Chicken Noodle Kid

Last week, Dr. Patton told us to move on to stage two foods! This was EC's first experience with Chicken Noodle and I think that he liked it! I can't wait until he tries the Mac'N'Cheese!

Gene Simmons Wanna-Be

On Saturday, EC and I went to a tea party for the Freeze Out Cancer Team to raise money for Relay For Life. While we were there, Aunt Mimi clicked this picture for us, because EC and Mommy pictures are few and far between.

Check out that tongue! EC could be a member of a Kiss tribute band in a few years!

Whistling Prodigy

When EC went to stay with my parents in Kentucky, he picked up on one of my mother's habits....whistling. He is a whistling prodigy now! He loves to whistle and shows off his wicked whistling skills in this video. Hope that you enjoy!

WW - Boo!

For more Wordless Wednesday, head over to 5 Minutes For Mom!

Mr. Fussy Pants

This is one of my favorite recent pictures. This was a couple of weeks ago when EC had his first ear infection. He was all cranky and fussy.....but still super-cute in his overalls. As you can see in the Shelby pictures below, Birddog wears overall all the time.....so EC has several pairs too.

By the way, we went to the doctor that day (3/8) and he weighed in at 18 lbs even. Yesterday at his six month check-up, he weighed 18 lbs 14 ozs. Holy guacamole! 14 oz in two weeks!

Happy Birthday Nuna!

Nuna celebrated her 43rd Annual Sweet 16th Birthday on Friday.
Happy Birthday Nuna! We love you!

EC's First Girlfriend???

On Saturday morning, we took Nuna to breakfast at Pancakes 4 Peyton at Applebees. It was a benefit for Peyton Arnold, a twelve-year-old Dickson boy that has Leukemia. While we were there, EC spotted a cutie across the room! Keith Hickerson brought his daughter Shelby to the event and needless to say, love was in the air. EC couldn't stop talking to her. Shelby was more quiet.....Keith said she was just playing hard to get. But she didn't fool me....Shelby couldn't keep her hands off my son! It was so cute watching EC babble away and Shelby trying to grab his shirt. Shelby is adorable and I am sure that she will be a heart-breaker when she grows up. I am not sure about EC dating older women though.....Shelby is older by 4 whole days!

Death Of A Tradition???

EC and I went to Granny Garton’s house for supper last night. Thursdays are a special treat, because dinner and supper are served. In the South, the midday meal is dinner and the evening meal is supper. I may be Southern, but it is still hard for me to call lunch by the dinner term.

Right before supper, the telephone rang and one of Granny’s friends told her that the local radio station was closing due to the economic conditions. Now, there is no story in the paper about it today (Today happens to be one of the days the paper is published.) and the radio station is still on the air as of right now. I really hope that it was a nasty rumor and that WDKN does not close.

The conversation at dinner reminded me of the below post that I wrote about WDKN back in April 2007. You can find the original post HERE. There is not a Flashback Friday this week at My Tiny Kingdom, but I just wanted to repost this as my own flashback. Enjoy!

Sounds Of A Small Town (Originally Posted 4/6/2007)

We drove to another town last night to have dinner with some friends that we had not seen since our wedding. They were in town from South Carolina where his military service has taken them. It was good to sit for hours and talk with another couple that is very similar to us.I was thrilled when they said they were going to move back to this area when his military service was finished. They weren't sure about what town to live in, not wanting the city life of Nashville , but something a little more rural and homey. Then, they asked about Dickson.

Now, I tease about Dickson all the time. It isn't hard. Dickson is about as country as turnip greens. There are things in this town that have not changed for fifty years. That is the way that people like it and that is the way it is going to be…….dag-nab-it. If you don't like it…….go somewhere else.

If you listen to the only AM radio station in town, you will get a good feel of what Dickson is really like. WDKN aired its first broadcast in January of 1955 and it sounds like nothing has changed in the 52 years that it has filled the airwaves. Some of the daily lineups include the agri-business news, friendly neighbor time, Crazy Chucky's Country Classic Corner, things to do in Dickson County and the staples of Paul Harvey and Focus on the Family. There are prayers and hymns sponsored by local churches and an obituary report every afternoon. (Because the paper is only published twice per week and someone might be pushin' up daisies before it is in print.)

