Spring is here!

Spring is here...and with that comes lots of wagon rides! I think that this summer, I will actually have a little bit of color about my skin and any extra flab on my arms will be gone- thanks to wagon rides and the ever so slight incline of the coves in our neighborhood!


I have decided spring is my favorite time of year (until summer gets here). These past weeks have been so calm and "un-busy"- it has been so refreshing! I have really been able to appreciate the little things here lately- the way the laundry smells after the dryer, how good I feel about myself when the house is clean, watching closely how the seasons are changing, enjoying a home-cooked meal (at my house). I am so thankful that in Ecclesiastes the Lord spoke through Solomon that there is "a time to be silent, and a time to speak" showing me that it's okay for me to quietly be minding my household. Praise the Lord! During this quiet time, I have been able to watch Miles grow and learn all sorts of new things! He is a smart little boy! It's amazing how much they know and the things they store up in their brains before letting you in on it. For example, a couple days ago I asked Miles to give me a five- something he's never done before. To my great surprise, I didn't have to show him how to do it and the look on his face told me he has known how to do this for some time now, he's just letting me in on it! Hilarious!

Some of his favorite things now include climbing stairs and into chairs, making car/truck noises with toys, touching parts of his face when asked (example- sticking finger up his nose when asked where his nose is =), playing with friends, going to sleep on his own, playing with my shoes (they are much more interesting than Jared's 2 pairs!). He loves going to his grandparent's houses. He loves to see Katie (the dog) at DiDi's, and playing outside at MeMe's. He has a Little Tikes truck at her house that he loves. However, it must be parked between something so it can't move, so that he can get in and out of it with no problems! Some favorite foods include spaghetti, a new-found love for ketchup (by itself, not on anything), peas and carrots, any kind of fruit, and this list could go on because he is such a good eater! I lucked out with this one!


Miles and his new-found love for ketchup.

He is becoming more and more independent each day! But he does want me in the room with him. If I'm not, he will come grab my leg or arm and pull me wherever he wants me to be. He also would rather sit where you are sitting than sit in his own chair. So we're learning how to manage the strong-willed child rather than squash his strong-will! Sometimes I wonder if I should stop praying for patience! Ha! Well here are a few pics, since that's really why you check the blog! Hope you are all doing great!

I know...I'm sure you thought I stopped blogging

First of all, Mom and Miss Rachel- I did not forget your request for an update. I tried to update it after I saw ya'll at Newks, but my computer froze up and didn't update my blog! So I gave up, until now!

It's February and so much has happened since November- recap: first annual Darby Christmas party, Christmas in Canton, New Years with the Dmaggios, Dad's 50th surprise party...and all the everyday stuff in between! But I must say that after Dad's party, I kind of went into hide-out mode! I've been in party mode since October, getting ready for Miles party, then the first Darby Christmas party (which will now be a tradition- hopefully- so go ahead and mark your calendars for the first weekend in Decemer!), then all the things that go so quickly duringthe holiday season, the preparation for Dad's surprise party- I did not want to do ANYTHING after that! And I haven't done much, aside from the day to day stuff! We have a weekly playdate with Anna Katherine and Max and Jessica, Lucas and Emma. I work most every Thursday at HLIS pulling kids who need some extra help (although I have concluded that I can't fix lazy). Jared is staying busy with regular work stuff. Soccer season starts this week. They are about to join with the Tennessee Rush, which is a great opportunity and shows how well Jared and Chris have done with these 2 competitive teams they started last year! Of course the perks are a little more money and Jared gets lots of Nike gear! He's excited about that! Miles LOVES to be outside...in fact that's where we are now! It's a little cold, but the sun feels so good- I just took my coat off! Maybe it will help those natural highlights so I won't need the enhancement from Miss Cheryl at Freidas! I can't wait for spring and summer to get Miles outside more! It will help the days pass a little quicker I think!

An exciting piece of news- Jared's parents, Steve and Dianne (papaw and di di) are moving back to Southaven this week! They have found a house, sold their house in Mt. View, and will be back before the month is out! Yay for more free babysitters! We'll be so glad when they're here; and Miles has just started getting used to his "Aunt Katie" (the dog)!

An update on Clifton James- he is in New York auditioning at the Manhattan School of Music as I type this. This is the last audtion of the 4 he has done the past two weeks. He was in Boston, at the New England Convservatory of Music, then Austin, TX- Univeristy of Texas; Cleveland, Ohio- Cleveland Institute of Music; and now in New York, New York. He will know something in March or April, then begin graduate school in the fall. I'm so excited and proud of him!

Hopefully I'll post again before 3 months passes by again!

Month of Birthdays!

