18 months

Our E-man.

There he is.

A little blurry from being in near constant motion with food bits around that sweet smile.

Very shortly he will be 18 months old.

Wow.

Right now his favorite activities are climbing, exploring and running around after his big bro'. The climbing and exploring have given his daddy and me some hair raising moments while the sounds of good-natured shouting and laughter as he and the Bubs play keep smiles on our faces.

Yo Gabba Gabba and any music with a beat keep him shimmying and shakin'. It's so stinkin' cute!

He jabbers away in a language that only he can completely understand but we all "uh-huh" and "oh, tell me about it" as if we're all having a conversation with him. He loves that.

His favorite item, by far, is his "binky". His binky is a blue, cable-knit baby blanket that I bought extremely reduced at a local Ross store before he was born. It's very soft and we have to sneak it away from him to throw it in the wash.

His newest skill is, by far, our favorite. He's learned to give hugs.

Oh, how those hugs smooth out the rough edges of our days!

Just one of the guys?

I'm surrounded by boys.

I'm the lone lady in a sea of guy-ness.

Talk of football and rude body sounds doesn't phase me. In fact, I've been known to join in!

I have my own XBox Live account and play video games when the mood strikes...and the baby's asleep.

Totally dig watching the Steelers play on our flat screen in the bedroom.

Yep. One of the guys..............................

Um, I think I need some girl time!

School year started with a sniffle...

Well, the Bubs officially has the beginning-of-the-school-year creepin' crud. Poor kid.

The sniffles started this weekend and laid him low today. He and the couch shared some quality time...as did his handy box of tissues.

What did I do?

I fought the good fight against those creepin' crud bugs. Lysol spray and sanitizer were my main weapons of choice. The aim is to keep the little guy from getting the crud, too.

Even my dad, an elementary ed. teacher, has mentioned that he was going to take extra precautions with his students to keep them as healthy as possible. Frequent hand washings was top on the list.

I trust that you all had a fabulous and safe Labor Day weekend...looking forward to reading all about it when I visit your blogs!

**And here's my shameless plug~ Have you visited my new site, yet?**

Linking up

Check it out...a new post over at Anna K. Originals!

Thanks so much to the peeps who have been stopping by and gracing me with such beautiful comments! I'm blessed.

Random Randomness....A List

• I'm ready for cooler weather. Seriously.
• Praying that Hurricane Earl (and all his stormy siblings out at sea) makes little to no impact.
• Amazed that my 17 m.o. is now climbing up on everything in sight. Eek!
  
• Had a quiet moment with the Bubs this evening. We crashed in his bed and each read our own books. He read Thomas and the Great Discovery while I read a J.D. Robb book, Fantasy in Death. Those moments together are golden.
• Where did August go?
• Just caught up on a whole lotta blog reading. Y'all continually amaze me! So much talent, such giving hearts. Blessings to you!

Sweet Shot Tuesday

This past Sunday, my grandfather (G-daddy as I think of him) was honored for teaching Sunday School for 60 years.

Sixty.
Six decades.
Over half a century.
Wow.

G-daddy has also been a deacon, church plumber, handy-man...a steady presence in the churches he has been a part of. He also ministered by driving my great-grandmother to the mountains of our state (when my Dad was younger) so she could carry out her calling- ministering to Cherokee Native Americans. G-daddy and my great-grandmother, along with my Nana, would dispense clothing that they'd spent the year collecting, teach basic skills and share their faith with the people for whom my great-grandmother held in her heart. Without G-daddy's help that wouldn't have been a possibility.

My Nana was also honored for her diligent service over the years. She wasn't expecting it....she was delighted none-the-less! Among her other activities that she's involved with, she's the church treasurer. Good with numbers, she is.

So there you have it. My Sweet Shot Tuesday. My faithful grandparents.

May they continue to be blessed as they have continually blessed others!

Painting the stars....literally!

Our living room needs some love...and by love I mean money. Well, love of the monetary kind is being diverted to other needs at the moment so what's a gal to do?

Paint something, of course! Did you expect anything different from an artist?

While I like these stars, the red has gotten to be a bit much, lately. The leftover paint was raided and my trusty drop cloth came out. About fifteen minutes later, those red stars had become fresh and new again. Um, wish other things were that easy to update!

Why the sudden interest in "freshening up" our living room?

Some of the Hubby's fam will be joining us for Thanksgiving this year. The furniture is looking a little worn (we have kids!) and I've never really been able to pull the whole room together. I'm feeling some renewed inspiration and have decided to go for it in a thrifty kind of way....stay tuned for further projects and results!