There are two times in the day that I really get a kick out of…….Swap-N-Shop Times! This is a very popular show in Dickson that comes on in the morning and the evening. If you are ever in the need for fresh farm eggs, chicken manure, guns, puppies, Volkswagen parts, Star Trek tapes, Cadillac converters or ping-pong tables, please let me know. I will be happy to listen to Swap-N-Shop for you.

The best part of the show is listening to the people that call in. Apparently it is the same people every day and the DJ knows them by voice. They talk about how their daddy is sick or how hot the weather is…….and somebody is missing a real deal on the goats that they have for sale.

WDKN also shows a softer side to Dickson. For the whole month of April, the radio station has an auction for one hour in the afternoons. All of the proceeds go to Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. It melts my heart to listen every afternoon. Today is only the fifth day of the auction and they have already sold over 700 items. Almost every business in town donates some kind of item or service. There are homemade cakes, cookies and pies of every kind made by every grandmother in town………some that sell for well over a hundred dollars. There are ferns, peonies, lilies and tulips. Items can range from a tea-kwon-do gift certificate to a stop sign donated by the public works department…..each item donated in the memory of someone special.

I am glad that I live in a town that has a radio station like WDKN and I think, no matter how much I giggle, that its programming reflects our small town life to a T. I am glad that I live in a place where Sundays are filled with church and family, where people eat dinner together, where there is bluegrass music at the Grand Ol' Hatchery every Saturday night, and where there are more hardware stores than clothing shops. I am glad that I live in a place where I am not scared to leave my door unlocked or my windows open. A place where I look forward to raising my children, where lightening bugs dance in my yard at twilight, and where there is a 90% chance that I am related to the person driving the tractor down the road.

I truly hope that my friends and their children come to live in Dickson County . I am sure that they will appreciate its charm as much as I do.

Hangin' At Mimi's House

EC went to hang out at Aunt Mimi's house on Tuesday while I was at my Bible study. He LOOOOVES hangin' with Aunt Mimi. She is so funny! Daddy BJ came over to visit and Mimi got some great pictures. Thanks Mimi!

WW - Birdwatching With Granddaddy

For more Wordless Wednesday, go HERE.

EC Loves Aunt Kay

EC sure loves his Great Aunt Kay. She came to visit him at Grammy and Granddaddy's house last week. We were surprised to see her, since she is an accountant and normally she doesn't come up for air until April 16th. EC loved sitting on her lap and talking to her. They carried on a good conversation. None of us knew what EC was talking about, but he seemed very satisfied with all of Aunt Kay's answers.

Month Six

Dear EC,

Yesterday you had your very first half-birthday. For six whole months, you have brightened our lives. SIX! WHOLE! MONTHS! How crazy time flies! Before we know it, I will be telling you to drive safely and wear your seatbelt.

This month was not as milestone-breaking as last month, but it seems like you grew more into a baby instead of an infant. You even switched to a pull-up diaper this month! Ok, really Nuna ran out of your sized diapers and used your cousin Shaylee’s princess pull-up until she could get more of your sized diapers. I didn’t see you in it, but I am sure that it was hilarious. No offence kid, but we make you wear silly things all the time just for laughs. You have a dinosaur Mohawk hat that is too funny.

You are sitting up so well now. You are a little wobbly, but I think it is because of the massive brain in your head. Your balance has improved to the point that you want to sit up all the time. The heck with lying down! (I have come to terms with your not rolling over anymore.) You enjoy sitting and playing with toys on your blanket, but someone has to sit behind you in case you get too excited and fling yourself backwards.

Sitting up like a big boy! Your beer-belly helps you balance.

One of the things that you think is so much fun is feeling of Daddy’s hair. It is so prickly that you giggle when he rubs it on your belly. You run your hands over his head and to the whiskers on his chin. Not too long ago, you felt of my cheek and had this crazy look on your face like, “What happened to the funny feeling stuff??”

