one day each.  The highlights according to Harry were as follows:  the Small World ride (of course), Dumbo (of course, again), the Playhouse Disney show, and getting sprayed with water at the "bug show" (A Bug's Life).  He also is currently coveting his Disney T-shirt, which he calls his golf club shirt.  He really means golf ball, because it has the Epcot ball on it but you can't reason with a 3 year old.  He asks about every other day if he can go to Disney World again, so I guess it left a lasting impression!  I know he won't always remember his first trip to Disney, but Travis and I know what a great time he had so we will remember it for him and Elliot!

The boys were definitely unsure of the characters!  Harry gave Mickey, Minnie, Handy Manny, and 3 of the characters from the Little Einsteins high fives, but that was it.  Goofy was a little bigger than the rest of them and he was really freaked out by him!  As you can tell by the photo, he would tolerate getting pictures taken with them, but never wanted to be right by them!

We HAD to get the hats, of course!

By the time the 6th day was over, I was definitely done with Disney for a while!  We had a great time, but the heat and the hassle of toting the boys around getting them in and out of the strollers had definitely taken their toll on us!  I was so grateful to get home, sleep in my own bed, shower in my own bathroom, get the boys back into their regular routine, and do laundry in my wonderful Duet!  After spending nearly every waking hour with the boys for so many days straight, I was so ready for my girls' trip to NYC!  I thought I would be sad and nervous to leave the boys at home for a few days, but I totally wasn't!  I guess I trust my wonderful hubby and caregivers more than I realized! 

We had a truly excellent time in NYC.  The best part was catching up with my old roommates and reminiscing about our good old Purdue days!  We laughed so much and most likely annoyed anybody sitting close to us in any restaurants or cafes we visited!  We of course did a lot of walking, shopping, and eating.  The highlights for me was the broadway show we saw (Rock of Ages--totally spectacular, and in my top 3 broadway shows for sure), Crumbs cupcakes, and trying some new ethnic foods (Thai, Indian, and Korean).  In true Sarah fashion, my camera battery died and the few stores I looked in didn't sell the battery that I needed so I will need to rely on the other girls for their photos.  Although I had a great time, I was definitely ready to get home.  The last few days there, I kept noticing kids around my boys' ages and it made me miss them so much.  I'm so glad I got some time to relax and refocus on what I am most grateful for, and I definitely realized the need for doing that since I had never done it before. 

The day after I returned, it was back to work and regular life which I was excited about!  Before I was due to be in, we had our big ultrasound appointment.  Number 3 is confirmed to be a girl, and looks to be totally and completely healthy and normal!  Bless her little tiny heart, she is soooooo in for it!  It is so still rocking my world to think what life will be like with 3 little ones, but I'm still excited nonetheless.  Now the big tasks are to pick out a name and decide how to reconfigure the bedrooms.  

The travelling summer continues tomorrow when we leave for Tennessee to visit Nana and Poppy for the July 4th weekend.  Harry is convinced that we will be playing tennis in Tennessee (he doesn't quite get the concept of states yet), but we will have to see about that.  A precocious 3 year old with a racket and tennis balls sounds a little bit scary to me!  Have a great holiday!

Eating outside a lot and enjoying the awesome weather!  I have almost felt like a new person since springtime has come.  As you can see by the photo, eating chocolate pancakes (breakfast for dinner--yum yum) was a very good idea.  So was bathtime right after this!!

These were taken at the Spring Fling at Harry's preschool.  Harry had a great time!  He was in little boy heaven--they had a fire truck, an ambulance, a police car and a bus that they could sit in and check out.  They also had a pirate show that he is still talking about! 

Today we are leaving for vacation!!  Twelve days in sunny Florida and seven days with Mickey Mouse!  We are ecstatic and so grateful for this opportunity!  Look for a huge post with lots of pictures when we get back!!

Harry's Birthday Party

I didn't get a ton of great pictures from his birthday party.  The weather was so beautiful that day we could barely tear him away from playing outside to eat cake or open presents.  He looks pretty sad in most of the shots I got!  I loved how his cake turned out and so did Harry!  He didn't eat any of it though--still not a cake eater.  Not sure what is wrong with that boy!!

So not happy to be opening presents

Mother's Day

Harry with his Grandma

The first part of my Mother's Day was great!  I had received my Mother's Day/birthday present the day before--a camcorder!  Harry had gone home with my Mom and Dad to spend the night (a first!) so we just had Elliot to put to bed and get ready for church the next morning.  It really made me wonder how I ever thought having one was difficult!  After church we headed to our hometown to visit with all of the Grandmas.  Every year we stop by a nursery that carries awesome flowering baskets at a good price and pass them out to my 2 Grandmas and Travis's Granny (my Mom prefers a Netflix subscription to flowers!).  We had a really nice day, but no naps led to this on the way home. 

They only slept for about 1/2 hour in the car, and for the rest of the evening they were over the top GROUCHY!!  That's why I said the first part of my Mother's Day was great...the second part was a little hard!  I get a little annoyed at times having to plan our day around naps and wonder if I'm too much of a stickler on insisting that they have a daily nap.  That day validated that yes indeed, for our sanity at the very least, a nap is still very necessary!!

Random Elliot Pictures

Here's Elliot trying to fit in with big brother by sitting on the potty.  He is so darn cute I can't stand it!  And yes, I know that his hair is a bit of a mullett but I love it and I'm not ready to cut it!

Here he is showing off his getting-stronger-every-day standing/walking skills.  He can now drink while standing!  A definite prodigy of some sort!!

That is how old my Granny turned yesterday...97, a truly incredible feat!!  Two of my cousins and I planned her birthday party that was held yesterday, and I think it went over pretty well!  She told me she had a happy, happy birthday which was the goal of the whole evening.  She is truly an amazing woman...she gave birth to 13 children including 10 boys in a row (she has the patience of a saint!!), has been a widow since the 1960's, and has a tremendous love for her family and for her God.  She is soft-spoken and gentle, but she is razor sharp with her wit.  I would say we probably had about 80-90 people that came to her party which shows how much she is loved by all.  Her health has been declining for a few years, and even more quickly during the last few months.   That is totally to be expected for a lady of her age, but when you are used to seeing your Granny whip around town driving her own car into her 90's, rapid changes like we have seen lately are hard to take.  She is still living at home, which is a total blessing considering someone needs to be with her 24-7 and the family has really stepped up to the plate by taking on that huge responsibility.  But, we are hoping for the best and are looking forward to several more holidays with this very special lady.  Happy birthday, Granny!

Our branch of the family tree

My cousins Marti and Amanda and me with Granny