Lions, Tigers, and Bears…Oh My! July 27, 2007

                   

Ok, actually I think it was only a tiger…but Sawyer just ate an animal cracker!  I didn’t think he was supposed to be doing that!?!  I mean, the kid is only just 8 months old! I don’t think Jackson ate real food until he was almost a year…I mean hard, solid food.  He was still eating some baby food just before his first birthday and he choked on EVERYTHING.   Sawyer, on the other hand, JUST ATE A FREAKIN’ ANIMAL CRACKER.  It was kinda funny.  I was eating them (I’m a sucker for the bag of 10,000 cookies for $1.99 at WalMart) and was also holding Sawyer.  He just reached over, stole a cookie, and put it in his mouth.  I thought, “Ok, wise guy…let’s see this.”  For the first 3 seconds he sucked on it…making sounds just like Maggie on the Simpsons.  Then — crunch, crunch, crunch — gone.

Did I mention that the kid still has no teeth!?!

Unbelievable.

Getting bigger… July 24, 2007

Wow, these kids are growing like weeds! (As they say…)  Sawyer is getting bigger and funnier by the minute.  He constantly has to know where Jackson is and what he is doing.  If Jackson is not paying attention to him, Sawyer lets out a little grunt or yell to get his attention!  Pretty funny.  They are having fun playing together…hopefully that will be the case for years to come!

I’m posting some recent pics.  Not much news on the homefront.  Sometimes that’s a good thing!  (No, I’m not quoting Martha Stewart.)

Enjoy!

It’s Official!! July 20, 2007

I know many of you read T.C.’s blog…but I had to let everyone know that “it’s official!!”  T.C. and Rachel went to court in Ukraine today and officially adopted Russie!  (Clark…I don’t know why I keep calling him Russie…it’s just so cute!)  Here are some more pics of the lil’ man for those of you who don’t get over to T.C.’s blog. 

    

Just precious!  Yes, he’s in his undies…I guess it’s super hot there…so less is more!  (No big deal…I know some boys in this house who like running around in their undies, too!  They shall remain nameless.)

Stay tuned for some more pics of my OWN kids!  Just wanted to show off my new nephew!!  

Russie will be accepting gifts and fan mail….please send to:

Ha!  Just kidding. 

Drumroll please….drldrldrldrldrldrldrl……… July 16, 2007

Ok, not quite sure how you actually would spell a drumroll…but you get the idea. 

I am so excited to show off a picture of our soon to be (fingers crossed) newest member of the family — Ruslan!  (Roos’-lawn)  Soon to be Samuel Ruslan Clark Judd.   aka – Clark.

Isn’t he adorable??  (Ruslan Clark…not my brother –  sorry T.C.)

After a long, long adoption process, T.C. and family arrived in Ukraine last week.  They soon met this little guy!  Visit T.C. and Rachel’s site to read all about their adventure.  Actually, calling it an “adventure” seems to be putting it lightly!

Well, I was so eager to meet Ruslan Clark that I packed up the boys and took the redeye to Kiev over the weekend.  We had just enough time to drive to the orphanage, grab a photo, stop at T.G.I Friday’s (inside joke) and fly back home.   Shew!  What a weekend!!  Aren’t all of the cousins cute together!?!

 (And some of you thought we were at a wedding this weekend…Ha!  And those of you who actually thought you saw us at the wedding this weekend….wow!  How much did you have to drink!?!)

 Ok…seriously though.  We can’t wait until all four of them make it home.  Please keep T.C.’s family in your prayers over the next few weeks! 

Fourth of July July 10, 2007

Over the 4th, we enjoyed several days at my Granny’s house (Noey, as Jackson calls her).  We had wonderful weather, caught lots of rays, went swimming, and took a few laps around the lake.  We also got to see some great fireworks and enjoy some yummy chow.

The boys were silly as usual!  Sawyer enjoyed his first time in the pool.  He was quite relaxed…not a big surpise.

Jackson also loved all the fireworks!  He thought it was very cool that Daddy shot off parachutes for him to catch.  Brad would light it and Jackson would yell “Run, daddy, run!”   Jackson also liked the little “snaps” that you throw on the ground.  Maybe we’ve created a monster!?!  Nah!

I also have to include the following picture of Sawyer…this is a prime example of what happens when I go inside for a few short minutes and my children are left attended by my parents!  Note the placement of his cookie.  And what a happy little guy!

And yes, what a cheesy bib…but when you forget the essentials and have to buy them in the middle of nowhere…well…”That’s my boy!”

Also, while we were at the lake, Jackson realized that the lights around the pool make an excellent microphone.  (He came up with this all by himself.)  He spent several days entertaining us with his Jimmy Buffett songs.  The following is his rendition of “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”  It’s the “Live at Wrigleyfield” version — just in case you didn’t get the different words.  And no, he’s not scratching his belly…he’s playing his guitar.  Oh dear…

Our Lucky Day! July 3, 2007

We got a new free fridge!  I can’t believe it!  I was driving back into the neighborhood Sunday night around 6:30.  I had actually picked up Taco Bell for the fam for dinner bc it had been a tiring weekend and I wasn’t about to cook!  Why not feed the entire family for $10??  Anyway, as I was driving back home, I saw a full sized fridge/freezer in someone’s driveway.  It had a sign on it that said “Free Fridge.  Works Great!”  I was so excited!  We’ve been wanting another one for our garage…just for soda, beer, juice, and frozen goodies.

I told Brad about my find….so we all walked down the street to ask the neighbor about it.  She said it worked just fine.  They had just added on to their house and got a different fridge.  So, we walked back home, got the Explorer, drove back, and got it in the truck!  Then we moved it in the garage and cleaned it up.

We were a little nervous to take a used 10-15 year old fridge…but keep your fingers crossed bc it’s working so far!!  We had big fun at Meijer last night buying soda and other junk to put in it!  Yipee!!  I must say, my drinks taste much better when coming from our second fridge!