SNOW!!

Life's been hectic, so we haven't had an update in a while. Sorry! We were suprised to find out after 2 long days of rain, that Sunday night, it started to SNOW! The kids were so happy and excited. They were the most beautiful large flakes, and perfect for catching on your tongue. By morning, we had about 5 inches on the ground. The kids had a blast throwing snowballs, building a snowman, and going sledding. Poor Drew didn't have much luck sledding. He was terrified on the way down, and even more so when he flipped over and did a face plant into the snow. I don't think he'll be doing much sledding for a while. It was pretty while it lasted, but it sure is cold here. We are not used to this for March, but have to enjoy the last few bits of snow that remain on the ground.

Sleepless Nights

Ok, so it's getting worse! 4:45 am was bad, but this morning, I awoke at 3:13 am and was so confused. Ashley was out of town, and it was just me and the boys. I remembered going to bed with all of the lights out and peace and quiet. However, what woke me were sounds of sirens and choo-choos coming from the hall and the lights were ON! Drew had again, climbed out of his crib, turned on the lights, and was happily playing in the hall and in Davis's room. Thankfully, Davis has already made the switch to the bunk room with Jackson, so he didn't wake up. That is until 4:45 am when Drew was so loud and crying because of course he was tired, and I was still trying desperately to get him back to bed! No luck there. At 5:40 I finally gave up, turned the tv and lights on and let the kids play. I don't know how much of this I can take! My kids usually sleep, and sleep well. This is a first for us. I'll keep you updated, but until them, I need a nap!

Escape Artist

Ok, so we have a little escape artist on our hands! At 4:45 this morning, my sweet baby Drew was standing next to my bed calling my name. He did it again! He escaped!! Although he has climbed out a few times, we decided to put him in the crib until we can locate the bed rails. However, we did decide to leave the side of the crib down, and placed a bean bag on the floor next to the crib, just in case he did escape and fall, he hopefully wouldn't get hurt. Well, I guess it worked, he didn't get hurt, and was delighted to see me so early this morning! Too bad he wasn't interested in going back to bed. What are we going to do???

TWO WHEELS!

YAHHHH HOOOOO! As Davis would say! The training wheels are off, and so is he! He can now ride his bike with NO training wheels! It only took about 3 tries, and he can do it, and boy did he take off! He is so proud of himself and says that it is so much fun! He has not mastered starting from a stop, but I only have to hold him for a second to get him going before he is yelling, "let go mommy!" I had no camera, but my cell phone captured this proud moment! His 1st ride down the street alone! Look out world, here comes Davis!

Ball Boy

Jackson loves to play ball, it doesn't really matter what kind of ball as long as it is a BALL!!! He loves it! He had especially taken to the game of basketball now that he is playing for our church. Today we were practicing and playing HORSE, and I took a few shots of him that I thought captured his love of the game!

The END...

Last post for today, I promise!

We are reaching the end of the baby stuff...at least for now! I am not sure if that is forever, in fact, most of you know that I hope it is not, but for now, it is. We bought Jackson and Davis bunk beds in anticipation of this day, and it is here! I put Drew down for his nap this afternoon, and about 5 minutes later, he opened the door to my room. My first reaction was suprise! I asked him how he got here and how he got out of his crib, he was crying and holding his "ruff ruff" and told me "Drew Drew fall down, Drew Drew hurt!" Poor little guy. He took me to his room and showed me where he had tried to climb out of his crib and was successful, but he did fall down, right from the top of the crib! So we will be moving Drew from the crib, probably in the next day or so, before he climbs out and really gets hurt! Jackson and Davis want to share a room, and bunk beds, and we will once again have a play room. It makes me sad, but I am enjoying seeing the boys grow up. This will be the first time in 7 years that we haven't had a crib in the house! Wow!! Diapers are next...that will be nice, not to buy so many diapers, although I am not looking forward to potty training again!

Author's Celebration

Yesterday was a BUSY day for us! Ashley and I both worked, Jackson had his author's celebration at school, I had lunch with some girlfriends, Davis had his four year old check-up, basketball game, and then Ashley and I had a date night!

Here are some photos from the Author's Celebration at school. Ms. Bunchman has done such a good job with the class this year, and they kids just adore her. Each child wrote and illustrated their own books, and then got into groups. They read their books to the parents, and were so proud of their writings. I know that it was a lot of work for Ms. B, but it was worth it! The kids did great!

Shots

Yesterday was Davis's 4 year old visit to the doctor. Although Jackson had warned him of the inevitable shots, he was still upbeat when we left.

He did great, but when I did tell him that he was going to get 4 shots, he did not like that at all, and stood in the corner of the room.

