A cake snob.... Bitty's second birthday party

Summer is just bee bopping right along.  My personality type likes a plan and an activity.  It helps me to better plan and prepare for the day and upcoming week.  After one week at home with the kids I decided that we needed to participate in VBS for my own personal sanity.  Neither of my children are old enough to attend the VBS program at our church unless a parent is a volunteer.  And a volunteer I was.  I decided that since John Brantley is down to one nap a day that we could totally swing a morning of good fun at church.  I signed up to help teach third and fourth grade with two friends.  Each day was themed and we all know how I get a charge out of dressing up.  There was weird animal day (which I didn’t participate in because I had no materials to make the outfit come off just right), Day 2 was tie dyed day (no picture), Day 3 was camouflage/princess day (we went with both themes), Day 4 was costume day, and Day 5 was mix matched day.  I had fun.  Can you tell???

 Last Friday was John Brantley’s second birthday.  It snuck up on me.  Actually, I knew it was coming, but I didn't prepare well.  On his birthday, June 13^th, he woke up with NO presents!!  Good mother, I know.  Mother of the year… most definitely.  So after Bible school we hit up Wal-Mart.  I let him pick out whatever he wanted.  Now with Ford, this could have been costly, but I knew JB would keep a tight rein on the funds.  He HAD TO HAVE a pink Barbie car.  Now he doesn't know that pink is a girl color.  Oh no!!!  He just likes things with wheels and had wanted this car previously.  It was $11.00 so I was like what the heck.  Next we picked out a pool toy water squirter, some tiny tonka trucks, mini Oreos, cereal, and last but NOT least his MOST FAVORITE snack, Annie’s organic fruits snacks.

 So to keep with the theme of good mothering, I didn't plan a party.  I’m over parties, people.  OVER THEM!!!!  Pinterest has RUINED birthday parties forever.  So three days after his party I made him birthday invitations (with the wrong date on them might I add) and mailed them to family only!!!!  Ha ha ha!!!!!  Yep… no big Hooooray party for us.  He doesn't know any better.  And so we planned a pool party at Puddin and Pops’s pool and went with it.

 All he wanted to do was jump in the pool 10,000 times

 Bitty and his Gran

 Trey cooked burgers.

 Now, I’ll be honest.  I am kind of a birthday cake snob.  I take pride in my party cakes and think they are kind of the central part of the party.  The focal point.  I want the ewwwwwww and ahhhhhhhhh kind of cake.  You know the kind that hurts the pocket book kind of deal.  Well, second child… no ewwww and ahhhh cake for him.  I went straight into Wal-Mart, flipped thru their selection, found one for less than $20.00 with a 4-wheeler and ordered it right up!

 And to show y’all that I’m not always over the top, Type A, freak out and have a plan kind of mom, I picked the cake up at 1:45 and all the food, and the party was at 3:00!!!  There you go.  I’m getting better… Trey wouldn't agree!

 YUMMY!

 We didn't need presents, but since he got the shaft on a party, I let him have gifts.

 WILD HAIR!!!!!!

 I made two good party decisions this year.  For Ford’s we opted for “no gifts, please”, and John Brantley’s was a small, impromptu family party.  Next in line, ME…. I’ll be 32 next month.  Someone start planning me a party, please!

NEW BLOG BELOW.....

Sweetness and Wildness... He's TWO years old!

Well, it happened and I don’t even know how it happened.  Time.  Time goes by too quickly.  I can remember like yesterday being pregnant with John Brantley and realizing my body weight rounded to 200 pounds and not 100 pounds anymore.  I remember thinking I’d never see my ankle bones again, would never wear regular clothes, and wouldn't be able to breathe normally ever again.  The summer of 2012 was hot, and I was miserable.  Ohhhh but I would do it all over again for my precious Bitty.

Yep, it happened.  He turned TWO years old!  There were moments in the last 730+ days that I certainly thought one of us might die.  He’s my “hard” child.  The challenging, pushing the limits, and difficult one.  But I wouldn't have him any other way!

Between the two of my boys I have rocked and rocked many a miles in my chair.  I am surprised the cushion hasn't taken a permanent mold to my bottom.  Yes, I still rock John Brantley to sleep at nap and bed time, and I’m not ashamed of it.  I remind people all the time that you get to spend so much of your life being an adult, that when you’re a child you should enjoy it.  If John Brantley enjoys being rocked, then by George I’ll rock him.  Sweet Ford would still let me rock him too!!!

Birth	One Year	Two Years
Weight: 8 lbs. 12 oz. 62nd percentile	Weight: 19 lbs. 8 oz. 5th percentile	Weight: 23 lbs. 3 oz. 5th percentile
Height: 19 ¾ inches 52nd percentile	Height: 29 ½ inches 50th percentile	Height: 33 inches  10th-25th percentile

From birth to one year he gained 11.6 pounds.  From one year to two years he gained 3.5 pounds!  At two years of age Ford was weighing in at 27.6 pounds.  Click here for Ford's two year blog post.