Rubbing Daddy's head is a pre-bath ritual. It is kind of like rubbing a Budha belly.

We have dealt with a long running bout of sickness at Casa de Garton this month. We kept passing around the same little cold that just wouldn’t go away. Your little cough subsided some, but never fully disappeared. Then last Sunday, it seemed worse. You acted like you just didn’t feel good and wanted to snuggle more. When I took you to the doctor’s office, you were so excited to play with the paper on the examination table that I was sure that the doctor would say that you were fine. Then you were diagnosed with your first ear infection. My heart broke for you. It was hard to know that my little punkin’ baby was really sick. You got a round of antibiotics that tastes like bubble gum….and you would chug the whole bottle if I let you.

You like to cuddle when you don't feel well, even if it is with a GlowWorm.

What makes any baby feel better? Grandparents! Since Miss Tracy, your babysitter, was off on vacation, Grammy and Granddaddy swept you off to Kentucky last week. They came down to get you on Wednesday morning and high-tailed it back to Symsonia as fast as they could. I think that they thought I would change my mind about you going! So last Thursday was officially my first day without you. I was a little sad, but it made me feel better to know that you were really enjoying yourself. I know, because I called to check on you at least five times a day!

Apparently you missed us too. Anytime that Grammy would hold the phone up to your ear for you to hear my voice, you would perk up and try to look into the phone. One time when the house was too quiet, she turned on the radio. The song that was playing had a lot of guitar and Grammy said you were looking around frantically trying to find Daddy.

You got to see lots of people in Kentucky. You played with Aunt Lauren and Uncle Clay the first night. Aunt Lauren gave you your bath and Grammy taught you how to splash with your legs. On Thursday, you got to play with Kayla and the two old crows, Uncle Larry and Aunt Sandy, during the day. Debbie, Brian and Kyle came to visit that night. During your bath, you pee-ed on Debbie three times. (Daddy was really proud of you!) Great-Aunt Shirley loved on you all day on Friday and then I stole the rest of your sugars when I got there that night. Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Kay visited on Saturday morning before we headed back to Tennessee.

You were spoiled beyond belief in Kentucky. The smile couldn't be wiped off your face!

Your trip to Kentucky was much easier than I expected. They didn’t shake you and you didn’t have any bruises, so I guess you can go back to stay with them again. Just kidding….but it is awful hard to live up to your expectations after you have spent a couple days with all that attention.

There are so many little things that you are learning every day that if I continue to write about, I will have written a novel. Stuff like you trying to whistle like Grammy or how you flirt with girls or how you puckered you lips when I was blowing you kisses or squealing at Daddy when you are practicing for American Idol. I could write an encyclopedia on the funny things that you do in the bathtub. Then, there are the little things like your infatuation with feet, anybody’s feet; although you are so fat that you can’t get your own feet into your mouth. Your two favorite loves are feet and being naked. I pray that you don’t grow up to be a nudist with a foot fetish.

Oh EC, you light up my world with your little two-tooth smile! It is crazy how my heart has doubled in size since you arrived half a year ago. You are the pride and joy of Daddy and me. We love you to the moon and back!

I love you,
Mommy

PS - You weigh 18 lbs now!

FF- Go Rough Riders!

Once again it is time for Flashback Friday! Woo Hoo!

My mother’s friend Connie has been posting some wonderful pictures from back-in-the-day. Last week, I was tickled when she posted this one:
This was our cheerleading picture from good ol’ Symsonia Elementary School. I believe that this might have been my only year in cheerleading. (Mom, did I cheer for more than one year?) Anyway, I had a very short lived cheerleading career, because I lack coordination and/or any athletic ability.

I think that I am the one on the back row, third from the right. Yep, that is me….the one that can’t hold her elbow out the correct way. I am uncoordinated even in the cheerleading picture.

I am pretty sure that I was in 5th grade for a few reasons:

First, this was before junior high, because anyone that wanted to be a cheerleader could be a cheerleader…..no matter how awful you were. Did I ever mention that I still cannot do a cartwheel? Plus, there is one girl in the picture that is older than me, so that means that I could not be in 6th grade, because junior high was considered to be 7th and 8th grades.

