We've pickled everything within 30 miles!

If it ain't pickled...we just stick it in brine!

We've been enjoying pickles made from Chad's parents' cucumbers. I'd never made pickles before, but I was pretty pleased with the way this batch turned out. These are bread & butter and they're about the only way I'll eat onions. We shared the love at life group last night and knocked out a jar. Only 7 more to go!

Avery met up with Baylor and Caroline at the Chick-fil-A playground Friday. We had planned to go to the pool, but the bottom fell out of the sky. The girls didn't seem to mind at all, though.

And in a brave move with my husband Saturday night, we took the munchkins to--drumroll, please--Chuck E. Cheese! Avery had no idea what was coming. On the ride there, we looked back at her and she was completely asleep! We were sacrificing a date night to take the poor child to the moneypit and she had the gall to konk out on us! We gently woke her up and she reluctantly went inside. SYSTEM OVERLOAD!!!! She wasn't expecting all the colors, all the people, all the blinking lights, and of course, a giant mouse.

She looks content here, but about 30 seconds later she had a royal meltdown and panic attack because she didn't think she could get out of there. I had to crawl up in there after her. (That place is disgusting!)


She loves carousels and anything that resembles a zebra. Horses will have to do.

Avery enjoyed the Bob the Builder ride the most. The majority of our money was fed into this machine. Oh, and yes, Stuart was there, but he slept through most of the evening.

Flashing lights -- long night

I woke up at 1:40 this morning to what I thought was a garbage truck outside. When I opened my eyes, I noticed a red glow coming from the window. After checking out the window, I woke Chad up and told him he should run across the street and check on our neighbors because there were two fire trucks at their house.

Smoke was billowing out of their porch. Over the course of the next hour, three more fire trucks and a fire chief vehicle showed up. The fire fighters seemed baffled because they couldn't find the source of the fire. Smoke was coming from in between the concrete slab porch and concrete steps. They finally pulled the steps away from the porch with pry bars and sledge hammers. When air got under there, what was simply smoking finally starting flaming. It was bales of hay that the builder had stuffed under the concrete steps that had combusted. Bizarre!

Several of our neighbors had gathered in the street to make sure everyone was okay. We returned to bed smelling like smoke, but easily went back to sleep. What a night!

Oh Yes, it's Ladies Night!

Tuesday night at Melting Pot was Ladies' Night. Christy Mc found out about it and didn't want us to miss out. We finally got an 8:45 reservation and when we arrived, we found out why. That place was PACKED -- with women. They had a great deal on a TON of food. After an evening of too many calories and great conversation, we called it a night.

AFTER -We probably should have taken before photos so you could see how skinny we were before consuming so much!

Christy, Kim and Amy

Sheryl and me

I thought a button-down and khakis would be cute on our little man. So right!

She looks kind of angry, but Avery was very happily chewing a vitamin this morning.

Biggie Smalls

My little man isn't so little. I changed my status this morning to say something like "Laura is ready to see how much Baby Goliath weighs." A few moments later, a friend wrote on my wall to say "I'm just hoping Goliath is not really the poor child's name!" Bless. I don't know that anyone in history has named their child Goliath since the Biblical standoff with the boy David. Stigma, right?

Stuart is thriving. At his checkup this morning, he weighed in at 17 lbs, 2.2 oz. I thought for sure he'd be 18 lbs. But he's in the 97th percentile. Same for length. 26 3/4 inches. And his head is 43 cm. That's 75th.

Stuart started the appointment off in a great mood, but time wore on and he got sleepy and cranky. The 4 immunization shots at the end of the appointment pushed him over the edge, but he easily fell asleep on the way home. The huge neon bandaids on his thunder thighs just make him look pitiful. Poor guy.

Okay, off to the sewing machine. This is Avery's next-to-last day of Mother's Day Out before Labor Day, so I MUST finish her flower girl dress for Tiffany's wedding. She asks me every few hours if it's ready for her to wear yet. Do you think she might be excited?

Learning to Share

Avery is getting better about sharing her toys with other kids. She hasn't yet understood that Stuart doesn't really play with toys yet, so she doesn't have to share with him yet -- although she does. Doesn't he look fetching in the gold tiara? Right now he has a houndstooth headband on and she's getting ready to brush his hair with her Dora hairbrush. Go figure.

