The Bachmann Four

How to Melt a Mama's Heart . . .

2012-01-20T19:56:00.004-05:00

This week has been challenging with Preston. On Tuesday he discovered the word "WHY" and uses it at least half a million times a day. I'd like to think it was his way of practicing dialoge and that it's improving his speech, but I think he is just trying to drive me insane . . and it's working. Anyway, today he totally made up for it . When I was getting him out of the car at WEE school this morning he throws his arms out and says "I luv you so MUCH, mama". Oh, I could eat him up. Then this afternoon I picked up my bridesmaid dress and of course Savannah insisted that I try it on right away. So I finally gave in and tried it on. As soon as I got it on Preston starts running around the bathroom saying "bu-ful mommy, bu-ful". It took me a minute to figure out he was saying beautiful mommy. Oh, he knows how to melt my heart already!

Upward Cheer!!

2012-01-17T14:40:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday Savannah officially started Upward cheerleading! It was so cute watching her cheer in her little uniform . . and she was one happy girl. Every time I looked at her she had a huge smile on her face and seemed to be loving every second. I think she loves to be on stage so cheering is right up her alley. Oh and the uniform, yeah, she probably would have worn it to church the next day if I let her. :) This is definitely new territory for me since clearly the Lord did not build this body to be a cheerleader.

Who Needs Harris Teeter Super Doubles??

2012-01-05T20:12:00.006-05:00

It's been awhile since I've had a savings post, but after my trip yesterday to BiLo I had to share!! All week it's super doubles at Harris Teeter and I've done quite well there scoring free milk and lots of other great deals, but nothing compares to my trip to BiLo today. For the first time I took advantage of their coupon policy that lets you use ANY store coupon in addition to manufacturer coupons and scored the following deal:

10 individual cups of yoplait yogurt
6 boxes of cereal
4 boxes of fruit snacks
4 bags of Chex mix
3 cans of Pillsbury biscuits
2 boxes of Savannah's yogurt sticks
2 4 packs of Yoplait w/granola
2 cans of sliced pears
1 bottle of hand soap
1 box of Snackwells snacks

I received 2 coupons back for a total of $4.75 off my next purchase AND
80, yes 80, boxtop certificates for Savannah's school ($8 value)

For a whopping total of $8.28 out of pocket!!! So if you subtract the coupons I got back, this entire order was only $3.53. :)

Encouragement

2012-01-04T22:40:00.003-05:00

At the end of most days, with the kids in bed, I sit and wonder if I'm doing ANYTHING right with raising our children. I often am hurried and rushed with them and just don't know if I'm doing enough to raise them to be employable & marriageable. Am I doing enough to teach them about God and His love? There's no question that I love them more than I ever thought possible, but I just often wonder if I am doing this parenting thing right. Not that I'll ever know what is right or wrong, but I have been encouraged by two very special people who have sent me a few kind words about Savannah.

From a precious friend, Lisa ~ She (Savannah) is so cute. I asked her what was her big gift for Christmas. And you would be so proud to know that she said “well, Jesus is the big gift for Christmas”. She was so sweet.

From her teacher ~ She did fantastic today and she is one smart little lady! She is doing great with her reading!

I pretty sure both Savannah and Preston know a lot more than I think they do, both about God's love and about life . . . I am going to challenge myself in this new year to slow down and really listen to what they are saying, really hear what's on their mind and heart! And oh how thankful I am for people who have taken the time to send me tidbits of encouragement. :)

Fun Pictures

2011-12-31T11:08:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd share a few of the Christmas card pictures that didn't make the cut . . .

This one was my favorite! If Savannah's eyes had been open it would have been the chosen picture!

Can you tell they love each other??

And then there's today. A low-key Saturday with Daddy at work. All of the Christmas decorations are finally packed away and we've been playing with our new ipad and doing mosaics. Savannah is enjoying a new craft set and Preston is enjoying driving mommy crazy!! We're all in our PJs and I'm trying to savor this day of laziness before the craziness of next week begins! I have 9 mystery shops, 2 cheerleading practices, MOPS, 3 meals to bake and deliver, and the list goes on and on . . . yes, I think I'll enjoy today!

"Easy" Bake Oven

2011-12-30T17:43:00.003-05:00

Today I finally gave in and let Savannah break out the easy bake oven. Let's just say it isn't as easy as I remember . . . and the directions are terrible! The first time we tried red velvet cupcakes and I was using the wrong end of the spatula to insert the cupcakes into the oven. When I thought they were done I tried pushing them through the other end and made a huge mess! I guess we have lots of red velvet cupcake inside our oven already. So anyway, when I finally pushed them out, this is what we saw!

Savannah's first response was "OH NO! I can't sell them like that!"

HA! I'm not sure what was funnier, the thought that she was actually going to sell them or the fact that there was really nothing there to sell! So, onto our second batch of cupcakes, which came out much nicer. We even mixed the frosting and delivered them to our neighbors.

Merry Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T07:35:00.006-05:00

The Stockings Were Hung . . . and then the chaos began!

Savannah and Preston checking out his new bike

Savannah loved her new lalaloopsy doll

Preston spinning in his bilibo seat/hat

Annual Christmas Tree photo

We had such a nice Christmas morning. We actually had to wait for Savannah to wake up and even had to speed up the process by letting Preston be super loud. Once she was finally up, we started baking the delicious cinnamon rolls my friend Donna made for us and found the mess our naughty elf, Cookie, made. Apparently he wanted to leave us with a parting gift and took flour from the fridge and made a flour angel on our counter! Silly elf. Next, we opened all of our gifts and then we were off to Burlington to celebrate Christmas with my family! The gifts there were quite overwhelming, but the family time was super fun. The cousins loved playing with each other and running through grandma's house while the adults overindulged on grandma's famous golf ball treats!

Family picture

After all was said and done, one of Preston's favorite items was a jar full of old pennies!

Fun Friday Christmas Field Trip

2011-12-23T14:12:00.005-05:00

Being that all of our shopping and wrapping was done and the house was all clean, we decided to venture out today to enjoy some of the Christmas festivities. I thought the kids would enjoy riding the light rail uptown and other than being super crowded, it was indeed a lot of fun!

Riding uptown on the "choo choo train"

Our first stop was to see the singing bear performance at Founders Hall.

Savannah enjoyed watching most of the bears' show, but Preston just kept saying something about cocoa bear and high five. Anyway, we didn't quite make it through the entire performance, but enjoyed quite a few songs by these bears that sing and play instruments!

Our next stop was the Ritz Carlton, where they have this huge all organic gingerbread house.

We had a fun morning out, but it was definitely time for lunch and naps by the time we made it back to our car. I'm hoping that we can visit one more place this afternoon after nap time . . .

Our final stop today was the Ballantyne Resort's Gingerbread house display. It was awesome, probably my favorite part of the day. They had 2 halls full of entries into the gingerbread house contest and some of them were just amazing! Both kids had a fun day (which was apparent by screaming with excitement as soon as daddy showed up to tell him the details), but the funny part is that their response to "what was your favorite partof the day?" was "riding the choo choo train."

A Visit from Singapore

2011-12-20T13:11:00.004-05:00

Savannah showing off her new headband and parasol (already in dress up clothes)

The boys playing with cars

Bracelet making fun!

For weeks now Savannah has awaited the day that the Marion family would arrive in Charlotte. Yesterday was the big day when they came to visit, and I'm still not sure which one of them was more excited. The girls expressions were priceless when the first saw each other! They quickly picked up right where they left off, playing beach party and dress up. We enjoyed dinner here last night and then a morning filled with playing. The boys raced around the house on cars, played with Preston's new car map, and tried to break into the room with "No boys come in" posted on the door. The girls played dress up and made necklaces along with lots of other fun things. It was such a fun visit! Even though our time together was short, we made the most of every minute. Now we'll look forward to summer when they can come visit again . . . until then we'll settle for Skype. :)

Christmas with The Bachmanns

2011-12-18T14:58:00.005-05:00

This weekend we enjoyed having Dave's family here to celebrate Christmas. Grammy and Papa arrived on Friday afternoon (after we got back from taking Preston to the doctor for his second round of antibiotics) and the fun began. We stayed up late playing solitaire together and were excited about seeing Susan and the girls on Saturday.

Shortly after arriving, Savannah had Alyssa and Ashley opening their special surprises she made at school.

Then we opened our stockings!

We thought it was quiet and found the two youngest playing a game together.

Sweet Cousins

It was a super fun weekend and we really enjoyed spending time with our family! Thanks Grammy and Papa for all of our awesome gifts!!

Holiday Luncheon

2011-12-15T15:01:00.002-05:00

Today Preston and I had the privilege of joining Savannah for lunch at school! It was the school wide holiday luncheon where parents were invited for a special Christmas meal. I picked up Preston early from school and he was SO excited to go to sissy's "big school". One more day to winter break . . .

3 Things that made me smile . . .

2011-12-14T14:25:00.004-05:00

When I was volunteering yesterday in Savannah's class, her teacher told me something funny Savannah did in school last week. She said that two boys made some comment to her as she was passing by during free choice time. Mrs. Hindman said that after hearing them, Savannah stopped in her tracks, turned around to them, and with her little head cocked back said "I'm watching you boys" then turned right around and kept on going. Later I asked Savannah about the incident and she said that they were saying something about how they hated Clemson ~ she was sporting her "new" pink Clemson sweatshirt at the time. Mrs. Hindman's comment to me was "Watch out boys. She's the perfect combination of sharp and beautiful too."

Preston loves his play therapist. She only comes every other week, alternating with our speech therapist, but as soon as she leaves he's already asking for her to come back. It's adorable to hear him say "I pay wif Audey, mommy". I'm not sure who I like more, the play therapist that HE loves or the speech therapist that has worked wonders in just two sessions. Either way, I'm smiling at his progress!!

With the Christmas season comes lots of chances to sort of bribe our kids into behaving well. I know it's awful to do, but we are holding Santa gifts over their head like no other. I figure as long as we aren't flat out lying to them, they're going to know in only a few quick years that the magic of Santa isn't real so we're enjoying it for now. :) To help us monitor behavior we have Cookie, our elf, always watching. We also have a small stuffed figurine of Santa on our hearth. Preston has decided that every day he needs to pay Santa a visit just to make sure he remembers that special gift on Preston's list. So, at least once a day I'll find Preston on his knees in front of Santa saying "San Cause, I wan bike to ride ouside. I wan red bike, San Cause." I have it on video, but have to remeber to grab my camera today!

Two Parties and a Tea

2011-12-03T19:46:00.005-05:00

This weekend has already been jam-packed and it's only half over! On Friday we were invited to a birthday party for John Robert at the Ezells. It was the perfect party, very laid back and intimate. The kids LOVED having chick fil a, playing in the backyard (since the weather was awesome), having cake and playing upstairs too. I have to say I enjoyed sitting with the other mommies and just chatting. :)

Today we woke up bright and early and headed to Greenville for our niece Ashley's second birthday party. It was at the Greer fire department and the kids loved it! They got to walk around inside the fire truck, go on a tour of the fire department, see the fireman slide down the pole, watch a fireman put on his gear, and then of course we enjoyed more yummy chick fil a and cupcakes!

Preston couldn't wait to try sliding down the pole!

This picture cracks me up. Preston kept rubbing Ashley's knee trying to feel the fuzzy tutu that she was wearing. It was hilarious watching them!

Happy Birthday Ashley!!

As you can see Preston REALLY enjoyed his cupcake.

After the party the family kiddos headed to the local park where Savannah and Preston were able to run and play for a bit before getting back in the car.

