Birthday Cake and Cribs

Here are a few pics of the post-birthday cake eating...Hobbes was surprisingly neat about it- he didn't ever just 'smash' it in! The other pics are of some fun presents, and the lowering of the crib mattress for the big boy!( as you can see, he decided to crawl under the crib, and into the middle of it while we were lowering it.) Enjoy!

Happy1st Birthday, Hobbes!!!

Hello, everyone!
As of 2:10 pm today, Hobbes is officially 1 years old! Can you believe it? I sure can't. Today started out pretty normal. I had this whole plan worked out for Hobbes' birthday celebration. I spent a lot of time making his birthday cake in the morning (see picture) and then we were planning to go to Monroe as soon as Bray got off work, to celebrate with the fam. Howeer, Bray got off work an hour and a half late, and Hobbes had been non-stop cranky, hot, little fever all afternoon. So, we decided to go later this evening, but then Hobbes got the flu. Obviously, God is in control of even the most minute details.:) Anyhow, I don't know if he'll feel up to eating his cake tomorrow, but if he does, I'll put some pics up of that. We love you all, and are so glad you've been a part of Hobbes' life so far! God bless!
Here are some birthday pics: Hobbes in his turtle shirt making crazy faces/ Opening birthday loot from Grandma & Grandpa Garfield-I love you guys!/Hobbes' birthday cake

More Moscow Fun!

I just thought I'd throw a few more pics up before I head home...to show all the crazy-fun times we've had! I head out Tuesday mornin, so please pray that travels go well, and that Hobbes is cooperative! Planes and babies don't always go well together.:)
For the pics:
Grandpa scaring Hobbes, Hobbes flippin out, and then Grandpa laughing.
Me and my sisters downtown by the fountain...enjoying the weather.(Afterwards, Hobbes tried to jump in the fountain)

Hobbes and his friend Gus, playing at the park-for the most part, they tried to eat and throw the bark.

Jordan, Carolyn and I went and played bumper cars in the mall...which, of course, I won at, as can be seen by Jordan's reaction.;)

Last but not least, my dad and Hobbes, asleep on the porch after Hobbes played in the kiddie pool.

What Fun!

Hello Everyone!
Can you believe how long it's been since I posted? Believe it or not, it's not completely my fault...about a month ago there was a huge storm, and even though we had a surge protector, it shorted out the power supply on our computer...and we are still waiting on the part.:(Oh the trials we have had with this computer!
Anyhow, I shall put up some pics from past events, but for now, I thought I would show what we've been doing the past week! We are in Moscow, and we just had my brother Seth's wedding! It has been so fun, seeing all of our relatives, friends and family...there's truly nothing like coming 'home.' Unfortunately, Bray had to go back to work Monday, so Hobbes and I are here alone until next Tuesday...and we have been busy going to the park with our little buds, watching movies with the girls, having coffee with Uncle Jordan, and just going around Moscow, enjoying the cool breeze and lack of humidity! ;) So, we hope all has been well with everyone, and we shall keep you updated on all of our goings on! Love to you all!
For the pics: Hobbes looking out the airplane window/ The happy fam at the wedding!/ My dad and my grandma dancing at the reception/ My Aunt Jill and cousin Peter/Seth and Naphtali getting covered in birdseed/ me and my new sister-in-law, Naphtali!

YAY-Lots of Pics!

Hello, everyone! Once again it's been awhile..but that is mostly due to the fact that we're not finished till this coming Friday.:(
So, in order to keep you all aware of what's been happenin, I thought I'd try and sum it all up in one sitting.
This weekend we went to Monroe for Bray's youngest brother's graduation. Although we had to leave the next day, we had a wonderful time, and even got to see Hobbes' other great-grandma for the very first time!
If you're wondering what the pics of Bray and I are of...well, there's not a good explanation, but there's a funny one! Bray's sister Charity works at an ice cream store in Monroe. They were having a 'Rock-Paper-Scissors' competition to get business,etc, so we all came down to compete. In short, I beat all the boys, won our bracket, and then lost...to a 5 year old. Now I would not have been beat so easily had I known the first prize was free ice cream for a year and a $100 Target card! I didn't care about the ice cream, but, honestly, does a 5 year old need a Target card? Such is life.;)

The pool pics are of yesterday afternoon, when we actually took Hobbes into deep water, and swam around for several hours-he loved it! We had to take a dry-off break on the deck, and that's the pic of him and the umbrella.




Yesterday Bray and I had to do the music for the whole church service again, so we had Jordan come over to do a duet, and then Bray's mom, Caleb and Charity came to listen and stayed for Sunday dinner. It was a lovely day, and after they left was when we went to the pool! We have 1 more week, 1 week break and then summer school begins....but we shall see a lot of you in just a few weeks at my brother's wedding! We love you!
The last few pics are of Hobbes, loving his reflection in the balloon,Bray and Hob outside our house in his mini pool, and Hob and I on Mother's Day.:)

