many monkeys

My sweet boy!

2008-09-18T20:01:00.001-07:00

It's a birthday for my sweet, brown-eyed boy.

He just came down....hours past his bedtime(!) and asked me to tell him a "story about today"...which is something I do with the kids...turn the day into a "once upon a time"....but tonight I told him a story about his birth day....how he came on a day of his choosing....how the sun was shining.....how peaceful he was...and how I'll never forget holding him in the sunny recovery room....he was looking at me with those big eyes....Just C and I were in the room....and we named him.....I was close to getting teary remembering that awesome day.

He listened politely...and then asked me how many minutes until I get to the part about TODAY. Which is when his birthday party was...and that is what he would like to hear, please.

Just give a mommy her moment, boy!! At least he was polite about hurrying me along!!
Precious to me, that boy is...even when he's making me crazy.

From Old Collin photos

From Collin's 5th birthday party

Random kid pics...

2008-09-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

The boys started their soccer season...
Here they are looking handsome:

From Sept

Here is sleeping beauty..... It was 6:30pm...we had a busy day and she just couldn't make it any longer....note her new bff, June, beside her. She loves that June!

From Sept

And here is a snapshot of my favorite nephew. He spent the day with us last week while his parents shopped for furniture (since that is WAY more fun w/o your 2yo!). I think he's a doll...and how could you argue when you see him sleeping like this!??!

From Sept

The hair is coming! The hair is coming!!

2008-09-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord, Hallelujah!
Miss Blaire is finally growing some hair! Not in the front...no, no...we are still in full fledged mullet mode..
But it has gotten thick and long enough to do this:

She's a champ for the styling process. Sits easily for me...tolerates the tugging (oh, how I recall the tugging....when your hair is fine, your mama has to get the bands SO TIGHT on your hair and it PULLS!!! I try to be very, very gentle on my girl...but I do remember those days..).

As soon as I'm done, she pops up....holds her arms out to me and says, "I wanna see Bwaire!"...she wants me to take her to the mirror to see her new 'do. She says "Pretty hair!".
Love that baby girl, I do!

The boys were FLOORED by her new style as well.

The first days of school...08

2008-08-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

So off they go, to Second grade and PreK.
Both boys were very excited to start school.

That wore off by week 2 for Justin. On the second Monday, he came downstairs in the morning, crossed his arms and asked if I was going to MAKE him go to school today. Ha HA, my sweet child. You have 14 more years of this left! I have to say, whenever he's grouchy in the morning, these will get him right out of the bed!

Here are his photos:
Humoring the mother...

A gaggle of busriders:

And my silly coconut in his prek classroom. He adores his new teacher. And fortunately, his "school girlfriend" from last spring is in his class again. Try and keep it straight...that's the "school girlfriend". Not to be confused with the "across-the-street-girlfriend"...or any one of the "texas-girlfriends". Whew, busy boy.

So, eight years ago...

2008-08-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

I was in miserable agony at this moment. Actually, that's not true. I had an epidural. I think. At some point after midnight, that was gone and I was in what felt like a battle against a c-section. Little did I know that sections aren't that bad. If I wasn't so stubborn, today could actually have been J's birthday! Lesson learned!

My boy will be 8 tomorrow! Hard to believe. I was sorting through photos tonight, looking for some to post....and the difference in the photos of Justin and I vs. the photos of me with the other two....it's unreal. I have precious photos of me with the younger ones. I'm beaming, they are peaceful...I look so happy and proud. In the photos with J, we are both flushed, swollen (18 hours of IV fluids is good for no one)...confused, exhausted....and altogether unsure of what just happened. Truly, we both look as though we just got hit by a truck.

And in a way, that's completely accurate. Clearly neither of us knew how to deliver a baby (!)....neither of us knew how to nurse...He certainly didn't know how to sleep!! But I have never felt so certain that I would figure it all out, as I did that early, early morning. I vividly remember looking over at my boy (okay, boyS...the phenergan gave me double vision...) in his bassinet once we were wheeled back to our room from the OR....and saying, "Hey, baby..." And he just looked at me with his eyes wide open.

And that was the last time Justin was ever, completely still! HA!

He's such a spirited, loving boy...and I'm so glad to be his mom. And I'm eternally grateful that the Good Lord gave him to me when I was young...so that I could attempt to keep up with him and stay on top of all his antics. I just love him so much I could pop.

Love you, Jet Plane!
:)

Shoot me now...

My sweet little fella...

The exhausted pair...

And just because I love this photo SO much...

Sky Hike...

2008-07-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to Stone Mountain today to experience Sky Hike. It's a rope course that is three stories high. You are tethered...it's completely safe. It definitely makes you realize how afraid / unafraid you are are of heights.

They had a great time. Justin gets nervous...and he jumped right in and took off. We were really proud of his bravery. Collin did the entire course. THREE STORIES! And he was so brave. His little feet could hardly make some of the steps! So we were extremely proud of him, too!!

Here are some photos:

The growing boy..

2008-07-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Yes. That is a photo of my foot in my not-quite-eight year old son's tennis shoe. Seriously. He now wears a size 6. Which translates into a women's 7. Look out Shaquille. Look out. Sasquatch is coming up behind you....

Laser light show....

2008-07-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday we hiked up Stone Mountain with my sisters. I haven't done that in more than 20 years. I think it got steeper!! Beckett was mad at me, I guess....because he wanted ME to carry him a large portion of the time! It was very funny.

Collin and Justin were up for the challenge, and Miss B was perched happily on her Daddy's back. The other adults were secretly cursing my "great idea", as it was in the 90s with a humidity level of, oh...110%. But it really was fun. We took the gondola down the mountain and then hung around for some fried chicken and potato salad on a blanket while taking in the laser show. It's a GA summer tradition.

It's somewhat shocking to hear the announcement that it is the 25th anniversary of the show...and I remember going the first summer they started it! Another gray hair just came in.

We had a ton of fun. Becks and B were dancing like crazy when the music was playing. Check out these sweaty kids!!

I made it!!

Getting her bracelet fixed by aunt Katie

Super toddlers:

Being "Indiana Jones" with glowsticks:

K

Soccer camp...

