Wilsons Rise Up

OK, OK....I know what you're thinking....

What is it with this crazy lady and all of her rampant blog posts??

I promise I try to keep it to a minimum, but somethings are just too cute not to write about, and well, this is one of them.  

This year the boys got to experience their first Trick or Treat!  First, they got to go to Jody's work and walk around, and then they went to the Square in Clarkesville.  It amazed me how quickly they picked up on grabbing their loot and stuffing it in their bag.  They were very protective of their goodies as well, even though all they'll really get out of it is a sucker or two.  It was more about the experience though, and boy did they have one.  

We decided long ago to go with the Falcon's theme (you know, back in August when all seemed right in the world and the Falcon's were going to have their best season ever).  We knew Target usually carried Matt Ryan jerseys, but we were happily surprised to find that they had Julio Jones jerseys as well.  When we went to check out, the nice teenager at the register asked us who was going to be Matt and who was going to be Julio.  At first, we just laughed and said, "Oh, we haven't decided yet."  But then we looked at each other, and in that single moment of silent communication, we knew.   

Jack would be Matt Ryan, and Rowan would be Julio Jones.

Hands-down. 

You see, Jody made me watch all six of the Falcons' Hard Knocks episodes (usually twice), and I learned quite a lot about this team of players who I love to cheer for, but wish could win.  

Jack is a total Matt Ryan quarterback.  He's calm (-ish, or at least compared to his brother), and he always likes to be accurate and precise in everything that he does.  He's also a bit of a leader, and he isn't afraid to boss Rowan around if need be.  Now Rowan, he is a Julio Jones wide-receiver all the way.  He likes to run fast, and he is always laughing at something.  Rowan can find humor in anything and everything, and you can't help but chuckle along with him. He also loves to play with and organize his flash cards, which is something that many of the Falcons players are good at, especially Julio.  OK, well, maybe not exactly flash cards.  More like Blackjack or some other game that I don't know the name of, but the point is they both like card games, and they're both good at it.

So, with all that being said, even though the Falcons are stinking it up this year, the boys' costumes were absolutely precious.  I'm so glad we chose them, and I'm proud of our little Julio and Matt.   

Our little Falcons

Holding their treat bags

One parent said as he was passing by, "Hey!  Put them in!  They can't do any worse!" 

See...running  :)

Daddy and Ro Ro

Daddy and Jack

And  last, but not least, our massive amount of candy!!!

  

Mama Moon

This week, we received one of the greatest blessings that we could ever imagine.

My grandma Simone, who is 90 years old, flew here all the way from Oregon so that she could meet her great-grandchildren Jack, Rowan, and Ellie for the first time.  It has been seven long years since my family was all together in Oregon. The last time she saw her great-grandson, Elijah, he was only three years old. We are so incredibly grateful to my aunt Louise and uncle Denny for flying Grandma out to see us.  We were supposed to go to Oregon this past summer, but Jody's Crohn's surgery happened later than we had planned, and then came my tonsils.  We thought we had missed out on a huge opportunity, so we were very thankful when we heard that Grandma was going to try and make it here.  

Our week together went by so incredibly fast, but it is a time that I will never forget.  The boys had a special name for Grandma:  Mama Moon.  Just as anyone else who has ever met my grandma, they loved her!  Every night and every morning, she was one of their first and last words of the day.  We all wished that Grandpa Don could have been here to share in this experience, but we all felt his love and spirit with us.  As Denny pointed out, Rowan gets his love of buttons and anything electronic from Grandpa Don, and this week Rowan was tinkering with anything and everything that he could get his hands on.  I'm quite sure that put a huge smile on Grandpa's face. 

Here are some of my favorite moments from our visit.

The whole family

 

Love my little family

 

Grandma was so happy to finally meet the boys.

 

First time meeting Mama Moon

 

Jack and his nightly reading buddy, Aunt Louise

 

Reading with cousin Elijah

 

Enjoying lunch with Grandma

 

Showing a book to Mama Moon, Aunt Diana, and Uncle Tim

 

Best Buds!  The boys' favorite new name--Uncle Denny!

 

Dancing to Grandpa's song

 

Jack and Ellie brushing their teeth at Grandma's.  We had lots of late nights over the past week, and it was worth every minute of it!

 

Goodbye kisses from Mama Moon

 

So, after this wonderful week, I'm desperately trying not to think about the fact that my sweet family is back on an airplane and flying home.  It hurts my heart to see them go!  We would love, love, love to make it to Oregon this summer, and this time, maybe we'll just make it happen. 

Sickness Times Two

When I woke up in the wee hours of Tuesday morning to the sound of a croupy cough (AKA:  seal bark), I knew that this week might not go as we had originally planned.  

I had no idea. . . .

Our poor little boys came down with a horrible virus that mimics the flu, and unfortunately, mommy came down with it, too.  Thankfully, Jody had to foresight to don a mask as soon as he heard the coughing.  While I slept with Jack across my chest in our bed, Jody and his mask slept safe and sound on the floor.  At the time, I understood that based on the amount of spittle that was coming my way, chances were I was probably going to come down with a little cold.  Nothing I couldn't handle, right? 

Ohhhhhhhh me........

Needless to say, our household has endured lots of throw-up, messy diapers, loud coughs, and snotty noses.  At one point, Jody was yelling for me to run and help him with Rowan's throw-up, before turning around and yelling for me to help him with Jack's throw-up.  Twinsies.  What can I say?  They do everything together and at the exact same time; just as it should be.  :)  

This morning the boys finally woke up without a fever, and although they are still snotty, they are on the mend.  I seem to be a day behind them symptom wise, so I'm hoping tomorrow is my day to feel much, much better.  Of course, that doesn't mean that they still aren't milking this sickness for all it's worth. Today I watched Jack and as he pulled Rowan's hair.  Rowan started to cry, and I asked Jack what happened.  His response?

"Ro Ro crying again."  Short pause.  "Sick."  

See, it was the sickness, Mommy.  Not me.  

Smart (or should I say sneaky) boys, even when they don't feel 100%.  

Mask to at least keep me from spreading it to Jody....two sleepy boys piled up on Mommy....early paci time....snot tissue in hand.....The Wilson's, everyone