Santa

The boys had a great time at the annual K&S kid's holiday party. They both wrote out their lists to give to Santa and they were very precise with exactly what they wanted. This is the first year Charlie would talk to Santa and sit close to him so we're making progress. They also enjoyed the live music, face painting, balloon animals, decorating cupcakes and visiting with all of their old Treehouse friends which is the law firm daycare where they started as babies. Brian and I are a little sad that they are growing up so quickly but we're so thankful for the relationships they've made along the way.

Cowboy Bennett

Bennett is really into dressing up but he's now morphing from Ninja's to Cowboys. He stayed home from school b/c we thought he was sick, but as you can see, he took the opportunity to dress up. Santa will be bringing cowboy boots for sure b/c Mommy needs her boots back!

Charlie's School

Charlie is really loving his new school and so are we. He is even adjusting to the tie! He is making lots of friends and his teachers say he is doing well in class. We were so concerned about holding him back a year for kindergarten but we are so thankful we did. He has matured and focused so much and it really shows.

We have also been lucky to find a great carpool family to save on our commute time. I love listening to Charlie and Tyler talk to each other in carpool line or sing the words to "call me maybe". It's so cute.

Gobble Jog

Brian and I ran a race on Thanksgiving morning with our friends. It's an annual tradition in Marietta and may become our annual tradition too. We had so much fun and love our new long-sleeve t-shirts. 

Happy Halloween

Charlie is a storm trooper and Bennett is a Ninja. Mom was told to hand out candy while Dad took them around the neighborhood. They hit twice as many houses this year and I think we'll have candy through the summer!

DragonCon parade

Every year in Atlanta there is a huge convention and parade dedicated to everyone who loves comic books, star wars, monsters, zombies, etc. These folks take it REALLY seriously and come to show off their costumes. We took the boys to the parade and even after arriving early, we still couldn't get a spot on the street. So we put the boys on our shoulders and they loved it. Brian and I will probably be crippled after this but it was really interesting to see.

Charlie's first day

He's a big boy now at a big school. I was worried about so many things but Charlie has really shown us how much he's grown and how independent he can be. I think our "helicopter" parenting style needs to be retired. Baby steps for mom and dad...

Preschool Graduation

This is what it looks like when 20+ 3 and 4 year olds graduate from preschool after having a party that included lots of cake and a hose on the playground. (Bennett is the one with the cape towel.)

Pre-K

Today was Bennett's first day of pre-K at Kids R Kids preschool. He was very excited beacuse he is in Charlie's old classroom and even has Charlie's old cubby. There are approximately 20 kids in the class which may take some getting used to but Bennett has never been shy, so I'm sure he'll be all setlled in by lunch.

Lake Sinclair

Our friends invited us to their lake house for the weekend and we jumped at the chance to hang out on the water. The boys were even treated to a boat ride. I know what you're thinking -- how did Laura and Brian, two very over protective parents, let their kids get on a raft (see picture) pulled behind a boat, by themselves! Let's just say life jackets and cocktails.
Their new friend Ava, who is 5, told them where to sit and what to do. Basically "hold on"! Charlie was grinning from ear to ear but Bennett was crying so he finished out the ride on Momm'y lap on the boat.

Race Time

If you live in Atlanta for any amount of time, the annual Peachtree Road Race is sort of a rite of passage. This year I ran it for the first time. Well I ran "most" of the 10K. Brian and the boys came to cheer me on but being our first time, we all had no idea how crazy and crowded it would be. It's basically a huge street party -- and 60,000 runners.
A few days later I was emailed my official results and photos. Doesn't it look like Magic Johnson was running in front of me?

Disney Again!!!

We are feeling really blessed because we got to do Disney twice in one summer. And, again we are with family which makes it all the more easier to carry strollers, drinks, hats, sunscreen, popcorn -- and enjoy family time :)
Papa and Mimi rented a house in Orlando so the boys swam every day. And it was Bennett and Papa's birthday so we had a joint birthday party. It was a dolphin themed pool party complete with a giant inflatable dolphin courtesy of Natalie and Brad.
We went to Hollywood Studios, Celebration and Gator Land.

the Easter Bunny came

The Easter Bunny, like Santa, comes at night and hides eggs in the yard and baskets in the house. The boys had so much fun this year gathering eggs.

tee ball

Both boys are on the same tee ball team -- the Houston Astros. We really lucked out and were able to have the same coach and team mates as last season. We've made great friends and can't wait to see what team we move to this fall.

Disney

We went to Walt Disney World this March and had a blast with Nana, Agnes and Katy. Our fabulous guide Katy made sure we went on almost every ride in Magic Kingdom and Epcot. (the last time I was at Disney, they didn't have fast passes!)

We were able to walk from our hotel to Downtown Disney which was really convenient. Charlie's favorite ride was 'It's a Small World' and Bennett's favorite part was getting hugs from all of the princesses. We really lucked out and didn't have to wait in line very long to see characters. Brian and I loved Epcot, especially after we were introduced to grey goose slushie's in France. The nightly fireworks were awesome!

Charlie invited Mommy to be a chaperone on his school field trip to the Fernbank Museum. It was great fun, especially the IMAX movie. He even held my hand as we walked around the exhibits and let me sit next to him at lunch. I am one lucky girl. That's him in the back left.

This year, both boys will be on the same tee-ball team. They are the Houston Astros. Bennett is the youngest and technically not old enough to play but we begged the league to let him and they agreed. They have had only had 2 practices but so far he is doing good and the coaches love to refer to them as the “Owen’s Brothers”. Let us know if you’d like to come to games, we’d love to see you.

Mommy had to attend a conference in South Florida this year. Those mean lawyers made me work for 4 days. But I did get to stay at a fancy Ritz-Carlton and immediately began stealing the shampoos, pencils and chocolates left on my bed. Now, when the kids do homework, they can do it holding a fancy Ritz pencil.

This is also the first time I've seen a fish bar. Basically, there is a company that comes and sets up giant fish tanks and then sets a bar on top of it. Pretty cool. Too bad I couldn't take the fishies home on the plane.

He looks sweet in this picture but...

Bennett has been in trouble at school for fighting. And he’s 3!!! The first incident was kind of funny and we thought “that kid will always be in the middle of it”. But now they are sending ‘Oh-No’ reports home and they have to be signed by a parent. His punishment included no tub toys for one night and all of his dress-up costumes were removed from his room for one night. I know this sounds like a light punishment but you would have thought I cut his arm off with the crying and fit he threw once he heard about his punishment. We hope this will keep him from fighting at school again. In the meantime, I smile at the other parents and hope their kid wasn’t the one who was involved.

Brian and I (well really just Brian) finished our taxes only to realize that we pay an ungodly amount of money for daycare. Without kids, we’d be rich and we both envisioned the trips we could take, or eating out at restaurants that don’t list prices. It was a fun few minutes of daydreaming but we wouldn’t trade it for our chaotic life with our amazing boys -- and their really expensive daycare.