Brilliant

Macie got a toy similar to the one above for Easter (Ours is a little less colorful doesn't have the inner circle information or the minute hour labels. But, our has a handle and wheels.). Basically, it was for Carson, but she did not have anything. So, poor thing she got a toy we knew her brother would love. It has remained unopened until today. Carson wanted to play with it so I opened it for him. He loved it and walked around with it all afternoon. He even wanted Jeff and I to call him "numbers clock". It was very entertaining. (He also wanted Jeff to be called David)

After he got out of the shower, he brought the clock with him to get ready for bed. Jeff asked him if he knew what 7:00 would be. That little sucker got it exactly right. Jeff looked at me and asked if I had taught him that. Nope, he figured it out (or learned it from someone else). I don't know many 4 year olds who can figure out a clock!

Disclaimer...while I know Carson appears to be bright now, I choose to wait several years before I really label him as brilliant!

Actually sleeping!

Macie has never been a good sleeper. But today, she has slept so well, it deserves to be mentioned. First she slept until 6:30. She has been getting up before 6 so this is late. Then she took over a 2 hour nap this morning. (I am lucky if she takes a morning nap these days). This afternoon she has been asleep more than 2 1/2 hours! We took her to the pool between naps, but she has NEVER take 2, 2+ naps in one day. I have always believed sleep led to more sleep and that over tired kids did not sleep well. Maybe today she is trying to catch up on all the sleep she has missed in the last 16 1/2 months!

End of school

Thursday was the last day of school for my kids. Carson has been at the school for 2 years, and Macie started after she turned one in January. They both had wonderful teachers who loved them and took great care of them.

Here are a few photos from the last week.

Carson and his teacher Ms. Janet. She is wonderful and Carson adores her. I am grateful he understands he will not be in her class "when he is 4 1/2".

Carson and the assistant in his class Ms. Niki. She was great too. This was her first year with Janet, but they were a wonderful team.

Macie with her Ms. Nicki. I did not get a picture of her with Ms. Dena or Ms. Beth, but they all loved on her. She could be a bit fussy since school doesn't get out until 1:30, but they never complained.

The next two are at Carson's luau on Tuesday. These kids were in Carson's class for 2's and 3's, I don't know if they will all be together next year, but it has been fun to see them grow. I am sad I did not get a picture of him with Lindsey. She is not coming back next year, and Carson has loved her since last year.

Carson and Katy. She is the one who loves Macie! I think it is funny how much they look alike in this picture.

Mckenna, Mathew, and Carson. He loves to play with them. I think he would tell you Mathew is his best friend at school.

This time next year, I am sure I will be very sad that Carson is leaving Cornerstone! But for now, thank you to all the kids teachers. It was a great year.

Happy Birthday Coley!

Our little buddy turned 5 today. It is so hard for me to believe he has been around for 5 years. It seems like just yesterday we were praying for Mitzi and David as they struggled to conceive. And now, the answer to our prayers is a vibrant loving preschool graduate!

Animals

On Saturday, we went to a birthday party for our neighbors Sophia and Joshua. They had a petting zoo. The kids LOVED it. They even rode a pony. If you read my blog after our attempt at Easter pictures, you know that a month and a half ago, Carson would not touch one of them. It is amazing how quickly he is changing! I have pictures from the last week of school to post hopefully this weekend.

I know I am a nerd, but I had to get a picture of Macie with the cow. If you look closely, she is wearing a cow dress!

First, we got Macie on the pony

then big brother thought it might just be okay!

I will try to post again tomorrow. But, we have a birthday party in the morning. I am trying to finish up an outfit I am making for my nephew Jake. (Debbie if you read this don't set your expectation too high. Remember this is only the 2nd shirt and 1st pair of shorts I have made) Oh, and did I mention I have strep throat again.

Giggles

We had a fun weekend, but you will have to wait to hear about it and see the pictures. I am just too lazy to load the pictures! But, here is a video of Macie on the slide last week.

Art show

Carson and I have taken a couple classes places at the Art Place. It is a county (Cobb-not ours) place that has all different art classes. We have done the Mommy and Me classes. We both really enjoy them, and I have been very impressed with the art we have created. He does most of the work, but I am there to help him. Sometimes he wants lots of help and others he does almost all of it on his own.

Carson and his buddy Carter working on a project. (May 2008)

Flowers-April 2008

Fish (April/May 2008)Carson Manor (Jan/Feb 2008) ready to frame.

Turkey (Oct/Nov 2007)

Expect to see this one in our house every Thanksgiving.

Snowman (Feb 2008)

This one Carson and Daddy made since I was sick.

