Carson's First Day of 2 Year Old Preschool

My mama's boy started preschool today. I can't believe how fast he has grown and how fast the years have flown by. More importantly, I cannot believe we dropped him off with NO TEARS!!!!! This is the kid who cries at every drop off and is red faced with swollen eyes when we pick him up. Today he acted like he was 4 and owned the place. He ran in, gave his teacher a hug and sat right down and started playing with some cars. I actually had to go over to him to kiss him and say goodbye. Then he waved to Tanner and I when we were walking out with a happy face. This little guy never ceases to amaze us at how smart and grown-up he seems. I am so proud of him for going off to his Froggy class happy and all grown up!

I know some of you see Kenzie's sign in this pic and might be wondering why she is on round 2 of holding that up. No, it is not just because she wanted a sign because Carson had one. We started Kindergarten all over again today! We found out last week that she was getting moved to a brand new K class they created to alleviate overcrowding in all the classes. Big win for the school - smaller classes for everyone. But another bump on the road for us - moving to a new class, new teacher, new friends. It is a good thing we have a bright, lively, outgoing Kenzie-Bo as our daughter. She did a lot better with this transition than mommy did. She came home excited and saying she made two new friends - yay! I feel confident this is part of the path God is sending us down in order for her to wind up in the exact right place for her this year. We are excited for the change and hope Mrs. Roberts is the best K teacher ever!

Overall, I feel emotionally exhausted from all the change and transitions over the past several weeks, but I know our babies are in good hands with these teachers and I feel blessed and happy to have them. Here's to hoping we have a fabulous school year!

Still Smiling

Still happy after putting in a full day as a big Kindergartener! I am so thankful for this precious girl!

Mackenzie's First Day of Kindergarten

What a day to celebrate - Mackenzie's first day of Kindergarten! She was bright eyed and genuinely pretty excited to go this morning other than complaining of waking up when it was dark. She told me she could not wait to do work at her new desk. We were allowed to walk her into her class this morning, which was great for all of us, but Carson. He pitched a loud, crying fit the entire time because he was stuck with Daddy while Mommy concentrated on Sissy. Despite that, we got our little princess to class on time and made sure she would know how to walk in by herself tomorrow. She was a little hesitant at the door, but walked right to her desk hoping to hang her new princess book bag on the hooks like she did at preschool. I have a friend that works at the school who has texted me a few updates that she had a crying moment this morning, but she stayed with her to calm her down and by lunch she was doing great and looked like she was having fun. What a blessing to have another mommy there helping me know she is doing okay!

As far as me, today has been emotional to say the least. I am excited for her and proud of her starting off on her own in a new, strange place, but I am weepy at the same time. I miss her. It seems silly for me to be sad about her starting Kindergarten, but I am. I can recognize that this is not a bad problem or even a real one, others have much harder things to face, but I can't help it - I miss my Kenzie-Bo! I can't image what it will be like to send her off to college - yall might have to rescue me from the looney bin. Ha!

All in all, I am blessed to have such a smart, sweet, bright-eyed little lady that will do awesome at big girl school this year!

Happy Easter!

Wow - is it already May and I am just now posting Easter pictures? Oops! That seems to be the trend these days - the busier and busier we get, the less time Mama has for hobbies, such as pictures and blogging. We had a wonderful Easter this year - we spent a relaxing Saturday in beautiful weather at church and out to dinner with my family. Then it rained all day Easter Sunday. You might think that would be a bad thing, but we actually loved it. It was a forced day to stay home and enjoy family time.  Tanner cooked us some amazing meals and we did no less than 20 egg hunts all around the house!

"CAR"son turns 2!

 

"Car"son turned two in January right about the time we realized how much he was embracing his name. He is car obsessed - all day, all night, everywhere. He gathers up as many as possible in his hands (caught by the camera above) and wants to carry them everywhere he goes - bed, bathtub, upstairs, downstairs, in the car, to the store, etc. This may be true of all little boys at this stage, but it is so endearing to us to see our little baby all grown up, carting his cars around and making car noises all over the house. He has turned into a little buddy that melts our hearts with the funny things he says and makes us laugh with his neverending clumsiness. Kenzie even gets a kick out of the hilarious things he tells her and comes to report the funny sentences to us. She is also there to help him gather all his cars from point A to point B. All three of us adore this little guy and are so thankful we were blessed with him two years ago!

