The Joys of My Boys

Gender Prediction....

2011-02-23T11:42:00.003-05:00

PollPub.com VoteGuess the gender of Baby Jeffcoat #4

{happy valentine's day}

2010-02-11T16:47:00.002-05:00

2010-01-26T20:14:00.001-05:00

Ty {aka cookie monster} LOVES his Oreo's.....

(Ty @ 19 months}

5 years old? Are you sure?

2009-12-22T11:20:00.002-05:00

We were going to do a small little bowling party with the family for Zach's 5th birthday, but the morning of his birthday, he was leaning over the toilet bowl. Nice way to start out the 5th year of his life :( But as kids do, he bounced back FAST and by that evening he was opening presents from Mommy and Daddy and brothers. The next night we had the family come over for dinner, cake and presents. Here is Zach blowing out his candles. He had such a good time. I love that he thinks just having a birthday cake is the best thing EVER!!!!

He LOVED all his gifts from everyone. He's been playing non stop with them all, but this one is the most special because it's something only he and daddy get to play with together. {really daddy bought it so HE could play with it, but we won't tell Zach that!}
His new Air Hogs Remote Control Hellicoptor!

{Sweet Drew}

2009-06-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

We had a bit of a scare last night that seriously took 10 years off my life. It was like 12:15am and I was headed to bed. I went downstairs to turn off lights and locked the door that leads to the garage and went back upstairs. I don't usually check on the boys because their doors squeak, but for some reason, I did. I checked on Ty and he was sleeping soundly. I went into Zach and Drew's room and Drew wasn't in the bottom bunk. I thought, ok, he crawled up to Zach's bunk (I even thought how cute, I'll have to get the camera) but he wasn't there. I checked the closet, under the bed....went in the playroom, no Drew. Then I went and got Carl and told him Drew wasn't in his bed. He was like sure he is. When he saw that he wasn't, he ran from room to room upstairs while I flew downstairs...no Drew. All I could think about was the unlocked door and that little girl Madeline that was taken out of the hotel room on vacation...

I ran back upstairs and when I saw the look on Carl's face, it freaked me out. I seriously couldn't breathe. We started flipping on every light and looking in the washer and dryer, etc. Horrible. Zach was awake now and so was Ty because we were literally yelling Drew's name. I ran downstairs again to look for him and I heard Carl yell "I got him". I almost collapsed. I felt like I was gonna throw up. I ran upstairs and saw Carl had Drew so I went and got Ty who was screaming by this time. Then Carl and I switched. He put Ty back to bed while I just held onto Drew. Apparently he had crawled under his bed to find Zach's blue matchbox car and had climbed all the way in the corner and fell asleep. FREAKED ME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I sat up in bed awhile and prayed. I didn't know how else to calm down. I thanked God that Drew was alright and I prayed that I wouldn't have nightmares!!!!

Everyone is safe and sound....but seriously a traumatizing 15 minutes!!!!

Ty Ty @ the end of 9 months!

2009-04-26T21:55:00.003-04:00

I just had to share this picture. I had just gotten my brand spanking new Canon 50D dslr with my new 50 prime lens. I was so excited about this and wanted to try it out right away. Here's one of the images I caught. I have since ordered this in an 8x10 for our family room. He's so stinking cute! And guess what he started doing RIGHT AFTER THIS? Pulling up to a standing position and then holding on with one hand and cruising around on the furniture. Walking is just around the corner, I think!

Bye Bye Passie

2009-04-26T21:29:00.005-04:00

So, we have exciting news from the Jeffcoat front. If you received our Christmas card this past year, you'll see Drew and his passie. It was hard enough to get all 3 to look in the same direction, but when I tried to get that thing out of Drew's mouth, it was a definite "no go", so I left it in and decided to document what my boys REALLY look like--passie and all. Here it is:

So we decided a couple weeks ago to just not give the passie to him at bed time and you know what? He didn't seem to care. I prepared myself for nap time the next day, but he never even mentioned it. I didn't want to jinx it, but by day 3, Carl and I were pretty darned proud of ourselves--and Drew! Well, then last week, I called the boys in from playing outside and what do I see but Drew walking in with a passie stuck in his mouth (Carl and I thought we had found them all). I gasped and he looked startled and yanked it out of his mouth and put it behind his back--precious, yes. But I knew we had to take it one step further. So I talked to him about being a big two year old now and big boys don't have passie's. Only babies have passies. I told him we needed to throw away his passie. He said "ok"! Here's a couple pictures.