Then, we packed up there and headed to the Billy Graham Library for the annual teddy bear tea. My friend Donna was a huge part of the planning this year and everything was just adorable. Lucky for us, Donna also reserved a table up front for us so that Savannah, Jack and Caroline could have great seats! It was a sweet program and Savannah loved sipping hot chocolate from a real tea cup. While Savannah and I were at the tea, Dave took Preston for a tour of the BG Library.

Making her craft place mat while waiting for her "tea".

Savannah, Caroline, and Jack

Savannah is Reading!!

2011-12-01T16:06:00.003-05:00

On Monday Savannah came home with a new little ziploc in her backpack. It contained a reading log, a ring of high frequency words to practice, a pointer stick with an owl on it, and yes a book! I have to admit I was dreading the reading everyday, but I am shocked at how wonderfully she is doing!! I should have taken a picture on Monday of her first book she read all on her own, Little Chimp, but I forgot. Here is a picture of her reading her second book to her brother. It is so neat to share this time with her every afternoon where she can show off her reading skills!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T15:08:00.005-05:00

Great Grandma with her 5 Great Grandchildren!

Preston loving on Taylor

As we celebrate another Thanksgiving, I'm reminded once again how many things we truly have to be thankful for. At the top of my list is family and friends. We started our holiday early by travelling to Cherryville to see my friend Marie and her family. Marie and I have been friends since middle school and it's always fun to catch up with her. I took the camera and left the memory stick in the computer so I don't have a single picture to share. :( Maybe I can post a few that Marie sends once she's back home in NJ. THANKS MARIE FOR THE PICTURES!!!

Everyone wanted to play with the race car toy!

What a fun morning we had visiting with Marie & her family!

I can't even express how thankful I am for my close friends, those that live here in Charlotte and those that live far FAR away. These are women who have truly walked by my side through some pretty tough times and I am forever grateful for you all!

On Thanksgiving Day we celebrated with my side of the family at Great Grandma's house. What a treat it was to be able to spend several hours with my brother and his kiddos too. We ate way too much and then headed back home so I could start some early shopping. It was a fantastic day spent loving on those we cherish.

Wishing everyone a Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Helen, GA Vacation 11/10-11/12

2011-11-24T06:50:00.007-05:00

For years Dave has been talking about wanting us all to take a mini vacation to this little German town in Georgia called Helen. There really hasn't been any extra time in our schedule, but with both kids having Veteran's day off from school we decided to take advantage of the little break from our routine. We left on Thursday right after school and stayed through Saturday afternoon since I needed to be back for my Sunday morning job. Here are a few pictures from our mini vacation.

Since we arrived so late on Thursday night, the fun really started Friday morning. Grammy and Papa drove up to meet us and we all spent the day together. First up, Babyland General Hospital. Savannah loved seeing all of the dolls and we even got to witness a doll being born and help name the baby. Savannah contributed the middle name and another little girl chose Macy as the first name; the newborn cabbage patch kid was Macy Grace! Here is a picture with Savannah holding her.

Savannah and Macy Grace

Next we drove to downtown Helen where we walked around a lot, took a few pictures (until my battery died), and had lunch.

This picture makes me smile. The kids were SO excited about seeing Grammy and Papa. See the excitement on their faces as they walk with Papa?!

After a long day of walking around, we decided to head to Anna Ruby Falls for some hiking. Well, lets just say that Preston didn't quite make it. He fell asleep on the 10 minute drive and I just couldn't wake him up. So, I stayed in the van with him and he slept the entire time everyone else was hiking!!

We then said goodbye to Grammy and Papa and headed to the hotel . . which by the way Savannah's first response when we arrived on Thursday was "this is a dream come true" said as she danced and twirled around. Really, Savannah? Wonder what she'll think when we do Disney if the little hotel in Helen, GA is a dream come true? We figured out later that she probably can't ever remember staying in a hotel since we've always stayed in a house or condo on vacation with them. Anyway, back to our vacation . . . we let the kids go for a swim in the indoor pool and then it was off to bed.

Saturday we woke up and decided to head to the Goofy Rooster corn maze. Little did we know how much fun it would be and just how many things there would be to do there! First up was the huge corn maze. The maze was a big clue game with hidden clues to find throughout the maze. If you found the clues and determined what happened to the farmer then we all got candy of our choice so that was quite the motivation!! It took us 40 minutes just to find our way through the maze (without a map) and then we realized we missed 3 clues. We headed back in for another 20 minutes to make sure we solved the mystery.

Here are the kids before going into the maze

Our own peanut!!

Savannah on one of the 3 bridges in the corn maze

Preston on the bridge, wondering what's below!

After the corn maze we went on a long hay ride up the mountain, let the kids ride the barrel train, had a picnic lunch, and then wrapped up the morning with some playground time. They were exhausted!!!

It was a fun weekend and a nice adventure for our family. Now that they are older and travel somewhat easier I'm looking forward to a few more weekend getaways!

Lots of Progress

2011-11-18T06:11:00.003-05:00

I have been so busy with things around here that I have totally neglected the blog. This is a post that should have been posted two weeks ago, but better late than never, right?

Preston:
His speech has just taken off. Now most of his talking is in 3-4 word sentences! Last week I got my first real "I wuv U mama". Oh how it just melts my heart to hear him say it!!! However, our biggest problem is that he continues to drop the ends of words off. For example he calls yogurt "yo" and purple "pur", which also is conveniently his word for pour. The maddening thing is that sometimes he actually slows down enough and we actually hear the whole word, but this is a very rare occasion. The speech therapist (which we are changing next week) says that this is completely normal. She tried to explain that the first goal for Preston is to be able to communicate with us. Since he can basically do that and he is always going at full speed ahead, he probably isn't interested in his articulation. But, she assures me that will come with time. So for now we are loving his new speech. I have to get the video camera out to capture these precious "words" before he becomes a sassy little child.

Savannah:
She is also making progress with her reading and writing. Although I can't really say that she is "reading" at this point, she is doing pretty well at sounding out words . . . but only when she wants to. She is also improving with her writing, both in neatness and in writing more words on her own. I love sorting through her classwork and trying to decipher her words, it cracks me up! I'm afraid she is going to be much like me with preferring math over reading. She loves to do adding problems at the dinner table and always complains when I make her sound out words for her homework.

We had her conference a couple of weeks ago and received her report card last week too. Of course, she is the model child at school according to her teacher. She received all 3s on her report card and even a 3+ on following school rules.

Savannah and Preston have both come so far even since August. We still have a way to go, but it's neat to be able to see progress from day to day with each of them.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T19:41:00.008-05:00

Another masterpiece carving by Dave. Blue from Blue's Clues

This year Savannah and Preston dressed up in true form . . . Preston was a peanut and Savannah was an angel (so sort of true form for Savannah).

Savannah and Preston with their friend Katie

Some of the neighborhood kids before trick or treating

All I have to say is candy overload already!

Time for Preston!!

2011-10-27T18:56:00.004-05:00

Our little Preston has had quite a week! His cough continued through the weekend and seemed to be getting worse so after he woke up Tuesday morning laying in throw up (from coughing so much) and being soaked from wetting the bed I wanted to throw in the towel! I made an appointment and was thankful to get the first appointment of the day with our favorite doctor on Wednesday.

I knew the throw up was from the awful cough and since he was acting fine and otherwise symptom free, I sent him to school on Tuesday. However, I probably should have kept him home. Apparently shortly after arriving at school some little nasty kid took a chop on sweet Preston's arm!! By the end of the day the same kid bit 4, yes FOUR, other children in their class. Craziness! Preston now has a bruise, but thankfully the bite didn't break the skin.

Wednesday we went to the doctor only to find out that Preston just has a cough from an old cold that could last weeks. Fun times. At least now he is resting better at night.

Thursday was his school Halloween party. I enjoyed bringing in a story to read to the class and seeing Preston so excited to have me there.

Here he is enjoying his cupcake snack . . . the second one.

Craft time

Just a funny little look into our house for those of you that haven't heard . . our peanut is obsessed with money. He always has to have a coin to hold or he whines/cries/throws a fit until he gets one. It has been going on ever since he witnessed our conversation with Savannah about allowance, savings, and tithing ~ at least 3 weeks now. It's getting super old because the money goes everywhere with him: grocery store, church, school, car, dinner table, etc. He often drops it and then the cries begin. "Mo e, I drop mo e". One time a sweet lady in the post office actually gave him a quarter because I didn't' have any change! So you can imagine how excited he was to get 5 $1 bills from grammy and papa yesterday. Although dollars have no value to him and he still cried for money, today I went to the bank and got one of them broken down into lots of coins for him to have! He was so excited to have his own money to put in the coin bank that Savannah graciously passed down to him. We'll see how long he can hold onto $1 of change!

Fun School Events & Another Tooth

2011-10-21T14:37:00.010-05:00

This week has been jam packed with excitement for Savannah at school! On Tuesday she got to go on her first ever field trip. The entire kindergarten class went to Riverbend Farm and I was lucky enough to be able to go with them. I met the buses at the farm after WEE school drop off and had a blast all morning. Mrs. Hindman had assigned each parent a group of 5 students to keep up with, which I thought was small . . . until I tried to keep track of all 5 of them! Whew! They were fast and full of energy.

Here is Savannah with one of her favorite friends, Sachi.

My little group of 5. Thankfully, Mrs. Hindman said she separated the "zesty" ones and I only had one boy to keep up with. Funny thing is that it was one of the girls that wondered off TWICE!!

After a morning full of sliding, seeing farm animals, picking a pumpkin, and lunch these kids were ready to head back to school!

The fun continued at the Bachmann house as after dinner Dave pulled Savannah's second loose tooth!! It was all twisted and barely hanging on so he reached in and gently pulled it out. Yuck!! Of course the tooth fairy came again, but this time only brought one gold coin.

Although I hate the process of pulling teeth, I found it very cool that both permanent teeth were already coming in. You can seem them in the picture above.

The next big event was on Thursday when Savannah's class finally got to complete the Challenge Run at school. The PE department has organized this cool event where each kid runs for a set amount of time in the Fall and again in the Spring to try to beat their previous record of laps completed. They take it super serious with color coded numbers for each kid, music blaring, water afterwards, and even popsicles!! Although it was 42 degrees at 8am on Thursday, every kid still had to have their popsicle!

Preston was super excited to see Savannah at school!

Here is Savannah running with some of her friends and one of her teachers, Mrs. Gomsak.

Preston and I ventured out for the run to cheer for sissy. He LOVED going to "big school" and seeing sissy. . . I wish I could say that he loved leaving as much. At least I didn't have to hear him whine all day as I drove him right to his school.

Mrs. Hindman's Class after the Challenge Run

It's been a week full of excitement and cooler weather. We are enjoying a nice weekend at home and trying to recover from the craziness of the week. The weather is beautiful so I'm sure much time will be spent playing outside this afternoon and tomorrow.

Wii Repair

2011-10-13T11:05:00.004-05:00

For a couple of months now we have been without a working Wii. We first noticed that it wasn't reading our discs and thought that maybe the kids had just been too rough with the discs, causing them to be scratched and unreadable. But it was about a month ago when we realized that it wasn't reading ANY of our discs and that we had a bigger problem. After doing some searching online Dave discovered that it was probably a laser issue and we'd have to send it off to be repaired since we were just outside of our warranty. Nintendo wanted $79 to repair it. Not going to happen.

