2012-The Year of the Family!

2011 was a crazy year for the Cannons. Lots of good things happened, but lots of stressful events that left us finishing out the year kind of tired! So, as a family, we decided to call 2012 "The Year of the Family". We're just re-focusing our energy & our attention on things that bring one-ness to our family! More family fun nights & more time together! Less of anything that takes us away from our priorities! Here's to 2012!

Joy in the journey

These pics were taken when we went up to Atlanta for Zach Fishers wedding. Pre kids-Geoff & I would try to make the Brunswick/Atlanta trip in under 5 hours with no stops or 1 at the most. Now...things are slightly different! We stop almost every time we find a playground, and we haven't made it in under 6 hours since Kirkland was born, but we have a lot of fun on the way!

Christmas time is here!!!

Kirkland & Charlie have some serious Christmas spirit! We jokingly call them the Christmas Nazis. They do not rest until every decoration is out, every ornament hung, and all outside lights are finished. They can tell you exactly where each decorative item was last year, and they do not like it if I try to mix things up & put something in a different spot. ("Whoa, the nutcrackers belong over there!")

This is them "helping" us put ornaments on the tree! Notice the drop cloth under Charlie! That's to provide some cushion for all the ornaments that Charlie accidently drops! We've only broken 3 so far this season. And, only 1 during the initial trimming of the tree. (Amazingly, Philip has not been tempted by the tree at all! He just likes to look at it!)

Once fully decorated, Charlie really likes to touch ornaments & he especially likes to move them while Kirkland is at school. Kirkland walks in the door & instantly notices, and he gets SO mad! "Where is my snowman ornament?" I have no idea how he manages to memorize the exact location of every ornament. But, he does. Trust me! Try moving one a branch over & just see what he says!

Another favorite tradition is decorating a gingerbread house. They each get 2 sides to decorate. I guess next year, we'll have to do 2 houses when Philip wants to participate.

Kirkland made a smiley face with glasses on it.

Charlie likes to put as many pieces of candy as he can get on his side!

Family pictures

On Thanksgiving, we tried to get a picture of all of us for my parents Christmas card...but, Kirkland wanted to make pirate faces, and Charlie wanted to cover his face with his hands, so this is the best one we got! Happy Thanksgiving!

Too much growing up around here!

The other day, Kirkland decided he was ready to learn how to ride his bike without training wheels! Geoff ran with him until he thought he had his balance, and Kirkland did pretty good! When he realized Geoff had let go & he was riding by himself, he said "YES!" It was cute! This picture was taken about 3 seconds before he almost ran straight into me! (fortunately, I have quick reflexes!) We haven't quite mastered steering just yet. That will be the next lesson!

October Fun!

Other than getting tubes in Philip's ears, and me having a cyst removed from my wrist & having to wear a splint that couldn't get wet for 2 weeks; there were some fun times in October! Geoff's team made it to the playoffs, we went on a hayride at a pumpkin patch farm, our church got a new pastor (AMEN!), we had 2 spidermen for Halloween, & our baby Philip learned how to walk!! (sniff, sniff...he is growing up too fast!)

At first, Kirkland was going to be Spiderman, & Charlie was going to be Buzz Lightyear. But, when I came home with the costumes, and Charlie saw that the Spiderman costume had built in muscles; he quickly changed his mind & wanted to be spiderman too! When, we got to our friend's house for the Halloween party, there were 3 other little boys who were spiderman as well! I had to look at their shoes to know which children were mine!

Poor thing

Poor Philip has had an ear infection a month since May. It's been crazy, we just can't seem to shake em. Eventually, our pediatrician told us it was time to see an ENT. The ENT told us what we expected: Philip needed tubes put in both ears, and he needed his adenoids removed. (Didn't see the adenoid part coming, but maybe that's because I still couldn't tell you where adenoids are located!)

We had to be at the hospital at 6 o'clock in the morning. Hardest part to me was handing my sweet baby off to a complete stranger & not being able to hold his sweet hand during the surgery. After the surgery, the nurses brought him out, and they were all talking about what a snuggly baby he is & how they all got to cuddle with him. He got sick when we first got home, but the doctor seemed to think it was just his body reacting to the anesthesia. The next morning he was totally back to normal! And, it's been a month & a half since then, and we haven't had a single ear infection since! Praise the Lord!!

Baby Philip is 1!

My parents, who are saints, offered to host Philip's 1st birthday party at their house, and we gladly accepted their offer! Our house still hasn't been cleaned up from Charlie's party last weekend!

It took him a few minutes to get into the whole cake thing, but once he tasted it, he loved it! A boy after my own heart! Kirkland & Charlie thought it was hysterical that he was eating it with his hands! I love the picture of Kirkland pretending he's going to lick Philip's fingers!Philip got a lot of help opening his presents from 2 very eager older brothers! Philip is such a delight. He is very laid back, and is all smiles, all the time! He always gets complimented on his big brown eyes. He has a deep belly laugh that melts my heart every time. He can say "mama", "dada" & every once in a while we swear we hear him say "Kirklan". He isn't walking yet, and that is more than fine with me! I need my baby to stay a baby! What a fun first year it has been!

