Uncle Brian, Henry's Hero!

We had so much fun in Cullman on Tuesday! We went primarily to check on David's dear grandfather, for whom Henry was named. He was recently moved from the hospital to the nursing home, and David was really blessed to get to visit with him today. Afterwards we went by Cullman's newest fire station, where Uncle Brian was on duty. Henry loved it! The fire station was extremely nice, and Brian said their new truck was one of the nicest in the state. I believe it! I've never seen such a fancy fire truck. Then after touring the station, we had a cookout & swam with all of Henry's cousins. All of the kids had so much fun! Henry would not even stop to eat, and all three collapsed in the car on the way home. Henry, Grant & Grace are all so blessed to have 6 cousins within 5 years of their age!

Above: We had a lot of fun at Lynsey's wedding Saturday night and enjoyed catching up with dear friends!  Below: Grant's last picture with his pacifier!  We took the twins' pacifiers away.  It was tough at first, but it is awesome already & paying huge dividends!  (Grant was waking me up all during the night to put his back in....something had to give!  Please don't think I'm cruel!)  They are both just fine by the way :)

Too HOT for the Zoo!!

On Thursday I asked Henry if he wanted to go to the Zoo or the pool.  He said the Zoo, so off we went.  We ended up going to the Zoo, then to the splash pad at the Zoo to cool off, then Chick-fil-A, then the pool for me to cool off!  Wow, it was hot.  We were at the Zoo for about an hour.  I think the Zoo will be reserved for short visits--perhaps in the early evening before dinner at Davenport's.  Other than that, no more Zoo until September (unless it is in small doses!)  We had fun though!  Henry got to see the sea lions, the new Kangaroo exhibit, the monkeys (his favorite), and a few other animals prior to going to the splash pad.  The splash pad was definitely the highlight of this trip for him!  Check out the video below.  He did not stop running until I made him come dry off!

Untitled from Brooke Patterson on Vimeo.

First Tooth!

Grace started getting her first tooth at 4 1/2 months (about 2 weeks ago)!!  That's 2 months earlier than Henry!  It is coming up now and she is chewing on everything in sight.  Wow, they are growing up too fast already!! 

First Trip to the Movies!

Henry & I had one of our "days out" this week while sweet Molly (& Rebecca today!) kept the babies.  We went to the free family movie at the Rave this morning to see Surf's Up.  Henry loved it, and had the movie started on time we would have made it through the whole thing.  We saw all but the last 15 minutes or so.  Henry had to take a bathroom break & then opted not to return to the theater.  We will go again though!  I'm always looking for new & different experiences for him, and this was great!

We also stopped by the library where Henry got another prize for his summer reading.  He has now surpassed 1,000 pages and is well on his way to his free book.  Today he got a matchbox car.  He has it in his bed now.  He literally has not let go of it all day.  He's a proud boy!

And our sweet babies are growing up WAY too fast!  I can't believe they are big enough to enjoy their exersaucers, but they sure are!  They've been in them all week!  

Cooling Off On These Hot Summer Days!

We had fun on our first trip to Shades Cliff as a family of five on Sunday night.  We met Sally & Owen for a pizza dinner....a relaxing way to end Father's Day!

Henry had a great time at Jack's birthday party on Saturday!  He helped him blow out his candles & open his presents!  We went back over Monday night and swam with several neighbors until almost 9:00.  Henry loved it, but was worn out!

First pic of Grant & Grace voluntarily holding hands!  (This was last week.)  Sorry Grant has no clothes on.  I was changing his clothes when they did this, so I just stopped what I was doing and captured the moment!

A Son's First Hero, A Daughter's First Love

I am so thankful for the amazing father that David is to our kids.  His job has tripled in the past year, and he has risen to the challenge.  Mimi and Papa have a picture frame in their house that says a father is a son's first hero and a daughter's first love.  How true!  What a great example you set for our children, David.  We all four love you very much & appreciate all you do for our family.  I hope you have a great Father's Day, Daddy!

Our Own Roller Coaster!

Untitled from Brooke Patterson on Vimeo.

David has been working in Red Bay all week, where some of our family lives.  Henry's cousins, Brooklyn, Bailey & Brady were sweet enough to give Henry their old roller coaster, so now he has his very own.  The neighbors will be happy to see Henry has one too, since he was taking over theirs at every opportunity!

We are having a good week so far.  We've been to the pool a TON since it is so hot & pretty outside.  Henry is meeting lots of new friends, and he's learning a lot about sharing toys in the baby pool (a great lesson!)  I've enjoyed seeing people I haven't seen in years, and also socializing with friends I see all the time!  Someone today said it was the "Bluff Park Country Club"--which I thought was funny.  It is sort of like Mayberry though...everyone knows everyone!  Makes for fun at the pool!

Above: A trip to Grandmother's house for lunch!

Below: A trip to the library.  (Henry was too busy playing to pause for a photo opp.)  You might notice in both pics that Grace is particularly thrilled to have her picture taken! HA!

