Random phone pics

 Perry's first family portrait 3/13/15

 Perry set up a beach retreat in the den 4/17/15

 Mills breastfeeding his puppies 4/13/15

 That time Alex set the fence on fire and thankfully our neighbor saw it and put it out 5/23/15

 Mills and Mae Mae riding the arcade motorcycle 5/30/15

 Mills on the day he graduated speech therapy. Ms. Shannon was teary to say goodbye because she loved Mills so much 6/1/15

 7/13/15

Perry loves to put "outfits" together:

  OK....he didn't love this next one (at all), but I had to... 

 James' 1 year pics

 I asked Mills, "pretty please with a cherry on top" to come lay down with me. He laid down and put this on his head. When I asked with it was, he said "it's the cherry on top."

 11/7/15

Alex and the big boys camped overnight in the backyard. Tent not pictured 9/12/15

Retested Mills for allergies. Still highly allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, and some others 10/20/15

Mills keeps it interesting 11/6/15

James' Hives

This post could be pages long, and would have been had I tried to write it months ago, but thankfully I'm able to write this now knowing James is ok. Long story short, James got some routine vaccines at 13 months old, then got really sick with a virus (I was shaken up with this illness because it seemed very bad), and THEN after he recovered from the virus he started breaking out in hives. We didn't know why this was happening and for several weeks, we couldn't control them. Finally, we were able to stop the hives, but only if we kept James on daily medications/sedating antihistamines...when I tried to stop the meds, the hives would come back. After hitting the 6 week mark, we were diagnosed with "Chronic Hives". I was so sad and scared of all the unknowns. None of the tests we ran showed any clue as to why this was happening, so the doctors (pediatrician, dermatologist, and allergist) assumed it was an immune system over-reaction, likely to the recent virus. I was terrified that the hives would never go away, but they eventually did! It was a total of 3 months, but it felt like 3 years! Myself and others prayed so boldly that God would heal James, and we've been overjoyed by this answered prayer.
Most of these pictures were taken so I could show the doctors the change/progression in the hives, which proved to be helpful in the diagnosis. At one point, they thought it could be something extremely serious and life-threatening, but a glance at pictures taken 12 hours apart gave the dermatologist enough info to say it was definitely hives and nothing worse....WOW! Thank you iphone!

 it started with just some some patches of hives

one morning his whole eye was a swollen hive 

 spreading 

 covered!

When the hives would fade away, his skin would become smooth again, but would temporarily turn a creepy purple color--called post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation. 

Cousins

Helen and Caroline came for a visit in August. These cousins really love one another...most of the time.

 Mills 3 (almost 4), Caroline 23 months, James 14 months, Perry 5 (almost 6)

James looks like he belongs to Caroline more than to his own brothers 

2 Wheels

Perry's training wheels were giving us some trouble, so we decided it was time to take them off. Turns out, learning to ride a bike isn't always easy. It took a couple weeks, and some hard, frustrating moments for Perry and Daddy, but it finally happened! Whoo Hoo! Perry has been zipping around on his bike ever since, and now it's one of his favorite things to do. Starting Kindergarten and learning to ride without training wheels in the same week means this boy is getting big!

Teeth!

James finally cut his 1st (and 2nd) tooth at 13 months. Good job, James!

It's hard to see in the picture, but there are two little bottom teeth popping out. 

Perry's First Day of Kindergarten

Perry started Kindergarten at Ascension Classical School on August 17, 2015. He was really excited and couldn't wait to go to "Hilton's school"! There were no tears that morning, but I did get a little emotional in the afternoon as I was waiting for 3:00. It's been a big change having Perry in school all day, but he loves it and is doing great. We are so thankful for his school and his teacher, Mrs. Lawhon (fun fact: my kindergarten teacher's name was also Mrs. Lawhon)

Dallas Trip Summer 2015

We took our annual trip to the Four Seasons in Dallas this July, and decided to bring the kids along for a fun family vacation (it ended up being somewhat stressful and very sleepless, but we won't remember that--the kids thought it was the best time ever, so I'm going with that version). We drove over and went straight to Legoland. I was really excited about this, but it ended up being a waste of money. It was way too crowded, so we spent nearly the entire time waiting in a lines. When we finished both big boys got to buy some new legos.

 We waited at least 30 minutes to drive this car for 5 minutes. He loved it though.

 Ninjago Perry

 The mean and scary Ninjago Mills

We also went to the Ross Perot Museum, which was also very crowded, but it was such an amazing place that it was worth the trouble. Even the entrance to the building was filled with fun. 

 Perry and a toad

 There were lots of dinosaurs!

Earthquake simulator was so cool...it was especially entertaining to watch Alex's long legs rattle back and forth.

There was a small-child area where James got to crawl around and explore. He had a ball!

 The best part of the trip was just hanging around the hotel pool (or restaurant). The staff took such good care of us, and I was actually able to relax! Yay!

Cheetah came to visit 

 James relaxing 

Farewell Four Seasons...until next year

James 11 and 12 months

I've been feeling very nostalgic lately. This past year has flown by and I just can't believe my tiny newborn baby is now one year old. As I've said in every "James update", he is the most enjoyable and precious little blessing. I've cherished every day with him and although I'm sad to see the time passing, I'm excited about what's to come. James has mastered crawling and his preferred mode is the the one-knee-crawl. As of the past week, he's pulling up on his knees...those little legs just aren't ready for any action yet. He loves to roll balls and toys around and play with anything his big brothers have. He still likes to play peek-a-boo and has recently learned to hold his hands up high when we ask, "How big is James?" He is really obsessed with dogs...Stitches Broyles is his favorite. James is definitely teething, but still no teeth! Perry didn't get his first tooth until 13 months so this is not unusual to me. James loves to eat and will start smacking his mouth when he sees food or anticipates nursing. Speaking of nursing, this is weird and funny...James loves to mess with my teeth while nursing. I hate it, but he insists on doing it, and often gets his way. I swear he's going to be a dentist when he grows up. He is babbling a lot and will say "dada" and "mama", but I don't think it's intentional yet. He does say "uh oh" appropriately. James loves music, especially live music, so he has a really good time at church! If you look over at us while singing at church, you'll see James' legs kicking and his body bouncing. James Oliver, you light up our lives and we love you so much!
At 13 months, James weighs 20 lbs 1oz and is 29 1/2 inches long.

 sweet brothers 

silly brothers

James turns ONE

We celebrated James' birthday in a very low-key manner, but it turned out to be a lot of fun, especially for the kids. When Alex got home from work, we set up a slip n slide and baby pool in the backyard. Perry and Mills played; James watched (I put him in the pool after we finished cake, but he was not a fan--he was all partied out by then). We had one guest, Mae Mae, who came over for cake and presents. It was the perfect little 1st birthday party. Perry kept telling me "thank you for such a fun day", which was really great to hear. James, you may not remember your first birthday, but know that it was awesome...and you deserve it, sweet boy!

 ready to party!

I didn't know what I was going to do about a cake, but nap time proved to be productive. Vegan Chocolate...and it's really tasty!

 Perry and Mills were pretty excited about baby brother's presents. James says, "HANDS OFF!"

James went to bed, but the party went on.