I can't tell this story without talking about Zach, though. I have to say, that he was awesome during this whole thing. After Drew threw away his passie and turned around, Zach was RIGHT THERE clapping and yelling "Drew Drew's a big boy now!!!" Then Drew says "I a big boy now!" with all the enthusiasm that Zach had. It was the sweetest thing ever! I do love my boys!

Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-04-16T11:18:00.002-04:00

Zach and Drew had so much fun at our church's Easter Egg Hunt. They were even lucky little hunters! Zach found the $20.00 egg, the $5.00 egg and one of the $1.00 eggs. Drew found the $10.00 egg. Now they can't wait for the ice cream man to come down our street. {Mommy and Daddy are thinking, that's a WHOLE LOT of ice cream!!!}

Ty was watching intently--learning the ropes of the Egg Hunt. He can't wait for next year when he can do it, too!

Easter Morning!

2009-04-16T10:05:00.002-04:00

Four--Two--Nine Months

2009-04-16T10:02:00.003-04:00

So here they are. Ty's 9 month pic, Drew's 2 year pic and Zach's 4 year pic. Zach rocks that spiky hair, if I do say so myself. :) And Drew, well, is there much more to say than that face? And Ty is very proud of those chompers--he'll be eating steak in NO time!!! I'm so proud of my boys!!!

SCORE!

2009-03-01T22:28:00.005-05:00

A follow up from the previous post. I just found some pictures from when Drew was 6 months old. Far from professional, but taken with a professional camera. Ok, I'm feeling MUCH better now :) Here are a few...

Ty's 6 month pictures

2009-03-01T22:03:00.003-05:00

Ok. So I'm a horrible photographer mommy. I take other people's kids pictures, but do you think I remember to do my own children? NOOOOO.... I need to actually schedule an appt. for them I think. Funny, I need to schedule an appt. for my kiddos in their own home to have their pictures taken.
Anyway, I've been heartsick that I never got Ty's 6 month pictures (and for that matter, I don't think I ever got Drew's either--but one at a time) Well, as I looked back through some pictures I took in January, there was a great pic of Ty. Here it is and now I can say, "Look, honey, here you are at 6 months old..." Hooray!

Winter Wonderland--Southern Style

2009-01-21T11:42:00.005-05:00

So, we had a little snowfall yesterday morning. The weather reports were calling for snow, but we all doubted it. Zach didn't want to go to bed the night before, so I told him that if he went to bed, when he woke up there would be snow outside. He went right to bed and I started praying for snow. :) Carl said "what if it doesn't snow?" I said "I'll deal with that in the morning". Thank goodness when we opened our eyes, we were met with the most beautiful snowfall.

Zach woke up and was so excited! When Drew woke up Zach was squeeling and telling Drew about the snow. They were both just standing there staring out the window. It was precious! So we got dressed and went outside. Here are some pictures.

Zach making snowballs to throw at daddy

Carl throwing snowballs at innocent helpless children.

Catching snowflakes on his tongue

Our little garden knome. We call him Drew.

Happy Birthday Kiersten!

2009-01-09T10:16:00.003-05:00

So my sister's oldest, Kiersten, turned 15 this past Weds. I still can't believe it! 3 more years and she'll be getting ready for college! Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself...

Kiersten is also our number 1 babysitter for the boys! She has grown up to be such a responsible, smart, beautiful young lady.

I did a photoshoot for Amy of the kids a couple months ago and Kiersten really liked how her picture turned out, so I thought I'd post it.

Happy Birthday Kierst!

Can it be happening?

2008-11-29T20:01:00.003-05:00

Can Zach really be turning 4? It's funny because he's so tall for his age, that sometimes I forget that he's only 3 1/2. I tend to expect more from him, probably because he's the oldest. I know this is all part of the birth order, but I'm really trying to not do that to him. I don't want him to feel like he has too much responsibility and can't have fun, but I also don't want him to be irresponsible and create bad habits. I suppose this is all the balance of parenting...I just can't believe I've been doing this for almost FOUR years!!!! It's incredible to me!

Here's his 4th Birthday Party Invitations...