A few weeks went by before I finally did some additional research to find a more reasonable price . . . I mean for $80 we could almost buy a new Wii! Best Buy wanted $79 just to diagnose the problem and the only other local repair place I could find was going to charge $50, but it came without a warranty and the place wasn't exactly convenient. I finally found a place online that would repair the Wii for $49.99 and they included free return shipping and a 1 year warranty. I checked them out with the BBB and they looked great so I packaged up the Wii (mailed it free with a USPS mystery shop) and hoped for the best. Yesterday our package arrived and this is what I found:

Yep, duck taped to the top of our Wii was 3 gold play money coins. I guess the real problem wasn't the laser but that our curious 2 year old decided to cram these coins into the Wii!!! Oh well, the service was super speedy so if you're ever in need of a Wii repair, I'd highly recommend http://gophermods.com/

First Lost Tooth

2011-10-06T16:10:00.004-05:00

We've been waiting for this day for some time now . . . and I've been praying that Dave would be here to handle it. But of course, it happened while he was at work today. It all started with Savannah's homework assignment of eating an apple and counting the number of seeds inside. They have been talking about apples all week and this was the last homework assignment for the week. She was super excited to dig into the apple, but soon realized that her tooth was quite loose and she needed me to cut up the apple. So of course I did,not wanting to disturb the loose tooth until Dave got home. It was while eating the apple that she suddenly went upstairs and said she needed to brush and floss because she felt something stuck in her teeth. At this point I knew the tooth was coming out, but I begged her to wait for Dave. I just cannot handle a bloody tooth. Yuck! So I started folding laundry and not five minutes later I hear "MOM, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS". Luckily, she worked the little bottom tooth right out with minimal blood. Of course she ran straight for her tooth pillow to put the tooth in. She is SO excited to see what the tooth fairy is going to leave her . . .

Check out her tooth fairy pillow. It was the one I used as a child and before mom got sick she had Savannah's name added to the pillow.

Let the Volunteering Begin

2011-09-27T14:59:00.004-05:00

Today was the first day that I was able to volunteer in Savannah's class. Although I'll admit that I wasn't too sure it would be a worthwhile experience, I now can say that Tuesday mornings just became my absolute favorite part of the week!! What an amazing opportunity I have to see Savannah learning first hand in the classroom of a master teacher. I'm not sure what impressed me more . . . that Mrs. Hindman had so many different things going at once and expects the kids to actually do the activity on their own OR that the kids were actually doing it and learning!! Coming from a middle school background where kids are given hardly any freedom, I was amazed at how efficiently Mrs. Hindman runs the classroom of 19 students in at least 7 different stations at once. Several times she was across the classroom and could still handle behavior problems at a completely different station AND help me too! She is beyond impressive, really unlike any teacher I've ever seen. I'm not sure how she plans so many things, gathers the materials, and handles regular teacher stuff (all the while being so calm, loving and patient), but I'll sure do what I can to help make her life easier. :)

I can't wait for next Tuesday!!

Learning to Love Change

2011-09-25T14:58:00.012-05:00

It has been awhile since I updated our blog . . . which means life around here has been insane lately! Between two consignment sales the same week (volunteering, tagging to sale, and shopping at each of them), Harris Teeter triples, mystery shopping, GROW at church, homework, meetings and lots of other things, I have barely had time to read a blog, much less update one. Anyway, we are chugging along and are learning to love our new routines.

Savannah has been doing amazingly well at school! She has stayed on green every day, received a fabulous progress report, has been able to choose from the treasure chest twice for "getting a moveless" which I assume means she was where she needed to be without wandering all over the classroom, and has made a few new friends. We are finally over the morning tummy issues and, although we still are challenged with getting to the bus on time in the mornings, things are going fairly smoothly. We also have a good afternoon routine with snack, homework, and a little down time before dinner. Whew! What an adjustment it has been, but also what a joy it has been watching my little girl learn and get so excited about school.

Preston, on the other hand, isn't learning to love change at all. All of a sudden he SCREAMS every time I try to drop him off at school. I have never seen him like this as he has always loved going to church and school. But he has realized that life without sissy isn't as much fun. He wakes up every single morning whining/crying for his sister and continues to cry for her though out the day. It's sweet to know that he loves her so, but honestly I'm over hearing "sissy" whined all day long.

This weekend was a fun break from the routine as we had Dave's sister and her girls here for the weekend. It was fun watching the kids run and play all weekend long. We spent time at Sports Connection on Saturday and all went to church today.

I'm hoping this week will be uneventful so that I can work on the never ending to do list!

More Fun with Pawpaw!!

2011-09-10T19:59:00.005-05:00

Today my dad called and surprised us with wanting to come and visit. We had a low key day planned at home with nothing big to do so we were super excited when he called and wanted to come to Charlotte! He also wanted to bring Preston this John Deere tractor that he'd been saving in his garage. Last time we were at Pawpaw's house, Preston saw it and immediately went to try to ride it. At that point his legs weren't quite long enough to reach the gas pedal, but now it is perfect!! :) This was one happy boy today. He rode and rode and rode the tractor. I think there is a big learning curve to driving it because he managed to ride through our neighbor's garden, hit our shed, house, and even a tree all within a few minutes. Finally we took him to the street where there was less to hit and more open space . . .

Of course, then sissy wanted her Barbie jeep to ride . . .

Crazy cousins (minus Maddie who only wanted to play inside) in front of Pawpaw's new Hummer!

Some love for Great Grandma!

Some love for Pawpaw

What an awesome day this has been! The only hard part was dragging Preston off of the tractor and listening to him scream for the "tactor" as Pawpaw was leaving. I think he thought that Pawpaw took the tractor with him. Maybe I'll let him think that for a few days. :)

Happy, Happy Birthday Dave!

2011-09-08T13:04:00.004-05:00

Today we are celebrating the birthday of an amazing man, one who just happens to be my sweet husband and the daddy to our two crazy kids. We've been married 7 years and I have to say that he still amazes me. I am in awe of his patience with our kids. When the world pulls and tugs us to fill life with busyness, Dave seems to ignore all of that and daily spends time playing with our children. Not only do they LOVE playing with daddy, but both of their little faces light up every single days he gets home from work; It's usually a race to the door to greet him. And to me, he is the rock. The one who is always calm, cool and collected. The one who assures me that things are going to be okay and the one who loves me despite my flaws. :) Dave, today we celebrate you and pray that this coming year is an awesome one as we continue to see all the Lord has planned for our family. We love you!

Grandparent Fun

2011-09-06T09:47:00.007-05:00

The past two weekends our kids have been spoiled rotten by both sets of grandparents!! It all started on Saturday, August 27 when we made a trip to Burlington to meet Pawpaw, Deborah, Great Grandma, and Denny's family at the Burlington City Park. Although the hurricane was threatening to wash us out, we made the trip anyway and boy are we glad that we did! The weather was perfect for a day at the city park! It was overcast, breezy, and only an occasional drizzle that aggravated us. Savannah and Preston had an absolute blast riding the rides and enjoying a sno cone treat from Pawpaw! Probably the funniest part was watching Preston jump up and down saying "ticket, ticket" to Pawpaw. Once he figured out that you had to have a ticket to ride and Pawpaw had the tickets, it was all over. I even got one of the episodes on video but of course have no idea how to upload it! :(

Preston and Savannah's favorite ride was this one, the helicopter

Savannah also loved the boats

. . . and so did Preston

But Preston wasn't so sure about the carousel

Time for some sno cone treats from Pawpaw. What a purple, sticky mess!!!

Then this past weekend, Dave's parents came for a long weekend so that Dave and I could go on vacation alone!! It has been since before Preston was born that Dave and I had a solo vacation . . . but this weekend was well worth the wait. The weather was incredible, mid 80s with bright sun and a slight breeze. We stayed on the beach for over 7 hours Sunday. Being able to read, people watch, sleep, and just relax in general without having to watch 2 little ones was such a treat. I do have to say that every time I saw a kid on the beach it made me miss Savannah and Preston A LOT, but we had a great weekend. A huge thank you to Grammy and Papa for offering to babysit for the weekend!!

Back to School for Preston!!

2011-09-06T09:22:00.003-05:00

Today was the official start of WEE school!! As we have every year I took a picture by the bench outside of Preston's classroom. This is his last year downstairs so it was a big deal! We met Preston's teachers for the first time today since we did a switch-a-roo over the last week so that he could go an additional day. He now will be in school 3 days a week! Yippee! His teachers were just precious so we're looking forward to a super fun year. I have to say that things were quite different only dropping off one child at WEE school today . . . it makes me realize how quickly time flies and how I'm starting to try to hold onto my baby more!

A Kindergarten First . . . the BUS!!

2011-09-01T20:15:00.008-05:00

Getting on the bus this morning, super excited!

All smiles when arriving home this afternoon too!

I think I can safely say that it was harder to let Savannah get onto the big yellow bus today than it was to drop her off for the first day of school! It has been a topic of discussion at home since school started so today was the day I finally gave in. Dave had to go in early and work late so I figured it might be helpful not to have to wait in the carpool line this afternoon. I was so anxious letting go and letting her ride without a seat belt but she did wonderfully!

When the bus arrived this afternoon she said that "riding the bus" was the best part of her day and then proceed to say "mom, when I get on the bus I just forget everything else about my day." So although the details about her school day are few, there were lots about the bus.

Her two friends from the neighborhood, Christian and Lena, both sat with her on the way to school

These same sweet girls walked her to her class and told her that they wanted to walk her to the class every day. :)

She has to look for bus K in the afternoon, but after school her bus wasn't there so she had to wait with a man holding the K sign. Then when the bus came he put the sign on the bus number and she knew that was her bus

Coming home she sat with some kindergarten boy who has a brother

The bus driver was not nice to some big kids who wouldn't get in their seats in the back of the bus before leaving school

Because there are no seatbelts she can just wear her backpack all of the way home!

And last but not least, she says she is "going to ride the bus every day, to school and back from school"

They seem to have a great system going at PSE (as with everything else). They have letters that they stick on on the buses so kids can easily find their bus. Savannah also has to wear a bus name tag that has all of her information on the back. Name, address, bus stops and times, and bus numbers. So if she were to head in the wrong direction she would easily be redirected. Maybe the big yellow bus isn't so bad after all!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

2011-08-25T15:34:00.007-05:00

All ready to go at 7:09 this morning!

Waiting in the car pool line listening to the loud welcoming music at the school . . . can we say excited??

One last look back for mama to snap a picture, but this girl is full steam ahead for her first day of kindergarten!

Well today we did it! I survived dropping my first born off at the front of Providence Spring Elementary, Savannah LOVED her first day of kindergarten and Preston managed to make it through the day without his sissy! I have to admit that I was quite shocked at how dropping her off effected Preston. He whined most of the morning for "sissy, I pay (play) sissy." That was heard A LOT. Actually for the first time ever he didn't even want to go into his WEE school class for orientation because he missed her so much. Anyway, back to my big kindergartner . . . she had a fabulous day.

Savannah has talked non stop about reading brown bear, searching for the animals around the school, getting chocolate milk from the cafeteria line, knowing her numbers, and lots of other things. There were only 4 kids in her class today since PSE does a staggered entry system, but she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it there. Our only disappointment is in finding out that she cant' go back until Wednesday!!!

I was so worked up over whether I had done enough to prepare her. I mean there are lots of things for a new kindergarten mama to worry about . . . did we write enough letters (obviously not since she tells me she got mixed up on the s and c today. Really? Your name starts with s, silly girl!), does she know what to do if someone is mean to her, will she be safe, is she really ready for the big bad world of public school?? I could go on, but today the Lord gave me a sense of peace. Peace in knowing we've done all we can do and peace in knowing it's time to let her soar and become the lady He has planned for her to be!

Time for our first official school night at Chick fil A, Savannah's restaurant of choice, to celebrate a special day today!!

Meet Mrs. Hindman!