2008-07-28T11:41:00.001-07:00

The boys were in soccer camp last week. Both seemed to really enjoy it. It was good for Justin to run out that energy...and Collin was very excited to finally start soccer.

Justin practiced away from where I had to sit, but was I able to snap some photos of Collin in his gear. He is looking very grown up to me!

Days on the beach with our babes...

2008-07-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

We have returned from a week on Seagrove Beach. It's on the gulf coast of Florida and is a quiet, residential beach...very relaxing. Well, as relaxing as things get with 3 little kids!

We had a great time relaxing with my siblings, nephew, Dad...and then D&A came in from TX and spent part of the week with us. It was so great to see them and to get to hug their kiddos. I've missed them so much!

The gulf was murky for the first few days, due to some earlier storms. But it cleared and our last several days were gorgeous. We kayaked a lot. I think we all enjoyed going out and seeing the jellyfish. Justin spent a good bit of time on the skimboard and Collin caught and studied jellyfish in his sand buckets. Blaire enjoyed the trip, and enjoyed my vacation policy of allowing juiceboxes / caprisuns whenever. I don't even want to think how many she had....but she was happy and so was I. I try to pick my battles on vacation....and the freeflowing juiceboxes / granola bars are how mommy gets to read on the beach!

Blaire and Beckett are hilarious together. She bosses him around all the time. At least once an hour you could hear "NO! BECKETT!!" And I think Beckett is already developing "selective listening" when it comes to girls. They had a lot of fun together.

So we played a lot, ate a lot and read a lot...and I still have that beautiful reminder of the beach hanging around the house.....SAND!!!
Hope all is well with you and yours!

Some photos:

C and C in the boat:

Cuddles between the little two:

BB on the beach:

Girl nap!

C:

Jellyfish hunters:

O and C together in a shirt, thrilled to look like "general grevious" from star wars:

What do they say? A picture is worth a thousand words? That is the reason I adore this crazy photo of Beckett. He's the cutest, busiest little guy...so much like Justin was at this age. I like to think this had nothing to do with it being night and the slow exposure. I think Becks just moves THIS fast:

Glow stick fun on the beach at night:

Blaire's infamous STARE. Clearly, she's not in the mood for my photography.

My babes:

Thanks for looking!!
K

The pocket

2008-07-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

In the N. ga mountains there is a little place called "the pocket".
I used to go there when I was a kid....it's not far from my grandparent's farm.

We spent the day with family Sunday.....and took the kids to the pocket to wade. It was very, very fun. Justin didn't quite understand the concept of wading....but who cares!!

Good times at "the pocket"! :)

Oh! Don't get wet!

Thanks for looking!
K

Happy Fourth!

2008-07-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

Happy fourth of July!! I hope yours was spent with family and friends, a good parade, and a nice cool dip in the pool!

We started our day off at the local Independence day parade. It was a tradition for us back in TX, and we were excited to see the parade here. It was smaller, but they THROW CANDY!! (picture my children screaming with joy!). Not only candy, but some floats passed out popsicles!! (more screaming here). J was good to ration his and save some for later, but I think C was on the verge of sugar shock by the time the parade was over! And B enjoyed all the excitement.

The boys waiting for the parade to start:

Our quaint little downtown:

A perfect view:

We then headed Northeast to my Aunt and Uncle's house on the Chattahoochee river. We ate (delicious!) and then the kids got in the river...and didn't get out for HOURS. They were prunes by the evening. Tired, happy little prunes.

J in the river:

C found a "waterslide"

B checking out the rocks:

We headed back home in the early evening to bathe our sleepy people and then ran back out to catch the local fireworks. It was a lovely, exhausting day.

I hope you all had a great one as well!!
K

Road Trip to Texas

2008-06-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

The kids and I just returned from a 9 day trip back to Texas. Just us, C stayed here for work. I am very proud of how well the kids handled the trip! They just clicked with how they had to behave with only me driving 14 hours home...only me on potty stops....I'm just puffed up with pride in their behavior. Of course when we got home they started their usual shenanigans....but man, they really shine when it counts!

We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge one night, spent time with Andria and her kids (thank you for the hospitality!), hung out with the bluebird "gang" (all the little boys from our old street) and spent a few nights there, saw our favorite babysitter (who gave me the time to get a pedicure and have a dinner out with girlfriends!!) and we spent a very fun night with Holly and her kids. I SO enjoyed the company of my friends!! We all did.

Sunday we got to spend the whole day swimming with our family in Keller. The kids had a great time and Collin fell in love with snorkeling. Justin has mastered diving to the bottom of the deep end, and Blaire decided to jump off the diving board! It was a very nice, relaxing day.

Our drive home was nice. We did 9 hours the first day and 4.5 on Thursday. The kids were cooperative and made our stops short and sweet. I did get pulled over for speeding in Texas (the SHAME!)and Collin burst into tears asking "are you getting arrested?"!! Fortunately the trooper was kind and I got a warning. I haven't been pulled over in well over 10 years, so I was mortified. The kids will be glad to give you the full story. They have told everyone they have seen since then. Boogers.

Thanks to Andria, Carrie and Holly for the meals and places to rest our sleepy heads. Thanks to Emily for watching my kids so I could work on the flower beds at our TX hous. Thanks to everyone who made time in their very busy summer schedules to see us! We miss all our friends and family in Texas, and were so glad to see you all again! And thanks to Drew for joining us on the ride out to TX.

K

Great Wolf Lodge

C @ the park

Pool cue chalk, or makeup?

My bunch with a's

Carousel:

Justin and his best friend, Zach

Swimming @ the grandparents:

The super snorkeler:

deep diver:

Big girl:

BRAVE girl!

With Blue:

Sir Collin the knight:

Collin's first tball game...

2008-06-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Collin has started his first season of tball......he's the youngest on his team, and isn't quite sure about the whole thing yet. He likes batting...he just isn't sure if the other parts of the game are worth his time. :)

But the snacks...those are definitely worth his time!!

continuing the cooking tactic...

2008-06-04T16:03:00.001-07:00

Letting CJ cook worked so well, I let J take charge of a side dish tonight.
He made Pioneer Woman's "Crash Hot Potatoes". Delicious! We had them with a peppercorn pork tenderloin and broccoli. Everyone is happy.

