Happy Easter

Thanks Clay and Michelle for spending Easter with us. It was really nice sharing the day with family!

A Good Friday

On Good Friday, we had a very nice, low key day around the house. We dyed Easter eggs with the boys, which was pretty funny. It took us a couple of hours to get everything ready, eggs boiled, cooled, dyes prepared. Then, it took the boys about 6 minutes to finish dying them all. We limited Andrew to just two eggs because, as expected, he dropped them each in a mug of dye and they broke. He didn't seem to mind though. He just kept fishing them out and redropping them back in again.


I absolutely love the way Will is looking up at Dan in this picture. It says so much about the close relationship between these two.

Will struggled being patient with his eggs(shocking, I know!) and so he kept changing the color of his about 5 times each until they all turned a lovely shade of puce! :)


It was such a great day and these are memories I will keep with me forever.
That evening, we attended 7:00 mass. I think this is my favorite mass of the year. Our church does a beautiful job of making it very solemn and reverent. I always leave feeling spiritually filled and ready for Easter!

The Easter Bunny

Last Thursday, we went to an Easter egg hunt at the MSU president's house. We did not get a picture with the actual Easter bunny, because Will made sure we knew when getting out of the car to walk up to the lawn, that he DID NOT want to see the Easter bunny. So, we conceded to his wishes and did not press the issue. But, we did get some good shots of the kiddos hunting some eggs and playing.
Here is Will and Andrew's friend, Anthony.


Andrew's newest "cheese" face

This was Andrew's first year to actually participate in the hunt, and he really did great. He was in no rush to pick up the eggs, but luckily neither were most of the kids in the 2 and under category.

Will did not do so hot this year. He found a total of 1 egg. He was really tired before we even got out there, so he wasn't too motivated to rush out to get some eggs. One little girl helped him out by giving him one of her eggs though.

After consuming a little sugar, he mustered up enough energy to run around with Joan after the hunt.

Yet Another Celebration

So, I don't know if it is the fact that I feel sorry for Andrew that his birthday falls at such a busy time of year or that I am trying to muster up the same energy for his birthdays as I have for Will's, but this kid has had plenty of celebrating for his 2nd birthday. Actually it has just been a couple of small gatherings, one with family and now one with friends, but it has dragged out over 2 weeks so it has felt like the birthday that goes on forever.
Anyway, on Tuesday, we invited some of our friends over for a playdate in the backyard. We had some snacks, some cake, and a pinata! It was a lot of fun watching the kids play together and it is always fun to chat with my "Mom" friends. Thanks to everyone for coming over and celebrating Andrew's birthday...again. :)


(Look at Will whacking that pinata in the lower left-hand corner. All the younger kids took little jabs at the thing, but it took Will's man strength to bring it down! Can we say Dwight Schrute?)

Also, Andrew had a great 2 year check-up on Wednesday. Here are his stats:
height: 35.25" (75%)
weight: 27lb 10 oz (50%)

Blast from the Past

Last weekend was Dan's fraternity reunion(20 years at MSU) and all our old pals were in town for the celebration. So, the kids went to stay with Nonnie and Papaw, and Dan and I got to pretend we were young college kids all over again. It was great seeing everyone, many of whom we haven't seen in years!
And, of course, any weekend celebrating old times has to include the Kirks!

We always have the best time together, whether it is a kid-free weekend like this one or a weekend barbecuing with the families! It is always fun with these two.
We spent our weekend staying up late, trying to sleep in, going to a crawfish boil, getting dressed up, and dancing the night away.




And on Sunday, we were tired(and felt every bit of our years away from college), but so happy and ready to see the boys' 2 precious smiling faces coming in the door. It is fun to have a weekend off every once in a while, but I have to say, our life now is equally as fun as it was back then....just a little different! :)

And a big thank you to Nonnie and Papaw for keeping the boys! I know they had a wonderful time and we truly had a peace of mind knowing they were in your care!

My little, big boy

I can't believe that Andrew is 2 years old. I mean, I literally can't believe it! How is it that I have shared two wonderful years with this little blessing? How come it still feels like he should be my "baby" in arms? How has he learned so much and come so far in such a short amount of time? I guess it's like the saying goes...time flies when you are having fun!
Here are some of the things I love about my 2 year old:
1. I absolutely love his fascination with hands. If you give him a paci, he demands a hand on some part of his skin and then stares lovingly into your eyes while he works that paci! It is the sweetest, cutest quirk!
2. I love how he says "uh huh" instead of repeating what we are trying to get him to say to us. For example: Me: "Andrew, say more milk please, Mama." Andrew: "uh huh" and then looks at you funny if you don't adhere to his request.
3. I love how he idolizes Will. If Will loves cars, Andrew loves cars. If Will wants to sleep with his baseball glove, Andrew wants to sleep with his glove.
4. I love how he experiences food. I mean, head to toe!
5. I love how he hugs my legs while I am washing dishes at the sink.
6. I love how he tries to "help" load the dryer.
7. I love how he requests that I hold him in order for him to fall asleep at naptime every day. I am (almost) always happy to oblige.
8. I love how he does a dance and shouts "Dada, Dada" when Dan pulls into the driveway each night.
9. I love how he dances to "All I Do is Win."
10. I love how Andrew takes his sweet time to go from any one place to another. He takes his time to inspect every blade of grass, every sound, every car tire we pass. (Okay, if I'm being honest, I don't always appreciate this. It is sometimes hard to have the patience to deal with his curiosity, especially since I am constantly rushing from one place to another.)
11. I love the way he runs with his arms dangling out to his side.
12. I love the way he talks. He has an adorable Southern twang.
13. I love how easy going he is. It is a rare occasion that Andrew cries without good reason or has a bad day.
14. I love how every day with Andrew, I feel like I get to know him better. He can be pretty introverted so we don't always know everything he is thinking or feeling.
15. At last but certainly not least, I love his ability to love. He is a kind, warm, loving human being who willingly shares his love with those close to him. I am proud to be mommy to such a special little person.

