Gracie's Birthday Party at School

Yesterday Colton and I went to Preschool to celebrate Gracie's 3rd Birthday.  Gracie and I made sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles on them.  She was so excited to share them with her friends!  When Colton and I got there, the class was finishing their lunch,  I sure am glad I am not a Preschool teacher, just saying...I love kids but WOW it is kind of crazy in there.  There are two really, really, really active little boys, that spend a majority of their time in time out and the rest are well they are just 2 and 3 and learning how to listen.  She had colored her birthday hat to wear while she ate her cookie and the class sang Happy Birthday!  She did a fantastic job and was very shy while they sang to her!   After the birthday party, I joined the class in Music,  it was all very interesting and made me realize that Mark and I have very well behaved kids!  I was so proud of her, she follows directions very well and participated.  Then it was time to go and get Hayden from school! 

This is Madison, Gracie's best friend!

 Baby Boy in Camo...

Labor Day Weekend / Gracie B Day

Friday was Gracie's birthday and Hayden, Colton and myself had to go get her birthday present.  So I dropped Gracie off with Aunt Sheri and Jessica to play with Maeleigh while we went to Athens after school.  Gracie was a good girl, and she took a long nap on their couch too!  Good thing because she still had a lot to do on her birthday.  All she wanted was a Minnie Mouse scooter, so we got that first and it was  a bargain because it was only $25, so we went to Toys R Us to find a few other things to go with it.  Hayden had to have a zhu zhu pet and case, so we went ahead and picked Gracie out on too...no fighting that way!   We also got her a Minnie Mouse apron and chef hat and a tea set, yes another tea set but she loves them and they are all so exciting for different reasons!  When we got home Hayden distracted Gracie while I got everything wrapped for her to open when Daddy got home. 

 Mimi and Pop took us all out to eat Japanese to celebrate Gracie's 3rd birthday.  Gracie really eats good when eat there, she blinks the entire time that they cook it though.  She is easily scared and absolutely doesn't like loud noises, but she sat in her chair the whole time and enjoyed it.   I had made strawberry cupcakes with sprinkles earlier, so we ate those when we got back home.  We also gave her some birthday presents since Friday was her actual birthday!  She was so excited when she opened all of her presents, she liked all of them but she really loved her Scooter!!!! 

Saturday, we took it easy around the house and watched Georgia Football.  I personally like the later games because I actually get to watch and enjoy them.  The girls wore their cheer leading outfits and Colton wore his Georgia attire too! 

My good looking kids!! As Hayden and Gracie would say "Go Bulldogs"  Mark corrects them everytime and says it should be "Go Dawgs"  oh well it is cute no matter which way they say it!!!

To bad he wasn't on the team, I bet they would have won!

Sunday, we went to Mimi and Pop's house to celebrate the holiday with all the family.  It was supposed to be a pool party but the weather had other plans.  The pool was a little cold, so the girls enjoyed the hot tub and they got to play with Katelyn. Gracie really enjoyed playing tea party with Katelyn and showing her how to run all around Mimi and Pop's house.  This year Hayden played more with the boys, they played a lot of TAG and for some reason she was IT a lot.  She will figure out how to trick those boys too in just a couple more years!!!  We had lots of good food and fun. 

Today, we are getting ready for back to school.  Tomorrow Hayden is turning in her second set of site words and 3 challenges.  I hope she does good,  I know she knows all of it as long as she doesn't freeze up!

Also on May 24th, which is Colton's birthday, we went to have some professional pictures taken, which we just got a copy of.  I had to stop at my Mema's house to shower before my doctors appointment and thank goodness I did because my doctor sent me straight to the hospital.  It was fun though and something they will never forget, they got to paint Mommy right before baby brother made his arrival!!!   Wow, I sure was BIG and I knew he was coming that afternoon!!!