I posted just to point out her blog. Her recipes are amazing. As is her photography. And her wit.
Enjoy!
www.thepioneerwoman.com

and the potato recipe:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

Yum, again.
K

2008-06-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

How to survive the summer, Part I.

Allow your 4 year old to cook dinner. Actually, invite your 7 year old to cook as well.....but it's just not his thing.
Collin is still in love with Ratatouille. So on this, our ninemillionth day of quarantine (ok, technically it was 3 days last week...and we are on day 4 this round...) I decided to appeal to his love of all things culinary to keep him from climbing the walls.

After naps, I asked him to make us Pepperoni rolls (all Aggies say, YUM, Double Daves!) for dinner. I set out the sauce, pepperoni, crescent rolls and cheese....and showed him how to make one. Then I went about my business.....he was in HEAVEN!!!

So, chilling in the fridge we have 16 pepperoni rolls ready to be toasted up for dinner shortly. And one very proud four year old!

I think we'll try risotto tomorrow. Actually, I'm hoping tomorrow the rash has faded enough that the kids can tolerate a bit of sun and heat....but I think I'm just hoping. They are still really rashy.

Happy Summer!
Kelly

Oh fifth disease....how I hate you.

2008-06-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

Fifth (or fifths....the name seems inconsistent....so maybe I'll just call it Parvo...) disease has reared it's ugly head again in this household.

Back story.....when I was pregnant with Blaire (which was a bit of a surprise in itself....) I had progesterone issues. So she worried us the first 12 weeks. When we got to that point, we were very relieved. So we told our children, friends and family.

The next week, I found out I had been exposed to fifth disease. I had kept my friend's son for the night......bathed him, etc.....so I was pretty exposed! So off we go to the doctor to have titers run. Of course, fifths isn't like being exposed to German Measles or something that horrible....but after the previous weeks of worry....I was very anxious.

Two loooong weeks later, the results came back that I had previously had fifths...as a lot of people have. It's a very common childhood illness. So all was well. Justin got it a few weeks later, no big deal. And, as you know...Miss B arrived happy and healthy and ready to boss us all around.

Fast forward to present day. Last week, Collin got pinkeye. We had drops phoned in and I kept the kids in all week. Friday we had a culdesac party to celebrate the last day of school. Collin was symptom free and had been on drops for 4 days. So he was in the clear. We had a great time, visiting with our neighbors.

Blaire and Collin both had a bit of flush friday night.....but specifically NOT on their cheeks (fifths is referred to as "slapped cheek disease")....it was across their noses and below their eyes. Like a sunburn. As our culdesac party started @ 4pm....I thought they were flushed from heat. Heaven knows it wasn't actual sunburn, since I'm a sunscreen freak. Anyhow, kids were put to bed...and eventually, so were the adults.

Saturday, we wake up to Blaire with raging pinkeye, and both Collin and Blaire with that "sunburn" look times ten. But it still wasn't the "slapped cheeks" hallmark of fifths. We got in with our new pediatrician's office. I had both kids looked over, the pinkeyes and the rash. The doctor said, well...it looks like a viral rash, but it doesn't look like fifths. Just let it run it's course. Ok.

By Sunday afternoon, it was unfortunately clear that it IS fifths disease. This is a very long story to get to one point, sorry. One of our neighbors....with whom we hung out all afternoon and night on Friday, is pregnant. Nearly 16 weeks pregnant. So, talk about a phonecall I didn't want to make today!

I didn't call on Sunday, because I didn't want to freak her out....and her not be able to reach her OBGYN, and start googling. Because I know when I was in her shoes, the internet scared me to death, and the physician was like, "it's not a big deal". So I waited until today (Monday) to call. Based on what our pediatrician said, she should be in the clear, as the kids had the rash Friday (though we didn't know that's what it was!) and fifths is only contagious BEFORE symptoms appear. I HATE illnesses like that. Where your child can be spreading the love before you have any idea they HAVE germs to share!!!

So, hopefully the odds are good that this won't cause problems for our dear neighbor. She's been a teacher for many years, so we have our fingers crossed that this wasn't her first exposure. Hopefully her titers will show she's resisitant, and it will be a non issue.

Keep her in your thoughts. I'm sure she's very worried...and for once I can say I know exactly how she feels. And I feel horrible because we exposed her. Just horrible. I wish I could make this go away for her.

I do tend to be a sliver lining kind of gal.....and at least now I will be able to 100% reassure Princess B when she is pregnant that she is a-ok when it comes to fifths disease exposure. She had a rip-roaring case of it at 18 months.

She has the worst of it, Collin's is much milder. Sun and heat make it worse, naturally....which is fun since school is out for summer!! Hopefully in a week or so the rash will be behind us, we'll be at the pool, and good news will be had in regards to our neighbor.

Take care -

Some memorial day shots....

2008-05-28T20:12:00.001-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend.
We ate...and ate...and ate some more.
We got some running in (Carleton and I are beginning to conquer these hills!)and spent some time with family.

We went to the pool...and we took our kayak up to N GA and enjoyed some time floating in the river.

All is well....

More weather...

2008-05-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

So....the third round of tornados hit GA on Tuesday night.
I've decided it is US...we are the bad mojo or something.
Seriously...when we lived in DFW...one hit downtown FTW AND one hit Arlington...the suburb we lived in.

Now, since we have moved...a tornado hit downtown Atlanta...and Tuesday night one hit WOODSTOCK. So...I'm starting to get a bit of a complex.

Anyhow, it was much easier to stomach. I put the kids in the basement with their bike helmets and a movie on my laptop. I stayed up in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner, listening to the news. Anyone who knew me in TX knows this is a distinct change from huddling around the powder bath toilet with all 3 babes...sweating under a mattress.

Lots of damaged homes, but no injuries with this storm. Thank goodness. And we ended up getting very little of the storm here at our house.

All is well this week. Justin has get-out-of-school-itis. Collin is excited about last day of school activities...and Blaire has a bit of a tummy bug. We have some minor house / yard projects this weekend...but are mainly excited about making turkey burgers and enjoying some lovely weather.