Another Zach-ism {brought to you by mommy}

2008-11-18T21:48:00.003-05:00

So the other day, I was watching Dr. Phil and he had a bunch of singers on and he was talking about how many Grammy's this person had won.
Zach comes flying out of the kitchen and yells, "Mommy! I have a Grammie!" It took me a sec, and then I busted up laughing.
I love that boy!

{Grammie}

{Grammy}

Trick or Treat!

2008-11-11T13:17:00.004-05:00

{turtle turtle turtle}
{Handy Manny}

{not such a happy pumpkin}

{Zach and Drew before the candy madness}

Oh the fun we had. We ate hot dogs {Drew's first hot dog in a bun--very exciting}, then we headed out to trick or treat around or neighborhood, which we've never done--always at someone else's house. Then we headed to Amy & Steve's house and went trick or treating around their neighborhood, which is also my mom and dad's neighborhood, so we ended our evening over there for hot chocolate and s'mores. It was a really nice night. Zach can almost keep up with his cousin Kyle and Drew loved his candy {which was all over his face by the end of night}. Ty just loved being snuggled in his daddy's arms and blanket all night {although I'm sure Carl's back was killing him by the end of the night}. Good Times!

Oh The Places I'll Go...

2008-10-11T13:06:00.004-04:00

So I just got back from my cross country adventure! I traveled to Southern California for my friend, Michelle's, wedding. Other than missing my boys terribly, it was such a great trip.
First, I got to stay with my best friend, Bri. I got to finally meet her baby girl, Megan, who was born 2 weeks before Ty. That was helpful because I got my baby fix. :) Thanks Megan for letting me love on you.

Second, I got to see some {I was going to say old, but seeing as how we're all around 30ish, I won't say that} dear friends. Bri, Megan and I had dinner with Jess Ochoa, Jason Flanagen, his fiance Corina and their son Jonah. When I was out there the end of February, Jonah was just a few weeks old and now he's 8 months. He's sp precious. It was good to catch up and the mexican food was awesome {not to mention the margarittas}

We also had lunch with some friends whom I've known forever it seems like. Andrea and 2 of her 4 kids, Kasey (4) & Kobi (2). She sells Cookie Lee jewlery and even rememebered my birthday and brought me some jewlery. Now that's a friend! Thanks girl! I love it. {Our parents have known each other since before we were born, so we've been friends for 30 years--good grief that's a long time} Shannon and her daughter Sophia were able to join us which was great since we seem to always miss each other when I'm out there! Sophia is a precious 1 1/2 year old. So much energy and wanting to learn all about her surroundings. I wish we lives closer so Drew and Sophia could play together. He'd give her a run for her money. {Shannon and I have been friends since the 6th grade...let's see that's....19 years?!?!} And what would a lunch be without my friend Ashley and her daughter Hannah? I love this girl. And her daughter Hannah is her mini me--for real. It was so good to catch up with her. She's one of those people who you could not see for years and then when you do see them again, you pick up right where you left off. I love that. She's also coming to NC next month, so we're planning to meet half way. {Ash and I met freshman year of high school and once talked about traveling cross country on Harley's....remember that, Ash? I also smoked my first cigarette at her house after school. Thank goodness that trend didn't stick...Memories...haha!}

Unfortunatly my friend Alicia couldn't join us because of her sweet teething baby boy, Jack. So we just went to her house after lunch to say hello. It was great to catch up with her and see her new home. It's beautiful, girl. I now you're going to have some great memories there. {Alicia and I met sometime in high school during choir class. She's one of those people that I don't remember ever NOT knowing. She's just always been there....}

Here're some pictures from my time with my friends...

September 11th

2008-09-21T09:21:00.003-04:00

I'm a little bhind in posting these, but better late than never, right? Well, as some of you know, I'm Vice President of a mom's group, MAC {Mother's Association of Chapin}. For the past few years we've been doing a little outreach activity on 9-11, but this is the first time I've been able to participate. The moms and kids all went to the local fire station and we all brought baked goods to show our appreciation. We also brought a card we made witht he kids handprints that said "Thanks for making the world a safer place". We wanted them to know how much we appreciate what they do for us. We also invited the local police to stop by.
The kids had such a good time getting to climb all over the firetruck, and seeing the firemen dress in their firesuits.
Here're some pictures from our time there.

First Day of School

2008-09-09T09:16:00.008-04:00

Last Wednesday was Zach & Drew's first day of school. Zach is now in the 3 year old class {he goes 3 days a week for 3 hrs.} and Drew just started Mother's Morning Out {he goes 2 days a week for 3 hrs.}.

