Logan's Birthday Party

Cousin Logan's 3rd Birthday Party was this weekend at Gymboree in Huntersville. I love living close enough to Chris and Kristine that our kids get to grow-up together. I only got to see my cousins a couple times a year when I was little, and while it was always very special, I did long to know them all better. I really hope our kids will continue to get closer as they get older, especially Will and Logan ~ they are only six weeks apart.
The birthday party was a hit! Can you tell by those smiles? Happy Birthday Logan, we love you! (The pictures go backwards in time ... I don't have time to fix though so just start at the bottom and scroll up ;)

"Yes. Yes, I do believe I like this cake stuff."

Make a wish!

Will and Logan singing and drumming together. I love this picture.

Logan couldn't be happier!

The gang clapping along ~ even Ben and Katie joined in!

Little Camryn was everywhere and into everything. She had a blast. (Frances, the dress is just adorable! Thank you!)

Look at that happy boy!

Carrigan Farms

We headed to Carrigan Farms Saturday morning to enjoy a hayride and pick some pumpkins before attending Logan's 3rd Birthday Party. It was an unseasonably cool day that felt more like December than October, but we bundled up and had a great time despite the 5o degree weather.

Will had a great time and was very picky about picking his pumpkin. He must have picked up a hundred of them before deciding on the final one.

Kate trying to carry hers back to the tractor.

Ben trying to find the biggest one in the patch.

In search of the Great Pumpkin!

Brrr ... 50 degrees might not sound cold, but it is for October! 50 degrees is our normal high for December. Where oh where is our 70 degree fall??

Miss Kate exploring the fields.

The baby goats, baby cow, chicks and pigs were a huge hit.

Camryn all bundled up. "Pump-pa" (pumpkin) is her new favorite word. She sees them everywhere we go and feels the need to tell us over and over and over again. I think she just likes saying it. It's rather cute.

My sweet baby is getting so big!

The kids trying to stay warm. It was chilly for our thin blood!!

Just.Can't.Stay.Awake.

My mom took this when Jon and I were in Charleston. It's just the sweetest thing. I love the giggles in the background.

Ten Years!

Today Jon and I are celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary. Wow. Ten years. Ten years at times feels like a lifetime ~ it's hard to remember back to when we weren't a 'we'. At the same time it seems like just yesterday that I was walking down that aisle to marry the love of my life. Strange how time has the ability to do two polar opposite things at once. So much has happened and changed since that beautiful September afternoon in Bethel, Maine. On this day ten years ago Jon was working for Ryan Homes as a Production Supervisor and I was an assistant for a headhunter here in Charlotte. We were in the process of building our first house and were 'parents' to two cats and a puppy named Mason. Monroe, Little One and Mason have all passed on and are no longer with us today, but they were a big part of our lives back then. The biggest contrast from then to our lives today is time. What did we do with all of our time?? Yes we worked all day, but after that?!?! We would come home, make dinner, take the dog for a walk and just hang out. I can't even imagine. We should have been saving the world, or writing award winning novels, or volunteering, or trying to find a cure for cancer or AIDS, or training for marathons ... something. Anything! But no, we thought we were busy. We thought we were tired. HA! Little did we know what the true meaning of those words would be! (And what's really scary is that as tired and busy as we are today, it will be nothing compared to another ten years from now when we have teenagers and all their activities and social schedules to keep up with.) So to celebrate our ten year anniversary we are getting the gift of time. My mom is staying with the kids while we steal away to Charleston, SC for two days. We will have time to sit and eat some leisurely meals, sip coffee, take slow walks through old neighborhoods, stop by galleries and shops that would normally be off limits with our posse and basically take our time. Heck we might even read the newspaper. It will be lovely. But I'm sure by the end of two days we'll be rushing back home to do what we love most, spend time together as a family with the four greatest things are marriage has created. Happy Anniversary to us! Here's to many, many more!!