Here are the kids relaxing with a movie during the sirens. You can't see it in this photo, but our basement walls are covered with "art", courtesy of the previous children. It's hilarious..Numbers, letters, paintings...game instructions! When our home is an archeological dig in thousands of years, they will think they found hieroglyphics from an unknown civilization. Nope. Just your average suburbanites.

company and some hiking....

2008-05-18T18:07:00.001-07:00

Anna and Rachel came to visit! Rachel turned 5 months while they were here. She's completely precious and I would say she has given me baby fever....but I seem to always have it anyhow! The kids really enjoyed her. Blaire did SO much better than the last time we saw them. Very little jealousy when I would hold Rachel.

Not only did I enjoy her company because she's Anna...but it was so fun to just visit with someone who knows me so well. I didn't have to start the conversation explaining...I'm kelly, I have three kids...7,4 and 1.
When you are new, you kind of feel like a broken record....telling the condensed version of who you are and why you moved here several times a week!!

We went and got treats at my sister's bakery, had lunch with my other sister and nephew...I drove her down West Paces, which I think is one of the most beautiful streets in our city! We spent plenty of time in adult "parallel play", LOL. Reading people magazines, watching tivo and playing with the babies. And eating brownies. Can't imagine a better way to spend some time with a friend!

Saturday we took our company and the family to Amicalola falls.

We didn't drag anna and the baby up, but we did have the boys (and Blaire, in the backpack) hike the WHOLE thing. From the visitors center, up to the reflection pool, then up all SIX HUNDRED steps to the top of the falls. It was beautiful. Collin was in awe when we were on the bridge that crosses the face of the falls. And what a trooper he was! 600 steps!! In a "just my luck" moment...the batteries I had so carefully remembered to bring (NEW, in package) must have been duds b/c my camera wouldn't work! The camera is fine (with newly recharged batteries)...but that is my last attempt at disposable rayovacs. So no pics of our hikers.

Anna and I got an unintentional free dinner Saturday night. We were dining on the patio of a restaurant in our (darling!)little downtown and asked the waiter to lower the awning a bit as the sun was in our eyes. Well, the 4ft long metal bar slipped out of his hands and hit me in the head. OUCH. So, 2 martinis and 2 chicken sandwich dinners were on the house. My head is fine, so we definitely got the better end of that deal!

Back to real life, making lunches and getting ready to return the hermit crab to his first grade classroom. We definitely had a full house this weekend!!
K

by the way....isn't the waterfall beautiful? Doesn't it make you want to come visit us?!?!
:)

Differences.......

2008-05-04T18:21:00.001-07:00

Between the states......
GA:
Verdant
Hilly
Lower Property Taxes
Higher FOOD BILL (For real)
They TAX that higher food bill (really)...
Recycling is paltry compared to Arlington
The baggers @ Kroger think I'm a hippie b/c I bring my own bags. Really. They can't function. They put 1 box of cereal in each bag and I have to "help" them along...
Lots more PT cruisers on the road.
Still lots of Odysseys.
Everyone puts their kids on the bus. Even on the first day of Kindergarten.
There are traveling baseball teams in the FIRST grade. They have little "letter jackets" and all. Yikes.

In other news.....
I MISS MY FRIENDS!
:)
We are missing some Mexican food. We have found some that is good here, but you have to look a lot harder.

Just a little update!
Kids are great! Blaire is a big girl. 18 months! Talking a lot...in sentences. She runs really fast, but it's a girly, hoppy little run. Cute.
Collin is up to his usual. His newest love is bee catching. Seriously. We have lots of bumblebees and he likes to catch them in his insect habitat. Scientist in the making.
Justin is settling in to 1st grade. Attended his first birthday party today. Seems to be doing well. Just a few more weeks of school!!
K

Another reason to love my son...

2008-04-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Can you see Shamu?

If you can, then you should spend some time with Collin. He is such a creative little guy. This was taken driving east on Towne Lake...towards the interstate. This is a route we take just about every day. He started telling us about seeing Shamu the week we moved in. After quite a few "huh?"s from his parents.....we finally saw what he was showing us in the treetops....

Collin is a boy who sees images in every cloud, I tell you!! I had seen that strangely shaped tree....and thought....wow...what an odd shape for a tree...

I so love that Collin saw Shamu.

Can you see it?!

K

We're here!

2008-04-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since Blaire's birthday.
That is pathetic.
Obviously, much has happened since then, as we are living in Georgia!

We were apart from C for about a month. It was not easy, but not as bad as I'd expected. The move went smoothly. We enjoyed several days staying with friends and family while we were temporarily "stuff-less"....we technically had both the houses...but all our belongings were on the truck! We definitely appreciated the hospitality. And C was certainly glad to see the moving van arrive...he'd been living in the new house with only an airmattress, little TV with rabbit ears...and a dorm fridge!!

Justin is enjoying his new school and his teacher will loop up with him next year. I've been VERY impressed with Cherokee county schools. I will start volunteering in his classroom next week. Collin is settled into preschool 3x / week as well. The preschools here are partial day (9-1). And Gram has been getting Blaire for me a little bit each week, so I can paint bedrooms, etc.

After 3 weeks, we are mostly settled in. There are still big projects (kitchen countertops and appliances...basement...painting the den...etc) but they are all things we will get to as we can. But finally it seems that everything is put away...we have found a home for everything! And having a full basement has definitely helped that!

We have moved into a very friendly culdesac. In fact, last night consisted of moms and dads sitting in chairs on the sidewalk and kids playing kickball (kids and Carleton, of course!). There are 14 kids in the 6 houses that make up our culdesac.

We like the lot, the trees...and the wildlife. Lots of squirrels, birds...lizards...bumblebees. Science-loving Collin is in heaven.

I guess that gets us relatively up to date. C is settling into work and surviving the Atlanta traffic. I've visited with the Moms club here...and they were very friendly. So it is a lot of change, but we are adjusting...and enjoying the beautiful Georgia scenery while we settle in!!

Love -
K

A little party for our girl...

2007-11-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

Blaire's birthday party was this weekend. Since she's a low key little girl, we decided not to overwhelm her and just had family. Gram and Aunt Layne flew in from Georgia, and the local Sherrers came. Aunt Layne baked the birthday cake at her bakery in Atlanta and brought it as her carry on! It was DELICIOUS!!

