More Holiday Fun

I love family friends and we spent tonight with two of our favorites -- the Hulls and the Williams. We can't help but have fun when we're together. As we left the Hull's house tonight, Noah said, "mommy, next time, can I bring my toothbrush and sleeping bag so that I can just sleep here?"




The kids lined up after I invited them to "join the batman club!" (Idea lifted from Uncle Jason. I use it regularly.) One of these days the kids are going to demand that something actually takes place in this club.



Miles and Griffin LOVED playing baseball. (Noah was too busy playing with the ninja turtle toys inside to be bothered.) Miles, the perfectionist, initially opted not to play. After several practice swings, he was able to hit the ball. He was ecstatic and yelled, "I did it! I'm good at this game!" Griffin kept Mike busy -- at 15 months he's already a sports fanatic.


Hayden running the bases. He has an amazing swing!


Cutie, Ryan. Aka Mr Social.


Could Noah's smile be any wider? We took about 15 family pictures (thanks, Trish!) trying to get a good one. The only constant: Noah's awesome smile!


These silly boys told ridiculous jokes to each other over dinner (Ella was far from impressed).


But she did enjoy her share of brownies (as did we all!). Yum, Trish!

Enjoying the Long Weekend!

Good neighbors, good food, good fun. Gotta love it!

Male DNA = Big TV?

Given Miles' new crack-of-dawn schedule, Noah was ready for preschool 90 minutes early. In between slurps of his cereal milk we had this conversation:

• Me: Hey Noah. You're ready for school really early today. Maybe you can watch one show before school.
• Noah: Mom! I want to watch Monsters' Inc!
• Me: No, honey. That's a movie. We can watch that on a long trip - like in the car on the way to the zoo.
• Noah <in an appalled and informative tone of voice>: Mom! You can't watch Monsters' Inc on a tiny screen! You HAVE to watch it on a BIG TV!

This, from a 3-year-old. Good grief.

The Bus!

I woke Miles up at 6:20am today. It was brutal. He's usually a morning person, but today he just wanted to snuggle in bed. We stumbled through our morning routine until we heard banging on the door at 6:45am. Our neighbor, Evan, was yelling through the storm door "the bus is coming! the bus is coming!"


Needless to say, we jumped up from the table and dashed outside. (Miles started screaming, "I need a hug! I need a hug!" in a half-nervous/half-excited voice --- as if he was expected to head to the bus stop himself.) Once at the end of the street we learned that our bus wasn't coming, but then realized that Miles had yet to go to the bathroom. I looked around and then instructed Miles to "pee in the pine straw like Bodie". I know, I know....but Miles thought it was really funny!



The boys had fun checking out each others' backpacks and being silly at the bus stop. Don't they look sleepy?


Once the bus arrived it literally gulped them up...this driver had a schedule to keep! I'm not even sure if the boys had time to take off their backpacks before she was on to the next stop. Miles later told me that riding the bus in the morning was "fun".


The afterschool ride was a different story. The bus filled up with big kids (4th & 5th graders) before the kindergarteners got on, so Miles was left to fend for himself and take a seat in the back. The poor guy was a wreck when he arrived home. Miles didn't recognize anyone until the end of the bus ride (Evan went to aftercare on a different bus). The first thing he said was, "a big kid sat with me for awhile, then he got off and I was sitting all alone." It was hard to tell which part was more devastating.

Needless to say, I called the Transportation Department to request that our bus driver abide by the unofficial rule to place kindgergarteners in the front. The lady I spoke to was amazing and said that she would contact the driver personally and then call me back to relay the conversation. She also asked me to call her back on Tuesday with a debrief of Miles' experience. Impressive -- I hope it works!

A Very Good Day!

Miles came home from school happy and seemed to really enjoy his first day. He shared a few pieces of information (e.g., 2 kids bought lunch, he learned how to log-in & log-out of the computer, kindergarten classrooms have bathrooms attached, etc...) and it took all afternoon/evening to get those nuggets. Alas, we just may be in dark about the majority of his life from this point forward...unless, by chance, he dates a chatty girl someday who spills the beans on his intriguing life. (There's hope!)




