He's 2!

G Little's actual birthday was a small celebration just us! He was a little fire bug and enjoyed blowing out his candle, eating cupcakes at school and home, and unwrapping the first gift of the season.

Two years have flow by quickly, but little man you have stolen our hearts! On to another year of adventure...

The Big Birthday Bash...

G Little starting coughing early in the week so this Momma thought we would fight early and start his low dose breathing treatments...boy I was I wrong. They were like a squirt gun on a house fire. He woke up early Thursday morning...a very sick little boy so off to visit our favorite pediatrician and the bad news that little man had croup. Loads of steroids and strict instructions on breathing treatments....we left the office with a very upset little boy. And a canceled birthday party. No worries, we will be playing those reindeer games next year!

So instead we spent that Saturday in our pajamas having a G Little Day! The morning started with snowman pancakes...yup the chocolate chips were definitely eaten...pancakes not so much!

Then painting some Christmas crafts.....

And he started feeling a little more like himself...a bath, a fresh set of jammies and a glass of your favorite beverage...he's all smiles!

Getting those Decorations Up...

In early December, we hurriedly decorated the house expecting to have a big birthday bash...Gavin loved helping his daddy put up the lights. We got all the Christmas trees up and decorated with out any crazy incidents...actually he's barely paid them any attention this year. Quite the surprise for our active little guy...

My hubby loves me so much...that he hung colored lights on the house this year :)

Thanksgiving

I was horrible at taking pictures this Thanksgiving. I took none at my parents and just a few at Matt's. And this little guy above wouldn't stop for a minute so I could get a picture of his new longall. So I had to settle for some football helmet action. Papa Steele is collecting memorabilia for his man cave and his grandsons and great nephews love wearing these helmets around...G little is all about kicking the football right now and it was mighty comical with his helmet on!

Two Rounds of yummy food, loads of time with family, football games (some good, some definitely bad), the two best parts being with my boys and getting to reflect on all the amazing blessings God has given our little family! Oh and the answered prayer of NO repeat stomach bug this year! Praying for a healthier winter!

2 Weeks and Counting...

And its party time again in the Steele house! This Momma is planning away...here is a sneak peek at his birthday photo shoot with Adam Parker Photography! Love them!

Adam with his wonderful, beautiful assistant did a great job capturing this stage...the transitioning to a little boy!

First Sighting

Our first sighting of Santa didn't go so well. After being at home for most of the week fighting bronchitis, we decided to head up to G Little's school last Friday so he could meet the big guy and this momma was crossing her fingers that he just might take his picture with him. FAIL! Would not go near the big guy. We even tried leaving him for lunch so he could settle in without us for a picture. NO GO! I have two more chances at getting a picture! I know insane momma that I am but the next two will be a chance at a family picture. Plus this boy has way too many Christmas outfits to not keep trying :)

So a little update at 23 months:

~ He loves to help you sweep or vaccum.

~He hates to brush his teeth and the past few days he has started to hate the "suds" when you bath him but is ok with being washed.

~He is still a pretty good eater but it is definitely when he is ready to eat.

~G loves his new tumbling class and is too cute trying to jump on the trampoline.

~He loves to hide and you come find him.

~And just like every boy..loves loves loves to be outside.

~A master at the iPad.

~Still loves music...all kinds...and loves Elmo and Play with me Sesame.

~Picks up on a routine in a hard beat.

~Will follow simple directions like putting items in the trash can and picking up his toys.

~The playground has replaced the pool...so when you leave the neighborhood he lets you know you missed the turn.

~Still loves his golf clubs and golf balls...

~likes the phone...heard him say "Hi Daddy" tonight to Matt just as clear as can be.

~He likes to do opposites with you...you say up and he immediately follows with down

~loves to turn the lights on and off but has off confused with on at the moment.

~ He still does his grunt/humming sound when concentrating or really tired in the car.

~He can spot an airplane like nobody's business!

His vocabulary is growing and its amazing which new words he picks up. The latest two are stuck and stop. Stuck is funny but this Stop business just adds to the fun tantrums; which he apparently threw a major one at daycare yesterday. At a level they have never seen him do before....great times!

His list of words includes uh-oh, football, baseball, more, no, yeah, bye-bye, moon, hi, ball, eat, momma, dada, nose, ears, eyes, baby, night night, open, up, down, the end, book open, elmo, cheese, choo-choo, ice cream, pop, bubbles, cookie, hat, milk, juice, fish, truck, please, thank you, golf club, stuck, stop, stop it, see it, hot, shoes, me, poop, circle, outside, go, Jake, Josh, mine, banana, home, on, off, jacket, airplane, amen, one, two, three, boo-boo, stink (and knows to reference his feet!), help, papa, ice cream, and I am sure that I have missesd a few. He still signs a good bit including milk, eat, more, help, baby, banana, fish and please!

And thankfully he seems a ton better! His coughing has diminished greatly and hears praying for a very healthy Thanksgiving this year!

