Sissy is THREE!!

Kennedy has celebrated her birthday this year in true style!  We went out to eat for her actual birthday day and then over the weekend, we partied at Chuck E. Cheese (you loved the place, NOT the guy so much) and then had friends and family over that night to put the swing set together and bbq.  Fun weekend!

Kennedy at three you are:

*So funny..... every day we see a little more "spice" coming out in your personality and you have become quite the character.  One of your favorite things to do is hold up your index finger, shake it furiously back and forth and scowl for all you're worth!

*  A sweet girl, you are always rubbing an arm, or playing with my hair or just giving kisses and snuggles.  You carry a blankey around with you when you first wake up, so make sure you're ready to cuddle up with whoever is handy!

*  Charming  - over the last month or so you've gotten in the habit of when  you catch a grown up looking your way, you will wink and give a thumbs up.  You're so little that it catches people off guard and they are instantly disarmed and at your service!  :)

* Still pretty timid.... you are "skewed" of a lot still and pretty tentative about new people, places, things.

*  Kinda bossy..... Bubba would say you're VERY bossy ;)

*  So precious.  You bless us every day and our lives are even more full because of you!  You start preschool in August, so this is going to be a big year for you.... can't wait to see how you blossom!  Hard to believe my baby is three years old!

Jaydan is SIX!!

Oh my..... I cannot believe my tiny little baby boy is six years old!!!  That scrawny little critter who struggled to breathe and eat as a preemie is now riding a bike and reading and going to school...... sigh.
Jaydan at six you are:

*  Still INCREDIBLY funny.  We just never know what you're going to say or do because of that we are always just a tiny bit nervous ;)  But most of the time whatever it is, ends up being pretty comical!
P.S.  Your teacher MAY have had to ask you not to dance at school at time or two :/

*  Super smart (just like we've always known).  You KILLED Kindergarten and are reading and writing well above your grade level.  You were given "Skill Master" awards all four quarters, which is like Honor Roll for Kindergarten.  My proudest moment of the whole year though was when your sweet teacher told me at conferences, "Jaydan is such a good boy, he's often the one I point out for the other kids to emulate".  THAT meant even more to me than how smart you are!!

*  All boy!!  You go 100 miles an hour and Dad and I feel like we're constantly saying "Jaydan get down.  Jaydan don't run.  J don't stand on the couch.  J put on your helmet.  Jaydan SIT DOWN".  There is never a dull moment with you around.

*  Some of your favorite things to do right now are to play video games, swim (this one is huge), play basketball in the driveway and play legos. 

*  Still love your family fiercely.  You tease your poor Sissy to death, but would fight anyone else who did so and are so sweet and loving to Dad and I. 

*  Still sucking those fingers..... sigh.

Happy, Happy Birthday sweet boy.  We couldn't be any more proud of the big boy you are becoming!  It's hard to be sad to leave that tiny baby behind when such an amazing young man is taking his place a little at a time!  We love you to the moon and back!!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

Good Lord, could they get any cuter?

Family Vacation - Fall 2012

  

      Jeff was able to coordinate some vacation time with Jaydan's Fall Break, so we packed our bags and headed to Florida. 

   
     Jeff's cousin and her family ended up coming that weekend, too..... they have two boys (11 months apart!!) and a newborn baby girl!  The boys all played so well together and we really enjoyed spending time with their parents and baby Victoria, too.

Of course, we always like to spend as much time with MawMaw and Grandaddy as we can. Jeff's sister, April and our nephew DJ joined us for part of the time .... it was a great get-together!

      We played so hard!  Our whole family loves the beach and we spent pretty much all day, every day at one of our favorite little spots.  It's been Jeff and my favorite since before we were married and its fun now to share it with our kids. 

      Due to weather and changing tides, etc. it looks different every single time we go out there, but its fairly private and easy to get to.  The boys (big and small) fish, we play in the sand and if I'm lucky I get a little reading in, too!  Even Zoe (the family dog) loves it!

      Jeff and I even got to sneak away for a date night with April and Little cousins Addie, Laura and Aaron.  Fun was had by all..... even if my husband did embarass me a little with his fancy dancing ;)  Its good to get some time with other grown ups too!!  Especially other grown ups that are as fun and fabulous as this group is!!

