My "First Child's" Birthday

Murphy was our firstborn...yes, I know he's a dog, but he means much more than that to me. He turned 10 years old on Sunday, and we had a big celebration for him. Well, it was a celebration until he unwrapped his gift and found the first ball. Then it was all about PLAY, PLAY, PLAY. Poor fellow never gets to play with any of these fun kids' toys that are strewn around the house!

He also received a Doggie Snuggie - yes, they make those for pets - another type of ball, a jar of special treats, and a special dinner of gourmet dog food filet. (His little sister, Mabel had her own bowl, of course.)

Happy Birthday to my Murph-Man! In honor of The Murph, I'll sing the little jingle that I made up just for him...

"He's the fastest in the East; he's a long and crazy beast; he's the Murph-Man.

He's the loudest in the South; he's got a long and furry snout; he's the Murph-Man.

He's the meanest in the west; he's got a big ol' furry chest; he's the MUUURRRPH-MAN...

Uh-huh, that's right."

Getting Ready For Christmas...

I don't think that I've ever decorated for Christmas before the first of December in my entire life...until now. We began our day with the supreme enjoyment of watching Mississippi State beat that school from up north in the annual Egg Bowl, and then we proceeded to venture out to find the perfect family Christmas tree and set up all of the decorations.

Usually, it's well into December before I get my tree into place, but since my surgery is scheduled for the third of the month, I thought I should get as much done as possible beforehand.

As we decorated the house, Caroline kept saying, "This is gonna be the BEST Christmas EVER!!"

Our next task on the to-do list is to write our letters to Santa...but Mommy's already informed him of most of the gifts, so hopefully, that's taken care of too. (Got to love that online shopping.)

P.S. Go Bulldogs! Hotty Toddy, WHO?!? ;o)

Caroline's Sixth Birthday Party

We celebrated Caroline's sixth birthday - and I can't believe my baby girl is already six years old - at Silver Lining Horse Stables, and everyone was treated to horseback riding, cake, presents, and a hayride at the end. We also had the opportunity to watch one of the riders jump one of the horses, which was really cool - the horse she rode is the one Caroline is riding in the picture below. (I think his name is Honey Bar?)

Caroline has been in love with horses for quite a while now, so as her birthday gift, Shawn and I are giving her a set of riding lessons. We'll keep you posted on how that goes, and if horses truly become a passion for her.

This was her second or third time around on a different horse. The first horse she chose to ride was solid white and named "Silver."

JM refused to wear his helmet, but seemed like a natural on horseback.

Lighting the candles...

Happy Birthday, my love! You're growing up WAY too fast!

Trick or Treat 2009

All of the kids, except for Molly, who refused to have her picture taken with the group.

We had our halloween tradition in the Oliphant household this year. My sister and her family came to our house for pizza and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. My mom and grandmother were even able to come this year and enjoy in our festivities for a little while, which was nice. All it took was one full walk around the entire circle of our neighborhood, and the kids were tired, cold, and ready to go home and sort through all of their candy. My sister and I had almost as much fun digging through their treats as they did! :)

Caroline - the Spider Princess and her cousin Grace - Pocahontas

JM as a lion

All the kids posing in front of some cool yard decor

Sorting through their loot!

John Michael's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my baby boy has turned two years old! We celebrated on the day of his actual birthday by serving him a homemade iced airplane cookie for breakfast, complete with the whole family serenading him with "Happy Birthday!" I sent airplane cookies with him to his mother's morning out class, and we gave him his gift that night - a Handy Manny singing tool set.

We had his party on the following Saturday, and thankfully it wasn't raining because we had the party outside at the Castlewoods park. However, there was a little October chill in the air. We celebrated with the theme of J.M. Airlines, so everything was done with planes in mind, including the obviously handmade posters, and once again, cookie party favors. John Michael had a blast in the bounce castle, and jumped himself slap out! We are so grateful for all of our friends and family that shared in this sweet moment with us.

Here are some pictures from the event...

Our cake was made by Melissa Wright - it tasted as wonderful as it looks!

The blustery day made my poster less than perfect, but I thought my "balloon clouds" were pretty cute.

Favorite Cousins :)

Still hasn't quite figured out what this fork thing is...

"How about I just take me a nap right here?"

Dad, Mom, and one tired Little Man

How We Celebrated...

I wrote him one of my "epic" letters, chronicling our last ten years, from the beginning of our relationship, and I repeated the vows I spoke to him all those years ago. I'd dug up some old mementos of our engagement and wedding, and we had fun looking through all of that. He took me to dinner to one of our favorite restaurants - and man, was it nice to have a fancy meal without kids screaming and throwing food everywhere!? When we got home, he'd written me a song, and to my surprise, he'd been learning to play the guitar for the last several months. So, he performed the sweet song to me, and I was just beside myself. I gave him that guitar many anniversaries ago, because one of my dreams was that he'd play the guitar for me and our kids one day, yet he'd never really pursued it. Well, he'd not only pursued the guitar, but he wrote me such a sweet song, and he sang it to me. (Shawn, don't kill me for publishing this for the world to see, but I think that was the most awesome gift EVER!) As usual, we were asleep by ten o'clock, but that's okay - we've just made it to this next chapter of our lives. :)

Ten Years Together...

