Hi ladies! I just got an email from a siesta asking if we are okay since it had been so long since the last post. I’m so sorry! Yes, we are okay! I took a weekend road trip to my parents’ house in Houston with one of my best friends and her little girl. Needless to say, my mom is recuperating from that and so are we! We had an incredible time together at the Great Toddler Invasion of 2008. I spent three hours yesterday sorting through the pictures and preparing to make a full report. There were over 200 pictures! Janelle took most of them because my camera battery kicked the bucket upon arrival.
In case anyone is new and hasn’t heard me talk about Janelle and Ella, you should know that Janelle and I went through our entire pregnancies together and then ended up having our babies two days apart. We were right down the hall from each other in the hospital. We, along with our sweet friend Sunni and her daughter Ava, have had the craziest, most wonderful two years with our babies. They are a huge blessing in my life.
The babies, recently renamed “The Tods” by my sister, played so hard the whole weekend. I noticed that Jackson was particularly well-behaved and I think it’s because he never had one moment of boredom. He was thrilled to have a friend at his Bibby’s house. By the way, he learned to say “my” and “mine” this weekend. I can’t imagine why!
It’s been a while since I shared any pictures of Jackson and I’m going to more than make up for that here. Here you go! Hurricane Tod!
Hit the road, Jack.
We had to make a stop on the way to Houston. Can you guess where?
Amen.
When Jackson had had enough of the car ride, he took off his shoes and socks and picked fuzz out from between his toes.
At The Houston Zoo
Janelle and her Tod.
Me and my Tod.
The Goat Whisperer.
Ella enjoyed brushing the goats’ hair.
That is one intriguing animal.
The Tods looking under the fence to get the best view.
Our favorite picture of The Tods.
Amanda, Jackson, and Bibby looking at something.
Mom and Tod looking at another Mom and Tod. 
Big mom, big tod.
The Tods racing up the jungle gym stairs at the zoo.
Jackson was much happier going down the slide than brushing the goats.
Jackson jumping on the bridge, catching air under his feet. Mommy holding her breath.
In the car
Guess who wanted to ride in the back every time we got in the car?
Guess who’s faking it in this picture?
Guess who’s not faking it here? 
Ella’s hat hair.
A cookie liquefied in Ella’s mouth.
At the house
One Tod’s favorite thing is to put water on his hair and the other Tod’s most hated thing is to have water on her hair. This was an interesting time.
We like to do draw-rings.
Mexican food. What else?
The Tods dancing.
The Tods in a moment of sharing.
Ella and Bibby doing their floor exercises.
Ella imitating Bibby’s stretching moves.
The Tods trying to spy The Dogs in the backyard.
Ella being adorable.
Me and both Tods. I was the luckiest person in the room.
At the mall
Janelle and Ella at the Memorial City Mall playland. 
Jackson relaxin’.
Ella at the playland.
Ella climbing some cute stairs.
The Tods on a carousel.
Playdate
The Tods at their friend Keegan’s house.
The Tods in a tent.
The Tods thank Bibby and Pappaw for a great weekend!
Tags: Jackson
Toe fuzz picking and oozing liquified cookie pretty much sums up toddlerhood.
The photos are awesome!!
Thank you, Amanda. It was so much fun looking at the pics. Great job!
Love & blessings,
Pam
So sweet! Thanks for sharing! My favorite is in the Mexican restaurant with Jackson leaned over on his “Bibby”. Ahhh, true love!
Hannah
Boy O Boy Amanda- your posts are WORTH THE WAIT.
Thanks for catching us up.
And by the way- I wouldn’t have any time to post either…were I to have been doing all that you guys were doing.
Oh, how PRECIOUS the picture of Jackson picking his toes is to me!!
My daughter (now 16) used to do that when she was his age, every chance she got. She could not wait to dig out the “toe jam”, and see what color it was that time. You know how little girls are always wearing different colored socks to coordinate with the outfit and they grow so fast the socks are always new, and then they leave all those little fuzzies! She would always be soooo excited! It would keep her occupied for the longest time. She would check between every little toe, pulling them apart so carefully, and examining them completely, to get every tiny particle. It was so funny. I love that Jackson does it too! This just brought back such precious memories.
THANK YOU!!! He is adorable. All of “The Tods” are.
I love the name “Bibby”. I hope when I get to be a g-ma, I can have such a cool name!