Crayola

I love Crayola products. Really, I do. Their crayons are hands down the best crayons out there. The variety of colors, the saturation of color as it covers the paper ... nothing beats a Crayola crayon. Crayola is constantly coming up with the greatest improvements to the everyday marker and crayons. Their twist markers are so smart, no caps to fall off and lose, even if the kids don't twist them back in after use I can usually get to them in a reasonable amount of time to save them. They also have the ones with the caps attached to them, the Flip-Top. I love those too. The kids are pretty good about putting the caps back on those because they are hanging off the end as a constant reminder. Crayola twistable colored pencils are simply brilliant. And while I'm not a huge fan of the Color Wonder line (only because I think it limits creativity), I must admit it was a rather ingenious invention! But by far the greatest thing Crayola has come up with is the washable marker. Why would you ever buy anything other than a washable marker???

Take note of the colossal attitude our pint sized peanut has. Boy are we in trouble!

Crazy Kids ...

My kids are crazy. Each in their own unique way. I have videos to prove it.
Yes, that's Will in the pink tu-tu. He only wears it when he's dancing, but he wears it well!

Camryn and glasses. She's so funny and she knows it.

Will Starts Preschool

Today was Will's first day of preschool!! We went in for an hour to play and meet all the kids and parents. Will had already met Ms. Amy, his teacher, when she came to our house for a home visit last week. Having teachers meet the kids and get to know them in their own space is something I love about Providence. It is so important for kids to be in their safe place when they meet someone for the first time, and of course the kids love to show their teachers all their toys, and pets and of course their bedrooms. It really helps to make the transition an easy one. Ms. Amy was Kate's first preschool teacher too, so of course I couldn't be happier about Will having her his first year as well. Ms. Amy has a big fan club in this house!

At school today Will did a little bit of everything; put together a puzzle, played with cars, painted a picture and played with play dough. He really seemed to enjoy himself. There is another little boy in his class named Will, and our Will thought that was pretty funny. As we were leaving Will says "I been here. I remember the kids run in here!" He was talking about what is known as the 'big room' where the kids will play when it's raining outside. I was glad to see he remembered it, and a little surprised. The last time we were there he wasn't even two.

Somehow I failed to prepare Will for preschool. He's been so excited the last couple of weeks that I didn't realize he really had no idea what to expect. Last night before bed he was very upset because he didn't want to have to get in the car and buckle himself in car pool. I never explained to him that his preschool doesn't do car pool and that I would come in and get him everyday. "Mommy, promise to buckle me" he said. Poor little guy, he was thinking he would have to jump in the car like Ben and Kate. I never thought to tell him otherwise. He then got REALLY upset because he didn't want to have to 'make two hump b's' (capital B)! Kate has been coming home from school everyday, teaching Will how to write. It broke my heart to think he was stressed about not being able to write a capital B in preschool. I explained that preschool was for fun and playing and he didn't have to write anything if he didn't want to. After today I think he's feeling a little better about the whole thing. Thursday he goes without me for two hours and then starts his full three hours next Tuesday. It will be really strange having Camryn all to myself for that long. (Side note, Will can and does write his name now thanks to big sister Kate. If her plans to be a vet don't pan out she can always become a teacher!! I think Ben was 5 before he ever wrote his name. It's amazing what younger siblings pick-up from their big brothers and sisters. Or maybe it's what the older siblings drill into the younger ones heads!)

Saying goodbye to Patch.

Daddy's little boy sure is getting big!

My sweet boy.


Saying goodbye to Ma and Cam. He missed seeing Ben and Kate this morning because he slept until 8:45!! I thought I was going to have to wake him, but he got up just in the nick of time to eat breakfast and head out the door.

Waiting for the doors to open at Providence Presbyterian Preschool.

One little step at a time. Maybe someday he'll grow into that backpack.


Checking out his new classroom.

Will loves scissors. He sat there and cut playdough for the longest time with his new friend Ryan.

Here he is making lots of noise with Abigail.

Ms. Amy and Will. It's going to be a fantastic year! He has no idea how much fun awaits him!!