Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Welcome Autumn!

I think that this is my favorite time of year.  After suffering through the sweltering southern summer, I so look forward to the cooler temps.  I also love what comes with fall…county fairs, pumpkin patches, hot cocoa, football.  It’s just a lot of fun to be had.  We have really enjoyed the wonderful weather and have spent a lot of time outside.  I might add, that after what seemed like nearly 2 weeks of rain (which resulted in some serious flooding in parts of Metro Atlanta), it has been especially nice to be able to leave the house without an umbrella.

  Another plus is that Jeremy has been off from work this week.  The kids have really enjoyed having him at home.  They have even enjoyed helping him with the yard work. :)IMG_3744 IMG_3746 IMG_3747

The kids have also had a nice time playing with each other.  Here, Mikayla was pushing Gavin on the swing.  He thought it was so much fun and just kept saying, “Wee!”  I love nothing more than seeing them enjoy spending time with each other.  IMG_3750 IMG_3754IMG_3760 

I really hope that this weather lasts for a while.  We are having a great time!

A Wonderful Celebration

Happy Couple

  On September 24th, 1949 these Gerald and Betty Scott were married.DSC_0046 I think they look as happy today, sixty years later, as they were on that first day.  The one thing that I have always loved about my grandparents is their obvious love and adoration for each other.  They still hold hands, hug and kiss each other.  They are the perfect example as to what a marriage should be.  I am thankful for that example.DSC_0017

They started a wonderful legacy that will have an eternal impact on our lives.  IMG_3675IMG_3684

We had a wonderful catered dinner together at my grandparent’s clubhouse.  It was so nice to sit down with everyone and celebrate my grandparent’s marriage.  My favorite part of the evening was watching the wonderful video that my cousin, Michelle put together.  It was 20 minutes of photographs that spanned the time of my grandparent’s marriage.  It was fun seeing them as newlyweds and seeing pictures from our own childhoods. IMG_3692

I also had to throw in a picture of my two wild kiddos.  Actually, they were exceptionally good throughout the night.  This is just an exhibit of what happens when a little boy has not had a nap and it is about an hour past both of their bedtimes.  My children do not wind down as they get tired – they get wild!

Fun, Fun Weekend

Last weekend, I had the joy of spending time with my aunt, uncle and cousins.  They live out west and we don’t have the opportunity to see each other very often.  They came in town so that we could celebrate our grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary.   We had a fabulous weekend together!  We did so much, that I am not going to be able to sum it up in one post.  This will require several.

First of all, I have decided that our family loves to eat.  In the 48 hours that our family was in town, we ate out a total of 4 times.  Good times are spent around good food, though.  I am just going to avoid the scale for the next couple of weeks. ;)

IMG_3672 This was our first meal out.  We went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, La Parilla.  The staff put sombreros my grandparent’s head and sang to them to celebrate their wedding anniversary.  I think normally, they wouldn’t have liked this much attention, but they were so happy to be surrounded by all of their family, that they didn’t mind.  It was so fun to watch them.

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On the last night that they were all in town, my dear sweet husband took our children home and told me to spend the night at my mom’s so that I could hang out with my cousins.  We stayed up until 2am talking and playing Scatergories.  Thank you honey for the night off so that I could have some fun!

P9250570  The final stop of our “culinary tour” of Alpharetta was at The Varsity.  The Varsity is one of “those” restaurants that you have to visit when you come to Atlanta.  It is truly an icon of the city.  Honestly, the food isn’t that amazing, but the atmosphere is fun.  P9250564 This is a picture that I had to include of my sisters and I – I just love how it turned out. 

Stay tuned, more fun posts to come!

Friday, September 11, 2009

He is growing too fast!

So, my sweet little baby started Mother’s Morning Out today.  He will be going each Friday for about 4 1/2 hours.  I spent my childfree morning today do some shopping with my friend, Hilary, and her sister, Heather.   We also had a very relaxing brunch together.

I can hardly believe that Gavin will be two in about 6 weeks.  I just can’t believe how fast my time with him as a baby is flying boy.  He is definitely growing into a sweet little boy.

Gavin seemed to have a good time today.  He cried initially when Jeremy and I dropped him off, but his teacher said that only lasted for about 10 minutes.  Surprisingly, there were no tears from mommy.   Things like this seem to be a little bit easier the second time around.  I have seen how much Mikayla enjoys school, so I know that he is in good hands and will have a great time. IMG_3650 copyIMG_3651 copy  These pictures are our attempt to get the “First Day of School” poses.  Gavin did not want to stand still, so these are all action shots.  Even if he wouldn’t stay still, I *had* to document the day.   He is such a big boy now! :(

Thursday, September 10, 2009

First Days and Birthdays

Today was Mikayla’s first day of preschool.  She has been so excited to go back and see all of her friends.  I am excited to have a little more structure back in our lives, too.   Today was a little bittersweet, though.  This will be the last year that Mikayla will be in preschool…next year she will be in Kindergarten.  I can hardly believe that she is almost 5!  If you look here and here, you can see past posts from her other first days of school.  I can’t believe how much she has grown.IMG_3630 Mikayla requested eggs and cinnamon toast for her back to school breakfast.   She really isn’t much of an early breakfast person, so I wanted to make something she would actually eat.  IMG_3631 My sassy little girl all ready for preschool.  She was having a little too much fun posing for the camera.  :)IMG_3633

She is already to go!

Today was also, Jeremy’s 31st birthday.  (What a great birthday present to be able to have a quiet morning!)   We had a nice steak dinner and some cupcakes that Mikayla insisted that we make.  Jeremy isn’t much of a cake person, but Mikayla is very persuasive.  She helped me make the cupcakes and decided that we should have blue icing.  She had a lot of fun making Daddy’s birthday a little more special.

IMG_3635 Mikayla is ALWAYS willing to help people blow out their candles.

IMG_3638Gavin really enjoyed the cupcakes too!

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He kept taking handfuls of icing and spreading them all over himself.  What a mess!

Saturday, September 05, 2009

My funny and sensitive little girl

You have got to read this post that my youngest sister, Laura has on her blog.  I laugh every time I watch the video.

Mikayla was a little tired, which accounts for the tears, but we do have at least one discussion everyday as to why we cannot keep trash.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Gavin’s New Favorite Toys

Over the past several weeks, Gavin has developed a liking for Mikayla’s old Dora the Explorer backpack.  When you press on the mouth it sings a variety of Dora songs – he loves it.   We took it with us on vacation, he wanted to take it everywhere and never let it go.

IMG_3398  This is Gavin sleeping in the car when we were coming back from our vacation to Hilton Head.  He slept for nearly two hours holding that backpack.

IMG_3401 Well, Jeremy wasn’t wild about the idea of his son carrying around a purple backpack everywhere, so he asked me to keep an eye out for Diego’s Rescue Pack.  I found one last week and we had one excited little boy.  He loves listening to the Rescue Pack song and carrying around his new toy.

IMG_3561 There has been one snag in this grand plan though.  He loves both of them.  He carries these things around the house ALL DAY.  It is a small battle to take them away for meals, naps, bath time, bedtime, etc..  Did I also mention that these sing?  I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to the “Backpack, backpack….” and “Rescue Pack!  Coming to the Rescue…”.  They are also fairly bulky hard plastic toys.  I keep getting hit in the arms and legs when he crawls into my lap.IMG_3563 But, who could take those toys away from this sweet little boy.  Not me!