Introducing.....

James "Bryant" Lawrence! Our first nephew and Isaiah's first cousin was born on November 8, 2012. He weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 inches long. I am so happy for my brother and Amber and I love that we now share the bond of parenting. I look forward to talking about our kids and the new world that parenting brings about. From what I hear Mr. Bryant is a very laid back baby and only cries when he is hungry, has a dirty diaper or is sleepy. Bubba swears that he is up helping out with feedings in the middle of night so I have to give him kudos for that. I know from experience what a blessing it is to have a hands on Dad early on. Ebbie tells me that Amber is a natural at being mom. I wouldn't expect anything different. After all, God designed us for this. I cannot wait to meet my sweet, precious, cute, cuddly nephew. I sure wish they lived closer but after the holidays Isaiah and I hope to make a trip to El Paso. I love you so much Bryant. What a sweet blessing you are!

Halloween

This year was the first year Isaiah really got in to the whole trick or treating thing. He dressed up as Buzz Lightyear and was toted around the neighborhood in style by his Daddy, Uncle Dave, Aunt Krissy, Gigi, Pawpaw Pete, Papa D and Nana. I stayed back with a glass of wine and passed out candy :-) I was completely exhausted from all the moving, unpacking, birthday partying and other things going on. It was nice to have some down time. I put my chair out on the front porch and greeted all the little kids as they came. It was actually fun and I got to meet a lot of neighbors. However since I am usually the one behind the camera these are the only two pictures we got. Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!

Buzz, Woody and Jessie

Terrific Two Year Old

In the midst of all the packing and moving and packing and moving some more Isaiah's second birthday snuck up on us. I cannot believe we have a two year old. We moved in to our house one week before his birthday so I quickly threw together a small birthday party to celebrate two amazing years with our little buddy. Since he is in love with anything and everything "Toy Story" I decided to order him a Buzz and Woody cake. That was about all the planning I did. (Sorry Isaiah, I promise I will do better next year.) I really enjoy party planning and hand making everything but that was not practical this year.

We did his party a couple of days before his actual birthday and celebrated with family and a few close friends. We are so thankful for everyone who came to make Isaiah's day special. (I didn't even think to get pictures of all the kids playing or shots of Isaiah with all his special guests. Oooops, again I promise to do better next year!) My sweet friend Stephanie (from our family of 8 plus some) mailed us all the ingredients for the traditional small group Funfetti cake! MADE MY DAY! So on Isaiah's actual birthday we woke up and got to baking. This was so much fun and is now actually a tradition I would like to continue with him. We may have ended with a bit of a sugar high but it was so worth it. Thanks to Ebbie (formerly known as GranDebbie) for coming over and supervising/photographing.

Ebbie also stuck around to cook the birthday boy a special dinner and enjoy cupcakes with us. Of course Cappy joined in the fun, too! We had dinner, treats and Isaiah opened his special present from Mommy and Daddy. The look on his face was priceless when he pulled that talking Woody doll out of the bag.

Here are some stats on our TERRIFIC TWO YEAR OLD: Weight: 27 pounds Height: 34 1/2 inches Favorite Movie: Toy Story 1,2 and 3 Favorite Foods: Fruit snacks, cheese, bananas, cereal, and hot dogs Favorite Drinks: Apple Juice and Milk (Isaiah will NOT drink water unless it is in "Momma's water bottle") Favorite Activity: Riding Cappy's lawnmower and swinging and climbing at the playground (Isaiah will climb to the tip top of anything and everything he can get to. It makes most people pretty nervous.) Favorite Toys: Toy Story action figures, bounce house and bowling set New words: Isaiah is putting short sentences together now. I love to turn on his monitor and listen to him talk himself to sleep. His vocabulary is HUGE and he is picking up a little southern accent. One of our favorite things to do is ask him where something is and he will say "right there". It is the countriest sounding "right there" I have ever heard. Cracks me up everytime. He has learned so many new names and faces since moving back to Memphis. He flies his buzz lightyear around saying "too infinninny (infinity) and yond (beyond)". When someone leaves he always says "bye, see ya tomorrow". He has also started telling me things he needs at the store. We will walk by the toy aisle and he says "mommy I NEED that". He sings "twinkle twinkle little star" and "ring around the rosie" all the time. Sweet moment: Isaiah is learning to pray and it truly warms my heart. We say night time prayers with the memorized "now I lay me down to sleep" but after we thank God for things. I have modeled this for him in the past and recently he has started on his own. He thanks God for his Daddy's job, Mommy and Daddy, healing lucy, mike and gegan, dave and kwissy, and for dying on the cross. Every week he is adding something new and it is so precious. One morning I was on my knees praying for some dear friends that had a very important doctor's appointment. Isaiah came up and asked if he could "pway with mommy". I cried! It was such a sweet moment. He folded his little hands, got on his knees and prayed. I will always remember that moment. I am so happy he is learning to love the Lord with childlike faith. Here are some of his 2 year pics from Southern Style Photography

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Isaiah we love you so very much. Thank you for teaching me a new way to love and a new way to see life. I love the way you make us laugh and the way you make us both want to be better people. You are so very full of energy and I pray that one day you use that to do amazing things. You are so special and so loved.