It's Fall Y'all!!

It's finally October!!  The weather is starting to get a little cooler, football Saturday's are in full swing, I can finally make soups and all things pumpkin!  I must say that October, November, and December are my favorite months of the year.  I started decorating for fall yesterday and Caroline pointed out that I forgot the Halloween decorations.  I don't usually do a lot of Halloween decorations, but it looks like we are heading out to stock up on some today :)  Yay for fall!  Hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather we are having!!

Happy Fall from my little pumpkins!

Second Soccer Game and the rest of the weekend

This past weekend Caroline had her second soccer game of the season.  Her game last weekend was rained out, meaning that it was two full weeks in between her games.  I was so worried that she wouldn't want to play after the long break...and I was right.  As soon as she woke up she said she was just going to watch the game.  She cried when we got there but after a little encouragement (and a toy store bribe) she perked up and played the game like a champ.  She actually KICKED the ball in the game!!!!  We were all so excited!  She even said that she wants to make a goal in the next game.

A little pep talk from daddy helped a lot.

One of the moms brought doughnuts for the kids after the game.  She was very excited about that!!

Friday and Friday evening I was sick.  I felt better on Saturday and we went to the soccer game.  By the time we got home, Ann Parker had a fever.  Poor baby literally slept all day.  I can't seem to keep everyone well at the same time lately.  Since our little bit was under the weather, we decided to have a low key night at home and watch the Alabama game...especially since we had a super exciting Sunday planned!!  We all woke up on Sunday and went to have doughnuts and then got ready for the Magic City Miracle.  MCM is a community wide day of service.  There were several projects going on that day.  The four of us plus some of our favorite friends, the Paulks, went to go visit five different fire stations to bring goodie baskets and thank the firefighters for all the work they do for our city.  All eight of us loaded up into a 15 passenger van (loading and unloading four carseats was no easy task) and went around the city.  It was so much fun!  The girls got to climb inside a firetruck and see all the neat fire things in the stations.  I don't have pictures from the day except for a couple of cell phone pics but I will try to get some!

Sorry for the horrible picture!!  This is C sitting in the driver seat of the fire truck.  She had such a fun time.  I think we may buy a 15 passenger van so we can always ride around with our friends!!

A little laugh

C asked me when baby Stanley is coming. Baby Stanley is the baby brother she wants (no, not pregnant). She talks about him a lot. It got me thinking about playing dolls when I was a kid. I used to play dolls for hours straight. I used to pretend that I had 10 kids and I always said that when I grew up I would actually have 10 kids. I named my fake kids things like "Diamond" and "Crystal." This had me laughing for about an hour tonight. The idea of having 10 kids is funny enough, but the name choices really made me laugh.  I mean seriously, "China Israel" could have been Diamond's little sister. I had horrible taste. Just thought I would share...

First Soccer Game and school so far...

This past Saturday, Caroline had her very first soccer game!  Her team is the Blazers and they are yellow.  Her number is 7.  After practice last Monday, I didn't have high hopes for the game.  C fell during practice and then didn't want to keep playing.  All week she told me she wasn't going to play.  I imagined an hour of tears from her and an hour of pleading to play from me.  Luckily, it turned out great!  She was ready to play and enjoyed running after the ball.  She didn't get much ball time because there is this one little girl on her team who is seriously a soccer star.  She understands the game and is very coordinated and she would swoop in, get the ball, and score a goal each time someone else got the ball.  C did get to be a "kicker" at one point and kick the ball back into play.  She was so proud of herself - and we were pretty proud too.


Warming up

Her coach is a doctor and he was on call that day - luckily Phillips is the best assistant coach ever!

Isn't she the cutest??

Biggest fan!!

I just love these two sweet girls!

And this little boy too :)

Great game for the Blazers!!  They got snacks and drinks after the game and they were all pretty excited about that.  Can't wait for the next game.  Seriously, 3 year old soccer is adorable.

And now for some school updates...

This is the second full week of school and my girls are rockin it!  AP loves her teachers and I really think she likes the time away from me.  It was just what she needed.  She is not the tag-a-long little sister in the class, she's just one of the group and I know she loves it.  Her class finished their class bags and they are adorable!

I really think adding the second day was the perfect decision.  I am loving it too.  Just today, I have folded two loads of laundry, done all the grocery shopping for the week (which means going to 3 stores), made all the beds, watered all the plants - inside and out, done this blog post, watched one "mommy" show (My 5 Wives, a new guilty pleasure), emptied and loaded the dishwasher, and I still have almost an hour before I have to leave to pick them up.  On Wednesday I am going for a run right after I drop them off and I am soooo looking forward to that!

