Boo at the Zoo.

Opening weekend of bow season means that Buck is in the woods A LOT. While I love being at the farm as a family, I also think it's really important that Buck still have some "man" time in the woods without the obligations of family duties. He is wild at heart after all. And, I wouldn't want my three boys with me on every shopping trip. Just saying.

Just because Daddy is away, though, the fun around here doesn't stop. In fact, the opposite is true. I feel like I really have to be on my A game when they know Daddy is off hunting without them. Buck is not a fan of the traditional "kid" activities...he would be happy if he never attended the zoo, the circus, or a birthday party again for the rest of his life. So he is totally fine with me planning fun outings when he is gone. He was thrilled to learn I had planned not only Boo at the Zoo but also the pumpkin patch without him.

We took my parents with us to Boo at the Zoo. While I could in theory manage the boys without them, it was much more fun for us to all go -- and I think my parents really enjoy making these special memories with the boys. It was also much safer. It was crowded and dark and my boys will wander!

Before we headed to the zoo, the boys were all too happy to pose for me in their costumes.

Introducing Police Officer Hughston and Bob the Builder.

Those ears. Cutest guy ever.

Bob was so excited he kept his mouth open all night.

These two. Love them so.

Stop in the name of the law.

We were at the zoo when it opened, and were able to ride the train right away. Thank goodness because it got so crowded later in the evening, and there is no way the boys would have been able to stand in the line. Then we headed to the monster slide. Small Fry couldn't participate because of his collarbone, and even if he could I'm not sure he would have been tall enough. Fawn and I were in inter tubes that we hooked together by me putting my legs in his tube and him hooking his arms around my legs. It was terrifying, but so fun -- and I was glad that I got to be the one to slide with my buddy. Even Small Fry loved watching us slide -- he said it was one of his favorite parts of the night. Sweet boy. Then it was trick-or-treating time, which was Small Fry's first experience. Umm...to say he loved it was an understatement. After that we moved on to mini golf then the children's zoo area where we played lots of carnival games, got faces painted, did the rollers, went on the bigfoot hayride and rode the carousel not once but twice. Fun times all around. On our way out of the zoo we headed back to trick-or-treating. It was a great night and we made some awesome memories.

First trick-or-treating.

Opening candy against his belly. Nice.

Couldn't get enough.

Old pro.

Mini golf.

Too cute.

Wanted an eagle on his face.

Wanted a house on his.

Sweet Mimi.

Crazy times on the carousel. I thought Mimi was going to puke -- they make the carousel go backwards for Boo at the Zoo.

Please monster don't eat my precious pumpkins!!!

Boosterthon.

As a kindergartener at BWF, this was Fawn's first year to participate in Boosterthon. It is BWF's big fundraiser for the year -- a fun run for the kids. They raise money by getting pledges for each lap they run. This mama was so glad no to be selling wrapping paper or cookie dough! Pledges seem much easier. And this year's pledges were going to renovate the gymnasium (which was still the same as when I went to BWF).

The week kicked off with a Boosterthon Pep Rally. Small Fry wouldn't nap the day of the Pep Rally so at a friend's urging I went up to the school to check it out. It was so fun, though the kindergarteners looked like deer in headlights. I'm guessing that they had never been to something so loud before. Wow! It was loud and fun, fun, fun. Aubie and Big Al made an appearance at the end, and the kids went crazy.

Fawn was so sweet getting pledges. We let him ask his grandparents and Aunt C. He was very polite on the phone and asked if they would "sponsor" him. So cute! All of the lingo is so new to him.

Small Fry and I also went up to the school to watch Fawn run in the fun run. Lulu and Drennen met us up there. There were tons of parents, and it was a great, fun, family atmosphere. Kindergarten and First Grade ran at the same time, but there were two tracks set up. The people organizing the race did a fabulous job and made it so much fun with lots of theme laps to break up the running...it was 35 laps, which was about two miles. And Fawn completed every single one of those laps. My little runner.

Getting ready to run.

All pumped up.

And, he's off.

A walking lap.

Pump up the volume.

