My little cowboy!

Drew has found a cowboy hat, and loves putting it on and wearing it around the house. Even cuter is that he loves to say "Yee Haw" while he is marching around the house in it!!

Busses and Babies

Jackson rode the bus for the first time this year, and he loved it. He has a buddy on there that was so kind to look after him and sit with him. When I asked him if he liked it, he said that it was more fun than last year because they are on the bus longer, so the get to back up a lot!!

Aunt Dana, Uncle Matt, and baby Ellis are staying with us for a while, and it's amazing how quickly Drew has "grown up" after seeing Ellis! He just looks so much older, and he really has started talking so much more. He adores his uncle Matt, and walks around calling "Matt Matt" so he'll come play hide and seek with him! He also has taken a special liking towards Ellis! He loves to follow whoever is holding her around the house and hold him arms out and say "hold hold hold" until he can sit with you and hold her. He gently will pat her arm or leg and just smile. When you try to take the baby from him, he gives a death grip and doesn't want to let her go! It is hilarious!!!

While the baby is staying with us, I have had a great time taking lots of adorable photos of her! She's just a doll and sleeps through most of them! Here's one of my favorites!

Baby Ellis

It has been a busy week this week! School has started for Jackson, and is going great! His favorite thing about first grade so far is getting to play on the "big kid" playground. They have moved up from the K5 playground, and he said that there is lots to do. He also told me that they can't do the big wheel that you hold on and kids spin you around on, because the after school kids said that they get really big blisters from holding on too long! His teacher gave him two treats yesterday, because his table was the first to clean up, and because he stayed at school all day (apparently he kept saying that he wanted his mommy and wanted to go home!). He was nervous about car pool, but Ms. Bunchman sat on the ground with him outside waiting for the car pool line, until I came--she's so sweet! On the way home, we beat the bus, so we waited at the bus stop with the other moms, and he got to meet his new bus driver, "The Twizz," as he likes to be called. He seems very nice, and Jackson is excited about trying out the bus again this year.

Last night, we went to the hospital so that the kids could meet their newest cousin, Ellis. She was born 8/19 and weighed 10 lbs, but still looks so tiny! Jackson just wanted to hold her the whole visit, and Drew was so interested in her. It was hilarious to see him checking her out and looking at her toes and fingers. He would look really close, and then pet her legs. He cried when we were leaving and just held out his hands saying "hold, hold." Davis was able to hold her too in my lap, and did such a good job being gentle. Welcome to the world baby Ellis! My boys are looking forward to playing with you and can't wait to see you again!

First Grade

So today is the first day of FIRST grade!! I can't believe that my baby is now a first grader!! He wanted me to walk him into his classroom, and even let me hold his hand (probably the last year that he'll let me do that!). He is very nervous about his first day, and mostly about getting home. I had to promise him that I will try to be one of the first cars in the carpool line. When we walked down the hall to his class, we passed the kindergarteners, and they looked so small! It's hard to believe that was him just one year ago! Here are some pictures from this morning, one with his buddy Skylar from last year, and one with his teacher, Ms. Bunchman. He has 14 kids in his class, and knows 8 of them! It should be a good year!!

Jackson FINALLY lost his tooth!!

After an hour of pulling, wiggling, and trying hard to get Jackson's loose tooth to come out, it finally did! Jackson decided that it was so wiggly tonight, and it was ready to come out. He kept begging me to pull it, and even wanted to try to tie it to a door handle and slam the door (which we tried, but not hard and it didn't come out because the thread slipped off of the tooth...probably a good thing!). It was just hanging by a thread, and finally, I was able to just pop it out easily! He is SO excited about what the tooth fairy will bring him, but trying to decide whether to put the tooth under his pillow tonight, or wait until tomorrow and show his brothers and his daddy how little his tooth was.

Back from the Beach

We have spent the last week at Fripp Island, SC, and have fallen in love with it! It is a small beach island outside of Beaufort, and is so relaxing. You park your car when you get there, and spend the week getting around by golf cart. The boys LOVED this about the beach! It was a short ride to the marina, the beach, or the pools. We also went fishing, boogie boarding, and fed lots of deer that roam the island (which is also a wildlife preserve). It was amazing how tame these deer were! There was also a nature center with a baby alligator, lots of turtles, and snakes that the kids could see and touch! Here are a few highlights from the week. The kids had a great time hanging out with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents!

Color me HAPPY!

Wednesday, the kids wanted to color pictures for Grandaddy's birthday to send to heaven (we tied their cards to 3 helium balloons and sent them off high in the sky to reach Grandaddy). The older boys made room at the table, and were happily coloring pictures, and Drew made himself happy on the floor. When I turned back around, Drew was coloring on his stomach. The kids were laughing so hard, I couldn't resist letting them keep doing it. They were washable markers, of course! They got a kick out of coloring on each other, and laughed so much. No harm done...it all washed over very easily in the bath that night, with an added bonus of colored bath water! I may be regretting this in a few months when they decide to color on the walls. Drew and Davis have already colored all over my pretty upholstered chairs with green and orange crayons! They were so proud of their artwork, Ashley said that he couldn't be mad at them!