All I gotta say....

WAY TO GO CLEMSON TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!notice the Clemson flag displayed in all its glory in front of our house!!

Reeves was slightly upset that my Mike and Liz had "moved" his USC flag off the post and placed the Clemson flag in its place! Gotta love a little family rivalry!

lack of blogging

I can not believe how slack I have been with blogging lately- a few reasons though...

1. Tallon is NOT into cameras right now- he will be doing something sooo funny or cute and I will grab the camera and he will instantly say "NO Mommy" and try to grab the camera from me!

2. We have had several "sick" days lately- Tallon has had lots of runny noses and a bad cough and the past 2 afternoons- he has broken out in HIVES- YIKES!!!

3. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law take WAY better pictures!! so I find myself often relying on their pictures to capture whatever even we are at!!

all that to say.... I will try to be better at taking pictures because this boy is growing up sooo fast!!

Now that I have gotten that out of the way.....

A few things I want to share about Tallon and this "stage" of his life!

1) He is TOTALLY into his daddy!!! ( this has been quite frustrating for mommy when daddy is at work and she goes to get Tal after his nap and he tells her "No, I want Daddy!"

2) He is EXTREMELY Active- he is constantly running, hopping or jumping!

3) He officially has the "toddler eating habits"- you know- not eating some meals and than all of a sudden deciding he is hungry and eating everything in sight!

4) Favorite food item right now- Lollipops ( I know, I know- they are not very nutritous!)

5) He is now in his "big boy bed" ( I will post pictures soon). My parents are letting us borrow my brothers old twin bed and I almost have his room finished! it is turning out soooo cute and very boyish!!

6) Tal has learned how to open doors and maneuver the kitchen table chairs to wherever and whatever he wants to reach. for example- he can slide the kitchen chair to our pantry, open the door, turn on the light and reach the lollipop bag! Seriously- where did he figure all this out- he is ONLY 2!!

We always shut his door at night so if by chance he wakes up- he won't come running into our room but will fall back asleep. Well, this morning we heard him wake up and move about and the next thing I know- I hear Tallon in the den. Yes, he has now figured out how to open his door.... this could be interesting! We might have to check into other options if he does not stay in his bed in the middle of the night!

7) He is attempting to potty train~ YIKES YIKES YIKES- I really was not interested in doing this until he was 3 BUT he has a fun older cousin who is potty trained and Tallon has picked up A LOT from Makgill ( Thanks Makgill- I need ALL the help I can get with potty training because I have NO CLUE what I am doing). soo- we have bought a potty seat and he has learned how to go in the potty- NOW- he is pretty good about going every night before we put him in bath tub and he is soo proud of himself, the problem is during the day- he is just too busy playing to tell me he has to go and so we miss opportunities. I am debating whether I should get "serious" and really try to potty train or just sort of wait a few months ( until Spring) when I can let him run around the yard naked to potty train! ( Any ideas, suggestions, thoughts are welcome!=))

8) Tal is starting to talk in sentences and it is soo funny to hear what comes out of his mouth!
When you ask him how he spells his name- he now says "T"- HOORAY, we have the first letter down!!
We are still working on Please and Thank you- I still have to give lots of prompting!

8) We are cont to see his "sin nature" and I feel like we have been more consistant with discipline. This has been difficult figuring out what he understands and figuring out how to get him to realize what he did is wrong and NOT to do it again. I have a feeling this discipline thing is going to take LOTS of energy and time!! I am cont to pray that God would give us wisdom, patience and LOTS of love and energy to discipline this child correctly and in a way that Glorifies Him and points Tallon toward Him and his need for a Savior!

9) TRUCKS, TRUCKS, TRAINS, Tractors and did I say TRUCKS!! Tallon points out EVERY single truck we pass on the road and expects you to acknowledge the truck as well! We spend LOTS of time playing crash with his trucks and driving them all around the house!! Oh- I DO love this little boy!!

10) Family- we feel so blessed that God brought us back to Florence ( although I still miss some parts of Dallas)- but I love to hear my son ask for our family members by name and request to see them- He actually KNOWS his grandparents and I love that!! He often talks about Mak (Makgill), Clara Beth, Boom-Boom and LiLi ( and of course Gabby- their dog) and Pop and Mimi. Just this week- I clearly heard Tallon say Hi PAPA ( his great grandad) as we drove up to their house! He also adores Nana and Bama ( their dog). I am looking forward to him getting to spend quality time with my sister and her husband and my brother and his wife these upcoming holidays as he does not get to see them as often as his other aunts and uncles ( who he LOVES to spend time and play with!!!

We are extremely thankful to have family members that love Tallon and enjoy playing with him- even if it is blocks and crashing trucks!

1 funny story- we have soo far survived without having any toilet paper thrown around our house, but this morning, Reeves and I were getting ready to head to my parents house for lunch in our room. We could hear Tallon running back and forth ( but this is very normal in my house) so I did not think anything of it- well, when we walked out into the kitchen- we saw it- Toilet paper strewn throughout our hallway, kitchen and den. Oh- The joys of boys and toddlerhood!!

It's here

Well-you may remember a recent post about going to the beach with my mom and grandparents to look for furniture for their sunroom- well.... the furniture arrived yesterday morning, so Tal and I headed over to Nana and Papa's to see the completed room! It turned out fantastic- I love what they picked out and it is very comfy- we are looking forward to many fun days in this sunroom hanging out, playing and visiting!!