Proud of my fast finisher.

His two biggest fans.

All 35 laps complete. Go Fawn go!

Oak Mountain Fall Festival.

Buck was out of town for the weekend, enjoying opening weekend of bow season in Mississippi with Lance. The weather was picture perfect, so the boys and I headed to Oak Mountain State Park for some hiking -- and the added benefit of a Fall Festival.

I cannot believe I haven't taken my boys out there yet. Wow, I had forgotten just how gorgeous that park is. It is confusing though -- I followed signs to the Fall Festival and we hiked from there, but before we go back I need to really study the map and come up with a game plan.

The boys had just gotten their beloved John Deere boots and we so excited for their first hike with them. There were lots of mountain bikers enjoying the fabulous weather so it was an exciting hike -- lots of moving out of the way of fast bikers.

After our hike we headed to the Fall Festival, which was just getting started. First, we watched a hawk be released to the wild that had been recovering at Oak Mountain since summer. It was very cool. And, up close, the bird was huge!

Then it was time for the activities. We played some fun carnival games, Fawn got his face painted, and both boys got balloon swords from clowns.

Alabama A and a sword, what more could a boy want?

There was lots of make believe and pretend fighting.

Super Fawn.

Trying to be just as big.

Then we hopped on a hayride. On which Small Fry popped his sword. After which Fawn popped his sword. Tears all around. We weren't going to let some disappointing balloons ruin our day, though. I'd packed a fun picnic, which we enjoyed by the side of the lake -- and spirits were revived. What a fun morning to kick off fall!

Boots.

I never thought two pairs of John Deere boots, one a size 12.5 and one a size 7.5 would change two little boys' lives so drastically. I was wrong. Our farm-loving, mud-seeking, trail-tromping guys have always been obsessed with their camo boots. Their camo boots have traditionally been from Walmart. They are good and cheap but not good for function. Buck and I had decided that now that we are spending so much time at the farm it was time to bite the bullet for some "real" little boy boots. One Friday afternoon I took them to Little Soles to try some on, but at $98 a pair, I just couldn't justify it -- I don't even spend that much money on my shoes! Fawn was crestfallen that we weren't leaving with "real" boots, and I promised him we would find something that he would love. Amazon to the rescue! We found leather and camo boots for both boys -- John Deere but much more affordable than the ones in the store. And since they arrived in the mail, rarely a day has gone by that one or both boys haven't worn their boots. They absolutely love them. And they are cute -- and functional too. Win, win, win.

At the beginning of our love affair with the boots, we always wore them tucked in for maximum show-off factor.

And the little one wears them with anything...pants, shorts...or nothing, which is making potty training a bit difficult.

Sweet boot obsessed guy.

This hunter man loves them too.

Small Fry Funnies.

I did a much better job of capturing funny sayings by Fawn when he was a little guy. But here are some from Small Fry. By the way, he's pretty hysterical all the time. He keeps us laughing -- he can even get Fawn going. He has brought so much laughter to our house.

"You cannot say amen! You are a girl! When you grow up to be a big boy you can say amen."

He loves to say "Oh man!" if something doesn't work quite right. It is so funny. Even funnier is when I try to say "Oh man!" "You cannot say oh man mommy! You are a princess!"

He still remembers nursing, which I think is sweet. Sometimes he will point at my boobs and ask me if they can make "gato" (aka Gatorade) or chocolate milk. Oh the toddler mind!

He loves to say "Yes!" when something goes his way.

He's already got quite a potty mouth. He knows he's not supposed to say "butt" but constantly asks me "Can I say butt or am I just supposed to say bottom?" Just to hear himself say it!!! If you ask him to say his ABCs, count, or sing a song, he loves to insert a potty word (or sometimes just a random word) to make you laugh. "A, B, C bottom" or "Jesus loves me this I kick!"

It's hard to be around Small Fry without a smile on. He is so full of life -- and so loud. Buck is still waiting for his quite child.

The First, But Certainly Not the Last.

Thursday, September 4, 2014. First broken bone of one of our boys. I know it won't be the last, and in a way I was kind of expecting something "big" -- stitches or a broken bone. But, it was still unnerving and broke my heart.