I could only stay for a three day weekend, but Jeff and the kids got the whole week.  We don't get a whole lot of time, with all four of us together due to our crazy work schedules but we so enjoy these little get-aways and the time we get together!  There is something so calming about the ocean, I really feel like it recharges my batteries but the highlight of the trip is when several dolphins swam by, playing about 30 yards or so from where I was swimming.  Ok, THAT part wasn't soooo relaxing until I was sure they were dolphins but it was truly breathtaking!  So grateful to have this quality time and these memories with my family!

Miss Thang

   

     Kennedy has been busy this fall too!  She's finally starting to really talk a lot....using real words!  She is 95% sweet and 5% sass.... if she doesn't like something, she will definitely let you  know.  She's got very strong opinions on things and does not like it when things don't look or act like she thinks they should....... weird, right?  I have no idea where she gets that!  She getting to be very funny and enjoys making people laugh.  She absolutely HAS to do whatever Jaydan is doing..... for better or worse!

     She is definitely a little more tentative than Jaydan was.  She tends to be a little slower to warm up and is still kind of a Mama's girl (I don't mind).  She's very much a girly-girl.... twice I have put her to bed at night in jammies and gone back to check on her later to find her sound asleep in various states of dress, complete with hat, sunglasses, purse and shoes!  I'm not sure where she thinks she's going, but she's going in style for sure!

Missing teeth and broken bones

     As if the first day of Kindergarten wasn't enough to do this poor Mama in, Jaydan came home on the third day and reported his first loose tooth!!  Slow down, kid.... give me a moment to adjust, will you?  He is not blessed with an abundance of patience so after a few days he asked me to pull it.... and was very brave while I did!!  He lost his first tooth on my birthday, to help me remember the date!

     A couple of weeks after that, he was sent home with a note that he'd fallen off of the monkey bars at school, but did not seem to be badly hurt.  Its true, he told me about it, but didn't seem to be very much worse for the wear.  We even went to soccer practice.... and he scored 2 goals!!  But as practice wore on, I noticed that he began to favor his right arm quite a bit.  A couple of times he came to me complaining that it hurt and by the time  practice was over he was crying.... by the time we got home he was vomiting, so I knew we had a real issue.  I put in a call to his Dr. who felt sure it was dislocated.  She game me instructions on how to "reduce" it myself..... and in fairness, I tried hard.  He was in so much pain and it was so hard for his Mama to put him through that.  Eventually we decided to let him sleep on it and take him in to her office in the morning if it wasn't better.  It wasn't.  She also tried to put it back in and ultimately decided that he was just still in too much  pain for there not to be another issue and sent us for x-rays.  Sure enough, there was a break!  Ugh, more Mom guilt!!  Once they set his arm, he felt 100% better and had a cool blue cast to show for it.  He was SUPER tough and we put him through a lot of pain!

     In  total honesty, I'm actually a little surprised that we made it to the ripe ole age of  5 before we needed a cast.  He's what we call in the South, "wide open" and its amazing his injuries up until now haven't really warranted medical intervention.  I'm glad it wasn't more serious than it was and I guess all I can do is brace myself  for the next time!  Boys will be boys, after all!

First Day of Kindergarten

     Jaydan's first day of Kindergarten was looked forward to with equal parts of excitement and dread.  He was so excited to embark on this adventure and I just can't believe that my tiny baby is going to be roaming around that big school all by himself!

     Jeff took him to open house and we were thrilled with the teacher he got and even more thrilled to learn that there were a couple of kids in his class that he already knew, including his bff Dylan.  Not one of the kids from his prek are going to this school, so it was a relief to learn that he didn't have to start ALL over.

     The big morning finally arrived and we were both nervous.... he said "I'm newvous.... I don't know those people".  But he was brave.  We got all ready and set off.  He did seem every bit as tiny as I was afraid he would walking through those doors!

     Again, it was pandemonium!   They had breakfast ready for the kids, but with all of the dropping off, etc. it was kind of wild.  I sat with J, while he ate and colored and then, I turned to leave and......  burst into tears!  Which made him burst into tears!  WHAT????  I didn't really see that coming, but it really breaks your heart to realize that the tiny baby you brought home from the hospital and stayed up all night just watching them breathe..... and watched learn to eat, and crawl and finally walk and talk.... is suddenly, in the blink of an eye..... in school!?!  Crazy!!  We got ourselves together fairly quickly.... and then it was time to go.  Another huge milestone.... first day of kindergarten?  Check!