7.21.2014

Branson with the Staggs (and Johnsons)

We had a little weekend birthday celebration for Stratton and Terry. We went up Friday night and came home Sunday, so it was a quick trip, but we had a lot of fun and made some memories!! Terry and Margie were so nice to take all of us on a trip together!

The ride to Branson was tough. Stratton got car sick. Good thing we are used to this and were prepared! But we did have to stop several times which made us get there later than we had anticipated. I think we finally all got to bed around 10pm.

Saturday we were up and at’em early. We had breakfast and then took the kids to ride some kiddie rides and go carts. Well, wouldn’t you know Arden fell on the pavement chasing the boys and scraped her face up. Poor thing she looked awful! She recovered quickly though!

Three sweet kids

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After the fall

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Go Carts!

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Lovely day to be outside! The temps were in the 70’s! Crazy!

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After lunch at Mel’s we headed back to the hotel for naps. Saturday evening we had dinner at Landry’s (SO. GOOD.) and then went to see the Haygoods!

Attempt at a family picture

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Family Picture at the Haygoods!

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Arden liked the Haygoods, but she passed out about halfway through!

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Sunday was a gorgeous day. I mean just perfect weather. We had a little time that morning for the birthday boys to open gifts then we decided to go to Branson Landing for a little browsing and lunch before we all headed our separate ways home.

The waterfront at the Landing was so nice Arden and I had a nice time walking around together while the others shopped. Then we had lunch and headed back to Jonesboro.

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We had such a good time, I only wish we could have stayed longer! The weather was so nice and the crowds weren’t too bad. The kids had fun playing together, even though the boys can get a little crazy!!

7.13.2014

Stratton’s Birthday

Stratton’s birthday just fell at a difficult time this year. We ended up not having a big party. With Papa and grandma both in the hospital and it being a busy time of year, and it being so hot, it just didn’t make much sense. And then I got sick as well! So on his actual birthday we just had a small family get together and kept it simple. It was Saturday but Jarrod actually had to work but came home a little after lunch. We went ahead and gave him his big gift from us so he could play with it!

 

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We got him a bike! It’s just a tad too big, but I’m sure he will grow into it soon!

Riding with a broke arm isn’t easy!

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We played outside and Jarrod grilled supper

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He got a jar of bb’s from Gigi and Pops! He was so excited!

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Gigi made him a MONSTER cake!

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7.12.2014

Stratton Turns 5!

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Can you believe this baby is now 5?!

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When Stratton was born the thought of him being 5 seemed so far away. So I’m constantly amazed at the fact that we have a 5 year old. It just seems so BIG and so old! I mean it’s like he’s officially now a kid, not a baby, not a toddler- a kid. He will start school soon- real school, with homework and soon it will be school sports and activities. . .  and it just seems like from this point on things will be busier and changing all the time. I know it’s just part of it, and I’m fine with it and since I have always worked and he’s always gone to daycare or school of some sort all his life, so there will be less changes for him than some kids. But there is a difference in daycare and pre-k and kindergarten. It’s bigger and busier and there is a lot less hand holding. And maybe it’s a cultural thing, but I’m feeling like him turning 5 means a lot of letting go my part. And I’m not by any means a “helicopter mom “ so it’s not necessarily about the physical aspect of me not being there, but it’s the thought of him being on a big playground with 100 other kids and trying to find his place amongst them, and him being alone in making decisions and choosing between right and wrong- it’s frightening to me! . . . I realize my struggle with all this has just begun and I will likely battle it for the rest of my life with both my kids!

But age 5 looks good on him! He now looks like he’s 6 or 7 though. . . Stratton is at least 46.5 inches tall maybe a little taller since we last measured and weighs around 45 pounds. He is tall and lanky and boney and has less than .0001% fat on his body. He has the bluest eyes, and his hair was getting a tad darker, but over the summer it’s back to white blonde again. He has the sweetest smile and funniest expressions.

Stratton takes his time. I should have picked up on this during my 36 hour labor with him, right?? He is never in a hurry and I have yet to find a way to motivate him! (a trait he comes by honestly per his father). He is very shy in large groups and doesn’t like attention. He likes to stand back and observe the situation. But now, if he is comfortable with the people he is around he will talk their ears off! He is so hardheaded. At just 5 he will back talk us and he always has to have the last word. He thinks when we say “No” the matter is still open for negotiation. (a trait that he comes by honestly from his other parent who will remain nameless).  Maybe that’s why he and I have such a difficult time. This kid knows how to push my buttons! Everything is a battle with him. I am hoping this is just a phase and he is simply testing his limits! But right now we are constantly disciplining him. I do A LOT of praying on his behalf (and mine!) these days! He is 150% all boy. Dirt, mud, sand, worms, frogs, bugs. . . .the icky and grosser the better! He loves tractors, trucks, planes and guns, swords and any kind of weapon. He is a very loving brother. He can be rough, but most of the time he wants to love on Arden and hug and kiss on her and she is the one that doesn’t like it! I would say 90% of the time she bites, pinches or hits him it’s because he will get right up in her face and baby talk her! Ha! He is just trying to be sweet most of the time, but you’d think he would learn!! He is so rough and tough. His little scrawny legs are covered in bruises, seriously, you’d think we beat the poor kid! And from his track record you can see he is a tad accident prone. He spent his 5th birthday in a cast, and I think we will all remember that!

Stratton maybe a mess sometimes and gives his momma a hard time, but he really is a sweet kid and (I’m told) he is really well behaved and so smart. There is so much about this little man that I love and I am so blessed to be his mommy. And even those these days are a bit tough, I’m not in a hurry to rush through them since I know once they are over and gone I’m sure I will miss them (as crazy as that seems some days!).

