Snow

Well, we had a little bit of snow over the weekend!  The talk of the town on Thursday and Friday was the big storm heading to the east coast that might bring some snow to the south.  We were hopeful we'd get something and they prepared by dismissing school two hours early so that everyone could be home safely before it all began. Well the kids waited and waited for snow, but it wasn't doing anything so I finally put them to bed, but not before we flushed ice cubes down the potty and put on their PJ's inside out.  They went to sleep hoping their superstitions would help and it did.  Shortly after they were asleep it started snowing!  Now it didn't snow nearly as much as they had hoped, but when they woke up and saw some white stuff outside, they were all so excited and couldn't wait to get out in it and play.

We quickly had breakfast and got everyone bundled up.  The snow wasn't great for making snowballs, but they made do and still managed to throw snow at each other!  They slid in the snow, ran around, pretended to ice skate on icy patches, and loved every second of it.  Even Walker was loving it!

It didn't last long and they are hoping we'll get another real snow day soon, but for now we're looking forward to our upcoming ski trip and all of the snow they could imagine to play in!

Jen's Baby Shower

Over the weekend I threw a little baby shower for Jen!  She is about to have her third (and what she says is final) baby in a few short weeks.  We got together with a few of her closest girlfriends to celebrate!  

The girls helped me set everything up and it looked so pink and girly!  

I made a yarn wreath with her baby's initial on it and more glittery snowflakes. 

Stefanie was sweet enough to make this adorable banner for the shower and Jen took it home with her to hang in her nursery!

For food we had traditional southern shower food.  Croissants and chicken salad, cheese straws, fruit, vegetables and petit fours (also known as cake squares) from our favorite bakery, McEntyres.

We let the bigger girls stay for the shower because we knew they would enjoy it and they were a big help handing Jen gifts and played the perfect hostesses as guests were leaving. They made sure everyone got their favors and thanked them for coming.  

Jen got some really cute things for her baby girl.  Some adorable clothes, some baby essentials and diapers!

For favors I did my favorite thing for a girl's shower...nail polish!  I picked out an assortment of colors that matched with shower and tied them up with ribbon and little "It's a Girl" charms I found at Michael's.

It was the perfect girly favor and hopefully all of her friends will have fun painting their nails and that it will serve as a reminder of Jen and her sweet baby.

What We've Been Up To

I realize it has been a while since I've posted, but just a few days ago we were looking back at some of our blog book from past years and I realized just how much I love having these pictures and memories recorded somewhere.  I want to do better about posting more regularly.  You'll see in some of these pictures that I have a lot of pictures of Hudson and not as many of the girls.  It's sad, but I just see him more since the girls are in school all day and when they are home we are struggling to get homework completed and rushing from one activity to the next.  It's just the stage of life we are in.  

I really try to get the kids to help out around the house and give them little jobs that they need to complete.  Cleaning up their rooms, helping put away laundry and making their beds are some of these things.  I once read that when kids are 5 they should be able to make their beds.  The article said it won't look perfect by any means, but with practice it will get better each day.  I started doing this with the girls and now even Hudson, who is just 4 1/2, can make his bed.  It isn't perfect, but it's better than me having to do it.  On this day he was so proud to show me he did it without me even asking.  If you look closely you'll see the monogrammed pillow is upside down!  :-) 

This picture is so representative of Hudson right now. Two of the things he loves most...Ninja Turtles and Walker.  They were hanging out waiting for the girls to get home at the bus stop.  

Speaking of Walker, that dog is as loyal (and needy) as they come. When I'm home and the kids are all at school he is stuck to me like glue.  He follows me around, I take him on his walk, and he is never too far away.  On this day I was trying to do some crunches (sticking to my 2016 goal to take care of myself) and he was acting as my personal trainer to motivate me!

Everyday when I pick Hudson up from school he and his buddies race to "the field" to play for a few more minutes.  The field is just a grassy area outside of the playgrounds.  They make rock piles, look for treasures, play tag and recently they have been climbing trees.  He was so proud of himself!  

On Friday afternoon we had Handley and Harper's BFF's over for a playdate and had asked the girls if they wanted to bring pajamas and stay for pizza that night.  These girls all get along so well and had so much fun playing together.  They are the sweetest, most polite girls and the very best friends for my girls. I'm so thankful for their sweet friendship and the bond between them is amazing.  I can see them still remaining best friends through high school...it's that special!  

Yesterday we got to cheer Harper on at her basketball game and then we were off to Parker's birthday party!  I can hardly believe he is about to be 5 years old!  Hudson was so happy to jump and play with his best buddy.

The girls loved jumping, but they were most excited about trying out the rock climbing wall.

I always say that Harper is the more athletic one of the two and overall she is and things come a little easier to her while Handley has to work really hard for things.  That was not the case for this though. Handley scaled the wall with ease and made it right to the top!

We're really excited about this being a 3 day weekend and while we would usually be getting ready for the week, instead we get an extra day to sleep in, play, and be with friends.

New Year off to a Great Start!

Our New Year has been off to a great start.  We've stayed busy, as always, but it's been a good week.

The kids celebrated New Year's Eve with Gigi and Papa at Fernbank.  They went to a party there that included a balloon drop at noon, a DJ, dancing and more fun!  They had a great time!

While they did that we had fun with our grownup friends.  We went to dinner and everyone came back to our house to ring in the New Year.

While the kids were still off school we had lots of playdates with friends, played outdoors when it wasn't raining, checked out lots of their new toys, and the girls loved wearing all of their new clothes.

School started back this week and it was a tough week for all of us to get back into the swing of things, and we are so happy today is FRIDAY!!!  Looking forward to a weekend with nothing on the calendar except a basketball game for Harper.

Happy Weekend everyone!