Jasper is here!

My nephew was born Monday 7/26! My mom called early that morning and told me that Blakeley was in labor so I quickly packed bags and after breakfast the kids and I drove the 6 hours to Huntsville. We got to the hospital about 2 hours after the baby was born and learned that 'it' is a HE! Jasper Herrington Williams was born at 12:23 and weighed 7lbs. 9oz. He is gorgeous and looks a lot like his big brother. Here is Blakeley and Jasper shortly after we arrived at the hospital. She looks great for having an unmedicated birth, doesn't she?

Big brother Jude and Hunter's dad got to the hospital a little while after we did (Jude had been napping) so we got to see them meet for the first time! Jude was so sweet with Jasper.

Bryce was so sweet all week with baby Jasper. He kept saying "I like his face, it is cute". CeCe was also fascinated with Jasper but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that! Every time she got close I had to put the camera down to make sure she was gentle with him. She usually was, but would poke at him if we weren't paying attention!

Jasper right after he came home from the hospital. Our Grandmother bought this outfit and Bryce came home in it too.

Our attempt at getting all four cousins to pose for a picture.

Sunday Funday

We tried to hit the pool this morning but by the time we got there (all lathered up with sunscreen) it was raining and nasty out. We headed home and had to find fun stuff to fill our day inside. We went on a quick bike ride 'before the rain hit' and ended up getting soaked! Anthony worked on putting the bike rack on the Yukon (which would prove to be a great thing!) while the kids and I played. I put the tent in the playroom and they had so much fun! We usually set this up outside so having it inside made it seem brand new again!
We put on a Baby Einstein DVD after lunch and they both sat down and watched some of it! CeCe isn't interested in watching TV usually, so this was fun!

She did get sleepy and I got this great shot of her cuddling with her lambie. She is finally attached to a lovie. It took me about 9 months of trying different things, but she is hooked! She grins when she sees it at night and bedtime and cuddles up to it like this.

We were watching World Music so of course Mr. Music Man had to get his instruments out!

After nap the sun was out! After checking the radar we decided to do something we have been wanting to do for months.....we took our bikes down to Pensacola Beach and rode them on the trail across the street from the beach! It was so much fun!!! We think we rode close to 1.5 miles and Bryce did amazing. He even made it up and down the hills of the dunes without a problem! We will definitely do this again, maybe even take a picnic supper and eat on the sand. When we were putting the bikes up CeCe was going crazy to get to the sand so we let them play for a little bit before heading home.

After supper they were being silly. CeCe would sit up and throw herself back against Bryce's leg and they would both giggle.

And what is that sound??......sweet silence of sleeping kids! :) Anthony and I are going to catch up on some DVRd shows!

Back in the groove

We are slowly getting back in the 'being at home groove'. At the lake and at my parents house there was always someone there to entertain the kids and with the pool or lake right outside the door we were outside alot. Being back here with just me all day is pretty boring for them I'm afraid! And this heat is hard to handle. We have been able to play outside in the shade every afternoon which has been great, my two LOVE being outside! Here are some things we have been doing to keep busy......


Torturing Reagan by putting CeCe's bows in her hair (she kept it in for over an hour, I think she liked it!)
Playing outside and getting DIRTY DIRTY--so glad she isn't afraid to get dirty!Being silly inside

Talking on the phone (when you ask CeCe to say hello into a phone, she puts it on top of her head and grins!)

Practicing, practicing, practicing (but not getting much farther than this!)

Having playdates with friends (the boys were playing in Bryce's room and got made when I tried to take their picture!)

We are waiting patiently for the arrival of Baby Williams #2 (my sister's baby). She is due any day now and we can't wait to meet him/her! The kids and I will head up there as soon as we can after Blakeley goes into labor!

Photo shoots

I got some really cute pictures of Bryce and CeCe on our trip. The first are of Bryce fishing early one morning at the lake. The others are of CeCe in her tutu. We went to Harbor Town in Memphis (where Anthony and I lived about 7 years ago) and set her up in a nice shaded area. She loves posing for pictures!!

I've got some more pictures from the trip that I'll post one day!

A little Bryce brag

I just have to take a minute and brag on Bryce. Ever since he was a baby, he has enjoyed being in the water. He never wanted his face, ears, mouth, nose or hair to get wet though. He wouldn't jump in even with a floaty vest on because water might splash his face. Sigh. I grew up swimming and loving every minute of it. I have been trying to get him to be more adventurous in the water since the summer of 2007 (he would have been around 16 months). He was content to float around in his vest and enjoy the water from above.

I should have put him in swim lessons last Spring/Summer but never got around to it. It might be a good thing though because he was more than ready this year. He started lessons in April and by the second week would willingly put his face in. That is all I was hoping for......WOW he surprised me!!! He can now:
Swim the width of my parents pool without taking a breath
Swim the length of the pool taking multiple breaths
Jump off the diving board (can opener, pencil, and his own made up Iron Man and Hulk jumps are his favorites)
Swim to the ladder after jumping off the diving board
Almost reach the bottom of the deep end by doing the pencil jump
Do a front flip underwater
Swim to the bottom of the shallow end to pick up sinking toys (this was tricky, he is so buoyant it was hard for him to get down there on his own!)
Dive into the water from the side of the pool (he's doing the bend down, head tucked roll, but it is a dive!)
Tread water
Float on his back and be relaxed while doing it
Swim for HOURS at a time without getting tired
We let him swim by himself the other day (3 adults were watching but not in our suits) and he thought that was so cool! I did too, I never ever imagined that I would be able to do that with my 4 year old who wasn't comfortable in the water just a couple of months ago!

Bryce, I am so proud of you and love spending so much time with you in the water!!!!!!!

Flamingo Fun!

Today was CeCe's big day!! She was in a great mood the whole time, which is awesome for a first birthday party! Lots of family and friends made her day so special. Thank you all for coming, especially those that drove from out of town!

Here she is waiting for her guests to arrive The flamingo cupcake tower

Drink table with the flamingo ornament tree (favors) and the awesome flowers from the Memphis farmer's market

We asked for no gifts but of course her grandparents and aunts and uncles had to give her something! Here she is checking out her loot!

Cuddling with Papaw Duke

Posing with Mama

MMM, this cake is good (only if I would put it in her mouth, she didn't want to get dirty!)

Swimming with Papaw Ruff

Cousins, Bryce and Daniel....they had a blast together as always!Playing with a flamingo

"I had the best birthday party ever!"

Independence Day

We had a great 4th! We didn't have any plans and at the last minute decided to head back downtown (and actually went again today for the 3rd day in a row!). Bryce wanted to ride the monorail so we walked there from my parent's apartment. We let the kids walk in the riverwalk for a short time and then played on a grassy area overlooking the river. It was here that CeCe decided to take her first steps!! They were very shaky and she toppled over after 3 steps but she was so proud of herself. I guess she thought Independence Day meant something else! Bryce was very proud of her too and wanted her to walk to him and this is what happened everytime. She would fall into him (instead of taking any steps) and lay on top of him and they would giggle. Super cute!
Before we left home we took pictures in front of Cappy's red flowers