Harrison's Big Project & Spring Break Cousin Fun

About a month ago, Harrison's school sent a letter home saying that the kids could participate in Exceptional Kids week at school by completing a project that focused on an "exceptionality" that certain kids have to face in life (ADD, Autism, Cancer, Down Syndrome...).  There were a bunch of prizes that they could win, the biggest being lunch in a limousine.  At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to deal with it, but I have an Aunt with Down Syndrome and Harrison has asked a lot of questions over the last year about her so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for him to learn a little more about Aunt Mary.
So, we went to the library to pick out some books on the subject.  I found a few really good ones that explained it on his level.  We read those together, he asked questions, I tried to help explain, and we were on a roll.  Then, I found this video online, and bawled the first time I watched it, just thinking about how different my Aunt's life would be had she been growing up now.  This is a fantastic video put together by 3 kids with down syndrome and their best friends.  http://www.special-and-determined.com/down-syndrome/down-syndrome-awareness-great-presentation-to-kindergartners/
This was the most impactful for him in terms of learning.  We even tried the marshmallow trick explained in the video and that really sunk in for him, some of the extra things that they have to deal with everyday.  I sent this to his teacher and she let the class watch it, which I loved.
We put a poster together, and he wrote every letter on it.  I was so so proud of him.  He is not the biggest fan of homework already, so this was a big deal.  He did most of it without complaining...

 Once he turned it in, he presented it to the class and then it was displayed outside the classroom.  There were a bunch of prizes but only the top 5 entrees per grade got the lunch in the limousine prize.  His teacher said there were about 50 kids that participated overall.  My heart about exploded when the letter came home that he won lunch in the limousine!
I couldn't resist going up to take some pictures!  The top entrees were posted in the main hallway, but I was so bummed b/c they had taken them down before I could get a picture of his up there.  I was also proud that he won b/c most of the projects were done on the tri-fold "science fair" boards.

I loved that they put out a red carpet for them!  They did the limo lunch by grade, so they had plenty of room to stretch out.

This was also an exciting week because Lance's sister's family came in town.  They live in Colorado, so the boys don't get to see them very often, so they were very excited.  I let it be a surprise that they were coming, so they just rang the doorbell and I let Harrison open it.  He fell on the floor he was so happy!  Harrison had a baseball game that day, so they came with us to the game...
Davis showing Laurel his favorite baseball activity...digging up gravel and rocks...

 

Harrison had an awesome game that day, hit the ball every time he was up to bat, made a great throw from the outfield, and had two runs throughout the game.  He really is improving so much this year and its fun to watch his confidence grow as he gets better.  He still says its not his favorite and he thinks the games are too long, but I told him we will play this season and then decide if he wants to play again next year.  He is doing great though, so I'm hoping he comes around.  He still loves being catcher and its great because it keeps him busy and focused while his team is in the outfield. 

While our cousins were in town, we decided to get pictures taken of all the cousins together for Lance's parents.  Thankfully the studio we went to wasn't busy b/c it was supposed to be a 30 min appt, but it took almost two hours trying to get everyone to cooperate and hold still.  It was chaos, but we got some cute pictures that will be ready next week.  I can't wait to show them and get them printed up!  They had fun playing with props while we were narrowing down the pictures!

We hung out at Grandma's and then spent the entire evening at the park.  We stayed until past dark, which is later than we have ever been up there!  Harrison kept asking why kids were allowed to play so late!

They had the best time running around all over...

silly gooses...

Davis still loves the swings...

Go Laurel!  This one has no fear and loves to keep up with the big kids!

These two had a great time watching the skate boarders...

Pizza time!

Emily was cracking up b/c she has mastered the head tilt...

We had a great time and were sad to see them leave.  

We are supposed to be on our way to Alabama right now but Davis decided this would be a great time for a stomach virus, so it looks like we are laying low for another day or two.  We are praying with all our might that it ends with him!!!