In the end, he did well. We did have to hold him down, and I don't care how many times I've done it with my 3 children, it is always heartbreaking to hold your somewhat unsuspecting child down on the table, knowing that the nurse is about to poke them with a shot, that is sure to hurt a whole lot more than they are thinking! Poor Davis! He was once again off the charts for his height and at the top of the charts for weight, in line with his previous growth. There is no denying it, Davis will be a big boy! Probably the tallest of the bunch. His growth chart shows that he is the height of an average 6 year old (or even a short 7 year old). Look out Jackson...he's catching up to you!

Rainy Day

It is cold and rainy today, and the boys are restless. Poor Drew just looks out the window and wants to be outside so badly. It does make for good photography lighting. Too bad my children don't like having their pictures taken!

Happy Valentines to all! We had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, and are going to spend the day with the kids. Tonight, we are having a date night with the kids. Chocolate fondue and movies!

Space Buddies

It has been hard to stay caught up lately, so here we go! I was out of town at a work meeting in California all last week. Debbie came in to help Ashley, and that was definately much appreciated! The boys had a nice time visiting with their grandmother, and Ashley was thankful of the help. I came home on the red eye last Friday, and between very little sleep on the plane, recovering from this on going cough/cold I have, and jet lag, it took me 3 days to feel normal again!

The boys were cute when I got home, especially Drew who ran to me yelling "mommy's home!" and gave me a huge hug! That was worth the no sleep on the plane to get home sooner.

They have all been so cute lately. Davis got the movie "Space Buddies" for his birthday (late because the movie hadn't come out on DVD yet) and has watched it at least 10 times since Saturday! (On Monday night, he went to a friend's house and they had mac and cheese for dinner. He looked sceptical at the bowl, wondering why the homemade stuff didn't look quite like Kraft. When the boy's mom said that it was the same recipe as the dogs used on the movie Space Buddies, he gobbled the whole bowl up! ) The boy is obsessed with dogs! Too bad I can't break his dad and talk him into getting one. Drew's new thing is that he refers to himself in the 3rd person all the time, saying things like "Drew Drew wants juice." He also has a love of his puppy, and has named him "wuff wuff." Jackson amazes me everyday with his ablilities. He is doing great at basketball and scored six baskets at last week's game. He is also doing an incredible job reading, and homework is getting harder. I can't imagine what 2nd grade will be like!

Off to make lunch for the boys. It's been beautiful here and we have enjoyed the 70 degree weather that is so abnormal for February! More updates later.

Happy Birthday Davis!

Yesterday was Davis's 4th Birthday. He was so excited and woke up singing happy birthday to himself! We had his choice of breakfast, which was chocolate chip pancakes. He was also thrilled to go to school and bring cup cakes to the class. It was PJ and movie day, and they even were able to watch his favorite movie, "Air Bud." It's about a dog! Who would have guessed with the way my child has wanted a dog so badly lately!

In the afternoon, we had Jackson's basketball game. Davis and Drew did a great job cheering their brother one! Only 4 children showed up for our team, so the boys played their hearts out and sure did a lot of running! They still won the game, and Davis knows it was because he did a good job rooting them on!

Opening presents was a highlight of the night. Davis was so excited about each gift. He got several movies, some tracks for his train set, some books, a tent, and a big firetruck! Instead of the real dog that he has been begging for, we settled on a soft stuffed animal dog, who is of course named "Buddy". Davis loves him and slept with him last night. He has even said that he is going to give his beloved "BaBeet" the frog to Drew! We could hardly believe it!

This morning he woke up to a special delivery of a cookie bouquet of race car cookies from B and Bpa. We also had a little party today for him and some of his close buddies from the neighborhood. The kids had fun being kids and singing "Happy Birthday!" I think Davis really felt special this year!

I want a puppy!

When I went to pre-school to pick Davis up on Friday, his teacher said "I am so excited for you. Davis is so excited!" I was very confused and asked her what she was talking about. She said "Davis is so excited about his birthday next week, and the dog that you are getting him!" I laughed and told her that we were not getting him a dog, and I didn't know where that came from. When I told Davis that we would not be buying him a dog, he said "that's ok mommy, I'll just ask MaMa, because she'll buy me anything I want!" When I asked him what if she wouldn't, he said "that's ok, I'll just ask B and B'pa!" Looks like he has his grandparents figured out!!

Disney Photos

Finally, I have had a little down-time today to upload photos and get my Disney stuff organized...the snow day threw a kink in things! Cute photos from that already up! Our boys were sad to wake up and see all of the snow had melted, and are already praying for more!

Here are some photos from Disney. The kids had a blast! I'm glad we went, and thank goodness for the Fast Pass. What a great invention! You simply insert your ticket into this ATM like machine, and it spits out another ticket that is like an appointment card for when to come back to the ride. When you come back, you stand in a different line that may have only a 5 minute wait. On Saturday, AJ took the younger boys back to the hotel to rest, and Jack and I stayed at the park. He had fun being in charge and decided just what he wanted to do. Jackson wanted to get his face painted, and of course, chose the tiger (like the mascot for the Clemson Tigers) and looked so cute! We rode the Tea Cups again for the 4th time, and my favorite part of the whole trip was watching my little boy simply enjoy the moment and scream with excitement. When AJ came back to the park, we rode a few more rides and then watched the night lights parade and the fireworks. What an amazing show they put on every night! The kids didn't quite make it back to the hotel that night. By the time that we left Disney, all three boys were asleep. Jackson even had to sleep with his face paint on. Two days of Magic Kingdom, and one day at the Animal Kingdom was enough for this family! When the kids are older, I'm sure we'll go back and have a totally different experience. This was magical and fun for them, and just what we had hoped for.