2011-08-24T15:09:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the big day for Savannah!! At 7:15am she will officially become a student in CMS and although she is more than ready, I've decided that I'm not sure I am!

Today was the official meet your teacher day and we have been super excited about meeting Mrs. Hindman. Every single person I've talked to has raved about what an incredible teacher we were lucky enough to get so I was anxious about meeting her. We arrived early and had a bit of time to visit the booths set up in the gym. We also ran into Jack, Savannah's friend from church.

Savannah and Jack waiting to meet their teachers

Getting ready to go in for the first time!

Putting her name on the excited for school to start board

Savannah with her new teacher, Mrs. Hindman . . wearing her funny glasses as promised!

There she is, Savannah, an official PSE rocket!

Now I just pray for a good night's sleep for us both. I pray that the Lord will give me a peace knowing that she is not only in good hands, but that she is ready to go . . . ready to begin the plan He has set for her little life.

Paci Free!!

2011-08-23T14:33:00.003-05:00

Well after the dentist visit, I snipped three of Preston's pacis. That lasted one day. He obviously was losing interest and almost immediately gave up walking around the house with one in his mouth. Then we lost them, all 3 of them. We really lost them, I wasn't just trying to hide them. So by the weekend we were running with ZERO pacis! As the days have gone by he has requested them less and less, usually only once a day he'll ask for his "pai pai". Yesterday he didn't ask at all. So we are officially paci free!!! I won't lie and say that he's sleeping just as good because honestly getting him to go to sleep has been a nightmare. He no longer requests his "pai pai" but I think he's just having trouble going to bed without sucking on something. However, once we finally get him to sleep he is sleeping like normal.

I never dreamed getting rid of the pacis would be so easy, now if potty training would follow suit I'd be one happy mama! :)

A Winter Show

2011-08-20T09:30:00.003-05:00

While I was on the phone with a friend this morning my crazy kids found these winter mittens and hats in the coat closet and decided to try them on. They then decided to put on "a show".

The Excitement Begins

2011-08-18T19:18:00.002-05:00

Tonight Savannah's teacher called to introduce herself to us and I'm not sure who is more excited, me or Savannah!! I searched online and found a picture so Savannah could put a name with a face. Now we await the big day . . . 6 days to go!! Here's to an amazing year of kindergarten with Mrs. Hindman and her 19 students. :)

Dentist Dread

2011-08-17T14:04:00.003-05:00

I absolutely hate the dentist! So when this morning arrived and it was time for Savannah and Preston to go for their regular dentist appointment I was nervous for them. They were super excited, mainly about the token they would get for the prize tower in the lobby, but none the less they were both excited! I had my doubts about how Preston would do since this was only his second visit and the last time was a disaster (granted he was only 18 months at the time). It took Savannah at least 3 visits before she would allow them to properly clean all of her teeth so I was completely shocked when Preston laid completely still for his entire dental cleaning!! It was so sweet how half way through he calls "mama" and then says "hand". He just needed to hold my hand to get through. Way to melt my heart, little boy! He was a little antsy by the time the dentist came for the last check and fluoride application, but overall he did AWESOME!! However, we got two bits of news that did not make this mama happy . . .

1) Savannah has two loose teeth! Ahhh!! The thought of teeth coming out and blood make me want to throw up. That will surely be a daddy task! Being curious, I asked about braces and Dr. Bird said that you really can't tell until the permanent teeth come in, but as of right now chances are high that Savannah will NOT have to have them. Yippee! We'll keep praying about that one. :) BUT,

2) Preston is already showing signs of having to have braces! He has to give up the paci, and according to Dr. Bird, it needs to be done ASAP! Who knew that sucking a paci can reshape the bones in your mouth?!? I asked about some creative ways to get rid of them and she suggested slowly clipping the end of the nipple until he can no longer suck the paci and therefore no longer wants it. As soon as we got home Savannah, being the big sister helper that she is, immediately rounded up all of Preston's pacis and told him we had to throw them away. He went crazy and I told her that we were going to try to clip them instead. So I got one and clipped it a little too short. Preston kept signing "broken" and screamed for a long time. So I got another one and clipped it only slightly . . . this is going to be a process for sure.

Birthday Weekend

2011-08-14T12:58:00.006-05:00

This weekend has been awesome. We enjoyed a fun day yesterday (well, if you don't count having to get new brakes on the van) that ended with a delicious dinner at Red Robin and some pretty great presents too. I specifically asked Dave not to get me a birthday cake because I'm desperately trying to start the diet again, so instead he got ice cream cupcakes AND ice cream cookies from Coldstone! They sure aren't part of my diet, but the treats sure are delicious!!!

The birthday gifts continue as I'm now in a quiet house!! Preston is sleeping and Savannah has finally gotten her wish of being able to go to a baseball game with daddy. We've been trying for awhile to find a date that would work for them to go to a Charlotte Knights game together, but it turns out that finding a weekend game when we were actually in town was quite difficult. None the less, I bought a living social deal and they are off to enjoy an afternoon at the ballpark! We plan to finish the weekend with a fun event at church tonight. Thanks to my wonderful husband, this has been a great birthday!!!

Consignment Fun

2011-08-08T05:21:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's hard to believe, but consignment season is upon us!! Our bonus room has already turned into chaos as I've started sorting through the kids closets. In case anyone is interested, here is the info on the first sale:

THE POSH CLOSET, FINE CHILDREN'S CONSIGNMENT SALE

Wednesday, September 14 ~ 7-9pm (presale for pass holders)

Thursday, September 15 ~ 10am - 5 pm (public sale)

Thursday, September 15 ~ 6-9pm (discounted sale, 30% off)

This is a great place to get some nice church outfits and also high quality school clothes at awesome prices! They will be selling boutique brands along with Gymboree and a few other nicer lines.

A Reunion in the Mountains

2011-08-07T14:47:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we drove to Boone for a Mt. Vernon church reunion. This is the church that I attended while in college and the place where I learned a lot about having a relationship with the Lord. The friends I made in the college class at Mt. Vernon are truly friends for life! It was such a neat day to celebrate with so many other students who passed through the Critchers college class and to see how we have truly been fruitful and multiplied! Here are a few pictures all from our park picnic before the big reunion. I decided to take limited pictures and just enjoy time with my sweet friends!

Our family

The 5 Mt. Vernon Girls

and their 8 children!!!

Our entire "little" group that attended from the class of 2000

There's only one thing better than a perfect summer afternoon in the cool mountains of Boone and that's sharing the afternoon with such special friends!

The Sweetest Note Ever

2011-08-03T18:37:00.009-05:00

Today Savannah received an e-mail from her precious friend, Anna Kate.

Dear Savannah,

I love you! I miss you! I am wearing my necklace. I wish I could play. Bye bye.

Love, Anna Kate

I have no words, just tears, as the Marions depart the US tomorrow night.

Edisto Beach 2011

2011-07-28T14:47:00.002-05:00

We spent last Thursday through Sunday at the beach with Dave's family! It was such a fun time for everyone as we enjoyed lots of sun, hours of playing in the sand, awesome weather, delicious food, and great company too. Here are a few pictures from our long weekend away.

Within minutes of arrival, we were all dressed and ready to hit the beach!

Preston wasted no time getting completely covered in sand!

Dinner out with Grammy and Papa

Sweet girls on the resort playground

Everyone (but me) in the ocean

Family picture

Our nightly activity of feeding the turtles and looking for the alligator

There he is!! Look how close we were to him!!

There were tons of turtles that loved eating our bread

One last picture before leaving on Sunday

It was a great trip. Thank you so much grammy and papa for a wonderful vacation!!

Pool Rats

2011-07-20T17:00:00.002-05:00

We took advantage of one final day for Savannah and Anna Kate to play together and hit the pool for a few hours today! Words can't even describe how sad I am to say goodbye to this precious family.

Initiative

2011-07-19T06:21:00.003-05:00

For weeks now we've been trying to get Savannah to step it up and take the initiative in doing simple things around the house. One thing I started working with her on is making her own breakfast . . . well at least getting the waffle from the freezer, putting it in the toaster oven, and how to get it out without getting burned. I was so excited to see her complete the entire process this morning without me even having to ask or remind her!!!

Savannah's First Movie Experience

2011-07-17T16:28:00.003-05:00

Today Kristin and I took our girls to the movies for the first time ever! I'm not sure why we've waited this long (other than the fact it costs a small fortune to go), but the girls sure enjoyed Winnie the Pooh. They shared a popcorn and were so into the movie that they only ate half of the bag!! What a special day to share together.

A Super Sad Goodbye

2011-07-17T11:41:00.003-05:00

It's just beginning to sink in that our most precious friends are moving to Singapore in only a few days. For a few months now we've talked about it and we've all dreaded this week for awhile, but the time has finally come for the Marions to move onto what the Lord has planned for them half way around the world. To celebrate their adventure we all had dinner together at Cracker Barrel!

I'm not sure what these girls are going to do without each other. They quickly became best friends and love spending time together. Here they are sharing secrets.

We've shared so much with both having girls that are 5 and boys that are 2 . . .

Thank goodness we know that they'll eventually be back! For now we wish them the best and know that this is all a part of God's plan. Here's to early morning Skypeing!!!

3 Life Lessons at 1am

2011-07-10T13:59:00.006-05:00

Dave and I have had a crazy week. With month end, 11 mystery shops, swim lessons, and errands galore we were so excited about a long night of sleep followed by a date night without kids on Saturday. Then it happens, a loud bang on our bedroom door at 1am Saturday. I open the door to find Savannah holding her hands over her mouth and before I could even move her, a flood of throw up gushed onto our carpet! I'll spare the details, but lets just say that the entire cup of purple grape juice Preston spilled on our stairs Saturday at lunch cleaned out of the carpet better than her early morning surprise.

Lesson #1 Just when you're all geared up for a nice, relaxing weekend and a good nights sleep, things are bound to go crazy when you have kids!

I thought it was odd that Friday morning Savannah didn't want breakfast and was complaining about a sore throat and tummy ache, but after our morning run she seemed fine. She preceded to spend 2 1/2 hours at the pool, have dinner at Chick fil A, and play super hard with her friend Anna Kate - never once complaining about anything. So our Saturday morning episode was quite a shock!

Lesson #2 If Savannah doesn't eat a meal, then she is most definitely SICK!

So we spent Saturday at home, pretty low key. However, Savannah was running around like crazy, eating & drinking fine, and ready to get out of the house. So we went out for dinner. She ate a lot and seemed perfectly fine . . . until 1am this morning when the banging came again. Thankfully, this time she had already thrown up in the potty and was coming to get us for clean up duty.

Lesson #3 Just because a kid seems fine all day, that doesn't mean that they are well. With children you have to expect the unexpected.

I'm praying we're over this bug and can get a good nights sleep tonight . . . and that no one else catches whatever Savannah has!!

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-04T20:11:00.006-05:00

Our weekend started with a regular day on Saturday. Dave had to work all day so it was just another day for us with swim lessons, errands, and of course chores. I do have to say it was nice to have some quiet time and to be able to work on the never ending to do list though!

Then on Sunday we went to church and had early naps so that we'd be ready for our 4th of July cookout! Our sweet friends the Neals invited us over for a cookout to celebrate the 4th of July and also to celebrate how well their precious babies, April and Austin, are doing. It was such a special time for us as we got to hold the little ones and see first hand how they're just thriving! We have had dinner with them many times, but this was the first time with 4 kiddos, which kept things interesting. :)

Monday was an awesome day! We started with a super long run (45 minutes long pushing these kids) and then got ready for the pool. The kids had a blast playing at the pool with daddy and I have to say it was soooo nice having another set of hands and eyes there with these two kiddos. We had planned to keep the kids up for fireworks, but since a storm came we decided to do pizza and movie night instead. We wrapped up the weekend with Tangled, oven fresh pizza, and early bedtimes!

