"I'm Going to Marry..."

The other day, the kids and I were driving somewhere and from the back of the van, Anna announced that she was going to marry Jack when she grew up.  I was touched and told her how sweet that was, but then explained to her how you have to marry someone outside of your family (I didn't go into the fact that not everyone abides by this rule, but I digress...).  She sat there with a stumped look on her face and asked, "Well who am I going to marry then?"  I told her that she was going to have lots of boys that are friends as she grows up and that she would probably fall in love with one of them.  Then I started listing potential candidates: "It might be Ben or Liam from your class at school, it might be Bryce or Garrett from church, or it might be Charlie."  Charlie is the son of our close friends, Paul and Sarah.  Immediately she yelled, "I want to marry Charlie!"
I thought that was end of the conversation until a few days ago when she walked into the room and asked me, "When I marry Charlie when I get big, are we going to have babies?"  There was instantly a huge lump in my throat and I felt nauseated.  Where in the world did that come from?  I thought quick and told her that most people who get married do have babies, so that she probably would have babies with whomever she married.  Luckily, that seemed to suffice and she changed topics.
When Will walked in the door that night from work, Anna met him with "Daddy, guess what? When I get big, I'm going to marry Charlie and have babies!"  He looked at me with eyes as big as saucers and then just dropped his head into his hands.  Welcome home, Daddy!
To make matters worse, we had lunch with the Young family after church on Sunday.  Anna and Charlie and his big brother, Will, all sat at the kids table.  When it was time to go, they all hugged each other and then Charlie leaned over and smacked a kiss on Anna's cheek.  All of the adults had heard the story by this point and all cackled.  Then as we were walking to the car, little Charlie let out an "I love you, Anna!"  Apparently, the feeling is mutual!

No More Thumb!!!

Anna started sucking her thumb when she was just hours old.  She never really liked a pacifier, always preferring her trusty old left thumb for comfort.  Once she was a few months old and latched on to her favorite lovey, pink bunny Bo-bo, she would suck her thumb and hold Bo-bo's ear up to her nose while she sucked.  It was precious!  This has been her mode of comfort for the past four and a half years.  Bo-bo has gone everywhere that she has gone and has been washed so many times.  We have been worried that Bo-bo might not make it as long as Anna wanted her to. We have looked incessantly for a back-up and have found some that were pretty close, but Anna always knew the difference and wouldn't give them a second glance.  Luckily, we may not have to worry about that any longer.

About a month ago, Anna started complaining about the callus that has been on her left thumb for as long as we can remember.  I'm sure it's from her bottom teeth rubbing against the outside of her thumb while she sucks.  We tried putting all different kinds of band-aids on her thumb, but none of them felt the same.  We had many talks about how the only way to get the callus to go away was for her to not suck her thumb at all.  Those were some hard conversations.

Evidently, they stuck, though, because Anna has stopped sucking her thumb!!!  For the last couple of weeks, she has been just sleeping with Bo-bo beside her and the callus is going away.  We are beyond proud of her for knowing what she needed to do and being determined enough to do it.  I remember my brother Jeff and the horrible time he had trying to stop thumb sucking when he was six or seven.  We are very excited that this was so quick and relatively easy (not for her, I'm sure).  When her dentist found out, Anna got to pick a prize out of the big, special prize box. Recently, Bo-bo was even downgraded to the mass of "friends" that sleep along her railing on her bed.

Way to go, Anna!

Jack's New Obsession

If only it really worked...

Anna's First Trophy

Anna's first soccer season came to an end on Saturday and she is so sad!  She LOVED soccer and can't wait to start again in the fall.  The team had an end of season party with a huge bounce house and lots of snacks.  Anna was most excited about getting her very first trophy!

Loving the bounce house slide!

Daddy got to give her the special trophy
with Coach Russell and Coach Kishon looking on.

I'm so sad that this photo is blurry, but I had to include it!

Charlie and Anna digging in to all the yummy goodies.
Gotta love cupcakes at 9:30 in the morning!