Second, I have that horrendous hair cut. Through 4th grade, I had awesome hair. But everyone was cutting their hair and getting perms. I remember begging my mother to get a perm and when I finally did……I hated it. My brother called me a poodle on the way home from the salon and I tried not to cry. I remember taking a yearbook to the hairdresser and pointing out a girls hair that I looooved. In the end, I looked NOTHING like her. I debated washing it out, but my mother had spent so much money on it that I didn’t have the heart to do it. When I went back to school in 5th grade, I remember a boy being shocked and asking me what I had done to my hair. (Within the year, I also got braces and glasses and I thought that my world was coming to an end.)

The pom-poms in front were the ‘good pom-poms’. They were HUGE and had clear plastic rings for the handles. I remember that you had to scrunch the plastic strips to make them bigger. I coveted those pom-poms. The ones that I had from Wal-mart were only one color, had white plastic stick handles and were about a quarter of the size of the perfect poms.

The picture was taken in the “little gym” which was the original gym in the school. There was a stage at one end where the guys in my class auctioned off their legs. A bigger gym was built on years later. The school is where my parents graduated from high school, but when the county high schools consolidated when I was in 5th grade, this became my junior high. This must have been the first year for Symsonia Jr. High School. The school was torn down a few years ago and it still looks strange driving by the new construction.

Oh, such fun memories! Goooooooooo Rough Riders! Go Big Red!

For more Flashback Friday Fun.....go HERE.

A Little Verklempt

My parents kidnapped my child and are holding him hostage in Kentucky for a few days. Okay, so maybe I told them that they could come get him. My brother sent these pictures to me this morning of EC and his Aunt Lauren. It makes me feel better just to see him.

He looks like he is having fun....which will make my day a little easier to bare. This is my first full day without seeing EC. Okay, now I am a little verklempt.....talk amongst yourselves...

First Drum Session - Video Edition

A couple of weeks ago, I posted these pictures. Birddog had been playing with his drums and EC simply could not get enough. EC was wide-eyed and so excited every time that Birddog would start playing. So, Birddog grabbed him and thought they would have their first lesson. Here is a little video of the action:

As you can tell, EC is still teething and is more interested in eating the drumstick than holding it.

None the less, I do think that he has his father’s music gene. He loves it when any music comes on the radio or television. He loves it when Birddog plays the guitar or sings to him. Birddog will sing a note and EC sings it back to him…..they can go back and forth like that for hours!

Since I have no rhythm and I am tone-deaf, I do hope that EC picks up Birddog's musical abilities, but Lord please be with me if I have another drummer on my hands!

WW - Blue Eyes

(Thanks to Tracy, the most awesome babysitter ever, for the pictures!)
For more Wordless Wednesday, go HERE.

Backseat Jesus

Last week passed so quickly that I didn’t even realize that I had not blogged! Crazy!

Birddog, EC and I have been passing around a cold that just doesn’t seem to want to leave. So, we called in the reinforcements. Grammy and Granddaddy (Linda and Eddie to some of you) were at our doorstep the next morning. With the help of Kyle’s mom, Nuna, we are still alive today! They wiped noses and rocked and made dinner and loved on all three of us. Needless to say, it is hard to live up to EC’s expectations after they went back to Kentucky.

We all still have the remnants of a cold, but we are recuperating quickly. So, I promise that there will be more blog posts soon! Wordless Wednesday is coming again tomorrow!

One thing that I have been meaning to blog about for a while is a new series that is starting this weekend at Cross Point. The series is called Back Seat Jesus and it explores the different ways that we have put Jesus in the backseat of our lives.

It should be AWESOME and I would love for you to go with me! I have been going to the nine o’clock service, because I am teaching the three-year-olds in KidzWorld at eleven o’clock. (Dude, I know what you are thinking! Ladybird? A Sunday school teacher???…..Who’da thunk it???) Anyway, if you want to come please let me know! We can go together!

Check out the promo below and let me know what you think!

Back Seat Jesus_Promo from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.