Bike Rally 2011

2011-07-01T19:57:00.004-05:00

The Bachmann kids getting ready to hit the playground

My friend Kelly sent out an e-mail earlier this week about a Bike Rally she planned to get her son more interested in riding his bike. We thought it would be a great way to motivate Savannah too so we signed up! Now let me tell you, this mama has it all together!! We showed up with our bikes and she had a table all set up with snacks, water, balloons, and even little straws. As the morning went on we noticed she thought about everything. Miss Kelly brought tools for training wheels, band aids, wipes, sanitizer, coloring pages with safety tips, medals for every kid, and even had a little safety presentation planned. Super impressive!

Savannah on her first lap

Preston enjoying his water

It was a super fun morning. . . but maybe I shouldn't have schedule swim lessons right after the bike rally. Poor Savannah had a melt down at the pool because she was so tired. Both kids had a big day so they were in bed at 7:30 tonight!

Sibling Love

2011-06-24T16:34:00.003-05:00

It's amazing to me how almost instantly siblings bond. Now that Preston is getting older I'm beginning to see how my two compliment each other as well as how they irritate each other. Watching their relationship grow and develop before my eyes is such a special gift for me as a mom. Today I was so proud of Preston. Savannah had just whacked him with HIS new golf club and so she was sent to time out. Preston, seeing that his sister was upset, instantly forgot that he had been whacked and went all of the way upstairs to get her "B" lovey and delivered it to her in time out. He is such a sweet, sweet boy!

Well Visits x 2

2011-06-23T18:09:00.005-05:00

Some nighttime silliness with daddy . . . Preston got these shirts out of the closet himself!

Let me start by saying THANK GOD Dave took off work to go with me to see Dr. Baker today! Whew! Savannah was an angel, but Preston was into everything. Those crazy forms took me forever to fill out and it was twice as hard since Preston was trying to color all over them. Anyway, they both got a clean bill of health! This will probably be the last time I post Savannah's stats online since it's not really nice to talk about a ladies' weight. :)

Preston is holding steady in the head percentile (95-97%), but dropped a bit in height 950-75%) and weight (75-90%). He is a whopping 30.6 lbs and 34.75 inches tall.

Savannah is still (and has been since birth) in the 95-97% for everything. She is 54.4 pounds and 45.25 inches tall.

Whew! No wonder I'm about to die running with them in the stroller!

Happy, Happy Birthday Preston!!

2011-06-21T14:04:00.006-05:00

Sooo excited to wake up with balloons in his room!

Yesterday our sweet Preston turned TWO!! It's so hard to believe our baby is now officially a toddler. He is so full of energy and life in general that you just about have to laugh when you're around him. He is super, super independent and there isn't much that scares him either. But, he also has a sweet side. If anyone is crying or upset, he is the first one to rush over with one of his own comfort items to give away and with it comes a hug. :) Now that he has started being able to communicate with words, life is amazingly better for us all.

Preston's current favorite things are: balls, trucks, his paci & lovey, monkey, and doggie that he sleeps with . . . and of course "choc choc".

Happy birthday dear Preston, happy birthday to you!

Ready to dig into his birthday cupcake!

Preston we are so thankful for your sweet little life and for all of the joy you add to our home. We are excited to see what God has in store for you this year as you continue to grow. We love you!!!

Happy Father's Day & Happy Anniversary

2011-06-19T15:00:00.006-05:00

Today is a super special day in our house. We get to celebrate Dave in a big way and thank him for being such an amazing dad and husband too. It's been 7 years since we said "I do" and I couldn't be more thankful to have such a supportive, loving, and devoted man by my side each day . . . and I couldn't ask for a better daddy for Savannah and Preston too. Thank you Dave for all that you mean to our family. We love you!!! Here's to many, many more exciting years together!

The Big Pool Party

2011-06-19T14:02:00.012-05:00

On Saturday we celebrated Savannah's 5th and Preston's 2nd birthday!! It was such a fun day filled with family and friends. The day started with a family pre-party here at home. The kids were able to open their gifts from family and we enjoyed a Chick fil A lunch. Afterwards the kids had time to play with some of their new things while I prepared for the friend party at the pool.

Pawpaw and Preston enjoyed playing with his new bubbles inside. Then it was onto the automatic bubble generator outside!

All of our immediate family, except for Deborah who couldn't come. :(

Then it was off to the pool!!!

Two friends in a fish, Savannah and Anna Kate

Cake time!!

Preston enjoyed at least 2 pieces of cake and just as many juice boxes!

Thank you to everyone who came and made this such a special day for Savannah and Preston!

Creativity

2011-06-19T13:41:00.004-05:00

Often times I wonder if my children will end up more like me, very type A, or more like Dave, very laid back. Sometimes I wonder if they'll be kids that love music, art, or maybe they'll enjoy sports. Right now only God knows what is in store for their precious little lives, but in the mean time I have to say that although Savannah may look like me and Preston may act like me, they both are already much more creative than I have ever been!

Take for instance this past Thursday. It was after dinner and I was frantically trying to get the dishes done while Dave was out mowing the yard. I sent the kids upstairs to get ready to take their baths. Now granted it was taking me awhile to wash the dishes, but they weren't alone forever. Suddenly I hear a crash upstairs. I yell up and ask if everything is okay and Savannah assured me it was fine. Then, just a few minutes later, I hear a huge crash, then silence, then sobbing. I ran upstairs to find Savannah sitting on a wet bathroom floor with a bloody lip! Trying to process everything I asked her what happened. Between the screaming and crying she said that she slipped on the floor.

I finally got her calmed down and left the bathroom to pick up the toys in the workout room and found this soaking wet pillow pet crammed behind the treadmill. I went back to the bathroom and asked Savannah to explain why the lamb was soaking wet and hidden on the treadmill. It was then that I figured out exactly what happened. She said "we were playing slip and slide with the pillow, mommy". Apparently she and Preston were using the bath drum set to pour water on the pillow pet and then trying to slip and slide on the bathroom floor!! The first crash, she explained, was Preston falling, but the second time she slipped on the wet floor and hit her lip on the toy basket. Apparently she wasn't in too much pain because she was able to run and hide the evidence before going back to the bathroom to start sobbing. Gotta love the creativity of a 5 year old that turns a pillow pet into a slip and slide.

Happy 5th Birthday, Savannah!!

2011-06-16T14:27:00.006-05:00

Yesterday my little girl turned 5! It's so hard for me to believe that it has been 5 years since Savannah was born, but what an amazing 5 years they have been. I've watched a very fussy baby turn into a little lady who is just full of life. Here are some of my sweet girls favorite things right now:

Princesses, fairies, Barbies, and her doll house

Singing ~ it's amazing at how she remembers so many songs just from hearing them in the car

Talking about "B" and B's family. Everything we do B also does and experiences.

Anything pink

Being read to

Going to church

Family & Friends ~ she is always anxious to spend time with her family and friends!

Making crafts and drawing pictures to give away

We celebrated with just the four of us by going to Chuckie Cheese and plan to celebrate with all of our family and friends at a pool party on Saturday!

Savannah you are such a special, amazing gift to us. We thank God for you and your love for life. We pray that the next year will be filled with exciting times as you venture off to kindergarten. We love you!!

A Long Multi-tasking Run Mess

2011-06-10T13:40:00.005-05:00

This morning I decided to combine my workout with 3 errands. I loaded up the kids and gathered everything I needed . . . license, phone, staples reward card, credit card, coupons, etc and headed out for a run. I figured what better way to get some things checked off of the list than to combine them with a long run. While I was in Staples I looked down and saw that Preston had taken advantage of the pen Savannah brought along. Check out his legs!! Ahh!! I'm not sure if he's embarrassed and hiding his face in the picture or if he just hates it when I get the camera out, either way he makes me laugh!

Discovery Place ~ Kids

2011-06-09T14:51:00.004-05:00

First activity, the firetruck!!

Today we took a field trip with the Marions to Discovery Place Kids Museum in Huntersville. The kids had an absolute blast playing in all of the different areas! There was a huge firetruck, airplane, grocery store, vet office, cafe, mechanic area, water play area, and the girls' favorite was of course the craft section!! We didn't even get to try everything before deciding it was lunch time. So we all piled back in the van and headed to the restaurant of choice, Chick fil A. It was a super fun morning and a great diversion for a really hot day!

Dance Recital 2011

2011-06-04T14:53:00.004-05:00

Our little ballerina

Savannah and Lily

Preston is proud of his sissy

My sweet ballerina girl with her flowers

Today was finally the day of Savannah's dance recital!! We all got up bright and early this morning and headed to the auditorium for the big day. She was SO excited and I have to say that after doing his 6 times (for 3 years now) I was a lot less nervous about having everything perfect, being on time, getting a good seat, etc . . . but I am no better at making buns for sure. They did a tap dance to Ghostbusters and a ballet dance to It's a small world. Of course my camera battery died and I only got a few shots during the recital. Luckily I found an outlet to get a little juice in the battery for a few shots afterwards. :) We let Savannah pick where she wanted to go for lunch, and of course she picked Chick fil A! The employees there were so sweet and even gave her free ice cream for "dancing so pretty". I think the pink medal that was given to each girl and flowers daddy gave her were by far her favorite things!

Summer Has Begun!!

2011-06-01T13:46:00.005-05:00

Over the past week, Preston's vocabulary has exploded!! Not only is he using more words, but he is stringing several words together. "I want juice" is his favorite saying right now, but he is finally regularly using phrases! Hallelujah!! Now, mind you, they aren't super clear phrases, but at least we're to the point of being able to communicate well. I love it!! He's also finally started shaking his head (really his whole top half) to say yes instead of gasping over and over to signal yes. I have to mention his favorite word right now is MINE. His progress just in the past week has been incredible!!

An afternoon snack . . . I guess I shouldn't have left him alone with pudding long enough to check my e-mail since he hasn't made much progress with eating pudding.

.
Today was our first day at the pool! As expected, I had to be in the water and couldn't relax with a magazine (no, I didn't even bring one to read) but at least the kids had a blast. Right now only one local pool is open in the morning so it was super crowded! We did run into several girls from church so at least I had friends to chat with.

About 30 seconds after getting in the pool, Preston fell under! I called the swim instructor as soon as we got home to sign him up for lessons!

Enjoying a picnic lunch before heading home for nap time!

Another Step in the Journey

2011-05-27T13:30:00.008-05:00

Last trip together to Preschool

For months now we have been talking about going to kindergarten, but it wasn't until I realized that today would be Savannah's last day of preschool that it really hit home. Although Preston will still be going there, there's just something that will change now that I'm not taking Savannah.

I'll miss seeing Savannah walk Preston to his class!

I'll miss her holding his hand in the elevator on the way downstairs (making sure he doesn't hit the call button again)

She has been going to preschool at our church even before she could walk or talk and now here we are ready for kindergarten! It just doesn't seem possible!

Super sweet Miss Carol

Dedicated Miss Reese

Proud Savannah in her last preschool class

Savannah with her friend Lily

These two girls aren't going to know what to do without each other next year!

So today we said our good-byes, delivered our cards and teacher gifts, and now we're officially off to "big school". I know it's just another step in the journey, but today it's just hard to believe that we've taken this step and have moved from a babbling, crawling toddler to a big girl who is full of energy and ready for public kindergarten!!

Speaking of good-byes, it was also super hard to say good-bye to Preston's teachers!

