Family Time

Will, Emma, Luke and Carter with great grandparents Nene and Papa

Cousins sitting in the swing after playing hard.

Mama Sue, Papa and Will (As you can see, Will wanted to get down and play.

Being silly with Emma.

My parents and grandparents came up for a few days and we had a great time. Will loved having them here and was very sad when they left. He got to have all the attention on him for a few days and was such a show off! We also had our cousins the Watson's over on Tuesday night. Will and Carter are exactly 2 months apart and we had so much fun playing baseball in the backyard.

First Flower

I just have to share this because it was so sweet. For some reason, since I've wanted to be a mom since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of my little boy bringing me a flower that he picked all by himself without prompting. Well, today that came true, and I never would have thought this before but I now see the beauty in the little flowers that come from the clover clumps in the yard. (You know the ones that we all used to make necklaces with when we were little). I was sitting on the front porch and Will walked into our neighbor's yard and picked a flower and brought it to me. It made me melt. I said, "Thank you, that is sooooo pretty!" and he went back and got another one to give me. Pretty soon, I had a bouquet of 5 or 6 little white clover flowers and they were the prettiest flowers I've seen. I tried to take a few pictures of him holding the bouquet but I haven't uploaded them yet so I will post them when I can find the time.

Funny Hair

We finally have hair to play with after the bath.

Patience

Do you ever lose your patience with your child? When it comes to Will I've discovered that I have a great deal of patience with him. I'm usually able to have patience during the tantrums and crying but today I completely lost it with him. I feel so guilty and wonder if he was thinking, "Who kidnapped my mommy and traded her with this terrible mean one?" We were getting ready to go to a birthday party and I was running late and I hate being late. It stresses me out. I was trying to get him dressed in his cute little birthday jon jon and he would have no part in it. He did NOT want to wear it and fought me with every ounce of strength he had. I was determined to get this outfit on him and I did, but not without treating him in a way I shouldn't have. I feel so guilty getting so upset over a stupid little outfit.
I guess the days of dressing him like a baby are getting few and far between. Getting him dressed for church in his smocked outfits is becoming a hassle. Who knew a 21 month old would have such an opinion about what he's wearing?
He got over it quickly and loved on me and smiled again, but I still feel so guilty for losing my cool. I know it's going to happen again, but hopefully after the guilt I feel, I will handle the situation differently next time. It's good to know that at this age, your children will still love you, no matter what happens.

Sandboxes and new students

Okay,
I'm tired of looking at the same old post. I haven't been very good at updating lately. Nothing new is going on here. I really haven't taken many pictures lately. I took a few at Brooks' 1st birthday party and have been meaning to post them but I haven't had time. We've been spending alot of time outside. We got Will a sandbox on Saturday and he liked playing in it. He doesn't understand the concept of keeping the sand IN the sandbox.
I'm working everyday this week because Katie, my job share partner is at the beach and we switched some days. It really hasn't been that bad. It's just hard leaving Will everyday. For all you teachers out there, you will understand this... My year has gone by pretty good. I have good kids in my class. They are all big talkers but I don't have any major discipline problems. Well, I shouldn't have been so smug about my good class because two weeks ago, everything changed when a new boy walked in my room. He has completely exhausted me and somedays I think I'm going to have a panic attack, heart attack or stroke. He has stolen from me, peed on himself (on purpose) because I wouldn't let him go to the bathroom that second (he's 9 years old, he can hold it!), brought his uncles crappy cologne to school and sprayed it all over our room (we had to open all the windows and it was during the freezing cold week in April) so we all had to put our coats on because we couldn't breathe. I could tell you ten more stories but I just am tired of thinking about him. He has worn me out. I wish parents would be parents and if they aren't going to be good parents then they shouldn't have children. Sorry for my opinion but it just makes me bitter that I have to deal with this horrible child. Okay, now I feel a little bit better. I only have 14 more days of work until the summer. I CAN'T WAIT!
Here are a few pictures from the birthday party.

Me, Will, Lilly, Katie, Abby, Dee Dee and Beau

Heather, Brooks, Me and Will

Prayers for my brother

This is an old picture but the only one I could find at the moment.

My brother leaves today on his third deployment in three years. He was deployed to Iraq the first two times and now he is going on a ship for six or seven months. Please try to pray for him everyday if you can. It is so hard on my family and we are worried about him everyday. This time it won't be as dangerous but your prayers are still needed. His name is Edward Donahoo and I'm so proud of him. He made a suprising decision to attend the Navel Academy for college and did very well. If you go to the Navel Academy your tuition is paid for and you have to serve in the military for five years after graduation. We never dreamed there would be a war, especially lasting as long as it has. He has done such a good job. He is a 1st Lieutenant and he has been such an awesome leader. He has received many accolades from his superior officers and I'm so proud of my baby brother. He will always be my baby brother to me even though he is 26! Here is the email he wrote to my parents with information on his deployment.