Our theme was "little"....we had miniature food.....even miniature beverages for the adults. It was relaxing and fun. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed the party! :)

The main cake

Miss Blue Eyes suited up for the meal...

Her party dress...

Her special gift from mommy and daddy - an engraved cake set for use on all the special days in her life!

With her brothers...Collin just being Collin, and Justin fresh from his soccer game.

Her smash cake...

Skeptical girl...

unsure...

Warming up...

A little help...

And fully involved!

Excited!

Monkey see, monkey do....just like my mama with the cell phone...

Thanks for looking!
K

Happy Halloween!!

2007-10-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween!

We had the kids on the street come over for pizza tonight prior to trick-or-treating. It was a madhouse of superheros (mostly Galactic...) with a ghost,a pokemon and a pirate thrown in for good measure.

Here are some photos for your enjoyment!

The gang - note, Leia is trying to escape!

Our three (with a spare under the swing...)

Happy Birthday, Blaire!

2007-10-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

A year ago tonight I was taking an ambien, so I could sleep before my c/s.

We dropped the boys off the next morning in a very normal fashion and made our way to the hospital, expecting to greet our third boy. Well, I was. :)

As they were delivering the baby, gender still unknown, it began SCREAMING. This baby was NOT happy. Carleton told me, well....we have a screaming head! That was new. Justin wasn't breathing at birth, and Collin cried just a bit before quickly settling. This baby was howling. Then came shock #1 - It's a GIRL! And shock #2 - only 7lb 3oz! Oh, she was just so lovely! The operating room staff was so excited - nurses who aren't assigned to you poke in your recovery room to find out the gender. It's so rare that people don't know! They wanted to know right away what her name was. We had no idea. It's shameful, as we'd been having children for over 6 years....you would think we would be fixed on one. We had three girls names...and we wanted to check her out and see which one fit!

Blaire has been the sweetest baby. This past year has flown by! She's cuddly and loving - and completely attached to me. Only recently is she showing some independance. She'll toddle off after the boys now. Just this weekend she has started playing outside in the sandbox with Collin. Of course, she's eaten a little bit of sand....but she is really starting to enjoy "toddler" activities...not just being on mommy's hip.

I still stumble over the word "daughter"...it's just so different after boys / sons. I have managed to stop referring to her as "buddy" or "little buddy". In fact, she may never know her actual name since we all use nicknames on her constantly. Miss B, princess B, Sister B, Blaire Bear.

So, Happy Birthday Blaire! What a joy to watch you grow!

I'm so far behind!!

2007-10-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been nearly a month since I posted.

Blaire has been walking for just about that long. It has been so fun to watch her master this skill....and she has done it with fewer bruises than her brothers did. She scraped her head going down the driveway once, but for the most part she's been injury free. The boys always seemed convinced they could recover their footing, even when rapidly closing in on the concrete. Blaire, on the other hand, is always willing to sit, should things start to look shaky. She reminds me of, well, me. I took the very same approach to skiing for several years after I first learned. Any chance I was headed for a fall.....sit down. It works. Your rear might get wet, but your arms and legs are not broken. I consider Blaire a smart girl.

Justin is in a Deion Sanders phase...simultaneously playing baseball (coach pitch) and soccer. This was a parental scheduling error. At one point he had 5 soccer and 2 baseball games in an 8 day period. It was a bit much, and we won't be making this particular scheduling error in the future. Fortunately, he seems to be happiest when on any sort of field. So this hasn't been nearly as stressful for him as for his parents! First grade is going well. He is thoroughly enjoying his teacher. And, like the rest of first grade, he is absolutely obsessed with Pokemon. I still don't really know what it is....but will admit it is a welcome change from the summer obsession with Star Wars!! We no longer have to refer to him as Luke!

Collin is enjoying his time at preschool. He takes gymnastics and got to ring the bell last week. He "completed" his backwards roll. Very exciting when they get to ring the bell! Today we went on a date - just Collin and mommy. He had been very anxious to go see the broadway musical version of "The Lion King". I had considered it, and then essentially forgot over the summer. When the ads started up again this fall, the tickets were scarce. A wonderful friend surprised us with some this weekend. So we put on our "fancy church clothes", as Collin said, and headed to the Music Hall. He was mesmerized. For three hours he sat and watched in awe. He was first on his feet after the particularly rousing numbers - clapping his little heart out. At intermission we sat to have a snack. When the "five minutes left in intermission" announcement was made over the PA, Collin scooped up the rest of his snack, shoveled it directly into his mouth, grabbed his playbill and headed back to his seat. I didn't even say a word! He was NOT going to miss a second of the show. He was in my lap for the finale and I was all tears and sniffles when he leaned back to tell me how "awesome" this day was. He was so right! Collin is a very creative child and this musical simply thrilled him. The music, the animals....everything. It was absolutely worth putting on your fancy church clothes, to him. :)

It seems we are regularly tired these days...and I'm always a step behind on the housework / laundry / etc.....but I'm so grateful to have the chance to spend my days with these little people.

Collin and mommy on the way to the Lion King.

Just to remember..

2007-09-19T15:09:00.001-07:00

My grandaddy.

We already miss him, but know my grandmother is glad to have him back with her.

Listen UP!

2007-08-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Because she means BUSINESS!!!

First Grade!

2007-08-30T19:54:00.001-07:00

Can't quite believe it...but he's in a numbered grade!

He is loving it so far. Of course, they haven't started homework just yet!

He has one of his favorite friends in his class...and his teacher is the mom of two grown boys. That is a relief.....as much as I loved his Kindergarten teacher, I had a moment of panic when I learned that she had sweet twin daughters. The year turned out great and we loved her. Hopefully we'll have a good experience with this teacher....especially since she is a boy-mom.

He has come home very happy every day this week! Off to a good start!

Greet the troops

2007-08-30T19:37:00.001-07:00

I took the kids to greet the troops arriving for R&R.