What a blessing these two women have been to our family! Miss Jean and Miss Amy were incredible teachers and will definitely be missed by Preston! His teachers next year sure have big shoes to fill!

Happy Early Birthday, Savannah!

2011-05-19T13:10:00.003-05:00

Today we celebrated the summer birthdays in Savannah's WEE school class. There are four girls who all turn 5 over the summer, so we wanted to make sure they were able to celebrate at school too! I brought in balloons for everyone and read a story, while the other moms were supposed to bring a snack and drink. There was a little mix up and we ended up with lots of juice and no snack, but the kids never knew because Ms. Reese just pulled out some popsicles for them to enjoy! Here is Savannah with her friend Anna Kate. During their special birthday celebration they get to pick one friend to sit beside and Savannah chose Anna Kate. The class was adorable all dressed in red for field day. Here is a cute picture of them all!

MOPS Retreat aka Girls Getaway!!

2011-05-16T13:28:00.004-05:00

MOPS Steering Group

Just one of the beautiful views we had for the weekend

This weekend Dave played Mr. Mom. For the first time ever I left him in charge of both kids for the entire weekend! We had a MOPS steering retreat at a lake house in SC and I have to say it was an incredible weekend! We left early on Friday afternoon and stopped for a little shopping in Gaffney. The entire weekend was filled with shopping, eating incredible food, soaking in the hot tub, watching girl movies, and did I mention eating more yummy food?? It was such a special time to get some planning done for our meetings next year, get to know each other a little better, and to relax too! I have to say that Dave did a great job by himself and had everything completely under control. :)

He even helped the kids make a Welcome Home banner for me!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T05:21:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was such a sweet day for me. After church we travelled to Greenville, SC to celebrate Mother's Day with Dave's family. It's always fun (and chaotic) to see everyone and let the kids play. It's also a great way to keep me busy so I'm not sitting at home thinking about mom. As the years go on this holiday is getting easier to celebrate knowing that mom is heaven, but it's still hard not having her here to hug. A special thanks goes to all of my precious friends who prayed for me, called, and e-mailed yesterday. It means the world to me to have you by my side. I was truly loved on with not having to change any diapers and being able to take a nice long nap on the ride home. The kids were even great travellers!! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.

Group Picture

Grammy and Papa with the grandkids

Preston on the hunt for more "choclate"

My two precious kiddos

Papa reading to Preston

Preston's Sleep Update

2011-05-07T14:28:00.008-05:00

Well, let's just say that there has been a LITTLE BIT of improvement in Preston's sleep. By Thursday I became desperate with things continuing to go downhill. Without getting a break from screaming during the day, having to get up during the wee hours of the morning, and listening to 3+ hours of screaming at bedtime, I was completely exhausted! So, that afternoon I decided to transition the crib to a toddler bed. At least then Preston would have to get his own stupid lovey and paci when he threw them out.

Savannah passing down her stool to Preston

I also made an appointment to take him into the doctor after school yesterday and of course, as I expected, he is perfectly fine in terms of health. Dr. Baker suggested that we continue to let him scream, but he did say that we should go in his room with increasing intervals. He assured me that there would be no long term damage even though Preston barely has a voice now and that the vocal cords could heal. He also suggested trying Benadryl. So, last night we put him to bed and I laid on the floor for a few minutes. He fell asleep and I left. Thankfully he slept until 4am in his big boy bed!!! However, he did come running into our room at 4 calling "mama, mama". I didn't lock the door or gate it for fear the noise would wake him up. oops. Anyway, I put him back in bed and he slept until 7:30am. Woo hoo!

Naptime continues to be a challenge, but at least now I know that it's possible to make good progress. He did finally go to sleep this afternoon after 1+ hours of crying and slept for an hour or so. Oh, and one improvement is that there is no more screaming since he doesn't have a voice! It's more moaning and crying mixed with a lot of "maaaa maaaa, maaa maaa".

At first, Preston loved his big boy bed! However, he quickly realized that it was the end of the lovey game and decided maybe it wasn't so great.

Mother's Day at WEE School

2011-05-06T15:46:00.004-05:00

The welcome banner Savannah's class made with their hand prints

Me and Savannah

Sweet Savannah serving me an ice-cream sundae in the dish she made

For weeks now Savannah has talked about the Mother's Day party at WEE school, and today was finally the day for the celebration!! Their party did not disappoint! There was a class song where the kids did lots of freeze dancing, another special dance by some volunteers called the tooty taa, a chain prayer, a special ice-cream sundae served in a bowl made by Savannah, lots of awards given out to the moms from Ms. Reese, and then a special stepping stone gift. It was such a sweet day and I loved being able to share this time with Savannah!

PLEASE help me!!!!

2011-05-02T20:29:00.002-05:00

Okay, I think this is the most frustrating thing I've EVER experienced . . . please comment with any advice or suggestions to the following dilemma.

As of last week, bedtime for Preston is a nightmare. For days on end now he has started screaming until he's almost hyperventilating and all because his lovey is on the floor. BUT he THROWS IT ON THE FLOOR as soon as we walk out of the room. I can watch him through the crack in the door and as soon as he can't see me, he shoves it through the slats in the crib! Why is he doing this??? For 2 1/2 hours now I've listened to screaming, gone up and put the lovey back in, and tried to dry his soaking wet head (from the sweat after screaming for hours on end). I'm about to lose it!!! If I don't put the lovey back in then he will likely be up until midnight and if he does wake up in the middle of the night then he'll start screaming again, which will wake us all up, again. If I do keep putting it back in then I'm just playing his game. HELP!!!!!!!!! I've tried switching the lovey, which by the way works perfectly fine all day and at nap time, and this too is not the problem.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T05:39:00.013-05:00

Easter 2011

This year we had a wonderful Easter celebrating our risen Savior. On Saturday we headed to a local event for the kids. Dave and I took turns waiting in line for Savannah to get her face painted. Dave was completely calm the entire time . . . me on the other hand, not so much. I ended up going to Harris Teeter and coming back to find them still waiting in line. The total wait was over 50 minutes!!

Savannah with her fancy Hawaiian flowers. She wanted the cross, but we talked her out of it since it was a super complicated design.

Preston just chilling out with his daddy

Quick picture with the Easter bunny

Then on Sunday, we started the morning with the annual Easter basket search. Savannah quickly found Preston's basket and then after a little searching, hers too. They enjoyed some chocolate with breakfast and then it was off to church. After church we headed straight to Burlington. We got there before Grandma's church was over so we headed to Pawpaw's for some golf cart rides and pictures. I was so bummed that most of my pictures were completely overexposed, but I tried to salvage a few of them . . .

Easter egg hunt at Great Grandmas House

A Proud Mommy Moment

2011-04-20T12:57:00.002-05:00

Today we were in the checkout line at Harris Teeter and the following converstaion took place between the bagger and Savannah:

B: So what grade are you in?
S: I'm in preschool
B: Well what are you learning in preschool?
S: (after thinking a bit and me wondering what in the world she's going to say) about Jesus
B: Oh yeah? What else?
S: About how He died on the cross and how Easter is so special!

If I ever doubt (and I don't, but if I ever did) that much is being learned through WEE school and our church's awesome Sunday school program, I hope I'll remember this precious conversation and how openly Savannah shared her love for Jesus.

Happy 60th Mom!

2011-04-18T14:34:00.004-05:00

Today my mom would have turned 60 years old. Although I'm pretty sure birthdays aren't celebrated in Heaven, I bet every day is a party for her! There are days when I miss her terribly . . . miss her voice, her hugs, her calls, and her getting to know these precious children, but in the darkest of days the Lord is always faithful to remind me of two things. 1) Mom is amazingly happy and healthy in heaven and 2) I have the promise of one day seeing her, hugging her, and loving on her again in person. For now we will continue to love her from afar. So here's a big Happy Birthday to the most giving woman I ever knew. We love you mom!!

Kindness

2011-04-17T17:54:00.004-05:00

Last week we experienced three random acts of kindness, 2 from complete strangers!

The first act was from my aunt who stopped by to pick up some items on her way to FL. As a treat for the kids, she left a beautiful strawberry plant, a Princess watering can, and a superhero shovel for Preston. They were SO excited to get an unexpected gift and today was even more exciting when we were able to pick our first strawberry! Yumm-o!

Then, on Monday we were rushing to dance class and I tried to make time to stop and do my CVS run before ballet. Bubbles were free with ECBs, but the limit was 1. I decided that since the kids were with me it couldn't be an Easter basket item after all, and that we would get a blue bottle because now bubbles or "bubbbb" are one of Preston's favorite things. At the checkout an elderly lady in front of me who saw me shopping for the bubbles earlier purchased a bright pink container of bubbles and turned around and gave them to us! I didn't realize what she was doing but she before leaving she asked the cashier for a separate bag and a rubber band which she secured around the top to make sure it didn't spill. It was just precious how she gave it to Savannah, whose face just lit up. Sweet, sweet lady!!

Finally, Friday rolled around. Let me just say it was a Fat Friday for me. I ate horribly last week and was up a whopping 5 pounds from my lowest point! Never the less, I drug myself out to run before Dave went to work. I was running in an adjoining neighborhood when I noticed a car going super slow beside of me with the window rolled down. I took my headphones off and the lady stopped me to say "I've seen you running for weeks now and wanted to let you know that I've noticed a huge difference. Your hard work and persistence is really paying off." Really?? It was super sweet of her to stop on her way to work and give me such a nice compliment, especially when I was feeling so down.

Lord, help me to show kindness to others this week, those that we know and those that are strangers. Help me to be a better example of You through my actions and words this week.

Ice Cream with Dave

2011-04-13T14:39:00.005-05:00

This is what the kids look like after having ice cream with daddy.

I had a MOPS meeting last night so Dave picked the kids up from church and took them to Ben & Jerrys for free cone day. When I got home I asked it how it when and this is what he said:

* It was hard to keep the kids in the long line

* Everyone chose chocolate varieties (dads don't think about stained clothes and caffeine)

* The kids were sort of a mess, so much so that an employee took Preston's picture to put on the wall. Next time you visit B&J at the Arboretum, look for him!

* He tried to get napkins but it was so windy that most of them blew away (that explains the chocolate faces in the picture)

*Afterwards they went to the running store to register for Saturday's race and lady working there liked their chocolate faces.

I guess every kid needs a night out with daddy every now and then so you don't have to worry about being clean!

Shoes

2011-04-07T15:02:00.004-05:00

One of Preston's few words is SHOES and boy does he love them! I took these pictures the other night after dinner and wanted to share the cuteness with you. :)

Like my new shoes, mom??

Yep, these are my shoes!

As a side note, Preston's speech is rapidly improving . . .well, maybe not the quality of words, but definiltey the quantity of them! He really tries hard to imitate what we are saying and is making progress in helping us understand exactly what he wants. The new play therapist started this week so we now have two in-home speech sessions a week. It's a lot ot keep track of, but we are loving the progress he is making!!

Happy Happy Birthday Grandma!!

2011-04-06T14:04:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we surprised my grandma with a birthday party to celebrate her 80th birthday! It was such a special day for a very special woman. When she arrived home and walked in her front door we all (about 40 people) yelled "surprise" and I thought she was going to faint. She almost cried and then was just shaking.

Just walking in and wondering what in the world was going on!

There are so many special things about my grandmother, but probably the thing that stands out in my mind the most is what a servant she has always been. She is always the first to bake a pie to deliver to someone, visit friends and family that are shut in, and do whatever she can to help others. When Pawpaw was alive she would always have his meals ready and even if he was working in the yard she would have a glass of ice waiting for him. I think the only time I ever saw them argue was over who was going to vacuum (they both were willing to do it).