'The Boat'

 

'The Boat' has been such a big part of our life for about six months now, so I thought I might as well introduce it to our family and friends. You might be saying to yourself 'I don't see a boat' or 'What boat?', and well, you would be right. There is not a boat per say, but the kiddos have named Carson's closet and the blue Aerobed that they sit on 'The Boat'.  The Boat has been the source of hours of fun for them while mommy is doing chores. Their favorite thing to do in the boat is read although games, puzzles, cars, trains and tents have all been a part of the fun. They usually pile more books than I can imagine in the boat and just sit there and read together. Sometimes I even catch Kenzie reading to Carson and Carson answering Kenzie's questions from the books. Of course, I also find carson standing  and jumping in his hamper too. ;)

We have come to love the boat and this is one simple, cute thing of their childhood that I hope they do not outgrow anytime soon and also hope they will remember. I am glad I got a picture of it to capture the memory for years to come.

Happy Halloween

We had a blast at Halloween this year. It is one of my favorite holidays and I love to decorate and try to really make it a fun memory for the kids. This year our memory making got cut a little short as TONS of trick or treaters started showing up while we were just sitting down to our annual candlelit halloween dinner of fish sticks and mac & cheese. I know that seems like a random dinner, but I had that as a kid and for some reason it has stuck with me and now the kids look forward to it too. While trying to scarf down food, all of us got in a frenzy opening the door, talking to the neighbors and Kenzie was ogling all the other kids costumes. So, dinner went out the window and we put the kids in their costumes really quick and hit the road.

Kenzie is a professional now, so she was on the candy hunt as fast as she could possibly go between houses. Carson got the hang of things about halfway down the street and was running through yards up to the door yelling his version of 'Trick or Treat'. He also remembered to say his 'Thank You' too, most of the time with his back turned while he was headed to the next house, but he said it none the less.

Oh yeah, costume background - Carson was a lion because we got the costume as a hand me down from Ava, but it fit him just perfectly. I love his little face and his hair in it. Although, when I went to put it on for the first time all he did was scream and cry and say 'No like it' over and over again. I thought we might be in trouble, but as the candy hunt began on Halloween night, he forgot about not liking his hood and hand covers. Turns out it was super cold and it kept him warm anyway. As far as Kenzie goes, she did not like any costumes in the store that I took her to see and neither one of us had any good ideas about something to make as she didn't really want to be anything. Then one day at lunch, we were sitting at the table and she said she'd like to be a mommy for Halloween. She is really into the baby thing right now and she got REALLY excited as we dreamed up all the things she could do to look like a mommy. I got her organized with her twins, a baby bjorn, and her stroller. She packed her diaper bag and went in my room and grabbed a tiny purse that she put her play keys and cell phone in. She was delighted when it all fit on her stroller handles with her plastic pumpkin! She really played the part well right down to the sunglasses on her head!

Here are some pics of our fun - enjoy!

The Zoo

Tanner took the day off Friday and we took our first family trip to the zoo. It was a cloudy day and there was hardly anyone there, which you might think are negatives, but those two things made our zoo trip fabulous! We had all the exhibits almost to ourselves and the animals were out and about. Carson didn't enjoy it as much as Kenzie, but he was pretty content to stare at the animals when lifted up to see and very much enjoyed pushing his stroller around all over the place. Kenzie had a blast - she loved all the animals for the 60 seconds that her attention span lasts. The highlights for Kenzie were the train ride, feeding the parakeets, crawling through tunnels like a mole rat and getting to see the toddler gorillas.

Mackenzie is 4!

Time flies . . . it really does. That saying is probably overused and has lost most of its impact, but I really feel it right now - where did the last 4 years go? It hit me like a ton of bricks that my baby girl is 4 and growing up SO much everyday. I adore her now more than ever - her inquisitive looks with those 'big browns' while learning new things, her giggle box and infectious laughter, the way she loves her little brother and how happy she is just being together everyday. I am so blessed to have her - she has changed my life and my heart and I can't wait to see how much we both grow over the next year.

Here are some pictures of her last minute indoor Angelina Ballerina birthday party at the house. All the mouselings had an awesome time even though it was a little crowded. Two years in a row we've had rain. Maybe one day I'll learn not to plan an outdoor birthday party!