Dear Gracie,

Dear Gracie,

I can not believe that you are already 3 years old today.   I guess it is true time flies when you're having fun.  Three years ago at exactly 2:01pm God blessed us with you, a beautiful, smiling baby girl.  You were perfect in every way!  Mommy gets kind of emotional on your birthday and as you and Hayden get older, you will both understand.  It was a perfect September in 2008, and I thank God everyday for all of our many blessings.  You were so patient making your arrival but not anymore, when you want something, you want it right then.  You can be a little demanding at times, but we all love you for that!  You tend to pitch a fit when you don't get your way, but we are working on that because we don't want you to be that kid that no one wants to play with. You started Preschool this year and even though you cried everyday for the first week you absolutely love it now and can't wait to go.  I love the way that you follow Hayden around and do everything and I do mean everything she does, you are the true definition of a copycat!  The good thing is that Hayden loves it too, well most of the time anyway.  You have had so many accomplishments in the past three years....rolling over, crawling, walking, talking, running and finally potty trained...you were a little hard headed about it but we finally got through it!   You are a very beautiful, determined, intelligent, loving, and smiling little girl now.  I guess even though you will always be my baby, you are a little girl now!  Some of your favorite things are riding your tricycle, scooter, playing babies, and dress up.  This year not only did you start school but also Ballet, I love your excitement about Ballet...everyday you ask when you get to go back again.  Your Daddy thought you were going to be the tomboy but I think you are going to be a prissy little girl instead.   The funniest things you do are dressing up in silly outfits and singing and performing for us in front of the TV and when you act like your the baby and Hayden is the Mommy!

You picked Cinderella for your 3 year old birthday party theme.  We are going to have a pool party at Mimi and Pop's house next weekend to celebrate with everyone, but for tonight it will just be our perfect little family celebrating.  This year you also became a big sister, which you made you so happy.  You are very sweet to your brother and always trying to help Mommy take care of him.  He is going to love you and he will probably be following you around pretty soon, just like you do Hayden!  Everyone was so worried that you would feel left out since you are the middle child, but you absolutely make sure that doesn't happen, which is truly something I love and admire about you.  See the way I see it is you are very lucky because not only do you get to be a big sister but you also get to be a little sister, you get the best of both worlds!!! 

We all love you so much baby girl!!!  We hope you have an amazing 3rd Birthday!

We will always love you bunches,

Mommy and Daddy

Week 3

This week has been great for the girls.  Gracie is absolutely loving school, in fact she was disappointed that she didn't get to go today!  She is learning so much and it has been excellent for her to be around other people besides me all the time, never thought I would say that, did you?  She has made so many friends and can't wait to tell me all about her day.  Yesterday, Aunt Kim went with me to pick Gracie up from school and then we met Mimi at Chick-fil-a so that Gracie could play for a while.  Then since Hayden is feeling a little left out, Kim also went with me to pick her up from school.  You should have seen the smile on her face when she saw Kim in her car.  The first thing she said was "Can we eat Chinese" had to tell her no since it was almost 3pm, then she wanted to go swimming, but since I hadn't planned to, I didn't have any swim suits and Gracie and Colton were both sound asleep.  She was a little disappointed, but she gets to swim at Mimi's this weekend so maybe she will forgive us.  

Ballet and Soccer are both going good.  They love all of their activities!  Mommy is a little tired but I will survive.haha.   Mommy also started going to the gym this week to try to get back those abs I had before I got pregnant with Hayden almost 6 years ago...wish me luck!   I have enjoyed the gym even though about 30 minutes is all I can do for now, Colton travels along and watches me for the most part...sometimes I wonder if he is laughing at me lifting weights.  Another busy week down and now a busy weekend coming up....A little bit of Georgia football Saturday, a pool party at Mimi and Pop's Sunday, and then a much needed holiday Monday!!!  Let the fun begin! 


Here are some other updates, I stay so busy that I haven't been updating as much as I need to..to be able to keep up with everything.   I had to ask Hayden some questions for school.  One was "what do you want to be when you grow up"  Hayden said "I want to be a doctor just like Aunt Kim".  At least she has big goals and she has a very good role model!

My Happy Boy!

Silly girls playing dress up!

Sitting in his Bumbo seat!

Hayden's teachers send me pictures which I love because I can see what she is doing in class.  The whole class completed their challenges for August so they are dancing on the red carpet.  They got to dance individually and all together. I can only imagine the excitement in the room!  See if you can find my dancer....