My new email on the ship will be donahooej@denver.usmc.mil We have
about a month in transit accross the pacific so I would love to get an email
from you. My new address will be:
1stLt Donahoo, Edward J.
CLB13 Det B
Unit 42331
FPO AP 96610-2331
Hope everyone is doing well. We will be in the Pacific for the next 6 months acting as a kind of police force. We know that we stop in Thailand, Singapore, Kuwait, and Hawaii on the way back. Other than that, we don't really know. Things can always change too. I hope to see everyone in 6-7 months.

Easter in Montgomery

Me and my sweet neice Anne Welch

Playing outside at Papa and Mama Sue's house. Trying to get all four to sit for a picture is an almost impossible task.

Uncle David caught a turtle instead of the baseball that Copeland dropped in the lake. All four kids were fascinated with it. Poor turtle. I put him back in the lake unharmed.

The only picures I managed to get of Will in his Easter outfit. There was a family picture but due to the whale like look I had, I chose not to post it. It's so depressing to look at full length pictures of myself in a dress.

Easter Egg Hunt

We went to our church's Easter egg hunt at Eagles Rest Farm. Will was able to get one egg in his basket and managed to lose that one. He was more interested in picking up rocks and putting them in his basket. I know this is picture overload but I just can't help it, there all so cute. We went out to eat at Poncho's after the hunt and had so much fun with the Parkers, Bowens and McDonalds. After dinner, the kids all played in a grassy area in front of the restaurant. I think we have a future football player. Will and Jackson ran around tackling each other. It brings me so much joy to see Will playing with other children and having so much fun. He could have played another hour if we let him.

Little Backyardigan

Here are a few pictures of Will playing outside today. We got him some gardening boots at Target and he loves them! He has learned how to climb on our fence and is very proud of his new trick.

Will's Future Girlfriend

We went to the Nolensville Women's Fair this morning with Brooke and Lauryn Semanchik. She is going to be a heartbreaker one day! We have a busy weekend and the weather here is absolutely beautiful! Will loves playing outside and he is so much happier and content when he can play in the backyard. I think God created spring for mothers!

Happy Birthday Len!!

We went to Gastonia this week to see our cousins Gage and Davis. It's a seven hour drive and we were dreading that part of the trip but Will did really good. Thank heavens for portable DVD players. I don't know what our parents did when we were little. We had a great time! Will loved playing with his cousins. He got to ride on the John Deere tractor and Gator. He couldn't figure out how to push the petal though. He loves their little dog Millie. He played with her and kept trying to pick her up. He also got to ride in his late grandpa George's 62 Corvette. He actually just played in it. Len and I took it out for a ride. It made Len so happy! We went to this field and flew a remote control airplane. It was so cute to watch the boys run to the airplane after it crashed. Ward and Heather took us to Charlotte to eat at Morton's to celebrate Len's birthday. It was fabulous and our first time eating there. Will did great with the babysitters and it was so much fun to see the look on his face when we got home. We also celebrated Len's Bday with hot pink cupcakes as you can see on Will's face. We had a great trip home. Oh and I happened to catch Will picking his nose for the first time and got a picture of that too! He hasn't done it since. Enjoy!

Who do you think he looks like?

These are our baby pictures at around the same age as Will.
Everyone always asks, "Where did he get that blonde hair?"

Should we be worried?

Just kidding! He's all boy, but he sure does love trying on my shoes. I was doing laundry and came in my room to this. It made me laugh so hard. Kids are so funny.

This is what happens when my mom cuts my hair....

I said I was going to do it. I decided to do it myself and I kind of botched it up. It really doesn't look that bad. He was afraid of the scissors so I just had to grab a chunk and cut it when I could.

Grandparents

Len's mom came to Hendersonville to check on her mom and we met her for dinner Saturday night and then went over to Len's great Aunt Sara's house to play a little bit. This morning, my mom called and told me that their flight had a two hour layover in Nashville so we hopped in the car and headed out to the airport to see SueSue and Papa. Will was so full of himself at the airport, running all over the place.

Bo Duke was on Tennessee Mornings last week and Len got to meet him. He drove up in the General Lee. Len was so excited because he grew up watching this show. I watched it too and loved it. I can't believe my parents let us watch it since they wouldn't even let us watch "ET." We usually had to watch Shirley Temple or Ann of Green Gables or something like that. Ha ha Sorry mom and dad, I'm still mad that you wouldn't let us see ET.

Cheese!

We have always had trouble getting Will to smile for pictures. We tried everything to get him to smile for his Christmas pictures but nothing worked. We taught him how to say "Cheese" for pictures and now he says it everytime although his version of the word is "CHEE" Here is a picture of him saying cheese.

Messy Boy

This is what he usually looks like at the end of the day.

One year ago

This is what my sweet little baby looked like one year ago. He was 8 months old and he was such a chunk!

Nashville Zoo

Brooke, Will and Frances at the Nashville Zoo


Will, Lauryn and Brooke eating lunch at the zoo. Look how big Lauryn is getting. She is almost six months old.