Football / Fat Lips / Fellowship

We took Kate to her first football game the other night. Our neighbor, Michael, plays for Briarwood HS so we went to see him play. Kate felt so special when we saw Michael and his teamates we know before the game heading to the locker room and they all came to say hello to her...it is just really sweet to watch your child in complete amazement and excitement. Kate had a blast shaking shakers, yelling GO LIONS, and watching the band and cheerleaders. And to top it all off we got to watch Michael make an amazing touchdown catch!

Poor little Whit was being helped down the steps by his sister when he took dive... he cut his lip up pretty bad on the inside and it is by far the most blood we have dealt with over here. His lip by the end of the night was so fat that it hung over his paci when it was in his mouth :(
Jason and I really wanted a patio in our backyard to have friends over and hang out on. Of course like all good home projects it got a little out of scale and I ended up with the fireplace I always wanted. But Sunday night when our Life Group was meeting out there, enjoying the beautiful weather and each other it made it all worth it.

Sweet Baby Boy

(Our neighbors built a flagstone patio and you better believe Whit was a huge helper in the whole process!)

I did weekly/monthly/yearly posts about Kate and poor Whit has definitely gotten the short end of the stick. So here is a post all about this sweet little boy. Whit is officially 17 months old and I can hardly believe it. Whit has been babbling for a while but he now is saying words that are actually associated with things. Every dog he sees he says "woof", he loves "balls", we love to 1,2,3, "GO" and when we are very upset we scream "mama!" Whit has only had 4 teeth for forever but this past month he has gotten 8 more teeth! Needless to say we have had some tough days. He is fiercely independent, even more then Kate. He would roam our whole neighborhood if I would let him. If there is dirt or water within a mile of him he will find it. Whit has the most contagious smile and laugh and he is such a joy. At the end of most days I am completely exhausted from trying to keep up with him. Just recently he has started being VERY jealous when mommy holds another baby. He gives the best hugs, high fives, and open mouth kisses. Whit loves his big sister and copies everything she does. He loves Lucy and really for that matter all animals. Everyday I am fascinated with what he understands and comprehends. Whit is the sweetest little boy and eveyday he melts my heart.

4K Preschool and Soccer

Kate's first day of 4K preschool was last week and to say that Kate was thrilled that school was starting back is an understatement! Kate has been at God's House Kindergarten since she was two and I just love the teachers and staff there. We feel very blessed to be a part of this school!Kate with her teacher Mrs. Johnson!
We also signed up Kate to play soccer this year. Homewood does it right... one night, 30 minutes practice and 30 minutes for a game! I want Kate to play sports and be involved in things but she is just 4 and I am not looking to book my entire week with her activities so this fit perfectly with what I wanted for her. She really did great but lets just say that I will be going to get a soccer ball tomorrow so we can practice a little this next week before our next game!

Surprise!!! Napa Valley 2011

Last Wednesday Jason came home and asked me to look at an email he was sent. It was a boarding pass with my name on it and it was for Birmingham to San Fransisco! We had been talking about taking this trip in October for forever and I was so excited that he finally booked it. With closer examination and Jason flat out having to actually tell me...the trip wasn't booked for October but for the very next day!! Jason had arranged all the details of the trip and had arranged for the kids to be taken care of. Needless to say it was one of the sweetest things he has ever done.

Napa Valley is so beautiful and is just breath taking! Jason surprised me with a hot air balloon ride at dawn...
Then we spent the rest of the time touring wineries, tasting wines and learning more about wines then we ever dreamed possible. We had so much fun!!!

Then we got Rick at Regusci Winery. We hit it off with him and since it was somewhat quiet around the winery Rick took us to the cellar and let us go barrel tasting! It was really cool to drink wine out of the barrel before it gets bottled.

Then we headed to San Fransisco!! Great city and glad we went and experienced it.

Unfortunately, there was so much fog that you couldn't even see the Golden Gate Bridge.

No worries, because there is always Alcatraz. Many of you may not know this about me but I love prisons and prison shows. Lockdown, Locked up Abroad, Gangland...I am addicted. So I was super excited about this part of our trip! Something is just fascinating about a prison to me. Our last day we spent driving up and down the cost...17 mile drive. Jason was excited about this day because he got to finally see Pebble Beach. And I became okay with this because I found my new home. Right beside Pebble Beach is the cutest, quaintest little town of Carmel. So I was trying to convince Jason to move there where he would be able to play golf at Pebble Beach everyday! Unfortunately after pulling a flyer on a house that was for sale and the price tag being $4.5 million, all my arguments lost steam.

Even with the fog, the coastline was beautiful and we enjoyed our time together. We ended the trip at a great little restaurant called Moss Distillery where you can bundle up under blankets, sit by a fire and enjoy a good meal and drinks.

Jason got huge brownie points for planning this trip! It was a great time to reconnect, have real communication and a lot of fun together. Until next time...

Fort Morgan 2011 continued...

in no particular order, we...

...ran around and explored Fort Morgan...


...spent quality time with Pop...
... learned how to do a cannon ball...

...got new goggles from Mimi and Pop that we absolutely love...

... was scared of the waves and wanted someone to hold him...

...but then Pop came and made it all better...

...loved paying in our pool on the beach...

...practiced our baywatch run...

...celebrated Kate's FOURTH birthday...

... was SUPER excited about the sparkly shoes given to us by our cousin Hannah...
...had some great pictures taken...
...spent some quality time as a family together...

...and can't wait to do it again! Thanks mom and dad for a great and fun week with the whole family!

Fort Morgan 2011

My entire family met in Fort Morgan for a week long vacation together. Needless to say we have had a lot of fun and the kids were beside each other that they got to spend an entire week together playing. These are some pictures that my sister-n-law Amy took with her amazing camera. I will be back to post more later but until then....

Happy Birthday Kate!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY KATE!

We have been at the beach this whole week with my entire family. Now, if you ask Kate we have all come to the beach just to celebrate her birthday! Got to love four year olds!

Hard to believe Kate is turning 4. She keeps us on our toes and keeps up laughing constantly. She is fiercely independent and is determined not to have anyone help her ever. She loves her friends and doesn't meet many strangers. She is a great big sister and is a lot of help to me with Whit.

It makes me sad to think how fast four years have come and gone and I am sure she will be all grown up before we even know it. The Lord is going to keep me on my knees with this one as we are built from the same mold!

We love you Kate Brantley! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Swimming

At the beginning of this summer Kate could swim under water pretty well. However, this past month she has learned how to swim, come up and take a breath, and go back under and swim some more. I was very impressed as I had heard that usually 4 years old is the youngest that can learn that skill. But let me tell you that since learning how to really swim all Kate wants to do is go to the pool and swim, swim, swim. Which don't get me wrong I am excited about but it is still early and having to watch her like a hawk and Whit is exhausting!!

Just the other day I was at the pool with Kate without Whit and I talked her into going off the diving board. Well that was a mistake because I have created a monster. She will jump off and swim to the side, over and over and over again! I think I treaded water for over 45 minutes the other day while she jumped off the diving board a million times (even though she can swim to the side I am still a little too scared not to be out in the deep end with her). Some bigger girls were jumping off doing spins and toe touches...and little miss Kate can't stand to not keep up with the big girls and before I knew it she was spinning off the diving board.

So looks like we officially have a little swimmer on our hands!