Things

* Sam has had a fever since yesterday afternoon. He seems to be fine otherwise and I don't yet know what is causing the fever.
* Two nights in a row both kids have slept through the night.
* We started a rewards chart with Reese over the weekend. I had been doing some research on what I should expect from a three year old and finally decided what we would focus on. We are working on manners, speaking nicely, staying in bed, and a few other things we needed to work on. So far it seems to be working well. We are only five days in. :-)
* Reese is loving school and seems to be picking up a lot. I think her teachers are great!
* This weather is amazing and we are enjoying being outside a lot!
* I made both kids some shirts to wear in October (Etsy inspired) and have made Reese a dress (also inspired by Etsy). I still need to make Sam a shirt to match the dress. I can't wait to put them in their clothes!
* Reese seems to never nap anymore. She just plays in her bed for a while (usually an hour) and then I let her get up and have some quiet TV time while Sam still naps. I think she still needs that alone time and I know I do!
* October is going to be a crazy month for us! It is packed full.
* My BFF should be having her baby any day now and I am so excited. I can't wait!


- Posted from my iPhone

Fall School Pictures

We got the proofs of Reese’s fall school pictures yesterday.  While they weren’t as bad as last spring, they are not great!

#1: This is her “Really? You want me to smile? Well, it’s not going to happen.” look. 

#2:  This is her “I really want to smile but I am super stubborn so I will try to hide it” look.

#3: And this is her “Whew! I made it through with out smiling and am pleased with myself” look.

 

I actually did order a set of wallets of #3 this year.  Might as well get a keepsake from the beginning of the school year!

Beautiful!

This afternoon, as we were walking in the neighborhood with a neighbor, it started thundering.  We decided not to risk it and headed back home.  Instead we headed to Reese’s school for pizza and the book fair.  I bought a couple of books to save until Christmas and then we headed home.  As we were driving home we saw one of the most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen. 

This was the first time Reese has seen a real rainbow and she loved it.  We drove around the neighborhood so we could keep looking at it. 

It was so bright.  It was actually a full, double rainbow but the second one is hard to see.  If you look above the bright one you can faintly see it.

 

These pictures do not do any justice to how pretty it was.  I am so glad Reese was able to see a real beautiful rainbow.

Quiet

Sam doesn't understand why it is so quiet in the car. Here is his answer...



- Posted from my iPhone

View from my phone

- Posted from my iPhone

Wordless Wednesday

Playing with a friend...


- Posted from my iPhone

Misunderstanding or Mistake

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.  Reese wakes up every night.  Oh, you have?  Well, humor me.

Reese wakes up every night.  She yells for me until I come in to her room.  I come in to her room unhappy.  And say things I might not have said if I were coherent.

Last night I told her she had to stop yelling for me in the middle of the night.  If she woke up in the middle of the night she could just come in to our room.  I said this because every night about 30-45 minutes after she yells out Sam wakes up crying for me.  This makes for a very long night.  I am soooooo tired of being up for several hours each night.

Well, she remembered this statement tonight when it was bed time.  For the last hour and a half we have heard her feet hit the floor, run to our room, and back to her room.  Then she will come back to the top of the stairs and ask if she can get in our bed.  The answer is obviously no and she is not happy about it.

I think I have made a mistake because she misunderstood what I meant.  Now I just have to figure out how to fix this little misunderstanding.

Family Time

Lance has been working a lot lately.  This leaves us with very little family time.  Saturday afternoon after watching football most of the day we headed over to the park.  We first did our three miles to work off all of the horrible food we had been eating all day.  Then we took the kids to play.  We pushed them both in the swings for a little while and then went over to the big kids playground to climb the “spider web”. 

Most of the time Reese is not very adventurous but for some reason she was taking on the world that evening.  She let me help her climb almost all the way to the top of the “spider web”. 

And then she ran around the big kids play set (which is really, really high in some points).  When we are on the toddler play set I just let her run around and do her own thing.  On the big kids set, I followed her up the first time and she told me she did not want me to come with her.  That hurt!  Ha!  It was definitely a lesson in learning when to let go as a parent and not control so much.

I am so glad we were able to spend some family time together.  These next few weeks and weekends are going to crazy!

Go Jackets-Reese Style

Saturday we had some friends over to watch the Tech game.  Reese had gone upstairs for something and when she came back down this is how she looked…

She is so cute!

Seriously?

I found another tooth in Sam’s mouth today.  That brings the grand total to nine teeth.  He started cutting his first tooth at 5.5 months and has been cutting a tooth every minute since then.  No wonder he hasn’t been gaining weight.  Who can eat when your mouth hurts all day, every day?

Two Firsts

Sammy had two firsts today!

*He ate his first two Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets.  I usually only buy Reese a four count but today I bought a six count to let Sam try a couple.  He devoured them and was asking for more as soon as they were gone.  I felt bad that I didn’t have any more for him.  He was not happy with me.

*This afternoon Sam was being a little grumpy and not much was making him happy.  So I thought I would introduce good, ole Elmo to him.  He was definitely interested for a little while.  I think he will grow to love him as much as Reese did. What is it about that little red guy?

The House(s) That Built Me

This morning I received an email from my youngest sister, Becca. It said, “It’s been 20 years since you were in 5^th grade!!! LOL!”. Oh man, nothing like feeling super old first thing in the morning. Ever since reading that email, today has been very nostalgic for me.

You see, 20 years ago we moved from a small little country town where everybody knew me, knew my family, and mostly knew everything about us. I was basically born with friends.

We did everything together…preschool, church, extracurricular activities, started grade school, spent the night at each other’s houses, birthdays, all the fun things kids do. I remember many times my parents asking us if we wanted to move. I always responded with, “Only if it is to a new house in Madison or Rutledge (the small town over).” I was terrified of moving and losing everything that I had.