Avery has a renewed interest in her puzzles. It probably helps that I tossed out several of the toys in her downstairs toy cabinet (so she actually knows what toys she has!)

Stay tuned for a post later on Stuart's growth. He has his 4-month checkup today!

Five years ago Saturday, I married my best friend! I can hardly believe how quickly time has passed. (We look so much younger in our pictures!) We've been blessed with two beautiful children and are looking forward to many more years together.

Chad got me some beautiful diamond earrings (and I was VERY surprised!) I always try to go the traditional route. The traditional fifth anniversary gift is wood, so I got Chad a Japanese maple tree for our yard. We've always wanted one, so I suppose this is the perfect occasion.

We went to dinner Saturday night without the children (hooray for adult conversation!!!), but we're planning a weekend getaway -- just the two of us -- as soon as possible. We need it.

While our wedding day was incredibly special to me, we've made so many more amazing memories since then, so I'm dying to see what else is in store for us.

My little man

This post is dedicated to my sweet Stuart. I take lots of pictures of Avery because she asks me to, so I'm making a conscious effort to capture more of Stuart's best moments for the ol' blog.
It's so rare that I get pictures of myself with my kiddos since I'm always the one behind the camera! (Check out my impressive biceps! That's the only good thing about the 400 lb carseat.)

Stuart is turning into a little ham. He loves to laugh and grin and his smile makes my heart melt.

He loves his activity mat. I catch him craning his neck to "make eyes" at me. It's adorable!

Avery also loves her brother's activity mat and makes it a point to hang out under it with him. She is so gentle with him and says the sweetest things. Oh to have a video camera ready for moments like that...

No post is complete without catching Avery in action. We replaced the markers this week. We previously had Rose Art ones and they were pitiful. Wal-mart had Crayola ones on sale this past weekend. Hooray!

Quick update

I'm way overdue for an update from the Troup household. And my mom has threatened me within an inch of my life if I don't get new photos on the blog!

Avery, Stuart and I went to Murfreesboro a few days ago to Lola's house so the kids could play and the mommies could get some work done. Here are Avery and Lola's son Rowan playing with Play-Doh (which we eventually caught them eating.)

Chad has also been introducing Avery to the game of golf. She really loves it, but we're going to have to get her a set of lefty clubs.

We've also spent quite a bit of time at the YMCA pool. Avery is fearless out there and can't get enough. We're pretty eager to get her in swimming lessons so she can learn strokes and get really comfortable under the water.

I've been working on making Tiffany's bridal veil, so Avery is very interested in wedding stuff. I pulled my veil out of the closet for her to try on. She acts like a little princess. Avery is going to be the flower girl in Tiffany's wedding next month, so we're getting her hyped up so she'll actually perform her flower-throwing duties when the time comes.

We celebrated the 4th in Huntsville at Chad's parents' house. We let Avery stay up late for the fireworks that we could see from Joe Davis Stadium. We introduced her to sparklers, too!

Avery's adores her buddy Fenley. Here are the girls playing under the kitchen table after life group on Sunday.

Stuart is growing exponentially. Don't you love his man boobs?

He is such a sweet kiddo and just rolls with the punches. We're very blessed to have such a laid back child.

Mommy, what's that?

She's a funny kid -- so curious and interested in everything she sees. Her favorite thing to do lately is point out something she's spied and ask me what it is. "Mommy, what's that?"

I've done my share of explaining -- scabs, food, freckles, and my favorite: clumpy accumulation of deodorant in my armpit. That's her favorite, and probably mine, so far.

It's also incredibly entertaining to teach her new words (long ones are the best) and see what her interpretation of the pronunciation is. In honor of our nation's birthday, we introduced Avery to the Statue of Liberty and the American flag. To her, it's the stash o fliffery and the merka fack.

Happy Fortief Jo Y!

Heinous oversight

I'm embarassed that I didn't even mention yesterday that my baby brother turned 21. I had already talked to him on the phone multiple times to wish him Happy Birthday and remind him to behave, but I should have paid him tribute here on the ol' blog.

It blows my mind that he's 21. That makes me feel really old. He's a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill (and he's a HUGE Tarheels fan) and he's so independent. I'm very proud of the man he has grown up to be -- so responsible and confident, but kind and compassionate, too.

I'm so lucky to have such a great little brother. We miss you. Happy Birthday Uncle Ben!