10.20.2009

Mimi and Potts came to visit.. and to SPOIL Griffin!

We were so excited to have Mimi and Potts come and visit us this past weekend. It was Mimi's birthday on Saturday so we celebrated when they got in town with dinner and a birthday cake! They immediately went to spoiling Griffin.. imagine that :)


They read him his bedtime stories and also rocked him to sleep every night

Mimi is full of laughter and it was so sweet because everytime she laughed Griffin would just look at her and laugh back ha!


Griffin thought Potts was the greatest too. They had so much fun together and I loved watching it :)



We went to Babies R Us and Griffin was SO spoiled. I am not sure who loved it more though, those that got spoiled or those that were doing the spoiling :)




Here is the toy that Griffin got. We were looking for stuff for Christmas but he loved this driving toy so much that Mimi just couldnt make him put it back on the shelf.



Potts loved his snuggle time!


We went to the pumpkin patch together too!


Thank you for the visit and please come back soon!
We love you!!!

10.14.2009

Our niece is here!!!

Olivia Ruth Isham
born oct 14th 2009 @ 11:24 a.m
8lbs 3 ounces and 19 inches long

Aunt Lindsey, Uncle JR and cousin Griffin are SOO excited and cant wait to meet you precious girl :)

10.08.2009

Griffin's first experience of Good ole Rocky Top!

We had a wonderful trip back to Tennessee last weekend! It was very special because we got to take Griffin onto UT's campus for the first time so he could experience gameday at a tailgate in big orange country. We had tons of college friends join us and so he was able to meet them too! It was a very long day Saturday as we went to tailgate at 12:30 and then the game wasnt until 7:45. It was slightly chilly and the wind was crazy, but Griffin was such a trooper!!! Cici and Pipper came up to tailgate with us and they took Griffin back home with them so JR and I could go to the game. I dont know who was more excited, us being able to go to our first game in 2 years, or them because it was their first time watching him :) As you can see in some of the first pictures, VDiddy was trying to tell Grififn to cheer for Auburn instead, and he would have been better off since they did win. Oh well.. we still had a blast!!!



Sunday we had another big day of visiting family. Griffin has grown so much since the last time we were in 2 months ago in August. He also has so many new tricks to show off ha! Sitting up, playing with toys, babbling, eating cereal, swinging, and just being Mr. Personality! It was so great to see him interact with everyone.



We were lucky enough to make it a little longer weekend and didnt have to go back until Monday. We spent the afternoon waiting to see if our neice Olivia was going to come but sadly she decided she needed to wait. We did get to let Tristan and Griffin play together though. It was really the first time they could really interact since Griffin was never really old enough before. Tristan is so sweet to him, always wanting to hug and kiss him. One funny thing was he was trying to throw the ball with Griffin and accidentally threw it right at Griffin's head ha! Oh boys :)



We cant wait to go back again for Thanksgiving! Who knows what fun things Griffin will be doing by then!!! With so many pictures I decided to just do a montage so ENJOY!!

9.23.2009

Celebrating 3 wonderful years!

Today is our 3rd anniversary! This year has been quite the year for us as we welcomed Griffin into our family and became parents!!! We were able to celebrate with dinner and a movie over the weekend. It is amazing how we can go from going to Paris one year to dinner and a movie, but to me it is not about what we do our how much money we spend but simply celebrating the marriage that God has given us. I am so thankful how much He has helped us to grow over this past year and as cliche as it sounds it just keeps getting better and better. Being a mom and dady now, creates a new dimension to our life together. It is the best thing in the world for me to sit back and watch JR and Griffin together. Every now and then I will have one of those out of body experiences where I step back from the situation and think, "Wow that is my husband and we have a son!"


This week have I reflected on how blessed I am. Its not just about celebrating another year of marriage, but instead being thankful that God has continued to keep us together. It is only by His grace that we have remained in happiness together and I never want to take that for granted in a world where divorce is all over the place. To think back on all the many years we have been together and to see how far we have come now- it can only be a God thing :)


I am the luckiest woman alive to have a husband who loves me, takes care of me, and challenges me to honor God in all that I do! I am so thankful for his constant pursuit of Christ and his devotion to our family. I love you sweetie and pray for many more years to come!

I will always cherish the day that we became husband and wife. Here are our pictures from that day.

9.18.2009

How to push my little man to learn...

It seems that with motherhood you are always trying to soak in every moment that you have with your child right now but also cant help but think ahead. Oh I cant wait until he can sit up, crawl, talk, etc. (and yes I know it will all be here before I know it and when it does come I will be wishing he was not mobile and wanting some peace and quiet ha). But with all of that to say, the planner in me has already started thinking ahead to the days where I can watch Griffin learn his ABCs and 123s, colors, shapes, etc. Again, I do not plan on starting tomorrow or anything but I do want to get a jump start on the best resources to use out there, while I have some time ha!!!

My heart is that I want to start at a young age so that Griffin will ENJOY learning, build confidence and help stimulate his little brain. I have read and heard several people say that kids are like little sponges before the age of 4, as by that time 90% of their brain has already been filled. I am going to be his first teacher and maybe only teacher during that age and therefore I want to give him the very best. I am not out to make him a genius (as I know with our genes I am doubtful that would happen anyways ha), I just want him to enjoy learning and therefore I want to make it as fun as I can, as early as I can!

I know I have several readers that are moms of young children, as well as moms of older kids that have been there and done that so I am asking you to share your wisdom please :)

What books, websites, toys, etc have you found that help out the most? When did you start informally teaching? What other things should this first time mom know???

I am open to ALL suggestions, advice, and really any wisdom that I can gain from each of you. I know that the best people to learn from are those who are doing it already and have been able to see what works and what does not.

I thank you in advance for taking your time to share with me!!!!

9.15.2009

Way to go Daddy!!!

This weekend we traveled for JR's MS Bike Ride. He had heard about the ride in New Bern from a friend and decided that he wanted to form a team for someone very special to us who has MS. The team name was "Riding for Mimi" :)

JR has really come to love the sport of biking but has never had the chance to challenge himself for a century ride (100 miles). He got support from a great friend Micah who decided to do it with him and the rest is history!




Best buds having the time of their life... well especially since they can see the finish line!! They started at 8am and finished at 3pm. I am so proud of them!!!



The century riders themselves! Tired but so glad its over :)


We came back after the ride and watched our Vols. Sad they lost of course but still wearing our orange proudly!





JR giving Griffin his first lesson on the bike.



We went with our friends the Grahams and the Edwards. Here are all the girls and their baby boys on Friday. We came early while the daddys were working so we could shop on Friday!

Griffin with his buddy Jonathan David



Sunday afternoon we had a beautiful day to explore Beaufort. It is such a quaint little town and we enjoyed sitting by the water and seeing all of the boats come in. We were lucky enough to have some friends of friends who have a boat there take us out on it! It was our first time in a fishing boat in the ocean... for ALL the Ishams :)




Our little Sailor boy ready for a boat ride!!





Mr. Adorable in his shades






family picture on the boat ride

9.12.2009

Happy Birthday Tyler and Happy Grandparents Day!




Today is my brother's 23rd birthday and it is also my parents' first Grandparents Day!! We sent everyone a little something in the mail already and cant wait to celebrate with them all in October when we visit again :)