I had the privilege of growing up in her backyard and spending just about every weekend at her house. There are so many good memories that I will cherish forever. She continues to lead a life that not only sets an example for us to follow, but also a life that makes the Lord smile. I pray that when I turn 80 I'm as happy, healthy, and loving as she is.

Look at the joy in her face watching the great grandkids blow out her candles!

This little boy sure enjoyed his cake!

Maddie and Savannah

Happy, Happy Birthday Grandma. We love you!!

Deborah, Dad and all of the grandkids

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

2011-03-27T15:50:00.010-05:00

Yesterday we ventured to Greenville, SC to celebrate our niece Alyssa's 6th birthday. We were sad to miss our other niece, Maddie's birthday party but since Dave had a stair race Saturday morning there was no possible way we were going to make an 11:00 party in Mebane! Anyway, we woke up to nasty weather and of course it rained all day long. Our original plan to go to Hollywild just didn't work, so we decided to go to a bouncey place in Taylors. The kids had a BLAST!! I bet Preston went down the bounce slide over 50 times and by the end, Savannah even was brave enough to do the biggest obstacle course alone! A huge thanks to Dave who was a super good sport volunteering to walk Preston up to the top of the slide over 50 times. :) Here are some pictures of the fun . . .

The birthday girl enjoying bouncing down the slide

Preston on one of his many trips down

Aunt Susan and Ashley sliding

Savannah and Preston loving another trip down the slide!

After they were completely exhausted, we went back to Alyssa's house for some yummy cookie cake! It was a fun day and we enjoyed visiting with Grammy and Papa too.

Weekend Recap

2011-03-14T13:59:00.008-05:00

On Saturday our Sunday school class had an 80s murder mystery party. It was a lot of fun and I definitely enjoyed seeing everyone's costume! I only took a couple group shots, but here is one of them.

Sunday was a busy day with trying to get all of my consignment stuff tagged and loaded into the car. I am almost finished and will hopefully wrap everything up today as the drop off is tomorrow. This is one of the most exciting weeks of the entire year with selling and shopping the big sale!! Oh, I just love a good deal!!!

Today we are still working on adjusting to the time change. Both kids slept past 8am this morning but when they got up they were rearing to go! Preston insisted on bringing his new favorite friend "woof woof" to the breakfast table today.

I was trying to cut up strawberries and looked over to find him trying to feed his woof woof! He is seriously obsessed with dogs right now. Maybe because it's the only tangible object he can verbalize and point out to us; I don't know, but I do know that it's hilarious. If he sees a dog he'll throw out his pacifier to say "woof woof" and if Ms. Marlene's dog is out, the boy goes crazy wanting to play with him.

Loving his woof woof!

First Official CMS Letter

2011-03-12T15:12:00.002-05:00

Today we received Savannah's first official letter from Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools . . . her school assignment for next year. I'd like to post the entire document, but it's probably not the greatest idea to have our address online. So here's to the official beginning of CMS paperwork and an exciting year ahead at our home school, one of the best in the state!!

Dance Preview

2011-03-07T13:56:00.004-05:00

Today was the day when parents were invited to attend dance class!! I thought it would be a disaster having to bring Preston along, but thankfully Miss. Stephanie and Mr. Chad were there to help out. I'm not sure what it is about the Bryant family, but my little Preston LOVES them all!! So here is sweet Savannah waiting for dance to start . . .

Showing off her tap routine to the song from Ghostbusters

Finally, a little ballet action

As a side note, when they were warming up their legs the teacher asked them to pretend to fly somewhere. Savannah said she was flying to a palace. :) It was a fun morning and makes me excited to see how much progress they make for the June recital! I also enjoyed trying lots of new features on my camera. As you can see I haven't mastered them yet, but it is fun trying new options!!

Crazy Hat Day

2011-03-01T14:05:00.006-05:00

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, today was crazy hat day at WEE school! Savannah debated all weekend about exactly which hat she should wear and the winner was . . .

She had LOTS of compliments and told everyone that her great aunt Cherry made it! She even took a few orders for aunt Cherry to make "in bigger sizes". HA!!

Preston Today

2011-02-28T16:52:00.004-05:00

I have to say that Preston amazes me every day, sometimes for the good and sometimes not. Today after I got him up from his nap Savannah was still sleeping so I decided to fold some laundry. I just let him wander while I was working . . . and next thing I know he ventured into the bathroom and got a wipe, a very normal activity for him. However, the next part amazed me. I looked over and he was literally cleaning my window seals!! Never once did I mention that they were dirty, but I guess that after looking out and feeling the breeze all morning (it's a beautiful day here) he decided that 1) they needed cleaning and 2) he'd take it upon himself to clean them! HA! He then held up the nasty wipe and said "shew, shew".

I had to share this photo too. Earlier today we were on the track at the Y while Savannah had dance. He was running after a friend and completely busted on the track. When I picked him up he had dirt in his mouth and a nasty runny, bleeding nose along with a boo boo on his forehead. Poor guy!! So after we got home and I attempted to clean him up I asked him to show me his boo boo; this is the face I got. :(

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T19:18:00.003-05:00

After waiting all day to open presents, we finally let the kids rip into their Valentine's presents after dinner. They each got a new book along with a water bottle for Savannah (that she will be sporting at school tomorrow) and a big bouncy ball for Preston. Preston was quite thrilled with his ball!

Happy, Happy Valentine's Day to our family and friends!!

Super Saturday

2011-02-13T13:40:00.006-05:00

Anna Kate, Savannah, and Jack

Yesterday was an AWESOME day!! To start the day, everyone slept (okay, stayed in their room) until at least 8am! Savannah was up a bit earlier, but when I told her that everyone else was still asleep she agreed to stay in her room and play until we "woke up". It was fabulous and much needed too!

Then we ran some errands and even took a run together as a family. The weather was perfect for breaking out the jogging stroller so we all went for a quick run to test out the new sidewalks on the main road.

After we got home and had a quick lunch, it was off to see "If you take a mouse to school", an Imaginon play. Savannah went along with 2 of her best friends, Anna Kate and Jack. It was a riot all piling in Miss Elizabeth's van (3 kids and 3 mamas) to head uptown. Although I was a bit disappointed with the play, the kids loved it!

Just Because

2011-02-09T16:23:00.005-05:00

He's adorable . . .

and I'm procrastinating!!

Consignment Craze

2011-02-09T14:54:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the consignment madness has already started!! For weeks I've been trying to iron, hang and sort the kids outgrown summer and spring clothes all in preparation for:

The Posh Closet Fine Consignment Sale!!
Check out the link here and be sure to shop early for lots of good deals!

http://theposhclosetsale.com/

Double Dentist Visit

2011-02-09T13:49:00.004-05:00

Outside the office

Preston was excited about the chair, but only before we wanted him to sit in it!

Savannah being a model patient for Dr. Bird! Way to go Gracie Bell!!

Picking out their prizes!

Today I took both kids for their bi-annual dentist cleanings. For Preston, it was his first ever visit! He was so excited about the bright yellow chair, but when it came to sitting in it alone, he wasn't having that at all. He did the normal screaming, but at only 19 months old I sort of expected that. I guess that's the benefit (or downfall) of having an older sibling . . .you get to do things a lot earlier than normal.

Savannah was 3 before I took her to have her teeth cleaned for the first time. Oh, and let me tell you, it was a disaster!!! This time however was much different! For Savannah, it was her first ever visit where she sat perfectly still and cooperated with every part of the cleaning. She even had x-rays!!!! I'm so proud of her. ;)

Mr. Independent

2011-02-07T20:03:00.006-05:00

Super Bowl Sunday (check out P's peanut butter face)

This past weekend we travelled to Greenville, SC to celebrate Dave's sister's and dad's birthday. Although the trip was pretty uneventful, Preston chose to throw quite a few tantrums in the restaurant. Thank goodness we were the only people there for a long time! We are just going through a stage with him right now (maybe it's due to the 4 teeth that are coming in or maybe it's because he is a BOY) where he is very opinionated. If he doesn't want to wear his coat, he throws it in the floor and proceeds to throw himself in the floor. He has also become super independent. For example he wants NO help walking up or down the stairs (and can do it solo) and also insists on feeding himself everything with a spoon (just imagine the MESS). He also insists on eating things whole. If I give him a nutri grain bar broken up, it immediately gets thrown in the floor, but if I give it to him whole, he eats the entire thing within a minute! Honestly, it's about to get the best of me, but I'm trying to just take one day at a time. I do a lot of praying between 5 and 6:15, when Dave finally arrives home.

Although we had to deal with a super fussy toddler, we did manage to have a good weekend. Saturday the kids loved getting special valentines presents from Grammy and Papa. Sunday was a great day to be able to have everyone in church and then to do a few things here at home too. We decided to go out to dinner and it was a great idea since there was no one out ~ everyone was at home watching the big game.

Check out these cuties sporting their new aprons and cookbooks from Grammy

Babies

2011-02-04T15:12:00.003-05:00

Last weekend our precious friends, Julie and Charlie, became the parents to triplets!! We have been so excited for them as we've prayed for this day for about 5 years . Today I finally made it uptown to visit with them and they are beautiful beyond words. It's amazing at what medical technology can do, but when I looked at those 3 precious faces, 30 perfect toes, and 30 perfect fingers all I could think about is how amazing our God is. April, Austin, and Andy are adorable and although they are super tiny right now, they will soon be running around and driving their mama crazy! It is going to be an adventure for their family for sure, but I'm excited to share in their lives as we continue to pray for them! I took my camera and everything this morning but was so in awe of them that I totally forgot to take pictures! ;( I'm sure I'll be back to love on them some more so maybe then I can snap some photos.

As for my own baby, we've made huge progress this week! Our first speech therapy session was on Tuesday and since then he has started regularly using 3 additional signs! Although there are still no words, I'm convinced that this is a great first step in helping lower the frustration level of communication. Just today I put him down for a nap (which usually goes smoothly and is tear free) and he screamed for over an hour before I finally went up there. When I walked in he signed milk and eat so I knew he was hungry!!!! Hallelujah, I know how to fix that! I took him downstairs and gave him some milk and crackers, put him back in bed and after about 10 minutes of crying he's asleep. Gotta love these little ones. ;)

Miscellaneous Stuff

2011-01-22T14:41:00.003-05:00

I have discovered a few new money saving tips this week. First of all, I found out today that Wal-Mart will actually take competitor coupons!! Yesterday I got over $150 in product coupons valid at Lowe's Improvement in the mail and called this morning to verify that Wal-Mart would take them. I cannot believe that it worked perfectly! If anyone is looking for a money maker, they have a swiffer duster extender with a magazine rebate on the tag. The item is only $8.97 (before my Lowe's coupon) and you can submit for a $12 refund instead of a magazine!!

Also, I found out that the register rewards that print at Walgreens will also work at Harris Teeter. At the top it says manufacturer coupon and I had no trouble using them at Harris Teeter. :)

On a different note, we finally completed the evaluation for Preston's speech and he qualifies!! I did the paperwork this week and as soon as our case manager finds a good fit for a therapist we'll begin in home speech therapy.

Finally a shout out to Papa Bachmann and Deborah! Wishing you both a Happy Birthday with many more to come! :) Also, sorry your cards will be a bit delayed. And a prayer for fast healing for my dad who should come home from the hospital today with a new knee.

A Welcomed Slow-Down

2011-01-11T13:50:00.004-05:00

I have to say that when we woke up to a winter wonderland yesterday I was more than excited for lots of reasons. One, I knew Dave would be home for the day, two, I knew we were stuck at home and I would be able to catch up from the previous week and three, of course we'd have lots of fun outside in the snow!!