We noticed on our way home from the lake for Labor Day that my car was making a weird squealing sound when in idle. It's only five months old, so it didn't seem right. Driving carpool that week, I heard the sound again, so Buck and I decided I should take it into the Toyota dealership.

Thursday morning, Buck waited around to take Fawn to school, while Small Fry and I headed to the dealership. As we passed Academy Sports and Walmart, I was making a mental errands "to-do" list of the things I could get done on the way home. Then my plan was to take Small Fry on a trip to the zoo. The best laid plans, as they say.

We waited awhile, with Small Fry engaged in Fawn's Kindle and the grown-up water bottle I gave him. At about 8:05 I saw them pull my car around and was so ready to leave. We waited and waited and waited some more. About thirty-five minutes later, we were still waiting -- for a car that had already been worked on. I decided that maybe they forgot about us and needed to go ask. I stood up from these short, plush chairs, and Small Fry leaned over and just kept falling, kind of doing a somersault. It was not a hard or high fall. But, he started screaming. And, he has a pretty high pain tolerance so that was worrisome. I picked him up and cuddled him and walked him outside to ask about the car, figuring that he would calm down. Calm down he did not. He got more and more frantic. I was told that yes, indeed, my car was done but that they didn't have anyone around to do the discharge paperwork. Remarkably -- certainly it had to be the grace of God -- I stayed very calm and polite. I told them that I had to go and that I thought Small Fry was hurt. About five more minutes later, Small Fry was still screaming and a nice mechanic explained that they couldn't find anything wrong with my car. I thanked him and quickly left -- calling Buck to tell him I thought Small Fry had a broken bone. Under his advice, I called the pediatrician to determine where I should take Small Fry.

We ended up at the pediatrician's office (certainly a better spot than the ER). Small Fry was beside himself. We were quickly seen, and the poor guy was just so upset. Dr. Hardwick came in to examine him and easily moved his arm around -- stating that while he thought it was probably a collarbone, he didn't feel like it could be because Small Fry was letting him move it around so much. The X-rays (oh, the X-rays, I cannot even go there; needless to say, Small Fry and I were both in tears) showed a clean break through the collarbone. Dr. Hardwick gave me copies of the X-rays for Doc, who was insistent that we get Small Fry wrapped up and immobilized. The nurses tried and tried but Small Fry was too worked up to cooperate.

So upset about the wrap as we tried to leave the pediatrician's office -- I was afraid he was going to hurt himself because he was reaching with his broken arm to try to unfasten the wrap. So I unwrapped him for the ride home.

In a daze at home -- just wanted a cool, wet wipe on his shoulder.

Daddy came home to check on him and got him wrapped up. What a blessing that he was able to get some rest. Doc came that evening to look at the X-rays and get him wrapped up really well.

The first forty-eight hours were really tough. He was in so much pain and cried during every movement. Diaper changes were especially rough. We stayed on top of the pain around the clock. He slept only when truly exhausted -- the sweet boy just couldn't get comfortable. We watched Disney Junior to make it through the long nights. Small Fry slept in the master bedroom nine nights, while Buck got the boot upstairs. We put the bed rails on the master bed so he couldn't roll off. I stayed with him, of course. It was exhausting and also so hard because I really couldn't comfort him with physical touch. I'm a cuddler and a snuggler and just wanted to embrace him to show my love. 

The weekend, we sent Buck and Fawn to the farm, and we had lots of visitors at home (Mimi, Lulu, Aunt C and Aunt Allison). He was feeling better, though still sore and way off schedule. We had lots of laughs as he figured out how to play with one arm.

Sitting or laying on me was the extent of our snuggles.

Opening a Pez dispenser with his feet.

Trying to get some rest.

Lulu brought some cute tattoos.

I could just eat him up -- until I got close enough to smell him.

That smile -- oh how I love him.

