big boy hair cut

court got his 1st BIG BOY haircut yesterday. it just made me SO SAD. i want him to still look like a baby, and he's starting to look like a little boy. i really miss those long blonde locks and little curls at the bottom. but, lets face it, it was getting a bit shaggy! his bangs were down to his nose! so, we took the plunge. let's just say it started out great..... that is..... until the hairdresser sprayed his hair down. what WAS she thinking?!?!?

PRE-haircut. started out great in the cool car, with the paci, watching elmo......

OH NO! what are ya'll doing to me?!??!?

mom - please make it stop!!!!!!

dad.... i can't take it anymore!!!

all smiles now with the BIG BOY DO!

MIA

well, we've had the stomach flu around the patterson house this week. court came down with it sunday night, i got it tuesday night, and we really thought it had skipped over rhett. rhett stayed home wed. and thurs. to help with court since i was sick and about passed out changing his diaper one day. court still can't keep much down and rhett went to work for all of 1 hour this morning. then he called and said he was coming home because he had gotten sick at work! needless to say, our valentine's plans are postponed til who knows when. i've got my 2 favorite valentine's here with me anyway so it will be a fun weekend once they are all better.  i'm gonna go take care of my boys now.... hopefully it will end soon!!!

yeeee haw!!

one of the great things about living in fort worth is the stock show and rodeo each year. since i am outnumbered in this household, i do have to do my fair share of manly events. but, i do love a good rodeo every once in a while. rhett and i took court to his first stock show and rodeo on saturday  afternoon. he LOVED being entertained by the tractors, horses, cows, smells, etc. he even got his very 1st cowboy hat which i must say looks pretty darn cute on him!! i really can't wait until next year when he will really love going and watching all of the cowboys in action. i'm pretty sure i'll have a little cowboy on my hands in the near future if he is anything like his daddy!!

pretty big tire!!!

first "real" tractor ride

baby cow giving court a good slobbery lick

1st cowboy hat

fam at the stockshow

family play date

play dates are SO much fun!! last friday, melissa & cade, and my cousin lindsey and her 2 boys: bo and walker came over for a play date. the moms were definitely outnumbered by all the boys!! they were so cute to watch. court just loved watching bo and walker play with his toys and really didn't even mind when bo started playing cars on his head! he just thought it was the best thing ever. the mommies got some good chatting done which is always needed. can't wait for more play dates! 

the boys

precious bo - could you just eat him up?!?!

court watching the "pro"

cade is telling cousin lindsey "all about it"

i think court is finally figuring out that cade is so much fun to play with. one thing court loves to do is squeeze anyone's nose because most of them "honk" back at him. he was trying to see if cade's nose made the same noise. guess we need to stop that, huh?!?!

picture time! ummmm.... that's court's new favorite thing: sticking the tongue out at ALL times. 

been there, done that

i was tagged to participate in this...What Have You Done?...questionnaire. it was neat to go through the list and realize just how much I've seen and done over the years - and what I still need to do!

i tag Ginny, Melissa G., and Rachel to participate, just copy and paste in your blog girls and bold all of the things you have done. it's kind of fun!!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor

6. Given to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Drank an entire Sonic Route 66 by yourself

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping - so not a great story like some of you think. :) When I was probably in elementary school at a friends house with no swimsuit, all of us girls just jumped in in our birthday suit late at night. Sorry no juicy details here!

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Traced your family tree at least 4 generations

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Learned a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Swam with a dolphin

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been IN a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Cut your own hair

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Driven a stick shift

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (ok - i killed a deer BUT did not even attempt to prepare it because i was hysterically crying!)