November marks momentous occassions in our family- Miles' birthday is November 1 and Jared's is November 12! Jared has been notorious the past couple years for continuous celebration of his birthday beyond the actual day of his birth!! This year, however, it decreased from the whole month to just a couple weeks (actually from Miles' birthday until yesterday!) We had a cowboy party for Miles' birthday celebration! Complete with a cow birthday cake, s'more party favors, and haybales in the backyard in the "corral". I had so much fun getting ready for and planning his party! Jared did think I was going a little too far when I suggested a petting zoo and hayride- we'll save that for when the kids actually get what's going on!! But everything went off very smoothly- a little cake disaster (wrong type of cake ordered)- but crisis averted thanks to Mom keeping Miles for a few hours and Sam's having the perfect cookie cake already made (just in case we ran out of cake, which of course we didn't, so we ate cookie cake and birthday cake for a week!) Miles got sooooo many new toys- it was so overwhelming and what a blessing!! So I think I may encourage family to get him clothes (12-18mo. or 18 mo. or summer clothes) or to contribute to his college account for Christmas- especially while he is this young and can't complain about not getting the latest "cool" toy!!! Is that odd!? I'm halfway doing it for my sanity so people don't feel as though they are walking into a toy store when they enter our home!! But we had lots of friends and family join us for his party- Miles sure is a special little boy to have all these people love and care for him!

Miles had half of his 8" "smash cake" devoured in about 3 or 4 minutes! Last night when we had Jared's cake (which was exactly like Miles' smash cake), Miles didn't understand why HE wasn't getting the whole cake like he did last time! Amazing!

After his party, we had a little celebration for Jared while his parents were in town. Jared and I were able to celebrate his birthday together on Tuesday (since Jared has been in the working world, he has had Veteran's day off, which is fortunate since it always falls close to his birthday!). We went to Houstons in Memphis and enjoyed a fabulous lunch! Our dear friend Jessica kept Miles so we could do this! He enjoyed playing with Lucas and Emma Grace for the second day in a row!

I was so excited today when I found the Sirius satellite channel that is playing Christmas music! It helped me not feel so silly for wanting to go ahead and decorate for Christmas! I haven't seen my decorations in almost 2 years since we were living with Mom and Dad this time last year! But I also have another excuse for decorating early! We are having a Christmas party on December 5- so if you are reading this, please feel free to drop by!

Another Rainy Day

I guess rainy days just inspire me to sit around and think about what I could post on our blog! Ilove to sit in our kitchen on rainy days- we have two huge windows (without any window treatments...hint hint mom!) and you just feel like you're in the middle of the rain- without getting wet of course! I have found Miles just sitting at the back door or staring out the window on these type of days, but now he is napping! Maybe it will be another 3 1/2 hour one like yesterday- but probably not! If only he would tell me before those big naps- "Mom, I'm going to sleep for a while, so you go get lots of stuff done!" Oh well!

Here are a few pics from last week when we went to Canton to visit family:

Miles helping Mamawcharlotte get supper ready.

Miles and Mamawcharlotte playing the piano. She would play something, then he would play back- it was really amazing! Of course that only happened a couple times... =)

Wesley (my cousin), Uncle John, Aunt Suzanne (dad's sister), Uncle Bob (dad's little brother), Uncle Bill (dad's older brother), Tommy (dad's cousin), dad, mom, me, Miles, Mamawcharlotte (dad's mom) and Pop (dad's dad) It's always a treat to visit with lots of the family! What a special heritage we have to pass on to Miles!
Ready to go to the Canton Flea Market in his "hoppa-grass" outfit (When I taught in Greensboro, the children there had their own "language": "hoppa-grass"- grass hopper, "bus left"- the bus is going to leave me; I received quite the education while there!)
"I LOVE my Uncle Clif!" Precious! He hugged Uncle Clif completely unprompted!

This was HILARIOUS! We were at Great Mama's house and Miles decided to climb into the table. It will be interesting to see if he can still do this at Christmas time! This kept him busy and us rolling and snapping lots of pictures for at least 20 minutes! "MeMe- I don't want to sit down in the rocking chair!" This rocking chair was my great uncle's chair when he was little!
Honestly, do these people have nothing better to do with their time?!

These are some pictures from last weekend's birthday festivities! Emma Grace turned 2, and Madelyn and Amelia Ray turned 1! Happy Birthday!

Miles and Daddy on the bouncy slide. Miles didn't quite know what to think!

It was nap time for ALL these boys! Miles, Ethan, and Max- none of them cooperated for picture time! Ha!

Then these are proof that our child marches to his own little drum! Mom and I went to eat yesterday and thought we'd sit outside- something different for Miles (and also to distract him a little- oh the things we'll do!) He does not like to sit for long periods of time (what baby does) and after about 5 minutes decides he needs to wiggle out of the straps of whatever is holding him in SAFELY in place and stand up. So I pushed the high chair under the table as much as possible, and this is what he decided to do instead:

And last but not least, this one is for you Sara Hudson!