My little football star

AMongst many other things, elem just amazes me every single day. Its like very time I look at him, I just cant believe the words that are coming out of his mouth. Much less the actions that he does, when I thought he knew nothing. The other day we were chillin in the back yard waitin on daddy and uncle spoon to get home from playing some basketball, I think. So Elem and I were playin with his football. Being the big basketball players that we are, I didnt think much of it. But hey dont ya know, my little guy loves football too! He loves the shape of the ball, the color. And how he could throw this one and it would actually go where mommy had to get up to go get it! Its like he somehow knew to hold it the right way. And then to lay down on top it it! He totally knew it was light and he could throw it and pick it up with one hand! Such a smart baby to me.



Manipulating it...........such a clever baby.


Getting a few pointers from Uncle Spoon when he and daddy got home. Uncle Spoon coaches football, so we will let him be Elem's first coach! Sorry daddy, we love you though! You can teach me more basketball-per Elem.


Just happy to be there and happy to play. What more could a mom want from a son. Good sportsmanship and looks dang cute doing it! I love you Elem. You are my little football star as of today! You make me smile and no one can hold a football like you! You gett em bubba!

Caught in the act

Lately it seems that I have been "catching" Elem in the act-quite often. Its like I turn my head for one minute, and know that along with the silence in the room, there must be something really sneaky, yet fun, going on somewhere that Elem is. :) ha! This is what I have been finding him doing lately:

First..his obsession with the tiolet bowl brush. He just can not get enough of this tool for some reason, who enough of cleaning things with it. Sometimes the floor, sometimes the bath tub, and sometimes even better things! And it is kind of a catch because I need him to hang out in the bathroom while I take a shower-cause I dont always have Seth there to help out in the morning. Which means that I have to buy an extra one that stays clean so that my kid can play with it. haha. Not a good habit to get started I know. Here is is in action:







Yes that is my son cleaning Sage's water bowl with the toilet bowl cleaner. He is a cleaning freak what can I say? Guess better that than something really grose right? Or is that really grose? haha.

Okay and next we have little dude experimenting his climbing skills with his newest addition to the living room. I got this little tykes picnic table from our neighbors across the street who are moving. And it is proving to be quite the favorite toy thus far. So many things to do at it, on it, with it. haha. This is how I found Elem while I was trying to get his breakfast together for him. If I recall correctly, he had just gotten out of bed and mommy dearest was making eggs and toast. Hmm...



I know that might not have been the clearest video ever, but hey I could hardly see! I didnt even have my contacts in. SO this is what you get! But hey, you get the point...he is getting into everything!!!!!!!!

I love wedding showers!

I thought you got good stuff when you are having your baby, but geez people are soo kind and giving when you are getting married too! Seth and I have a lot of stuff, cause we have lived in our house for a little over a year now, but we got sooo much awesome stuff last weekend for our shower! I am super pumped, and so is he..mostly about the cooking stuff-cause he is a freak about cooking! But I just wanted to say a huge thanks to all of you who came to the shower and for everything you got us! We can not tell you how much it means to us to have so many people who love us and support our family!

First to the hostess-thank you so much! Ali, Mandy, and Karla-yall are soo awesome! We love ya'll so much and seriously appreciate getting everything together! All in the name of LOVE! :):) hehe. Now most of all-to Ali! thank you for allowing everyone to gather in your home and for the major dedication an insane awesomeness you put into the cake!

Me and Ali-isnt she the cutest mom ever?


The spread...now like I said, please check out that cake! Yes folks, she literally put every single dot of icing on there. How she found time to do that with a 14 month old, I have no idea. All I know is is was beautiful and delicious!


And a huge thanks to our mothers! Phyllis on the left and my mom on the right! Seth and I have the best parents ever. They are so supportive of us and always do everything they can to help us out! ANd of course the little guy in the middle. He is just the sweetest thing ever!


So while I am trying to open all those fabulous presents, Elem -of course-hamm-n it up in the middle of the circle. He needs all of the attention, ALL of the time dont ya know!


Luckily I was able to spend a few minutes getting some AWESOME gifts. We got towels, rugs, pots and pans, new bedding, pillows, dishes, everything!!!!!!Oh and most importantly, we got 3 tooth brush holders. Looks like that was the popular item of the day. Thanks girls. :):)



Again it was such a great shower! I know most people head back to their houses and wait until they move in together and what not to put all their stuff up, but since Seth and I have already been in our house and have a kid-you know I ran right home and started putting up the old and puttin out the new! It was sooo fun! I never thought we would get all that stuff since we are just having like a small family wedding at the beach. But all the stuff is so great and I am so happy that my frends and family could come out to support us! We love you all and are so thankful for each and every one of you!

