From Baseballs to Snowballs

Spring has sprung in Illinois!  In like a lion, out like a lamb took full meaning this weekend!  Saturday was in the 50's, so Bill took Nolan outside to teach him the basics of baseball.  Nolan enjoyed watching Bill pitch the baseball as he stood there with the bat in his hands ready to swing.  Nolan wanted Bill to hold the bat, so Nolan could pitch the ball to daddy.  What a fun time they had outside!  Nolan doesn't quite have the concept down, but he was having a blast with Bill!

Fast forward to Sunday, this morning we awoke to snowflakes falling.  Even this evening there were still flurries falling on the 6 inches of snow already on the ground.  Nolan and I had a lot of fun out in the snow today.  We built a snowman, went sledding around the yard, made snow angels, and slid down the slide.  What a busy and fun afternoon!!  The snow was perfect for making a snowman!  When I asked Nolan what we wanted to name the snowman he said, "Snowman." How original.

After we finished making "snowman" Nolan wanted to take a ride around the yard on his sled.  I'm not going to lie it was hard work running around pulling him, but after a track was made we zoomed around the yard a lot faster the other times we took a ride.

Nolan went down the slide over and over again.  He loved sliding down and landing in the big pile of snow at the bottom of the slide.  He would yell, "I stuck mama, help me!!"  I think Nolan's favorite part about being outside was eating the snow.  He kept licking everything in sight that had snow on it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Carter celebrated his first St. Patty's Day in style thanks to Aunt Sheri and cousin Mike.  This Christmas each member of the Purcell family received green t-shirts with a four leaf clover on the front and our last name on the back.  I had no clue Purcell was Irish!

Since finding out Purcell is Irish, I did some research online and I came up with the following:

The name Purcell is an occupational surname.  Occupational surnames were derived from a word describing the actual job done by the original name bearer.  The surname Purcell came from a common occupational name for a swineherd.  The surname Purcell is derived from the Norman-French word porcel, which in turn comes from the Latin word porcus, which means pig or piglet.

The Purcell Motto:  Aut vincam aut periam
Motto Translation: Either conquer or perish

We had fun taking pictures with our shirts on!  Nolan even cooperated for a few.  Carter on the other hand loves the camera, so he has several more pictures.  Plus it's his first St. Patrick's Day so I had to take few extra of Carter.

 our attempt at a picture of the back of our shirts!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Pig Family! :)

A Weekend of Birthday Bashes

Last weekend we made a trip back home to celebrate great grandpa Tub's birthday and great grandma Melva's birthday!  What a fun weekend we had.  Nolan had fun playing with his cousins, Carter went on his first Kubota ride, and mommy and daddy had fun seeing their relatives.  I cannot believe I didn't have one picture taken of the birthday boy/girl!  I'm starting to slack in the photo department.

Our first stop was Friday night at the Chesser household to celebrate grandpa Tub's birthday!  We ate delicious pizza and of course the dessert was AMAZING.  Nolan devoured the chocolate cake.  Carter had fun being passed around and snuggling with everyone.

Saturday Papa T and I took Carter on his very first Kubota ride!  Carter met the cows and pigs.  Papa was already trying to put Carter to work shoveling pig poop or "pee ewe mud" as Nolan calls it.  Carter didn't show too much emotion, but I'm sure when he is older he will be begging for rides on the Bota.

Saturday afternoon we ventured to the Beeler farm to celebrate grandma Melva's birthday.  Once again, we ate way too much.  Nolan had a lot of fun helping Bill "work" on a temperature thing for Uncle Joe's dip tank.  Nolan loves to tinker on different things.  I think we may have another engineer in the family...

 I can see the wheels turning in his head....

 ....poor cow!

What a fun weekend we had!  Everyone couldn't believe how much Carter has grown since Christmas and how much Nolan is now talking.  The census still stands that our boys are perfect in every way!

Rollin' with the Homies

Carter is now rolling over from his back to his belly!  He first accomplished this magnificent milestone on March 7th, but I could never catch him in action.  I would lay him down on his back on the floor, leave the room, and I would come back into the room where he would be smiling up at me from his belly.  Silly boy!