There's not much you can say....to describe standing behind these families, waiting on their loved ones. Children waiting for their dads. It was overwhelming....One poor family in front of me, a mom and her two middle school age sons.....waited and waited....their Dad was practically the LAST out of all 275 soldiers to deplane. It was excruciating for them!

I was so glad the boys got to be a part of this. And it was so sweet to watch the soldiers be overwhelmed by the crowd....stop...and pull out their cameras to photograph the welcome they got.

And the Tuskeegee Airmen were there to greet the soldiers as well.

cruise...

2007-08-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm saving a place to post pictures......

Cross Country...

2007-07-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

We made our summer trip to GA on the 5th of July.
Bless my sweet mom for making the drive with me. She's such a pro...she flies in, we grab her from the airport and throw her in a minivan full of kids. THAT is love, my friends.

When we got to Atlanta, I divvied the kids up between mom and my sisters. And I took a pre-dawn flight to Boston to meet Carleton for a weekend alone. I honestly didn't worry about the kids at all. I worried more about getting them back completely SPOILED! :)
Carleton and I toured so much the first day that there was practically nothing to do the second...except eat. We had a great time visiting with my brother (who will forever be scarred from his bachelor pad in the North End being used as my pumping facility!).

The boys reveled in their time alone with their aunts. My sisters took them each on fun adventures. Justin got to drive a golf cart and see horses at Kate and Anderson's friend's farm (heaven) and Layne indulged Collin's artistic side with lots of crafts, as well as taking him to the aquarium. Did I mention spoiled?

And mom got to dress Blaire up and show her off in North Ga. I think she was quite happy!

My time with the kiddos in GA was fun, too. Katie and I took all the kids to the new Coke museum. We didn't lose anyone and the kids had fun. Mission accomplished. Minor meltown when I dumped Collin's orange drink b/c I thought he was done. Note to self : He was NOT done. NOT done. Oops.

We had fun in the mountains...fishing for the boys while Blaire and I went outlet shopping with mom, Mema and Nancy. And the trip home was uneventful.

Now we are washing up and getting ready for our next adventure!

Patterns and numbers....

2007-07-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

I am by no means a mathematical person, but I like order...patterns, I suppose.

When Blaire's c/s was scheduled, I was childishly excited to have children born in August, September and October. Really, I grinned. And when I realized that the kids are each 3 years, 1 month and 1 week (ish) apart.....Well, that was downright thrilling.

I love stuff like this!

So, imagine my excitement yesterday when Justin brought the scale into the kitchen. He wondered how much he weighed. He is 59 pounds. Naturally, Collin wanted to be weighed as well. 38 pounds. So we had to weigh Blaire, using the old "Weigh mommy, then weigh Mommy with Blaire" tactic. 21 pounds.

Just picture my bizarre glee when I realized that, weight wise, Blaire + Collin = Justin.

Yes, I have some issues.
:)

Blaire v. Wilder, Round 1

2007-06-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

So, Wilder is 10 years old. He's been through infants TWICE before. He knows how they work.

Still, he has been getting closer and closer to Blaire.....just as she's becoming more mobile. And "grabbier". I think he's been testing out his reflexes or something. And they aren't good...

Wednesday I was doing something in another room, Blaire was playing on a blanket in the den floor. She begins screaming - her "hurt" cry...not the bored one. I ran in there. My girl is flat on her back, one hand FULL (I mean cotton ball full) of Wilder's hair. Her other hand full of WILDER'S TAIL. He had scratched her on the arm and she still wouldn't let go of the tail.

The scratch was tiny. Wilder seems to be catching on and keeping his distance - for now.

Justin and Collin had better watch out. At 7.5 months, the girl isn't afraid of animals with claws. They need to think twice before messing with her!!

Cindy Lou Who revisited

2007-06-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

Collin woke from his Tuesday nap with a verrrrrry interesting hairdo....one that seemed strangely familiar. I realized I had, indeed, seen him look this way before.....here are the comparison photos -

Post nap, November 2004:

This week:

He has grown up so much!
K

Milestones!!!

2007-06-11T13:32:00.001-07:00

Lots of little changes around here! Drum roll.....

Justin on Friday -

Justin today -

The second tooth held on for dear life over the weekend. I now understand why my parents were always after my loose teeth. I practically had to sit on my hands so I didn't yank that dangling tooth from his mouth. Today at VBS, it came out in the snack. What was he eating? PUDDING. Does that tell you how loose the tooth was?! It's so exciting!! He's really proud of himself.

Blaire is mobile. In a 12 hour period last week she figured out how to roll across the room and consistently go from sitting to all fours to get things. Life is about to get pretty interesting around here! AND she has slept for a 12 hour stretch! Only once so far, but we have our fingers crossed for repeat performances soon. She is regularly using her new mobility tricks to reach her favorite snack.......paper. That girl.....

And Collin has had an exciting day. The little brother finally came into his own. As he is now three, he can attend summer camps. He started his first day of VBS today. He was stunned that he got a t-shirt and his own class. He's so used to going with me to drop Justin off at activities. He loved every minute! I think he is going to pass out cold when he realizes he gets to go to zoo school!

2007-06-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

ahhhh.. the beach!

We had a wonderful week in Florida. A very relaxing week...just what we needed. We only went out to eat one night. We just stayed on the beach, napped, Carleton grew his beard out and I got to see some knots unfurl from his shoulders. Life is so busy around here that we really look forward to downtime with NOTHING to do!!

On the way out, we spent a night in Houston. Darrell cooked steaks and we were able to have a very peaceful adult dinner! Justin and Sara always disappear as soon as we hit town, and now Collin and Owen have started doing the same thing. So the adults were left alone with miss B (who was just playing with her feet on the floor next to us) to enjoy our dinner. We hit the road at 6am Sunday to make the rest of the drive to Seagrove.

We always stop in Pass Christian when we drive to FL, and this was our first stop post Katrina. Most of the town is gone, but there are still a few of the old homes being repaired. And we let the kids play on the beach for a second. Blaire's first sight of the beach!

Seagrove was perfect. Collin dug for hours every day, Justin battled the waves and Blaire splashed in the tide pools. They met some kids from Alabama and enjoyed their company. We all enjoyed watching Beckett. He's a really cute kiddo. Collin ran a fever the first day we were there, but that was it. Unfortunately, it looks like whatever he had passed on to Beckett and he got a harder hit. He ended up with an ear infection by Saturday.