7.07.2014

Stratton’s broken arm

A couple of weeks back Stratton fell off the monkey bars at Excel and broke his arm. I picked him up from school and he was screaming. I was fairly sure that he was just being dramatic since it had happened minutes before I got there to pick him up. I took him straight to see Brandye at her house. She suggested we go to a firstcare clinic and get it x-rayed, then she could log into the system and view his xray from her house and see what was going on. I am not going to go into major details about the initial visit to a firstcare clinic other than it was a less than desirable experience and THANK GOODNESS for my sister-in-law Brandye and the fact that she works for the best ortho docs in town. Talk about the VIP treatment. I’m not necessarily one that likes to have strings pulled for them, but when it’s your kid and they are in pain (and I mean he was in MAJOR pain) some special favors are worth it. Plus it’s really nice to have an aunt that can run back to her office and grab the right tools and come to your house to split your broke elbow instead of spending the night in the ER. So, after x-rays they thought he needed a pin put in his elbow but after they got him back into surgery it only needed to be re-set. He got a cast, then we went back a week later and it looked good so they reinforced the original cast. He will wear this till the 21st and hopefully be able to get it cut off at that appointment.

Friday Morning at Jonesboro Orthopedics and Sports Medicine clinic. We had the place to ourselves since they don’t see patients on Fridays. . . but the doc called in the radiologist just for us : ) Stratton was pretty good considering. He was starving and thirsty, but Brandye said not to let him eat just in case they needed to do surgery. Good thing we held him off! They sent the x-ray to the doc and Brandye who were in surgeries, the doc read them and said that he needed a pin and in less than 2 hours Stratton was back in the OR. Amazing.

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Waiting to be taken back to surgery. He’s so calm and nonchalant.

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He showed out a bit in pre-op. They told us that the “juice” they give them to help them relax would make him sleepy. Haha. We just laughed and told them nope. Not Stratton. Get ready for the show! It’s like it takes his normal personality and just revs it up to the max! He was telling stories and just talking to everyone and being so silly. He had the entire pre-op room laughing. Pretty sure at one time we had about 10 doctors and nurses around his bed. The doctors and anesthesiologist couldn’t even talk to us because Stratton was talking so much!

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After surgery they brought him back up to a room and he went back to sleep for 2 hours! Not surprisingly since he only slept about 2 hours the night before. When he finally woke up he was cranky- of course and wanted a popsicle! They left his IV in just in case he was to get sick and they needed to give him meds, and he DID NOT like that AT ALL. He wasn’t all there either. He said “I’m so de-confused”. Poor guy!

We got home a little after 5pm. Margie and Terry had come to town to get Arden and take her home with them so we could all rest a little. My mom was in Jonesboro at the hospital with Papa, and daddy had come up when he found out Stratton was having surgery so they both came to the house to see him for awhile too. We ordered pizza and Stratton ate a little but not much. For most of the night he was in good spirits and enjoyed the company of all 4 grandparents! He slept well Friday night and didn’t have any more pain medicine. By Saturday morning he was playing and running around like normal.

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Tuesday was swim day at Excel. I felt bad sending him since he would have to stay at school with the handful of kids who don’t like to swim or whose parent’s won’t let them swim. So I let Stratton come to work with me. He actually did really good. We had lunch with Aunt Brandye and Uncle Dillon at Sue’s. Brandye gave us some more CoWrap for his cast and Stratton got a cupcake!

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He didn’t take a nap, however until we got in the car to go home that evening then he crashed! In like 2 minutes he was OUT.

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Monday the 7th, at JOSM Waiting to see Aunt Brandye

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Strong guy.

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Strong girl, too!

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New and Blue!

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A few days later he was back at my office and I thought his blue cast needed some decorating! I think I did a pretty good job considering how wiggly he is!

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What an experience! And it’s a tough time of the year to be in a cast! It’s hot and you can’t go swimming with a cast! Too bad he spent the 4th in a cast and his birthday! But it will be off soon! I’m not complaining! At least he didn’t have to wear it for 6 or 8 weeks!

6.26.2014

Our cute kids!

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How cute are they?? Ready for church last night!

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Trying to get them both to stand STILL and SMILE and LOOK AT THE CAMERA all at once apparently is just too much for them!! I guess 2 out of three ain’t bad!

This is one Sweet girl!!

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6.24.2014

Officially Summer

It’s HOT and the mosquitos are AWFUL. So, yeah. It’s summer in Arkansas again.

What we do when it’s hot. . . .

. . . We go to church!

Sweet Little Sisters- Arden and Emma Kate

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and their silly Big Brothers- Stratton and Sutton

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. . . We go out to eat!

Stratton’s new fav place to eat is Buffalo Wild Wings. He wanted to wear his crown to school the next day.

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. . . We party at the pool with friends!

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This was Arden’s first swim of the year- she wasn’t a big fan to say the least!

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When we got in the water with her she said “No Water!!”

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And when it’s too hot to do anything. . .

My personal favorite. . . .We Nap!!

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6.20.2014

A trip down memory lane. . .

Isabella, Alexandra and Stratton and Arden. . . .4 years in just a blink of an eye!!

All but the ones of the girls holding Arden were taking at church or church activities! We are SO SO blessed to be able to attend the same church! Especially since we are all so busy we at least get to see each other there! I love these sweet girls So much and can’t believe how big they are getting!

2010 - After VBS heading to get ice cream!

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2011- This was at the Easter Egg Hunt

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2012 -VBS

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2013

I couldn’t find one of them all together, these are from Al’s bday.

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Family Fun day 2013

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2014 - VBS

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