Preschool EOY Party

First Day of 3 Year Old Preschool

I can't believe this year is almost over!!  Last Friday, Anna's class had their EOY party at a local park.  It was a gorgeous, cooler day and the kids had a great time. 

Anna and BFF Chloe

Ready for water balloons!

Happy summer birthdays to Mia and Chloe!

Anna and Amelia doing the spider swing.

Thanks for a great year Mrs. Long and Ms. Sawyer!

Play Date

Our good friends Julie and Tiffany both have girls the same age as Anna and little ones around Jack's age.  We decided to have a little play date last week and everyone came over to our house this time.  The kids had a blast!  The girls had a princess fashion show and took turns trying on dresses and parading around the house.  The little ones played and watched the parade.

Audrey, Madi, and Anna

The babies: Madi, Jack, and Hunter

Madi wanted to dress up like a big girl too!

Big Madi as a blushing bride...watch out Wilson!

The whole clan, even Murphy

Mother's Day Weekend in Wilmington

Anna and I made a special "mother bird" necklace
for Mom for Mother's Day that had five different colored "eggs" to represent all her grandchildren.

My birthday was on the Friday of Mother's Day weekend this year.  When Will asked me what I wanted for my birthday, my first thought was to spend my birthday and Mother's Day with my mom.  He quickly obliged and so we headed down to Wilmington on Friday.  We had dinner at our normal Friday night spot, Krazy's, with Jeffro and Greg and families.  Then Saturday afternoon, everyone came back to the house for a cookout for Mother's Day.  The kids played in the pool in the backyard while the adults relaxed and played corn hole.  Then Anna and Nia and Nellie did a fashion show of old dresses that Sarah and I used to wear that Mom has kept in the closet.  It was so cute watching them prance and twirl around.  I was so glad we went home because Daddy/Papa had a big shutdown at work and so was barely home the whole weekend.  I'm glad we were there to keep Mom from being by herself for the weekend.

Just Playing Around

New Outfits!

Back in February, I went on a girls trip up to the Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, NC.  It was quite a trek to get there (it's only an hour from Atlanta and through mountain roads) but well worth it.  We had a blast talking and getting massages and relaxing in the spa.  We also did a little shopping and I found the cutest matching outfits at a children's boutique.  I just couldn't not get them...

Julie, Blair, Keira, and me

The kids wore them for the first time this past Sunday and were absolutely adorable.  Will says that Jack is going to kill me for putting him in such outfits, but I think it's precious.  I will continue until the day he tells me he doesn't want to wear them because that day will come soon enough!

All dolled up!

Old Pics

Now that we have iCloud, I keep finding pictures that I didn't know we had!  Here are a few from a quick trip to see Block and Talley and Charlie in March right after the boys had turned a year old.

The Things Anna Says

The things that come out of Anna's mouth these days never cease to amaze me.  The other day in the car she asked where the sun goes when we're asleep and soon I was explaining about the earth turning and it being daytime on the other side of the world.  She was fascinated and started asking to go to the other side of the world and how long it would take to get there and the different countries and people that are there, among other details.  I never thought I would be having that conversation with a 4-year-old.  

And the other night after reading a chapter in her Little House on the Prairie book, we started talking about mean people in the world and why they are mean and how God created everyone but then each person has a choice whether to be good or bad.  It was deep and as I watched her troubled face I mourned the loss of my little girl who thought everything in this world was rosy and wonderful.  I'm not really ready to explain all this to her, but I don't want to lie to her either.  At the same time, I want to tell her just enough for her to understand without being overly fearful.  I told her that this was one of the reasons we pray to God so that He can protect us and keep us safe so we don't have to worry all the time.  I told her that her Mommy and Daddy do everything we can to keep her safe.  And I told her that there are smart things you can do to keep yourself safe.  It took some convincing, but she finally started smiling again.  I was shocked that she didn't wake up from a nightmare that night.  Oh how I wish the world was a safe and completely wonderful place for her to grow up in!