This time next year it is going to be so fun to watch Beckett and Blaire tearing around together! The kids enjoyed seeing Papa, Layne & Gene, Kate & A as well. Justin really liked playing soccer in the surf with Drew. I'm surprised Carleton and Justin aren't pickled, as much time as they spent in the water!

D & A spent the last night at the beach house with us, as they were en route to Disney. Have to say that when, at 6am, we headed for DFW and they headed for Orlando, we were feeling more than a bit jealous! The kids were great for the 13 hour drive home. We did it straight through. They are road warriors, our bunch. Blaire was upgraded to a big (rear facing) carseat for the trip and was quite happy.

It was a great trip. There is something so wonderful to me about having all of our kids in the car, headed for some adventure. I just love it!

More pics:

Crunch Time

2007-05-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

April and May are simply crazy for moms. I don't remember them being particularly crazy in that period of time when I was an adult - no longer a student - but not yet a parent.

For parents, you basically take a deep breath around spring break, dive into it....and surface for air the first week of June. Agree? Spring Break, Easter, Mother's Day, MY Mother's actual birthday, field day @ the elementary school, shop for teacher gifts, Spring Programs, Spring sports - WHEW! So it is May 24th....the last day of school for the boys...and I can see the light...

Justin has graduated Kindergarten. I now have a first grader. Who wears a size 3 shoe and tends to get a bit sassy in the mouth. We took him to Cracker Barrel after the celebration and Carleton got him a Mav's jersey. Pretty sure it will have holes worn in it by August. He told me on the way to bed that he plans to wear it tomorrow. We are really proud of him. He had a great year - lots of maturation. Not the best picture, but it was hard to get good ones in the crowd. I just concentrated on watching.

Collin finished up the year @ Presby as well. He was blessed with the world's most amazing teachers, just as Justin was three years ago. He had a wonderful year and loved every minute. He is such a cutie - very into the weather right now. I believe I've mentioned our crazy spring. This morning, as we were heading to school, he looked at the overcast sky and announced "These clouds aren't headed to our beach (we are going on vacation next week), they are headed to the Northwest part of China" and proceeded to climb in the van. A&M has an excellent meteorology school. The top picture is the boys with the preschool teachers. They are amazing.

Blaire, Blaire, Blaire. She's a happy chunk. She is on a good routine. Not sleeping through, but sleeping longer....2 or 3 am. She's into her food more now. I believe she'll be moving to her big girl carseat this weekend. At 18 pounds, I can't say I get much use out of the infant carrier any longer.

And here is the girl. Post-bath glee:

And I'm going to print this and carry it to dispel the disbelief I'm met with when I tell people she's in a size 4 diaper @ 6 months. "No she's not!". Oh yes, she is. You can reach up and pinch that booty on your monitor, but it's much more fun to squeeze in person. I really could eat this little girl up with a spoon. And I propped her there on the stair. She did not get into that position on her own. She fell over shortly thereafter! :)

Mother's day

2007-05-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Mother's day was wonderful. Justin made a poster that says "I Love You". It's still hanging in the kitchen....just to remind him that he loves me as we readjust to life together EVERY DAY now that school is out. At the ripe age of 6, he no longer thinks I know everything...and doesn't think all my "great ideas" for activities are always great. I can't sell Kroger as a reward any more, for some reason.

Anyhow, we went to a very snazzy brunch after church at a new restaurant in town with a trendy chef. All the food was excellent. A Mimosa for mommy and three perfectly behaved children. It was everything a mom wants! And we came home, put everyone to bed and Carleton and I proceeded to watch a marathon of "Deadliest Catch". As I said, the day was wonderful. We haven't wasted an entired day on marathon in ages. I didn't even do laundry. We were lazy, lazy fools. Hope to do it again on Mother's day 2008!

Six Months....gone by so fast!

2007-05-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

So my girl was six months old yesterday. How did that happen? It seems she just got here!

We had her appointment today....sister was 17lb 15oz (90th %) and 28" (off the charts). So she's growing JUST FINE! She's proving to be a different person than the boys, much more laid back physically. The boys at this age were chomping at the bit...trying to figure out how to coordinate each limb with the others in a general effort to get SOMEWHERE...Blaire? Not so much. She's cool with her sitting.....chewing on her toes......and when that gets old, fussing so mommy will pick her up. She's not in a hurry to get anywhere...and as Andria told me today, "That is your gift from God after the other two!". Amen.

We started rice cereal tonight while we all ate dinner. Blaire could not get enough and was quite ready to take the spoon herself, thank you very much. I wasn't as ready as Blaire and got teary...but I guess she'll move away from home eventually, so I have to start with these baby steps.

Here are her six month portraits and some shots of her eating tonight. Not to neglect the brothers, they are in swim lessons this week. They are fish. No....fish are quiet. What swims well but is still loud? Elephant seals? Anyhow....they swim like fish. Day two of lessons today and Collin swam the width (not length) of the pool without assistance. Yea!

And the food pics....have you seen a baby get this happy over gruel?

Just give me the spoon!

Big brother helping out:

Love to all -

Say Cheese!

2007-04-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

Three little monkeys.......

Pretty days....

2007-04-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

The weather has been beautiful the last few days! Just sunny and a perfect temperature. Spending as much time out as we can. Took the little bits to the park yesterday, and when J got home we all spent the afternoon in the backyard. They were all so content - I even got to read a magazine while everyone enjoyed themselves!!

Anna - B LOVES her floppy hat! Never complains!!

All's well...

2007-04-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Another week, another tornado. I'm telling you....Texas has never felt truly like home to me...and this spring is going to do me in. We had another severe weather day on Tuesday...does it mean I'm getting really paranoid if I tell you this is third Tuesday we've had severe weather? We've had one bad Friday, too. Anyhow, no trouble here at our house, thank goodness. I'm realllly getting ready for summer...

The kids are good. Miss B and I took a road trip to Houston this past weekend sans males. She was a gem - the trips there and back were completely unremarkable. In Houston, Anna's mom shot Blaire's 6 mo portraits. Love, love, love them. I'll post when she officially turns 6 mo next week. I'm in no rush for this girl to grow up.

