Will is 3 months old!

Today Will turned 3 months old and what a blessing he has been to our family. It is amazing how much he has changed over the past few weeks....the once sleepy headed boy has changed into a very happy, go lucky little guy who still loves to eat. He is a fairly good sleeper and is very laid back. Not much ruffles his feathers and he loves his big sister. Since I work part-time, both Will and Caroline go to daycare (or playschool as we call it) three days a week. Unfortunately, they are at 2 different schools, so Caroline gets to go with me to pick up her brother in the afternoons. It is so sweet to watch him light up after I put him in his carseat and Caroline starts talking to him. She always says, "Have a good day, brother (or broder as it sounds coming from her little mouth)?" He then gives the biggest smile and it warms my heart. On Friday evening, Will let out his first big laugh. I was getting him ready for his bath and tickled him a bit and all of the sudden he just started kackling. It was too cute! He's growing like a weed and is already in 6-9 month clothing. Lucky for us, we planned for a big baby and have plenty of clothes that fit. When we first brought him home from the hospital, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into with two small children, but now I wouldn't have it any other way. I can already see that having them close in age will be tons of fun as Will begins becoming more mobile. Caroline and Will will have a blast together, I am sure!

Birthday Blooper

Well, this week marks my (Mandy's) 30th birthday. I would say that I can't believe I am that old, but if I did it would sound like something my parents would say. I guess you start sounding like them once you reach this age. :) Anyway, Matt wanted to do something special so instead of buying a cake, he attempted to bake his first homemade chocolate cake. I directed him to a fail-proof recipe...a simple sheet cake that stays in the pan. Anyway, Caroline and I went shopping while Matt stayed home with Will and baked the cake. We hurried home so that we could enjoy the cake warm, but found that the cake looked a little odd. We sampled it anyway and discovered that the icing was a bit gritty. I asked Matt what he used and soon discovered he used regular sugar instead of confectioner's sugar to make the icing....oh, what a difference it makes! I must take some blame in the goof up because when he got the box out of the pantry, he asked if that was what he was supposed to use. I glanced briefly and saw it was a yellow box, so I said, it's confectioner's sugar. Well, it wasn't and the cake had to be thrown out. As he was throwing it away he noticed that the filling had white spots in it. I asked if he beat the cake with a mixer and he replied, "No, I beat that thing by hand and it wore me out." What a man! Anyway, he was bound and determined to bake a good cake so Sunday night he was at it again. This time it tasted much better and he used the mixer. But, as luck would have it, the piece I got had a broken egg shell in it. PRICELESS! He then commented, "What are the chances that in a cake this big, you get the piece with the eggshell and you actually find it?" I don't know the answer to that, but it made for a good laugh. I told Matt I was going to write about this on our family blog, and he wasn't thrilled. He was under the impression that this blog was about our kids, but with a husband like him, I'm sure he'll have his share of stories on the site as well.

He finally got a vehicle!

This week marks a very historic event in our family...Matt got another vehicle. The reason this is such a momentous occasion is because Matt has been driving "Ol' Red" since high school. It has been through alot with Matt...college, grad school (he picked me up for our 1st date in Ol' Red), and moving to Dothan. Needless to say, Matt has been needing something else to drive for a while now, especially since neither of our children can ride with him. I think what really put Matt over the edge was when he had to take both kids to school on Thursday morning. By the time he got to work he was in a full sweat and it was 30 degrees outside. (I couldn't help but laugh a little because I've been doing double duty for 3 months now.) By Friday afternoon, Matt had purchased a Ford Expedition. While he was heavily tempted by a new Hummer, his logic and philosophy to "save, save, save" caused him to purchase a used vehicle. As he says, it is in great condition and it is all a matter of perspective. After driving a 5-speed for nearly 13 years, it is a major step up to have leather seats, a sunroof and plenty of space for the family to ride along. In case you were wondering, we kept Ol' Red...Matt couldn't bear to part ways with him. As for Caroline, she loved "Daddy's ride" as she calls it and has already made a trip to Wal-Mart with Daddy to test it out. When I picked her up from school on Monday, she quickly informed me that she didn't want to ride in Mommy's car, she wanted Daddy's truck. I told her that though she might have to lower her standards a little, I was her only hope in getting home. She slowly conceded and hopped in my car.

2007: The Year in Review

Well, I've finally decided to try a family blog. Hopefully this will be a great way to share some of our favorite family moments with extended family and friends, especially since we live so far away from most of them. My goal is to post something new each month so that over time we can look back at some of our favorite memories, and with young kids...memories are endless! So, without anymore delay, I will start with a very brief overview of 2007 since so much happened with our family that year.

In 2007, our oldest child, sweet Caroline, turned 1. She began walking at 10 months, so by her birthday on February 19, 2007, she was really scooting around. I thought I would be thrilled when she learned to walk, but then I realized by baby girl was turning into a vivacious little toddler. Her first word was Dada (much to my disappointment), but Mama came soon enough. Since then, Mommy tends to be her favorite word, and Matt can't help but laugh and say, "Remember when you said you couldn't wait for her to say Mommy and now that is all she wants to say." One of my fondest memories on her birthday was when she went around the room and personally thanked everyone for the gifts they gave her...from a cute little girl came, "thank you". Though it was barely understandable, I couldn't have been prouder. We had worked on that for days before the big day arrived.