Charlie turns 3!!

Charlie boy turned 3 on September 2nd! He has known since March that he wanted a Little Einsteins birthday party & that he wanted to have a party at home! (Even after I pleaded to have it at a park, the beach, the playground...basically anywhere that I didn't have to clean up to get ready for!)

We had several friends over for his party & Charlie had a blast! We did it outside & set up a pool at the base of the playground slide, and had a 3 person slip n slide, water balloons & lots of little einstein favors & decorations!

Charlie is such a delight! He has such the sweetest sounding voice! And, he loves to talk. ALL the time! He's big into questions...he wants to know everything! And, he will keep asking questions until his curiosity has been satisfied...usually around 8 o'clock every night. He has one volume & that's loud! And, he has one speed: Fast! Always moving! He is an excellent storyteller with a vivid imagination! But, if Kirkland is anywhere within earshot, he repeats, verbatim, whatever Kirkland has said. Whenever he hears sirens, he asks us to stop & pray for whoever is in the ambulance. He's 100% rough & tough, but with just the right amount of gentleness to melt your heart!

Me, Charlie & Philip all have birthdays in September, and poor Charlie's b'day fell on a Friday this year. At our house, Fridays in the fall mean 1 thing: FOOTBALL! Which means, Geoff leaves before daylight and comes home after dark. So, he didn't get to see Charlie on his birthday until we got to the game & he was able to wave to his birthday boy from the pressbox. On his way to the locker room for halftime, he stopped by our seats to give Charlie a big birthday hug & kiss!

One of the other coaches wives brought cookies to the game for his birthday, and we had a mini party right there in the stands during halftime!

It was a great weekend celebrating our Charlie!

We have a potty training mindset!

Geoff forgot his shorts for last week's football game, so I was telling Charlie that we needed to run by the school & take daddy some shorts.

Charlie responds with, "Oh no, did daddy have an accident in his pants?"

Love it!

Cinnamon Beach Vacation

We had such a good time at Cinnamon Beach at Ocean Hammock last year, that my parents took us all again this year! We had a great week of relaxing & having fun together as a family. We spent the days lounging at the pool & at the beach & we relaxed at night & went out for ice cream & took walks on the beach. The boys are already asking about next year!

The condo has a zero entry pool & a fun water playground for kids. The boys loved this!

We literally spent HOURS every day on the beach. It was just perfect!

One day, I'm going to get a picture of all 3 boys looking at the camera!

Sweet Philip playing in the condo. Grandpa in the background. You can find my dad on that balcony 90% of the time. He probably reads 10 books per vacation!

For our 8th anniversary, Geoff was going to be out of town at a football camp, so we celebrated the week before on vacation. My parents keep the boys & we went to St. Augustine & went on a 4 hour kayaking trip! It was awesome! It was so relaxing & peaceful. We even found some dolphins & one of them jumped out of the water so close to Geoff he could have reached out & touched him!So thankful that my parents aren't scared to take our crazy crew on vacation every year! We love to all be together!

Sweetest.Boys.EVER!

Life doesn't get much sweeter than this!

So proud!

The last 18 months at the Cannon house have been a little hectic. On top of Geoff's normal crazy coaching football & track schedule, he's also been on the pastor search committee at our church (which has brought such a major spiritual attack on our family that I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain) & has been working on his Education Specialist degree at Valdosta State. Oh, and we had our 3rd baby! Geoff works so hard at work, at church, at school, but most importantly, he works hard for our family. No matter what he has going on, he always makes sure we know we are his #1 priority!

Here is us waiting on Graduation to start! (Caitlin, aka "miracle worker" kept babies Philip & Cassie so we could actually see Geoff graduate!) He has put in countless hours for this degree & I am beyond proud of all he does!

He is now a graduate of Auburn University, Troy State University & Valdosta State University! Way to go!

Why you shouldn't take kids to a funeral by yourself!

Philip's sunday school teacher is wonderful! She has 3 boys & she has loved on all 3 of mine while they have been in the bed babies at church. Her mom passed away last week & I thought we needed to go to the funeral.

We walk in and say Hi to Mrs. Faye when I see Kirkland staring at the casket. (I knew what was coming, but I couldn't stop him from talking). He asks, "Why is there a head sticking out of that oox?" I pretend like I don't hear him so that I don't have to answer in front of Mrs. Faye. So, he asks louder, "Why is that woman sleeping in that box". I have to answer at this point, there is no pretending like I didn't hear him. So, I remind him that this is Mrs. Faye's mom & that she died. Kirkland, ever the theologian, says, "I thought you said she was in heaven. What is she doing in that box?" Excellent question that I then had to answer in front of the entire crowd that had now gathered.

A few minutes later, I am talking to someone for like 2 seconds when I hear Kirkland gasp & say, "CHARLIE, NO!". I turn around in time to see Charlie pulling his hand out of the casket.

Clearly it was time to go!!

