Emory's 2nd Birthday!

I'm not even going to apologize for being absent for 4 months.  I have two sweet boys that pretty much consume my whole day, and rightfully so.  Not to mention, blogging felt more like a chore I had to complete before going to bed.  Therefore, I took a break.  I'm back, at least for a moment.  If I disappear again, you can safely assume that I'm buried under a pile of spit-up, Thomas trains, and happy grins.  Judge me if you dare!

So WAY back in April, our Sweet E turned 2!  Seriously folks, where are the breaks to this train?  It's going by way too fast.  Since I was a mere three months post-partum and still (justifiably) swarming from lack of sleep and around the clock feedings, we decided to skip the whole fuss of a party and spend some family time together.  I think we may keep this tradition going.  It seemed to mean more and was much less stressful.

The weekend before his birthday, we went to the zoo.  Phillip and I haven't been to Riverbanks Zoo in several years, but we packed up the boys, met my sister and her boyfriend and Grammie in Columbia for lunch, and then headed over for an afternoon of animals.  

Ok y'all, everyone in North and South Carolina must have had cabin fever that weekend because at least half of both states' combined population was at the zoo.  

No lie. 
(Ok, maybe a little lie.)  

Seriously though, there are a couple of Southern cities that prove to be hotter than 20 thousand hells and more humid than the Amazon during monsoon season.  May I introduce one of them: Columbia, South Carolina.  It wasn't pretty folks.  This girl wasn't glistening, I looked like a basted turkey when all was said and done.  We had fun, oh did we have fun, but next time we will be visiting on a weekday and when it is cooler!

I'm not commenting under each of these, but please note a few things:

1. My sons adoration for his father's interests.  This concerns me only because Phillip secretly moved a Columbian red-tailed boa into his mama's house when he was living there.  If one of y'all find me on your front porch with a suitcase, you are safe to assume something similar has just taken place at my humble abode.
2. My sister is, without fail, always inappropriate.  This is also why she and Phillip get along so well. 
3. We could have called it a day once we hit the bubble machine. Seriously, it was Emory's favorite part of the zoo.
4. You think that's a sweet picture of Phillip and Emory until I tell you that they are staring at the red butted baboons (come to think of it, are there any baboons without red butts?) and Phillip is threatening to do the same thing to Emory's butt if he doesn't straighten up.  Parenting at it's finest, ladies and gents.
5. Decent family pictures are a thing of the past.  This is the best I've got!

We grabbed dinner with Grammie before heading out of town. Little Man was OUT before we even left Columbia.

We survived! Praise Jesus! Glory, glory, hallelujah! We will try again when they are 15 or so.

The following weekend, the Powerses came to visit.  We grabbed the wee ones and headed off to the much anticipated Great Wolf Lodge.  Granted, this is a whopping 30 minutes from our house, but you have to stay in order to use the water parks.  So we made a night of it.  Holy craziness! Four adults (the maturity levels of which are a bit questionable), two 2-year-olds, and a 3 month old...let's just say we had fun!

I know what you're thinking: Poor Ella Kate having to deal with all those boys.  Well, let me tell you!  That girl can handle herself.  Good thing too!  Mama and Daddy Powers are adding little brother, Cooper into the mix sometime this December and we couldn't be more excited!

I'll post pictures from the actual day of his birthday soon.  I just wanted to throw up the celebratory ones. 

 Kristin