Lazy Morning

Here are a few pictures I took of Harrison and Charlotte one morning this week. He's so so gentle with her, like he's afraid he'll hurt or break her. I love it! All his busy loud personality just goes away when he's close to her and he's so stinkin' sweet with her! I can't wait to see all the fun these 2 have together.

He thought she needed some toys, so he brought her almost every toy she had to play with....and she was most entertained with watching him do this. :)

The Dirt Pile

Matt's been doing an overhaul of our flowerbeds the past couple of weeks. We've had to bring in some major dirt to fill them in & that's been such fun for the kids! The dump truck brought the dirt and dumped half a truckload in the front yard. Harrison loooooved getting to see that! He was fascinated with that truck being in our front yard. :)

Of course, there's no way to keep a little boy out of a pile of dirt! So, we brought out their little tools & let them go at it. Harrison has probably spent 25+hours out there the past few days. It just doesn't get much better than this to him! And, Madeleine's had her share of fun out there, too! I think almost as much dirt has made it in our house as was put in the flowerbeds....and I've had to clean the tub every night it's had soooo much dirt in it! Ha!

Check out the dirt on his little bootie. :)

The first phase is done! Yea!

Open House

This week was open house at M's school. I was so excited to get a peek into what her day is like & see up close all the fun things that are happening in her classroom that we've been hearing about for weeks!

While all the parents listened to her principal tell about their school & give their annual report, the kids were dismissed to head to their classrooms & get ready. Unfortunately, with Harrison & Charlotte to keep happy & quiet, and with Matt in class for the first part of the report I was too busy to hear much of it. I just kept giving Harrison gum and hoping my supply would last longer than the report. :)

Finally it was time to head up the stairs to see Madeleine's room. She had her journal, science notebook & math notebook all out for us to see. She was so proud to show us all the work she's been doing in her class. First grade has been such a wonderful experience for her so far! She comes home daily exclaiming "I just LOVE first grade." Just what this momma wants to hear! This year she stays with the same teacher all day long (her homeroom teacher is her switch class teacher as well) which is great since she just loves her teacher.

Since Madeleine is in the accelerated reading group, they do a lot of independent work, which is something she seems to thrive on. She's a pretty self motivated girl & I think she loves the challenge of this class, but also being able to pace herself and problem solve on her own. Here she is at one of the computer stations.

First grade is apparently big into science. They're observing the life cycle of several different bugs/frogs. Harrison was fascinated with the worms and bugs and now every time we take Madeleine to school we have to stop & see them.

Charlotte at 8 Months!

As each month passes, Charlotte just gets busier & busier. She's still the sweet bubbly baby that she's always been and I just love that about her! She gets excited so easily. When I pick her up from her nap she jumps up & down in my arms.

She loves to pat-a-cake and for us to bounce her up & down on our knee. She cackles and has this hilarious belly laugh when we do that! Matt & I find ourselves laughing right along with her so much of the time; she just has a contagious laugh. And she has pretty much constant entertainment at our house. We've noticed this month that when she's not being entertained, she's starting to let us know that she's not too happy about it. We've heard her fuss for the first time in the past few weeks. Although, after an entire week of being around our extended family, I think it might be that she's gotten just a wee bit spoiled & used to being held. :) But, who can blame her, she's just so adorable!

She's still working on getting her first tooth. Right now it's a guessing game as to which tooth will pop through first because both her top & bottom gums looks like they could burst. She's been such a trooper through all of it, but the past few nights she's been up some fussing. Poor girl!

This is my first attempt at her 8 month photo. She grabs everything within her reach & puts in her mouth. And, when she's finished slobbering all over it, she's learned to toss it behind her. She' s still not crawling (insert sigh of relief....our house is nowhere near babyproofed yet) but I don't think it will be too much longer. She can turn herself around in a circle and get to what she wants. She can do a bit of an inchworm crawl, but only to get to something just out of her reach. Now that she's sitting really well, she prefers to play that way & crawling has taken a backseat.

I just love this girl! She's started saying "mamama" intentionally when she wants me and it melts my heart every time. I just never get tired of hearing her talking. There are so many things I love about Charlotte....how she lights up when Matt gets home, how if I'm holding her & Matt is close by she reaches for him and if he has her she'll reach for me, like she wants to have her arms around both of us at the same time....how she grabs our cheeks and gives the slobberyist sweetest kisses over and over....how she is incredibly ticklish.....the way that she can just peek over the top of her bumperpad on her crib & I love walking in and seeing those little eyes peeking out at me.

Our lives are so so much more fun, more interesting, happier thanks to our sweet little Charlotte.

High Flying Adventure

One of the benefits to not having backyard neighbors is the incredible amount of wind we get. It's perfect for kite flying, so one afternoon recently we headed out to the deserted driving range & let the kids fly their new kites! They had such a great time & I was surprised at how happy they were to just sit and watch them fly over the water. It was such a beautiful day and even Miss Charlotte enjoyed watching the kites in the sky!

