Happy Birthday Mimi!

Yesterday morning started early when we went watch Handley cheer her second game.  She did a fantastic job, stayed focused the entire game, and really enjoyed cheering while a lot of the other girls were more interested in picking grass or wearing their megaphones as hats.  :-)  After the game she got the "Cheer" star sticker award for doing such a great job cheering.

During a quick practice before the game

3rd quarter snack/water break

I think one of her favorites parts of the game is still getting to run through the tunnel.  Just look at how happy she looks as she was running past us.

Harper knows a lot of the cheers and chimed in on one or two during the game when she thought no one was watching.

Uncle Trey and Stefanie also got to come watch after Trey's tennis match.  Handley was so excited to have everyone there watching and supporting her.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at home watching football and preparing for Mimi's birthday dinner.  The girls helped me make cupcakes and Robby grilled an awesome meal for us.

After dinner and presents we went back outside to enjoy the wonderful weather with some corn hole, frisbee throwing and good old rolling around in the grass (done by Handley and Harper).  It was the perfect end to a perfect day!

Happy Birthday Mimi!!!  We are so happy we got to spend the weekend with you and help you celebrate your birthday. 

Hudson - 2 months

Hudson is two months old today! I am just loving this little boy so much and I'm really enjoying this sweet phase as he starts to interact with us more.  He is SUCH a good baby.  When I walk/run during the week he just rides happily in the stroller, taking in everything around him.  When I'm getting the girls dressed for school, he hangs out in the swing or on a blanket in one of their rooms without fussing.  As I feed them breakfast, pack their lunches and school bags, and rush everyone out the door, he looks on from his bouncy seat.  He'll often fall asleep one place, transfer to his car seat, and continue his nap in the car as we head to and from pre-school, ballet, gymnastics, or play dates.  I couldn't have asked for a better go-with-the-flow baby.  

I took him for his two month check-up yesterday and he did great. I think he knew we were there and he was showing off.  He started smiling and cooing at me more than he ever had before. He's growing quickly and gained 3 lbs in one month! His stats are: 

Weight- 12 lbs. 7 oz (85th percentile)
Length- 22 1/2 inches (50th percentile)
Head cir.- 15 1/2 inches (50th percentile)

He had to get two shots and one oral vaccine. He screamed as he got his shots, but as soon as I picked him up he calmed down and fell asleep in his cat seat immediately after that. He also spent most of the remainder of the day sleeping. 

At two months Hudson: 

• goes to bed around 8:30 PM, wakes between 2-4 AM to nurse, and goes back to sleep until around 6:30/7 AM
• is on a very flexible eat, play, sleep routine
• can easily nap in his car seat, in the swing, in the front carrier, or in his crib
• generally puts himself to sleep in his crib with no crying or fussing
• has really started cooing and smiling at us a lot this week
• is loved very dearly by his big sisters
• doesn't seem to mind tummy time at all and is pretty strong
• is wearing 0-3 month and 3 month clothing
• continues to be a very laid back baby boy and the perfect 3rd child

My parents are here for the weekend and we could not be more excited!  Yesterday the girls probably asked me 100 times when they would arrive.  Today they got to come with us to Harper's gymnastics and she loved showing them what she could do. 

Tomorrow they'll get to watch Handley cheer her second game and we're all looking forward to that!  Our weather really cooled off today, so it will be perfect football weather all weekend.  The girls are enjoying every second of having Mimi and Dadaw here.  Hudson is too because he's getting held a lot and even got to enjoy falling asleep in Mimi's arms this afternoon while the girls were outside playing.  I'm loving all the extra help and the chance to get some things done around the house without feeling guilty about taking time away from the kids.  If only I could have them here with me everyday...I might finally get through my mile long to-do list. :-) 

A full day of football

This morning was the first game of the flag football season.  Handley was SO excited about cheering this morning and had been practicing her cheers all week long.  She got dressed in her uniform and certainly looked the part.  Today is also Robby's birthday so we gave him his gift before heading out to Chick-fil-a for a quick breakfast on the way to the game.

Handley and her school-friend, Avery, excited for their first game

Big girls with their little sisters

 Before the game began the cheerleaders got to run through the tunnel as everyone cheered for them.  Then they cheered as the football players ran through.  I think this was everyone's favorite part of today.