We had a lovely weekend with our good friends, though, celebrating the news that they are joining us in the looney bin. They will have a third before Christmas! So this time next year we'll be requesting a table for TEN when we go out to eat. I'm about to pop I'm so excited about this baby!

I can't tell you exactly what went on around here with me gone....but there were krispy kreme boxes, Happy meal boxes...and evidence of missed bedtimes. So I think everyone was happy! It is so sweet to see your kiddos when you've been gone long enough for them to miss you, too! Justin nearly bowled me over....he's getting a little big for the running-leap-into-my-arms....but I'll take it as long as I can get it.

Here's an old (january) but cute pic....

A whole new world

2007-04-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend! It started off rough....we had tornado activity again on Friday night. When the sirens went off, I realized we might have to get Collin treated for a stress disorder. He was really quite terrified. But off to the powder bath we all went with our mattress on our heads and the gameboys in hands. They have determined that four touched down. This spring is not turning out to be my favorite, in terms of severe weather. Thankfully, we and all our local family were fine.

Anyhow, Papa came in for a visit this weekend. He came and saw Justin play soccer (it was freeeeezing on Saturday!). Collin was a little-brother-popsicle. Blaire and I arrived at halftime and rescued little C. Saturday evening, Dad and C took the boys to see Meet the Robinsons, while I hosted a baby shower. They had a big time and we girls did as well. Blaire was well behaved and only spit up in front of people once.....or twice....

Sunday we went to a late brunch and spent the day at the zoo. The weather was perfect and it was a very nice surprise for the kids. The mandrils were putting on a great show, chasing each other around. They reminded me so much of two little people I know.......

Collin got a haircut and just looks so GROWN UP to me. Something about this cut made him just look older suddenly. And Blaire has found a whole new world....the upright one. She's sitting pretty well....longer periods each day. Not LONG, mind you...but getting longer. And she's found her toes. And she likes those toes!!

accomplishments

2007-04-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

I snapped a few quick shots today...have to show a few things I'm proud of.
First, for Layne, is the glorious Easter Petit Four. I'm proud of how they looked and they were delicious - but I took a picture b/c I'm NOT making those again. No matter what you charge, Layne...you should charge more. That was a whooping.

Secondly, I take great pride in these sweet rolls of chunky monkey. Don't you just want to pinch your monitor???

Easter

2007-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun day!
I didn't take a single photo, but John took a million so I'll look forward to seeing his.
The kids got up at a VERY reasonable 7am to hunt baskets...they were very happy with their water guns, jump ropes and new "Cars" cars...And they made an attempt at double dutch (they watched "Jump In" yesterday...which is a Disney tv movie about a boy who joins a double dutch team...) and it didn't turn out to be as easy as it looked!

We made it to church ON TIME on Easter Sunday. It's an Easter MIRACLE! I told Carleton I was pretty sure it was the first time we got into the sanctuary to sing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today!" since Justin was born. I just love, love, love that song. And I hate that we always miss it! Well, today we MADE IT! Justin asked to join us in service today and it was so nice to have him there. And it seems Collin pinched someone in Sunday school for a) sitting by him and b) being female. He says he's sorry and won't do it again. We'll see. With his flirtatious nature, we should probably be grateful he didn't pinch her on the behind for the same offenses!!

Lunch was pleasant and went off without a hitch. The Petit Fours I decided to make were delicious...which is good, since I won't be doing that again! Way too much effort. But they were yum and pretty. The kids hunted eggs with Robin, Blaire blew raspberries and we all stayed warm.

The late afternoon consisted of us snoozing to the Masters...the boys playing outside and cuddling with the baby. Oh, and stealing chocolate from the boys' easter baskets!
Sweetest words were Collin saying, " Jesus is.....Alive!".
Can't get much better than this day!

K
A few pictures from Easter weekend.

J Tball game:

Decorating Eggs:

The princess supervising:

Spring

2007-04-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

Spring in this area brings 2 things.......
bluebonnets and tornadoes.

One good, one bad. We've gotten to experience both in the last few days.

We took the children for bluebonnet photos on Saturday....and again on Sunday. It was an experience and I have gained respect and admiration for my father. Year after year, getting that Christmas photo was an exercise in self restraint. I'm lucky my snotty 14 year old self didn't get put out on the curb. Why oh why don't children understand that 5 minutes of cooperation would END THE PROCESS? ha ha. They will get it when they are parents!!

Actually, after the fiasco Saturday, we returned Sunday and were over and done in 10 minutes. We knew exactly where to place the kids in regards to the sun....and the kids knew there was a capri-sun and a cupcake in their future if they gave us their best! And they did.

The tornado....not so fun. The sirens went off last night and our party of five was huddled around the porcelain throne of our powder bath. There is nothing more disconcerting than realizing you have more children than you have arms. #2 was terrified of the sirens and #1....well....we let him bring his gameboy in the bathroom so he was totally cool. #3 thought the whole thing was really fun and I was nearly wetting my pants once the hail hit.

Obviously, a tornado didn't touch down here and we are all safe... but WHEW. I really miss my basements!!

Here are my sweet little critters. Critters, for sure...but they are just the sweetest things.

Gratitude

2007-03-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Cheesy, yes? my title?

Well, it's been a rough week. My thyroid is whacked again....getting into the dr was a pain. Blaire screamed for a significant portion of Wednesday...Collin tried to climb out of the van today while I was parked at an ATM machine. Honestly, he did. Not out of mischief, according to him. No, no....he just wanted to feel the wind on his face. I still don't know what the proper response to that explanation should be. I think I just stared.

Anyhow...the kids have really tried me out this week. But boo-hoo. I sat down tonight to read the blog of a childhood neighbor. It's his wife's blog, actually....and their daughter, 3 weeks younger than B, is gravely ill. And SNAP. Perspective comes back. Comes RAGING back.

So parenting this week might have been fraught with landmines...but I'm feeling SO lucky to be experiencing such NORMALCY.

And today, Collin said, " Mom....you are very.....interesting.". My three year old finds me interesting. Can't ask for much more.

K