Happy Memorial Day!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY FROM THE SHEARON'S!!!

I actually had to work today and Josh stayed home with Josie.

I think they had a great time together!

After Josie's excitement about Jack's swimming pool this weekend, we purchased Josie her own pool! So, we put it to good use this afternoon after I worked. Josie loved it! You can't really tell, but it has a slide, basketball goal and sprinkler. It provides lots of entertainment!

We decided to also put Josh's new grill to good use and have a cookout. Josie requested cheeseburgers! So, that's exactly what we did! It was nice to sit outside, relax and eat together as a family. That's truly very rare for us and it was such a treat!

In honor of Memorial Day, I should have recorded Josie saying the Pledge of Allegiance. She recites it at least 10 times a day. She knows every single word. She also has a small "obsession" with "Old McDonald Has a Farm"... she really went to town with that song yesterday at the zoo! ha!

So, we are kicking off another hectic week!

Josie starts swimming lessons this week at night with some of her friends!

Stay tuned for pics....

Memorial Day Weekend - Sunday: Part Two

After resting up from our zoo trip, we headed to Ben & Whitney's house for a get together with good friends! Everyone brought their kids and we all had a great time! Boy, oh boy... TIMES HAVE CHANGED! All of the women talk about kids -- eating habits, potty training, sleep habits, etc... Then, the men all just stayed outside by the food and talked about whatever guys talk about :)

Josie, Hooper and Casey reading

(thankful for this quiet and STILL moment!)

Josie's first time to drive the "gator!"

Hooper, Josie and Whitt

Hooper and Josie talking sweet to Whitt

Josie & Avery -- I think these two kinda look alike! They had such a good time together!

Yay for fun times with friends. It was MUCH needed!

Memorial Day Weekend -- Sunday: Part One

We took a spontaneous trip to the Memphis Zoo on Sunday!

We also decided to buy a family membership, which we are all excited about!

gotta love the pandas :)

riding in style! This IS the life :)

Josie's favorite part of the entire zoo!

The "water park" was a hit!

Memorial Day Weekend - Saturday

We had a very eventful Memorial Day weeekend.....

So, this calls for multiple posts!

We went to Josie's cousin Jack's 2nd Birthday party on Saturday afternoon.

Josie had a blast with the outdoor activities!

They had a swimming pool, trampoline, bouncy house, a John Deere gator and a slip n slide!

Josie and the birthday boy :) We love Jack!

I will never forget when Jack first started attending Josie's daycare about a year ago. Josie and Jack were in the same class and the teachers said that Josie would always love on Jack when he was having a hard time leaving his Mommy and would rub his back during his nap.

We are soooo ready for Jack to move up to the 2 year old class!!!

Happy Birthday, Jack!!!!!!!!!!

After the birthday party, Josie took a short nap and then we headed to Jackson to do a few quick errands. Josh had saved his birthday money and gift cards from Lowe's to get a new grill!!! We were excited -- perfect timing with the holiday weekend :)

Dancing Queen & Miss Independent

The two names that fit Josie the MOST these days.....

"Miss Independent" & "Dancing Queen"

My sweet little baby is not so much a baby anymore. She's VERY independent. She wants to dress herself, put on her own shoes (and will ask "right feet??"), put on her own pull ups and get up on the potty all by herself. She must hear a lot of comments at school about taking turns. She will always tell us, "My turn first!" We are working on this one :)

The funny thing is that she also has a new fascination with us holding her like a baby. I think it's because a few of our friends have recently had babies and she sees me holding them and suddenly wants to be a baby again! She mostly wants to be held like a baby after her bath. Funny girl!

My favorite new activity of Josie's is her LOVE for music and dancing!
We keep our Ipod on a home docking system down in our sunroom by my desk and Josie has spotted it. She's the new DJ in our house! She can work it all by herself and she will reach in my desk drawer and grab a pen or marker for everyone in the house and scream, "Our songs!!!"
She cracks me up! The girl has rhythym...... no clue who she got that from in our house!

Josie also likes to tell her Daddy, "Shhh!!!!" when we are dancing and singing if he's home and watching TV. She would like center stage and ALL of the attention :)

Go, Josie!

I can't say it enough... As hard as the terrible two's are at times in our household, I absolutely love this age. We have such a good time!

I need to start writing down more of the funny things this crazy kid says.... she makes me laugh every single day. Josh and I always tell each other the funny things that she did and just laugh and laugh.

Presbyterian vs. Methodist Softball Game

Yesterday was a fun day in our small town!

We had a great softball game between the big Methodist church here and our Presbyterian church. It's a small town rivalry .... a friendly competition :)

The kids from both churches had a blast playing together.

As a mom, I certainly got more pictures of the kids instead of the game!

Hooper & Josie

Josie sporting our church shirt!

After the game....

Methodists won by one point :(

Jack (Josie's cousin), CJ and Josie

Our new minister

30th Birthday Celebration!!!

Well... The time has come....

Josh IS thirty and I only have a few days left before I join the club, too!

I like to think of it as the 1st Anniversary of my 29th B-day ;)

We thought the big milestone called for a celebration...........

So, we invited some friends to join us for dinner at Marlo's Down Under in Covington to help us celebrate! We are blessed with so many wonderful friends!

