Soooo...

we officially have a new member of the family now. He's small, furry and VERY cute. His name is Oliver and we call him "Olly". We got him on Sunday and so far he's managed to chew up a few of Johnners toys and have several 'accidents' in our new home... Mark assures me we're going to pull up all the carpet eventually and put down my beautiful wood floors (or tile)... quite possibly in the next 4-6 months! So, I'm 'dealing' with it for now.

To be completely honest - I did NOT want the dog. We have enough balls in the air now and I didn't need another one thrown in. But alas, life doesn't always give you what you want and I continue to live that lesson OVER and OVER again. Someday it will sink in :)

He is absolutely precious and Johnners loves him bunches. He's cute and spunky and full of energy. Oliver absolutely lights up Mark's eyes and he's as happy as a 9 year old boy. So you gotta like that part...

We took the kiddos to Coco Keys over the weekend and they of course had loads of fun. It was extra special because my parents came up as well - so we all spent some quality time pretending it was really 80 degrees outside and that the water was 'really' warm and that the other thousands of people weren't really there... well, the kids enjoyed it at least.

Johnners has NO fear. He would walk right off the edge of the pool with no concern. Scares me to death - we need to insert some fear in that boy. He's was running around like he owned the place.

Makenna was a fish in the water and her and Maguire had fun going down the slides and playing with other kiddos. And Johnners loved those stinkin balls - the 'boeys' he couldn't get enough of them.

Overall is was an 'exciting' time. The kiddos were totally beat and that means they had FUN :) I'm not anticipating another trip for at least a few more months... HAH! The things you do when you have kids. Jeepers - where was the handbook about this one? I've got to reveal my Casper white body, that hasn't seen an exercise machine in Lord knows WAYY to long and prance around about a zillion other folks...wow now that's really livin!!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Stantons!Johnners was our little lion and he hated his costume. I was trying to get him to smile and it wasn't workin for him. So I began (yes I sadly admit) to bribe him.

He ate marshmallows - and not the small kind :) Yet still, in the image you see he's not a happy camper. I couldn't figure out what why it was so horrible for him. He will wear his hoodies all the time and never complains. HUH?

I wanted to get him with some pumpkins as well but he wouldn't look at mommy, he was wayyy to fascinated in "Veggie Tales" my bad, my bad. Now I know to turn the TV off first - duahhh!

Overall we had a great Halloween - it was beautiful outside and I walked Johnny cakes all over so he could get some candy. I acually allowed him to have a few M&M's!! that's a BIG deal!! The poor kid doesn't have a CLUE what candy realy is. heeeheeee. I'll get away with it as log as i can :)

Blessings to all :)

Happy Halloween - from Smilebox :)

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can i tell you how much i love this site!!! ok - well it's ALOT!

Playin' with Dad

So this was too cute to NOT capture last night. John loves to throw rocks right now... wierd I know. But alas, he's a boy and I guess they like to do that sort of thing. So he was throwing the rock with Mark and then Mark would pick up the rock and put it in his pocket. Once he figured out that he could reach in his pocket and get the rock - OHHH BABY was he excited.Once he figured out that he could reach in his pocket and get the rock - OHHH BABY was he excited. He always does this "ahhhhh" thing. It's adorable. Sort of like a baby braveheart roar. So I quick reached for my camera and started snapping away.

He's full of words now, every morning it's "ouuusiiiide" and "cookie" as soon as you get him out of his crib. He also says and does sign language for "more". He's all about "daddy" and we're still working on the mommy thing. This picture is too precious for my words. His little punkin face staring into the last few minutes of sunlight for the day - ahhh :)

This is our massive pumpkin on our front porch. Notice the top fell off, someone was 'trying' to pick it up and it BROKE! ooopps :)

Pumpkin Patch Fun

VALA'S PUNKIN PATCH!







So we went to Vala's Pumpkin Patch over the weekend and although the kiddos loved it. It was very 'dirty' and when we checked in there were 'feeding cups' I couldn't figure out what they were for so I asked and they said it was for the 'animals'. My mouth dropped open, animals??? Yikes! They had camels, goats, pigs, and other 'animals'. I was totally overwhelmed! So after we spend a few hours at our company's campsite and then we walked around this HUGE outdoor park full of the goodness of 'nature'. Like I said, the kiddos loved it. I thought it was 'very' interesting. And don't intend to go back. :) Although something tells me I'm going to have to someday. Oh saddness.
Here are some pictures of Makenna and Johnners climbing around on the pumpkins and a cute pic of Makenna and Maguire inside the Pumpkin Moon. Poor Maguire was barely tall enough to see through.