He's a Wild Man

Today G Little turned 23 months and thankfully we are feeling a little better around this house! And as you can see very close to the terrific two's!

Happy Halloween

Beware this is the post of pictures :)

Our little family had a great Halloween weekend. Friday night we carved our pumpkin and you can see just what G thought of that!

He's really frustrating to photograph lately because he either wants to run the camera, cheese it or act like you aren't taking pictures...

So finally he decided this pumpkin carving might be fun and by fun he meant putting the pumpkin gooey back in the pumpkin!

Watching daddy carve him up....

Saturday was full of play...running around getting pink stuff for Baby Eloise...oh and getting a Yellow Jacket Win! And today was super fun! He had his class party and costume parade. Momma was lucky enough to be able to sneak out of work to participate. G of course...didn't want to wear his hat! He has some super sweet teachers that went all out. They were even dressed up as lady bugs today...let's just say the kids this morning did not quite know what to think!

He's already a fire bug...

Waiting on daddy to get this trick or treating started...

And we are off...

He enjoyed some of his candy and then we jumped in the car and headed to the hospital. We were real rebels and were able to sneak past the nurses so he could meet his new buddy, Miss Eloise. He thought her bed lamp was super cool (She's fighting jaundice) and was sweet checking her out. We can't wait for her to come home!

Happy Halloween!

A Good Day

We had a good day! G Little visited the ENT for a check up on those tubes today. Knock on wood! We have had no ear infections since April! So they are still perfectly placed and he was on super behavior for the hearing test they gave him. The audiologist was loving him. Sadly I had more conference calls so it was back to school for him. G Little was not happy!

Yup, we are stellar parents this year and instead of making the trip to one of the hundreds of pumpkin patches around here....we went to Pike's. Hey, all the pumpkins are half off! And yup I loaded up the red wagon with as many as Matt would let me take home. G Little was just as happy to watch the guy blowing the leaves. Followed by yummy bbq, baths and a tired boy who went sweetly to bed.

Can't wait to carve our pumpkins tomorrow!

And most of all I can't wait to meet Baby Davis! Momma Davis was admitted this evening :)

3:30 AM is NOT snack time

3:30 AM has to be G's favorite time of night. While I was pregnant, its when I would wake each night and like predicted it was the time he wanted a bottle as an infant and now...well now it's snack time. The hour he wakes when he needs an extra fill in that belly. The hour he wakes to let you know he's sick...cold...wet....and needs an extra snuggle.

I know I will miss these days! Before I blink he will be 16 and sneaking downstairs for a snack without me. So after a cup of milk, a cereal bar and now at 5AM a bowl of grits...I guess we will go ahead and start this day so much for catching up on sleep this Saturday morning!

Sorry about the picture...trying to learn this new lense :)

Flying First Class...

To celebrate G Little's 22 month birthday, I thought it would be a wise decision to take him on his first plane ride! So lots of praying and planning and praying!

We had a great ride to the airport, and made it easily through security. Everyone was helpful. Other travelers offered to assistance and TSA was even patient and smiling at little man. We make it to the gate. He's happily riding in his stroller and he eats dinner great. We happily board the plane. And I am thinking how great this is going....

The looks people shot me as they joined us in first class were pretty skeptical that they were going to have a nice flight to Denver with little man sitting up there. But God answers my prayer of having the gentlemen in the seat next to us to be filled with patience for little man. Smiles..chats with him a bit...we even find out his wife just found out she's expecting their first litte one. All still seems to be going great....

G Little is playing great on the plane and not fussing. He's enjoying watching all the hussle and bustle outside the plane even pointing out the trucks and other airplanes as they pass by. I scored big points with surprising him with a mini magnadoodle!

Then we taxi away and find out the grounds team has sent us in the wrong direction....takes a little time to turn around. We finally make it to our runway and find out we are 20th in line to leave....we are well over an hour now late leaving. Then the fun really begins...pilot comes on and says something is wrong with the inflight air conditioning and we have to return to the gate. We finally make it to the gate around 8:50 and maintenance boards the plane. G Little is still doing great...entertaining the folks around us. Walking around a bit and now sporting his cute jammies...at 10:10 pm we back away from the gate with the air conditioning checked out. G Little does great in take off while his momma's heart is racing with all the thoughts of his losing it..this plane crashing, etc. But he's eating it up looking at all the lights. Then I notice we are circling the ATL and there is quite a rumbling that should not be happening...

Then that pilots lovely voice comes back on...and says the dreaded words....we have to turn around AGAIN....the door to the landing gear will not close. And we can't fly to Denver with the door open...and to make this even better...G Little has just passed out! He's sound asleep...

We land and again everyone is so helpful with trying to get G Little off the plane. The flight attendants were amazing on this flight and were so helpful in getting the stroller and the sleeping boy loaded up. We get off the plane and its getting close to midnight by this point. The gate agents then announce...the tower called some local pilots and it looks like we are getting a 2:15 am flight. Then the debate do I drive this boy all the way home and wake up at the crack o' dawn or stick it out...by this point he's awake and seems happy....so we stick it out. We met some really nice folks that night and he entertained the grandmas waiting with us with his white hair phobia and all. Dancing and showing them how to use the iPad. But the best of all...the gate agent had the nerve to call this momma out at 1:45 am for letting my little guy dance around the waiting area....yes he was pole dancing on there divider thingy but heck an almost 2 year old at 1:45 am was not screaming his head off and entertaining your frustrated customers...give a momma a break!