Snow Day!

We woke up this morning to about an inch or two of snow on the ground and more coming down. That doesn't sound like much, but here in the south, this is big news! We only get about one snow a year, and just about everything shuts down, at least for a little while. I got the phone call from the Superintendant of Schools that school had been cancelled for today by 6:00 am. It wasn't but a few minutes later when Jackson appeared in my room telling me that it must have snowed 4 feet! "There is so much snow out there mommy!! Did daddy get a new car, because his is ALL WHITE!" It was so cute, and amazing how just an inch of snow can be so exciting to a six year old. By 7:00 this morning, the kids were dressed and headed out the door with sleds! What fun to have a snow day. Shortly after, they were in to warm up and get some hot chocolate, and AJ and I were off to work in our offices and get things done. It was a nice suprise to come home from Florida to SNOW!

Tired little boys!

We are getting ready to pack up tonight and leave Orlando in the morning. Our kids are so exhausted and worn out, but have had so much fun! The trip was amazing and the kids had so much fun with their cousins and experienced way more than I thought that they would. Jackson and Davis both turned out to be thrill seekers and rode Big Thunder Railroad and Space Mountain, two of the big roller coasters! Davis was scared after Space Mountain, but as time went by, he has now decided that Space Mountain was his favorite part of the vacation!! We spent two days at Magic Kingdom and today we went to Animal Kingdom. The kids loved the Water Rapids ride today, which proved quite wet for Uncle Jay and Davis. Lots of pictures to come once we get home...here's to safe quiet travels tomorrow. The kids are sure to sleep after the weekend that they have had!!!!!

Disney World, Here We Come!

For Christmas this year, our gift to the kids was a trip to Disney. I haven't been since I was a child, and Ashley hasn't been since he went with his buddies in college for a school project. The kids have never been, and although we are so excited for them, they have no idea what to expect. It's a little comical that we have had to "tutor" our children on the world of Disney before our trip, so that they will get the most out of it! We borrowed several Disney movies from friends, and Davis loves Cinderella...especially the pretty princesses! To think he already has a crush on Cinderella is hysterical! We also have done some research on the computer, and read lots of books and even watched the free Disney DVD from Disney World. Now the boys know the names of many of the rides that they are hoping to ride, and can't wait to try Splash Mountain. Davis is even tall enough to ride everything that Jackson can! I am glad that we didn't tell the kids until Christmas, because inevitably, everyday, one of them asks "are we going to Disney today??" We leave in the morning, and are hoping for a peaceful drive (I know, that will never happen!). It will be fun and magical for the kids, and I'm thrilled for them!

Georgia Aquarium

On our recent visit to Atlanta, B and B'pa took us to the Georgia Aquarium. Let me just say that it is AMAZING! We enjoyed it just as much as the children!! There are so many neat things to do and see, and because we went very early on a Saturday morning, there were very few visitors and plenty of volunteers ready to answer questions and get us involved. The kids loved that the divers who were cleaning the tanks would wave to them. Our favorite part was the big tunnel that you walk through where you are surrounded by fish, and the kids could watch the huge sting ray and 4 whale sharks swim overhead. We also got to hang out at the touch tank and touch baby sharks and sting rays. So cool! Here are some photos and video. Drew just kept trying to touch the fish and was so excited about all of the "fishies" that he could see!

Videos finally uploaded!!!

Finally able to get the videos uploaded from Drew's Birthday!!! YEAH!! Welcome to two years old sweet baby! Only 2 temper tantrums today, and he decided to write all over himself while we thought he was quietly coloring! He was coloring all right, all over his body with purple marker!!! On his legs, clothes, face, neck, hands, and arms. Even the bottoms of his feet were purple!! I am just loving that he is talking more too! When I went to get him from his crib this morning, I asked him if he was ready to get up, and he said "No thank you mommy" and rolled over. I just love him!

Birthday Boy

So I am having a little trouble uploading the video from tonight, and that will come later. Here are a few photos from today. Drew was very excited once he realized that the cake for HIS birthday! All smiles!

Drew is 2!

Today is Drew's second birthday!!! (but he will tell you that he is three! " I three mommy!". I think he just wants to catch up to his big brothers. I got him a Nemo balloon today at the store, and he is loving carrying it around the house and playing with it. So cute! Can't wait for cake tonight, which will surely be a mess and picture worthy!