Nothing like a man in uniform

A big man or a little man! Ha! As you know Seth is a big lover of jerseys-well sports in general. And I guess the thing these days is just to have as many jerseys as you possibly can. Anyways, this weekend my mom came in town for my wedding shower, so before she got there I decided to get Elem all dressed up in HIS big boy jersey! It actually was a baby shower gift from my bestest friends ever-(major props to all my girls who went in on all the Miami Heat stuff last year) and it is just now the right size for Elem to wear. And it just so happens that Elem's Jordan's pretty much fit him now too! Seth got him those for Christmas, and has been dying for him to wear them! Also, I feel like this is the best time to throw this in-my kid is wearing a 5 and a half Extra Wide. Holy cow! Is that crazy to anyone else?? Cause it is so totally true. I have kids at my school that are 2 years old and wear a 6-which he can wear by the way. -Okay back on track-

Seth left to go get mulch for the flower bed and he was wearing his D. Wade jersey, so Elem and I hurried to get him dressed before daddy got back for a big surprise! And before Memaw got there. This is what daddy saw when he drove up in the yard!


Don't you know Sage was waiting on daddy too. Love the wind blown, underbite, shaved look.


Seth was grinning from ear to ear! Memaw drove up shortly after. Seth went ahead and finished the flower bed, and then we all came outside to admire the pretty flowers and beautiful day. Daddy and Elem checkin out the neighbors yards to see
if they are as good as ours.-Not sure how your neighborhoods are, but dang-these days yards are a big deal. At least where we live they are.


I love my men in uniform-even if the Heat didnt make the playoffs this year-we still love us some D. Wade. Now if you are wondering why they have 2 different numbers with the same last name, that is because Elem is wearing D. Wade's Miami Heat jersey and Seth is wearing D. Wade's All Star jersey. Just FYI.


Memaw got in on the jersey boy lovin!


My little ball player gave me lots of lovin' that day! He is such a good boy. And doesn't even know how cute he is.


Shortly after these pics, my mom and I were off to the park with Elem-for some good quality sand box time. Seth informed me that Elem couldn't wear his "J's". Immediately I knew he was referring to the fact that they needed to stay white! I was like, you seriously think this 1 year olds shoes are going to stay white for more than like 3 wears. But whatever. We will keep them as white as possible for as long as we can!. I love my family. Love love love them. Guess I'll be next on the list to get a jersey. We'll see-stay tuned on that one.

"The Perfect Invitation" photo shoot

I have been frantically trying to spend the 10 free minutes I have to myself at night to work on getting the perfect 1st birthday invitation together for Elem. haha. Now I know it is silly to some, but I mean I really want it to be special. Why not? He only turns ONE once! SO after looking and looking and trying to find a photo card template that didnt cost $2 a card, I finally decided to go with www.photocardcafe.com. Ali told me about them and she had used them for Cecilia's birthday invitation so I checked them out. Amazingly enough they were pretty cheap. SO after looking and looking and looking trying to get one of the super cool templates to work, I ended up having to use one that wasnt my favorite but that was still cute.

The I started uploading pics and realized that I didnt have any recent pics of Elem( whatever you might say, I take pics every day I know!) But I mean like any recent ones that really looked like him and really looked good for the birthday card. So I waited one more day and on Thursday I took him to McAurther Park on Thursday morning before work. It is such a great park and there were hardly any people around, so I was able to get some good shots. They have a playground, ducks to feed, water, etc! SO here are a few from the photo shoot-but you will have to wait and see which ones will be on the invitation till they go out. ANd for those of you who dont get an invitation (not because we dont love you, but because we cant have like 100 people in our house for our 1 year olds birthday) I will be posting a picture of the invitation on here for all to see! haha! Enjoy:

He has spotted the ducks! He is smiling...but he is slightly concerned of their size. Well at least I was.They were huge!


...but he is slightly concerned of their size. Or maybe just I was concerned. Either way, they were huge!


Now the one in the middle, was barking at us, and despite the fact that Elem really wanted to pet the "dog" as he liked to call it-mommy made him stay back. I started tossing the bread for them, and then I just ended up chunking it as far as I could throw so they would try and eat my little baby who was the same size they were! ha!


Reading up on the Korean War. Poor baby needs all the exposure he can get to history, since his mommy is sooo awful at it! Bless him. Lets hope he gets his daddy's smarts in that category.


Off to the playground, where he can officially climb up the steps. What a big boy!