They both did fabulous. Drew has always been the one who just gets right out there while Zach tends to stay back for a little bit and check things out. Well, this day, Zach walked right in, went straight to the toys, checked out his new cubby, gave us all hugs bye and that was that.

Drew was the one who when he walked into his new room, came back and hugged my leg for a minute or two before wandering over to the toys. Granted, this was his first true first day of school ever, so he's allowed. :)

They both LOVE it and I think it'll be so good for both of them. Zach loves the idea that his little brother goes to his school and they even play together on the playground.

Thank you Nana for the matching shirts...even Ty matches. Precious!

I've given up getting a good picture of all three of them together. It's just not going to happen, I don't think.

Look. They even wear their backpacks the same way--off the shoulder!

Ms. Sarah showing Zach his new cubby

Hugging brother goodbye

Drew striking up a conversation with the girls. I think he said "come here often?" Smooth!

Drew says "you can go now Mom. I like this place"

Ty hanging out with mommy and her friends at the coffee shop waiting for brothers to get out of school.

Ice Cream Truck

2008-08-30T19:31:00.003-04:00

Everyone has an ice cream truck memory. Whether it's that your parents wouldn't let you go near an ice cream truck {mine}, or you were always saving your nickels and dimes for the next time you heard the music coming down the street and have very fond memories of summers with ice cream from the ice cream man {Carl}, or since you hated fish, your parents called it the fish truck instead of the ice cream truck so you'd run away from the music coming down the street {my best friend, Bri}. Everyone has memories...
Well, we've heard that sweet music a few times this summer, but just as we run out of the house, it's already rounded the cul de sac and is heading back down the street. Now if I was 8 or 9, I'd probablly chase it down, but seeing as I'll be 30 in a month and a half {oh geez...that soon?}, I thought, I'd just wait it out.
We heard it today and so we rounded up the boys and ran outside, Carl and I very excited about Zach & Drew's first ice cream truck experience and Zach & Drew wondering what the heck was up with their parents....yes, we're dorks.

Our Newest Addition...

2008-08-30T17:31:00.005-04:00

The boys just got this new swingset from their Grammie & Papa! They love it and we love having it. Drew, of course, climbed right up the ladder, turned around, and slid down feet frist on his belly. Zach took a little more time to scope things out and has fallen in love with the seahorse. We actually ordered a wooden one instead of the plastic, but it's on back order, so it'll be coming soon. Now we just have to get the ground cover, and we're set! We're so excited!!!!

Prayer Request!

2008-08-28T08:48:00.003-04:00

Carl & I are asking for your prayers concerning Carl's mom, Myrna. She has Ovarian Cancer and has made the extremely hard decision not to continue with chemotherapy. It has reached the "quality of life vs. quantity of life" point. This is probablly the hardest thing any of us has ever gone through, so I ask for your prayers not only for Myrna, but for our whole family, including Carl's dad, Guy.
Myrna is such a strong woman and I learn so much from her. I know that this time we have with her is a gift and I treasure every moment. She loves her grandbabies more than anything and I look forward to capturing those precious moments she has with them in my photography so they will always have those pictures to look back on. They will always know their Grammie.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Tyler's Baptism

2008-08-22T09:51:00.006-04:00

On Sunday, August 17, 2008 Tyler Anthony was baptized at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church. Deacon Charles La Rosa performed the baptism and it was his very first baptism which made it that much more special! He did a great job! Steve and Amy Rule are Tyler's godparents.

Here are some pictures from the day He's all set for his baptism.

Look! It looks like he's talking to Deacon Charles. He was like this the whole time. It was like he knew what was going on. Sweetness!

Pouring the holy water. He didn't cry, just whimpered a little.

Look at that face!

Deacon Charles, the Parents and Godparents with the boys

Deacon Charles and Tyler

The whole family

This is as good as it gets

Because then this happens

And then it's just over...

under the table

2008-08-21T15:41:00.004-04:00

Drew now thinks he's big enough to sit at the table to eat. In fact, he won't eat if we're all sitting at the table and he's in his highchair. It just doesn't cut it for him anymore. He can even climb up on the chair on his very own now. He's such a big boy. Nothing makes him happier right now then to sit next to his big brother and eat.

