Big Cats

"One day, I heard this weird noise in this bush. I looked to see what it was and it wasn't a cheetah or anything, it was just a bird".

I feel so relieved to know there are no cheetahs in my neighbor's yard.

Trimming the Tree

It's one of my favorite times of the year. Time to decorate for Christmas. This year Noah really wanted to help me decorate the tree and gave up time playing outside to do it. I tried to give him the ornaments that were less likely to get broken since he can't reach very high on the tree and that puts them in reach of Grayson. He did a great job and I only had to rearrange a few of them. Grayson wanted to be involved, but he mostly ended up playing with a talking ornament that we have. I'm sure he'll be more helpful when it comes to taking the ornaments off the tree. Both boys had fun and the tree looked great when we were finished. We are all ready for the holidays.

Littlest Scarecrow

Noah had farm day at school today. There was a petting zoo, a family picnic in the classroom, and the kids could dress up as some sort of animal or character you might find on a farm. I made a little outfit for Noah to be a scarecrow, and he was so adorable. Everyone at the school was talking about how great he looked, and I must say, I totally agree with them.

Grayson's One Year Pics

My parent's took Noah to have pictures taken at a studio called Portrait Innovations when he was a year old. They took Grayson to the same place and the pictures are unbelievably adorable. Here are just a few of them. This boy is going to break hearts one day with those eyes.

Happy Birthday Noah

Today, my little boy turns four. The last year has flown by and I can't believe we have already made it to this day. Noah is so smart, so sweet, and so funny. He started school this year and has done really well with it so far. He gets great comments from his teachers and it seems to be making him more outgoing. He's a great big brother to Grayson and helps his with toys and other things we wants to do. He keeps us laughing all the time with his goofy little songs and sayings or silly little dances. He's loving, and sweet, and can sill melt my heart. He's one amazing little boy.

We had a small birthday party for him here at the house. He was very excited to blow out the candle on his cake and this was the first year he didn't get upset when we sang happy birthday to him.

He had a blast playing with his cousins and visiting with family. He really liked all his gifts, especially his new dinosaurs, which he had picked out himself. It was a full day of fun with family and he was so worn out at the end of it. I'm so glad we got the chance to celebrate this spunky little four year old that I love with all my heart.

Touch a Truck 2015

Last year we missed the Touch a Truck event and I was bummed. I knew Noah would really like it. This year we managed to catch it and it was a lot of fun. A little warm, but still fun. We got to see a roller skate truck, an army truck, several fire trucks, various work trucks, and even a police dog. Noah had a good time climbing inside and exploring the trucks and Grayson even got in on the action a little.

We got to watch a helicopter take off, which was great until it completely blasted us with sand. Other than that, it was a pretty cool event. I think we will be looking for this one again next year.

Cookie Face

Both of my boys love to get the free cookies at Publix. I don't mind them having them because it keeps them happy while I shop. The little one ends up wearing more of the cookie than he eats sometimes, but he wears it well.

Noah's First Day of School

Today was Noah's first day of preschool. I expected panic and tears based on previous experiences, but I got neither. Noah just walked right in and lined up with the other kids to walk to his class. He waved bye to us with the biggest smile on his face and I was so proud of him. I, on the other hand, could barely hold it together and cried like a baby when I got to the car. At least one of us was brave.

Fun at the Zoo

The Howells invited us to tag along with them to the zoo today, and of course we were glad to go. It's so much fun to see the kids together and watch them point things out to each other. They are really adorable and it's going to be fun to watch them grow up together.

Yogurt Face

Grayson loves yogurt and eats a lot of it. I still feed it to him because he's not great with a spoon, but he always wants to play with the cup and spoon when we are finished. Today I let him do it, and it went pretty much the way I expected.

He must get his yogurt eating skills from his big brother...

Grayson's First Birthday Party

I can't believe it's already time for this little guy's birthday party. It still doesn't seem possible that he's already a year old.

We had cupcakes on his actual birthday, which he loved.

This weekend we had a party at the house. We pulled out the inflatable pool and had some water guns for the kiddos to play with. They had a blast. 

Grayson had a great time and really enjoyed his cake. He has been such a blessing to us and I just can't wait to see what God has in store for this little guy. We love you Grayson!

Happy Birthday Grayson

"His little hands stole my heart...and his little feet ran away with it."

I can't believe our little guy is already a year old. It's true what they say; when you have kids, the days seem long but the years seem short. This one has flown by. Grayson has been such a blessing to us and our family and there just aren't enough words to explain how much I love this child.

We knew that having a second child would be an adjustment. Some had told us it was easy, most told us it was really hard. I was a little nervous about it because I worried that we might have a really fussy baby that would make the adjustment harder. As it turns out, there was no need to worry. We thought Noah was a good baby until we had Grayson. He has been amazing. He's happy 99% of the time and will break out in the biggest grin if you just look at him. He definitely made the transition from one child to two super easy for us.