After writing about all of these wonderful things that I have experienced with Andrew, I realize just how lucky I am to be able to share every day with him and Will. Being a stay-at-home mom is a gift and I truly view it as such. I have been given the gift of seeing my children develop new skills, interact with their friends or siblings, and being there to comfort or hold them whenever they need or want me to do so. There are certainly days when I feel like pulling my hair out and would do anything to have some adult conversation, but 9 days out of 10, this is exactly where I want to be. And if the speed of the past two years going by is any indication, I know that the time will come all too quickly that they will be off to school, out with friends without me along, and, eventually, out of our house altogether. So, I will cherish these years and continue to thank God for all our blessings!

Andrew's Birthday Weekend

It was Super Bulldog weekend so there was already lots going on in town and add a birthday party for Andrew and it makes for a very fun and very busy weekend!
The weekend started on Thursday night with a movie night at the stadium on campus. Toy Story 3 was playing, so you know the Whakeys weren't going to miss out! I say this all the time, but how lucky are we to live in such a fun town with so many fun things going on all the time? I just love it!!
Will and Andrew, of course, dressed the part!

Then, Friday night, we went to the baseball game.
Look at my little cutie pies all dressed up for a night out.(Thanks for the precious shirts, Kelly!)

When I was getting them dressed, Will wanted to wear his baseball cleats as usual. I told Andrew to bring me his crocs and he walked out of the closet with his cowboy boots instead. He decided that he should get to pick out his own shoes too, I guess.


We all had a great time at the game, and even got to sit with the Hoovers, who we haven't seen in a while. It was a fun night!!


Gigi and Jabo made it into town late Friday night and spent all day Saturday with us going from one adventure to the next. And they were troopers!!
It started with a baseball game and picnic lunch at noon. We sat in the outfield with the Lees and took in lots of sun and just a little baseball! Natalie gave Andrew the cutest outfit that he actually ended up wearing for his party on Sunday(see below).

Then it was out to the Fan Fare area outside the stadium where they had jumpers, slides, and MSU ice cream set up for everyone.
Will and Andrew decided they needed to take a break a hydrate before the football game.

Nonnie and Papaw made it into town just in time for the Maroon and White football scrimmage game. We lasted until halftime and then it was time for dinner.

Well, Jabo didn't quite make it till halftime. I think all that fun in the sun got to him and he nodded off during the game. :)

Sunday, it was time to celebrate our little Andy-man! After church, we had Gigi, Jabo, Nonnie, Papaw, Clay, and Michelle over for lunch and a "monkey themed" birthday party.



Everyone played....


We sang happy birthday and ate cupcakes...



Andrew opened his gifts and played with each of them...


We had such a wonderful time with everyone and could not have asked for a better way to celebrate our little boy's second birthday. We love spending time with our families more than anything. Add going to MSU sporting events to that and, well, you have our idea of the perfect weekend! Thanks to everyone who made the trip. It really was so special having you all here. We can't wait till next time!!

A Glimpse...

into our life.

What? Doesn't everyone play baseball in their kitchen? :)

Yum!

Eat your heart out, Gerber baby!

International Fiesta

This weekend we attended one of our favorite events in Starkville-the International Fiesta.
Dan was out of town, so my friend, Natalie, drove in from Tupelo to spend the weekend with me and the boys. And what a HUGE help she was!! And what a true friend! Only a friend as close as Natalie would not only volunteer, but enjoy helping me with everything from bathtime to chasing the kids around the festival to emptying the dishwasher all on her weekend off. I know you are all jealous of our exciting life. :) We did, however, manage to get in some fun "girl talk" time and watching movies after the kids were in bed! It was such a great weekend and thanks again, Nat, for all you did!
And here are some pictures from the Fiesta. The food was great, the entertainment was fun, and seeing all of our friends out there always makes for a good time.
My caged animals in the jumper...



Will and his friends, Zane and Ben watching some of the entertainment. (I love how Andrew is standing not with but just behind the big boys.)

And the belly dancers...