Muffins with Mom

This morning was "Muffins with Mom" at the girls' school.  They were looking forward to this day for the past two weeks and I was, too! I had to split the 45 minutes between the two classes.  We went to Harper's class first where she got to show us her morning routine and then we had muffins and juice.  I let Handley come with me so she wouldn't have to be in her classroom alone and she did a great job of hanging with us, but letting this be Harper's special time.

When it was time to go to Handley's class I gave Harper the choice of coming with us or staying with Parker and his mom.  We'd talked about it for several days and every time I asked her she said she wanted to stay with Parker's mom.  She sent me these sweet pictures of the them and I know she had a great time.

Apparently, after all the moms left Harper was regretting her choice and she got really upset because she wanted to come with me to Handley's class.  I was so sad to hear that she was crying, but when we talked about it this afternoon she told me next time she wants to go with us.

Handley's classroom was fun.  We ate more muffins, had more juice, and then her teacher showed off the portraits of the moms the kids had drawn and read a little fill-in-the-blank they had done for each of us.  It has us all laughing.

They kids also sang a cute little song and then got to show us around to their favorite parts of their classroom.

A BIG thank you to my friend, Christy, for watching Hudson for me this morning so I could really focus on the girls.

After school today I took the girls to get their flu shots and they were both so brave.  Neither of them even flinched and were happy to get their treats for their shots.  Next up was Handley's gymnastics and then finally home.  Harper was not acting like herself all afternoon and laid around on the couch all night.  I'm hoping she wakes up feeling more like herself in the morning.

Meanwhile, Hudson is getting over a double ear infection.  Poor little guy has been pretty miserable and I kept attributing it to the teeth is getting.  I finally took him in to the doctor on Tuesday and sure enough...double ear infection.  Thankfully he is pretty much back to him happy self now with the the help of some antibiotics.  He's also got a new trick.  He can get to the standing position all by himself without pulling up on anything.  He did it over and over today.  Now if he can only figure out how to move his little feet and take a few steps!

Camping with Daddy

Robby loves camping and has been talking about taking the girls for quite some time now.  Saturday was the big night.  The girls were so excited and had fun getting all of their things packed and ready to go.  After cheerleading on Saturday we came home, they loaded up, and were off!  Hudson and I hung around here and got a few things checked off the to-do list while they were off having a big adventure in the woods.

Gigi and Papa actually came and met them for the afternoon and stayed to make s'mores.  I think that was probably what they were most looking forward too.  Harper and Handley both love marshmallows!

Everyone reported back that they had a wonderful time.  They went on a nature hike, made s'mores, and had a "movie theater" experience in their tent at night with the iPad.  Everyone slept great last night and this morning after packing up they made a stop by "Old McDonald's" for breakfast.  Handley and Harper went on and on about how much fun they had and I'm so happy they were able to have this big adventure with Robby (and that I still got to enjoy the comforts of my house)!

Pink or Blue???

Tonight Trey and Stefanie had their families over for a gender reveal dinner party!  They went to an early ultrasound place yesterday and found out the sex of their baby.  :-)

We all got to vote BOY or GIRL and enjoy pizza and cupcakes for dinner.  

The kids ran around outside in the yard and then it was time for the big reveal. Trey and Stefanie already knew, so it wasn't a surprise for them, but it was for everyone else.  We even got my mom on FaceTime so she could be included in the reveal, too.  

All the kids were beating on the box waiting for it to open!

I love this picture!  They already knew it was a girl, but I just love the joy you can see on both of their faces.

We're all excited about a new baby GIRL and can't wait to welcome her next March!!!

Family Portrait

Since Handley was born I've wanted a big family portrait hanging in my house.  However, I knew I wanted more children, so I waited.  Then Harper came along and again I contemplated a big picture.  However, I really felt like we were going to add one more to our family and then our sweet baby boy, Hudson, arrived.  Finally, we are complete.  And finally, I have my big family portrait hanging in my house!  To say I love it, is an understatement.  I saw an idea for a frame I loved on Pinterest and then Jen from At First Sight Photography helped me with ordering a custom frame to showcase one of the beach pictures she took of us this summer.  I walk past it every chance I get and every time I see it I stop and smile.  

The temperatures have cooled off a little this week and it has been gorgeous outside.  A lot of days that I have to fill the 1-2 pm hour between picking up Harper and Handley I take the kids to a nearby little playground.  Today we invited Parker to come with us and it was fun for everyone.  I picked up Harper and Parker from school and we were on our way! Parker's mom sent a special snack for the kids to enjoy and after eating it they were ready to play. 

Parker is just the sweetest little boy and I am so thankful that he and Harper gravitated towards each other last year.  I enjoyed having him spend a little time with us this afternoon just as much as Harper did.  He's got the cutest personality and is such a sweetheart.  They were both sad to leave when we had to head back to the school.  I promised them we would do it again very soon though!