Soon after Caroline's 1st birthday we discovered we were expecting another little bundle of joy. Though it wasn't necessarily prevented, it was a bit of a surprise considering the amount of time it took to become pregnant with Caroline. Regardless, our family was thrilled to add another child to the mix. Matt and I strongly agree that parenthood is by far the best thing that has happened in our lives. We just wonder what we did with ourselves before having a child and now we wonder what we did with just one child because the work and joy of having 2 children has more than doubled!

Caroline kept me on my toes during my pregnancy. She began saying all sorts of things and getting into everything! We bought a new house in May, so with that came a move that really wore us out. However, we settled in quickly and have enjoyed the extra space tremendously, especially since having Will.

Spring consisted of settling in to the house. Over the spring and summer we made several trips to Mississippi and the beach. Caroline had her 1st boat ride with Nana and Papa Buddy. I don't know if she enjoyed the boat ride or the push up pop better.

Caroline enjoyed eating her first watermelon by picking it from the garden, dropping it on the ground and eating it with her hands. This was one of my favorite things to do as a little girl with my grandparents and I was thrilled she got to share it with them as well. We made beach trips (3 to be exact) with Nana, KK, Pop, Mimi, Mamaw and Pappaw. Thankfully, Caroline loves the beach so this will be something we can look forward to every year.

In June, Matt and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been that long, but we couldn't be more blessed. We pray the next 5 and those after that will be just as much fun. In late July Caroline got to experience the Neshoba County Fair and absolutely loved it. She got to play with her cousins and when we were getting ready to leave Mississippi, she told me to get my purse because it was time to go back to the Fair. We also visited Louisiana over the summer and Caroline had the chance to ride her first 4-wheeler with Pappaw. Though it was just around the house, Caroline thought she was such a big girl . Her Daddy also taught her how to drink out of a water hose (something her parents did all of their childhood), all to be scolded a couple of weeks later when a study came out about how much lead is in hoses and people shouldn't drink out of them. I don't know how Matt and I survived this long! :)

Perhaps the biggest diappointment over the summer was not being able to ride a horse due to the pregnancy. Though it did help that by all accounts it appeared Caroline would love horses and would soon be ready to get on one herself once she got a little bigger according to Pop and Matt. As summer came to an end and fall followed (although for South Alabama there isn't much of a fall, but instead it going from HOT HOT HOT to HOT) it became more apparent that though she may look like her Daddy, Caroline was going to be her Mother's child. She is spirited, outgoing, talkative and hard headed. With such a combination, there is never a dull moment in our househould and I often think back to when my mother used to say, "I hope you have a child that acts just like you do." Now Matt has two of us to contend with. I've always joked that I'm the spice in his life and now it has just doubled. :)

On October 29th, the big day finally arrived and we blessed to welcome William Matthew Fisher to our family. I never dreamed of having a little boy, so when the 9 pounder appeared, I couldn't have been more excited. We named him William after my grandfather, William "Bill" Webb and Matt, his father. These are two men whom I have great respect and admiration for, so I am glad we were able to combine the names for our son. Though she was a little hesitant at first, it didn't take Caroline long to warm up to her little brother. Before we even left the hospital I knew that we had yet another child that looked like his father, but this time we have one that acts like him as well.

Once we brought Will home, it seemed as though Caroline grew up so much. Perhaps it was because our attention had to be shared or because she decided she would have to take care of Wilma (the little doll Will gave her in the hospital) just like Mommy took care of Will. We quickly learned that managing 2 under the age of 2 was going to be a little taxing at time. Thankfully, Will is a very good baby...he's laid back and happy most of the time. Soon after we somewhat became comfortable with 2 kids, Thanksgiving arrived. We bravely, or should I say naively, conquered traveling to both Lousisiana and Mississippi for the holiday. While we enjoyed seeing everyone, it was extremely tiring and we soon discovered we would have to start back from scratch on getting a routine started again (which was virtually impossible since Christmas was just around the corner).

Caroline really got into the Christmas spirit and constantly requested that we play George Strait's rendition of "Joy to the World". Thank goodness we all liked the song because we literally wore the CD out. She had her 1st Christmas program and when she spotted us in the crowd she loudly said, "Hey Daddy, hey Will, hey Mommy". Despite it being a bit disruptive to the program, Matt and I couldn't quit smiling.

Since we were brave enough (or should I say a glutten for punishment) to travel across the southeast again with 2 small ones, we arranged for Santa to come early. Caroline put out reindeer food in the yard and left Santa some milk and cookies. When I tried to take a bite of one of the cookies, I was quickly scolded because according to Caroline, they were for Santa only. I don't know who was more excited about our family's Christmas morning, me or Caroline. I hardly slept a wink because I couldn't wait for her to see what Santa brought. Once morning arrived, Matt was relieved to see that Caroline enjoyed her new "retro kitchen" as much as I had hoped. She was able to play with it for a few hours before we departed for Mississippi and Louisiana. As for Will, he received his first pair of boots. It is amazing how much he changed in 1 1/2 months. He began smiling and cooing and Caroline loved it!

We enjoyed seeing our families and Caroline got to help Pappaw Bill feed the bull and rode her first horse! She absolutely loved riding the horse with Daddy and Pop, so it will be just a matter of time before she's ready to brave it on her own. Our family was overwhelmed by the gifts we received by our families. So much so that even though we arrived in one vehicle, it required two to travel home in to ensure we were able to get everything. Next year, I vow to only accept a limited amount of gifts. Grandparents will have to hold back a little better! :)

Well, my "year in review" became a little more lengthy than I intended; however, there is so much more I could write. We are thankful for a happy, healthy 2007 and pray for the same in 2008!