Just catchin' up!

Molly is for sure WAY into this school thing! She loves Mrs. Gina and loves going to school two days a week. Mommy is getting more used to it but I just have to accept that I will never be totally ok with dropping my kids off at big buildings!:)

When Aunt Jenny was here before she moved to China she took each kid out for a little date. Molly got finger paints and some other fun things on her date and came home and got her craft on! Aunt Jenny did a great job at spoiling my kiddos and we sure love her. I am SO bummed today because I missed a call from Jenny this morning...like, from China!

This is what Brayden usually does. He plays with his cars and trucks and tractors and makes noises...the WHOLE time. Like, he can't really play unless he is making motor like noises. I remember when he was about two and he pretended that everything was a weed eater because he loved helping daddy work in the yard. He would even get an emty paper towel roll and turn it into a weed eater. I remember once he was being REALLY loud and playing and I asked him to please stop making that noise. He just sat there and stopped playing. He seriously could not play without making that noise! I told him he could be noisy again and he continued as he was! Brayden has the funnest sense of humor. He seriously cracks us up every day. Several months ago he and Carter were not going to sleep and were just playing and laughing and not listening to us. As a last resort after much warning from me, daddy came in the room and very sternly said "you boys go to sleep! I don't want to hear a peep out of this room for the rest of the night or there will be consequences!!". As Robbie turned to leave the room, Brayden whispered "peep!". We seriously are still laughing about it. I love him so much and am so thankful that this sweet, funny, sensitive boy is mine!

My Carter. My sweet, kind, caring, smart, obedient boy. This is what we usually find him doing these days. Santa brought him a Playstation 3 for Christmas and he just loves it. He has a NBA game that he loves. He likes anything that has to do with sports, mostly Ketucky Wildcats basketball. He is just like his daddy in so many ways. He is excited for basketball season to get here so he can play and watch his favorite sport. When he was first born I remember Robbie saying that he couldn't wait until his boy was old enough to watch basketball with him. Well, somehow it has happened. And way too fast for this mamma. He is in 5th grade this year and just got accepted into the Leadership program, along with gifted and talented, and the running team. He is growing up and I am enjoying every single hug and kiss this sweet boy gives me every day!

My sweet dad printed this saying for me and I went straight to Hobby Lobby and got a frame for it. It is on my mantle and I look at it every day and it helps me to remember to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment, to not worry about the 'what if's', and to remember that this crazy time in my life is a season that will pass and that I will miss terribly. Love you, dad.

Molly Mae. What. The. Heck. You are almost FIVE YEARS OLD!!!!! How did I let that happen? She asked me a few days ago if she could make her own sandwich. I wasn't sure I was ready for that....not the mess, I could clean that up quick...but the idea that she didn't need me to make her sandwich for her any more!! The other day before I took her to school she said "mommy, if I need my playdo smashed down I will just have Mrs. Gina do it!" and I seriously almost lost my breakfast! What? I am supposed to be the one who smashes your playdo!!! Remember, that's what you and I do when the boys are at school! We do playdo and when you want to use the cookie cutters I smash it down for you because your little arms aren't strong enough! Just another reminder of how big she is and also a reminder to enjoy every teeney tiney second of this perfectness of a little girl!

What a great idea, Robbie!!!

So, Robbie is not one for getting pictures taken. I have actually scheduled several photo shoots and have canceled them because he didn't really feel like doing it that day. I LOVE pictures. Not necessarily of me, but of my family. Our last official family picture was when Molly was not quite ONE. She is now almost FIVE. So, I was out shopping one day and Robbie called me and said that his friend Corey was coming to town and that he wanted to come over and visit. Corey works for the FBI and is occasionally in town for assignments. THEN Robbie told me that when I get home I should decided what we all needed to wear because Corey wanted to take our pictures. He said "yeah, he even said we could do some today at our house and then go to the park tomorrow and so some more!". I was like "wow, what a great idea, I sure wish I had thought of this!" hehe! So not only did we get two days of pictures but Robbie was happy the whole time and even helped make suggestions on positions and backgrounds. I know. Guys are weird. :) We enjoyed Corey so much and my kids ADORE him. He and Robbie have been friends since elementary school and have lots to talk and laugh about. I hope that my kids can develope those deep friendships that can stand the test of time. And I hope that those friendships are with people like Corey who are just really good and happy people. I think alot about what the world is going to be like when my kids are my age and I just get so scared. I SO hope that I can do a good job preparing them. That I can teach them the things they need to know to be happy.

