Happy Birthday Thomas!

All Thomas wanted for his birthday was a yellow truck. Mrs. Linda Cumbee made this adorable cake. She does such a good job. Not only do they look good but they taste really good too. I wish I would have taken picture of all the boys when they finished eating the cake. They all wanted a peice of the black tires so their mouths and faces were black when they were done. Maybe Rebecca got a picture of that.
Thomas didn't really like being the center of attention at first. He got upset when we sang Happy Birthday.But it didn't take him long to come around.
I think he really liked his new truck. I was amazed at how good he did controlling it and steering it.
Sarah is definitely the dare devil in the family. She loved riding next to her big brother. I can't believe Thomas is already 2. It seems like just yesterday we spent all night and most of the next morning waiting for him to arrive. What a fast 2 years. We love you very much Thomas.

Blues and Hash Bash

This weekend we went up to Abbeville for a barbecue cookoff. We had a great time and it's always good to see the family. We even got to see family that we don't get to see very often and Mom and Dad got to see some of their friends from their childhood. Dad and Mom cooked barbecue chicken, shrimp nasty (a Van Stickles specialty), boston butts, ribs, and hash. Not to mention all the fixins. Needless to say it was a busy weekend for them. There were no trophies for Flavor Masters but it was fun anyway. Congrats to John, Richard, and William (Cameron Cookers). They finished 2nd place at Kershaw and won a really cool trophy and some $ of course. The big cookoff is next weekend in Lexington. Good luck to Flavor Masters and Cameron Cookers. Here we are waiting to see who won the competition.
The boys had a great time playing all weekend. They climbed their 1st tree at Grandmama's house. They are really turning into little boys. Thanks Pop and Grandmama for having us.

My Chunky Monkey

Natalie is now 4 months old. She goes to the doctor next week but I'm guessing she is way close to the 100% in weight. She is so cute though and I love it. She is really starting to react to us now and she laughs easily. She really likes it when you scare her just a little bit. She is also ticklish right under her neck - if you can get past the fat rolls. She is figuring out how her hands work and can grab some of her toys now. She loves to sit in her bouncy seat and grab her keys and make them rattle. She also makes strawberry noises with her mouth. Isn't that what you call them? Anyway it's really cute. She is also figuring out that she can be pretty loud. I wish I had taken a picture of the back of her head because she has a really distinct bald spot. It looks like someone took scissors and cut right across the back of her hair. I'll have to post that pic later.
Check out the fat rolls.
She can hold her head up pretty good when she is on her tummy but she really doesn't like it. She can only last about a minute of tummy time and then she has had enough.

I started giving her rice cereal last week. She does pretty good with the spoon but I need two extra hands to keep her hands out of her mouth. She seems to like it though.

She is always chewing on her hand or mine and drooling a lot so I think she may get a tooth sometime soon. Of course, I thought that with the boys too and they didn't get their 1st tooth until they were 6 months old.

Free Puppies!! Don't you want one?

Well, Lucy (our basset hound) has done it again. She has managed to get pregnant for the third time. This time the puppies are bassett hound/squirrel dog mix. The dog is Brett's and I can't remember the exact breed name. We have 7 puppies - 5 girls and 2 boys. They are REALLY CUTE! Please take one or ask around and see if you know of anyone who may want a friendly companion. We really wanted to breed Lucy with another bassett hound but every time we turn around she is already pregnant. I guess it's time we go visit the vet and have her fixed. Natalie doesn't really know what to think of them. They like to try and chew on her toes and fingers but she doesn't seem to mind at all.

This is the runt of the litter. He is my favorite. The boys love them or should I say Cale loves them. Ryan is not sure what to think. He likes to watch them from a distance. Cale loves to carry them around and take them for rides in his jeep. Poor puppies. They should be very used to children I know that.
I forgot to mention they are 4 weeks old now and will be ready to go to new home very soon.
DON'T YOU WANT ONE?

