Happy 3rd birthday sweet boy!

We had no idea what a gift God was blessing us with when we had our little Scottie P. What we expected was a little boy a lot like our first. We quickly found out that little Scott had his very own personality with funny quirks, hilarious facial expressions, and one of a kind comments. It is safe to say that as a family we have laughed every day for the past year at this little guy. What a blessing to have someone in your life that makes you and others laugh! 

Here are some things we have enjoyed learning about who God made him to be:

Scott loves all things boy. He wears cowboy boots with jeans, khakis, sweatpants, shorts, and sometimes with nothing else but a diaper or underwear. When he's in front of others, he walks with a slow, wide, cowboy swag.  He loves the Lone Ranger and Duck Dynasty. He wears as much camo as possible as many days as he  possibly can. He loves hats and belts. Scott also loves to work. He wants to mow the grass, haul wood, use tools, rake and use a wheel barrow etc. Anything involving manly work he loves. 

He has a kind heart and loves Ryan like no. other. There has rarely been a time when I have given him something that he has not asked for one for Ryan. Even as he opens Christmas or birthday gifts, he checks to see if there are two of whatever it is to give one to Ryan. When Scott gets up from a nap he by passes all but Ryan and if Ryan isn't here, I've seen him curl back up on the couch and go back to sleep. 

He also has ALWAYS adored Josh and wanted to be with him more than anything. He truly thinks that his daddy is the coolest thing ever and wants to be with him even if it means doing something seemingly not fun.

Scott has also been known to bust out into "Wagon Wheel" with his guitar around guests as well as "10,000 Reasons". He has really showed an interest in music and especially guitars. 

Scott has a way of making us laugh in situations (like when he's in trouble) when we shouldn't laugh. Josh and I have had to bite our lip a lot over the past year. I remember at the beach last year his Uncle Jarrett went up to talk to him while he was in time out and Scott told him, "I'll throw you in the woods!" (We had to have a talk about that) Another time when I was getting ready to discipline him for not eating his food at dinner he looked at me as serious as he could be and said, "I'll eat you up!" That time I was so furious and the comment was so out of the blue that I busted out laughing and couldn't contain myself. We played a game to finish his food. It was God's way of saying to me, "Chill out mom. It'll be ok." 

What a blessing and a gift he has been this past year and will continue to be in our lives. Thank you Lord for his precious life!

Here is a glimpse of Scott Hayes over the past year as a 2 year old. =)

At the Y. I call this picture "The Evil Scientist and his minion"

Playing with daddy

Biltmore House

Time with dad fishing

Daddy time at McDonalds

Linville Falls - Got his pants wet. Not a happy camper.

Classic boots with diaper

Bible Fellowship at church.

I'm a cowboy!

Locked up!

First fish

Pure joy

In love

Little helpers!

Learning to ride a bike!

Wild animals on the loose!

Hayride with mommy

Loving his jeep!

Had to capture this moment when I saw it. Josh and I definitely spent some time reading this book!

Another classic Scott Hayes.

Little bundle

Sweet smile

Aren't big brothers just wonderful?! =)

Easter basket

Excitement

First dentist visit!

Summertime fun

Spaghetti baby!

May the force be with you!

In this picture Scott was saying, "Go away" because he was pooping in his underwear. =)

Building

Possibly another poop shot here. Can't remember. =)

At the aquarium

Grandfather mountain!

Cousin love

Chillin' at the beach

More cousin love!

And more!

Big Scott…Little Scott

Big brothers…lol

"School" is used loosely here ya'll. 

First time on a horse!

Cheesing at Uncle Brandon and Megan's wedding

Pumpkin?

Loving my dad!

More daddy time

First time at bat!

Hit it Scott!

Love that face!

Art time

Silly boy

Wise man…what a performance =)

Sweetheart

Funny guy!

Favorite sayings over the past year: 

"Pardon me Madame!"

"You a chicken wips! (lips)"

"That's like a sharped dress man!"

"Stink nasty!" (Think nasty)- From the magician on Frosty

"I'll throw you in the woods with the hycote's" (coyotes)

Love this little guy beyond words. Happy 3rd Birthday sweet boy!

Stuck at home pt. 2

Some days seem to have a will of their own. And no matter how much you want to make a turkey cupcake, it ain't gonna happen! Because you're out of baking soda, and can't find candy corn, and the kids are at each others throats.

Some days you have plans for fun crafts, lunch, snacks, and memories together and it all turns south and you realize you don't even have bread for lunch that day. (We made home made lunchables) lol --

So, when all else fails...and when staying at home is driving you and everyone else crazy. I mean really crazy.... you just go to Lowes and look at the Christmas decorations instead. =) And lay out frozen spaghetti to reheat from a few nights before and call it a day.

Both kids asleep when I got there. Crazy!

Yay for Christmas lights!

And Frostys to help sore throats

Even if they get everywhere.

These are how the turkeys turned out from yesterday. I love them! Can you guess whose is whose? 

Thumb print turkeys. I need to make the faces on them still.

And gratitude pumpkins from the weekend. I loved how these turned out. 

When we got home Ryan's fever had returned and he was coughing and sneezing so it looks like its home again tomorrow. =) Thankful for God's many graces even on the not so fun days. =)

Stuck Inside!

This is how the past two solid days have looked at our house. Sick! Fever sick. High fever sick. Sunday Josh was sick, Monday Ryan was sick, Tuesday Scott was sick. For three straight days we have been inside. The kids did literally nothing but sleep and watch TV. 

Today both boys woke up without a fever. Yay! But... I knew they weren't ready to be out. Both had energy back which was good, but keeping them inside all day was going to be a task! So, this morning I made a list of all the things we could do so we wouldn't lose our minds! 

- Calendar time/Tracing time/Highlights magazine

- Snack- make trail mix

-art projects...(check pinterest)

-TV time

- outside time

- book/puzzle time separately

-hot chocolate?

I was literally trying to come up with anything I could think of. I have had some long days here at the house before when I felt unprepared for keeping these two busy. With my list in hand I felt like I had a plan for the day!

First we did art....

I found this turkey pasting activity on pinterest that was super easy for me to put together. I forgot to get a pic of the finished product but they were cute! 

Then...

The boys made Thanksgiving bracelets and loved that. Ryan's had to be a pattern and Scott's could just be whatever he wanted. =)

Next...

I let the boys make their own sandwiches like at Subway. They love doing this. It can be a big mess, but worth it!

and more art...

The boys did a brown handprint for a turkey and then thumb prints for feathers. I taped something over the turkey's "head" so they wouldn't paint over it. 

And then outside time...

We only stayed out for around 15 minutes because Scott fell off the slide and started coughing. Really short lived! It was freezing cold too.

We also did some reading, tracing, TV watching, and some free play time. Josh came home for lunch which gave me a short break to go on a walk which was wonderful! Overall my day turned out way better than I thought it was going to be just by doing some really simple things together. I have a feeling we will be here all day tomorrow too to let the boys have one more day to get over the sickness. I think I will start my list of activities tonight! I'm thinking turkey cupcakes??

What do you do when you are stuck inside all day? I'm open for ideas! =)