An Early Father's Day Surprise

For those of you who live in Bluff Park, you've probably heard of (and eaten) some of the yummy food at Ashley Mac's.  I entered David into a Father's Day Contest & he was deemed the most deserving Dad!  He won the contest!  He was so surprised!  We are getting a catered meal for 8.  The only problem now is trying to decide what to order.  It is all way too good!  Check it out below to see David's shout out on their web site, or I have pasted our entry below.

http://ashleymacs.com/fathersday.html

Father's Day Contest 2009

We Have Our Winner!

Congratulations to DAVID PATTERSON of Bluff Park!

~Thanks to all of you who took the time to participate!~

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~The Winning Entry~

    My dad is the greatest! This past July my mom found out she was pregnant with twins. I was a premie myself, so they classified her as " My dad is the greatest! This past July my mom found out she was pregnant with twins. I was a premie myself, so they classified her as "high risk" and at 28 weeks, this past December, she had to go on bed rest. My dad took care of her & me. (I had just turned 2 in November.) He worked every day, did the laundry, cooked, ironed, and packed my lunch for school. He did all of this without complaining so that my mommy could take care of my baby brother & sister to be! In February, my Mommy had my baby brother & sister. They were born at 35 weeks, and had to stay in the NICU for a little bit. My daddy once again managed to take care of me, mommy, and my new babies all at the same time. My dad is truly a super dad. He does anything and everything around our house to help out. My mom told me that he got up during the night with her every night to help take care of the babies. My dad's job requires him to travel around the state. Most of his coworkers stay out when they are a good distance from home. My dad has only stayed out one night since they were born, and that was last week. He has commuted jobs over two hours away from home each day just to be at home to help my mommy with the babies at night. He did all of this without complaining. He is truly a super dad, and he deserves a great Father's Day! With all the chaos at our house right now, I know my mom would appreciate someone taking the time to help her show him how special and appreciated he is. (She doesn't have much time to cook these days!) 

Love,

Henry Patterson (age 2), and his 4 month old siblings, Grant & Grace

PS--My mommy comes to your store quite often. Just today she came for lunch & also picked up dinner to go!

And yet another b'day celebration!  This was last Saturday night when we had Owen's bday at our house.  I think it was probably more fun for the kids than for Owen.  Sorry, Owen!  Next year we'll hire some sitters!  

Six Going on Sixty & VBS Too!

We have been so busy!  Last weekend David and I celebrated our sixth anniversary.  (We got married on David's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary & have always said we hope God blesses us with 60 years of marriage too!)  I cannot believe how much our life has changed, for the better, over the past six years.  I feel like I am "playing house" each day with our sweet family.  While it is certainly hard at times (ok, most of the time), I am grateful beyond what words can express for the blessing of our marriage and our three sweet children!  I appologize for not posting all week, but VBS has worn us out!  We have had fun though.  Above is a picture of Henry & Maury dancing to the songs at VBS family night last night at church.  They have had so much fun this week in the 2K class!

 Above is a pic of Henry, Grant & Grace before Bible School this morning.  Below is a video I took of the twins this afternoon while Henry was napping.  They are getting so social & sweet!! 

Untitled from Brooke Patterson on Vimeo.

4 Months Already?!?

Grant and Grace were 4 months old yesterday.  It is so hard to believe they are already at this milestone, but at the same time, it is hard to imagine life without them.  It seems like they've been with us forever, and I absolutely cannot imagine our family any other way!  They both got a great report at the pediatrician today.  Grant weighed 15 lb. 1 oz., and Grace weighed 13 lb. 6 oz.  Grant was in the 70th percentile for height & weight, while Grace was in the 50th for both.  Dr. Stone was quite impressed to see them growing so well for 35 week twins.  He said he did not expect them to be on time for their developmental markers, and they are ahead!  We are so thankful & feel so blessed to have three happy, healthy children!  (And just for comparison, Henry weighed 13 lb. 11 oz. at his 4 month checkup.  I keep telling Henry he better be nice to Grant, because Grant is going to be his "big" brother one day!!)

As for Henry, he has been one busy boy this week.  He's been to the pool several times.  I cannot even express in words how much he loves going to Shades Cliff and playing with the multitude of children up there!  He loves all of the familiar faces from church and the new friends he's making too.  It is definitely a social time for all of us, and we are really enjoying it!  He has also been to the library several times in the past few weeks for the Summer Reading Program.  This week we went to see a grammy award winning children's singer/songwriter at the library.  He was great!  The target audience was probably closer to 5 year olds, but Henry sat in awe & danced along in his seat some too!  At the end, all of the kids were dancing in front of the stage.  Henry was surprisingly timid, which is unlike him.  I'm not sure what was going through his mind!  See the video below for a tiny glimpse....

Untitled from Brooke Patterson on Vimeo.

Big Birthday Weekend

Sunday night, we had an early birthday celebration for Grandmother at our house.  

(I know this picture is unnecessary....I just had a little fun with some of my southern living at home stuff!)

Uncle Wes, Grant & Henry

The boys hanging out outside

Saturday night we celebrated Will's 30th on the Rooftop of the Redmont Hotel.  

What a chic party!!

And, Friday night we helped Surprise Rush with a 30th b'day as well!  Henry had a blast!