And so this post won't be too deep and troublesome, I saved the funny ones til last.  While we were home for that weekend in Wilmington, she said two of the funniest things.  The first was after Mimi had given her some chewing gum, Sarah and Mom and I were all sitting around the kitchen table.  She was listening to us chat and all of a sudden her eyes got big and she said, "Oh no!  I just swallowed my gum!"  I responded with, "Well, maybe now you can blow bubbles out of your bottom."  Then her eyes got as big as golf balls as if to ask, "Can you really do that?"  It was hilarious!

Later that same night we were all sitting around the table after dinner and Sarah was telling everyone about her latest escapade during her co-ed softball game.  She was describing the situation and said that she had left third and was running home when such-and-such happened.  The conversation changed to something else and then paused when Anna asked, "Sarah, why were you running home?"  We all cackled and Will added, "because Jason was mad at her and dropped her off in the middle of town!"  The literal questions always crack me up.  Bless her heart!

Jack is 15 Months Old!

It's hard to believe the one year milestone is gone and he's already at 15 months old!  That seems crazy to me.  He is on the go and all over the place!  Sweet and stubborn!  He is so much fun but takes so much energy.  When I picked him up from worship care after church the other Sunday, the worker said, "I don't know how you keep up with him, he's all over the place!"  That pretty much sums it up!  He keeps lots of bumps and bruises from all of his escapades climbing and running (and falling).  He's pretty tough, though, and keeps on going a lot of the time.  He's gotten really good at "brushing it off".
When he went in for his 15 month well check, he weighed 27 pounds, 7 ounces (86th %ile) and was 33.75 inches long (99th %ile).  He's very proportioned, though, since his BMI is 40th %ile.  He wears 2T tops and 18 month shorts/pants, size 4 diapers during the day and 5's at night, and size 5 shoes.
When I was filling out his developmental screening, it occurred to me that he has gotten quite verbal lately and knows more words than I originally gave him credit for.  They might be difficult for a non-family member to decipher, but still, these are a few: Da-di, Ma-ma, Diddy (for Sissy), ball, bird, bath, teeth, woof (for all dogs), car, bye-bye, Hey! (every time you get him out of his crib...so cute... or if he passes a female in a store), cheese, shoes, thank you, Brown Bear, Spot, and recently, Papa and Pops.
He just recently dropped his morning nap and now naps 2-3 hours in the early afternoon.  He is still sleeping from 8-7ish at night.  Some days here and there it becomes obvious that he still needs a morning nap and will take a good morning one and not such a good afternoon one.  It's so hard making those big sleeping adjustments!  At least Sunday mornings at church are way easier on him now.
We are so blessed to have him as part of our family.  He's so much fun and watching the love grow between him and Anna is just breath-taking.  We love you so much, little man!

Anna's Latest Activities

In the fall, Anna made the big decision to do dance instead of gymnastics.  I was able to find a ballet and tap class with tumbling along with it.  At first she liked it, but then got tired of doing the same thing every class.  Now that it's almost recital time and we're trying on costumes, she's a little more excited, but still agrees she has found something she likes better: soccer!

Dancing Queen

She started Kiddie Kickers at the Y this spring.  It is designed for those kids who have had no exposure just to get them use to the game.  She even got to be on the same team with her good friend, Charlie.  The moms and dads are out on the field helping to "coach" and her daddy is all over that.  It is kind of nostalgic to think about how we both played as kids and teenagers.  I guess we need to get used to the whole soccer lifestyle--she loves it and has really picked up some skills and is quite good.  Will loves it because she schools the boys often!  Coach Kishon and Coach Russell are fantastic and know the perfect amount of instruction versus fun.  I have a feeling we will be doing this again in the fall!

Charlie and Anna

At the end of each preschool year, the school has a huge hat parade and each class makes a different hat to parade around the school.  Anna's class made bear hats to go with their "BEARY Special Class" theme.  Anna was excited because Mimi and Caroline were there to watch along with Nannie and Pops!

Anna's class with Mrs. Sawyer

First time around

Pops and Jack waiting for the second round.

Jack and Caroline waiting patiently.

Hey Jack!

I see you!!

She even made the local paper along with friend Mia!