Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year with lots of family around. After Christmas eve dinner at home and a fun white elephant exchange, we had Christmas dinner at our favorite Chineese restaurant while the snow poured down. There were lots of parties this year and many opportunities to get photos with Santa. But... the boys are still scared of him (can't blame them) so we just look from afar. 2011 is going to be a great year and we are truly blessed to have such great friends and family.

Trick-Or-Treat

We had the best time this year. The boys were all about the candy and their buckets were full. We actually ran out of candy this year. Charlie was spider man and Bennett was super man. They had a parade at school and a fall festival so they were very well prepped for the big night. Once we were home, Charlie wanted to know the names for each of his candy and Bennett was excited b/c he got playdough. (not a big sweets eater like Dad)

Little Henry went to a few houses with us too. super hero power!

Laura's 1st half marathon

I did it! 13.1 miles in 2:25. It was so nice seeing Brian and the boys at the finish line. I hope to do another so I can beat my time. I am not addicted to running and I don't think I would ever have the stamina to do a full but I am proud to have one under my belt. My inspiration was the Jacob Phelps Foundation and I hope I was able to raise money for them. Here is a picture after we got home with my medal. Then I took a hot bath and slept.

best buds having popsicles

Here are our neighbors and friends over for a cookout. SO cute!

trip to France (really Pennsylvania)

Aunt Natalie helped out with the kids as we drove from Atlanta to Pennsylvania. She deserves a medal! We had a great visit with Mimi, Papa, Nathalie, Ruebans and Kelia. Nathalie was my sort-of nanny when I was younger and it was so nice to meet her family. Her english is perfect so we had no problems communicating. The boys loved her kids. After Kelia carried Bennett around one afternoon he kept saying "I love Kelia and I want her to live with me". It doesn't take much with that kid.

Trip to Northern Neck

Charlie and Bennett really had fun playing with their new friends, Wynne and Olivia.

Fun Time at the Treehouse

Lately, there have been many fun happenings and the daycare - The Treehouse. We have to keep the calendar on the fridge so we don't forget things like Sunglasses Day or Music Day (bring an instrument, luckily we had egg shakers and a harmonica). This past week there was Teddy Bear Picnic. We had a box lunch (thankfully indoors) with the kids and our teddy bears. My Mom sent my teddy from when I was little. It was pretty worn looking but he made an appearance nonetheless. Below are pictures of our fun times and a reminder of how lucky we are that the boys are 1 block away.

Charlie and Bennett in some recent Videos (you may need to download Quicktime to view these).

hair cuts

The boys got buzz cuts. It is officially summer!

Swim Lessons

Swim lessons have begun and this year they are conveniently located at our pool. Coach Dee comes twice a week. The shark kick boards are a big hit! Now if we can just go under water with out any tears...

Share Day for Bennett

It was an easy decision when Bennett was asked what toy he wanted to bring to school for share day. His baby of course! I need to mention that Aunt Natalie got the boys American Girls twins last year and they have definitely been loved and played with. I was worried that the ridiculous price tag for these dolls would be too much on such rowdy boys but they really enjoy them. Bennett, however, LOVES his baby Benji. Benji has a blanket and bottle and even doll diapers. He has no problem standing up in front of the class to tell them about Benji.

That is where the sharing stopped. No one was allowed to touch or play with Benji. Baby steps... literally. You can see the death grip on Benji in the picture. So funny.

T-Ball starts next year, but we are already in training.

Bennett's birthday party

Bennett had a great time at his "castle" party with all of his friends. He surprised us by blowing out his candles like an old pro. The kids enjoyed the bounce house and pull-string piniata. Mommy learned a good lesson with piniatas - don't pack too much candy into them and keep the lollipops on the top so they don't get clogged at the opening. We alomost head head injuries with the amoutn of candy that came pouring out. The kids used their new personalized sand pails (thanks Nana and Nat) to collect their goodies. We ate castle cake for days! He loved all his presents and sleeps every night with his trains, trucks and motorcyles.

Happy Birthday Bennett - 2 years old on April 28, 2010

Bennett moved up a room and now gets dropped off with his big brother. He also got an early morning present on his birthday.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess. The preschool class made green eggs and ham, and actually ate it. Ew!

Do you remember playing this game? I also think its funny that they look like they are in a jail yard but it is pretty neat that their playground is amongst the skyscrapers of Atlanta.

Thanks Ryan for Charlie's crazy hat. It is a Davy Crocket coon hat. At first, he was scared of it and thought it was a real animal. But you can see from the picture, he is proud to show it off.

The Treehouse had a Mardi Gras parade and all the kids dressed up for the occasion. They were showered with confetti, beads and moon pies. The parade winds through the halls of the building. They even make parade "floats" using boxes and carts from the mail room. It's lots of fun.

Today was Bennett's best day ever! He got to wash dolls with his classmates. He loves to wash his doll at home and proudly say "all clean".

Happy Valentines Day

decorating the boxes

must be perfect


done! time to fill them with cards.


Charlie's preschool class had fun decorating their shoeboxes for Valentines. As you can see, he was very serious about the decorating process. His cards had monster trucks on them (thanks Aunt Nat) and he handed out candy hearts too. I was worried (more Brian than me) that I went overboard on the valentine card and candy but when we picked up Charlie at the end of the day, his box was full or cards, candy, boxes of chocolates, pencils, stickers, tattoos -- the works! Needless to say, it is now his new favorite holiday.

He was also very excited to give his teachers flowers. I think he blushed. We all had a great day and Brian presented me with roses and chocolates. Now I need to eat them all before Lent.

lunch date

Lately, Brian and Charlie go to lunch by themselves. Big boy time. No bibs, no sippies and plenty of ketchup.

Go Jackets!

Georgia Tech yellow jackets played Iowa in the Orange Bowl. There was some rivalry at preschool, but Brian made sure the boys represented the jackets.