Feb-March 2014

Its been a while since I've been able to (or had the energy to) write a blog post, so this is just a recap of the past few months.
Right after Harrison's birthday, Lance had tickets for he, his dad, and the boys to go to the Supercross race down at the Georgia Dome.  He has been excited about this for months and the boys were so excited.  The night before, he came down with the stomach virus, so I ended up going.  It ended up being more fun than I anticipated and the kids had a blast.  We were in the Home Depot suite, so it was nice that they could run around.  I think it would have been a different experience entirely if the boys would have had to stay in seats throughout the entire night.  One of Lance's friends from work was there with his two boys who were similar ages to Harrison and Davis, so they played all night.  Davis watching the race with Granddaddy:

 

Harrison and his buddy, watching the race:

 Harrison's buddy, Tucker, was also there with his daddy, so they were pumped to see each other.

Davis played basketball this winter, which was hilarious to watch, if nothing else.  He was so excited to tell everyone that he was playing basketball, but spent most of the time playing with his shirt, laying down, spinning in circles...Our friend, Brandon, was the coach, and to say he was patient with the kids, would be an understatement.

After basketball ended, Harrison's baseball season began.  We are at the park several days a week, but he is on a team with the same coach from last year and a lot of the same boys, so it is a lot of fun to get to see those families again.  This year he doesn't get to hit off the tee, so he has really had to work on his hitting.  His granddaddy has taken him to the batting cages quite a bit and helps out at every practice, so that has also helped.  He loves to practice fielding balls, catching and throwing and is improving in that area more and more every day.  He has a lot of fun practicing but seems to get frustrated with the long games.  I noticed recently that he was the only one without a big barrel bat, so we bought one and low and behold, he went from hitting maybe 1 - 2 balls throughout the game, to hitting everytime he is up to bat.  I'm hoping as he gets better and better, he will get more enthusiastic about it.  His favorite part, is getting to play catcher.  He switches every other inning with another little boy and loves this!

I had to help in the dugout for one of the games and Davis loved it.  He felt like such a big kid, sitting with the big boys.

Now I keep finding him sneaking in to the post game meeting with the team where the coach gives out the game ball...

He also got practice with Harrison's bat and I was amazed at how many balls he was able to hit!

We had team pictures last weekend...

We are so lucky to have such great coaches again...

I also got to go on a girls weekend with my college girl friends.  We all went to Houston for the weekend and had a fantastic time.  It went entirely too fast, but it was nice to relax and catch up.

Harrison and Davis are doing choir this year and they both love it.  Harrison sang in "big church" for the first time this past weekend and did a great job (for some reason the video won't post)

Davis is getting so excited for summer and won't stop talking about the beach and the pool.  Unfortunately, it doesn't feel like its going to be here very soon, but he will be ready when it is!  He loves changing everyday into his swim suit, and has multiple swim suit changes a day.  If its not a swim suit, then its a super hero costume!

Grandma and Granddaddy came to eat lunch with Harrison on Grandma's birthday.  They brought Chick Fila and Harrison was so surprised and excited.

This past weekend, we went up to Marietta Square for dinner and it was cold but beautiful outside.  The flowers were blooming and the square looked so pretty.  Amazingly, the boys were being very cooperative and let me take a few pictures of them...

Davis randomly surprised me today when he got home from school.  He was telling me about how he got to hold the flag today, so I asked if he said the Pledge Of Allegiance, and he just spouted it out.  I didn't realize that they said it in the two's class, b/c Harrison didn't start saying it until he was in the 3's class.   I think he is about the same age as Harrison was when he learned it since he was held back this year.  He is naturally a more quiet/observant kid, and it always amazes  me how he quietly learns things like this.

Crazy Weather

If there is one thing that I've learned about Atlanta, it is that you really can't predict the weather.  Growing up in Cincinnati, we had a change of seasons, where it got far too hot and muggy in the summers and then it seemed like the cold would never go away.  In Atlanta, you can get all of that within a weeks time!  About two weeks after the last snowfall, we were told another storm was on the way.  School was cancelled and since we had a scheduled break, we have had the kids home for almost a week now. 
This snow storm wasn't as strong but was more icey/wet snow.  It was beautiful while it lasted but melted quickly. 