Mama's Tough Guy

Completely adorable. So what if he has a cast at 16 months? It is even so cute it makes me smile.

Kenzie's Bedtime Prayer Tonight

Kenzie: Dear God, please fly down here tonight and come sleep in my bed for a sleepover.
Mama: I think he heard you and he is going to come.
Kenzie: Noooo! I don't want him to come.
Mama: Well, he is already here, he is in your heart.
Kenzie: Dear God, how do you come here in my heart? Do you have a car or a truck?
. . . Silent Pause . . .
Mama: What did he say?
Kenzie: He said he has a bulldozer. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Carson's 1st Birthday

Wow - has it really been almost two months since I last blogged? Oops! Where did the time go? Oh, that's right - Thanksgiving, Christmas and a 1st Birthday celebration! The last few months have been such a fun, festive and rewarding time for myself and our family. This is the first year I have had time off from Accenture around the holidays and wow - what a difference a little time off makes! I used to be working so much overtime during the holiday season and this year I got to live life, enjoy the kids and make merry. What a blessing and a privilege!

One of the best parts about this holiday season was that the celebrations continued right into Carson's 1st Birthday! This year has completely flown by. I cannot believe our little boy is one. He has been such a sweet, delightful blessing the past year. I cannot even put into words how much our family has changed and how big a part of all of us Carson is. I am sure all of you out there who have two kiddos know what I am feeling, but to be cliche - our family feels so complete now. He lights up our lives with all his crazy adventures around the house while melting our hearts with how sweet he is. I think Kenzie summed it up best the other morning when she was looking across the table at Carson while eating breakfast and said "Mommy, I love our baby brother."

Here are pictures of his birthday party and some playtime in the snow on his actual birthday (yes we were in our PJs). Enjoy!

Trick or Treat

Halloween was so much fun this year! The neighborhood seemed a little more festive, there were tons of trick or treators out really early and Kenzie got to go door to door with her bestie Seth. She had so much fun and loved chowing down on her candy when she got home. She even tried to sneakily eat a last piece after daddy said no more by hiding under the table. She definitely has my sweet tooth - my parents probably caught me doing that every halloween as well. Carson was a long for the ride in his wagon, but mostly preoccupied himself with the wheels, hardware and holes in the wagon instead of the halloween festivities. He spent most of the time doubled over investigating the wagon floor.

Big Springs Farm

We had a wonderful fall, family day at big springs farm when Mema and CB came to visit. What a cute place - we saw farm animals, jumped in the bouncy house and went for a hay ride. Enjoy the pics!

Carson - 9 months

What is Carson up to at 9 months you might ask? Well, what is he not up to or should I say into. He is a little tornado all over the house. Still a sweet, precious baby, but a tornado none the less. Here are some pictures of his latest adventures.

Farm Day

 
 
 
 
 

Kenzie had Farm Day at school on Tuesday. A mobile petting zoo (who knew they had those?) came and set up shop so the kids could love on some cute, cuddly farm animals. I must say, I like the idea because you get to see all the animals without the farm stench. My favorite part was when Kenzie figured out she could take the pony's leash off of the post he was stuck too and walk off with him. They only got a few steps away before the pony stuck his nose in my behind and snorted. I guess he wanted to get my attention so I could rescue him from the wild farmgirl. There is nothing Kenzie loves more than a party - she ran all around, had a great time and loved getting dressed up! The Wee School is such a blessing for her and us - we all love it.

Carson - 8 months old

 

He just couldn't get any cuter . . .

On the move

Carson is crawling and pulling up on everything in sight. He is like a bull in a china shop! We considered our house pretty well baby proofed from Kenzie, but Carson is proving us wrong. He has already pull over end tables, lamps, pulled off the fireplace doors and gotten into all unlocked drawers. He has a fascination with cabinet knobs and will do everything he can to grab them, pull up on them and keep reaching higher and higher.

7 months old

 

The seven month mark came with a new face last week. There is also a new noise to go along with this face, but I am not sure how to put that in to words. Carson also figured out that he can get around and get to anything he wants to. He is not yet doing a tradition crawl - sometimes it is an army drag, sometimes an inch worm slither, sometimes a scoot - - not quite sure how to put it into words either. All I know is that he can get anywhere now and won't stay still for 2 seconds once he is down on the floor!