Zach-isms

2008-08-19T16:14:00.003-04:00

So Zach says some of the funniest things and I told myself I need to start writing them down for posterity. So here I go trying to recall them:
* One day he took out his play piano and says "1-2-3 Hit It!" {I thought, "huh?" Where'd he learn that from? I later learned he got it from cartoons}
* The other day, while cleaning the house before Ty's baptism, he says "Mommy you're a cool mommy because you know how to clean" {Wierd...}
* He has Carolina Gamecock Crocs he got from Grammie & Papa. He calls them his "Game-Crocs" {Man, I think he's on to something}
* When he talks about renting movies from the movie store, he says he wants to go home and watch them on his "movie feeder" {Ok, so he's obviously getting the movie theater and DVD player confused, but he stinkin cute is that?}
There are more, so I'll be updating this often...

night night

2008-08-19T10:16:00.003-04:00

So after we got home from my friend Kelly's house yesterday, I put Zach down for a nap and got Drew settled with a snack and some juice. Then I looked over at Ty who was in his carrier still. He was fast asleep. I decided to leave him be until he woke up...3 hours later Carl got home and he was STILL in the seat.

Hey, why move a sleeping baby, right?

Zach

2008-08-19T09:50:00.005-04:00

Zach got to meet his teachers at preschool yesterday. We killed some time before we went and played outside. Of course he had dirt and grass all up and down his legs. Picture me loading everyone in the van and taking baby wipes and cleaning the boys before we went into the school. Classic Jeffcoat moments...

Here's some pictures of Zach playing outside

hanging out on the John Deere

look at those dirty legs

being silly

he loves to play ball

he's such a sweet kid

Drew Drew

2008-08-19T09:42:00.004-04:00

Some new pictures of our "Drew Drew". have no idea why we started calling him Drew Drew, but we do and now he calls himself that. Zach however doesn't to abbreviations and always calls him Andrew. It's pretty funny because we hardly ever call him Andrew, but Zach does. We also call Tyler, Ty. Not Zach. He calls him Tyler. Funny how that happens.

I love this picture of Drew

He was so tired

I love the concrete as the background in this picture

Love this one too. He loves it when I take pictures of him!

zach-a-doodle-doo

2008-08-15T23:04:00.004-04:00

Here're some random shots I got of Zach tonight. He's getting to be such a good sport about this picture taking thing. Isn't it funny how sometimes you think, "I can't believe he's 3 1/2 already" and other times you think "He's only 3 1/2?!?!?"... ahhhh....my little man

Pieces of Ty

2008-08-15T21:55:00.003-04:00

So far there isn't much that Ty needs or that makes him different from other 2 month olds, but there are a few things that make up the pieces of Ty and that make him the special, precious baby boy we adore. And they are...
His paccie--never leave home without it

His bottle--no steak and potatoes just yet, but he's working on it

His mobile--he's just starting to notice things and he loves staring at those bears hanging upside down over his head

His adorable little hands--he's just learning they're attached and that he can grab at things, although at this point, they do have a mind of their own...he also needs a good nail trim

His angelic little face and that scrumptious little chin--couldn't you just kiss that face all day long?

Sleep--of course, as his mom, this is my favorite time of day--quiet time

I'm enjoying watching him grow but it's suddenly hit me that he's our last baby and all these things take on a whole new meaning. How absolutly precious this time is!!!!

Kids are so resilient...thank goodness!

2008-08-10T20:44:00.007-04:00

Well, it happened. It was inevitable and I'm sure there will be many more to come. Drew got his first big owie today. My friend Kelly's daughter, Ellie Grace, had her first birthday party today. We had such a great time and there will be pictures to come from that event soon.

Anyway, we got home and it was so nice outside that I let the boys play for a little bit. Drew wanted to ride Zach's razor scooter...you can see where this is going, right? Well, he got frustrated because he couldn't really hold onto it very well. Here's the frustrated Drew pictures...

So something happened right after I took these pictures and somehow he fell over...onto his face! I saw him hit the ground and his hands were the last thing to hit. His face took a beating. Here's the aftermath...

Not sure if you can tell but the cut is pretty close to his eye and there's a good chunk that was missing. I was praying we wouldn't need stitches because could you imagine that? A 1 1/2 yr. old getting stitches on his face?!?! Ugh! Anyone who has gone through that, I feel for you. Carl was awesome with him. He took him, cleaned the cut with a little peroxide and he was as good as new...well, except for the big huge red mark running down his face. It seems to be alright now and he's sleeping peacefully. Kids are so resilient...thank goodness!