While we were at the campsite John found a bucket of water and before I could grab him he was COVERED in water.

You can see from the pictures that he LOVED getting wet.

Boy does that kid love water. I immediately had to change his clothes.

I think it was the highlight of his day. He was squealing with delight and I just had to look at him and laugh. He got a GOOD bath that night. :)

There's Mommy's punkin in his "Mommy loves me" outfit. Precious baby boy :) I love you

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Playin' peek a boo with mommy

So Johnners loves loves loves to play peek a boo. LOOK at all those teeth!!!

He's constantly closing and opening doors or looking through the kitchen table chairs and trying to hide. I have some glass 'pretties' in the corner and he KNOWS they are off limits - so he will sneak over to them and get really close until I catch him then he tries to 'hide' and play peek a boo all over again. It's a circle that we do almost nightly! On this particular evening he was playing peek a boo and then he ate dinner. Well he ate and was SUCH a mess that I literally threw him in the sink. Tada - and what do you know, he stinkin' LOVED it. That kid and water - match made in heaven.

(at least he thinks so :)
So here's our beloved Johnny cakes in the sink and loving life. Notice he has the spray part in his hand because that's his FAVORITE part. It's like a sprinkler inside!!! ohhhhhhhh :)

cute ones

Nothing is more precious then this little punkin' face. He sure loves that wagon. He loves it when I pull it back and forth, fast and then really slow. It makes him giggle and giggle. Mommy loves it too! Anything for that smile. I always count to three and after he hears 2 he gets a HUGE smile. Grandma Stanton helped me get a few of these snap shots. One of us had to man the wagon while the other snapped the photo. It was well worth the effort. WE LOVE OUR GRANDMA STANTON!
Makenna was being soo adorable with Johnners. She was reading him a story after they ate lunch. The moment was too precious to not snap a shot. He LOVES his big sissie! She is so wonderful with him. I love seeing their relationship grow :)
We planted a tree in our front yard and John wanted to help - OF COURSE! So he sat in the wagon and of course Mommy had to go grab the camera!! hahahaha
I love to play dress-up with Makenna and Maguire. I know you are all surprised :) This photo was too cute. Mark was mad because Maguire was in a Cinderella costume but hey! Boys are allowed to have fun too right??
good times with the kiddos. Look at those smiles :)

Playin' at the Park

We took all the kiddos back to the park a few weekends ago and while Makenna and Maguire were playing by the pond with daddy I got a few snapshots of our Johners exploring. It's so fun to see things from his perspective. As you can see, he wouldn't even look my direction. There was WAY too much stuff to check out. He was up in a 'tree house' and thinking he was BIG TIME!
I love the picture of the tires. I continued to try and get him to look at me through the tires but he was not cooperating! alas - he's a year old - what should I expect right??
Look at that face! Maybe it's a mom thing but he's stinkin' adorable if you ask me :)
His favorite thing is to push his brother and sister in the wagon. It's better then riding. At home he will pile all of his toys inside the wagon and the pull or push it aound the driveway over and over again. Look at him - he's pretty proud of his 'muscles' :) hehehe.
It was a fun day at the park for everyone - including mommy because all I had to do was play with the kiddos and take pictures. Nothing yucky this time. YEAAA!

Football time with Dad

Watching Football with Daddy!

He wasn't content sitting on the ground or even on Marks lap so he wanted to sit behind his head and beat on it. It was so dang cute.

You can tell Mark loves the camera! hehehehe

John then tried to 'wrestle' with Mark. They were laughing and having so much fun. I had to grab my camera and snap the precious fun moments!

Here's the two totally ZONED in on the BIG RED! Go HUSKERS!!!

Two peas in a pod. My guys - God I love them!!!

Johnny at Daycare

DAYCARE FUN!

I lost my cord to the camera so I haven't had a chance to do many posts lately. Besides the fact that is has been CRAZY at work. These are some photos of Johnners at daycare. He's with a gal who we love and he adores her. (what more can you ask for as a parent?) It goes to show that God will take care of you no matter what happens in life. When one door closes another one opens. Enjoy. He's one happy little guy :)

He loves to play in the rubbermaid bins and he'll dance anytime he hears the 'veggie tails' music in the background. I realize it's a shocker to all that he's remotely animated :) hheeeehehee.

Again with the wheels - he loves those darn things. Any time he can get his hands on one he's super excited about it!!

Just another fun day at daycare. He usually wants to stay and play when I go to pick him up. Hey, I can't blambe him - I'd want to stay and play too!! :)