You've Got Mail!

Today, a small brown package arrived in the mail for Eli. Any guesses why?

My baby boy is going to be 2 on tuesday! I really can't believe he is seriously turning two (despite all the attitude that has been displayed here recently!) He got his first birthday package from Peto & Uncle Ed & it was a hit! It was a nice little book that plays music to the matching page... he even took it to bed with him for his nap. Thanks Peto & Uncle Ed! We love you!

Our Newest Big Thing around here....

.... is breakfast smoothies! After our beach vacation (& a lovely recipe from a magazine Peto gave me) I busted out the 'ole blender! There is no going back because the kids LOVE them & they also LOVE that they get to use their souvenir cups that Aunt Becca brought them back from the Blue Bell ice cream factory in Texas. And guess who else loves them? ME! I love them because i make healthy well rounded breakfasts that they will eat, well technically drink, & have a great start to their day. (And lets face it, i can put things in there that are good for them that they wouldn't necessarily try- like a spoonful of cottage cheese!) They have liked them all, but so far the overall favorite is the original one i tried from the magazine which is a blend of 1 c. vanilla yogurt, 1 banana, 2 Tbsp peanut butter, & milk to thin it out for them. I also added a few ice cubes to make it chilly & once i added a few squirts of sugar free chocolate syrup (only the first time when Jackson was pretty skeptical!). I have also made a strawberry/blueberry blend (which i think was really Eli's fav.) , & a banana/peach/orange one (which had the cottage cheese in addition to the yogurt & i taste tested it & it was GOOD, you couldn't even taste the cottage cheese- the whole thing tasted like a creamsicle!) IT is really fun for me to experiment & to see how much they like them. And they look forward to it. In fact, last night, i got all the cups, blender, etc laid out for this morning since i had to work & Eli wanted one right then! I had to explain he could have one in the morning & he nodded & moved on!

Don't let his face fool you, he was lovin it. This was early morning just before church on Sunday... and he is like his Daddy in the morning (a bear sometimes).....

MMMMmmmmmm...................

Baby Aedon isn't a "baby" anymore!

Mommy's best friend, Theresa had a birthday party for "baby Aedon" (as Jackson likes to call him) because he is officially ONE! Happy Birthday big boy! We had a great time at the party & the kids really enjoyed the food! Here are some pics from the event, thanks to TRW for sending them to us!

Chatting with the birthday boy:Joining in the bubble fun outside:

Explaining to Eli outside that we can't squeeze the baby frog- we have to be GENTLE!

Digging into the cupcakes:

Hi there!

Aedon LOVED his cake, he just went right for it, FACE FIRST! So fun!

"Beach" Week 2008

Our trip to the beach this year really turned out to be a trip to the pool! Since there was a pool in the backyard, we basically spent most of our time there. We only made it out the the beach one evening for a picnic dinner & kite flying. The house we stayed in is owned by 2 families we worship with & we had a wonderful time the the whole week! They were so generous to open their home to us! The kids LOVED the laundry shoot & used it daily! Jackson really got better at his swimming too while we were there. He even jumped off the deep end (with me of course) on our last day there. Eli liked the water, but he preferred to throw everything from the side of the pool & have everyone fetch it out for him! We had lots of visitors while we were there too! Grandaddy & grandma Tee visited us a few days, Nanny & Peto stayed a few days, & Rebecca & I were able to catch up with a few friends while we were there also. Overall, we had a great week & hated to come back home & get back into the swing of things.

Vacation Post Forthcoming....

I promise! I promise! I will post about our vacation in the next few days, i promise! I know it has been awhile since i posted, but after my last post, we left for the beach, & then this week we are back, but honestly, i still FEEL like i am in a fog getting back into the swing of things. So i will get to it before the week is over...... be patient with me!

A night with friends...

Our friends Theresa & Bastian (& little Aedon) came over for dinner & a jam session. We had such a nice time & made yummy homemade pizzas. I think Randy may have gotten a hankering for a new guitar since he currently doesn't own a nice one & really only plays his latest built mandolin recently. The kids played well together & little Aedon kept his mommy & daddy on their toes! In no time, he will be as big as my boys (which really depresses Theresa, i might add!)