Caroline is doing great in school.  She loves playing with her friends and she is quickly making new friends.  As soon as she gets in the car she tells me what she did and who she played with.  It's so wonderful to know that she is happy!  I cannot believe that this is the last year that she will only go to school three days a week.  Next year she will go all 5 days!  And the year after that she will be in kindergarten!!  She is growing up way too quickly and I am not sure that I like it.  BUT, I am glad that she loves school this year.  A couple of weeks ago, she also started Cherub Choir on Wednesdays.  We have enjoyed going to the church to eat dinner and play.  I have started a class when she is in choir as well.  She has been singing her choir songs all week and it's just too cute.  I cannot wait for her first choir performance!

Back to School!

On Wednesday, September 4th, Caroline and Ann Parker started school.  Both are going to Trinity - but Caroline has moved up to the preschool program so she is in the Trinity Child Development Center and Ann Parker has started in the Parent's Day Out program.  Caroline was supposed to have Ms. Ginny, but she needs back surgery so she now has Ms. Lillian.  Ms. Ginny should be back later in the school year.  She will be going on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Ann Parker has Ms. Debbie and Ms. Shay and she will be going on Monday and Wednesday.


I woke up first and packed lunches.

And I got their school bags ready.  Ann Parker's bag isn't made yet, but we got the TCDC bags at parent orientation the night before.

These are their cute new lunchboxes that they picked out.  I really wanted to get cutesy monogrammed lunchboxes this year...but for some reason we went through 4 lunchboxes last year so we played it safe and got these.  Caroline picked out the ladybug and AP got the "baa bee"

Then I made breakfast.  I matched their breakfast plates to their lunchboxes.  Can you tell we love the zoo stuff from SkipHop??

Picture time!!  C was very excited, although she didn't want to look at the camera.

They both had good first days!  Caroline was a little sad during drop off, which broke my heart.  Ann Parker took off her shoe during car pool so I had to come back to the school to bring her shoe, but other than that we all had good days.  I enjoyed lunch with three of my favorite ladies and was able to get some stuff done around the house.  I think this is going to be a great year for all of us!!

Last Week of Summer

Next week both girls will start school - Caroline will be at Trinity Child Development Center and Ann Parker will be in the Parent's Day Out program (both at Trinity, just in different parts of the building).  We are so excited, but we will miss these lazy days where we can do what we what when we want.

We have a fun week planned so that we can soak up every last minute of summer!  On Monday, we spent the morning at the Tot Lot playing.  I didn't bring my camera or take any iPhone pictures, but Caroline had a great time with her friends.  After we joined the Wise's for some lunch at Otey's.  I have a feeling we will be going there for lunch more often...the stage provided enough entertainment for the kids that I was actually able to eat lunch!  After naps and errands, Caroline had soccer practice.  No pictures of our day, but it was oh so fun.

Today (Tuesday) we met Sydney, Brooklyn, and William at the Gardendale splash pad for some water and playground time.  The girls even got a popsicle!  We haven't been this summer and I was glad that we could squeeze it in before it closes for the fall.

We have a fun dinner tonight planned and a few more fun activities during the week so stay tuned!!

Sixteen Months Old!!!

Sixteen Months Old - August 20, 2013

My sweet toddler turned 16 months old this week.  What a big girl she has become!  She is learning so many words that it's hard to keep track.  If she doesn't know the word for something she wants, she will say "this" or "that" and point so that we understand.  It makes things a lot easier around here!

She eats about 90% of what we give her to eat.  There are a few things she won't try, but not too much.  Lately, she is loving watermelon and grapes.

Not too much has changed since last month except that she knows more words.  Oh...and she has decided that she hates to sleep.  A couple of months ago, she was cutting several teeth which kept her up a lot.  Then she got a little fever virus.  Now - who knows?  She goes to bed at 7:30 with no problems.  I put her down awake and she rolls over and goes to sleep.  She wakes up around 11:00 or 12:00 and will fall asleep in our arms and then wake up and scream FOREVER when we put her down.  Finally, a hour or more later when she finally falls asleep, we can fall asleep for a few minutes before this process starts again.  Needless to say, we are exhausted.  Hopefully this is just a phase!

She loves water - pools, splash pads, hoses, bath tubs, etc.  She is such a water baby!  We have had a fun time playing outside this summer and getting her in the water!  I am taking them to the splash pad next week and I know she will have a blast.

This age is so fun!  She is able to communicate some, but is still my sweet and snugly baby.  She will start going to Parent's Day Out in a couple of weeks and we are very excited for her.  I know she will have a fun time.

I never posted her 15 month stats from her appointment, so here they are:
18 lb. 10 oz. (20%)
30.5 inches (50%)
17.25 HC (50%)
She got three shots and only cried for a minute.  She is healthy and happy!


We love you so much Ann Parker!  You are such a joy to us!