Whirlwind weekend

Our weekend started out bright and early on Saturday getting ready for Handley's cheerleading game.  They did their group pictures ahead of the game and then there was a lot of standing around to wait for their game to start.  It's always fun to be there though because we see SO many people we know.  A lot of families from the pre-school are there and some of the teachers and their families, too.

Handley did a great job cheering again this weekend and because her coach was back this week, I got to watch a little more than I did last week.

We came home to a mountain of mulch in our driveway and after a quick lunch Robby and the girls made their way outside to start spreading it.  The girls lasted all day and I couldn't believe how excited they were about helping out.  Harper's sweet friend, Parker, also stopped by on Saturday for a quick visit, which she LOVED! :-)  They are always so cute together and this was no exception.

Saturday night we had some friends over to watch the game, but since it didn't start until late, the kids got to play outdoors!

Sunday we made our way up to visit with Gigi and Papa and also celebrated Robby's birthday with them since they were out of town last week on his real birthday weekend.

While we were there Harper and Handley basically held Gigi hostage upstairs in her playroom.  I went up to check on them at some point and found them playing the funniest game.  Handley was pretending to be Gigi putting on her make-up and Harper was Fatima (the lady who cleans Gigi's house) cleaning the kitchen.  Those two are a hoot!

After we got on the road Robby nudged me to check out the backseat where ALL THREE kids were snoozing away.  They got to have a quick rest before we ended our day at Leah's 2nd birthday party.  It was a whirlwind, but it was a wonderful weekend!

Monkey Bars

This afternoon we went to the neighborhood playground and the kids enjoyed playing with friends and running around.  Not long after we got there I looked over to see Handley crossing the monkey bars for the first time ever! I didn't even know she could do it and I think she surprised herself. I had her do it again just so I could document this milestone!

A reminder...

Today I got to have a nice long chat with a dear friend from college.  She just had her 3rd baby a few days ago and listening to her share her overwhelming love for her sweet new baby girl made me long for that that time back with my babies.  Our conversation was just such a huge reminder for me to slow down, enjoy the stage I'm at and soak up every second I can with all three of my kids.  Earlier this week we started watching some old video clips of Handley from around the time she was two.  It was fun to watch, but made me sad at the same time because I feel like I don't even remember that stage.  It passed so quickly.  Too quickly.  Now that I'm in tears typing this, I'm going to remind myself, once again, to just let all the "extra" stuff go and focus my time on what really matters...spending time with my kids, cherishing these days with them little and making sure they know just how loved they are.   

That being said, I've really been enjoying my one on one time with Hudson while the girls are at school.  Just this week he seems so much bigger and older to me.  I love this sweet age he is at.  He's saying a lot of new words, doing a lot of new things, and understanding.  

He loves to point to things now and say "that" and he also loves to say "uh-oh" when he drops something or sees something on the ground.  It's so cute because a lot of times he will say "uh-oh" and point around before he even has found something to show me.  He can also say "Dada" which is also sometimes "Gaga"but means the same thing and "ba-ba" which mean "baby." I think he is saying his version of "Harper" because every time I mention picking her up at school he tries to repeat her name. He can also say his version of "hug."  He loves to do a big exaggerated hug with me where he will lay his head on my shoulder, say "hug" and give me a long squeeze. Then he will lean back, look at me, and do it again.  I'd play that game with him all day long if he let me.  

Earlier this week I was reading him a peek-a-boo book that teaches body parts.  We've read it a lot of times and he loves to play peek-a-boo at the end, but I was floored when he pointed to his mouth and held up his feet when I asked him where those parts were.  I called everyone in his room to see his trick, but of course he wouldn't perform under pressure. 

One other cute thing that happened today while we were running errands.  We were in a craft/fabric store because I needed a certain color thread and a few other things.  After I got it off the shelf he was pointing to it and saying "that" so I let him hold it.  When we got up to the register I told him to put it down and he set it on the counter.  Then after we paid he pointed to the bag and wanted to carry it.  He held on tight until we got to our car and then I opened the front door and told him to put the bag on the seat...and he did and he knew exactly what I was telling him.  I was shocked and it just proved to me that he is understanding way more than I give him credit for.  

Before we picked up the girls from school today we met our friends at the park to play and have a picnic.  It was Leah's 2nd birthday and her mom, Lisa, brought cute sprinkle cookies for the kids to have to celebrate.  Hudson wanted no part of his lunch, but had no problem scarfing down the cookie.  He has such a sweet tooth! 

Cheering the first game!