Thanks guys for a great evening! I hope we can do it again soon! (Maybe next time we can go scrapbooking TRW, while the boys jam...... who would watch ALL the boys??)

Lil' Cowboys

The big thing around the the Moss house these days is dressing up like cowboys. Jackson came out of the bedroom the other day looking like this glorious vision here.....

And then days later he was tickled pink with himself for helping Eli do the same....

(The cowboy boots have been quite the hit since Grandma Tee passed them on to us from Kenneth ~ in fact, they get worn DAILY! I am waiting for him to ask me to wear them to church... which will be a definite NO, since they are still mighty big right now!)

A Fun Weekend with the Mermaids....

This past weekend, I took the kids to Wilmington to stay at Nanny's house for the weekend. Their cousins, Kayla & Jonathon, had been in town for a few weeks & we had not gotten a chance to see them. Unfortunately, we only get to see them a few times a year, so we didn't want to miss our opportunity! Nanny arranged a trip to Ripley's Aquarium, which involved a 15 passenger van to hold all the adults & kids (~Aunt Becca, Emma, & Leah went too!) & a 2 hour ride to Myrtle Beach. It was a lot of fun though & all the kids really enjoyed each other all weekend which was so nice to see. At the aquarium, the Weekie Watchie Mermaids were performing all the way from FL & Nanny saw them perform when she was a kid, so we were ALL excited to see them too (even Jonathon, who would NEVER admit it, i am sure!) Nanny wore her mermaid socks for the event.....And before we saw the show, we got to pose with a *real live* mermaid (Jackson was skeptical, but Eli sat right with her!)...

Eli clapping at the mermaid show....

And Jackson waving to them....

We also got to meet a pirate who called all the kids "scalleywags" & gave them some gold coins. He was nice enough to pose for a picture as long as the kids all said "ARHHHHH" (which they all complied as you can see....)The top two exhibits were the horseshoe crabs....

And the stingrays....

The pirate exhibit was a bit creepy for my taste, but the kids liked it!

On the way home, we stopped for a great burger at Fuddruckers... The hats were a hit (except with Kayla~ she is too much of a tween to put one on, ever!)...

It was so much fun! And we can't wait until Christmas when we get to spend some more quality time with Kayla & Jonathon. We love them so much!

ps- notice that Eli's tongue is sticking out in so many pictures? Well, that is his new thing- he is saying "cheese" with a little lisp, so his tongue is out everytime! I think it is kinda cute!

Who Looks Like Who?

Okay, so there isn't a week that goes by that i don't hear: "Your boys look JUST alike!" And my response is usually something along the lines of "Really? You think so, because i can tell they are brothers but i don't think they really look that much alike." As babies, they looked totally different & when Eli's dark baby hair all fell out & his blonde hair came in is when all the comments started. And i also get "Where did your boys get all that blonde/white hair?" And my response is always, "We (randy & I) both had blonde hair as kids...mine stayed that color longer, but we both started out as toe heads." So the proof is in the pudding & i now put the question out there to you all: Who looks like who?

{Randy at approximately age 2- bad quality scanned photo- his hair was lighter than this!}

{Rachel at approximate age 2}

Okay, so here is my opinion: When i came across these pictures I hadn't seen them in a few years & so help me i gasped! The resemblance of Jackson to Randy is outright scary! And i have to tell you that i totally think the same thing of Eli to myself- in the picture anyway. But honestly, i totally think our kids are a good mix of us both. Jackson looks like Randy & only Randy, but his temperament is all mine! Eli overall favors me, but he has those gorgeous baby blues, but i think he is more laid back like Randy & although he is coming into his personality & becoming more head strong, that is typical for his age & in general he is more easy going than Jackson. The funny thing about Jackson is that he is so much like Randy in little ways. He uses the same mannerisms & even uses his hands in the same way. It is very fun to watch!

Dilly Bars are YUMM-O

I think the pictures pretty much sum up our trip to the DQ (dairy queen)....