We sleepily made it to Denver around 5:45 am local time and G Little cried for the first time all night with they turned on the lights for us to unload...he's a trooper! This is one proud momma of her little guy. I know the coming years there will be moments I want to hide under my bed...but for one night he was complimented by all the passengers even the ones with us in first class were surprised at his excellent behavior...so many compliments at the baggage claim!

So lesson learned besides the usual have extra diapers, snacks, clothes and toys to entertain your little one...if traveling alone with your little one use those skymiles for a first class seat and find some other good mommas traveling with you! Because there will be moments maneuvering through the flight that you will need an extra set of hands!

And I don't know if I am brave enough to do that by myself with two little ones....

Celebrating Baby D

So we have been excited for well quite awhile now about the arrival of Baby Davis...so a few saturday's ago we set about to shower Momma to be with love, food and gifts. I have been worrying about this shower since the moment they announced their blessing to us...let's just say this lady is hard to top when it comes to events...gifts...decorating...

Here's the momma with her awesome corsage. Let's just say it was complete with plastic nekid baby and silk greenery....mark that florist off the list for future purchases


So as usual they were difficult :) and did not find out the gender of the sweet little babe...and I was not going for the usual green and yellow decorations. I found a sweet shower invitation in pink and blue and there we went. A shout out to Gabriel's for the wonderful cake and working with me on short notice. Yes, I had a crazy moment and thought I would bake the cake myself...HA! But it was scrumptious and beautifully decorated!


Of course more food than we ever need...but else would you expect from these southern ladies...

Learned a lesson about this delicious punch...it makes enough for an army! No wonder Mrs. Phyllis used it for my wedding so I will cut the recipe next time. We used mason jars and cute straws for the drinks...pick your color for your guess of the gender!

And of course trying to be a sweet wife, I let the daddy of this cutie play golf with the daddy to be...thinking oh he will sleep through the shower. I mean he sleeps through the chaos at school everyday. Ha! He was up and full of entertainment. Thanks ladies for putting up with my little mess!

Gotta love that bed head! Don't worry we chopped it all off the next week...sniff..sniff..He looks like a big boy!

Hi!

It's been awhile...lots to update you on especially with Little Man. His vocabulary is exploding. But for now...a blog I have come to love...Sanctified Pearl!

God is dealing with my heart in several ways right now...and one being my easily becoming overwelmed with all the things I think I MUST accomplish so glad to know that others fight this battle with me!

Be back later...and of course with pictures!

Making Momma's Heart Melt...

Some little boy was very, very quiet this Saturday morning...and this is the mess his momma found him sitting in. Makes my heart melt to see how much he is really starting to enjoy books! Hopefully he has that little bit of me in him...

Our new "CHEESE" face...which is a new word to his vocabulary!

Where did a year go...

These pictures were taken almost a year to the date apart at one of my favorite churches in Charleston. Sigh! At least he still has some of those chunky love rolls...

Happy (Belated) Father's Day

We took Matt to the Braves game Friday for his Father's Day present....we had a great time. Little Man did so well...he made it through the whole game...flirting with all the women, winning over the ice cream man, and enjoying the people watching!

The camera battery to the big camera was left in the car...so I enjoyed playing with my itouch and the my new infinicam app..(thanks L!)

So Tired

We definitely have a little water bug...and I can't wait to see what he thinks of the beach in a few weeks! He played so hard in the pool that he passed out over his lunch...little snores and all...sigh...off to catch up on all the little things while he naps!

Mr. H's Kindergarten Graduation

Little Man and I were able to see Mr. H graduate from kindergarten this week. He was in a class of 7 boys...


Singing some of their chapel worship songs...G was clapping and dancing along...


Getting his certificate...

Picture with his momma... Mr. H picked her dress out so she would be the prettiest momma :)Mr. H is very good with G and we enjoy our weekly Firehouse subs and yogurt together. He's been deemed G's officially peanut butter sniffer...since Mr. H hates peanut butter as much as Little Man doesn't need to eat it.

Yay! Aunt V's Finally Done

Mother's Day Weekend was not only the House of Poo...and I don't mean Winnie for us but a great weekend of celebration...we loved our mothers and grandmothers from afar; which I know they all appreciated! But we also made trips to Columbus to see Aunt V receive her pin and take her oath with all her fellow nursing students and then on Monday she walked in her cap and gown...

Here she is receiving her pin...

With Little Man...

Who didn't last long inside the cermony...and here is mad at his momma for saying no to playing on a dirty golf cart...

With the grandparents...

We are so excited for what the future holds for Aunt V...slightly hoping she makes it to Atlanta...