Next it was time to start cheering.  All of the girls did a great job, cheered as loud as they could, and had fun using their pom-poms and megaphones.

At half-time they got to go to the center of the field and do a cheer for everyone and then during 3rd quarter of the game they had a little break before cheering 4th quarter.  While some of the girls seemed to loose interest after half-time Handley was really into it the whole time and stayed focused on the game.  After the game they get a snack and the coaches give out star stickers for their megaphones based on what characteristics each girl displayed. Today Handley got the leadership star and we were so proud of her!

When we got home Harper was eager to show me her cheering skills too.  She wants so badly to be out on the field with Handley and knows a lot of the cheers they do.  She's also really good at calling the Dawgs. :-)

Next it was time to get ready for our birthday party for Robby.  We had some friends over to grill out and watch the UGA game.  We love cheering for the Bulldogs and any chance to wear our red and black.

As Robby was grilling burgers, Handley and Avery noticed the smoke coming from the grill.  They decided that they needed to be fire women and put out the fire.  Next thing I know they had on fire hats and tutus and were using a light sword as their fire hose.  Talk about creativity!  

Even though the Dawgs couldn't pull out a win tonight,  everyone enjoyed watching football, playing outside, and visiting with friends as we celebrated Robby's birthday.

The girls singing Happy Birthday to their Daddy

Little Brothers are AWESOME

The cooler weather that we've had the past few days forced me to scramble to find some clothes for the kids to wear.  Thankfully Gigi had given Hudson this little brother onesie and pants outfit.  We took a cue from his clothing and our saying for the day was, "Little Brothers are AWESOME!"

It certainly is true and we just love, love, love our little guy.  I know I'll probably jinx myself by saying this, but he is proving to be such a good baby.  He's so laid back and content and has even started sharing a few smiles here and there (although you really have to work for it).

Our morning started bright and early.  Not quite sure why, but the girls have started waking up before 7 AM on most days.  Before I go to bed each night I fix a few baggies of cereal for them to eat while they watch some early morning cartoons.  This little trick allows me to stay in bed just a little bit longer.  Here they are having a Lucky Charms party in my bed this morning.

The girls had another wonderful day at school.  Week two is proving to be just as great as week one.  Handley was happy to tell me about a new friend she made in her class today and Harper seems to be the social butterfly in her class that I expected her to be.  They love sharing their artwork with me when they get home and are so proud of what they've done.

Our Labor Day weekend was pretty uneventful.  We had zero plans the whole weekend and while it was nice to just be around home, we were all a little stir crazy by day three.  The biggest news over the weekend was that we sold our boat.  After listing it on craigslist, it sold just a few days later.  Robby said it felt weird seeing it drive away being pulled by someone else's car.  We made SO many wonderful memories on that boat, but now we are looking forward to getting something bigger and better to accommodate our family of five and all of our friends, too!

Special Things

Today was Harper's last day of school for the week and she was just as excited to go today as she was on Monday.  I'm so happy that this transition has been a smooth one and that she is so happy at school.  This morning when she woke up she was dancing in circles in my room singing, "Me go school today, me go school today."  Handley has been equally excited to get to her class.  I've especially enjoyed hearing all of the things Handley is doing at school and can't get over how grown up she seems to be in Pre-K. From what I can gather, their class is run like a real classroom would be in Elementary school.  Not that she didn't learn a lot in her 2 and 3 year old classes, but I can just tell from the little bits she has shared about the classroom procedures, etc. that this is the real deal and she is loving every second.

I'm constantly amazed at how quickly the 4 hours pass while they are at school. I have no trouble filling that time running errands and am trying to use part of those hours to get in some exercise too.  I'm tried of wearing the same 3 pairs of shorts that fit me right now and I'm determined to fit into my pants when it cools off this fall.  Thankfully Hudson continues to sleep just fine in the stroller and the car and doesn't seem to mind being toted around.  In the past week or so his eyes are getting bluer and he is getting BIGGER.  I can't believe how much he has grown.  He's also woken up a lot and although he still sleeps a lot he also has longer periods of wake time where he is pretty happy to just look around and take in all his surroundings.  Aside from today, he seems to have outgrown most of the gas pain issues we were battling and I'm SO thankful.