Thankfully I had bought new snow pants/jacket/boots after the last storm so this time both boys had good clothes for playing in the snow.  After all the sledding in the back yard, over the past few weeks, it is basically a mud pit now!

And since the snow was a more "wet" snow, we actually got to make a snowman this time!

We have spent a lot of time indoors at home, so Lance came up with a new movie theater for the boys at night.  Definitely a highlight of the past few weeks!

In between the two storms, Harrison celebrated his 6th birthday.  He wanted a ninja turtle party, so we invited just a few boys over and he had a great time.  This was definitely the most low-key birthday we have had so far, as I just didn't have the energy to throw a big party this time around, and I have to say, I may keep them all this way.  I think the kids had more fun at this one than in the past and I didn't feel so overwhelmed/stressed.  I made ninja turtle shells/masks for the kids and gave ninja turtle shirts as a party gift.

Harrison's biggest request was a pinata.  And he wanted to whack it, not just pull strings.  The kids all had a blast, but I'm glad the pinata had the strings as a back up plan b/c that thing wouldn't bust!

And he got to pick out his own cake:

It was a busy weekend because he also had another friend's birthday party and his first school dance.  It was an 80's themed party and to say he had fun was an understatement!  He found a group of friends from his class and they ran all over dancing and being silly all night.  It was so much fun to watch him, they seemed so grown up!
Harrison dancing with his buddy Sara:

The dance didn't start until 6:30 (when the boys are usually starting to get ready for bed), so Davis was a little out of it.  He spent the evening on Lance's shoulders, or right here:

My parents, sister, and her little girl came in town for the weekend after the snow melted.  Our time together was cut short b/c of the weather, but we had fun.  They came in on Valentines Day so I made a steak house dinner, which was a nice way to spend the evening.  We sang happy birthday to Harrison and had cast iron pan birthday smores...so easy and so good!

Saturday was really cold but we were determined to get the kids out to burn off a little energy so we headed up to the train park while Harrison had baseball.  They had a ball!

So sweet:

 Showing Isabela his favorite part...the tunnel!

We went out the following evening to La Parilla to celebrate.  I knew Harrison would love the fuss they make over you on your birthday, so that was our official birthday dinner with grandmommy and granddaddy.

My family left on Sunday, which was a bummer, because the weather finally warmed up!  We went to church and then spent the rest of the day outside at the park.  I love having such a great park right in our backyard!  Harrison wanted to ride his bigger bike, so we let Davis ride the smaller one with training wheels.  He felt like such big kid!

We had a picnic lunch, played in trees, played on the playground and practiced catching/throwing the baseball

It was one of the most fun family days that we have had in a while!

Today we caught up with some old friends who we don't get to see as often as we would like!  We climbed up the mountain and somehow made it to the top and back!  It was such a fun morning and a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather!

Davis and his buddy Sam were the caboose of the group for the day, but they sure had fun!

We're hoping for warmer weather so we can get out and do this more often!

Snowpocolapse 2014

It has been an absolutely crazy week in Atlanta.  The snow started on Tuesday around 11 am and didn't stop until around 9 pm.  What was supposed to be a "light dusting" ended up causing the entire city to shut down.  Kids stranded.  Parents stranded.  Cars left on the side of the road.  These types of events really do show you how amazingly kind and compassionate people can be given the opportunity.  Lance had to abandon his car and stay at our friends' house...thank you a million times over Nesmith Family!  Thankfully Davis did not have school and Harrison made it home on the bus (thank you Lord for living .10 miles from his school!!!), so we had a very mild past few days.  Unfortunately, most of my friends did not.  Our prayers still go out to all families trying to get home, as well as to those who spent the past two days helping others!