In August of 1990, my parents moved us to Atlanta (and by Atlanta I mean a small city in the suburbs of Atlanta). It seemed huge compared to where we came from. I was excited about a new house and a new bedroom. My parents did everything they could to make us feel at home and settled. But then school started…5th grade to be exact.

I remember my first day like it was yesterday! I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. I was sitting next to a girl named Michelle. She looks over at my name on my desk and says, “Your name is Ree-knee?” I told her that my name was “Ra-nay” and I was crushed. They didn’t even know how to say my name here! How was I going to make friends? I slowly made friends and had a lot of fun growing up. I kept in touch with my friends from Madison for a while (and thanks to FB I can a lot more now) and would cry to my mom occasionally about how much I missed them. I vividly remember sitting in my peach colored room one night and sobbing to my mom about how much I hated my new school and that I wanted to go back to Madison. I know she felt horrible but in the end they made the right decision for our family! I can’t imagine my life without some of the trials I had as a fifth grader.

Lance and I are in the process (and have been for a long time) of figuring out where we want to raise our kids, have them go to school and church, and where we want our forever (or at least the next 20 years or so) home to be. My experiences from 5^th grade weigh heavily on my heart when I try to make that decision. I know I sound dramatic and that my experience is nothing like some kids hard lives of moving around from school to school. I just want my kids to be happy and feel planted in their lives. I want them to look back and remember “The House That Built Them”.

Just Living Life

Some days I don’t have anything to say or any pictures to show because we are just living life.  Reese goes to school, Sam naps, I clean, we meet our friends at the park, we walk through the neighborhood, the kids play, etc, etc.  I snap a few pictures here and there but nothing too exciting.  But this is our life and here are a few pictures I have snapped recently. 

Reese made a “picnic”…flower in a vase included.

 

Sam enjoyed it.

 

Sam has been feeding himself table food more and more recently.  He loves to feed himself.  If we are eating something and he is not, he gets mad.

 

 

I’m ready for work!

 

Reese has been making messes (notice her shirt) and then loves to help sweep. 

See, nothing too terribly exciting but so thankful for the cute kids to spend the day with.

The Fresh Beat Band

Reese loves them!!! She sings and dances with them during the whole show. I even TiVo them now so we have them whenever we like.



- Posted from my iPhone

GT Family?

Lance put this little family on my car yesterday.




I have to admit it us cute but there is one problem. This Mommy is a Georgia fan!! He said I could buy a UGA Mommy to put on there if I wanted. Ha!


- Posted from my iPhone

The Greatest Show on Earth

Today we took the kids to the circus at The Arena at Gwinnett.  We decided last minute (Thursday) that we would go because my mom had a 50% off code.  When we first arrived Reese wasn’t so sure about everything.  She can be timid at first but once Mommy had a good talk with her she was ready to have fun. 

 

We arrived early enough to go down on the floor to see some entertainment before the show began.  There was some juggling, acrobatics, and an elephant came out.

We headed to our seats afterwards.

 

There really wasn’t a bad seat in the house.  The Arena was split in half and it was just a one ring circus.  I really think this was perfect for a three year old.  She only had one place to look.

 

The show was really good and Reese loved it.  We saw elephants, a clown, acrobats, some lions, and even cats (yes, like house cats) doing tricks.  It was two hours long!  At intermission I thought it was over.  But we were only half way there.  Sam slept for about 45 minutes.  I have no idea how!

And we were able to get our family picture today!!  Thanks Aunt Becky!

When it was over we decided to take advantage of being so close to Discover Mills.  We went over to have lunch and get a little shopping in…more like window shopping.  Reese rode with Aunt Becky in her Jeep.

See her little head?  So cute!  She loved it.

We have had a great and fun day!!

Weight Check

Sam weighed in today at the doctor’s office.  I stripped him down to get an accurate weight.  He weighed 19 lbs, 3 oz.  That is a weight gain of 11 oz, or about two-thirds of a pound, in a month.  Since he only gained one pound in the three months before that is awesome! The doctor thinks he would have probably gained more if he had not had an ear infection.  The ear infection caused him pain while he was eating.  He has been waking up every night in the middle of the night (twice last night) for almost two weeks wanting to eat so maybe he is going through a growth spurt.  I have pretty much just let him eat when ever he wants and we haven’t really been on any kind of schedule.  We will be back at 11 months and will weigh him again.  And then at 12 months we will take another look and see where we stand.  Good gaining buddy!!

Ten Months Old

Sammy is ten months old!  Amazing!  I can’t believe he is only two months from being a year old.  This year has flown by!

This little guy is moving around sooooo much! 

It took him a while to get to the point of crawling but once he set his mind to it he hasn’t stopped moving!

 

Trying to get a picture of him this month has proved to be the hardest.

 

He was having a ball in the chair.

  

Just giggling and giggling!

 

His newest thing is to pull up on something and then throw his hands in the air to stand on his own (for a split second) before he plops on his bottom.

 

He is so much fun right now!

 

And a little mischievous!

 

He will be cruising around the furniture any day now.

 

And then before we know it he will be walking all over the house.

 

Reese already gets frustrated with him getting her things.  I can only imagine what the future holds.

 

He is still as sweet as ever but has definitely started flexing his muscles.  He doesn’t like to be told “no”, have things taken from him, or put down.  He has the funniest face when he gets mad at us.  I need to get it on camera!

 

One little, small, tiny thing that is making this mommy crazy is that Sam is going on week two of waking up in the middle of the night to eat.  He will wake up some time between 12:30 and 5:00.  I feel like I am back in the house with a three month old!

I hope that all this nursing in the middle of the night is helping him gain weight.  We are going to the doctor tomorrow for a vaccine and weight check.

Happy ten months, Little Buddy!