On this day ten years ago, October 16th, 1999, Shawn and I were married at St. Andrew's Cathedral, in Jackson. It's hard to believe that ten years have passed, yet as I've reflected back on our years of marriage and all of the life events we've shared, I feel immensely blessed. I cherish my life with my husband, and as this chapter of our lives is closing, I'm looking forward to the adventure that awaits us. In honor of our ten year anniversary, I'm listing the top ten reasons, among many, why I'm so grateful for my husband...

1. He is my rock. . . my shield. . . my protector.

2. He is the most selfless person I know.

3. He is an amazing father to our precious children.

4. He makes me feel safe, no matter what's going on in our lives.

5. He has an unbelievable and unmatched talent of recalling movie lines.

6. He is my total opposite, which completely covers my weaknesses.

7. He is hot, handsome, sexy, and everything in between. . .and yes, I love his gray hair, and the way he looked in his Phelps costume!

8. He has become an awesome spiritual leader for our family.

9. He makes me feel beautiful, even when I'm not :)

10. He is, without a doubt, my angel on earth.

I love you, Shawn. Happy Anniversary.

First Missing Tooth!

Caroline lost her first tooth last Saturday.  After several days of struggling with me and Shawn over trying to pull it, and over fifteen minutes of video footage witnessing this fight, we still had no tooth.  The little thing was hanging by a thread!  My mom came to the rescue when she visited - "Sure!  Grandma can pull it!"

I didn't even have time to open my video camera before Mom pulled the tooth.  No whining and crying from Caroline. . . only BIG smiles and a lot of bragging about losing her first tooth.

1st Day of Kindergarten

Caroline started her first day of kindergarten today.  We've both been very excited about her going to "big girl" school.  (Maybe I'm hoping to re-live my student days through her?!)  There were many mothers there that were shedding tears when dropping off their children, so maybe I should feel a little guilty for being so excited... I mean I laid out her clothes in a perfect arrangement the night before, for crying out loud!!  The only problem we had was when she noticed that most of the other kids brought their nap mats with them - the instructions from the teacher clearly stated that they wouldn't need the mats until next week, so I didn't send hers.  She freaked out a little but was easily calmed down when the teacher reassured her that she wouldn't need it.  It's scary how much that little girl's personality is like mine...poor thing.  Here are some photos from the big day...

Getting her bag situated in her new room

Proof of my OCD/excitement - Caroline was all for this too!

Ready to go!

Outside of her classroom, just before entering the first time:)

Her first day of school was "awesome," and she had "the best time ever."  She loves her teacher and she loves being in kindergarten!  I'm happy that she's happy!  Now, bring on the homework!

Kindergarten Haircut

Caroline got her hair chopped off for her new "big girl" school, which starts next Thursday.  I took her to my hairstylist, and I must say, that with her unruly hair, he did quite a great job. She loves it, and so do I.  She and I are both quite excited about her starting kindergarten this year!

JM's Makeover

Complete with Barbie makeup, headband, and barrette

She is so proud of herself!!

JM's thoughts: "What in the WORLD have you done to me, Sissy?"

Courtesy of Caroline, she gave JM a nice little makeover when I asked her to "babysit" while I got some work done the other day.  This is what they were up to in their bathroom.  He didn't seem to mind except he looked at her like she was crazy at times...

Lion Twins

For Caroline's second Halloween, she dressed up as this adorable lion.  She wasn't so much of a girlie girl at the time and loved animals.  This was my all-time favorite costume of all her costumes by far, even though all of the people we trick-or-treated with thought she was a boy amongst all the princess girls that night.  :)  Anyway, I took out this costume and let John Michael try it on yesterday to see if it would fit him for this Halloween.  I've posted the old pictures of Caroline to compare hers with JM's in the lion outfit...

Caroline - Age 2

John Michael - Age 21 months

He was so proud of himself in this costume.  He just strutted around the house and roared for the longest time.  I guess we know what he'll be dressing up as this Halloween!

Underwear Raid

JM decided to raid Shawn's underwear drawer the other day.  His daddy has been out of town, so I guess he's missed him...at least the boxers were clean!

Neshoba County Fair

We just returned from spending the opening weekend at the Neshoba County Fair.  It's become a tradition to spend some time in Philadelphia for this event ever since 2000, when my dad and Betsy got their cabin.  Times have certainly changed since then, especially after having children! We don't stay out as late or do all the things like we used to, but the kids sure have a lot of fun.  JM has already hit his terrible two's, so we headed back home a little early.  Here are some photos from our weekend...

The midway in the middle of the hot July day = not such a great idea!

Obviously, Caroline picked out the pink car, but JM loved it regardless!

Caroline's favorite part of the petting zoo - she loves ponies and horses.

I must say that I probably liked the petting zoo more than the kids - plus, I treated the animals SO much better!

JM kept saying, "AWWWW!"

Sweet little bitty chicks.

Chillin' at Dad's cabin.

Are we done yet?

My guys:)