I want to come and play at Bibby’s house too especially if she has the tods… I love them at that age… priceless… And I know Beth you are just eating all that good fun up… Life doesn’t get better than that of the love of little ones…
Hugs
Lichelle
What a fun time that! How amazing that God gave you such a great friend to go through “Mommy Bootcamp” with! I praise Him almost daily for my other toddler mommy friends. And kudos for taking a road trip with two tods!
And this might sound sort of stalker-ish, but I swear I know you’re friend Janelle from high school church camp – called IMPACT camp. Very funny!
You all are just too precious for words……Thanks for sharing the pics with us Amanda!!!! Looks like you all had a fantastic weekend 🙂
Have a wonderful week everybody!!!
Amanda, thanks for sharing those great pictures! I totally understand now why we haven’t heard from any one in a few days!! Two “Tods” will take it out of you faster than anything else. Add the Zoo and the Mall and its a wonder that we’re even hearing from you now!!
It looks like you had a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing!! Both of the “Tods” are too cute!!
And the sleeping pictures…too funny!! I was rolling with that one!!
Hope everyone has a great day!!
Love ya’ll!!
Nikki
You guys are so cute, I can hardly stand it. It’s so neat to see other girls and their girlfriends and “tods” in other states/countries that look exactly like your own friends/kids. My girlfriends and our children love to do all of the same things. Praise God for the awesome JOY that children bring! Even in the simple things….like a look or expression. I’m praying for you and your friends. Isn’t it wonderful how God gives us the exact girlfrieds we need at exactly the right time in our life!!?
Sweet Pictures and that was a fun post! It’s so fun to read other people’s blogs and see the pictures of the babies! Why is it that rainy days especially scream for good coffee?!! Glad ya’ll had a fun roadtrip!
thank you for your humbleness in mentioning the “typo’s” i thought i might be losing my mind…seriously…so now the first tods are babies or am i truly losing it? ( that means i thought it was Melissa’s education that added the “”‘s) hmmmm.maybe i have lost my mind afterall!!!!
Okay…..Nothing makes me grin more than seeing children in their pure, unadultrated play and laughter. Thanks for sharing their fun…..and yours too!
Thank you so much, Amanda, for sharing your life and your pictures!I know your parents were blessed, blessed, blessed to have ya’ll with them for awhile!
The picture of moms and tods on the carousel —- beautiful of all 4 of you! What a treasure!
I LOVE highly extensive picture posts!!!! My sincere apologies to the siestas on dialup.
Jackson looks so gleeful when he dances!!!
Dear Amanda,
Don’t worry about those typos just makes you one of us! Love the pics of the Tods! And the mommies are pretty cute too. My grandson Tod has a girlfriend Tod and they and their mommies attended a couple of weddings last summer, it took us a long time to convince them they were not married to each other! ( they thought the weddings were theirs) Who knows maybe some day! Love the pics of Bibby in action too! Shalom
Amanda- It is wonderful that you and your friends can enjoy these “terrible twos” together. I have a 7 and 8 year old now, but I remember those days and dearly loved them! Keep cherishing each moment with those pictures-the time flies so quickly- and remember them as the blessings that they are:)
Aw, too sweet pics…enjoy the time with them, they grow up oh so fast. My best friend and I were also pregnant at the same time after both struggling with infertility for many years. It was a true blessing. She delivered three days after I delivered my twins! Glad Bibby survived!!
Precious! Absolutely precious! Sunshine
What a fun weekend!
Love the cookie photo! Reminds me of my little ones a few times. 🙂
So much fun to clean that out of the car seat! 🙂
blessings
stephanie
I love the pictures! They are so cute, I really miss those days, mine kids are growing up, my youngest is 10. It looks like you had a Great Time, Thanks for sharing.
Cindy
Hey there! Thanks for sharing! It made me think of our friends…Sue and Isaac…Sue and I were in Newly-Marrieds Sunday School togeth and then we were pregnant at the dame time, too! I was 2 weeks early, she was two weeks late, we actually flipped due dates! We had so much fun together…till they moved to Maine! On my girlie’s 5th birthday, we made her not do “the salon” so Isaac could come, too. We miss them SOOO much! Enjoy!
Heather in CA
Ok Grandma Beth and Miss Amanda…due to the picture post and the fact that you indeed know how to throw a weekend party for toddlers…You are officially invited to come and put on your best hurricane entertaining session (you know in ALL your free time.)
