It's my oklaHOMA....

As I write this post, my heart is breaking for all those affected by the tornadoes in my home state.  I can't even begin to imagine what those parents are going through, the ones that have found their kids, the ones who are still looking and mostly the ones that have no hope.  I pray that God gives them each the strength they need to carry on.  I also pray not just for the parents, but for everyone that has had to experience any pain associated with this tragedy.

This month has brought us a variety of things to keep us busy.  My parents are in North Georgia camp hosting and have come to visit us on their off days.  This year I was able to celebrate Mother's day as a mother!  Last year this time I was about 3 months prego and just starting to enjoy all that morning sickness had to offer, I am soooo glad that's over!  Maemae even got to spend some quality time with CJ.

Mothers Day 2013:  3 Generations

JD and I have grand plans for our backyard.  When we first bought our home the backyard looked like a jungle.  Weeds as tall as me. Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was pretty bad.  Since then we've uncovered a brick driveway, trimmed the jungle, put some gravel down, and now we have started on a stone  patio.  We found a gazebo at Big Lots that we really liked, but was a bit on the pricey side, until last week when there was a sale and it was $200 off.  SCORE!  We bought it, but then we couldn't haul it.  Apparently a car seat and big huge box don't both fit in a Jeep.  Bummer.  Luckily though, my folks were coming into ATL for a visit and picked it up for us.  They also helped us haul 3 loads of pavers from 2 different Home Depots to our back yard.  Thanks again!  We did have a bit of a scare on the load.  Dad had to slam on his brakes (surprise, surprise, ATL traffic sucks) and all of the pavers came loose from the pallet and slammed into the back of the truck cab.  I was afraid of damage, but when we got home there were zero broken pavers.

whew! none broken!

Before the blood, sweat, and tears

yay! finally some progress!!

JD's brother even came out to help with the patio building project.  They were able to build the base and get everything ready for us to start setting the pavers.  We still have just a little bit over half to finish.  Hopefully we will get it all wrapped up before Memorial Day....we are supposed to have a cookout with the families....

Sofie had an exciting month as well.  She has been taking swimming lessons and this past weekend she got to jump into the deep end.  Of course, the deep end is not that deep considering she's only 3 years old.  None the less, it's a huge step from last summer at the beach when she would run from the waves.  She also had a gymnastics meet this past weekend.  She has only been at it for a few months and is already working on her kart wheel and is a pro at front flips.

so proud of her trophy! (she's in the middle)

And the biggest news about Sofie is that she got caught kissing a boy at school.  Did I mention she is only 3 years old!!??  Apparently the story goes like this:

Garrett:  "Sofie can I have a hug?"
So Sofie hugs him.
Garrett: "Sofie, can I have a kiss?"
So Sofie kisses him....on the LIPS!!!
Garrett: "Sofie can we snuggle?"

Luckily for Garrett no snuggling occurred   I'm not sure his parents would have appreciated JD having the 'talk' with him....

CJ is now 5 months old.  She is turning over quite regularly from her back to stomach and back again.  She doesn't hate tummy time as much as she used to, but it still isn't her favorite thing to do.  We are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of her hair....any hair....she's quite bald.  She still hasn't mastered the sleeping through the night gig, she usually wakes up once to eat.  Her attitude is quickly emerging and she has the arching of the back when she's pissed  move down pat.  She is starting to try to sit up more and more on her own and what once was her favorite rock n play is now just annoying to her and she prefers the walker so she can sit upright and see the world around her.  It's amazing how much things have changed in just a few short weeks.  Next month, JD and I are going on a trip.  Away from CJ.  For longer than 1 night.  I'm not sure how I feel about that just yet.

During this month's photo shoot with the monkey, aka Big Foot, CJ finally noticed the big brown fella and decided to have a full blown conversation with him.

and then daddy tickled my feet!

look ma, my new best friend!

and then I sneezed and farted at the same time!

Wait a second....are you listening to me??

is she gonna be a bookworm like mommy?

SMILE!

Well, it's late and I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.  Good night.