On Saturday, Handley cheered her first game of the season and she did such a great job. I was so proud of her!  Their coach was unable to attend the first game, so my friend and I offered to help out and coach the girls. It was a lot of fun and Handley loved that I was coaching.  I was really impressed with all the girls and loved that Handley stayed focused the entire game, was yelling and cheering as loud as she could, knew all of her cheers and motions, and she even got the "spirit" star for her megaphone from the mom in charge of passing out the awards at the end of each game.  She told me on the way home that she loves cheerleading and that the games are much more fun than the practices because she can run the the tunnel, wear her uniform, and cheer loud for the players to help them score.  Robby told her this just might be her "thing."

Harper knows all of Handley's cheers and practices them with her at home.  I need to video them because it really is adorable.  She wants so badly to be out there with her.  Next year she will be old enough and I can't wait for that!  She wanted to wear her UGA cheerleading outfit so she could cheer for Handley.

Before the game

We spent the rest of the around the house and the girls helped me make cupcakes for Robby's birthday.

That night Trey and Stefanie came over to have dinner and watch the game with us.  Since kick-off wasn't until the girls' bedtime, I told them they could stay up late and watch part of the game.  They got on their PJ's and did cheers for the Dawgs the entire first half, then it was time for bed.  The rest of us stayed up thought and stayed glued to the TV and the exciting game.

During commercial breaks Stefanie and I were checking out all the baby stuff I've been stashing away in our basement to pass on to them.  They are expecting their first baby in March and we couldn't be more excited!!!

Robby's Birthday Dinner

Friday morning as we were getting ready to leave to take Handley to school, Harper was moping around and pouting because she wasn't going to school.  She asked me about several of her friends from the neighborhood, and I told her they all had school that day.  She proceeded to tell me, "that's not fair...all my friends get to go to school and I have to stay home."  I explained to her that she got to go on Thursday when they all had to stay home, but she didn't care.  Her response was, "Well, I'm not very happy about this."  I tried to get her excited about being home with Hudson and I and told her we were going to buy Daddy a birthday present.  Right away she knew she wanted to get him a big bag of M&M's (his favorite candy).  Just before we left the house she ran upstairs and came back down with "two monies" (pennies) to help buy his present.

She kept those monies in her pocket the whole trip and helped pick out the biggest bag or M&M's we could find at Wal-Mart.  At the checkout counter I paid and as we were walking out the doors to the parking lot she remembered her money.  I had completely forgotten.  I told her she could save it since I had already paid, but she told me she really wanted to buy the M&M's so we turned ourselves around, found the sweet lady who had checked us out and Harper gave her the penny's.

Later that afternoon we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch.  Hudson discovered that he could climb up to the top of the playground area and Harper was excited to help him slide down.  However, once he got up there he really didn't want to get down. I kept thinking I would be climbing up myself to get him down, but she eventually convinced him to slide down.  He came down backwards, half upside down and looking quite uncomfortable, but he was squealing and smiling and loving it!

That afternoon while Hudson was napping I got ready for a dinner/date night with some of our friends to celebrate Robby's birthday.  As I was curling my hair, Harper came in and asked me why I was making my hair ruffly.  I thought that was just so cute and I asked her if she had ruffly hair, but she told me hers was curly.

My sweet cousin, Bryn, recently moved to Atlanta and I am so excited that she is nearby now.  She came over and babysat for us Friday night and the girls were thrilled.  They watched out the window for her for at least an hour before she arrived.  After giving her all the instructions for bedtime, we were off to meet our best friends for dinner at Robby's favorite, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  We had a wonderful dinner and loved getting to catch up and laugh with all of our friends.

Trooper

I've been in a weird mood this week.  I can't pinpoint it and I'm not sure why, but I've just felt stressed and rushed and frazzled.  It might be the fact that the weather around here this week has been dreadful.  Not really rainy, and not really sunny, just gloomy.  It might also be the fact that starting first thing Monday morning we do NOT stop the crazy schedule until Friday afternoon.  It's wearing me out and while I don't regret the schedule I planned for our weeks, I think it's going to take me a few weeks to get adjusted.  It sure was nice to come home this afternoon after Handley's gymnastics class, sit on the couch and just watch the kids play.  The girls and I changed into "comfy clothes" and enjoyed our afternoon at home.  After I soaked up having all three kids playing together in the living room we made our way upstairs where the kids played, and played, and played in the playroom and I got tons of stuff done.

The girls relaxing and writing in their notebooks.

 I thought for sure that Hudson would be cranky this evening, but he was till going strong at 7:30 when I declared that he must go to bed.  He only had one nap today, and that only lasted about 30 minutes tops in the car mid-morning.  Thursdays are tough because he doesn't get an afternoon nap since Handley has gymnastics right after school. I kept thinking he might nod off in the car again late this afternoon, but he was so happy to have both of his big sisters beside him, that he was all smiles and squeals.

He is a trooper.  He could be unhappy to be dragged around to school drop-off, pick-ups, gymnastics, etc., but he LOVES it.  Granted, it's all he knows, but he makes the most of each situation and does it with a huge smile on his face.

