Justin and Erin LeGrand

First off I want to congratulate Justin and Erin on their wedding! I am so happy for them and I'm so lucky to have been a part of their big day. We love you guys and wish you both many years of happiness.
The wedding festivities started off on Friday. Thanks to having an 18-month-old, we were 30 minutes late to the rehearsal. Thank you Christine for letting me know what I was supposed to do. Then, we went to Erin's family farm for the rehearsal dinner hosted by the LeGrands. It was awesome. There were probably 150 + people there. I had the best lemonade beverage ever! It was great to catch up with old friends and Justin's friends as well. Jonathan made a friend. Actually, I think he might have fallen for a girl. Jay and Jenn watch out. I'm working on an arranged marriage here. I love Jaydee!!!! Jay had them prepared with a red wagon and an ipad to watch movies on. Great idea and an awesome babysitter! All the toasts were great and funny. Then Christine started hers. Hers was funny, heartfelt, and everything you want in a toast! Made my whole family cry. Christine's heart is just huge and her personality, well, it's the best!
Saturday, it was the wedding day! Yay! We went shopping in Evansville, IN and then it was time to get ready for the wedding. We were the first ones down in the lobby to get on the bus. Amazing! My parents and I are always late, so Travis was just amazed by us and our timing! Seeing Justin get married was amazing to me. He deserves the very best and I feel like he has found that in Erin. She has the best personality, she's funny and witty like Justin maybe even more so, and she loves him and his family.
Justin, since my freshman year in high school has been my rock! We've been best friends through thick and thin. When the LeGrands moved to Greenville, SC, Justin had a room at our house to come home to. My parents loved him as a son and he was like the brother I never had. We fought about his messiness and me not wanting to clean up after him, my dad lied to the Dish Network guy and told him we were a married couple living in their basement together, he cussed my mom out in a drunken stupor and we've never let him live that one down. Probably one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed in my life. Needless to say, we've had our share of adventures together. He's had girlfriends, but not until Erin came along did I know he was with the right person for him. She makes him happy and makes him a better person too. They compliment each other. I am happy to say that I love Erin and know they will have a lifetime of happiness and wonderful memories! Not to mention a lifetime of hysterical moments.
Best Wishes Erin and Justin!

Our Lives With Jonathan

Jonathan turned 18 months old yesterday. Where does the time go? We have loved every minute of these 18 months with our little man. He is perfect! Just kidding! He's perfect to us, but he's definitely our wild little man. Even his teacher says he's the most active little boy she's ever had. The only time he's still is when you give him paint and then it ends up all over him.

He has grown up so much. He is saying so much and playing like a wild man. He loves to play and throw balls, loves playing with other children. The people he calls for the most are: Abu (my dad), Mia (my mom), As-ley (His aunt Ashley), Ay(Ayden, our nephew), Pawpaw (Phil), Ale (Alex, my godson), I-i-to (Kikito, my grandfather), Am (Gammy- Travis' mom), Bai-ley (Bailey, our dog), Ari (Misa and Charley's little girl), Addie (one of his teachers), Norma (His Teacher), and Idalia (the lady who cleans our house). It's so cute.

He blows kisses all the time. He already has opinions about what I put on him. The other day he yelled at me, because he didn't like the "papos" (shoes in Spanish are Zapatos) I was putting on him.

Jennifer and Brian had their baby Brooklyn on the 16th. She's perfection!!! Jonathan loves Jenn so much. He was so scared when he saw her in the hospital. All he could do was give her kisses and blow kisses to make sure she felt better. I can't wait until Jenn gets to take Brooklyn home with her, so Jonathan can start protecting his girlfriend. We are so unbelievably happy for the three of them and the start of their new adventure.

July 2011

July was a very busy month. My grandfather and my godson came into town and stayed for three months. It was their first time to meet Jonathan. Jonathan was obsessed with Alex. He called him Ale and said his name at least 100 times a day. Alex was so good with him and played with him. By the end of their trip, Jonathan was playing a ton with Kikito. One weekend, Travis, Jonathan, and I drove to Atlanta to see my Aunt and cousin. It was incredibly wonderful to see them. I was thrilled and we had an amazing time.

Our lives have changed so much since we had Jonathan, but I truly couldn't ask for anything better. He is so much fun and so full of life. He's our wild man. He's incredibly inquisitive and wants to learn and get into everything. Needless to say, he keeps all of us very busy. God bless my mom for what she does for us day in and day out. We also have to thank Debbie who watches Jonathan for an hour two days a week, so Travis and I can workout together. The other days, one of us goes to get him while the other works out and then we switch out. We are making it work and we love our boxing. By trading out who works out and who has him, it gives us quality time with him one on one which is wonderful. I love bonding with him.

I also started selling Stella & Dot Jewelry this month. Pretty crazy to take on another job, but it will be worth it if I make the money from it. It'll help with Jonathan's education, buying a bigger house so we can expand our family, etc. It is all very exciting! I had my first party and received 21 orders. I have 3 more parties booked between this month and next month and can't wait to schedule more parties. I need all the help and support that I can get.

The Last Couple of Months

I feel like I am so behind on our blog. It has been a few crazy months. Our lives are just entirely too busy, but we are happy to say that we love it! Jonathan is a crazy little man or "Our Nightmare, Tsunami, Destroyer, etc." He is totally testing us and his boundaries right now. We tell him no and he just looks at us, smiles and tries to continue on. When we spank him, he gives us kisses and hugs. I mean, come on, how can we fully discipline him with those actions. LOL!

He's in a Mother's Day Out right now. He loves it now, but it took a few weeks to get warmed up to the thought. The first day he did great. He said, " Bye Bye Mommy!" The next day he cried and cried. This continued one for a few weeks. My mom said what we were doing and making her do is a form of child abuse. She's Mrs. Dramatic, but she loves and adores him and can't stand him crying. She watches him for us, so her opinion means a lot to us, but this is a moment that we have to stand firm, so he is around more children his age more often.

He has been taking swimming lessons and is loving them. Today, Misa and I took the kids to a splash park here in town and he just jumped in the pool by himself. He showed Aunt Misa how he kicks. He said, " Ari, Beso (Ari, Kiss)" and gave her a hug and a kiss. That's a huge step since he has been a little scared of her for the last few months. They are in the same class and it is making them love each other even more. I love it!

Today, we decided that it would be a great opportunity for me to sell Stella & Dot jewelry on the side. We are very excited about this and how it could help us pay for Jonathan's McCallie education. LOL! Now, I just need all the support possible to schedule parties. You truly reap the benefits of hosting a party, because a hostess receives tons of free jewelry. A friend of ours received close to $500 worth of free jewelry and she gets to pick what pieces she wanted. It's a total win/win.

Jonathan is talking more and more each day. He has an incredible personality. Kikito, my grandfather, and Alex, my godson, met Jonathan for the first time Saturday. Alex already loves Alex and calls him A. Jonathan is very excited and intrigued by the new people in the house. I'm so glad they finally flew to meet him. Ever since my grandmother died, it has been very hard to get my grandfather out of the house and away from Alex, his obsession. LOL! We couldn't get him away from Alex, so we got the best package of having both of them here together for 3 weeks. Yay!