Our friend, Mr. Lizard

2008-08-09T15:38:00.002-04:00

2
Originally uploaded by {Hope J Photography}

So, this should really go on my photography blog, but I thought I'd post it here since this lizard has been living on our front porch for a couple years now. He hides away in the winter and then comes out to play in the summer. Zach gets so excited when he sees him and now Drew is catching on. He's my favorite kind of reptile pet...the kind that lives OUTSIDE! He and I get along just fine that way. Now if he decides to venture IN, well, we may have problems, Mr. Lizard and I.

just another day at the Jeffcoat house

2008-08-08T23:25:00.003-04:00

having a very good day! hooray!

2008-08-08T19:56:00.007-04:00

Zach's a natural big brother. Drew's taking notes...
Precious...

"We love our baby brother!"
My smiley boy
Future Engineer...or aquarium cleaner...we haven't figured it out yet...
Caught them playing on the stairs...

It's official...he thinks I'm weird.

I'm so in love with these precious little creatures. Just had to share a few pictures from the last couple days. I finally got some good pictures of all 3 of them. Yay!

Funny faces of Ty

2008-08-08T19:43:00.005-04:00

Oh my gosh this is hilarious!!!

Amy was holding him here and she wanted to delete it because it looks like she's choking him. I can assure you, as his mother, that it's merely the angle to which she was holding him that makes it look like this.

*No babies were hurt in the taking of this picture...
Oh, he's got a lot of these funny faces. I know one day his face will grow into his eyes, but for now, it's just precious to look at him and see his BIG eyes looking back. I HAD to capture it and I'm sure he'll love me for it later...

A day at the Zoo

2008-08-04T18:26:00.006-04:00

So, Carl is really into salt water fish and everything that goes in a reef tank. We have an 80 gallon salt water tank in our family room. We used to have a MUCH bigger one that has now been down sized so he doesn't have the up keep of such a larger tank. Long story short, Carl's in a fish club and they were having a behind the scenes tour of the HUGE tank at our local zoo. It's like ours at home, but on a MUCH bigger scale, so they thought it would be neat to see how they run their tank at the zoo. Here's a pic of it....

Carl and Zach love to work on the tank together. You would think "what can a 3 1/2 yr. old do to help run an aquarium", but this is Zach and Carl's thing and Carl's so good about including Zach in the things he does to take care of the tank and explains everything to him...needless to say, Zach talks about filters and pumps like he would cars and trains...
So we all loaded up in the van (minus Ty since my mom so graciously offered to keep him for us...thank goodness since it was like 100 degrees that day) and went to the zoo. Here's a picture of Carl explaining the big pumps and what they do to Zach...
We had a fun family day doing something that interested Zach and Carl, and Drew and I enjoyed being at the zoo. Here are a few shots I got...

This was just a funny picture of a lama at the zoo...I think he needs to see a dentist about those teeth...unfortunate.

who turned out the lights?