Bird feeder (April/May 2008)

Butterfly (Jan/Feb 2008)

We have given lots of his art to people as gifts. SueSue has his bird feeder. Hopefully we will be able to copy the idea and make one for our yard too. I really recommend you take an art class with your kids. It is fun and I think he learns a good bit. Abrakadoodle starts classes at 20 months. We have never taken one of these, but I hear they are great. Carson is going to camp with them this summer.

Finally, a photo of Macie. This is at the playground the other day. I have a video to share of her on the slide. I will post it soon.

A preview

One day soon I am going to post some picture of Carson with some of his artwork from this year. Until I get around to taking the pictures, here is a photo of him working on a project at art class on Friday.

Mother's day with SueSue

Update #5 (I can catch up since Jeff wasn't home today)

I would say most of you know how our year started. If you have missed it somehow, my mom was very seriously injured in a car accident January 2nd. Since we have faced the real threat of loosing her, it made Mothers day special this year. She still has a lot of recovery ahead her, we are enjoying seeing her at home recovering. We went over there yesterday for dinner. Jeff cooked fried chicken and I helped with the veggies and potatoes. Carson gave Mom a bird feeder he made her. I will post pictures with some of his art another day. I could go on and on, but instead I will show you a few photos.

Mom and the kids. Yes Macie is eating a marker!

Macie in Mom's lap

Out in Mom's backyard. I love the look on Macie's face. (I know it is blurry. I have to work on my camera. It has "face recognition", but it tends to ignore one face!)

Jeff cleaning up after frying chicken.

My family was very sweet to me. Jeff and the kids made me breakfast in bad. Carson was so excited about it. He made fruit salad and Jeff made coffee. He had to carry the bowl upstairs by himself. We went shopping together on Saturday and got some clothes for my present. The kids gave me a card that played music. They both loved it. Macie would just giggle at it! Mother's day really does get better each year.

Last soccer game

Update #4

Saturday was Carson's last soccer game. He really has a great time. He does not do great in the games, but he does really well in drills. Jeff and I think he would do better if they did not all run as a pack. Maybe when he is in league where they play positions he will be better in the games! I am actually hoping we will move on to t-ball and see how he does with that. Of course I have pictures for you!

Carson before the game started.

Carson is the yellow shirt in the back. Walking off the field.

Snack time. Getting the trophy from coach daddy.

Daddy and Carson with their trophies.

What little sisters do while their brothers play soccer.

Happy Mothers Day

Update #3

Several of my girlfriends celebrated their first mother's day yesterday. So to all of you Happy Mothers Day a day late. We also have several friends who long to have a baby. Please know we are praying that God will bring you a baby and you will be full of joy next year.

Amy and her little boy Bryce. She is my super organized and creative friend. She is doing a great job at being a mommy.

















Caroline and her mommy Suzannah. Caroline is a little peanut. She was born in February and was still wearing newborn diapers last weekend. Suzanna is loving being her mamma.




















Leslie with Riley and Colter. We have been praying for these babies since Carson was born. It was awesome to hear Riley hiccuping in church yesterday knowing that last year I sat in church on Mother's day begging God to let Leslie be a mommy this year. The final picture is Carson meeting the babies at church this morning. He enjoyed them and was really sweet to them.

New things for the kids

Update # 2

Once again I tried to be more creative with my pictures so I don't know how this post will turn out. I thought I would share a few pictures of the kids with some of their new interests.

Carson is very into the computer. I think I have found a new reward for him. Hopefully he will be willing to work to earn computer time.

Macie now refuses to eat yogurt..unless I let her feed herself. I think you can see it makes a big mess!

Muffins with Moms

Update # 1

On Thursday, Carson's class had its Muffins with Moms breakfast. It was really cute. They sang a few songs and gave the mommies a couple gifts. They answered a few questions about their Mom that the teacher read to everyone.

Carson said his Mommy has green eyes and yellow hair. She weighs 70 pounds and is 200 feet tall. She is 23 years old. My mother is prettiest when she wears her stripped shirt (no clue what he is talking about) She likes to plant flowers and likes me to help her clean up my toys. When I am nice she lets me get something special. I like it best when mommy cooks chicken. I don't like it when she cooks salad. My mother thinks I am sweet.

He is a very sweet boy. I am so proud of the little boy he is becoming. Yesterday he even cleaned his bedroom and his train room alone. We told him to do it when he finished watching Thomas and he did without being asked a 2nd time!

The video is his class singing a song for all of us.

Walking Fine

I have a lot of photos to share with you soon. But, for now, I wanted to update you on Macie. She is walking fine. I don't know what her problem was, but she seems back to normal.