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Read an entire series of books by one author

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Seen the Pacific Ocean

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person

101. Learned to play an instrument

THE TOP 10!

my baby is 10 months old! ........ really?!?!?!

where has the time gone already?  it seems like these months just fly by way too fast. one thing i know God is teaching me about parenthood is to rejoice in every single moment: good or bad. my time with this precious baby is so brief - i pray that i love him and lead him towards God's truth. i pray that i can invest in his little heart each and every day. i pray that i give him many opportunities to see Christ in my life and those all around us. if you think about it.... it's alot of work!! i can only pray for God's grace, guidance, and wisdom to guide me throughout my years on this earth with court. and i hope they are MANY!!! (rhett and i just did our wills.... so that is why i've been thinking about this so much!)

rhett and i were watching a television show yesterday and they were planning their 18 year old's birthday. i looked at rhett and said - we only have 18 birthdays to plan for court. oh - it made me so sad to think about. but, i know these next 18 years are going to be the most rewarding and most precious years of our lives. i can't wait!!! well actually, i can wait - i really want it to go in slow motion. 

here are my TOP TEN favorites about court right now.

1. he loves to wave bye-bye... really it's hello, bye-bye, hey you, look at me, etc....
2. he is sleeping 11 - 11 1/2 hours at night! whooohoooo! maybe that should be my number 1!
3. he can crawl and play and crawl some more all morning long. where does he get the energy? oh yeah - it's that 11 hours of sleep he just got!
4. he is raising his arms up to us when we are near for us to pick him up. i just love that early in the morning.
5. when i go get him from his nap, he is already sitting up and he starts bouncing and clapping. man - if i had that kind of reaction every time i walked into a room....... :)
6. he loves to pull up on the dog gate and YELL at ruby. she just stares him down, but he continues to YELL at her
7. he can completely empty "his kitchen cabinet". we have 1 cabinet that is not baby-proofed so he can get into it. it has all safe kitchen stuff in it. he crawls in and i see things flying out behind him. then, that's just 10 more things for me to pick up once he's asleep! :)
8. he loves opening and closing all doors. he just gets a little upset when he closes one and i'm on the other side and he can't seem to find me......
9. he LOVES his daddy!!! court is one lucky boy to have such an amazing daddy. rhett is so attentive to court, and is SO patient with him. he takes him all around the house "riding" on his tonka truck that nanny and grandad gave him for christmas. court's face just lights up every time rhett is around. rhett is a wonderful example of what a great husband should be and a great role model for court. if court grows up to be half the man rhett is, i will be so proud. i love you babe!
10. court is STANDING by HIMSELF. it happened for the first time today in fact. he has been pulling himself up to his knees for a while, but today he pulled himself all the way up to a standing position by himself! won't be long now! :) i have a little video of it just for your amusement. be sure and pause the music on my blog before you push play. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS!

pops and his boys

uncle jon sugars

cade sporting the preppy look

can ya stop taking pictures of me please?

isn't he so stinkin' cute???

hangin' out with nanny and grandad

the birthday boy & fam

my dad (pops) turned the big 6-0 on sunday. i really can't even believe he is already 60!!! court just adores his pops!! i know he is "never spoiled" when he is over at their house. we love you pops!!! 

the whole family came over to our house for a cookout sunday evening to celebrate the big day. we cooked out and enjoyed the babies. rhett's parents were still here, so we had fun eating and visiting with everyone. i can't wait til court and cade are just a little older - they'll wear all of us out running all over the place playing with each other. it is going to be so much fun watching them grow up together. 

great testimony

such sweet words from such a wise child. :)

don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of my blog before you hit play. :)

wordless wednesday

bring the rain

for those of you that read the bring the rain blog, you really need to read this post if you haven't.

it is a video of the birthday of their precious daughter audrey caroline. so sweet, so touching, and so heart wrenching. grab some tissues before you read and make sure you have 11 minutes to watch in awe as this family shares their precious daughter with you. rhett walked into the room while i was watching it and even he teared up and had to leave the room. 

i don't write this to give you a "downer" of a day, but only to allow you to see into this family's hearts and how they give all the glory to God even during the most unimaginable grief. angie (the author) has AMAZING faith. faith that i want because after reading her blog, i realize that i don't have faith like hers, and i want that!! :)