2008-08-03T09:03:00.004-04:00

So last night we had a little family outing. We went to AC Moore and then went to eat dinner at Olive Garden. Quite the experience since we have 3 small boys, but luckily they sat us WWWWAAAAAYYYY back in the back with the other families with small children. I'm glad because you don't have to worry about your kids disrupting someone's romantic dinner. :)
The boys did alright. Zach was really hyper. I'm really hoping this is just the age and not something like ADHD because that's what it seems like sometimes. It seems like he wants to stop jumping all over the place and obey us when ask him to stop, but he just can't. That scares Carl and I a lot. But maybe it's just his age and the fact that he's a little boy. We're still learning all this stuff, so time will tell. Until then, less sugar FOR SURE!!!!! :)
Drew did great and is now eating on his own. He's at the independant stage and we're very happy about that. He can now drink out of a straw and is learning to use utensils. Most parents would never give a toddler a "real" fork because what if he stabs himself? Well, last night, we did just that, and he did awesome! Great hand/eye coordination, just like Zach. And he gets all excited and proud of himself. He SOOOO wants to do eevrything his big brother does. Zach thinks it's funny now, but soon it wil annoy the heck out of him, I'm sure!
Ty, of course, smelled our dinner when it arrived and decided he needed to eat, as well. This always happens, so I'm pretty good at eating with one hand and feeding him witht he other...it's an art, really.
So, after we go to McDonald's for some ice cream (yes, I know we're cutting down Zach's sugar intake, but this was a special family time) and to let the boys get their energy out at the play place. Drew is our fearless leader. Zach is more timid around these kinds of play things. He always wants to go out theree and play, but never does it, or just wanders around. Drew, goes right in and up. Zach followed this time. We were so excited. We want Zach to experience fun things without being scared and it looks like Drew will bge his saving grace. Drew thought he was the coolest kid ever going in and out and up and down. He just kept smiling...such a sweetie pie. Zach actually went all the way up in the big part (where Drew couldn't go) and looked around. He was pretty proud about that and we were proud, too.
Funny, huh, how you never think about the stuff you'll be worried about as a parent. Like, I never thought my child not wanting to up in a play place would worry me. I thought I'd be happy that I wouldn't have to take the time to go out there with him and wait on him to play, etc. But I really WANT him to do these things. I think it's important. Hmmm...
So, we get home about 8:00p and guess what? Lights are out all over town! Great! Drew's exhausted, so I get him ready for bed and put him to sleep. It wasn't too bad until it started to get darker and darker and hotter and hotter....
We had candles which were helpful, but HOT! I had to make a bottle for Ty and the hot water had run out, so that was fun. Did I mention that Carl has a slat water aquarium and he had just gotten a new annenime? Well, there was no "flow" since the pumps weren't on and he was so freaked out that it wouldn't make it if the power was off for much longer. Funny how you forget how many things take power until it all goes out. I'm so used to there being TV's on or even just the hum from the air conditioning. It was so quiet last night. Sort of eerily quiet. So what do you do when there's no power? Carl and I sat downstairs with our candles on the table playing board games. How romantic...haha.
Finally at 3:30am, we heard the gush of the air conditioning and the bathroom light popped on....HOORAY!!!!!
What a night!!!!!!

Hello? Hello? HELLO!

2008-07-30T18:59:00.004-04:00

So, I have been getting some flack for not yet having changed our answering machine message to include Ty. I decided to change it yesterday and now I think it's very fitting. It now says "Thank you for the calling The Jeffcoats. Carl & Hope can't get to the phone right now...probablly because Zach, Drew and Ty are making too much noise. Leave us a message and when we realize we've missed your call, we'll give you a call back." "Beep!"

Pretty fitting, right?

out and about on the john deere

2008-07-28T08:57:00.004-04:00

Drew's thinking "just wait till I get to drive this thing...we'll be going faster then 5 mph".
They're outa here...
Chloe was not very happy about this arrangement. She was sweet and posed for the picture, but jumped out right after. Baxter was smart and didn't come any where near the tractor!
Zach calls the tractor his dump truck because the back of it "dumps" things out. In his world, the riding lawn mower is the tractor and the tractor is the dump truck...I'm so confused!
Hard to tell from this picture, but Drew's actually not the serious one in the family. He's our comic relief. I can't wait till he starts talking because I know he's gonna have a lot of hillarious things to say....

For all you animal lovers: Chloe was not hurt or traumatized by her time in the tractor. Well, she may be a little traumatized, but she'll get over it... :)

My 3 sons. Apparently that was a TV show from before I was born...

2008-07-27T13:36:00.002-04:00

Let's begin this blog with this picture that I took with the boys in their 4th of July garb. I love it becasue it pretty much describes our household right now. Here's how it breaks down: we have Zach kissing Drew. While it looks sweet, he's really grinding his teeth together and putting a little too much presure on Drew's head. In fact, a second after this pic was taken, Drew fell over. Then we have Drew looking bewildered by his surroundings--still trying to firgure out why the heck he's sitting on a table with a basket and a baby in front of him and what mommy has in her hands...and most importantly why Zach is squeezing him and grinding his teeth. Last we have Ty, who, poor thing, has only been in this family, let alone the world, for 3 whole weeks and is now laying in a basket, desperatly trying NOT to fall out wondering, like Drew, who this crazy lady with the camera is and thinking she vaguely looks like the one that feeds him...

So, there they are...my 3 sons. I couldn't be prouder or love them more. So this is why I'm starting this blog. To show everyone how precious they are and the funny things they say and do. I hope you enjoy reading about our life as much as we enjoy living it...