Week 2...Much Better

We have had a very good week.  Gracie has been more excited about Preschool, she didn't cry at all this week, but she was still a little unsure in the mornings.  I think she is really enjoying it, now that she has a best friend.  She told Mark last night that her and John Carter had to sit in time out yesterday.  She never said what happened and I am sure if it had been something bad, Mrs. Monica would have told me about it or sent a letter home.  She is going through some phase that she HAS to have on a dress or skirt and she is NOT happy if I lay out shorts for her to wear.  She also has to have a bow and ponytail everyday, like I said not sure where it all came from but all she will say is "I just want to be pretty".   Oh well, at least she is cute and well dressed everyday!!!  

Hayden has had a great week too!   We turned it 3 challenges on Monday and sent her first set of site words for her to be tested on.  She passed all of them, I know no one is really surprised, but I was so excited and nervous Monday to see how she did.  I knew she knew all of it but sometimes she freezes up on things she has known forever, but she did amazing and got a big sticker that said awesome job on everything and Mrs. McDaniel sent home the next set of site words for her to start on.  As of today I think we are going to be ready to send in 2 more challenges on Monday.  We have been working so hard on counting from 1-100 and even though it seems so easy to me, I know it is hard for her...but last night she finally got it all by herself and words cannot describe how proud she was!!!  I am so proud of her, she is getting off to a great start this year! 

Gracie is loving Ballet, she really is enjoying it.  I am so glad that I signed her up this year too.  Mark thought she was still to little and to much of a tomboy to be a ballerina, but I think his little tomboy is turning into a Princess...with all the cute dresses, bows and ballet!!!  Hayden still enjoys Ballet too and she is having a blast at Soccer this time.  She is a Pro, she is the only one on her team that has played before, so it will be interesting to see how she does the first game...whether she is shy or really shows what she can do!!!

As always Colton is wonderful.  I know I say this all the time but he is such a good baby!  He is smiling and talking all the time.  He loves attention and might be just a little bit rotten. 

Gracie and School

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were a little rough for Gracie's first year of Preschool.   Like I said in the previous post she cried for a good while on Monday after I left, she cried for about 15 minutes Tuesday after I left, and on Wednesday she started crying and saying that she didn't want to go when I woke her up!  She kept telling me yesterday that she didn't want to go but I told her she had to because Mommy and Daddy have already paid for this month.  Jake and Katie, which are some of our friends have a little girl in Gracie's class too and her name is Madison.  They are the same age...Madison is only 2 weeks younger than Gracie and they finally became really good friends yesterday.   While sitting in the Preschool parking lot because Hayden has to be at school at 8 and Gracie at 9:15, Madison played in our car with Gracie...they watched movies and talked!  Must have worked because when Katie and I picked them up yesterday, Mrs. Monica said that they were inseparable and that they both had a great day!  Made me feel so much better because I was seriously thinking about keeping her home until next year.  It isn't like she has to go this year but I thought she would enjoy it.  She talked a lot about her new friend, Madison and what she did at school.  Aunt Kim went with me to pick her up yesterday, which was nice because I didn't have to take Colton in too.  Then we went to Chick-fil-a to play inside and have lunch.  Gracie really came out of shell yesterday because she even made a new friend at chick-fil-a named Jessie and Gracie was telling Jessie's Mommy all kinds of things.   I even told Kim that there is no telling what she is saying in there.  She also kept waving to Kim and myself while climbing up the slide and telling us that she loved us!  I guess because she usually follows Hayden around I have never seen her play like that.  Then we went to pick up Hayden from school and the first thing Gracie says is " I saw Kim today and went to chick-fil-a" , Hayden was not a happy camper, she feels like she is getting left out because she has to go to school longer.  I told her that she would get to have special days too, not to worry no one in this family is going to leave her out. 