Family Weekend

Last weekend was quite an adventure for our family! We flew to NC to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. I was so thankful that we were able to be a part of this time. 60 years is quite an accomplishment!

Our trip began bright and early on Friday morning where we flew out of LR. This was the kids first time to fly that they remember & they were so so excited! They both popped right up out of bed that morning and were ready to go. Thankfully, my parents & Sugar & Uncle Stewart were flying with us so we had plenty of help. :)

Going through security was quite an adventure (you mean we have to take our shoes off??). We were quite a site with our 3 kids, one Thomas the train suitcase, one pink suitcase, matt's backpack, one purse & one diaperbag! I'm sure we were one of their worst nightmares since we were traveling with baby food, formula, milk, and lots of other fun things that had to be tested at security.

Our first flight was from LR to Atlanta and the kids did great! In fact, they were quite easy to travel with and I was so proud of them! More than once I had someone compliment their behavior to me. The Atlanta airport was Harrison's little heaven. Not only had he just gotten off an airplane, but we had to change terminals & he got to ride the train and the moving sidewalk. Just what this little boy loves! The flight from Atlanta to Raleigh was uneventful & by the time we arrived the kids looked like this:

It did them such good to get a nap since we'd had such an early morning. Poor Charlotte was so tired that she didn't even wake up until we put her in her carseat in the car. :)

By the time we arrived at Mammy & Grandpops house the kids were really ready to get out & play. And, they were so excited to meet some new cousins! Grandpops was ready for them with a wheelbarrow full of sand & lots of digging tools! My cousin Katie & her family arrived soon after we did & our kids became fast friends. Madeleine & Lily immediately hit it off & were so cute outside playing together. It reminded me so much of Katie & I playing together at Mammy's house in the summers....

Mammy & Grandpops house had a gravel driveway full of rocks, aka "crystals" that kept the girls occupied all afternoon. :)

Harrison spent at least 4 hours glued to this wheelbarrow & sand that afternoon. He was in heaven!

My cousin Kristen & her family came over after her girls naps -- Ruthie & Maddie are such cuties! Here they all are eating outside at dinner on Friday night at the kid table. So thankful that I've finally been promoted out of the kid's table. :)

And sweet little Patrick, the newest member of Katie's family. Isn't he adorable!

Saturday was more playtime for the kids while I hit the Peaches N' Cream & Carter's outlets. I found lots of great deals & we came home with one extra bag.

The kids had lunch in Mammy & Grandpops RV. Madeleine & Harrison are fascinated by the "house on wheels." My poor Grandpops retreated out there to rest & the kids just followed him!

After lunch, we all headed down the road to a park with an awesome area for kids! It looked like something right out of a movie. They have a carousel that's 100 yrs old this year, a great train ride (tunnel included) and a few other little rides. They're all under pavilions and it's a super family friendly place. Perfect for a fun afternoon!

Here are 7 of the 9 greatgrandchildren waiting for the train. There are 7 that are 3 and under -- makes for a fun time!

After the park & baths, Madeleine & Harrison relaxed on the couch with Carter and watched some Toy Story. I think it's possible that Carter loves Toy Story even more than Harrison!

That evening we had dinner at a local restaurant with all of our family & some of Mammy & Grandpops close friends to celebrate their anniversary. My Uncle David & Aunt Lila put all of it together & it was wonderful! They had a photographer come and take a picture of our entire family and they even had a slideshow with pictures over the years. (Not some of my best pictures ever -- ha)

The food was so yummy & everyone told memories of Mammy & Grandpops. My sister wrote the sweetest poem for them that maybe someday I'll post. The kids did great as well at dinner. Poor Harrison was so tired that for awhile he laid down across 3 chairs & almost went to sleep. They ended up watching Toy Story again on the computer while we all ate.

Here's Mammy & Grandpops with all of their children. And, all of them have been married a long time as well, which speaks so much to the example they've had.

Saturday was over all too soon & we had to start packing (and figuring out where to put all those clothes I'd bought). Sunday we went to church & lunch and then we had to head back to the airport to catch our plane home. Before we left Mammy had to get some extra lovin' from Miss Charlotte.

The plane ride home was uneventful. The kids did such a great job again. It was quite a long day since we had a 3 hour trek home from LR after landing ..... we didn't get home until after midnight. And, somewhere along the was I came down with a bad case of strep (boo).

All in all it was one of the best weekends we've had in a long time! We enjoyed every moment of getting to be with our family and celebrate such a special event with them. It was fun to catchu up with my cousins. It made me realize how time does fly. It seems like just moments ago that we were spending summers up at Mammy's house playing outside, or going to Friendly's for ice cream, or exploring her house. However, it was also reassuring to know that some things never change, like the smell of her house & fun times that happen there. I loved watching Madeleine play with the same jewelry in the same jewelry box that I played with as a child and knowing that both of my children were making memories that they'll have forever.