Happy Halloween...You're Under Arrest!

We have been practicing saying "Trick-or-Treat" around our house for a few weeks and Sam has been so excited all day about getting dressed up and going to get "candies."

Officer Sam and his Mama

Stick 'em up!

Our first stop of the night was at Mammy's house.

She loved getting to see Officer Sam and gave him lots of yummy candy.

Then we went to Didi and Easy's house where we got to see Banks, Hayes, Mimi, Bobi, Pops, Gigi, and Jamie.

The two policemen were quite a sight!

Officer Sam went off duty for a minute so he could mow Easy's yard.

Jamie and sweet little Hayes - he was the cutest monkey!

Officer Sam and Officer Banks protecting their Mimi.

After we left Didi and Easy's, we went to visit Meme, Lili & Shuffie at Meme's house and then our last stop was to see Jim and Jacqueline. Sam had so much fun wearing his costume and it might be days before he recovers from eating all of the candy he got! :)

Happy Halloween!

Is Sam Our Child?!

Not a doubt in my mind after seeing this!!! He had to make sure and get all of his cars in a straight line - he wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Daddy's Birthday Party...Finally!

Poor Adam, his birthday celebration has been put off for almost two weeks due to all of the germs going around. We were finally all able to get together to celebrate tonight at Bobi and Pop Pop's house with dinner and the Ole Miss game. If only those Rebels could have pulled off a victory!

Adam, Me & Baby Jack (he sure is getting to be a big fellow!)

These two make me smile!

Bobi bought some "blowers" for the party but Sam just couldn't quite get the hang of it.

Having fun!

Banks and Sam were big helpers with all of those candles on the cake! ;)

Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

This crazy nightmare - Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease - started at our house Friday, October 14th. Sam had been fine all morning and even ate a great lunch. Around nap time he started walking sluggishly around the house saying "It'll be ok...it'll be ok." He looked absolutely pitiful and pale all of a sudden and I asked him what was wrong. He told me his belly hurt and then I felt of his little head and he was burning up! My first thought was that he was probably coming down with the dreaded stomach bug that had been going around. I took his temperature and he had over 102 so we loaded up and were lucky enough to get a last minute appointment with Dr. Sherwood.

This sad little face stared at me the whole time we waited to see Dr. Sherwood. He was breaking my heart! She checked him over and said his ears looked great but that his throat was a little red so she wanted to do a strep test. The strep test came back negative so she said it might be too early to tell what was really going on but that we should know within the next 24 hours. Her guess was either a stomach bug or a fever virus. We had not been home from the doctor 15 minutes when poor little Sam got sick all in our bed. We were convinced at this point that the stomach bug had hit our house and Adam told me I had to get out and go to my mom's so I could hopefully avoid getting it. It broke my heart to leave my sick little boy but I knew he was in good hands with his Daddy and Bobi that had come to help. The rest of the day went on and he never got sick again, so we started to think it was probably just a fever virus.

Sam was back to his old self by Sunday, except I started noticing a few places on his hands and fingers that looked like ant bites! By Monday, his hands were covered with these red places and he was as cranky as could be. I knew something was wrong and called the Children's Clinic back. They suggested we bring him back in because it sounded like he might have Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. What in the world is that, I thought?! Sure enough, Dr. Denney confirmed that Sam did have Hand, Foot and Mouth but assured us that adults usually don't get this virus and that once the blisters show up on the hands and feet that the contagious phase is over.

A few days later, Adam and I both came down with a sore throat. I was pretty sure mine was just sinus but Adam talked like his throat was hurting him pretty bad. Saturday morning, the 22nd, Adam woke up with these strange red spots all over his face and I immediately wondered if by some small chance he had caught Hand, Foot and Mouth from Sam. By Saturday night he had the red blisters coming up on his hands so Sam and I left and headed back to my mom's until Adam could go to the doctor and see what was going on. Sunday morning Adam went to the doctor where they first ruled out strep and then diagnosed him with Hand, Foot and Mouth. He had blisters all on the inside of his mouth and down his throat and was in quite a bit of pain! He stayed home the first part of this week and just went back to work today. I sure hope this virus doesn't ever strike our house again - it has been miserable!