Hayden has had an awesome week!  She loves her teachers and is making friends.  Sara is her new friend and she is allergic to carpet.  I wasn't sure about that one, but Hayden says she has to sit on a towel when they sit in the floor.  She also told us that Michael wants to be her boyfriend and tries to kiss her.  We told her no kissing boys until she is married.  Never going to work but it is worth a try.  We even told her that Mommy and Daddy never kissed anybody until the day we got married.  I know you all giggled a little after reading that.Right?   It is so funny to hear her talk about it and cute.  I know that all the boys are always going to want to be her boyfriend and kiss on her mainly because she is beautiful and the sweetest little girl ever.  She is excited about school and I hope she stays that way!  I always liked school but I don't think her daddy had the same opinion.  She already impresses me with how much she knows!  She acts like she doesn't like to do homework but I think she really does especially when she knows all the answers. 

I have had an interesting week and lots of sitting in the car while waiting at one school or the other but it is all totally worth.  Tuesday is a very long day because we also have Ballet after school and then Soccer too.  Oh yeah, see I almost forgot...Hayden also started Soccer this week, she has practice on Tues and Thurs. at 7:15pm, which seems late but works much better for me.  Mark gets to stay at home with Colton and Gracie while Hayden and I go to Soccer.  It is much easier that way and Colton and Gracie were both sound asleep when I got back home on Tuesday. 

Colton has been so good all week.  He just goes with the flow and doesn't complain.  He is such a sweet and happy baby boy.  He just smiles and talks to me all the time.  In fact, he is a little bit rotten and I don't know why!!!  Now that is happy!!!

First Day of School 2011

Well the girls did great this morning and so did I until I left my baby girl Gracie and then the tears started coming and wouldn't stop.  Hayden had to be at school by 8am, we were doing so good until I realized about half way to the school I forgot her name tag, so we had to turn around and get it.  We still made it on time but it was close, thank goodness Mrs. Lisa was working the carpool, which put Hayden at ease a little bit.  Even though school is not really new to her, she was still pretty nervous.  It made me think about when I would start school every year with all the butterflies in my stomach.  I love her so much and she was so big this morning and tried to hide that she was a little scared.  She is so worried about knowing her carpool number and I finally told her that all the teachers know her number too and they will help her until she gets used to big carpool.

Gracie did excellent this morning too! She was so excited after we dropped Hayden off, but she had to sit in the car until 9:15am, so she was a little impatient but she watched a movie until it was time to get out.  She got out put her book bag on and held on tight to her lunch box.  She walked right into her classroom and I put her book bag and lunch in her spot with her name and also told her that pooh bear was in her book bag if she needed it.  She told me "I don't need pooh right now." Last night I read her and Hayden both the 'Kissing Hand' book, so I asked her what to do if she missed Mommy and she put her hand up to her cheek, which is when Mommy started to get upset...she is such a big girl now.  When I left she looked a little scared or sad, not sure which one and very shy but she walked over to one of the tables and sat down with some other kids.  I hope she didn't cry after I left, I know I did...all the way home!!!

So when I went to pick them up, I found out that my baby girl (Gracie) ended up crying for Mommy for about 30 minutes Mrs. Monica said that once they got Pooh Bear out of her book bag everything got better and she ended up being fine.  All the teachers said that she is so sweet, it was really good to hear.  She really enjoyed it and has told me all about it...she got to play on the playground, made new friends, played with blocks and some little boy named Tucker drew on her picture on purpose.  She is so funny and so excited to tell us all about it. We went to visit Mimi after I picked her up and she told everybody in the office about her day too!  She was literally all smiles!!!  I am so glad she had a good day and wants to go back again tomorrow. 

We had to wait to pick Hayden up later, so we sat in carpool for a while which was okay because Gracie and Colton both took a nap and I sat there and played with my phone.  Hayden doesn't share as much as Gracie does, she doesn't like to talk about her day until she is good and ready.  I did get out of her that she really likes her new friends and she got to play on the playground twice today.  The best part was while Gracie, Colton and myself were visiting with Mimi, Hayden's class came through her office looking for Chester the Raccoon..from the book 'Kissing Hand', yes the same one I read to them last night...they read today in class.   She was so sweet and looked so big. 

I think they both had great days and so did I after lots of crying this morning.  Can't wait to hear what they have to say about day 2. 

Mommy and Daddy love both of you so much.  We are so proud of you both!