Elem!!! Wait for mommy. And it was at this point I realized that it was time to go. As Elem headed for the car. :)


There are tons more, but I wont bore you all! It was so much fun and I got a few really good pics. And I finally got the invitations done and ordered! Yay one huge thing done off my list, now just about a million more before the big birthday and the wedding. Hmmm, I actually havent done one thing for the wedding yet...guess I should get on that. Anyways, another day well spent admiring the simple things with baby Elem.

11 month milestones

April 8th marks Elem Zane's 11th month of life! I cant believe how fast time goes by and how quick my little baby is growing into a toddler. As I write this blog I am amazed at the changes he has made and all the things he has learned up to know and most of all in this last month. Just for starters, I simply laid him in bed with his bottle and he is out. No crying, no whining, no playing, just silence. He loves his bed and his space now and it is soo cool to see him go down without a fight and without me. haha. Although I do miss him throughout the night, I know it is better for all of us if he stays in his big bog bed-as we like to call it. :)

Things about Elem in this 11th month-

-Elem is walking-practically running everywhere and anywhere he wants to go

-walks backwards and is proud of it!

-can climb onto benches, little tables, pillows etc. Getting better and better at it as the days go by.

-says: momma, minnie, dada, dog, ball, baba (for bottle), go, bye (sometimes) and hi (sometimes), and just learned sage

-weighing in at 25 pounds!wahoo!

-loves to play peek a boo and pat a cake

-plays tug of war with sage and loves every second of it

-loves the water , and splashing in the bath

-drinks from a cup

-still has 6 teeth-4 on top and 2 on bottom

-enjoys being outside and loves to swing

-such a good mannered baby and always is smiling-except right when he wakes up!

-is a people watcher and loves to watch what people and children are doing, likes to be nosy

-plays at length by himself-will play with toys etc for about 30 minutes or more if interested

-balls are still his most favorite toys and he clings to them anywhere he goes

-is obsessed with cleaning objects, loves to sweep with a big person broom, and play with the toilet brush- nice I know! I have to keep a clean one for him haha. , and play with the dust buster.

-loves loves loves music and claps and dance when he hears it

-smiles and flirts with all women and girls, but will not let any one hold him but a few people

-starting to hit things when he gets frustrated or mad

-gives lots of open mouth kisses



Those are the major things I can think of for now! Such a sweet baby overall and still just as calm as can be. Although I am seeing some signs of frustration when he cant do things he wants to do which leads to anger. He does know how to throw a fit, dont get me wrong, but he also loves on you like crazy! He gives so many kisses and does it so sweetly, I can not even explain it. We are so lucky to have such a great and smart little boy who I know is growing into, well will grow into a smart man. He is definitily the joy of my life and I am so thankful for every day with him!

Zoo- here we come

Last weekend we took Elem sooo many fun places! I will blog on the other places tomorrow maybe, but for now, I wanted to share how much fun we had at the zoo! I was soo excited for our family to go and just spend some time outside in the sun, looking at the animals, and basically just chillin and not rushing to get anywhere. So we piled everyone into the car, called Aunty Ali, Uncle Dustin, Cecilia, and Spoon and Laura and headed to the Little Rock Zoo!

Look out animals here we come!


Since we hadnt been before, we took our stroller and cecilias super cool wagon! Not that either of the kids rode in them for too long, but her at least we had a place to put our stuff while we carried the kids.


It was actually the first time Seth and I had time to talk to each other outside of our home, just in a very calm atmosphere in such a long time! We so happy! :)


Now to start off we went and checked out the bears. Elem was a little confused at first, because I dont think he knew what they were or really what he was supposed to be looking at. But after a few bear visits he started saying Dog, dog dog. Which he continued to say for the rest of the day to every single animal we saw!So if I do say so myself, at least he connected that Sage is a dog since she is an animal, so the other things look like animals and must be dogs too. Sounds good to me. Then we were off to the petting zoo, which I was so excited about and could to wait to let Elem feed a goat or something, and of all things it was closed! I think they shut it down due to several of the animals having some disease. Yuck! So we headed straight to the playground for a few minutes where the kids could run around.


And then to the most favorite part of the day-the monkeys! Elem LOVED the monkeys. The big ones the little ones all of them! Here is everybody checking out the monkeys swinging on the ropes and the second one of Elem and daddy and Elem just laughin like crazy at the monkies swinging everywhere! It was the cutest thing ever! He was so happy.



He liked the fence time and checking out the fish and the ducks.


Ali, Dustin, and Cecilia enjoying the tigers!!!!


Mommy and Elem in the rainforest.


Cecilia and Elem, " hey who built these walls??? We cant hardly see the gorillas!"


We walked around the entire zoo and went to every single part of the park. Although the kids were tired by the end of the day, it was so much fun and so worth it! I can already tell that I am totally going to buy those summer passes where like you can get in with your kid any time you want to, just so you can have something to do. And that way you can just take him for about an hour or so, and then head home for lunch and a nap! So cool! We have been sp busy since the zoo, so it was an awesome tim to get some fresh air and enjoy nature!