Some things I want to remember about John Brantley at this age:

Weight:  23.3 pounds
Height:  33 inches
Shoe size: anywhere from a 5-7
Clothes size: 12 mo- 2T
Diaper size: Luvs 3
Naps: one a day around 1:00-2:30
Bedtime: Anywhere from 7:00-8:00

Likes: playing outside, Trey’s truck, riding 4-wheelers or tractors, animals, the pool, bath time, candy, the John Deere tractor DVD, Ford, Delta, his grandparents, to be rocked, fruit snacks, juice,

 Dislikes: BRUSHING HIS TEETH!!!!!!  This one takes the cake.  You want to royally tick the child off???.... brush his teeth.  If he screams and cries it’s easier to brush them because he opens his mouth.

It wasn't until about a month or two ago that the child even really started talking.  People had raised their concerns about his lack of verbal communication, but I wasn't worried.  Now he doesn't speak in sentences, but he communicates.  He says single words.  Here’s some of his list: momma, dada, bubba (Ford), Gan (Gran), Boom (BoomPa), Pops, Puuuuh (Puddin), De-ta (Delta), Bo (Puddin and Pop’s dog), Bobba, Ken (my brother), Dack (nephew Jack), Car-kine (Caroline.. our neighbor and my niece)… That would include the people he talks about.

Other words: pooooool, dink (drink), wa-wa (water), mick (milk), poon (spoon), wock (rock), tac-ter (tractor) bam-bam (bandaid), ouuuuside (outside), cah (car), tuck (truck), no no, suck (sucker), he has a word for couch but I can’t even begin to figure it out, deep (jeep), wide (ride), chuch (church), and chit chit (chapstick), cut cut (talking about cutting with a tractor)... etc

Bitty is VERY strong willed.  He is a lover and a fighter.  He is so sweet with Ford and they play and play.  If John Brantley gets something he grabs two so he can share with Ford.  He is also a fighter.  He’s going to get you before you get him.  We still have biting issues, pinching issues, and aggressive tendencies.  He gets really excited sometimes and it’s almost like he isn't sure of how to express his emotions.  The wooden spoon seems to keep him on track!!!

He’s not a good eater.  I often worry and feel guilty at how he eats.  I know milk is so important, but he doesn't drink enough.  Some days he has a hearty appetite and other days he nibbles like a bird.  He is a big meat fan, but he’s not so much into fruits and vegetables.

 John Brantley has a silly personality.  He just seems to do funny things to make us laugh all the time.  It comes naturally to him.  Ford tries harder to be funny than Bitty does.

God sure knew what he was doing when he gave us John Brantley.  We love you little man!!!!

383 Pictures: PART 3

Here we go with my third beach 2014 post.  As I sit here and look back at my trip from two weeks ago, I am sad.  I miss the beach.  I am one of the biggest home bodies you’ll ever meet except when it comes to a good ole Destin trip.  (sigh)

My dad is a character.  If you don’t know him, you’re missing out.  He can be extremely serious, or he can put on a show.  He likes to be the center of attention and make others laugh and smile.  He never disappoints!

Then there’s my mom, Gran.  She’s pretty prim and proper.  I guess they balance each other out nicely.

I actually got my man to take a few pictures.  He wasn't impressed with the activities and did a lot of grumbling.

I love these babies!!!

Sneeze!

Molly Cate turned 8 while we were at the beach.  I was up all night on June 7^th when she was born.  I was so excited about being an aunt.

We went back to The Track for round 2.

Daddy bought the boys suckers with WORMS in them!!!!!!

On Thursday, Gran and BoomPa kept the kiddos so the parents could have a date night.  The Red Bar was the destination choice.  I normally like to eat about 5:30 or 6:00 every night.  I think we ate about 9:30 or 10:00 that night.  The food was superb! 

This is how we found BoomPa when we got home! 

Friday night was a free for all.  We all kind of went our separate ways.  My crew chose an outdoor eatery so we could see the water and then some outlet mall shopping.  I love retail therapy.   

The child ate a cherry.... very shocking.

A few random beach moments!!!!   

Trey did this ALL week long.  Umbrella, chair, phone, and book….   

See.... proof again!   

I LOVE to play out in the ocean and ride the waves.  The bigger the better.  I like to get thrown off my float and squeal as I go under.  This particular day it wasn't too rough so everyone was in the water, EXCEPT Fancy… he was under the umbrella!   

I have the BEST family!!!!!!!   

 We have concluded the Anthony family 2014 beach trip.  As sad as I am to see it end, I am excited about next year and the new memories we will make.  Thank you to my parents for taking all of us each year on such a fun trip.  Eleven people in a house for a week is a lot of humanity, but that’s how we roll.  WE love ya’ll.  Thank you for a great vacation!!!!!!!!!