We have 15 kiddo’s at the home ages 2-11 and 4 of them are “tods” so needless to say we’re in hurricane season most often.
Recently had to call the poison control center to see if tie dye was toxic for one of our little guys and walked in seconds later after hanging up the phone to see 3of our little diva tod’s playing with a mixture of poo poo and conditioner in the shower.
It’s ALWAYS interesting if nothing less…
and precious beyond words. Thanks for the pictures.
I’ll start teaching them to say “bibby” before you all arrive. I’m sure with a Spanish accent it’ll be absolutely adorable. :):)
Blessings!!
It is so good to hear from you Miss Amanda. It has been quite a while..LOVE the pictures..Love ya’ll
Tina B.
Amanda,
I couldn’t help but get excited with you and the “Tods”. I grew up in Houston and as a child guess where my mommy took me… to the Houston Zoo!! As I looked at the photos I wanted to be there with the little ones petting the “chivas”- goats in spanish. Today I live in the cold state of NE- that hasn’t seen all grass nor temps over 38 since Dec. 1, so no zoo for us. Glad you enjoyed the warm weather down there can’t wait to take my kiddos there soon too while visiting familia (family)!
Thanks for sharing,
Tabby
Who’s sleeping?! And, a cookie liquified?! Laughing out loud.
Love it…
Lindsee
Wow.. I’m tired just looking at the pics!! Thanks for sharing.. I was wondering about ya’ll and missing you, too!!!
Linda
So cute! Everyone should have a Tod to play with all weekend!
I think the best way to have a Tod is with another Tod to keep them occupied! (spoken from a mom of a toddler and a five year old!)!
Great pictures! And can I just say that I LOVE it when there are pictures! Makes me feel like I was there!
Thanks for sharing…and glad to know you are all still doing well after the amazing post on Friday!
Jackson’s little bare feet. I know that boy has some Arkansas running through his veins. Too cute! I can say these things cause I was born and raised in Arkansas and my office partners just shake their heads as I run around here with no shoes on.
Thanks for giving us a peek at your fun trip.
In Christ
Claudia
Oh how fun! I needed this, it’s been a wild year already!
I was wondering where everyone had went too. I logged on at noon today and must have just missed this post.
Thanks for sharing with us!
They are way tooo cute…..I can’t tell who is having the most fun the Tods or the adults……Thanks for the update!!!
Amanda, I know you hear a thousand times how fleeting and precious these times are….I’m here to tell you it’s true (and I didn’t believe it either when I was your age.) I just spent the most fabulous weekend ever with my college freshman daughter, who five minutes ago was herself a tod. We attended the wedding of the sweetest next-door-neighbor in the world, whom I’ve known since she was in kindergarten and who will be graduating from med school in June! How generous, how amazing, how good is our God to allow us to watch our babies become girls, women,wives, moms! Oh-so-blessed we are!! My baby girl and I talked a blue streak, laughed, curled up like puppies in my big bed, cried and just loved (and liked!) each other as adults…my heart is full.
To Nicole, who made the comment about 1997 – God bless you, sweetheart! I know you’ll never forget how God brought you to Himself from wherever you were.
To Tara – I’m just starting Breaking Free on my own as well! Can you be reached through your blog?
“The Tods” I LOVE it!! I love a great nickname. WOW, it looks like fun times were had by all.
I love that Bibby’s house is a place where “Hurricane Tod” can roam and have a blast! My moms house is the same way and it is truly a fun blessing.
If it is at all possible Jackson is just getting cuter and cuter!
((((HUGS))))) to you all!
Amanda,
Your picture of Jackson picking the fuzz out of his toes reminds me of my daughter who picked the fuzz out of between her toes when she was little. She even showed the nurse how she did it in the pediatricians office.
I’m glad you bloggged. I too was getting concerned about you girls.
Love,
A papoose who prays and praises.
What incredibly precious children! I can’t wait until I have some grands. I know how tired you were when they left, Beth, but a little tired is worth all of that sugar from Jackson and Ella, right? Just go to bed for a day…mental and physical health day.
Thank you Amanda for sharing. I thought all of y’all had gone on a vacation. Some of you did!!! Be blessed always!
