5 years ago!

Oh this sweet boy has melted our hearts since the moment we first laid eyes on him. I can barely remember life before him, and yet can not believe he is already one whole hand in years. I remember being 5 and feeling so big. In some ways it is scary to me now that he has reached an age where he will recall his own memories and experiences one day.

This is photo number 44.  It struck me as funny seeing this.  5 years later we easily have a few thousand... 

 

 

 I could easily flip through web albums of our littles and their experiences all day long...

 

 

This was his second time meeting great papa...right at 6 months old!

 



 

 Today, Bennett went to visit Dr. Cumming for his 5 year old check-up.  He did a fantastic job of withstanding 3 shots in preparation for kindergarten next year.  And for the record...he is now over 40 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds.

 

 

First birthday fun with balloons!  I remember taking him out for pizza on his first birthday - it fell on a Friday - I think it was much more of a celebration for mom and dad...thinking back to this day one year ago! 

 

And some of my favorite memories...

 

 Handsome boy!

 

 

Funny boy at the apple orchard...

Didn't want to wait too long to get him a seat at Nick's!

 



 

ZooBoo with his cousins!  The timing was perfect for a day out with family while mom and dad stayed home with his brand new baby sister.

 



 

...melts my heart - our babies!

 

 

...arriving to Disney in his Woody jammies!

 

 

...exploring the beaches of southern Georgia!

 

...taking care of his "baby!"

 

...lots of learnning and growing in JK!

 



 

...bringing Teddy along everyday as a little security in his new, big world!

 

 

...always wanting to have fun and conspire with his cousins! 

 

...more beach fun in sunny Florida!

 



 

...exploring museums! 

 

 

..."Super Bennett" pose?

 

...our handsome boy at five!

 

 

...muscle pose with his birthday party friends!

 

...blowing out that candle.  For us, that expression says it all!

 

We love you to the moon and back sweet boy!!

Elly Rose turns 3!

We are amidst birthday season (with halloween smushed in the middle) at our house.  The anticipation of candles, cupcakes, parties, surprises, a new number to proudly share when that frequent question, "how old are you?" comes up in conversation...all very exciting and much anticipated by our littles.  Although, Bennett struggles to fully understand why Elly Rose celebrates her birthday before him...

This is on the morning of Elly Rose's 3rd birthday...it fell over fall break for Bennett and I, so we enjoyed a low key day of celebrating - complete with her pick of cider slushies from the lilly orchard...yum!  Bennett picked out this yo gabba t-shirt for Elly Rose for her birthday and she begs to wear it every day!
 

 

We convinced her into an outfit change for her lil party.  My mom made this sweet frock for her and Elly Rose was quite excited when she saw it.  This year, she helped to pick out the fabric, so upon seeing it transformed into an outfit, she was quite pleased.

 



 

And...another outfit change for the day - wearing a newly opened princess dress-up frock and necklace to go with her "kitty cat" cake...we are dabbling in all kinds of animated creations these days.

 



 

We wanted to include a few of her little friends in a birthday celebration this year.  After a little brainstorming, we decided to try Build A Bear.  It was so much fun to have a handful of little ladies select, fluff, clean and dress little bears...we loved it!  Wonderful hands on activity and a little dessert to follow.

 



 

Rosie decided very quickly that she wanted her bear to wear "colts cheer-weader."  Didn't even have an interest in looking at the VAST (I had no idea of the options) selection of clothing choices for a selected animal. 

 



 

Project complete!  Happy 3rd Birthday to our little spitfire of a girl!

Q Family Vacay

At the end of July, my sister (and crew), my parents and our family headed down to florida for a little family vacation.  Mom, Dad and Rose traveled by plane; meanwhile, Zach and I snagged Cooper to be a riding mate for Bennett and off we went!  After a quick stop in Nashville for a little country music and dinner, we continued to northern Alabama where we met my sister's clan for an overnight stay before finishing our journey the following morning.

 



 

Once everyone arrived and had a chance to get settled in, it was all smiles!  We were so excited to think this is our routine for the next 6 days...beach, pool, beach, pool, great food and drinks, beach and pool!

 

 

 

Dinner for 11...no problem!

 



 

We started each day at the beach - all the littles loved the sand, ocean waves, crab hunting and relaxing!

 



 

Hard work toting these big buckets (Amy was prepared with 10+ buckets) of water!

 



 

Beach babe!

 



 

Batman checking out the waves (which were a little bigger than we would have liked on a handful of days).

 



 

Master sand castle builder.

 



 

Snack time!  It was the perfect place to relax with memaw.

 



 

How low can you go?  Amy spearheaded a giant hole dig.  Did she reach China?

 



 

The subsequent mound of sand from the giant dig was perfect for climbing and jumping!

 



Dinner outdoors before we moved 11 people, plus food indoors away from a quick-moving storm. 

 



 

Pretty sunset following the storm.

 



 

Elly Rose and Camden were buddies.  It was heart-warming to see them spend time together.  ER adores Camden.  He taught her how to do a canon ball, among other things!

 



 

Baseball with our crab-catching nets?  Sure thing.  Papaw could pitch to his boys all day long.

 



 

Amy may not have made it to China, but that didn't stop Bennett from giving it a go...

 



 

All family photo ops were hijacked by these two acting as unwilling particpants.  Love them still!

 



 

Troublesome Twosome!

 



 

"No, Elly Rose...you are not allowed to go on dates until you are 27."

 

What else could they possibly be talking about?

 



 

Cooperative boys catching crabs (many, many crabs) and posing for a family photo!

 

 

Ruffle butt love.

 



 

The waves are gone...this crew is in a shallow sand bar about 40 yards from the beach...my littles thought this was very cool.

 



 

Behold...a mote.  This was not as easy as we thought.  Bennett's boat (from our last beach trip) continued to make its way everywhere with him and we still have it! 

 



 

She loved playing in the ocean on calmer days!

 

Cheers to time with family and breaks in the routine.  Well worth the work of organizing, packing and traveling.  We simply feel fortunate to spend extended time together.  AND, while we were vacationing at the florida beach, my little brother and Madi were vacationing at the beaches of Mexico...they came home ENGAGED!

 



Junior Kindergarten: Take 2

Today started year two of Junior Kindergarten for Bennett!  We can't believe we are here...starting another year of school and with it new routines for our babes.  Bennett enjoyed a great first morning. He will repeat a short day tomorrow before beginning the full day routine on Wednesday.  

 

 Bennett's junior kindergarten class is a multi-age classroom, so even though we are beginning a new routine, he is returning to the same classroom and has the privilege of once again having Mrs. Harris as his teacher.  One big difference for our little guy from last year...he is one of the oldest in the classroom!  This will provide him the opportunity to lead the younger students, while also spending time with his peer group during small group instruction.
 

 

TROUBLE. 

 

These little guys are the veterans to Mrs Harris's class (along with two little ladies).  They were so very excited to see one another this morning.  Pure joy in those sweet smiles.  We are looking forward to another exciting year of discovery and learning (and perhaps a little reading!).

 

Miss Elly Rose is not far behind - she begins a Young 3's preschool program twice a week next Tuesday.  We meet the teacher on Thursday...can hardly wait!  Also on Thursday, Rose joins her neighbor friend for ballet.  Every Thursday afternoon for the next 10 months - eek!