After many attempts at trying to capture Carter rolling over, I decided to lay the camera on the fireplace and leave the room.  It took a few minutes, but he decided to roll over and I caught him in action!

Carter is now a pro at rolling over.  He will change the direction he wants to be facing or roll to get from one side of the room to the other.  Also, while he lays on his belly he is starting to bring his legs underneath him.  I see crawling in the near future. 

Carter loves to lay next to Nolan and play with his big brother.  I laid Carter on his play mat this morning and walked into the kitchen, the next thing I hear is Nolan laughing hysterically and calling out Carter's name.  Carter had rolled over and was playing with Nolan's hair.  It melted my heart.  These boys are going to be such great friends!

From a Lake to a Creek

We officially moved into our new house on February 22nd.  We love our new home, which is exactly what it felt like the first night we stayed in it.  A huge thanks to Nana, Papa T, Grandpa Bill, Chance, and Jaron for all of the help you contributed to making our move so painless!

Of course, the day before we closed on our house there was a winter storm in Madison County.  The snow kept coming and coming, then ice decided to make an appearance on top of the snow.  Bill and I both took the day off work to finish packing and the boys went to their sitter's.  We picked the boys up in the afternoon, in Bill's car because my SUV was hooked up to the trailer, and headed back to the house.  Wouldn't you know it?  Our car wouldn't make it up the hill due to the ice and snow!!  Seriously, we had lived at this house for 3 1/2 years and never once were stuck at the bottom of the hill.  Oh well, we met some neighbors and got some unexpected exercise.

Bill and I carried the boys up the hill in the snow.  What a workout!  The rest of the day was spent packing and playing.  We camped out on our mattress in the living room, since all of the furniture was packed.  What a disaster our house looked.

First day after being moved in!  Saturday, Bill and Nolan took full advantage of all the snow and our new backyard.  The snow was really bright, so Nolan wore Bill's sunglasses.  Nolan kept saying, "build house dada."  The ice prevented the building of a snowman, but Bill pulled Nolan around the yard on his sled.  Carter and I watched out of the window.

For some reason Nolan calls our new home, "nana's house", but Bill and I keep working with him.  Hopefully, he will realize it is his own soon.  Everyone having their own bedrooms and three toilets is amazing!!

Carter is 5 Months Old!

Carter turned 5 months old on February 19th!  My baby boy is growing up way too fast!  I measured and weighed Carter at home since he doesn't go back to the pediatrician until next month.  Carter weighed 16.5 pounds and measured 26.5 inches.  Not sure on how accurate these measurements are, but he's a growing boy.  Carter is already in 6-12 month clothes.  CHUNKY MONKEY!  Carter loves to be in the middle of all the commotion going on around him.  He likes to sit in his Bumbo and take it all in.  He is such a happy baby boy and definitely a mama's boy, which is the way I like it.

Since moving into our new house, Carter is now sleeping in his own room in his crib.  I forgot how much harder it is to have him in another room.  I have to soothe him before he starts to cry and wake Nolan up, feed him, put him back to bed, and then go back to my room.  It was definitely a lot easier when he was sleeping in our room.  One huge plus is he nurses, so no bottles have to be made!! :)  Also, now he can stretch out and sleep longer.

Carter's personality is really shining through.  He was a ham before, but now he has two bottom teeth and he knows how to smile with them!  With a dimple and big blue eyes this little boy is a heart breaker.

Having some fun at the new house!  Silly boy wants to play with Nolan and daddy so bad, but he can't hold his own quite yet.  Nolan and daddy will have their hands full once Carter is mobile.  Carter already tries to mimic Nolan when Nolan talks.  Carter will start grunting, flapping his arms, and trying to spit out a word.  Eventually, he starts to laugh and squeal in high pitches to get Nolan's attention.  Carter has figured out how to blow raspberries and thinks it is funny.  The first time he made this noise he scared himself and once he figured out the noise was coming from him, he hasn't stopped!

I love you baby boy!!  You're such a great addition to our family and I couldn't imagine a more perfect son.