Thats MOMMY to you MR.

Ever wonder what your 11 month old might call you given that he is constantly surrounded by like 30 children and tons of staff constantly calling you Mindy-or Minnie as my little kids like to say-all day long every day! Well "Minnie" is right! This week I sadly realized that the oh so sweet murmurs of mommy coming from my little boys mouth, have quickly changed to mumbles of
min-ne. And rather-screams of min-ne from time to time. At first I was not so sure, but after the weekend it came obvious-my kid is calling me by my first name-what the h*$#! You have got to be kidding me I thought. But then I heard my self answering to minnie all day long every day-so why would he NOT call me by my first name? Every one else does...:(. So sad. I have been looking forward to my kid calling me mommy since before he was even born and due to my job, the poor guy is confused and will now be calling me Mindy for who knows how long. In light of this recent situation, I have obsessed over saying-"mommy is here. He bubba, its mommy, come to mommy" probably to the point of annoyance. But I have got to try right! Needless to say, I am saddened, and although, mommy is still coming out of his mouth along with minnie-I am hoping to hear it more and instead of minnie going forward

Elem meets Wyatt

Last weekend Elem and I went to Rossville, Georgia to meet Mr. Wyatt Allen Beasley and hang out with Aunt Becky and Uncle Vincent! So first things first-the plane ride! Not sure what exactly I expected, but it went soo well. I havent even flown all that much, but taking a 10 month old along with you is quite a task. I checked his car seat and stroller when we got there, and then I pushed the stroller, with Elem in it, and had his enormous bag of goodies for the plane ride and had my purse too! So imagine all that stuff AND all squished into one plane seat with an infant in your lap! It could have been crazy, but by the grace of Gd and the good people at US Airways, I just kept getting hooked up with no one sitting in the seat next to me for every flight and every change over I had. Elem had so much fun on the plane, and no he did not sleep but for about 15 minutes here and there-he wanted to play play play and flirt -in the airport, on the plane, everywhere! Besides his throwing up on the way to the airport-messing up outfit number one, and then throwing up on the plane ride haha and messing up outfit number 2, Elem did just fabulous!!! Here is Elem on the plane.



I am not too fond of the picture below, but whatever. haha. And actually these pics are from the ride back, but I didnt get any good ones on the way there cause I was sooo busy keeping up with and playing with Elem! I was like sweating the whole way. So this is the best I could get.


Arriving at the airport and seeing Aunt Becky and Memaw, and then of course the newest addition cousin Wyatt!


After getting back to Becky and Vincent's house, it was kinda crazy. I first got a good look at this little guy:


Got to feed him a bottle and hold him for like .4 seconds!

And from then on, it was all about Elem!!! Guess I underestimated how little my sis knew about how loud Elem was, and how much energy he had-all day every day!. My sis and VIncent were sooo tired-and they should be right??!! But Elem just didnt understand and he was going 90 miles and hour from 8am till 9pm-with no understanding of the baby even being around and that if he was just a little more quiet it could have helped all of us! haha. The only thing he DID understand about Wyatt-was that he DID NOT want his mommy holding him! Every time I tried to pick him up and hold him or feed him, Elem was right there, wallering around on my legs ready for me to pick him up and put that baby down! So I snuck in some good lovin' when I could, but it was also a great time for me and Elem to bond and spend time with the fam. I miss my sis so much and love getting to see her-especially as a new mommy. We got to see Memaw too, so that was a bonus!

While we were there, we did so much stuff! Here is the run down: We:

......Took Wyatt out on his first outing! To a Pizza joint downtown Chattanooga and then to Coolidge Park for a quick walk!



Elem helped Becky get Wyatt strapped in while listening to the screaming of a newborn baby!


Played at Chick-Fil-A on the playground with Aunt Becky.


Swept the yard for everybody


Helped Wyatt with his first bath....


Got into the bad cabinet-with all the cleaning supplies...


And took a trip to Racoon mountain!


Wow I have posted soo many pics, I am going to have to stop! Overall, kit was such a great trip, and although, Elem was a little more than I think my sis and hubby were expecting, we all had so much fun. The plane rides were fun, North Chat was fun, He house was beautiful, Shopping was fun, CHick Fil A was great, and the mountains were so amazing! I couldnt have asked for a better mini vacation, and to top it off, I got to meet my new nephew. I am so happy he is a part of our family and I know my sis and brother in law are going to make the best parents! Sorry for such a long blog, but hey, what better occasion to post a ton of pics, right?