The Fair's In Town

Nina, Daddy Daddy, and I took Ryan, Cale, and Natalie to the Oburg Fair. The boys were so excited they could hardly stand it. They liked petting all of the animals in the petting zoo, eating good food, riding the tractors, and of course riding the rides. They were so excited to be able to ride most of the kiddie rides all by themselves, but that means lots more money for us. I'm glad the fair only comes around once a year.

Natalie enjoyed herself too. She loves to be moving so she was very happy in the stroller and took lots of little naps. I did let her meet a few animals. Next year will be a different story. Thanks Mom and Dad for going with us. We couldn't have made it without you. The state fair is next!!!

Welcome home baby girl!! This was Natalie's dress she came home from the hospital in. It was handmade by a friend of Mrs. Cindy's. It was absolutely beautiful and meant so much to me that she would take the time to make this for Natalie. The bonnet was worn by Bart when he was a baby and I used it as a handkerchief (sp?) when I got married. Now Natalie can use it when she gets married and keep passing it on.

This was Natalie's 1st bath. The nurse took my camera with her and took pictures. As you can see she did not like it very much.

Here are a few pics of our family when Natalie was born. She was born at 7:08pm, June 12. She weighed 7lbs. 7oz. and was 19 inches long. My doctor said they would induce me a week early if I would like. At that point I was so ready to have her that sounded like an excellent idea to me. Plus, I knew it would be easier to already have a babysitter set up for the boys. My parents came to Rock Hill the night before and stayed with them at the house that morning. I was already having contractions when I came in but they weren't painful. They broke my water and started the pitocin around 9:00 and it didn't take long after that for things to get moving and get pretty painful. I got my epidural pretty quickly and felt much better after that. Things were moving pretty slowly until about 6:00. They made me lay on my side because they said her head was turned sideways. As soon as I laid on my side I started feeling every contraction and they were coming fast. I told the nurse and she switched me to the other side but that didn't help. I'm pretty sure the epidural had stopped working at that point. It was a very long hour or so but at 7:00 the doc came in and I was complete and ready to push which I was dreading because it was so painful already. Within about 2 contractions she was out and screaming. I think it was 8 minutes of pushing and was not as bad as I thought it was going to be or at least I don't remember it being that bad. It is so amazing that after they are born you forget all the bad stuff. She was perfectly healthy. My family was standing outside the door in the hall and they could hear her crying. They said the boys were so excited they could hardly stand it. They didn't know what to think when they first saw her. I think they were amazed that she had come out of Mommy's tummy.

Here we go!

Well, I finally upgraded to high speed internet so I thought I would try this blogging thing. I thought it would be a great way for friends and family to keep up with what's going on in our family. Plus, it makes it a lot easier for me to keep up too. I wish I would have started this when the boys were born but better late than never I guess. I guess I will start with a little catch up. So here goes!

Bart and I were married Dec. 29, 2001. June 16, 2004 our wonderful twin boys were born - Ryan Jefferson and Cale Scott. Our lives certainly have not been the same since that day. It has been so much fun having twin boys and watching them grow, play, and learn together. I can't believe 3 years have gone by already. We lived in Rock Hill for about a year and a half. While living there we found out we were pregnant again. This time it was only one (Thank you God!) and it was a GIRL. I never new there could be a girl Quattlebaum but on June 12, 2007 she arrived! Her name is Natalie Rae and she is so much fun to have around. She is just starting to laugh and really interact with you. The boys love to entertain her and watch her learn new things. They certainly know what to do when she cries. They say "FEED HER MOMMA." She does love to eat! She has the chubbiest cheeks I have ever seen, but they are so cute. The last time I took her to the doctor (at 2 months) she weighed 13 lbs. which was the 90%. I almost forgot to mention that when Natalie was 1 week old we moved back home. Bart took a job with Holcim in Holly Hill. We lived in a HOTEL for 60 days while looking for a house to buy. We decided to buy some land instead and build eventually. So right now we are living in the wonderful town of Cameron. We like it here but can't wait to build our very own house. It is certainly nice being close to our families, especially with 3 young children. I am so glad to be back home.

I am still trying to figure out this blog thing but hopefully I will be able to keep up with it and maybe even go back to when the boys were born and catch up (if I can find the TIME!)

Hope you enjoy!!!