I have to share one quick story- we were headed out the door this morning and Tallon asked for a lollipop- so I handed him one and he quickly asked for another- I told him he only needed 1 and he said "Papa"- he wanted one for Papa!! so he carefully carried 2 lollipops to the car, placed them in the cup holder ( He usually eats his lollipop instantly so I could not believe he was waiting to eat his!) Well, we got to Nana and Papa's and Tallon quickly pointed to the lollipops- said Papa and we headed inside- Papa was at the dump so Tallon laid his lollipop next to Papa's recliner chair. Then he enjoyed His lollipop, well-Papa was still not home when Tal finished his lollipop so he quickly decided he would eat Papa's too... oh well! Its the thought the counts right?!

Nana talking to Aunt Gay on the phone!
The new furniture!

"click on the picture to make it larger"- I just love Papa's face in this picture as he looks at his great grandson!! Such Love!!

Tallon with Papa

Look at my little boy!!

Tallon giving Papa a "high five" before we head on our way!

2 Toddlers

Olivia's parents went on a well-deserved vacation to San Francisco so Olivia came over and stayed at our home from Saturday thru Tues AM. It was quite an experience for these parents of "1" to juggle "2"!! Olivia is one of the most well-behaved little girls and used all her manners- Please and Thank You and she was really a delight! Tallon loved having a play mate and we enjoyed watching them chase each other around the house, read together and eat meals together!We loved having you here Olivia- you are welcome to come play... and spend the night.... anytime=)
We kept the kiddos busy- we went to see the new Boz Christmas DVD on Saturday morning thanks to our local Family Christian Store (both these kids LOVE BOZ!!), and than we went to Lilah's birthday party that evening. Talk about exhausted- these kids had played in the bounce house, ran around and eaten a LOT of cake and ice-cream! Then Sunday we had church and yes, we managed to make it to Sunday school on time- Hooray!! Monday was spent playing at the park and than a friend has us over to her house to play that afternoon and before we knew it- tues morning had arrived and Olivia's parents were picking her up!
I did not take too many pictures but we grabbed a few picures oneevening after baths! Tallon loves "Livi""( as he calls her) soooo much!

a little change

Hi everyone- after talking with several friends who also blog and talking with Reeves- we have decided to make our blog "private"- not so that you can not keep up with us- because now that we have lived in Dallas, SC and both gone to different colleges- it feels like we have friends all OVER the US and I really enjoy being able to keep up with everyone and for them to know our family- because we all know that I am NOT great at calling, emailing, etc.... but.... I CAN BLOG! so all this to say- If you have a friend who enjoys reading our blog or if someone you know asks why they can not get to our blog- PLEASE send me their email and I will add them on. Now that we have moved to a smaller city- I just don't want to risk someone knowing all of our and Tal's info! hope it is not to difficult of a change for you guys and please leave comments- we LOVE hearing from everyone!

Our little Lion

Happy Halloween!! I am posting this first picture in honor of my brother Robert and his beautiful wife Tiffany- they are getting ready to celebrate their first anniversary in another month!!Here is our pumpkin- if only we had been able to be home 1 evening this week so we could have lit it up on our porch- we are sooo busy!!
After a short nap- We were ready to start the trick or treating! Tallon and Mommy met up with Aunt Aron, Uncle Collin and Makgill and Clara Beth and off we went!

First stop- Nana's house- she had yummy pumpkin sugar cookies for the kids... along with some choclate! Tallon was a little timid at first- not sure why mommy wanted him to hold his bucket but he quickly caught on as soon as Nana handed him some candy!

LiLi's home! The kids had a blast going thru LiLi's candy jar (on the floor) and taking HUGE handfulls of chocolate to add to their buckets!! LiLi also gave Tallon a YUMMY sugar cookie and cupcake!

LiLi with all her grandkids! We are so blessed to have such hands- on Grandparents for Tallon to know!

Aunt Aron and Clara Beth!

Next- we split up and Tallon and I headed home to pick up Daddy and head over to Nana and Papa's home for some trick or treating!

Tallon scanning the countertop for the candy!

Such a sweet boy- he shared his m and m's with Bama!

I wanted to grab a picture of Tallon with his great-grandparents-- tallon was not thrilled!

but, he did sit still for a picture with Daddy and Papa!

hey- Papa has my tail!

next thing we know- Bama jumps up next to Papa so what does Tallon do-----
runs over and climbs up next to Bama- This kid LOVES animals and he is a HUGE fan of BAMA!

We headed to our next stop- around the corner.... to Mimi and Pop's house- they were waiting- ready to see the little lion. Check this video out.

Tallon- the happy little lion (Thanks to all that chocolate!)

Whenever someone would ask Tallon about his Lion costume- he would point to the outfit and say "Mimi got me" - sooo cute!

hmmm... what ya got there Mimi?

Candy- YUMMY!

We love our little lion!!

One last picture before we head to the Patterson's for the Party!
We had a blast seeing all the kids from our small group dressed up and hanging out!! I think all the chocolate that he had been eating for the last hr and a half was kicking in!!! Check our Aron and Collin's blog for fun pictures from the party!! I remember seeing many of these kiddos last yr in their costumes and than to see them this year- all 1 year older! what a blessing to have Friends to Enjoy these days with!