Just so I don't forget about this years from now, I want to share a picture of Handley's "special things" that she keeps under her bed.

A bunch of random stuff really, but special to her. :-)

From the pictures you can see her prized bubble gum machine, her sleeping bag, a basket of totally random stuff including some things for her baby doll, a gift bag, and bubble wrap.  Yes, bubble wrap.  It came in a gift we received a few weeks ago and after I showed her how to pop she hid it under her bed so I wouldn't throw it away.  She started her stash a few weeks ago when she didn't want Harper to find certain things, but she announced it right in front of Harper, so of course now she knows all about what is under there.  The funny thing is that now Harper thinks she should be stashing things under her bed too.  However, she has a trundle under her bed so there isn't much room.  The last time I checked all she had was a dress-up jewel ring and a piece of ripped paper about the size of stick of gum.  She started crying when I tried to throw it away.  I saw it on the floor and thought it was trash.  Little did I know, it was something "special" she wanted under her bed.  If anyone comes over to our house they both beg for our visitors to come to their rooms and see all of their "special things" under their beds.  Those two keep me laughing, that's for sure.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for both girls!  They woke up early and excited.  After getting dressed we came downstairs to find special notes for each of them from Daddy (who left for work early before the girls got up) giving them a pep-talk and wishing them a great first day.  As they ate Handley was giving Harper advice on how to meet new friends in her class.

When we got to school they both buzzed around chatting with their friends in the lobby while waiting for the classroom hallway doors to open at 9 AM.  As soon as Handley saw the doors open she literally took off running!  I had to remind her to wait for me.  We dropped Harper off at her classroom first and I wasn't surprised when she walked right in without looking back.  I grabbed her for a quick hug and then she was off, but not before flashing me the biggest smile.

Next it was Handley's turn and just like Harper, she walked right in without looking back.  I walked back past Harper's classroom to peek in before I left and found that all of the kids in there were crying...except Harper who still had a big smile on her face.

When I picked them up this afternoon both girls were eager to tell me all about their day, their classrooms, and all of the fun stuff they did.  Handley was especially excited to tell me about all the "special" things her class will get to do this year.

They played school all afternoon and outside after dinner I was appointed the teacher as they played school some more.  As I was putting Harper to bed it occurred to me that I needed to let her know we would be taking Handley to school tomorrow, but that she would be coming back home with me and Hudson.  She was NOT happy about that and kept saying, "Me go to school too" over and over.  I assured her that after one day at home with me she would get to go back to school on Wednesday.  I'm so happy that they both had such a fantastic day!

Last summer lake weekend

The weekend started off with Harper's gymnastics class.  She gets so excited about going and even though it's a mommy and me class, she really wants nothing to do with me once we are there and prefers that her teacher, Mrs. Rita, help her with everything. 

After gymnastics and a quick lunch at Chick-fil-a we made our way to the lake for the last summer lake weekend.  The house is rented for the weekends the next month so we wanted to be sure to enjoy it while we could.  Jen, Justen and Parker came up with us and the girls were just thrilled to have another baby around.  Parker is a lot more fun than Hudson right now since he is way more interactive and they couldn't get enough of him.

Handley is such a little Mommy.  She does so great with the babies and is so sweet with them.  I love listening to her talk to Hudson and I know he is going to idolize her (just like Harper does) as he gets a little older.  Handley also dressed up Parker in her pink hat and gave him baby dolls to play with all weekend.

We had fun grilling out, spending time on the boat, swimming, and having lunch at the Tiki Hut where the girls enjoyed the duck feeding frenzy.  Who knew ducks liked left-over french fries!  Gigi and Papa joined us up there last minute on Saturday too so we had a full house that was full of fun!

This picture of Harper and Papa cracked me up when I saw it.  Harper definitely has the "wind-blown" look and you can tell it was past nap-time with her tired eyes and her thumb in her mouth.

The girls have their first day of school tomorrow so we spent the evening preparing lunches, picking out clothes, and getting everything in order for tomorrow!