Noah's teacher pulled me aside today to tell me that she is astonished by his fine motor skills. She's amazed daily by his artwork and said that she's really impressed by how well he listens and follows directions. Maybe he's peaking at age 3?....or, maybe he'll be a surgeon one day -- that is if he gets over his insane clumsiness. I wouldn't want him randomly falling to the floor during the middle of a procedure!



Griffin and I hung out in a strangely quiet house this morning. We ate comfort food for lunch (I made homemade chicken and vegetable soup!) and Griffin walked around with the boys' old lunch boxes in hand. It was as if he was showing me that he's ready for school too!

Miles has Entered the Building!

Miles started his first day of kindergarten today amidst torrential rainfall (brought on by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay), terrible flooding (some of the worst in decades across Charlotte), and an uprooted tree blocking the usual entrance to his school. We were a few minutes late - but we made it!



Miles woke up and said, "mommy, my whole body feels funny." He agreed that it felt like 'little butterflies' were in his tummy and I told him that I felt the same way on my first day of school. He decided to wear his school t-shirt and he completed the look with a humongous egg on his forehead (courtesy of so much fun playing in jumpy castles with his brothers and Ella & Jack yesterday).

The kindergarteners are staggered the first week, so today he's in class with 4 other boys. His second day will be Friday. The entire class will be there and he'll be riding the bus. Big week!

The Kindergarten Countdown is On!

Its hard to believe that in 12 short hours Miles will start his first kindergarten class. Wow! He is feeling nervous -- but we know that Miles will make friends quickly and will have so much fun. Tonight he said that he is most excited about 'wearing his new ninja turtle backpack' and 'drawing things' at school. He's also looking forward to riding the bus on Friday (he wants to wait until his 2nd day of school to tackle this one!).

I anticipated being so sad tonight. Instead, some verses popped into my head and I feel such assurance that the time is right. Jeremiah 29: 11-13 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Here we go!

A Boy & His Dog

Hmm....what should I do next? I know! A round of 'fetch' with Bodie!


Not so fast! Gotta stretch first!



Get those muscles loose!



Go, Bodie, go!


Good run, Bodie!


Come on....Let's go another round....

Happy Birthday Lindsey!

We LOVE you and think that you are SUPER FUN! xoxoxo

Hangin' with (Soon-To-Be!) School Friends

Today was Open House at Selwyn Elementary, so Miles and I went and checked out his new room. He starts next week and I've recently decided he'll probably be riding the bus. Yikes!

I was fighting back the tears during the Open House, but will fall asleep at ease. The reason? Three awesome neighborhood moms that I spent the evening with. We got our little cuties together for a playdate -- to remind them to look for each other on the bus, in the lunchroom, and on the playground. I feel so blessed to be living where we are and the more people I get to know, the more I look forward to raising our boys in this neighborhood.


On your mark...get set....KINDERGARTEN!


And they're off!...feeling good about their upcoming independence!


Sydney took a turn on the swing. She, Noah, and Claire will have their turns in no time!


Will was a daredevil on the bike. Here he is riding "blindfolded" (or at least it seems that way!).


Miles had a great time tonight! As nervous as I am about him starting school, I just know he'll flourish. God has amazing things in store for Miles -- and look forward to his life unfolding!

Say "NO" to Multi-Tasking!

Griffin was strapped into his highchair, drinking a bottle while I double-checked Miles' school supplies to make sure we'd gotten everything on the list. I was 10 feet away and tended to this task for 10 seconds. Griffin proceeded to pour his milk out onto the tray of his highchair and then splash in it. Milk was all over him, all over the windows, all over the table, all over the floor. To me, multi-tasking became a 4-letter-word....to Griff?....sheer delight!

Griffin's Nightime Routine

While Miles and Noah continued playing in the bathtub, Griffin climbed up onto a stool and started getting ready for bed.


He brushed his teeth.


He "spit".


He brushed his hair (while looking in the mirror).


He brushed his teeth AND hair WHILE looking in the mirror.


Of course, as I continued to watch in amazement at this perfect routine, he had a brain freeze and momentarily slipped the comb in his mouth. (He quickly recovered and resumed his simultaneous grooming.)

When Mike gets home he'll be excited to learn that another son has inherited his cleanliness gene!