At a year old, Grayson is very independent and strong willed. He will get angry and refuse to eat until you give him a fork and let him feed himself. He knows exactly what he wants and even though he isn't really talking much yet, he finds ways to let you know what that is. He loves his big brother and loves to follow him around. This does sometimes annoy Noah when Grayson is interfering with his mega block construction project or disturbing his extra long train. But most of the time they play really well together. Grayson is happy as long as he can play with and around his big brother. I can't wait to see that bond grow as they get older.

He is incredibly smart. He loves to play in the water and gets really excited when you mention taking a bath. He loves to snuggle while holding the tag on his blanket and he is the most loving child. He will often walk over without invitation and just hug your leg and and laugh. It's just about the best thing ever. He loves to be outside and point out birds and airplanes. He really likes for Papa to ride him around on the toy tractor using an umbrella to push the pedal to make it go. Sadly, he eats about like his brother always has. He can be picky and doesn't always want to eat much at a time. He seems to prefer eating a little here and there throughout the day. Hopefully that will change as he gets older.

You don't understand as a new parent how such a tiny person can change your life and your heart so much. What I didn't realize was that it would happen again with a second tiny person. It's like your heart just expands to add more room to give and receive love. I love seeing the ways that he's like Noah and the ways that he's different. It's amazing how much he has added to our lives in such a short time. It's just another example of how truly amazing our God is that He would give us such an amazing little boy to call our son. We are so blessed to have him in our lives and I'm so thankful that he's ours. I can't wait to see how he grows and changes in the next year.

 

The Best Train Track

Today, like many days, we built a train track. But not just any train track. This was a very special train track. It had a place for dinosaurs.

It had a place for zoo animals.

It had marine life in the water under the bridge.

It had a fire truck standing by to help in case of emergency.

And it had one happy three year old to play with it all.

Go ahead. Admit it. Our train track is better than yours.

Happy Birthday Noah

Today, our silly, happy little Noah is three years old. I can't believe how quickly the last three years have flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday that we brought him home and began this adventure of parenthood. Now he's running all over the house and making us laugh on a daily basis.

He's changed a lot over the last year. First, he is incredibly smart. He picks up on new ideas quickly and then will explain them to other people. Sometimes when I may not be giving him my full attention, he'll tell me, "You have to listen to people when they talk to you". This is something I've said to him many times as he's wandering away from me when I'm trying to tell him something. His attention span may not have changed much, but his ability to retain and use information correctly definitely has. It has also become easier to reason with him, which makes avoiding arguments and tantrums more of a possibility.

He became a big brother this year. We were not quite sure how he would handle the new addition, but he has been a fantastic big brother so far. He will go get diapers for me to change Grayson, or a pacifier that may be just out of reach. He is very loving with Grayson and likes to give him kisses on his forehead. If he comes into a room and Grayson isn't there, Noah will ask me where he is. If he hears Grayson crying, you will probably hear him say, "Let me go see 'bout him". He is a very loving and protective big brother.

He has grown more patient. This is a major change that I have noticed. He loves to build big towers with blocks, but would always get very frustrated and upset when the tower would fall over. Now, he will tell you as he's building it that it might fall over, but that's okay; you just have to try again. He's more okay now with being wrong and with not getting things right on the first try. Instead of running away crying, he will just try again. I love seeing this little glimpse of maturity in him. I can also see it in how caring he is. If he sees that you are upset or hurt, he will ask you if you are okay, and give you a big hug if you're not. If you get a boo boo, he will kiss it to make it feel better. He is a very loving little boy who seems to have a big heart.

He is definitely all boy. He loves digger things and pusher things (backhoes and bulldozers), he loves his trucks and cars, and he spends a good amount of time crawling around the house growling like his favorite dinosaur, a t-rex. He will pick up pretty much any bug that he sees to give it a closer inspection, and has recently been able to catch tiny frogs out in the yard. He loves to play in puddles after a good rain and really doesn't mind getting dirty. He is full of energy and full of love, and I just can't believe he belongs to us. We are so blessed to call this amazing little boy our son, and I can't wait to see what joys the next year with him brings.

Labor Day 2014

This year, we decided to take another Larkin family trip down to Pensacola. We had a great time playing on the beach and spending some time with family. Noah enjoyed splashing in the water, and had a great time helping the guys dig a giant hole in the sand.

It was Grayson's first trip to the beach. He pretty much hung out in the shade and in the condo. We'll get him in the sun and sand next time. He did try on Noah's old bathing suit and hat, which was just adorable. He also took a dip in the indoor pool, which he seemed to really enjoy.

The guys had fun with Grandpa's paddle boards, and even turned one of them into a slide for the kids. Then they chased a few crabs up onto the sand for the kids to take a look at. 

We had a lot of fun and completely wore Noah out. We are planning to make this trip every other year and it should be a lot of fun to see how the kids change each time. I'm sure the 'big boys' will have them doing some crazy things the next time we go.