May 2013

May started out with the end of school and also a visit from my little sister and her sweet little girl, Isabela.  My parents had been up in Cincinnati, so they drove her down to stay with me for a week.  We had such a fun time getting to catch up and watching the kids play together.  Harrison was just fascinated with her and was so helpful.  Davis had so much fun with her as well,  but is in that space where he can't decide if its better to be the baby or be a big boy.

Granddaddy and Grandmommy stayed for a few days too so the boys were very excited to see them as well.  I have gotten my parents hooked on a few of my favorite things from Costco, so we always make a trip while they are here.

Harrison was so sweet all week and was always trying to find things for Isabela to play with.  I have always loved morning time with the kids because of how happy (most of the time) and sweet they are.  We were up extra early this morning, but they were all smiles...

Look who also wanted to play!

Our neighborhood pool always opens on May 1st, so one morning, we decided to take a walk up to the pool just to see what the water temperature was like.  It has been such a cold spring so I knew it would be freezing and therefore didn't even bother to put the kids in their swimsuits (or bring towels).  I was right, it was FREEZING, but the boys saw the novelty in it and decided to jump in anyway!

It was pretty funny b/c their little jaws were chattering the whole time but they didn't want to leave.  I finally had to make them get out because they were shaking. 
We also made it to the zoo while Liz was here.  The kids liked it almost as much as Aunt Liz...

Isabela had a little too much fun to make it to the petting zoo.

I don't know why we don't just start our zoo trips off at the playground.  I feel like we are always rushing through the animals so the boys can get to the playground, it is always the hit of the trip for some reason...

I loved this picture...Liz went out to dinner with a few of her girlfriends from college and Isabela fell asleep on the way home.  I just thought this was a sweet picture with her sleeping with her arms around Liz's neck.

Lance had a little buddy all night while Liz was out. 

I was supposed to take Liz to Tuscaloosa after a few days of visiting in Atlanta, but it was tricky time b/c Harrison was finishing up T-ball, and they were doing so well that they made it to the final playoff game.  Thankfully Lance's dad was heading to Birmingham one day, so he took them over and we met them after baseball was over.
I was so proud of Harrison, he had so much fun on his first baseball team.  His coach, Charlie, was amazing and made it such a fun experience for all of the kids. 
They made it to the final game, but lost against the Braves.

(Harrison is the one in the shades)
Smile!...please??

 

This was such a nice group of boys and families, I hope we are as lucky next year!

The Coaches treated the boys to icecream after a well played season!

Next up was the team party.  They had a really cute cake with each of the boys' numbers on it.

Very excited for his trophy

Even granddaddy got an award for helping out so much with the team

We had a few days in between when Liz left and our last game, so I took the boys to Stone Mountain one last time before our membership expired.  They have had so much fun going this past year and they get so excited every time.  They always love the putt putt but I think their favorite part now is the ropes course.

I couldn't believe how much Davis' coordination has improved since our last visit!

After baseball was over, we headed to Tuscaloosa for a short visit.  Liz's husband Ben came down for a few days too before driving his girls back home, and the boys always get excited to see him.

My Cousin Emily and Uncle Kim also came down and I was so glad to get to see them.  Emily has had a rough year and I was so happy to get to give her a big hug and get to talk to her.  We are so proud of her and what a fighter she is!  I can't believe I didn't get a group picture of us!!  Here are Liz and Emily taking the kayak out for a spin.  It was our mothers day/fathers day present to our parents this year.

We had fun paddling around all weekend in the kayak, sitting on the dock and the porch, and the boys had fun fishing.

It really feels like such a retreat, I'm so glad my parents are so much closer and have such a beautiful view to wake up to everyday!
One last random picture from the month of Davis on the train..

Its been a busy summer so far, but we have been enjoying every minute of it!

Harrison's Preschool Graduation

I can't believe it is really true, but Harrison finished preschool last week week and had his preschool graduation.  Kindergarten is around the corner!  I think its a little silly  how we have a "graduation" for this, but the kids love it and are so excited.  His preschool also has a kindergarten program, so it was a ceremony for the 4K kids and the kindergarten kids. 

They had us send in a short sleeved adult dress shirt, so they kids wore them backwards as their gown. 

The kids all came out on stage and sang a few songs

Then the kids all got to walk across the stage and "accept their diploma".  Unfortunately someone stood up when I was trying to get a picture of Harrison so I didn't get a great picture.

This time Davis was the one melting down, so we had to head out shortly after getting to the party.

We couldn't leave without getting one more picture with his sweet teachers!  We will miss them, they were so great this year and Harrison learned so much!
Miss Valerie

She kept telling me last year during car line that she had her eyes on Harrison and wanted him in her class, so I knew she had a special love for him. 
Mrs. Danette

She was a fantastic teacher and so great with the kids!  Harrison promised to come back and visit her next year. 
And we had to get one more picture with Miss. Sandy.  She was his 3K teacher and is now the co-director of the school.  Sandy was just made to work with preschoolers and all of the kids are drawn to her.  She holds a special place in Harrison's heart and I am sad that Davis will never have her as a teacher. 

Braves Game Outing with the Cubbies

As one of the fundraisers that the Kennesaw Baseball Association runs each year, Harrison and his baseball team (along with just about every other little league team in the city), went down to the Braves game last weekend.  They had a special day where if the kids wore their team baseball shirt, they could go down and walk around the field with their team.  He was a little nervous all morning and fought me to get dressed, but of course, once we got there and he saw all of his friends, he had a lot of fun. I think he was afraid that I was going to make him walk on the field by himself.  There were a ton of kids and the parents were not allowed to go down with the boys, so I was a little nervous that he was going to get lost.  Its times like these that I am really glad that he learned my cell phone number, home number and address at school this year!  I made him repeat my cell # to me a bunch of times before we dropped him off.  (And then of course, I realized that I left my cell phone in the car that day...thankfully it was not needed).

