Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town!

My very dear friend, Micah (Stand By Me) has started her own photography business and I am so happy for her. Micah (her website is http://www.micahleighphotography.com/) does amazing pictures, so when she asked if we would like to have Santa come over to our house to take pictures with some of our friends, my first response was Absolutely! My second thought (once I thought about how many small children would be in my house) was "oh, hell, what have I gotten myself into?!" I must say, it went very smoothly. Liam was so excited he couldn't stand it. Santa was not even all the way in the door, before Liam was all over him..."Santa, Santa, Santa, Iwantabuzzwightyearscootaforchristmas! Agreenwon! Abuzzwightyearwon!" To which, Santa made the very same face you are probably making right now. That translates to Santa, I want a Buzz Lightyear Scooter, but when you're that excited, it comes out kind of crazy! Even Annah was agreeable to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wants for Christmas. Thankfully, she was a little easier to understand! Our Elf, Elfie, has been keeping a very close eye on these little monkeys to make sure they stay on the nice list and get everything they want this year! As chaotic as the day was, I am so glad we did it! What an amazing experience for Annah and Liam to have Santa in their very own house! And we got the chance to share it with 20 of our closest friends! In the end, it was totally worth it...

Just look as those faces!

Micah, I think we have set a precedent, so get ready for next year!



Happy Fall Y'all!

OK-I admit it...I am a slack blogger! I have been so busy with Stella and Dot (which I am loving, by the way) that I haven't gotten much extra accomplished. So, here is the last month in a nutshell. As a warning, there are a LOT of pictures coming...

Will's dad was able to get the condo again this year. This is fantastic for trying to take kids to a football game! They can hang out, toss the football, cheer, we can go to the game, they can stay there...I love it!

We love to pick our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch! this year Gramme and Grandaddy met us there for some pumpkin picking fun!

Got the right one!

They have this great photo op area for nutty mommy's like me, who are under the impression that their kids will sit still, smile, and stay that way long enough for me to get the perfect picture...turns out sliding into the hay was much more fun that my idea....

Then we had to carve the pumpkins (and by carve, I mean put the Mrs Potato Head pieces into). They were so proud!



THEN...on to Boo at the Zoo

It was really too dark and they were running too fast to get very many pictures, but I did get a couple of them in the Foam Zone

Followed by another Gamecock victory. Annah went into one game last year but hardly made it through the first quarter. Liam had never been into one at all. They did so great and made it well into the 3rd quarter this time. The fireworks were a big hit!

Love this one!

and this one too!

Finally, real trick or treating! Liam got really into it this year and was so excited to YELL "trick or treat" to anyone who would listen!

Annah and Liam's preschool had their annual fall festival this past weekend and Annah's ballet class preformed. I was a little afraid she would freeze up there...it was really cold and there were a lot of people standing right there watching. But, she sure proved me wrong! She danced just like a star!

And last, but not least, we made our first leaf pile of the year just for jumping!

Oh, My Bean!

My sweet, sweet, Bean! Happy Birthday to my firstborn....the one who will for the rest of my life be the one who entered me into mommy-hood. This "club" of being a mom is one that I never knew how badly I wanted to join. Thank you for being my baby. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for being a wonderful sister. Thank you for always thinking of others. Thank you for your smile. Thank you for every minute of the last five years! It is such a gift to watch you grow. This birthday means you are no longer a toddler, but my girl...growing bigger and stronger every day. We love you to pieces and you are a ray of sunshine in our lives and hearts!

Now for the boring stuff...Annah's is (finally) growing! At her 5 year check-up she weighs in at a whopping 33 lbs. Putting her in the 10th %ile...this is actually an improvement as she has been in the 3rd %ile since she was a few weeks old. She is 41.5 inches tall (sadly too tall now for the free baby cones at Brewster's), which I think was the 15th %ile. She is also 1 billion times bigger in our hearts than she was just 5 years ago!

And Just Think...

My first "cell phone" came in a bag and had to be plugged in all the time to work

It's an EdVenture

When Annah was little (you know because she's so big now...incidently I overheard Annah and Delainey saying the other day, "Remember when we were liitle kids?"...but I digress) she called adventures "babentures." I was going to title this post like that, but it made the title "It's a Bed-benture," and I thought that might be a little risque sounding :)

Anyway, we met up with Alle (The Boys and Me) and Laura (The Columbia Fam) and Emily (A Can of Mixed Nuts) and all of the kids at EdVenture before school started. It was chaos, as always, but so much fun!

The always-popular fire truck. Liam has now decided he will be a fireman for Halloween (unless, of course, he is Buzz Lightyear, who is his "funny favorite")

You know, 'cause they pick eggs all the time

These two love a tractor!

Some shopping (this they should be good at!)

Someone finally gave them permission to splash with their clothes on!

And finally, my favorite picture of the day...

This is priceless!

Like a Fish to Water

Please keep in mind as you watch this, that this is the same child who would not even put her face in the water two months ago. Once she got over the face-in-water-fear, she took to swimming, well, like a fish to water. She did her first canonball today...check her out!

P.S. Liam is saying "get my spideyman kickboard!"

Geez!

Geez, it has been a long time since I've blogged! We have been so busy this summer, I have barely had time to breathe (at least it seems that way). So, here is the last month in review...

We went to the beach (we, being 4 moms and 7 kids...all 5 and younger). Took tons of pictures, but in the interest of keeping this from being unbearably long, I am just posting my favorite. Annah and Liam are growing up so darn fast. I took a picture of them on this same boat last year and I can't believe the difference a year has made!

We started potty-training with Liam. He is doing great as long as he is naked, he hasn't had a single accident in a month. Unfortunately, if he has any clothes on, it is all over. Trying to figure out how to make the connection to potty-training when dressed (I am pretty sure his teachers will appreciate that once school starts)

Then to the lake for the 4th of July. The cousins were all there and we had so much fun! Lots of boat rides and fireworks (much to Belle's disapproval).

We came home from the lake ready to rest for a few days. In the meantime, Annah teaches Liam how to play dress-up. I am pretty sure Will is going to hate that I put this picture on here, but I am also pretty sure Liam will hate it more (once he realizes how funny it is). I will say though, he makes a pretty cute girl!

Out of nowhere, Liam starts running a fever (like really high--105/106). We go to the doctor, who suspects he has mono, but sends us home. The next day, Liam had not had anything to eat or drink in 24 hours b/c his throat was so sore (his fever was so high it blistered the inside of his throat). He wasn't making tears and hadn't had a wet diaper in more than a day. I took him to the pediatric after hours place and they took one look at him and put him right in the hospital. Let me say this, it was awful, but it could have been so much worse. They kept him overnight to get some fluids in him and manage his pain. If this next picture doesn't break your heart, I just don't know what will...

Then, we head back to the beach. This time, Will comes along as well as our good friends Suzanne and Drew and their little girl, Jillian. Annah and Liam loved being the "big kids" and we enjoyed some quiet time (not sure Suzanne and Drew thought it was so quiet...Liam is the total opposite of Jillian--she is chill, he is chaos--she is peaceful, he is loud--you get the idea). At any rate, they were both so sweet with her and "helped" a lot!

The End

(or The Beginning, depending on how you look at it)