Last week consisted of:

3 mystery shops
5 appointments (dentist, doctors, speech)
1 school tour
MOPS meeting where I had to do a quick money saving presentation
Planning of a triplet baby shower
Hosting the said shower on Sunday afternoon
WEE school
3 hours of tutoring
1 Music class for Preston
A very whinny, sick pre-schooler
A teething toddler (needing to be rocked EVERY night at various times)
MOPS planning meeting
Un-decorating the house
Plus the regular cooking, cleaning, errands, exercise, etc
Oh, did I mention it was month end for Dave???

So, I had been looking forward to the beginning of this week for quite some time. I have to say Monday did not disappoint! It was such a relaxing day and a real treat to be able to accomplish so much! We had a blast playing out in the snow with all of the neighborhood kids who migrated to our driveway (the steepest in the neighborhood) and then enjoyed a long, quiet afternoon as both kids slept until after 5pm! Dave and I had time for lots of games of cards and each had time to do a few things we needed to accomplish too.

I really didn't even mind that there was no school today since I'm still plugging away at the to-do list . . . it's a good thing too because our driveway is now a solid sheet of ice!

A New Years Christmas

2011-01-02T15:55:00.007-05:00

Savannah sporting some New Year's glasses

Grammy and Papa helped Savannah do a big puzzle

Saturday the Weningers arrived to celebrate Christmas

Dave and Susan with their stockings

Savannah loves her new Ms. Potts tea set

The girls both got new Barbies

Group picture

Out of all of the great presents Preston got he preferred to play with the race car Barbie

All of the cousins

Grammy and Papa with the grand kids

Silly kids

This has been an awesome weekend! We always celebrate Christmas with Dave's family the weekend before or after Christmas so this was the chosen weekend! They arrived on Friday afternoon and let me tell you there was one little girl who was counting the minutes until they came. As soon as they walked in the door it was time to start playing . . . from puzzles to games to reading books, my kids really enjoyed having Grammy and Papa here for the weekend. Dave and I managed to stay up to see the New Year come in and then it was off to bed!

Saturday was filled with busyness as Dave's sister and her family came. The kids had so much opening presents and playing with lots and lots of new toys. We were truly showered with gifts!!! I have to say that although we received very valuable gifts, by far my favorite one was a hand written voucher . . . good for 3 DAYS, 2 NIGHTS of CHILDCARE!!!!! I can hardly stand it just thinking about when and where Dave and I are going to escape to. At least it'll be something to look forward to during this next crazy week.

After church today and a quick lunch (oh, and another game) Grammy and Papa left. As I'm tying this now Savannah is moaning, "I miss Grammy and Papa." We look forward to seeing them again soon. :)

Snowy Sunday

2010-12-27T15:19:00.003-05:00

We arrived home in Charlotte on Christmas day, after leaving tons of snow in Burlington, to find NOTHING on the ground here! ;( Savannah kept talking about playing in the snow with daddy so I told her she needed to pray hard for Jesus to send snow! Thankfully we awoke Sunday morning to find everything covered in about 4 inches of snow. It was beautiful to say the least. After breakfast and playing with a few new toys we all bundled up and headed out to play . . .

Daddy was a big kid throwing snow balls at mommy

Savannah loved playing and making snow angels

But this kid wasn't big on the snow. Maybe it was because he had a hard time walking in really deep snow or maybe it was the mittens without fingers, but he was quickly ready to go inside!

What a perfect way to end the Christmas weekend!! Now we just have to find places for all of these new toys before Grammy and Papa arrive on Friday for Christmas round 3. ;)

A White Christmas

2010-12-27T14:19:00.007-05:00

Christmas this year was amazing! It began as we woke up early, had french toast (although it still doesn't compare to mom's, it was decent), and opened Santa presents and our gifts to and from each other.

A little sibling love

Savannah loves her new big girl car seat!

Preston enjoying his new basketball goal

We then quickly got ready and packed up for a trip to Burlington. As we were driving the snow started falling and by the time we had eaten the delicious meal at Grandmas, the ground was covered! So for the next hour we were able to watch the snow fall all while being surrounded by our precious family. Priceless.

Cousins (except Taylor) before opening gifts

Now let me tell you, it was pure chaos once we started opening gifts, but the kids had a blast!

Preston loves his new chair

This kid came alive opening presents at Grandmas. I mean he was tearing into EVERYTHING!! Of course he wanted to open each box too, but we had to make him wait since there were so many presents. We did give in and let him open the bowling set, which he went crazy over!

Preston and his favorite Uncle Mark

Mr. and Mrs. Santa with their grandkids

We had planned to spend the night, but after watching the snow quickly accumulate, we decided it might be safer if we headed back to Charlotte the same day. It was sad to have to leave after anticipating spending the night for so long, but it was still a super sweet day! We truly have much to be thankful for!

Merry, Merry Christmas to our friends and family!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T18:22:00.005-05:00

Family nativity picture ~ Savannah finally got to be Mary!

We are so excited to be in our home for Christmas Eve again this year! There's just something sweet about being here and being able to attend our own church's Christmas eve service and waking up on Christmas morning with Santa gifts and kids with wide eyes. Now Christmas Day is for the big family so we'll pack it all up late tonight so that we're ready to leave first thing after opening gifts in the morning, but for today it's been a treat to be home! Our church had a beautiful service all focused on how as much as we want Christmas to be perfect, it just will never be. See the only perfect Christmas was the one thousands of years ago when Christ was born . . . and even that one wasn't picture perfect with the smelly animals and all. :) So, to remember that Christmas isn't about being picture perfect our church set up several different areas where families could take pictures together. As you can see from our photos, they aren't perfect at all, but what a special way to remember a sweet day.

18 months!!

2010-12-20T22:39:00.005-05:00

It's hard to believe that Preston is officially 18 months old!! He had his well check up today and he is 34 inches long (75-90th percentile) and 27 lbs, 4 oz (50-75th percentile). Dave and I continue to be concerned about his lack of speech so the pediatrician has referred us to a speech therapist. We'll start with basic testing and see what they recommend. Although he isn't talking, he still finds ways to communicate, hence why the doctor isn't worried at all. I have to say that there is never a dull moment unless said child is sleeping, but boy what a delight he can be! Just yesterday he and Alex played together for hours at our annual Christmas dinner with mom's family. Oh and let me tell you about the dinner . . . delicious. Cherry pulled out all of the stops and we had a feast fit for royalty. We even brought left overs home that we'll enjoy this week. So here's to a week filled with fun, and a little chaos too!

Cookies and Craziness

2010-12-15T21:23:00.004-05:00

This week has been crazy already. I don't know what is going on but I just cannot get caught up! It just seems like Christmas gets closer and closer to Thanksgiving every year. Maybe it's just that as Savannah gets older she wants to do more and more . . .

Anyway, on Monday, our day to stay home, we decided to jump right into making cookies. We always make goody bags full of special "homemade" treats for the trash men, recycle men, our pediatrician, the neighbors, and a few other special people so we got a good start. Savannah loved making and decorating the cookies and believe it or not, we didn't eat even one! The goody bags are all wrapped up so now I just have to brave the weather to deliver them. Buurrrrr!

When All is Quiet . . .

2010-12-13T10:05:00.005-05:00

I should KNOW that Preston is into something . . .

Today's something was a candy cane. Yep, he took it out of the pantry, unwrapped it, and managed to eat over half of it with only 8 teeth!!! He even has a red sticky face and lots of sticky fingers to prove it.

Dance Recital

2010-12-12T18:37:00.002-05:00

Last night Savannah had her winter showcase dance recital. I had been feeling awful all day and after Savannah had thrown up several times Friday night we weren't sure we would make it to the recital, but we did!! It was complete chaos and there was standing room only, but she was adorable and loved every minute. This is the best picture we have (she's second from the left) but hopefully this will be the last far away picture we ever take because my new camera should arrive this week!!! :)

Santa and the Elves

2010-12-02T06:50:00.007-05:00

Savannah with her first ever picture with Santa . . . Preston would have no part of this!

Yesterday we ventured uptown with our friends the Marions to participate in Santa's Bag. It's an event put on by the Children's Theater of Charlotte where kids go in with a list of people they want to buy for and are guided through the shopping with their own elf who carefully helps them select gifts for each person on their list. Gifts are priced from $.25 to $4.00 and you can set a limit on what the child can spend. When they come out everything is already wrapped with a name tag on it. Savannah and Anna Kate had a blast doing their own shopping!!

The girls anxiously awaiting their shopping time!

Savannah with her very own elf helper

The kids playing in the chimney

Wrapping up the morning by writing letters to Santa!

Thursday to Sunday + Monday

2010-11-29T17:33:00.003-05:00

Over the past four days I have:

spent over 8 hours in the car travelling
had Thanksgiving celebrations with 2 families
raked leaves
almost finished Christmas shopping
put up the Christmas decorations
shopped starting at 5am on black Friday
washed several loads of laundry
ran the dishwasher, discovered that it didn't work so the entire load was hand washed

Then there's today, Monday:

ballet lessons for Savannah
trip to the grocery store
Christmas wrapping (started, not close to finishing)
more laundry, dinner, dishes, etc
and to top it off . . . in the time it took to run next door and borrow some sour cream for my chicken casserole check out what Preston accomplished

Yep, finding the cookies and eating THREE by the time I got back!!! He crammed two in when I came in the door and by the time I got the camera he was on #3. He thinks he accomplished waaayyy more than my list above. :) Check out those chubby cheeks.

I have to say that is one way blogging has changed my life. Instead of screaming, grabbing the cookies and punishing him, I grabbed the camera and laughed!

Burlington Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T21:18:00.003-05:00

Today we ventured to Burlington to see my family for Thanksgiving! Savannah and Preston had SO much fun running through grandmas house, jumping on the beds, playing hide and go seek with Pawpaw, and of course playing with their cousins. I'd like to say that they were so tired they slept all of the way home, but that didn't exactly happen. The traffic was HORRIBLE and Preston screamed most of the way home. After we got home, we quickly fed them and put them both to bed early! It was still a fun day seeing everyone. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-26T15:50:00.003-05:00

We travelled to Greenville, SC to celebrate Thanksgiving with Dave's family on Thanksgiving Day. It was fun to see everyone and the food was delicious, as usual! The kids had a blast playing outside with Uncle Brian, Papa, and Dave in the unseasonably warm weather. It was all fun and games until a pen broke and stained Preston and Savannah's outfits! :( We also had a huge prayer answered as both kids travelled well there and back. We're off again tomorrow the other direction to celebrate with my family.

The entire gang minus a napping Ashley

Cute Ashley

WEE School Feast

2010-11-23T14:40:00.007-05:00

Our little pilgrim with her special feather necklace

Savannah has been so excited about the festivities for Thanksgiving this year. From the family night performance at school, to making cookie turkeys, and of course knowing that she would be able to see all of her cousins . . . she has talked and talked about how much fun it is going to be. She has also been talking non-stop about the "feast" that we were going to have at school. I signed up to bring Dave's famous macaroni and cheese and it was definitely a hit as there were only crumbs left! ;) So today was the big day. Daddy even came from work for the feast since "daddy doesn't have anything to do during lunch, right mommy?". I won't lie, it was complete chaos with 19 children (several who were under 2), 18 parents, and 2 teachers but fun was had by all.

At the beginning her teacher let each child walk in and stand in front of everyone to say what they were thankful for. Savannah said she was thankful for "pink flowers", but she had written that she was thankful for "baby brother" on her feather hat. Let the fun (and travels) begin!

Wishing all of our friends and family a very Happy Thanksgiving!