5 kids under 5! Whoa.

Geoff's sister & brother in law were both in a wedding & needed us to watch their 2 kids while they were out of town. So, we had a 5 year old, a 3 year old, a 2 year old, a 10 month old & 9 month old for 6 days! It was a zoo! Fortunately, God had compassion & sent Caitlin Hollenbeck to help us! Without her, we wouldn't have made it! Literally! I had time to take about 2 pictures the entire time, and this is the best one!

Kirkland's future wife

Me: Who do you think you are going to marry when you get older?

Kirkland: Sara Jane Veal (Her daddy coaches with Geoff & she really is a great choice)

Me: Um, what if you don't marry her?

Kirkland: Then I won't get married.

Well o.k. then. Good talk.

Charlie on the other hand has a different approach with girls. He'll hug on all the girls he can. Kirkland noticed this one day & said, "Why does Charlie hug every girl? Does he want to marry all of them?" I didn't really know what to say. Charlie just likes the ladies!

Soccer Star!

Kirkland played soccer this year & he loved it! When we got in the car after the first time he scored a goal, he asked me, "Did I kick it in the right goal?" So cute! He plays in a league that doesn't keep score until you are on the 6 year old team, but our little perfectionist always kept score in his brain! It was fun to watch him out there. Hope to watch him compete for years to come!

Baby Philip

So my little-est man is 8.5 months old! Until about 2 weeks ago, I had no idea he could sit up on his own. We were playing outside one day & my cousin took Philip inside. When I came inside later he was sitting up all on his own in the middle of the room. She asked me how long he could sit without falling over. I was like, "He can sit?!?!?" I had no idea. I never put him down. Don't need to! He's such an easy baby that I just carry him with me all the time! He doesn't fuss to get down, so I carry him everywhere I go. Now, that he can sit, he's trying to get all sorts of crazy & is attempting to crawl. Whenever I see him starting to make forward progress, I scoop him up! No need to crawl sweet boy, mama still needs you to be a baby! I'll be happy to take you anywhere you want to go!

Oh, & he got his first tooth! He was giving me kisses all over my cheeks & I realized that I felt something. Sure enough, his first tooth is on the bottom left. My baby is growing up way too fast. But, he looks so cute with it!

And, apparantly, he's old enough to eat Cheerios now. I dropped him off in the church nursery last week, but I forgot something so I had to come back by his room. I noticed he's in the highchair table thing with another little boy & the teacher is pouring cheerios out for both of them. I say to her that he is really not ready for cheerios yet, that he's only capable of eating puffs right now, he might choke, etc. She looks at me & says, "Oh, sorry...he's been having cheerios in here for a couple of weeks. He seems to really like them!" Who knew?!?! I guess I really do want him to stay a baby forever.

This is his first bath with the big boys! I don't know who had more fun: him or his brothers! He splashed & laughed & they just loved it! He tries to eat the bubbles when they get on his hands, much to the delight of Kirkland & Charlie. So great to see them all having fun together! My prayer is that they will always love each other as much or more so than they do now! Sweet, sweet boys!

Playing trains one morning...

I love Charlie's expression in this picture. I just had to share!

The Zoo

My mom & I thought it would be fun to take my 3 boys, and my 11 year old cousin to the Jacksonville zoo one day during spring break. We pull up to the zoo after an hour car ride, and I reach in Philip's diaper bag to get his bottle so I can feed him before we go in, and I realize that there were no bottles or any formula anywhere to be found in the car.


So, I drop off my mom & the 3 older boys, and I go searching for a Walmart or a Target in an unfamiliar town. After missing the exit, and getting turned around, I eventually find a Publix. Well, they didn't carry our formula or our bottles...but at this point, it's about an hour after he should have eaten already, so I just grab some random bottles & formula and am praying that it all works out. I run to the bathroom in Publix to sterilize the new bottles (yeah, when I say 'sterilize', I actually mean I just got to run them under some lukewarm water & pray that we don't catch some random disease that comes from unclean bottles!) Ugh, I cringe at what I had to do. But, wouldn't you know, that sweet baby didn't even notice! He drank that new formula, with the cold water from my cooler, in the random new bottle & didn't even bat an eye! I'm telling you, God is good & gave me a great, laid back baby! Hallelujah!

We eventually got back to the zoo around lunchtime & had a great day! Well, other than the 2nd bottle I gave him had a torn nipple, so I had to go back to the car & get the dirty one that he drank out of at Publix. Yeah, I just rinsed it off in the parking lot with a bottle of water & again prayed we didn't catch something! (yes, please run out & get my "mother of the year" award! I am clearly a candidate!)


Anyways...here are the pictures! (I would have taken more, but keeping up with 4 boys is actually a lot like work! We did have such a great time! We even stayed until it closed!


The dinosaur exhibit was fun. We walked by some that even spit water. I love how Charlie is holding the map..he was our junior navigator of the day. Their favorite part of the day was feeding the giraffes & riding the carousel. I, however, have no pictures of this, but we made some great memories together!