Fun Changes...New Phases

Hello, all! I'm sure that by now the May Madness has hit everyone- whether it be jobs, end of school schtuff or just the beginning of summer planning and events, this is a CRAZY month!
We have finished up a few things, but we still don't really see a light at the end of the tunnel yet.
As you can see from the first picture, I finished playing for the musical "Nunsense," for which I am very glad-although it was good for me musically, it was incredibly time-consuming. However, I thought we should show you all a photo, so that you may all have blackmail material on me for later.:)
It has been in the 70-80's here, so one evening, we popped over to the pool behind our house, and took Hobbes in for the first time. It was late, so we couldn't stay very long,but ohhh he loved it! He kept bending down to splash his hands in the water, and wanted us to walk him back and forth forever. Occasionally, he would stop and stomp his feet really fast in the water. We'll get more pics as we have (hopefully) more time to go swimming.
The plaid pic of Hobbes is to show what we call his 'crazy' pants...they were on sale, and I must add that it was Bray who picked them out...we're branching out into the crazy styles.:)
Last but not least, I had to put up the pic of Hobbes under the table. He is trying very hard to walk, but still has to have something to hold onto. He does do a bear-crawl, and one day, I was doing bills at the table, and all of a sudden felt a bump on my leg. I had put Hobbes in the living room, playing with his booster seat, and he had pushed it all the way under the table, gotten in it and sat down, and was playing with some papers I had thrown on the floor- tryin to do what Mom was doing! It was very cute. Well, I hope you all survive the madness...and have a wonderful Mother's Day! (Moms, I mean)

I Can Go Anywhere!!!!

For those of you who were not blessed with a childhood filled with the TV show, "Reading Rainbow," you probably won't understand the title of this post...but I thought it fitting for what Hobbes has been up to. It's been so fun to watch his personality really show up lately- funny how being mobile can do that to a kid, eh? Also, the discipline factor has really come into play- as Hobbes can reach anything 2 feet and climbable. The good news is that he seems to be (at least for the time being) responding to our 'stern' voices, and of course, hand and leg slaps. He's a pretty good imitation of a puppy learning how to come, sit, well, not potty train...but these things take time, right? I'm just joking on that last part-but he really does come when you call him. The other day I was in the living room, and I needed to go to the bedroom to fold laundry, so I told Hobbes to 'come here.' He thought about first pulling the books off the bookshelf again, but after a few repetitions of the command, he followed me all the way! How proud we can be of the little things!
Anyhow, enough of the contemplative conversation, and on to activities! Here are just a few of the things Hobbes likes to do: Eat a yummy Sunday lunch, sitting at the head of the table.
Get into my closet, and give Mom a smirk when I'm caught.
Knock down towers of blocks and throw the blocks as hard as I can.
Find the Cheerios box, tip it over, and eat them when Mom's not looking...excuse the runny nose, please.:) And, of course, climb the stairs all by myself, and then be so thrilled with myself I bounce up and down, slap my legs, and make loud noises. Love you all!

Big and Busy Boy!

Hello, all! What a wonderful, busy week we have had! As I had mentioned,we had a week break, during which we painted our kitchen, cleaned the house, and sent Bray off to NY. There were 15 singers chosen for this 2nd round of finals, and they were all of very high caliber. Bray was given an outstanding performance of a song, for his opera aria, and was given very positive and encouraging comments! We are now mulling over some ideas that were presented as to the net step on the career front.
Meanwhile, Hobbes and I went to Monroe to hang with the fam, and had a wonderful weekend relaxing, shopping and going to a Ben Folds concert. Ok, Hobbes didn't actually go to the concert, but I did! We only have a short time before the end of the semester, and we are looking forward to coming to Moscow for my brother's wedding in June!!! I can't wait! Until that time, I am playing for a local musical, Nunsense, which keeps me very busy music wise, and Bray is finishing up classes , etc.
Hobbes on the other hand, as you can see from the photos, is working on being a big boy!
He can now crawl officially (as opposed to just backwards), has 6 teeth, helps Dad take out the trash, practices his piano daily, and works hard at playing and getting into everything!!! (Below is a mini poem I wrote for his excursions).
We love you all!



There once was a boy named Hobbes.
His mother gave him lots of jobs.
He took out the trash,
to avoid a lash,
then played the day away.

Carolyn came!!!

Since things have been so crazy, I never got a chance to put up pics from when my sister Carolyn came to visit a few weeks ago. We had a GREAT time...hangin out in small town life, cooking really nice dinners for Bray, visiting friends in Monroe, shopping, touring Vicksburg and getting lost in scary part of town, drinking alcohol:), chattin', and who knows what else sisters get into. Carolyn even made the Monroe newspaper, with a pic of her at the airport. Amazing what happens when you come to the South, eh? Anyhow, I just wanted to share a few photos, and a quick update on what we did, so here you go-Love you, Car!

Easter,NY, and everything in between...

Well, I am finally writing again- I shall not try to list all the excuses for the delay in updates- as Ferris Bueller says, "Life moves pretty fast...":)
Anyhow, we have had our plates full, but have been enjoying life to the fullest- and what better time to do it than Easter? As you can see from the pics, we celebrated our first Easter with Hobbes in Monroe, and he was all decked out...at least for the duration of the picture.:) After that, he wanted the jacket off (WARM weather!) and then, of course, once the eating commenced, it was all over. We had a lovely worship service, Bray sang a duet with a cousin, and I accompanied them, and then we had a very tasty, very filling Easter dinner. Following that was an Easter Egg hunt, unfortunately, it was for kids under 15, so I came away empty-handed and although Hobbes wasn't exactly one of the hunters, he won a prize and sat in his first outdoor baby swing for the entire afternoon! (We don't have a park with a baby swing in P.G.)
Next up on the schedule is Bray's competition in NY. We are currently on our spring break, so I will take Bray to the airport Thursday morning, he competes Saturday at the Eastman school of music in Rochester, NY, and then flies home Sunday. Please do pray that it goes well, that God will be glorified, and that travels will go smoothly. I know this is not the most thorough update, but I figure I shall have more to say after this weekend-as that is the main item on our minds right now. We love you all, hope you had a great Easter, and shall be in touch!
-One last family photo op on Easter morn.