More fun

It seems like most of us are getting back to normal heath wise. But, Macie decided to add some more fun to my life this morning. About 7:30, she was walking through the living room and fell. She cried really hard-more than I thought she should for such a small fall. Since she has been sick, she has been napping really early in the morning. So, I went ahead and took her up to nap. I don't know if she ever slept, but she was crying at about 8:15. I went to get her and brought her downstairs. When I went to get her she did not stand up. For some reason, I thought she might have hurt her foot (or leg) when she fell. I put her down to see if she would walk. She took about 2 steps and sat down and cried. I tried to get her to walk again, but she would not do it. I ended up calling the doctor. When the nurse called back, she suggested waiting to see how she was doing in about an hour. She also said I could either bring her to the office or an urgent care where they would have and x-ray machine.

So, we waited a little while. She was crawling around and did not seem to be in pain, but she would not walk. I needed to shower so I took her upstairs with me. It was kind of a test because she loves to get into everything while I shower. I figured if she did not try to stand I would take her somewhere. She did stand up a little, but she would hold her foot up and crawl when she needed to get somewhere. I put her back in her crib so I could dry my hair and get dressed (since she had not really slept before). When she got up a little while later (she did not sleep again) she would walk a little. The doctors office called me back about that time to say if she was still limping at about lunch time the doctor wanted to see her (our doctor took 6 days off-if we went to the office today, we would have been there 3 of the 6 days she was off)

I was having a hard time deciding what to do about her. She had no swelling or obvious place of injury. She would let you touch her foot/leg without any problem. And, she was starting to walk a little. Mitzi came over to drop Connor off (did I mention we had things for almost every minute of today) so I got her opinion. We both decided Macie was basically walking like a new walker. She could do it, but she would loose her balance a little. She would also do much better if she was holding your hand. As the morning has gone on, she is walking close to normal. So, we are going to try to avoid the doctor. Carson has art class from 2-3. I can still get her there if I think she needs to go when we get back. She is finally sleeping now.

Check back later, I have a Muffin with Moms update with pictures to post.

Zip loc

I participate in something called Buzz Agent. Basically, I try things out for free or almost and in return I tell other people about it. I have tried lots of things, but I think this one is my favorite. These containers have lids that you twist on like a bottle. Since we have a problem with lids not fitting, we really like them. Our dear girl has been known to pull things out of the fridge so it is an added bonus that they don't leak. I have some coupons so let me know if you want to try them out!

Awanas

2nd post of the day.

First of all, when I post my blogs, the pictures don't always look like they do in my preview. So, I am sure this post will be crazy looking!

Sunday night, Carson had his awards ceremony for Awanas. He has enjoyed the year and memorized all of his verses. (I think there are about 25) I don't know what we will do next year, but I would really like him to be in the club again. We might try to sign him up for a church closer to home on Wednesday nights.

So here are a few pictures of the evening. First is Carson with Ms. Lynn his teacher. The second is Carson on stage, and the last is Carson getting his awards. The video is the kids singing their theme song. Carson did not feel great so he was a little tamer than he was at school. Again, everything is poor quality because I was sitting far away in a dark room. My camera is not meant for such situations! (

Not too bad!

Both kids actaully slept past 6am. They were up by about 6:15, but that was 12 hours after they went to bed. Macie was back in bed by about 7:40 and is still sleeping at 8:50. You know she has never been a great napper so an hour in the morning is good for her.

They both seem to be feeling better. Carson has been eating all morning. He came down stairs and ate 3 French toast sticks in about 1 minutes. (Usually, he only eats 2 and I have to stay on him to get those eaten in less than an hour.) He has asked for food 2 more times since then. He did have some leg pain again this morning. Today it was behind his knee (I was impressed he could descibe it that way). I could feel the muscle tightening so I understand why it was hurting. I am trying to get him to drink more water to see if that helps.

"Mama" arms

(Holding Macie with my left arm on her birthday)

The gym up the street finally opened about 2 years after the original opening date. I have been trying to get back into working out. Back before I was married I was at the gym most mornings by 5 or 5:30. It hasn't happened in a long time. But, I am working on fitting it in a few days a week. The one thing I have discovered, my left arm is twice as strong as my right. You would think being right handed, I would be stronger on my right side. But, carrying a baby in my left arm so I can use my right arm has had a big impact. I can seriously tell a huge difference. So all of you carrying toddlers around, change sides!

If you read the title please imagine the "mama" sounding like a little chick on some cartoon. This is what I hear 20,000 times a day. Who knew you could get tired of hearing your baby call your name!