At pre-school drop-off he immediately wiggles out of my arms and crawls around everyone's feet as we wait for the hallway doors to open at 9 AM.  He soaks in the attention from his sisters trying to show him off.

Running errands with me he smiles, waves, and "sings" for all the people around us to hear.  When he tires of that and his snacks, he moves on to grabbing for anything within reach and then somehow manages to wiggle out of the seat belt on the shopping carts and stands up, daring me with a grin to tell him to sit back down on his bottom.

Lunch today was fun because we met some friends and he was entertained by all of his friends.  He was happy until they all were able to get down and start walking around and he wasn't able to get down and crawl.

Next we rushed off to pick up Harper and then went to the nearby playground until it was time to get Handley.  He was SO excited and because it has a rubber ground and I didn't have to worry about him crawling on wood chips, he had free reign.  He crawled around that playground, through the tunnels and face first down the mini-slide as fast as he could.  He basically toppled off the end of the slide every time, but he thought it was the greatest thing ever.

He wasn't thrilled when it was time to leave and pick up Handley, but when he realized we got to go back in the school (meaning he could get down and crawl around) he was happy and immediately found the cubbies in the hallway to pull in and out of their spots.

At gymnastics he entertained himself by snacking and playing with his toys.  Then he quickly found the older girls sitting near us who were waiting on their class to begin.  They were doting all over him and he was LOVING it.  He can certainly turn on the charm, when he wants too.

One other cute and funny thing he does now is say "MMmmmm!!!" When he likes eating something.  He is really animated about it and acts as if he is howling as he gives a big MMmmm!  So funny!

Doing his howling Mmmm after eating something yummy. 

The girls both have had fantastic weeks at school.  Handley got to bring the "All About Me" bag home so she was able to put in a few items from home to share with her friends to tell about herself.  That also meant she got to be "interviewed" in front of the class by her teacher and got to be the line-leader, which, as you can imagine, is a VERY big deal.

Harper also got to be one of the "helpers" in her class on Wednesday.  She was thrilled to tell me she got to pass out cups for snack-time, be the line-leader, hold the American flag for the Pledge of Allegiance, and sit at the special helper table.

A special day for Handley

We had a great Labor Day weekend.  We enjoyed a low-key weekend at the lake and left bright and early this morning.  We were heading home in time for Handley to go with her friend, Grace, to the American Girl Cafe for lunch to celebrate Grace's birthday.  She had invited Handley and another girlfriend and this was something Handley had been looking forward to for several weeks.  It was an especially a big deal because Handley got to ride in Grace's car, without us.

I got a text from Grace's mom with this cute picture of the girls having lunch. 

Harper was not thrilled with the idea of Handley leaving and as we stood on the porch and told Handley and Grace's family goodbye, Harper watched from inside, peering out the dining room window.  As soon as we came inside she burst into tears and was so, so sad.  I know this is just the beginning of her getting disappointed when Handley gets to do something that she doesn't.  Thankfully, it didn't take her long to cheer up and she had fun running errands with Robby the rest of the afternoon.

Handley got home just in time for us to get her changed and for us to load everyone up for tennis.  Harper was so happy to see her that she kept hugging her over and over.  It was so sweet.  They were fighting a minute later, but still sweet to see how much the love each other.  Handley went on and on about how much fun the lunch was and she even came home with a new little toy puppy for her doll.  She was happy that Robby could come watch her at tennis, since he is usually at work on Monday afternoons.  Hudson was also happy he was there and spent a lot of the time practicing his balancing and standing alone, something he is very proud of and getting very good at!

This evening as I was helping Handley pick out her clothes for school tomorrow, it was extremely quiet in the other room.  I poked my head in Harper's room to find Hudson surrounded by all of the contents of Harper's bottom drawer.  All of her panties and PJ's.  The girls thought it was hilarious and soon it turned into a PJ's party with them tossing them around and squealing with laughter.  I'm glad I had my phone handy to grab quickly and capture that fun!

After we got everything cleaned up, it didn't take him 5 minutes to find her bathing suit cover-ups and give a repeat performance.  And that is why the girls' bedroom doors usually remain closed.  That and the fact that his other favorite thing to do is toss around all the American Girl Doll shoes, clothes and accessories all over the floor in Handley's room.

One other quick thing I don't want to forget.  This evening I was helping Handley write a thank-you note to Grace and her mom for taking her with them today.  I was spelling a word for her and told her the letter "a."  She looked at me and said, "A, that's a vowel...A-E-I-O-U and sometimes Y."  I asked her how she knew that and she said Mrs. O'Kelley told her and that they sing a song about vowels at school.  Only a week in Kindergarten and she is already surprising me with stuff she knows.  I couldn't believe it!