Princesses

Molly loves her cousin Madyson. The don't get to see each other very often but when they do they squeal with excitement and play their hearts out! Molly has a picture of her and Madyson in her room on a self and she loves to look at it and talk about her friend and cousin! Grandma Judy (Robbie's mom. Yes, all of her grandchildren call her by her first name!) loves to have her only two granddaughters over to play. The world stops and she is in total play mode. The girls love to color, do playdo, do Judy's hair and makeup and paint her finger nails (yes, she really lets them do it), play outside in the sand box and on the swings and on the bikes, eat chips, eat Judy's famous grilled cheese sandwiches, have ice cream cones...and just enjoy being little girls who are adored by grandma Judy. It is so nice to have Judy so close to us. Molly gets to see Judy pretty much every day. She will remember these days forever. Molly even helps Judy take care of great-grandma Allen who lives with Judy. It is so sweet to see Molly and Mamaw coloring together. Sometimes they even fight with each other over a color of a crayon that they both want. Mamaw asks Molly what her name is over and over again and Molly very sweetly and patiently just tells her each time. If Mamaw starts to whine or fuss Molly asks her if she needs a pain pill! ha! I am so thankful for our families and the love and closeness we share.

Say Cheese!!!!

Friends Forever!

Over ten years ago when Robbie and I bought our first house on River Avon Court we had no idea that it was there that Carter would meet his best friend. The Gibsons lived in the same culdesac as us. Brady was born in January and Carter was born in June. From the time they could walk they were hard to seperate. Every single day they were together. Every single night they walked down the little sidewalk to met up and decide who's house they were going to take baths at that night. They would see who was having the best dinner and pick that house to eat at. Brady's dad worked at night so he was home during the day with the kids which works out perfect for all-day play dates for Brady and Carter. I would take them for a while, then Todd would take them for a while. They never ever argued. And still don't. Since then, Brady has a brother and a sister and Carter has a brother and a sister. Both families have moves to different houses and the time between seeing each other seems to grow longer and longer as the kids get older and more busy. But, each time Carter and Brady see each other it is as if time as stood still. There is no awkwardness. They pick right up and play and are so happy. They are indeed "bosom buddies". It is something special for sure. Brady's family is moving to Naples, Florida for at least a year next week. Brady and his brother, Preston, and his sister, Sloan, spent the night with us last night. What a perfect match! Six kids, so each has one to play with. There has been NO fighting, NO whining, NO crying, NO tattling, NO drama. Nothing but happy content children. What a wonderful sleepover! These kids have "roots" that no time or distance can take away. Last night we got Pizza Hut for the kids and Puerto for me and Robbie. Then while Robbie went to rent movies I took all 6 kids to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. The kids were SO crazy and ran around outside eating their ice cream and enjoying the pretty evening. We rolled all the windows down on the way home and turned the music WAY up. When we got home the kids played and played until about 2am. Then they all crashed! This morning they all woke up at about 9am and continued playing...playstation 3 and trampoline for the boys and baby dolls and trampoline and coloring for the girls. I went on a food run and came back with Chick fil A and The Great American Donut Shop. I have never seen a dozen donuts be gone that quick! I am so proud of all of these kids and the great little poeople they are becoming! We will miss them- but we also know that even if it is a whole year before we see them- everything will still be the same!

Just a few pictures...

Mentos and diet soda with cousins and Papa!

Playing with cousin Cody!

A very tense PS3 game between Carter and Cameron!

Cody was so sweet to read to Molly!

This little girl LOVES her easy bake oven! It takes about 9 minutes to cook ONE cookie. We Easy Baked for over 2 hours and she enjoyed every single minute of it! Molly is SO into crafts and cooking things. Give her a glue stick and some markers and some fun paper and some beads and she is a happy girl!

SO not ready for this!

I really thought this was going to be a happy day for Molly. We spent the whole evening yesterday doing the pre-school happy dance to get her excited (and to get ME ready!). She seemed SO excited, laid out her clothes, packed her lunch, and happily went to bed with visions of a happy day at preschool dancing in her head. Then she woke up. She was a little nervous but I just kept everything positive and even took her to McDonalds for breakfast. We got to school about 15 minutes early, which, for anyone who knows me, is a huge deal. We sat in the van and laughed and talked. When it was time to go in she seemed excited but just a little nervous. Well, my friends, it went straight downhill from there. We went into her class and she would not let go of me. She begged me to stay and clung to me like a little spider monkey with a hair bow! I finally had to pass her off to Mrs. Gina. She cried the saddest little cry and just reached for me. It was awful. I got in the car and just LOST it. I cried the whole way home and have not been able to stop. I called to check on her and they said "well, she is not crying but she is very sad and lookes really mad!" I do feel that it was the right choice to send her to pre-school. I know for sure that the 5 day a week kindergarten next year would be impossible without this to prepare her. BUT, it is stil hard. She is my BABY. I dropped all three of my kids off at SCHOOL today. That breaks my heart. The baby stage of my life is over. Like, really over. I will never have a baby at home with me again. (unless I can convince Robbie otherwise!). I called Robbie in tears and he tried to comfort me by telling me that "it is time for new memories in this new stage of our lives and the kids lives". Whatever. haha. I wish that I could go back to when my kids were little and do it over. Do it better. And savor every second even more than before. I am SO thankful to be a mommy. It is all I ever wanted. I am just not ready for this stage to be over.