The Smartest Guy Here

With the upcoming arrival of Baby Jack getting closer and closer, Rusty has been taking advantage of his free time and getting in lots of rest before the sleepless nights hit. The rest of us should probably follow his lead and do the same! :)

Flowers for Mama

At my weekly Baby Jack checkup today, Dr. Cole stressed the importance of staying off my feet and relaxing in hopes that we can keep this little boy comfortable in my belly for a few more weeks. So I took her advice and planted myself in bed when I got home this morning and have been here most of the day. When Adam got home from work he and Sam went outside to play ball for a while. They hadn't been out long before Sam came running back in with these sweet little flowers in his hand that he had picked for me! Those boys sure do know how to make me smile!!

"Teen Rabbit"

Sam's new favorite movie is The Velveteen Rabbit - better known around our house as "Teen Rabbit." He asks to watch it at least once a day! This afternoon we were getting ready to take a nap when he begged to watch "a little teen rabbit, please." I couldn't resist a chance to snuggle, just the two of us, so that was all it took for me to pop in the movie and lay down to watch it with him. About ten minutes into it I looked over and my movie buddy had drifted off to sleep. Sweet boy!

Our New Pets - Ted & Fred

Last night Sam went to spend the night with Lili & Shuffie so Adam and I could have a date night and then a morning to sleep in.

They took Sam to eat dinner and before the night was over (with Mom and Dad's permission) got him two new pets - Ted & Fred the frogs. They are pretty low maintenance little guys and Sam loves watching them swim around.

This morning, before we went to pickup Sam, they took him to eat donuts and sent me a picture of his sweet, smiling face. We sure did miss having our little guy around but got some much needed rest and were refreshed and ready to play again! Thanks for letting him stay, Lili & Shuffie!

Mad Scientist

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Adam's birthday weekend didn't go quite as planned after Sam got sick early Friday afternoon. We decided it would be best to lay low for a few days and we could celebrate another day soon. Sam was feeling much better by Sunday, Adam's actual birthday, so we decided to get out of the house for a little while.

The Flowood Park has been closed since early spring for renovations and finally reopened this weekend. Sam has been asking for months to go play and swing so we were excited to go check it out and get some fresh air.

All of the new equipment was amazing and I don't think the smile left Sam's face the entire time we were there.

I loved watching these two boys play together. I looked at them and thought what a good daddy Adam was to be spending his birthday afternoon doing something that made Sam so happy. We are definitely blessed to have such a wonderful husband and father and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with him. Happy Birthday, Daddy - we love you to pieces!

My Two Favorites

Sam Loves His "Meanie"

Playing Trains With Daddy

2011 Mississippi State Fair

It seems like every year, without fail, the first few cool days of fall pop up in early October just in time to welcome the State Fair in to town. Even though we took Sam last year, I knew that since he was a little older that this might be the first year he would really appreciate the animals and some of the small rides.

This year we went with our friends Jim and Jacqueline. They just recently moved to town and had never been to our fair before! We decided we should eat dinner first and then we went to the livestock area to see some of the animals. Sam loved watching the chicks slide into the water and they even took one out for him to pet.

Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox, Daddy :)

After we played with the animals, we took Sam over to the smaller rides and let him ride around in the jeeps. He was very unsure about it at first, but once it started moving he was too busy steering the wheel and waving to be worried about anything.

What kind of trip to the fair would it be without playing at least one game to try and win a prize?

Sam played the "Grab a Duck" game and won himself a cute little raccoon.

Before it was time to go home, Mom and Sam posed for one picture together...

...while we waited for Daddy and Jim to race down the big slide. I think Daddy only won because he got a bit of a head start! ;)

A fun time was had by all and we left with a new raccoon, full tummies and some candy apples to eat at home later.

I'm Ready, Daddy!

Sam has his Under Amour on and is ready to go play ball outside with his Daddy.

Big Man!

My baby is growing up too fast!

Arthritis Foundation Golf Tournament

Sam went with Lili this morning to the annual Arthritis Foundation Golf Tournament at Annandale. He loves playing "golf clubs" around the house so we knew he would be excited to see the men playing a real game out on the course. Thanks for a fun adventure Lili!

Sam Loves Legos

He was so proud of the tower he built all by himself!