As soon as Harrison got home from school yesterday, we got to work putting on as many warm clothes as possible so we could enjoy the snow.  I kept thinking the snow would only stick for a little while so I thought we needed to get out as quick as possible.  The kids have had a blast sledding, playing with ice and sliding around the neighborhood.

This was after the first hour of snow:

Davis showing me his snow angel.  I was amazed that he knew exactly what to do without us even talking about it:

Harrison wanted to make one too:

We spent most of the afternoon sledding in the backyard.  The boys loved it!

The boys really wanted to make a snowman but the snow just wouldn't pack b/c it was so dry, so we opted to bring out the beach toys and build a snow fort instead...we didn't get very far before they got bored.

There is nothing better than warming up with some hot chocolate after playing in the snow.  I still remember that feeling of taking off all your gear and having hot chocolate from when I was little.  We may have set a record for the amount of hot chocolate and marshmallows we have consumed over the past two days.
 
 Our neighbor Ava came over for a few hours to sled with the boys and then they played hide and go seek inside while they warmed up.  Ava's poor mom had to wait at the bus stop for about 2 hours for her son to be dropped off.  I brought her some hot chocolate after about an hour b/c I knew she was freezing, I just wish I would have had some Baileys to put in it for her!  God bless the bus drivers, who took such great care of our kids!
This morning we decided to venture out further into the neighborhood to try to find some other kids and other hills for sleddding.  We didn't have to go far.  The main street in our neighborhood was completely covered in ice, so just around the bend, we found about 12-15 boys out playing (and about 3 dads).  We hung out there for a while, sledding down this driveway and sledding down the street.  I'm not sure how I took this video with no one else in it, there were a ton of kids out!

We then headed over to the pool to sled.  The hills were smaller than I had in my mind, but they loved having it all to themselves. 
Lance finally got home around 2:30 today and of course, as soon as he gets outside, he finds a ramp for the kids to sled off of.  What can I say, they loved it...

I have to include one last thing so I don't forget.  Harrison has been watching a lot of the news coverage with me and he is just in shock about how aweful the roads are and the accidents that are out there.  Last night he said a prayer for a person who's car flipped over and they had to climb out of the front window. 
We talked about how fantastic his bus driver was to be so careful and get him home safely, so he wanted to write her a letter.  He also wants to get her a coffee cup as a present.

Its been a crazy week, but we are thankful for our safety, a warm house and family and friends who help in a time of need.

Fall Recap

This fall was a little crazy here and I decided that something had to give.  That something ended up being this blog.  I was at a breaking point and wasn't sure whether I should just stop, but I am going to write a few posts to capture the last several months with a few highlights.
I left off with Harrison learning to ride his bike.  That has been his favorite activity and we have taken quite a few walks up to the park so he can ride.  It has been even better for the boys now that the skate park is up.  They loving taking a break to watch the big kids skate around.  Harrison is always concerned about the fact that the big kids do not wear helmets...hopefully he will still be worried about that when he is 15!

Football was another big part of our fall.  We went to quite a few games with the boys this year, which they love because that means they get to hang out with their cousins and fish and ride the little boat at Grandmommy's house.  Here is a slideshow with the highlights of football season with the boys

Next up was Halloween.  Part of the chaos of this fall was that we had quite a bit going on around Halloween.  Harrison played flag football this year, I was in charge of our church's Tailgate Treats event, we had Harrison's school fall festival, and of course, the big night on Halloween.  It was all fun, but a lot to juggle in the span of 2-3 weeks.  Slide show # 2:

After the Halloween fun was over, we were able to take a deep breath and then all of sudden Thanksgiving was here!  We hung tight for all of the school parties and then headed to Tuscaloosa to spend the holiday with my family.  My older sister went to NYC for Thanksgiving, so it was a smaller crowd, but we had fun.  The weather was terrible all week, except for the final day we were there, so we mostly stayed indoors.  Once the sun came out, we practically ran outside to get some fresh air!

Its been crazy, but fun.  The slide shows were a little easier to insert than posting every picture.  This sums up most of our fall.  Next up: Christmas!