* These pictures are in no particular order :)

The newest members of the 30 Club :)

We had such a great time!

Mother's Day

We had a great Mother's Day weekend!

First, Josie and I went to Muffins with Mom at her daycare on Thursday (also Josh's 30th b-day). We had a good time and it was fun to see Josie with all of her little classmates.

Then, Josie came home with this sweet little picture on Friday. I realize that it's sideways, but I'm a bit too sleepy right now to adjust :( How cute are those little handprints?!

Mother's Day morning ----

Before going to church, we tried to take a few pictures. We couldn't resist this picture!

Me & my sweet girl

Josie and I went to see my grandmother after we ate a quick lunch. We were anxious to hear all about her Destin trip! I can't believe that I forgot my camera when we went to visit!

Later that night, we had Josh's family over for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day!


Every family "function" needs a kids table.... :)


JJ & the girls

(Don't get confused..... it's NOT Fourth of July... Josie just really loves the American flag!)

Grandmommy & Josie

We also celebrated Josh's 30th birthday again... with a cookie cake... his fave!

My parents just got home from a week in Minnesota. We are hoping to do a belated Mother's Day celebration with my mom and grandmother soon.... maybe dinner tomorrow night :)

I had a wonderful Mother's Day and just feel incredibly blessed to have such a sweet little girl in my life to help me celebrate. I just love being her Mommy. Also, I'm thankful for my mom, grandmother, mother-in-law and all of the "mom figures" in my life!

Lots of Rain & Josie Update

WOW, we have had sooo much rain around here this past week. It's so sad to see on the news all of the homes ruined and lives lost in this terrible weather. We are very grateful that we only had a tree to fall in our yard (but didn't hit the house!) and some leaks in the ceiling. Poor Josie has been so frustrated that she couldn't go outside as much as she would like. She kept looking out the window and saying, "More rain!" We have had to get creative with indoor activities!

This is Josie's new "smile".....


Sporting her rain coat... even inside!

Josie turned 28 months on Josh's birthday. It seems hard to believe that she's growing up so quickly. I have recently thought that she seems so grown up and is really starting to say and do things that seem so "mature!" Also, we are pretty sure that we know what the terrible 2's are now... yea, I just THOUGHT I knew before :) We are having major fits for no reason and an attitude that I didn't think I would see until the teenage years. I'm struggling with how to discipline her in certain situations. She often will get a major attitude and say, "No, Mam!" in a very stern and rude manner. Well, I don't know how to reason with her sometimes, because I am proud of her for using her manners but the tone of voice is unacceptable!" Gee.... Parenting. This is tough stuff! Josie does get spanked probably at least once a day. We also use the "1...2...3..." strategy and usually she has done what I asked her to do by the time I say 2.

Enough with the "bad", this little gal is so much fun and is quite hilarious :)

I think daycare is so great for her. She has learned so much since she moved up to the 2 year old room. She can say the entire Pledge of Allegiance (and does so anytime she sees a flag), will constantly show you her right hand and her left hand, sings so many songs (Jesus Loves Me is still her favorite) and the list goes on and on... She really amazes me at times.

She has also picked up on some interesting habits at daycare... We have noticed that she often imitates her teacher. If there is a loud noise, Josie will cover her ears and say, "That hurts my ears!" She will often tell us to "Be quiet!" (which we DO discipline on this one!). We have confirmed that these ARE things that her teachers says. I admit that it is kinda cute!

We are still working on the potty training. She had an AWESOME weekend last weekend. She was very consistent with going to the potty all on her own. I was very proud, but it seems like we get out of rhythym once the week starts and she's not at home during the day. I'm not stressed about it at all... it will happen with time.

Josh's 30th Birthday!

May 5, 2011

Josh is THIRTY!!!!!!!

Josie and I worked on a few projects for Josh for his big birthday. Luckily, Josh was at Kreme Kastle the night before his birthday. So, we went shopping and got busy on our projects! We wanted to make him some of his favorite cookies.... Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies. Josie helped me add ingredients and stir. She was DETERMINED that Daddy's b-day cookies would have sprinkles! So, they did :)

Knowing that Josh may have to work at Kreme Kastle the night of his birthday, we decided that we wanted to have a birthday breakfast for him since we could all be together for sure! So, we prepared Sausage & Cream Cheese Casserole (Can you tell that we like to eat in our house?!?!)

Also, I told Josie that we would pick out a birthday balloon for Daddy at Wal Mart the night before. She picked a perfect balloon... Tinkerbell! haha! I explained to Josie that night that we would have to hide Daddy's balloon until his real birthday because it was a surprise. I thought I had explained it enough, but what was I thinking!?! The very minute that Josh walked in the back door that night, Josie immediately said, "Daddy! Birthday balloon! Right here!" as she pointed to the hiding spot :) Gotta love her!

Josie worked hard on Daddy's card!

THE MORNING OF JOSH'S 30TH BIRTHDAY..........

He's a good sport :)

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, JOSH!

Josie and I are incredibly blessed to have him in our lives.

I am thankful for such an amazing husband and a very dedicated and loving Daddy for our sweet Josie.

My birthday will be in 2 weeks and I will join the 30's club. I look forward to all of the fun and exciting adventures that our 30's will bring for us!