After the weekend, getting back to real life was hard. Small Fry was terrified to ride in the car -- I'm sure the car seat wasn't comfortable! He didn't leave the house with me for a week. We were cooped up and bored. We were utterly exhausted and grumpy. And we were just spent -- Small Fry didn't understand his physical limitations and it was killing me to tell him no way too many times a day. 

This is what happens when you've already said no 100 times before breakfast and give in to giving your two-year old a Vitamin Water. (PS: Check out the cute Mickey bandaid on his shoulder -- sweet thing needed a bandaid for his boo boo.)

I am happy to report that Day 10 we truly turned the corner, with Small Fry back on a schedule and back to his usual activities. We are still limiting his activity until the four-week mark, but as for this injury, we have made it through the worst. I know there will be more, but I can't protect them from everything. 

Small Fry continues to use the situation to his advantage: "I can't [say please] because I have a broken shoulder." I'm just happy my sweet stinker is feeling better.

End of iSummer.

Another round of sidewalk chalk paint.

So much fun to make.

And to paint with.

Play time with cousin Drennen.

Pops and I picked up this awesome Optimus Prime costume at Sam's. I couldn't resist.

The muscle suits own me.

So Buck was driving home from a week long trial that ended in a defense verdict. No fun to begin with. Then I called him and told him this happened. A tree fell and knocked the power lines off our house. We still had power but we had live lines in the backyard. Buck sent the boys and me to my parents' house for the night while he stayed up ALL NIGHT LONG with the power guys. Saturday he fixed the fence. He needs a medal -- he's a trooper.

On Fawn's first day of school Small Fry went for a walk with me -- this is his nature collection.

Stop and smell the daisies. 

Perfecting the selfie. Love him so.

Thursday, August 28 brought another tough bout of croup for this sweet boy. It was not a good health day in our house. The morning started off normal -- Small Fry was a little snotty but nothing bad at all. No fever, acting normal. I started our prescription medicine that I give him when he gets runny in hopes of preventing croup. After putting him down for an early nap, I got a phone call from BWF -- Fawn had another headache (his second migraine at school since school started, his sixth migraine overall since school started). Luckily, Lulu was able to come sit with Small Fry while I got Fawn from school. We just rested during the afternoon, watching movies and hanging out (and hoping the boys would feel better). I could tell at bath time things were headed downhill for both of my loves. I put them in a "shower bath" to get them clean and steamy to help Small Fry's congestion. I started Small Fry's humidifier. As soon as they were out of the bath, Fawn's migraine came on with a vengeance. It was time for Loratab and sleep. Small Fry was already having trouble catching his breath so I sat him upright in the glider while I got Fawn medicated, comfortable, and asleep. By this point, Small Fry was struggling. I called our pediatrician who referred us to Children's South and called Buck who was not home from work and a meeting yet. As soon as Buck got home, I headed to Children's South with Small Fry. They were a dream -- what an awesome emergency clinic for little ones. They saw us immediately. Small Fry got so worked up getting weighed (I know, so stressful for me too!) that he puked red Gatorade all over the place. I apologized over and over to the precious nurse tasked with cleaning up. They took his oxygen, got us in a treatment room, and listened to his stridor. They quickly ordered a breathing treatment and steroids. Small Fry lost his mind. This picture was taken after we survived his treatment. The sweet nurse who attended to us got back in his good graces with orange Gatorade and goldfish.

The constant oxygen monitoring about sent this little fella over the edge. But he finally fell asleep. They had to watch him for two hours after he received the treatment. If he didn't improve, we were going to have to get admitted, but thankfully the treatment and medicine worked. He's back to normal now except for the "roid rage" hangover he experiences after these steroid treatments. WOW is all I have to say! So very thankful for amazing care and the Great Physician who has faithfully guided us through these scary spells.

Lulu and Doc were able to use two Russell cabins at Lake Martin for Labor Day. We had a cabin to ourselves -- it was precious, we enjoyed great weather, and the boys just loved our weekend at the lake. Lots of swimming, boating, and playing with dogs. It felt like a true mini-vacation.

We are looking forward to next summer at Lake Martin when Lulu and Doc's new lake house is finished. I'm sure our water-loving boys will make great childhood memories there.