I love the carousel picture. It looks like a postcard. 🙂
How fun! I have a two and a half year old boy, can we come play next time? I think the issue of me living over 1,000 miles away is a minor detail. But how fun to dream…
As I am checking out the pics of weekend fun and I am listening to my five year old take a shower by HERSELF for the first time. She hollers at me, “Which ones next?” You know the order but she is a bit confused…shampoo, conditioner then body wash… She inadvertently conditioned before shampooing. Just a few years ago I was in the throws of many tods and I can now “romaticize” those days!!! (Just viewed session 3 of A Woman’s Heart with my Women’s Study at church) How I love the stages. I now have two tweeners (9 and 11) I cherish the tweens and their thought provoking questions along with stimulating discussions. My youngest sweetie (the non-tween in the shower) lost her first tooth this week. It was the last FIRST tooth to be lost in our home! The Tooth Fairy visit was EXTRA special! This week I am romanticizing way more than ever. Love those tods, kinders, and tweens!!!
Every single one of those pictures brings so much laughter. It is great to see children enjoy the small things in life as well as the older children (Beth). Lol.
I wanted to share this verse that speaks to me and came through my mind yesterday at the “Breaking Free” Bible study. Kind of long so bare with me.
James 1
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived my dear brothers, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created…
I definitely have been deceived by my truths. Hardest thing for me isn’t overcoming addiction, it is sifting through truths. But praise God I was born again through the word of truth. I feel like a “tod” at times just learning how to walk and talk again.
I truly have missed an update from you and pics of your cute little tyke! It’s like missing a call from a good friend that you haven’t heard from in a long time. Im not sure if that makes me a really sad person, but I don’t care. 🙂 I love this blog and you Moore’s and Jones’! Thank you for checking in and sharing your life with is! Y’all all are the cutest people ever! It is inspiring…. 🙂
Amanda, I wish I looked that calm and relaxed and “put together”. I have a three year old little guy, and I feel and LOOK whipped all of the time! Oh well…guess I’ll just keep prayin for strength!
Thanks for sharing your family with us. What a blessing! 🙂
Kate in C’ville
My favs: the Tods dancing! the carousel (what a great shot, Beth!) and finally, I really love the preciousness of a son on his Mama’s lap, as Mama, the daughter, sat on her Mama’s lap. That is generational blessedness!
I look forward to the future pic. with Melissa doing the same thing!
Love you all!
How is Breaking Free going? Praying over each week.
holly
Thank you so much for sharing the pics! What a precious time of life. My Tods are now teens and tweens. Hold on tight because it goes WAY too fast. Each season is sweet. There is joy mixed with a little insanity in it all…even a 13 year old with some attitude!
So glad you had a fun weekend.
I laughed so hard at the toe fuzz picture and was quite pleased that my child is not the only one! Samuel will pick it out of his toes and say “eeeewww!” He’s also been known to grab up all toys in the tub and go into fits if toe fuzz is found floating around. Truly, it’s his only sissy moment.
Thanks for sharing and should you find yourself in NC, we’re up for a playdate- well, until July when the AF moves us on to Monterey where we’ll be up for more playdates by fall… T.G.
love all the pics!!!
check out this website:
http://www.gomitchgo.com
continue the great, great work. what a blessing.
What adorable pictures! Looks like you had an exciting time! I can’t get over how much Jackson has grown…so precious! I really want to comment on how much Mother and Daughter look alike….BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for sharing such a sweet part of your life! BLESSINGS~ jan
Precious!! Loved the ones where “everyone” was sleeping!Thanks for sharing the photos with all of us!
Amanda, a couple of observations:
1) Jackson has a way with the ladies.
2) You have the longest legs of any woman I’ve ever seen outside of my step-daughter’s Guiness Book of World Records.
3) Is that “The Tub”? The infamous one you Moores soak your feet in together?
4) One of my very best friends adopted a baby who was born days before my 4 year old. This is precisely the type of fun we WOULD have if we didn’t each have 3 other kids! Enjoy NOT being outnumbered!
Glad you’re back.
Amanda-the tods are adorable, what a blessing! I’m new to the blog, but it is now “bookmarked” on my computer so I can frequently check it. My small group and I just did the Daniel Bible Study (including the slightly annoying test at the end :)) and I loved it! I keep talking about Daniel, Babylon, and at the moment can still recite the poem/rap. It’s made me hungry for more learning :). Thanks for sharing through the blog! Blessings, Sarah
Recuperate girlfriend! But glad y’all got away and had fun 🙂