Happy Birthday, Jack!!

Today, July 17th, the Jacker turns two! Jack is a very sweet, loving, sometimes shy, very clingy, train lovin', cookie eatin', lawn mower pushin', mechanically minded, affectionate, strong-willed two year old!! (As I am typing this, he is sitting in my lap watching with his blankey a.k.a. pah-pah). He is a sheer joy, and I can't express how much we love him! We like to think of him as our lucky little star. He was born on 7-17-07 at 11:11 and weighed 7lbs. 14 oz. With all those 7's and 11's, he was bound to be lucky, right? We are so blessed to have him in our lives! I thank the good Lord for him everyday!

Looking back.....

Just minutes after being born


At four months with his beloved pah-pah

At seven months

At a year old, getting ready for his cowboy themed first birthday party!


Happy Birthday, Jack!!

Gone Fishin'

Today, Paw Paw took Georgie on her first fishing trip. They went to the Middle Pond on the Tallapoosa River. Georgia has been wanting to go for a long time, and was so excited she finally got to go. She caught her first fish, a small crappie. In all, they caught four. As Georgie put it, "we didn't have enough to eat for lunch, so we let them all go back in the water."

Little Man

Baby Food

At Daniel's four month check-up, Dr. Wood suggested we start giving Daniel baby food. Well, tonight he had his first taste of real food. To say he liked it is an understatement! Dr. Wood suggested to start with yellows first, so it was butternut squash. He liked it so much, he ate the entire jar! He'd open his little mouth for more as soon as I got a spoonful in. Georgia thought this was especially funny. After completing one jar, we let him try applesauce, which he also finished off the entire jar. Then for fun, we let him try turkey. That didn't go over so good. He gagged, and made several funny faces. That meat baby food is pretty nasty. Jack never would eat it, but Georgia lived off it the first year of her life. First taste...

I think I might like this....

Yep, I did like it...so much I ate TWO jars!

I liked it so much, I cried because I wanted more....

Daniel at Four Months

Daniel was four months old on the fourth of July. I know I've said it before, but he is truly the sweetest baby. He is such a good natured, laid back little guy. He rarely cries, sleeps through the night, eats well and is full of smiles these days. He loves watching his brother and sister play, especially Georgia (he finds her "extra" entertaining). He can roll over both ways now. He doesn't much like laying on his back or tummy, he prefers sitting upright. He hates getting in his car seat. He has perfected what I like to call the "bend back." As soon as you put him in the car seat, he uses his feet to push upward and do a bend back, making it extremely hard to buckle him in. He still loves his swing and watching television. He has started sitting in his exersaucer some, but can't hold up for very long. He likes looking at the bright colors and tries to move some of the toys.

We went for his four month check-up with Dr. Wood on Monday. He weighed 14 lbs. 13 oz. (50%) and was 25 1/2" (75%). He had an ear infection a few weeks ago, that was totally cleared up (thank goodness!). He received four shots, two on each leg. My little tough guy didn't even cry. He whimpered a little during one, but that was it. The nurse couldn't believe he didn't cry. She said two of them burned when injected. Maybe it's all the extra meat on his legs...he has a little extra "padding." She suggested we start giving him yellow vegetables. She is hopeful it might help some with his spitting up. We'll see.....be on the lookout for first baby food pictures!

My friend, Andrea, has a little boy, Luke, who is a month older than Daniel. We have laughed because of their "little old man hairdos." Both have red hair, hardly any on top, and a thick strip in the back. Andrea had this picture of Luke on her blog, and when I saw it busted out laughing because it looked so much like Daniel. We thought it would be funny to do a side by side comparison of the two.

Happy Birthday, Tori!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful sister and aunt!

Happy Birthday, Toe Toe!

Blood Drive to Honor Grandma Stalnaker

LifeSouth Blood Center is hosting a blood drive in honor of Michael's grandmother, Bernice Stalnaker, this Saturday, July 11th. Grandma Stalnaker is a breast cancer survivor and was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. She is a blood recipient and knows just how important giving blood is. If you are in the Tallassee area, I encourage you to come and give. Right now, LifeSouth indicates that all blood types are needed and they are in emergency need of negative blood types (A-, B-, AB- and especially O-). It is important to know that all of LifeSouth's blood is kept local. Also, everyone who donates that day will be entered to win a $500 travel voucher.

LifeSouth Blood Drive

in honor of Bernice Stalnaker

Saturday, July 11

First Assembly of God Fellowship Hall

Friendship Road

10:00 to 4:00

On a lighter note, the children's cousins, Natalie and Isabella, went to Build-A-Bear and made this little lamb for Grandma Stalnaker. They gave the lamb glasses because Grandma wears glasses. Every time we go visit, Georgia and Jack have to put them on. This last time, they put them on Daniel too. I thought they looked cute in them. I know they will probably all end up really wearing glasses with two "blind" parents.

Fourth of July

Tori and Bryan invited Georgia Anne and Jack to come for a visit during the Fourth of July weekend. They were there from Thursday through Saturday. The kids had a blast!! This was Jack's first time away from home and he did great. Tori and Bryan took the kids to the pool, rented movies, grilled hot dogs, and went to visit Mamaw. It was a little quiet around the Butler house for a few days. Little Daniel is now a little more spoiled...he didn't know what to do about all the attention he received while they were away. Thanks, Tori and Bryan for a great time!!

Our family friend, Marie, invited us to her beautiful home on Lake Martin Friday. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon and had a wonderful meal with her, Mama, Daddy and Granny.

Then on the fourth, we ventured to the Fireworks at the Russell Lands Amphitheatre at Lake Martin. This was the first time we watched the fireworks from the amphitheatre and boy was is great! They shot the fireworks off right in front of us, and several of the larger ones fell to the ground beside us. Jack was a little scared at first, but then decided he liked them. Even little Daniel enjoyed them. He was awake and watched all thirty minutes of them. Leaving was not so fun. Our normal 25-30 minute ride took over an 1 1/2 hours. It was well worth it though.

Back Yard Bible Study II

We had our second Back Yard Bible Study Tuesday morning. We continued our theme "Let's Go Fishing for Jesus" with the Bible story "A Fisherman's Net" from Matthew 13: 47-49. The kids had such a good time! Once again, I would like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to attend our next Bible Study on Tuesday, July 14th. You can e-mail me for more information, or leave a comment and I'll get back with you.

This weeks Bible verse:

Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

This week we were so excited that Mr. Bush got to come and tie balloons for the children. Kids LOVE Mr. Bush (anyone who is from Tallassee remembers Mr. Bush from when they were little!!). Of course, Carl Wayne came too and even modeled one of the balloon hats for us!


The children were encouraged to memorize the Bible verse from our last study. If they could do it, they got a surprise!

Caleb resighting Psalm 28:7 to Robin

Robin reading the Bible story


Taylor, Georgia Anne and Caleb painting their hands for their craft

Angie and Daniel

Daniel and Bry


Front Row: Daniel, Bry, Brody, Taylor, Jack
Back Row: Caleb, Georgia Anne, Brady, Emma Kate