The boys were very excited about all of the treats that Lance bought while we were there

Grandma and granddaddy came and were a big help, especially in keeping Davis corralled.  Needless to say, sitting down to watch a baseball game was not in his schedule for the day.  He spent most of the trip on Lance's shoulders, but once we sat down, thankfully eating popcorn, hotdogs, cotton candy and french fries kept him entertained.   

Harrison was in a mood that day and after about 5 innings was over it so this was the best picture we could get.  The boys had been to bed late for about 3 days in a row by that point, and that is usually the cause, but boy did we have a "fun" walk to the car.  Full on meltdown.

The boys had fun and Harrison especially had fun hanging with his baseball buddies, but I think next time I will make sure they get a full night of sleep!

Palm Beach Mini Vacation

We just got back from a mini family vacation to Palm Beach and aside from a stomach virus, we had a fantastic time!  One of my good friends who I used to work with, got married this weekend.  The boys have been asking to go to the beach for a few months now, so I thought this would be a fun opportunity to get them to the beach for a few days.
We left last Thursday so we could break up the drive on the way down.  We ended up getting a great deal on a hotel through Priceline in Orlando, so we stopped there for the evening.  Harrison got sick in the car about 20 minutes into the ride, but thankfully said he still wanted to go to the beach and did great the rest of the trip.  We got to Orlando mid-afternoon, so we unloaded our bags and headed straight for the pool.

 That evening we decided to venture out somewhere fun for dinner since we were in Orlando.  We were hoping to find a disney themed restaurant for the kids, but wanted to stay close by, so we opted for Bubba Gump Shrimp, which was located inside the City Walk at Universal Studios, and just a few minutes from our hotel.  As soon as walked up, I saw a miniature golf course just across the way from the restaurant.  I knew as soon as they saw it, they would want to play.    We didn't eat dinner until 7 pm so it was a late night but the kids did great.

It was dark by the time we got to the course, which I think made it more fun for the kids.

The next morning, we got up and headed to West Palm Beach.  Once again, we checked in and this time, headed straight for the beach.

ready to go!

They had a blast

Needless to say, they both napped every day without even complaining!
I love this picture because you can see Davis' little feet curled up.  I'm pretty sure this is how he liked to be in the womb because he always sleeps like this and his feet haven't straightened out all the way yet.

After naps it was time to head to the rehearsal dinner.  Camila graciously invited us even though we had to bring the kids with us.  The dinner was at a beautiful restaurant called Pistache, so we were nervous about the boys, but overall they did great.  Camila's nephew, who was the ring bearer, was there, so the boys had someone to play with which was nice.

The scenery was just gorgeous down there, so I feel like I took a million pictures!

Harrison wanted to take a picture...not bad!

The beautiful bride!

We got home around 11 pm so the boys crashed and slept in (a little).  Unfortunately, Lance had to be on a conference call from 4:30 am - 7:30 am and then again at 9:30, so we ate breakfast together and then I took the boys out for a morning walk.  They loved looking at the boats.

and I liked sitting on the dock with my coffee!

 

We headed back to get Lance, who was still working unfortunately, so I headed to the beach with the boys and Lance met us there.  We headed back after about an hour in an attempt to get the boys back on schedule and to get ready for the wedding.  One of my sorority sisters who lives in the area was so gracious to help me find a baby sitter so Lance and I could go to the wedding, and we were so thankful!  

 We headed over to the wedding at 5:15, and oh my goodness, was it beautiful! 

Her flowers weren't up in the picture, but the venue was amazing.

The cute couple dancing (sorry T, I only got half of him)...

The next morning, we got up and headed to a Marriott resort that was one island up from Palm Beach, called Singer Island.  It was absolutely amazing and I wish we could have stayed longer!  The resort was right on the beach and had a zero-entry kids pool with a waterfall and a water slide, and a separate adult only pool.
When we arrived these cute little guys were waiting for us on the coffee table

For only $28 each we could donate to the sea turtles and take these guys home!  Thank you Marriott.  At first we thought they were a welcome gift so we let the kids play with them.  Now Shelby and Shelly live in Kennesaw, GA. :)
 Obviously the kids loved the water slide!

Unfortunately, after about 2 hours of playing in the pool, Davis started feeling nauceaus and threw up in the pool...yes, we were THAT family! They closed the pool down and we hung our heads in shame.  The worst part was that our hotel room wasn't ready yet, so we had to sit there for a few hours waiting to take Davis upstairs.  Thankfully, he fell asleep in my lap and didn't throw up any more that day.  Lance took Harrison back out for more swimming that afternoon and I stayed in while Davis napped.  Its hard to complain too much when this is your view!

We kept Davis inside the next day and aside from being tired and lethargic, he seemed to be doing okay.  We knew not to take him near the pool, but it wasn't too hot outside, so we let him get some fresh air down at the beach for about an hour.  This is probably my favorite picture I took...

Unfortunately, he spent the rest of the trip like this...

The other funny thing was that I had ordered a natural sunscreen for the boys faces a few weeks ago.  It had you specify blue or pink and I thought they were referring to the packaging.  I clearly didn't read it well enough...

Davis seemed to be better after our last day, staying in the condo, but he had a rough ride home.  I think being in the car for so long just did him in.  Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we had a great time.  Its always hard to leave vacation but Harrison "graduates" from pre-school next week, so we have a lot to look forward to!